Well folks, this is it. Famous Last Words will be the last word
for me. I am going to take a much-needed hiatus from writing our beloved
Lightnin' Lowdown to fully concentrate on finishing my new CD. Over the
last three years, I have relished writing these rants, and I hope you
have enjoyed reading them. The Lightnin' Lowdown has been a lot of hard
work, but a real joy for me; a labor of love. There's something special
about sharing laughter with others, and I hope the Lowdown has made you
laugh. Out loud. Maybe some have even made you cry. This has been my
intent from the beginning. My intent as a writer has been the same as my
intent as a musician, and that is, simply, to make you feel. Not
necessarily to make you laugh, or cry, or get angry, but to communicate;
to convey feeling. Strangely, we humans need this to constantly
remind ourselves of our shared humanity. And I hope that, in sharing my
beliefs, my loves, and my life with you, that you think of me now, in
this our final chapter, as a brother and a friend. Lightnin' Bugs
certainly realize by now that I believe we are here to help others, but
I am not sure what the others are here for.
Singer and harmonicaplayer extraordinaire, Sugar Ray
Norcia has a song on his new record called "The Last Words Of A
Fool", in which he playfully tells of an assortment of idiots, all
violently deceased, saying "watch this!" just before they go.
The various causes of death are popping wheelies on bikes, crushing cans
against their heads, and going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Their
last words as living beings are "watch this!". Here is a bit
of it:
He said, "Hey Man, watch
this!", as he crushed a can upon his head
He must've hit a soft spot, for now the fool is dead
That something could go wrong, to him never did occur
It all ended there with those famous last words
"Hey Man, watch this! Look what I'm about to do!"
People don't you know? These are the last words of a fool
I have collected a large mess of last words, some from famous
people, some from fools. Some are poignant and some are preposterous.
Some are very wise and others are hilariously stupid. There are last
words of Presidents, and last words of condemned criminals. I've always
been fascinated by reading the last words of people, some of whom knew
they were dying and others who had no idea. Where there is a difference
of opinion as to the exact last words of a person, due to differing
accounts and recollections of those present, I have included the one
that is the most appropriate to the source and the most poetic, if you
will. One thing I've learned in writing the Lightnin' Lowdown is that,
when in doubt, go for the laugh. Here goes...
Abimelech, Judge
of Israel (Judges
9:50–55) "Draw your sword and kill
me, so they can't say, 'A woman killed him.'" Abimelech
said these words to his armor-bearer during the siege of Thebez after a
woman dropped an upper millstone from the wall onto his head, cracking
his skull. The armor-bearer complied, killing him with his sword.
John Adams
(1735-1826) "Thomas Jefferson still survives."
John Adams, the second United
States President, also died on the fiftieth anniversary of the
Declaration of Independence. Following his presidency, Adams retired to
his farm and began a lengthy correspondence with Thomas Jefferson that
would last over twenty-five years. Although in his nineties and
gravely ill, he resolved to live until the fiftieth anniversary of the
Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1826. That morning, Adams was
awakened by his servant who inquired, "Do you know what day it
is?" "Oh, yes," Adams replied, "It is the glorious
fourth of July. God bless it. God bless you all." He then lapsed
into unconsciousness. Later that afternoon, he awakened briefly to
mumble "Thomas Jefferson still surv . . . . " before dying.
Actually, Thomas Jefferson had died earlier that day.
John
Quincy Adams (1767-1848)
"This is the last of Earth! I am content."
John Quincy Adams, sixth United States President (1825-1829), collapsed
on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, of a stroke. He died
two days later, with his wife and children at his side, in the Speaker's
Room inside the Capitol Building. Adams had become a U.S. Representative
from the 11th District of Massachusetts after his presidency.
Alex the African Grey
Parrot
"You be good. See you tomorrow. I love you."
Alex was used in comparative psychology research at Brandeis University.
Spoken
to his handler, Dr. Irene Pepperberg (Dr. Pepperberg???), when she put
him into his cage for the night; Alex was found dead the next morning.
Alexander the Great (356
BC-323 BC) "To the strongest!" Alexander the Great
was one of the most successful military commanders in history, and was
undefeated in battle. By the time of his death, he had conquered most of
the world known to the ancient Greeks. These
last words were in response to his generals asking the heirless
Alexander to whom the empire would belong to after his death.
Ethan Allen (1738-1789)
"Waiting, are they? Waiting, are they? Well, let 'em wait!"
Ethan Allen was an early American revolutionary and guerilla leader
during the American Revolution.
After being shot, a doctor told him, "General, I fear that the
angels are waiting for you."
Marie Antoinette (1755-1793) "Pardon
me, sir. I did not do it on purpose." As she approached
the guillotine, convicted of treason and about to be beheaded, she
accidentally stepped on the foot of her executioner.
Archimedes (287 BC-212 BC) "Don't disturb my
circles!"
Archimedes was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and
astronomer. This was said in response to a Roman soldier who was forcing
him to report to the Roman general after the capture of Syracuse, while
he was busy sitting on the ground proving geometry theorems. The soldier
killed him despite specific instructions not to.
Lady
Astor (1879-1964)
"Am I dying or is this my birthday?"
Lady Astor was the first female
Member of Parliament. Noted for her biting wit, she occasionally got
into verbal spats with Winston Churchill. She spoke her last words when,
on her deathbed, she momentarily awoke to find herself surrounded by her
entire family.
Jane Austen (1775-1817)
"I want nothing but death." Jane Austen was a British
novelist whose realism, biting social commentary, and masterful use of
free indirect speech, burlesque, and irony have earned her a place as
one of the most widely-read and best-loved writers in British
literature. Early in 1816, due to what is now thought to be Addison's
disease, Austen's physical condition began a long, slow, and irregular
deterioration culminating in her death the following year.
Phineas
Taylor "P. T." Barnum (1810-1891) "How
were the receipts today at Madison Square Garden?" Entrepreneur
P. T. Barnum was an American showman who is best remembered for his
entertaining hoaxes, and for founding the circus that eventually became
the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Just before his
death, he gave permission to the Evening Sun to print his
obituary, so that he might have a chance to read it. After
reading his own obituary, he asked about the box office receipts for the
day; a few hours later, he was dead.
L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) "Now I
can cross the Shifting Sands." As author of The
Wizard Of Oz, Baum was referring to the Shifting Sands, the
impassable desert surrounding the Land of Oz.
Todd Beamer (1968-2001) "Let's roll."
Passenger on United Flight 93, Todd was killed on September 11, 2001.
These are his last recorded words, coming at the end of a cell phone
call before Beamer and others attempted to storm the doomed airliner's
cockpit to retake it from hijackers who were part of the 9/11 terrorist
attacks. Heroes Beamer and the others caused the plane to crash in a
field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, rather than into the terrorists'
intended target, The White House.
Thomas Becket (1118-1170)
"If all the swords in England were pointed against my head, your
threats would not move me."
Thomas Becket, the Archbishop Canterbury, to his killers. He is
venerated as a saint and martyr.
Henry
Ward Beecher (1813-1887)
"Now comes the mystery."
Henry Ward Beecher, brother of
Harriet Beecher Stowe, was a fervent abolitionist and one of the most
influential American clergymen of the 1800's. His down-to-earth
sermons and outspoken moral earnestness helped make him "the most
famous man in America."
Lawrence
Beeter "Maybe they only had one
rocket..." AWorld War II British soldier, Beeter was taking cover in a bunker
alongside other soldiers. After an enemy artillery blast barely missed
them, Beeter said these last words to his comrades. A second volley
destroyed the bunker and Beeter was killed.
Ludwig
van Beethoven (1770-1827) "Pity, pity . . . too late!"
Ludwig van Beethoven, a German
composer, was one of the world's greatest musical geniuses, despite
losing his hearing. Beethoven spoke his last words from his deathbed
when told of a recent gift of twelve bottles of wine. Some sources have
listed his last words as, "I shall hear in heaven", but this
is almost certainly myth. Likewise, the popular belief that his last
words were: "Plaudite, amici, comedia finita est"
("Applaud, my friends, the comedy is over"), the typical
conclusion to performances of Italian stage tragedies.
Humphrey DeForest
Bogart (1899-1957)
"I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis." Humphrey Bogart was an Academy
Award-winning American actor and film star. In 1999, the American Film
Institute named him the Greatest Male Star Of All Time. Some of Bogart's
most notable films include The Maltese Falcon (1941), Casablanca
(1942), To Have And Have Not (1944), The Big Sleep (1944),
Key Largo (1948), The African Queen (1951), The Caine
Mutiny (1954), and many more. He married co-star Lauren Bacall.
Bogie's illustrious career spanned seventy-five motion pictures during
the heyday of Hollywood.
John Wilkes Booth (1838-1865)
"Tell my mother I did it for my country . . . (looking at his
hands) Useless, useless." John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who, as part of a
conspiracy plot, assassinated Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the
United States, at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1865.
Lincoln died the next day from a single gunshot wound to the back of the
head, becoming the first American president to be assassinated. Booth
was chased into Virginia by a detachment of Union soldiers. He was
cornered in a barn and the barn set afire. Booth came out, but was fired
upon — whether orders to shoot were given is uncertain — and was
fatally wounded in the neck. Booth was dragged from the barn and died
three hours later, at age 26, on the porch of the Garrett farmhouse. The
bullet had severed his spinal cord, paralyzing him. In his last dying
moments, he reportedly whispered, "Tell my mother I did it for my
country," and asked for both his hands to be raised to his face so
he could see them. He looked at them and uttered his final words,
"Useless, useless," and died as dawn was breaking.
Dominique Bouhours
(1628-1702)
"I am about to . . . or I am going to . . . die. Either expression
is correct." Dominique Bouhours was a
French grammarian, at it till the end.
John Brown (1800-1859)
"I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty
land will never be purged away but with blood. I had, as I now think
vainly, flattered myself that without very much bloodshed it might be
done." John Brown was a white American abolitionist who advocated and
practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery. He led the
unsuccessful raid at Harper's Ferry, VA in 1859 where slaves refused to
join with him or aid him. He was captured and tried for treason against
the state of Virginia and was hanged, but his behavior at the trial
seemed heroic to millions of Americans. Southerners alleged that his
rebellion was the tip of the abolitionist iceberg and represented the
wishes of the Republican Party, but those charges were vehemently denied
by the Republicans. Historians agree that the Harpers Ferry raid in 1859
escalated tensions that a year later led to secession and the eventual
War Between the States. John
Brown's last words were not spoken, but written on a note and handed to
a guard right before his execution. James Buchanan (1791-1868) "Whatever the result may be, I shall carry
to my grave the consciousness that at least I meant well for my
country." James Buchanan was
the fifteenth President of the United States (1857-1861). To date he is
the only President from Pennsylvania and the only President never to
marry. Historically, Buchanan has taken a beating due to his refusal to
act decisively regarding the pre-war insurrection in "Bloody
Kansas" and the impending secession of Southern states.
Aaron Burr (1756-1836)
"On that subject I am coy." Aaron Burr, Jr. was an American politician, Revolutionary War hero,
and adventurer. He served as the third Vice President of the United
States under Thomas Jefferson (1801–1805). He was also a longtime
political rival of Alexander Hamilton. Taking umbrage at remarks made by
Hamilton at a dinner party and angered by Hamilton's subsequent failure
to account for the remarks, Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel on July
11, 1804, at the Heights Of Weehawken in New Jersey (where Hamilton's
son Philip was mortally wounded). Hamilton agreed. Arguably the most
famous duel in U.S. history, it had immense political ramifications.
Burr, who survived the duel, was indicted for murder in both New York
and New Jersey (though these charges were either later dismissed or
resulted in acquittal), and the harsh criticism and animosity directed
towards him brought about an end to his political career in the East,
though he remained a popular figure in the West and South. Burr was a
notorious atheist. His last words were a response to the efforts of his
friend, Reverend P. J. Van Pelt, to get Burr to acknowledge that there
was a God.
Julius Caesar (100
BC-44 BC) "Et tu, Brute?" Translation: Even
you, Brutus, my son? Attributed to him by
Shakespeare's famous play; his real last words are unknown. There is
actually a little more to the quote. The full quote is: "Et tu,
Brute? Then fall, Caesar." The entire quote means "Even (And)
you, Brutus? Then all hope is lost and I shall fall." He thought
Brutus would be on his side, but discovering Brutus has stabbed him,
gives up all hope of salvation.
Caligula (12-41)
"Vivo!" Translation: I live! Caligula
(Gaius
Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus), Roman Emperor, as he was being
murdered by his own soldiers.
Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798)
"I have lived as a philosopher, and die as a Christian."
Casanova was a Venetian adventurer and author. His autobiography is
regarded as one of the most authentic sources of the customs and norms
of European social life during the 18th century. So
famous a womanizer was the Italian-born libertine Giacomo Casanova that,
a full two centuries after his death, his name remains synonymous with
the art of seduction.
Charlie
Chaplin (1889-1977)
"Why not? After all, it belongs to Him." Many
consider Chaplin to be cinema's greatest comedian. When the priest, who
was attending him on his deathbed, said, "May the Lord have mercy
on your soul," Chaplin quickly replied, "Why not? After all,
it belongs to Him."
Charles I
(1600-1649) "I go from a corruptible to an
incorruptible Crown, where no disturbance can be, no disturbance in the
world. Remember!" Charles I was King of
England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland until his execution by
beheading in 1649. King Charles spoke these words with his head on the
executioner's block. It was common practice for the head of a traitor to
be held up and exhibited to the crowd with the words "Behold the
head of a traitor!" Although Charles's head was exhibited, the
words were never used. In an unprecedented gesture, one of the
revolutionary leaders, Oliver Cromwell, allowed the King's head to be
sewn back on his body so the family could pay its respects. Sew there!
Robert Childers (1870-1922)
"Take a step or two forward, lads. It'll be easier that way."
Robert Erskine Childers was an author and Irish Nationalist who was
executed by the authorities of the newly independent Irish Free State
during the Irish Civil War. His last words, spoken to his firing squad
Before his execution, in a spirit of reconciliation, Childers obtained a
promise from his then 16-year-old son, the future President Erskine
Hamilton Childers, to seek out and shake the hand of every man who had
signed his father's death warrant. The condemned Childers did shake
hands with each member of the firing squad that was about to execute
him. His last words, spoken to them, were (characteristic
of Childers) in the nature of a joke: "Take a step or two
forward, lads. It'll be easier that way."
Fredric Chopin (1810-1849)
"The Earth is suffocating. Swear to make them cut me open, so that
I won't be buried alive." Chopin was a Polish virtuoso pianist and piano composer of the
Romantic period. He is widely regarded as the greatest Polish composer,
and one of the most influential composers for piano in the 19th century.
Christine Chubbock (1944-1974)
"In keeping with Channel 40's policy of bringing you the latest in
blood and guts and in living color, you are going to see another first .
. . attempted suicide." On July 15, 1974, during
technical difficulties during a broadcast, 30-year-old anchorwoman
Christine Chubbock said these words on-air before producing a revolver
and shooting herself in the head (While she drew the gun on camera, the
technicians quickly cut the video feed, but the gunshot could be clearly
heard). She was pronounced dead at the hospital fourteen hours later.
Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
"I'm bored with it all." Known chiefly for his
leadership of Great Britain during World War II, he served as Prime
Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to
1955. A noted statesman, orator, and strategist, Churchill was also an
officer in the British Army. A prolific author, he won the Nobel Prize
in Literature in 1953 for his historical writings.
Cleopatra (69
BC-30 BC)
"So here it is!" Cleopatra was the legendary Hellenistic ruler of Egypt, originally
sharing power with her father Ptolemy XII and later with her
brothers/husbands Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV; eventually gaining sole
rule of Egypt. Brothers/husbands? Sounds like an ancient version of the
Jerry Lee Lewis family tree to me. As Pharaoh, she consummated a liaison
with Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne, and, after
Caesar's assassination, aligned with Mark Antony, with whom she produced
twins. In all, Cleopatra had four children, one by Julius Caesar and
three by Mark Antony. Then she moved to New York, became a senator, and
ran for the Presidency of the United States! Whoops . . . sorry,
honest mistake. Anyway, her unions with her brothers produced no
children. Her reign marks the end of the Hellenistic Era and the
beginning of the Roman Era in the eastern Mediterranean. She was the
last Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt (her son by Julius Caesar, Caesarion,
ruled in name only before Augustus, Caesar's other son, had Caesarion,
his step-brother, executed, saying famously, "Two Caesars are one
too many."). And we've got a salad named after these people? So
after Antony and Cleopatra
was defeated by their rival (Cleo's stepson and Caesar's legal heir and
son, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian, who later became Augustus, the first
Roman Emperor), Cleopatra committed suicide. She accomplished this feat,
her last seduction, by enticing an asp (snake) to bite her. This
is all much too much for me, and is the reason that I am not a
registered Democrat today. Cleopatra's last recorded words were upon
seeing the asp. So much for advanced civilizations.
Del Close (1934-1999)
"Thank God. I'm tired of being the funniest person in the
room." Improviser, teacher and
comedian, Del Close influenced and tutored many up-and-coming comedians
during his tenure at Second City and Saturday Night Live, such as John
Belushi, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Mike Myers, John Candy, Chris
Farley, etc. Before passing away, Close requested that his skull be
given to the Goodman Theatre for use in their Hamlet productions,
on the condition that he/his skull should receive credit in the program
as Yorick. However, in 2006 it was revealed that an alternate skull was
given to the Goodman instead. There's a theater with good taste.
Sam Cooke (1931-1964) “Lady, you shot me!” Sam Cooke, my favorite singer
of all time, was shot and killed by an ex-convict hotel night clerk
named Bertha Franklin and a prostitute named Elisa Boyer. Miss Franklin
claimed Sam Cooke was attacking her, and was going to rape her, and she
shot him three times with her 22-caliber pistol. Then Sam spoke his last
words. But Sam Cooke wasn't the first man Bertha Franklin had shot at
the Hacienda hotel. Bertha had a history of shooting men at the Hacienda
that were trying to "attack her", and one look at her picture
below should prove her irresistibility to everyone.
On the night of December 11, 1964, Sam Cooke was introduced to an
attractive young woman named Elisa Boyer at Martoni's, an upscale
Italian restaurant on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. After Sam and Elisa hit
it off, and after stopping for a few drinks at PJ's on Santa Monica
Blvd, they left in Sam's Ferrari, apparently seeking a place for
romance. But instead of stopping at any of the hundreds of hotels in
Hollywood, Sam drove 17 miles to a dumpy, $3 per night hotel in
South-Central Los Angeles called The Hacienda. Locals
knew the Hacienda Hotel as a notorious hangout for pimps and
prostitutes.Sam and Elisa arrived, checked in, and went to their room in the
back. A few minutes later, Sam appeared back at the office, looking
furiously for Miss Boyer, and trying to get Bertha Franklin to call the
police. Instead, Bertha Franklin shot him three times in the chest. When
he didn't die quickly enough to suit her, she beat him in the head with
a broom handle.
When police arrived, Sam Cooke was dead, minus his pants, credit cards,
and the wad of cash witnesses from PJ's say was well over $1000. Elisa
Boyer told police that Sam had abducted her, taking her to this hotel
despite her repeatedly "begging him to take me home". Once
inside the room, he began assaulting her and tried to violently rape
her. She managed to escape though (along with Sam's pants and cash), and
as Sam was pursuing her, good old Bertha Franklin shot and killed him.
Just another night at the office for Miss Boyer and Miss Franklin. A
typical night's work for professional rollers like Miss Boyer consisted
of meeting men in some swanky bar, luring them to a particular hotel,
and while they're in bed or in the bathroom, take their pants, shoes and
money, and beat it. This is standard practice for hookers. Men call it
getting "rolled". Prostitutes call it "grab and
dash". But, on the night of December 11, 1964, it was grand theft
and first-degree murder. Most victims of "rollers" can't or
won't pursue their assailant, since he's guilty of being with a
prostitute, plus he's without pants and shoes. In this case, the hotel
clerk was there to make sure she got away. Miss Franklin's part in this
filthy enterprise was to provide a safe haven for the prostitute to lure
her victim to, and then, most importantly, to see to it that the
prostitute escaped with the cash.
On the night of the murder, Bertha Franklin and Elisa Boyer were both
questioned and released by the LAPD investigators. No one was ever
charged with Sam's murder, and his tragic death remains a mystery.Elisa Boyer, who during her frightful escape from Sam the rapist,
somehow managed to take possession of his pants and wallet, told
police she had inadvertently taken Cooke's clothing in her rush to get
out of the room. This, of course, made perfect sense to
investigators who believed their stories, and no arrests were made.
Exactly one month later, on January 11, 1965, after being
"kidnapped, assaulted, and almost raped" by Sam Cooke, Elisa
Boyer was arrested at, you guessed it, Bertha Franklin's Hacienda Hotel,
for, you guessed it again, offering to have sex with an undercover
officer for $40. This time, she was arrested and charged with
prostitution. And if $40 seems cheap, keep in mind that the price she
quoted really didn't matter since Elisa and Bertha were going to get
away with the victim's entire wallet and pants anyway. But wait. Poor
Miss Boyer claimed she was "entrapped" by police, and was, of
course, again set free by the Los Angeles "Justice" System,
and charges were, naturally, dropped.
After a public outcry about the murder of Sam Cooke, the District
Attorney and the LAPD held an official inquest to look deeper into the
matter. At the inquest, Elisa Boyer claimed that Sam Cooke had kidnapped
her, drove her to the motel against her will (although she accompanied
Sam into the hotel office to register as "Mr. and Mrs. Sam
Cooke", and even Miss Franklin testified that Boyer didn't appear
to be in the midst of an abduction), and once inside the room, Sam began
yelling at her, ripping off her clothes, and tried to forcibly rape her.
But she was able to escape when he "went to the bathroom." Do
rapists generally stop to relieve themselves when in the middle of a
violent crime? I ask this now, but it was never asked of Miss Boyer. According
to their testimony, Sam Cooke then ran outside to the motel office,
wearing his jacket and a towel wrapped around him, attacking and
presumably intending to forcibly rape the ugly-as-an-ape Miss Franklin.
Their assertion that the rich, famous, thirty-three year old superstar
Sam Cooke kidnapped and attempted to rape one woman, then was shot,
beaten, and killed while assaulting and attempting to rape the fat,
fifty-five year old pig, Bertha Franklin, apparently made perfect sense
to the sharp-as-nails LAPD and district attorney, and neither
Bertha Franklin nor Elisa Boyer were even cross-examined by the D.A. at
the inquest.
No charges have ever been filed in the death of Sam Cooke. Bertha
Franklin, the murderess, seeking justice and reparations, successfully
sued Sam's estate for $200,000 in compensation for injuries sustained
that night. She was eventually awarded $30,000. Naturally. In 1979,
Elisa Boyer was found guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting
death of her lover, Louis Reynolds. She claimed Reynolds had
"attacked her with a chair". She received an indeterminate
sentence of two to five years in the California Institution for Women at
Frontera; classic case of too little, too late. Here are photographs of
the two mongrels that murdered Sam Cooke, the singer's singer. Here's
Elisa Boyer and Bertha Franklin, at the time of Sam Cooke's murder. Note
the smug, smiling face of Bertha Franklin who had just silenced one of
the greatest voices in the history of popular music. Doesn't she look
proud? Pride in one's profession is a beautiful thing. Well, pride goeth
before a fall. She was found dead in a Michigan hooker house eighteen
months after Sam's murder. Alas, too little, too late.
Elisa
Boyer
Bertha Franklin
Lou Costello (1906-1959)
"That was the best ice-cream soda I ever tasted!" One half of the very successful comedy team of Abbott and Costello,
remembered most for their Who's On First? routine, said these
words just before collapsing from a massive heart attack. But what a way
to go!
Joan Crawford (1905-1977)
"Damn it! Don't you dare ask God to help me." Joan Crawfordwas an Academy Award-winning American actress,
but not exactly a joy to be around. The American Film Institute named
Crawford among the Greatest Female Stars of All Time, ranking her at
number 10. I wonder what Miss
Crawford's rank would be as a human being. Crawford's
angry last words were directed towards her housekeeper who began to pray
aloud.
Bing
Crosby (1904-1977) "It was a great game, fellers." Bing
Crosby had just sunk his final putt during a game of golf at La Moraleja
golf course near Madrid, Spain, when he turned to the spectators and
acknowledged their applause by saying, "It was a great game,
fellers." As he turned to walk to the clubhouse, he collapsed and
was carried inside by his three golfing partners. There, a physician
unsuccessfully tried to resuscitate him.
George Armstrong
Custer, General (1839-1876)
"Hurrah Boys! Let's get these last few Reds, then head on back to
camp! Hurrah!" Custer was a cadet at West
Point, graduating last in his class, then a U.S. Army officer and
cavalry commander in the War Between the States and later in the Indian
Wars. He was defeated and killed at the Battle Of Little Bighorn in
1876, being surprised by a huge army of enemy Sioux, Cheyenne, and
Arapaho warriors, led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. This battle is
popularly known in American history as Custer's Last Stand.
Leon Czolgosz (1873-1901)
"I killed the President because he was the enemy of the good
people, the good working people. I am not sorry for my crime . . . (through
clenched teeth) I
am sorry I could not see my father." An anarchist from the cradle, Czolgosz assassinated President
William McKinley, and was executed in 1901. He
said the second line as he was being strapped to the electric chair. The
case of Czolgosz illustrates my firm belief that we, as a nation, should
not allow anyone to enter, that has two non-consecutive 'Z's in
their last name.
Jeffrey Lionel
Dahmer (1960-1994) "I don't care if I live or die. Go ahead
and kill me." Convicted of murdering
seventeen men and boys between 1978 and 1991, with the majority of the
murders occurring between 1989 and 1991, Dahmer's crime spree was highly
publicized and particularly gruesome, involving rape, necrophilia, and
cannibalism. Fellow prisoner, Christopher Scarver, who beat Dahmer to
death with a "preacher bar" (part of a weight machine),
reported that these were his last words. It's such a shame that Dahmer
was never allowed to enjoy the benefits of rehabilitation and a chance
at being returned into society.
Salvador Dali (1904-1989)
"Where is my clock?" Dali was a very popular and
influential Spanish surrealist painter.
Georges
Jacques Danton (1759-1794)
"Show my head to the people. It is worth seeing."
Danton
was the acknowledged leader of the French Revolution. Sentenced to death
by guillotine, he said these words to the executioner as he placed his
neck in the guillotine.
James
Dean (1931-1955)
"That guy's got to stop . . . he'll see us."
In
his new Porsche, James Dean and a stuntman sped off to a weekend racing
event in Salinas, California. They were soon stopped by a patrol car
near Bakersfield, and Dean received a ticket for speeding. Two hours
later, still speeding along a dark, two-lane highway, Dean saw a car
begin to turn onto the road ahead and spoke his last words. The other
guy, of course, did not stop and Dean's Porsche slammed into the other
vehicle, killing Dean instantly. His passenger was seriously injured
when thrown from the car. The driver of the other vehicle, a 23-year-old
college student, suffered only minor injuries.
Emily
Dickinson (1830-1886)
" . . . the fog is rising."
Emily Dickinson was one of the
greatest and most prolific American poets, yet she published only seven
poems, all anonymously, during her lifetime. She was born and died in
the same house in Amherst, Massachusetts. In between, she left her
hometown only a handful of times, and after 1872, she seldom ventured
out her house or yard. A rather outgoing young girl, she retreated into
a tighter circle of family and friends, as she grew older, and
communicated primarily through cryptic letters and fragments of poetry.
Even during her terminal illness, Bright's Disease (a old term that
included a variety of kidney problems), she only permitted her physician
to perform examinations by watching through a partially closed door. She
died on May 15, 1886, after lapsing in and out of consciousness for
several days. It is possible that her last words referred to a poem she
wrote nearly twenty-five years earlier, I've Seen A Dying Eye.
Denis Diderot
(1713-1784)
"But how the devil do you think this could harm me?" Denis Diderot, French encyclopedist, upon being warned by his wife
not to eat too much.
Isadora
Duncan (1878-1927)
"Farewell, my friends. I go to glory."
Isadora Duncan was an American
dancer who, although never very popular in the United States,
entertained throughout Europe, performing shows featuring a new style of
dance she invented that was based on the figures found on Greek vases.
She flaunted traditional mores and morality, and her private life was
subject to considerable scandal, especially following the tragic
drowning of her children in the Seine River. One evening, after a party
in Nice, Duncan hopped into a Buggati with a new male friend and shouted
farewell to her friends standing nearby, "Adieu, mes amis. Je vais
la glorie." She did not notice that her long scarf, which was her
trademark, had fallen under one of the vehicle's rear wheels, and the
cloth simultaneously tightened around her neck and wrapped around the
axle. Duncan was yanked violently from the car and dragged for several
yards before the driver noticed what had happened. She died almost
instantly of a broken neck.
George
Eastman (1854-1932)
"My work is done, why wait?"
George Eastman, the American
inventor, first became interested in amateur photography while working
at a bank in Rochester, New York. He developed a process that not only
simplified the method of making photographic plates, but also allowed
them to be mass-produced with relative ease. Realizing that there was a
large market for his plates among other photographers, he went into
business for himself, eventually introducing flexible film in 1884 and
the first mass-produced camera for amateurs, the Kodak box camera, in
1888. As his company thrived, Eastman made a fortune and donated vast
sums to universities, dental clinics, and musical institutions. At the
age of 77, plagued by a painfully debilitating spinal disease, Eastman
put his affairs in order, wrote a note, and committed suicide.
Thomas
A. Edison (1847-1931) "It's very beautiful over there."
In the spring of 1929, Thomas
Edison traveled from his home and laboratory at Menlo Park, New Jersey,
to Dearborn, Michigan, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his
invention of the electric light as well as the opening of both the Ford
Museum and Greenfield Village. After being introduced by President
Hoover, Edison delivered a brief banquet speech and then collapsed. The
president's physician quickly rushed to Edison's aid and determined that
he was suffering from severe pneumonia. Edison returned to Menlo Park
but never fully recovered. He collapsed again in August 1931, and was
bedridden for the last two months of his life. He sank into
semi-consciousness, and his second wife, Mina, remained by his side. On
Edison's last day, she leaned close and asked, "Are you
suffering?" to which he replied, "No, just
waiting." Edison then looked out of his bedroom window and
softly spoke his last words.
Albert Einstein
(1879-1955) "? ? ?"
The famous German-born American
physicist, whose theories of relativity revolutionized physics, won the
Nobel Prize in 1921, was named Person Of The Century by Time
magazine in 1999, and was considered so extraordinary an intellect,
that, after his death, his brain was preserved for scientific study. The
rest was cremated and his ashes scattered. We will never know what
wonders Albert Einstein revealed on his deathbed, because his last words
were spoken in German, and the only other person in the room was a New
Jersey hospital nurse who didn't speak German, so Einstein's last words
remain a mystery. Verily, a chain is only as strong as it's weakest
link! We can only assume that they were brilliant. Einstein's wit was
also legendary, and I am including some quotes from Albert the Great on
varying subjects. Enjoy.
On Wireless
Telegraph: "The wireless telegraph is not difficult to understand. The
ordinary telegraph
is like a very long cat. You pull the tail in New York, and it meows in
Los Angeles.
The wireless is the same, only without the cat."
On Gravity: "Gravitation can not be held responsible for people falling in
love."
On Fame:
"With fame I become more and more stupid, which of course is a very
common phenomenon."
On Creation:
"God does not play dice with the universe."
On how World War III will be fought:
I don't know, but I know how World War IV will be fought . . . with
sticks and stones."
On Relativity:
"Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an
hour.
Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That's
relativity!"
On Science and Religion:
"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is
blind."
On Infinity:
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity;
and I'm not sure about the universe."
On Common Sense:
"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age
eighteen."
On God:
"I want to know God's thoughts; the rest are just details."
On Failure:
"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything
new."
On Science:
"Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's
living at it."
On Creativity:
"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your
sources."
On Understanding:
"You do not really understand something unless you can
explain it to your grandmother."
On Intellect:
"We should take care not to make intellect our god;
it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality."
And
finally, football player and sports commentator, Joe Theisman, on genius:
"Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a
guy like Norman Einstein."
Dwight
D. Eisenhower (1890-1969)
"I've always loved my wife, my children, and my grandchildren, and
I've always loved my country. I want to go. God, take me."
Dwight Eisenhower was the
thirty-fourth President of the United States, but he is perhaps even
more famous as a military officer. During World War Two, Eisenhower led
the Allied invasions of North Africa, Italy, and France as the Supreme
Allied Commander. Afterward, he served a tour as the Army Chief of Staff
and finished his career as the first military commander of NATO.
Following his presidency, Eisenhower retired to his farm in Gettysburg.
He died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 1969.
Elizabeth
I, Queen of England (1533-1603)
"All my possessions for a moment of time."
Elizabeth I, the daughter of Henry
VIII and Anne Boleyn, was the Queen of England from 1558 until her death
in 1603. Her reign is famous for the glamour of her court as well as the
success of her policies. By the end of her life she had outlived all of
her friends, suitors, and enemies. She spent most of her last days
in partial consciousness in a pile of pillows on her chamber floor but
finally consented to be placed in her bed just before she died.
Sir William Erskine,
Major General, 1st Baronet (1769-1813)
"Now why did I do that?" Major-General Sir William
Erskine began his military career with a brilliant feat of arms, served
as a member of Parliament, achieved important commands in the Napoleonic
Wars under the Duke of Wellington, but ended his service in insanity and
suicide. These were the General's last words, after he jumped from a
window in Lisbon, Portugal in 1813.
Douglas
Fairbanks, Sr. (1883-1939) "Never felt better."
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., was the
premier swashbuckling star of early Hollywood. In December 1939, after
returning from the USC-UCLA football game, Fairbanks became ill. He
skipped work the following morning with chest and arm pain. A doctor
prescribed total bed rest, a restricted diet, and professional nursing
care. Fairbanks slept on and off through the morning and awakened in the
afternoon asking his attendant to open the window. "How are
you?" the attendant asked. Fairbanks answered with a grin, rolled
over, and went back to sleep. He died later that night with his dog, a
150 lb. mastiff, named Marco Polo, curled up at the foot of his bed.
Marquis
de Favras (1744-1790) "I
see that you have made three spelling mistakes." The Marquis de Favras was
caught by the radicals of the French Revolution as he plotted to help
Louis XVI escape. Convicted of treason after a two-month trial, he was
handed his official death sentence by the court clerk as he was led to
the scaffold, and uttered this gem.
Franz Ferdinand,
Archduke of Austria (1863-1914)
"It's nothing . . . it's nothing . . ." Whispered to Count Harrach as
the Archduke fell unconscious after being shot in Sarajevo; he died
shortly after without ever regaining consciousness. His assassination
precipitated the Austrian declaration of war. This caused countries
allied with Austria, Hungary, and Serbia to declare war on each other,
starting World War I.
William
J. Fetterman (1833-1866) "Give
me 80 men and I'll ride through the whole Sioux nation." In November 1866, Captain
William J. Fetterman reported in to the 18th U.S. Infantry at Fort Phil
Kearney. At the time, the regiment was tasked with containing Red Cloud
and his band of Sioux. It's commander, Colonel Carrington, found
Fetterman to be a troublesome officer despite an exemplary Civil War
combat record. Several times during December, the Sioux launched forays
against settlers and grazing herds in hopes of baiting the soldiers into
a hot pursuit and subsequent ambush. Each time, officers commanding
patrols sent out in response by Colonel Carrington recognized the traps
before they could be sprung. The Sioux set the stage once more on
December 21 when they pinned down a supply train not far from the fort.
Carrington assigned another officer to lead the 80 man relief column,
but Fetterman, although inexperienced in Indian warfare, demanded the
assignment based upon seniority, and said his last known words.
Carrington acquiesced but gave Fetterman emphatically explicit
instructions not to pursue any Indians. A second patrol sent out later
in the day found the bodies of Captain Fetterman and all 80 of his men
stripped of their clothing and horribly mutilated.
John Field (1782-1837)
"I am a pianist."
John Field was a British pianist
and composer whose works were said to have a major influence on Chopin.
As he lay dying, his friends thought a minister should be summoned.
However, no one had ever heard Field mention his religion. One friend
whispered to Field, "Are you a Papist or a Calvinist?" "I
am a pianist," Field answered.
W.
C. Fields (1880-1946) "Looking
for loopholes!"
A friend, visiting Fields on his
deathbed, was surprised to find Fields reading a Bible. The friend asked
Fields why he was reading a Bible. "Looking for loopholes!",
Fields answered wryly.
Adolf
Fischer (1859-1887)
"This
is the happiest moment of my life."
Adolf
Fischer, a German anarchist, was a principal leader in the Chicago
branch of the International Working People's Association, better known
as the Black International. After organizing a walkout at the McCormick
Harvester Works, gunfire broke out between anarchist supporters and
police. Immediately, the Black International distributed circulars
urging workers to "arm themselves, assemble at Haymarket Square,
and take revenge". At the rally, Fischer and seven other anarchist
leaders addressed the three thousand workers who showed up. After
several hours of rather boring political oratory, the crowd became
restless and most began to go home. Shortly thereafter, a police
detachment arrived and ordered those who remained to disperse. The
anarchist speakers objected, and someone tossed a bomb into the middle
of the police ranks, killing one man and injuring about sixty others.
The surviving police opened fire as did a number of anarchists and
workers; another sixty men were injured or killed. The person who threw
the bomb was never captured, but the anarchists who spoke at the rally
were arrested and charged as accessories to murder. All were convicted.
One was sentenced to fifteen years, the others to death. Fischer was
hanged in November 1887. The Haymarket rioters have long-since become
martyrs and heroes of international communism and anarchy, and leftist
interpretations of the event abound.
Lavinia
Fisher (1793-1820)
"If any of you have a message for the Devil, give it to me, for I
am about to meet him!" Lavinia
Fisher was
hanged for murder on February 18, 1820, while wearing her white wedding
gown. She is widely considered to be America's first female serial
killer.
Arthur
Flegensheimer, AKA Dutch Schultz
(1902-1935)
"Mother
is the best bet."
Dutch
Schultz was born in the Bronx around the turn of the century and quit
school in the fourth grade to take up burglary. A murderous
sociopath, Schultz became New York's "king of beer" during
Prohibition and ran the Harlem numbers racket as well. Intensely
disliked by other gangsters, Schultz finally went too far when he
threatened the life of a federal prosecutor, and future Presidential
candidate, Thomas Dewey. Lucky Luciano feared Schultz 's
instability would bring too much heat upon all of organized crime, so he
contracted with Murder, Inc. to have Schultz eliminated. On October
23,1935, Schultz, along with three of his henchmen, were massacred at a
Newark, New Jersey restaurant. Schultz took three machine gun
rounds in the stomach as he left the toilet and died two days later.
Schultz babbled incoherently to the police as he lay dying. His
last words have also been recorded as "Hey, Jimmie!",
"Chimney sweeps", "Talk to the sword", "Shut
up, you got a big mouth!", "Please come help me up, Henny",
"Max come over here", "French Canadian bean soup...I want
to pay, make them leave me alone", etc. But I feel "Mother is
the best bet" is best.
Errol
Flynn (1909-1959)
"I shall return!" Errol Flynn was famous for his many romantic swashbuckler roles in
Hollywood films and his flamboyant, excessive lifestyle. Numerous
legends surround Flynn's death. At a party, on October 14, 1959, with
Flynn regaling guests with stories and impressions, Flynn suddenly felt
ill, and retired to a bedroom to rest, announcing, "I shall
return!" A half hour later, he was dead from a massive coronary.
His friends later stole his body from the morgue, and propped him up
with a cocktail at the Hotel Georgia lounge. He shares coffin space with
six bottles of whiskey, a parting gift from his drinking buddies.
James
Forrestal (1892-1949)
"Frenzy
hath seized thy dearest son,
Who from thy shores in glory came
The first in valor and in fame;
Thy deeds that he hath done
Seem hostile all to hostile eyes. . . .
Better to die, and sleep
The never waking sleep, than linger on,
And dare to live, when the soul's life is gone."
James
Forrestal was the Secretary of the Navy during World War II. After
the war, President Truman appointed him as the first Secretary of
Defense. Forrestal became extremely frustrated when the other
branches of Service, especially the Air Force, resisted his
proposals. He became ineffective and depressed by their, and the
press, continually criticizing his every decision. After Truman
relieved him of his duties, he became paranoid as well. He told
anyone who would listen that he was victim of a vast conspiracy, and he
searched closets everywhere, thoroughly convinced that enemies were
hiding within. On April 2, Admiral Forrestal was admitted to the
distinguished visitor suite on the 16th floor of Bethesda Naval Hospital
for observation. He appeared to be recovering, but on May 22, after
tying one end of this bathrobe belt around his neck and the other to a
radiator pipe, he jumped out the window. The belt snapped, and
Forrestal fell, crashing onto a passageway roof thirteen floors
below. The noise immediately alerted the nursing staff, which found
him dead when they arrived at the scene. Earlier that evening, when
an attendant checked on Forrestal during his rounds, he found Forrestal
copying verse from a book. It turned out to be the suicide note, a
poem from Chorus from Ajax by Sophocles.
Benjamin
Franklin (1705-1790) "A dying man can do nothing easily."
One of the most important and influential Founding Fathers of the United
States of America, Franklin was a leading author and printer, satirist,
political theorist, politician, scientist, inventor, civic activist,
statesman, and diplomat. As he lay dying, his daughter suggested that if
he lay on his side, he could breathe easier.
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
"This is absurd! This is absurd!" The father of psychoanalysis, and a heavy cigar smoker, Freud
endured more than 30 operations during his life due to mouth cancer. In
September 1939, he prevailed on his doctor and friend Max Schur to
assist him in suicide, saying, "My dear Schur, you certainly
remember our first talk. You promised me then not to forsake me when my
time comes. Now it is nothing but torture and makes no sense any
more." Schur administered three doses of morphine over many hours
that resulted in Freud's death on September 23, 1939.
Rajiv Gandhi, Indian
Prime Minister (1944-1991) "Don't worry, relax!"
To his security staff minutes before being killed by a suicide bomber
attack.
George
Gipp (1895-1920)
"Win one for the Gipper!"
George Gipp was a football
player who led the University of Notre Dame to unbeaten seasons in 1919
and 1920. In December 1920, he contracted pneumonia after a serious
throat infection and died at the height of his college football fame. On
his deathbed, he told his coach, Knute Rockne, that "Someday, when
things look real tough for Notre Dame, ask the boys to go out there and
win one for the Gipper." Then he died. Eight years later, at the
end of a terrible season, Notre Dame was about to play the Army team.
Trailing at half time, Rockne gathered the players and for the first
time ever, related Gipp's last words in an attempt to inspire the team.
Notre Dame went on to beat Army by the score of 12 to 6. President
Ronald Reagan had been a radio sports broadcaster long before he became
a movie actor. The Gipp story had always fascinated Reagan, and when he
heard that Warner Brothers was planning a film on the life of Knute
Rockne, he lobbied hard to play the part of "The Gipper".
Reagan did, of course, win the role, and spoke the famous words that are
today part of movie history.
Crawford
Goldsby, AKA Cherokee Bill(1876-1895)
"No! I didn't come here to make a speech. I came here to die."
Cherokee Bill,
convicted of murder, was standing on the gallows with the noose around
his neck, when he was asked if he had any last words. He replied, "No!
I didn't come here to make a speech. I came here to die."
Ulysses
S. Grant (1822-1885) "Water." U.
S. Grant was the Commanding General of all Union Forces at
the end of the War Between the States, and
became the eighteenth President of the United States (1869–1877).
Bankrupted by bad business deals and suffering from throat cancer, Grant
and his family were left destitute. At the time, retired U.S. Presidents
were not given pensions, and Grant had forfeited his military pension
when he assumed the office of President. It was not until 1958 that
Congress, feeling it inappropriate that a former president or his wife
might be poverty-stricken, passed a bill granting (no pun intended) a
pension to such individuals, a practice that continues to this day.
Joseph Henry Green (1791-1863)
"Congestion. Stopped."
Joseph Henry Green was a
distinguished 19th century British surgeon. On his deathbed, he is said
to have remarked, "Congestion," after taking an especially
raspy breath. He then checked his own pulse, announced
"Stopped!" and died.
Frank
"Tight Lips" Gusenberg (1893-1929) "Nobody shot me." Tight Lips,
an American mobster, was one of Bugs Moran's gangsters murdered in the
1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago by Al Capone's henchmen,
who were dressed as policemen. When Gusenberg was asked by arriving
police who had shot him, he replied, "I'm not gonna talk - nobody
shot me!"
Charles Gussman (1913-2000)
"And now for a final word from our sponsor..."
Gussman was a television writer for the soap opera Days of Our Lives.
Edmund Gwenn (1875-1959) "Dying is easy. Comedy is difficult."
Edmund Gwenn was an English stage
actor, originally discovered by George Bernard Shaw, who became a
Hollywood star in his middle age. Twice nominated for an Academy Award,
he won an Oscar as the Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Santa
Claus in Miracle on 34th Street.
Nathan Hale (1755-1776) "I only regret
that I have but one life to lose for my country." Nathan Hale was an officer for
the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Widely
considered America's first spy, Hale volunteered for an
intelligence-gathering mission, but was caught by the British. He is
best remembered for his speech before being hanged following the Battle
of Long Island.
Albrecht von Haller (1708-1777) "My friend, the artery ceases to beat."
Albrecht von Haller was a Swiss
physician, scientist, and poet. He was instrumental in the founding of
the University of Gottengin where he served as the chairman of botany,
surgery, and anatomy. Haller's last words have also been recorded as
"It's beating...beating...beating...it's stopped."
Richard Halliburton (1900-1939)
"Southerly gales, squalls, lee rail under water, wet bunks, hard
tack, bully beef, wish you were here . . . instead of me!" This is the last known communication from Richard Halliburton on the
Chinese junk Sea Dragon at sea, March 23, 1939. Halliburton was
an American traveler, adventurer, and author. His final adventure was an
attempt to pilot a traditional Chinese sailing ship eastward across the
Pacific Ocean; the Sea Dragon radioed mid-way that it was
laboring in a typhoon, and Halliburton and the crew were not heard from
again.
Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804)
"This is a mortal wound, doctor . . . (And then, to his wife) .
. . Remember, my Eliza, you are a Christian." Alexander Hamilton was an Army officer, lawyer, Founding Father,
politician, statesman, financier, and political theorist. One of
America's first constitutional lawyers, he was a leader in calling the
Philadelphia Convention in 1787; he was one of the two chief authors of
the anonymous Federalist Papers, the most cited contemporary
interpretation of intent for the United States Constitution. Soon
after the gubernatorial election in New York—in which Morgan Lewis,
greatly assisted by Hamilton, defeated Aaron Burr, a newspaper published
a letter recounting a dinner party in upstate New York during which
Hamilton said he could reveal "an even more despicable
opinion" of Colonel Burr. Burr, his honor insulted, and still
stinging by the political defeat, demanded an apology. Hamilton refused.
Following an exchange of three testy
letters, and despite the attempts of friends to avert a confrontation, a
duel was nevertheless scheduled for July 11, 1804, along the west bank
of the Hudson River in Weehawken, New Jersey, a common dueling site at
which, three years earlier, Hamilton's eldest son, Philip, had been
killed. At dawn, the duel began,
and Vice President Aaron Burr shot Hamilton. Hamilton's shot broke a
tree branch directly above Burr's head. A letter that Hamilton wrote the
night before the duel states, "I have resolved, if our interview
[duel] is conducted in the usual manner, and it pleases God to give me
the opportunity, to reserve and throw away my first fire, and I have
thoughts even of reserving my second fire", which asserts an
intention to miss Burr. The circumstances of the duel, and Hamilton's
actual intentions, are still disputed. But one thing's certain - Burr
certainly intended to shoot Hamilton. And he did. Hamilton died on the
scene after speaking these words to his doctor and wife. Politics were a
lot more fun in those days.
George Harrison (1943-2001)
"Love one another." Ex-Beatle
guitarist, George Harrison, was on his deathbed dying from cancer,
spoken to his family, on November 29, 2001.
Wallace Henry
Hartley (1878-1912)
"Gentlemen, I
bid you farewell." Wallace Hartley was a
violinist and bandleader on the RMS Titanic on its maiden voyage.
He became famous for leading the eight-member band in Nearer My God
To Thee as the ship sank on April 15, 1912. These words were spoken
to his band mates as the Titanic sank into the Atlantic Ocean. One
survivor who clambered aboard a lifeboat reported that she distinctly
heard Hartley say these words before he and the band was swept off the
deck, into the sea.
Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893) "I know that I am going where Lucy is." Rutherford B. Hayes, speaking
of his late wife, was an American politician, lawyer, military leader,
and the nineteenth President of the United States (1877–1881). Hayes
was elected President by one electoral vote after the highly disputed
election of 1876. Losing the popular vote to his opponent, Samuel
Tilden, Hayes was the only president whose election was decided by a
congressional commission.
Georg Wilhelm
Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831)
"Only one man ever understood me … and he didn't understand
me." Hegel was a German philosopher
and one of the representatives of German idealism.
Heinrich
Heine (1797-1856)
"God will forgive me. It's his profession."
Heinrich Heine was a German poet
who spent the final years of his life in Paris where he was a key figure
in radical political journalism. By 1845, he had contracted a spinal
disease that confined him to bed until his death. He faced death calmly,
and shortly before he died he told his visitors "God will forgive
me. It's his profession."
O. Henry (1862-1910)
"Turn up the lights! I don't want to go home in the dark." O. Henrywas the pen
name of American writer William Sydney Porter. Porter's 400 short
stories are known for their wit, wordplay, characterization and his
trademark was his clever use of twist endings.
Abram
S. Hewitt (1822-1903) "And now, I am officially
dead."
Industrialist. teacher, lawyer, iron manufacturer, U.S. Congressman, and
Mayor of New York, Hewitt had just removed the oxygen tube from his
mouth in the hospital.
Conrad Hilton (1887-1979)
"Leave the shower curtain on the inside of the tub."
Conrad Hilton was born in San
Antonio, New Mexico, and began his career by renting out rooms in his
adobe home. He took a job as a local bank cashier and was so successful
that he soon purchased a bank of his own. In 1919, he assumed control of
a small hotel in Cisco, Texas and, over the next sixty years, built an
international hospitality empire. On his deathbed, just before he died,
Hilton was asked if he had any last words of wisdom for the world.
Hilton quietly gave us this pearl of wisdom, a classic, and is far more
profound than anything his not-so-great granddaughter Paris, has uttered
in her lifetime.
John Henry
"Doc" Holliday (1851-1887) "This is funny."
Doc Holliday was a dentist before turning his talents toward gambling
and gunfighting, and is usually remembered for his associations with
Wyatt Earp and the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. As one of the consummate
gunfighters of the American Old West, Holliday always figured he would
die honorably, in a fight. Die with his boots on. But Doc died in a
hotel bed from tuberculosis. These last words were uttered on his
deathbed after seeing his feet with boots off.
John
Holmes (1812-1899)
"John Rogers did." This
is a gem. John Holmes was a U.S. lawyer and the brother of Oliver
Wendell Holmes. After he had lain absolutely quiet and motionless on his
deathbed for an extraordinarily long period of time, those assembled in
the room suspected that he had died. A nurse checked his pulse, found
none, and announced that she would feel his feet to see if they were
warm, saying, "If they're warm, he's alive. Nobody ever died with
warm feet." "John Rogers did!" came Holmes' reply. John
Rogers was a Protestant martyr who had been burned at the stake!
Harry Houdini (1874-1926) "I'm tired of fighting. I guess this thing is going to get
me."
One of Harry Houdini's many stage tricks was to tighten his stomach
muscles and invite strong men to punch him in the stomach, and he would
easily withstand the blow. While reclining on his couch backstage after
a performance, relaxed and having an art student sketch him, Houdini was
asked by a young man if he was really able to withstand such a blow.
Houdini replied yes and was promptly punched in the midsection several
times. As Houdini wasn't expecting the punches, he hadn't tightened his
abdominals, and the blows burst his appendix. Houdini died seven days
later, on Halloween, of peritonitis from a ruptured appendix. He was
fifty-two.
Samuel Houston
(1793-1863) "Texas, Margaret!
Texas!" Sam Houston was a 19th century
statesman, politician, and soldier, and was a key figure in the history
of Texas, including serving as President of the Republic of Texas, Texas
Senator (after Texas had joined the United States), and finally as
Governor of Texas. His last words were spoken to Margaret, his wife.
Victor Hugo
(1802-1885) "Now day and night are locked in combat. I see black
light." Hugo was a famous French poet,
playwright, and novelist. He was perhaps the most influential exponent
of the Romantic Movement in France. His best-known works are the novels Les
Miserables and the Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Aldous Leonard
Huxley (1894-1963) "LSD, 100 micrograms." A British writer,
Huxley was best known for his novels and his personal advocacy of
hallucinogenic drugs. On his deathbed, he wrote these last words in a
note to his wife, a love letter of sorts. She obliged and he was
injected twice before dying. Aldous Huxley's grandfather, Thomas Huxley,
was the inventor of the term 'agnosticism', which is to doubt the
existence of God. Dare I say . . . Doubting Thomas? At any rate, it sure
is a beautiful family legacy.
Henrik Johan
Ibsen (1828-1906) "On
the contrary!" Ibsen was a major Norwegian
playwright, often referred to as the "father of modern drama".
This was his response to a nurse who told a visitor he was feeling a
little better.
Washington
Irving (1783-1859) "I have to set my pillows one more
night? When will this end already?"
Washington Irving, American author, aggravated at having to ready
himself for bed, said this to his niece, then suffered a massive stroke,
and died.
Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) "Oh, do not cry - be good children and
we will all meet in heaven." Andrew Jackson was the
seventh President of the United States (1829–1837). Jackson was also
Military Governor of Florida, commander of the American forces at the
Battle Of New Orleans (In 1814, we took a little trip...along with
Colonel Jackson down the mighty Misissip...), and was a polarizing
figure that dominated American politics in the 1820s and 1830s.
Nicknamed "Old Hickory" because he was renowned for his
toughness, Jackson was the first President primarily associated with the
frontier, as he based his career in good ol' Tennessee.
Thomas "Stonewall"
Jackson (1824-1863)
"Let us cross over the river and sit under the shade of the
trees."
Stonewall Jackson was one of the
premier Confederate generals in the American War Between the States. He
was mistakenly shot by his own men on May 2, 1863 during the battle of
Chancellorsville, and his left arm had to be amputated. General Robert
E. Lee decided that Jackson should recuperate in a safe refuge and
ordered that Jackson be transported to Guinea Station about 30 miles
from the front lines. Jackson endured the ambulance ride well and was
expected to eventually recover. Pneumonia set in, however, and by
Sunday, May 10, it became clear that Jackson would not last through the
day. When told of this prognosis, Jackson calmly remarked to his
physician, "I have always wanted to die on Sunday". After
lapsing into delirium, Stonewall Jackson uttered these last words before
dying at 3:15 PM, "Let us cross over the river and sit under the
shade of the trees." Jackson's chaplain, B. Tucker Lacy, who
attended to the general at Guinea Station, reported that during the
ordeal General Lee spoke to him of what Jackson meant to him as a
commander, "He has lost his left arm, but I have lost my
right."
Alfred Jarry
(1873-1907) "I am dying. Please…bring me a
toothpick."
Alfred Jarry, writer and playwright, obviously kept his sense of humor
till the end.
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) "This is the Fourth?" The
principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and one of
the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of
Republicanism in the United States, Jefferson achieved distinction as,
among other things, a horticulturist, statesman, architect,
archaeologist, paleontologist, author, inventor and founder of the
University of Virginia. When President John F. Kennedy welcomed
forty-nine Nobel Prize winners to the White House in 1962 he said,
"I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent and of
human knowledge that has ever been gathered together at the White House
- with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined
alone." Major events during his presidency include the Louisiana
Purchase (1803) and the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806).
Both
Thomas Jefferson and his old friend and rival John Adams died on the
50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. On the evening of
July 3, 1826, Jefferson, the 3rd President of the United States, roused
from semi-consciousness on his deathbed and asked an attendant,
"This is the Fourth?" To comfort Jefferson, the man replied
that it was. Jefferson smiled with satisfaction and returned to sleep.
He died just after noon on the following day.
Jesus Of Nazareth
"Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit."
Last words according to Luke 23:46 "It is finished."
Last words according to John 19:30 "Eloi,
Eloi, lama sabacthani?" ("My God, My God, why have you
forsaken me?") Last
words according to Mark 15:34 & Matthew 27:46
Joan of Arc
(1412-1431) "Hold the cross high so I may see it through the flames!"
Joan was the youngest of five
children of Jacques d'Arc, a peasant farmer from Domremy. She began to
hear "voices" when she was thirteen that told her she was to
serve the Dauphin and save France. Joan was repeatedly rebuffed in her
attempts to join the French army until she successfully predicted its
defeat at the Battle of Herrings in 1429. Afterwards, a local commander
sent her to the Dauphin. When she recognized the heavily disguised
Dauphin hiding in a group of courtiers, he sent her to be examined by
group of theologians at Poitiers. After three weeks of questioning, they
proclaimed that her voices were genuine. The Dauphin then sent her
to serve with the Army as it fought to lift the siege of Orleans. There,
clad in a suit of armor, she led her men and saved the city by capturing
several English forts. Later that year, she led the French army to an
even more important victory at Troyes. This allowed the Dauphin to be
crowned Charles VII at Reims, and Joan stood at his side during the
ceremony. She continued to lead the army until Burgundians
at Compiegne captured her and turned her over to the English.
Charles made no effort to save her, and in fact, some have suggested
that he helped arrange her capture as part of a secret deal with the
Burgundians. Joan was tried in a religious court for heresy and
witchcraft, and although she defended herself well, she was forced or
tricked into denying her "voices" and promising never again to
wear men's clothes. Later, she once more dressed as a man and was
declared a heretic. She was burned at the stake in the Rouen
marketplace, and her ashes were thrown into the Seine. Twenty-five years
later, her case was reopened by Pope Callistus III, and she was found
innocent. Joan was canonized by Pope Benedict XV in 1920.
James Augustine
Aloysius Joyce (1882-1941) "Does nobody understand?"
James Joyce was an Irish expatriate writer, one of the most influential
writers of the 20th century. He is best known for his landmark novel Ulysses
and its highly controversial successor Finnegan's Wake.
Terry Kath (1946-1978) "Don't worry…it's not
loaded."
Kath was a singer, guitarist, and founding member of the popular rock
band Chicago. In 1978,
after attending a party at his roadie's home in Los Angeles, Kath, a gun
enthusiast, took a .38 revolver and put it to his head, pulling the
trigger several times on the empty chambers. Then picking up an
automatic 9mm pistol, Kath showed the empty magazine to his friend, put
the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger, infamously saying,
"Don't worry, it's not loaded." However, one bullet remained
in the chamber, and the gun fired, killing him instantly.
George
Kelly (1887-1974) "My dear, before you kiss me good-bye, fix you hair. It's a
mess." George
Kelly was an American playwright and the uncle of Grace Kelly. On his
deathbed, he was visited by another niece, who leaned forward to kiss
him farewell.
John
F. Kennedy (1917-1963)
"That's obvious." John
Kennedy was the thirty-fifth president of the United States. He was
assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald as he was traveling by motorcade
through the streets of Dallas. JFK was visiting Dallas to help prepare
for his coming election campaign. Although unpopular in the South, many
citizens were lining the streets to watch the procession as it passed.
Kennedy had just responded to Texas governor John Connolly's wife's
comment, "Mr. President, you can't say that Dallas doesn't love
you!" when the first of Oswald's bullets struck him in the head.
Tom "Black
Jack" Ketchum (1863-1901)
"I'll be in Hell before you start breakfast! Let her rip!"
Black Jack Ketchum, notorious train robber and member of the infamous
Hole In The Wall gang, sprung up the gallows steps to his execution, and
said these words to his executioner. Unfortunately for all present, the
rope was too long, and Black Jack was decapitated.
John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946)
"I should have drunk more Champagne." John Maynard Keynes was a British economist, whose ideas, called
Keynesian economics, had a major impact on modern economic and political
theory.
Martin Luther King Jr.
(1929-1968)
"Make sure to play Take My Hand,Precious Lord
tonight. Play it real pretty." King,a Baptist
minister, was one of the pivotal leaders of the American civil rights
movement in the 1960s. In 1964, King became the youngest person to
receive the Nobel Peace Prize, given for his efforts to end segregation
and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other
non-violent means. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis,
Tennessee. King's last words on the balcony were spoken to musician Ben
Branch, who was scheduled to perform that night at an event King was
attending: "Ben, make sure you play Take
My Hand,Precious Lord
tonight. Play it real pretty." Reverend Samuel "Billy"
Kyles, whose house King was on his way to visit, remembers that upon
seeing King go down he ran into a hotel room to call an ambulance.
Nobody was on the hotel switchboard, so Kyles ran back out and yelled to
the police to get one on their radios. It was later revealed that the
hotel switchboard operator, upon seeing King shot, had suffered a fatal
heart attack and could not operate the phones. King was pronounced dead
on arrival at St. Joseph's Hospital. The assassination led to a
nationwide wave of riots in more than 100 cities. At King's request, his
good friend Mahalia Jackson sang his favorite hymn, Take My Hand,
Precious Lord at his funeral.
James Earl Ray, an escaped convict who had broken out of the Missouri
State Penitentiary a year before the assassination, was arrested at
London's Heathrow Airport while trying to leave the U.K. on a false
passport. Ray was quickly extradited back to Tennessee and charged with
King's murder. He confessed to the assassination on March 10, 1969, and
then recanted this confession three days later. Ray was sentenced to 99
years in prison. On the advice of
his attorney, Ray took a guilty plea to avoid a trial conviction and the
possibility of receiving the death penalty. Ray later fired his
attorney, claiming that a man he met in Montreal, Canada, using the
alias "Raoul" had been deeply involved, as was his brother
Johnny, but not himself, further asserting that although he didn't
"personally shoot Dr. King," he may have been "partially
responsible without knowing it," hinting at a conspiracy. He spent
the remainder of his life attempting (unsuccessfully) to withdraw his
guilty plea and secure the trial he never had. On June 10, 1977, Ray and
six other convicts escaped from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in
Petros, Tennessee. They were recaptured on June 13, and returned to
prison. One more year was added to his previous sentence to total 100
years. Shortly after, Ray testified that he did not shoot King.
In 1997, Martin Luther King's son Dexter met with Ray in prison,
and publicly supported Ray's efforts to ob
200.jpg)
200.jpg)