What do actors, musicians, and writers say before they die?
From enlightenment to humor, see what these 11 famous men said before they passed away.
Our friends at mental_floss consulted the reference Last Words of Notable People by Bill Brahms to collect eleven examples.
Read on, and get a hanky ready.
Bob Hope (1903-2003)
Last words: “Surprise me.”
The story: “Bob” Hope’s full name was Leslie Townes Hope. As an actor and radio personality, he became best known in his later years for entertaining American troops stationed overseas. He died at Toluca Lake, California at the ripe old age of 100. His wife Dolores asked Bob where he wanted to be buried, prompting his last words.
Reports of Hope’s death were greatly exaggerated in 1998, when the Associated Press accidentally released a prepared obituary. The incorrect news spread so rapidly that it was announced on the floor of the US House. Representative Bob Stump, R-Arizona, Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, broke the “news.”
Glenn Miller (1904-1944)
Last words: “Where the hell are the parachutes?”
The story: Glenn Miller was a big band leader and US Army Major during WWII. Miller boarded a plane bound from England to Paris, where he planned to perform concerts for troops on leave in Europe. His last recorded words as he boarded the plane (above) were spoken to Colonel Don Baesell, who replied: “What’s the matter Miller, don’t you want to live forever?” The plane was lost over the English Channel.
Eugene O’Neill, Senior (1888-1953)
Last words: “I knew it! I knew it! Born in a hotel room and, goddamn it, dying in a hotel room.”
The story: O’Neill was a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, best known for Long Day’s Journey into Night and The Iceman Cometh. He was born in a room at the Broadway hotel on what is now Times Square. He died at age 65 in a Boston hotel after suffering neurological disease. The hotel was later turned into the Shelton Hall dorm at Boston University.
O’Neill had an alcoholic son, Eugene O’Neill Jr., who committed suicide in 1950 at the age of 40. The Junior O’Neill wrote in his note, “Never let it be said of O’Neill that he failed to empty a bottle. Ave atque vale.” (The last phrase is Latin for “Hail and farewell.”)
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