Dead Lines: Famous Last Words—Both Eerie And Odd

The last words spoken before they die can be unsettling, odd, and even funny.

These famous last words of celebrities, politicians, and entertainers will give you a chill. The words quoted here range from humorous to spiritual to just plain strange. Whatever your reaction, you will gain a bit of insight into the personality and soul in the final moments of life.

The final thoughts and words of famous people before death

Famous last words spoken by sports figures

“I’m going over the valley.”

Babe Ruth
Home Run King

The Babe suffered from throat cancer late in his life. The cancer was advanced and his doctors could do little to help. As Ruth wandered around his hospital room, his doctor asked him where he was going.

“I’m in no pain. No pain. Don’t cry for me, Rahaman. I’m going to be with Allah. I made peace with God, I’m okay… Rahaman, how do I look?”

Muhammad Ali
Heavyweight Boxer

Former heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali was known as the greatest of all time. In his later years, Ali suffered from Parkinson’s syndrome related to brain injuries from his boxing career. Rahman Ali was his younger brother.

Famous last words of artists and entertainers

“Where is my clock?”

Salvador Dali
Surrealist Painter

Dali’s iconic surrealistic image “The Persistence of Memory” featured melting clocks. He described his paintings as “hand-painted dream photographs.” Dali died of heart failure at age 84.

“How were the receipts today at Madison Square Garden?”

P.T. Barnum
Circus Entrepreneur

Ever the businessman, Barnum’s last words concerned the bottom line. He had suffered a stroke during a performance.

“Applaud, my friends, the comedy is finished.”

(“Plaudite, amici, comedia finita est.”)

Ludwig van Beethoven
German composer

Beethoven may have been referring to the traditional formula used to end a performance known as commedia dell’arte. His actual final words remain uncertain, as several quotes have been attributed to him in his final moments.

“Why not? After all, it belongs to him.”

Charlie Chaplin
Comedian

The silent film star had been declining in health in his later years. A priest was called in to read Chaplin his last rites. Chaplin’s last words came in response to the priest’s words “May the Lord have mercy on your soul.” Chaplin later died of a stroke in his sleep.

“I hope the exit is joyful and hope never to return.”

Frida Kahlo
Painter

The painter of unique self-portraits penned these words in her diary a few days before her death. Officially she died of pulmonary embolism. However, some have speculated that the cause was actually a drug overdose.

“Die, my dear? Why that’s the last thing I’ll do!”

Groucho Marx
Comedian

The comedian famous for one-liners and double entendres delivered this line before dying of pneumonia at age 90.

“Play Mozart in memory of me—and I will hear you.”

Frederic Chopin
Composer and Pianist

Chopin was known as the poet of the piano. He most likely would have studied and been influenced by Mozart’s music as a student. Chopin died at the young age of 39. It has been conjectured he died from tuberculosis, but his cause of death remains a mystery.

“Say good-bye to Pat, say good-bye to Jack and say good-bye to yourself, because you’re a nice guy.”

Marilyn Monroe
Hollywood Star and Actress

Marilyn’s last words were spoken to Peter Lawford. She was saying goodbye to Lawford and his wife Pat, as well as President John F. “Jack” Kennedy. Monroe would die of a barbiturate overdose.

“Goodbye. If we meet… ”

Mark Twain
Author and Humorist

Mark Twain suffered from bouts of deep depression after the death of his daughters and wife. He had predicted his death based on the sighting of Halley’s Comet at his birth in 1835 and reappearance in 1910. He would die of a heart attack at age 74.

Mark Twain said about his death, “I came in with Halley’s Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don’t go out with Halley’s Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: “Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together”.

“The story of life is quicker than the blink of an eye, the story of love is hello and goodbye until we meet again.”

Jimi Hendrix
Musician and Guitarist

These were the last lines of a poem penned by Hendrix, found next to him on his deathbed. The legendary musician was only 27 years old. He had died of asphyxia after taking barbiturates and sleeping pills.

“The taste of death is upon my lips…I feel something, that is not of this earth.”

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Composer and Musician

The great composer was taken by a fever epidemic. However, some researchers have speculated he was killed by poisoning. Mozart himself made comments about feeling like he had been poisoned. The mystery may never be solved.

“I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.”

Leonardo da Vinci
Artist, Inventor, Scientist

Leonardo da Vinci died from a stroke at the age of 67. Interestingly, he indicated in his will that sixty beggars should follow his casket during the funeral procession.

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Famous last words of scientists and inventors

“It’s very beautiful over there.”

Thomas Edison
Inventor and Businessman

Edison lapsed in and out of consciousness as he lay dying. He made this comment to his wife, who watched over him. Some have debated whether he was referring to the afterlife or just the view out his bedside window.

“Oh wow, Oh wow. Oh wow.”

Steve Jobs
Apple CEO

The last words of Steve Jobs were recorded by his sister before his death. Pancreatic cancer had taken one of the great visionaries of our time.

“I don’t know what I may seem to the world. But as to myself, I seem to have been only a boy playing on the seashore and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”

Sir Isaac Newton
Physicist, Mathematician, Astronomer

Newton died in his sleep at age 84. An examination of his body after death revealed high levels of mercury in his hair, most likely a result of his years of alchemy. His eccentric behavior in his later life could be explained by mercury poisoning.

“Don’t disturb my circles!” (or “Don’t disturb my equation!”)

Archimedes
Ancient Greek Mathematician, Physicist, Engineer, Inventor, and Astronomer

A Roman soldier was sent out to arrest Archimedes. The soldier found him sitting on the ground, working on geometry theorems. In the struggle, the soldier killed him, even though he was instructed not to.

Famous last words of politicians and statesmen

“I’m so bored with it all.”

Winston Churchill
British Prime Minister

Churchill suffered several strokes in his later years. Despite his poor health, he remained active in public life to his last days. A final stroke took his life at age 90.

“I am just going. Have me decently buried and do not let my body be into a vault in less than two days after I am dead. Do you understand me? ’Tis well. I die hard, but I am not afraid to go.”

George Washington
President of the United States

The first President of the United States had a fear of being buried alive. His final words were to his secretary Tobias Lear, instructing him on how to handle his burial after death.

“She won’t think anything about it.”

Abraham Lincoln
President of the United States

Lincoln and his wife Mary settled into their seats in Ford Theater. As he reached for Mary’s hand, she asked him what Clara Harris sitting next to them might think. Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.

“Oh, do not cry. Be good children, and we shall all meet in Heaven … I want to meet you all, white and black, in Heaven.”

Andrew Jackson
President of the United States, U.S. Army General, Statesman

The former President and future face of the $20 bill was speaking to his grandchildren and servants before he died. He was 78 years old. He suffered from heart failure among other chronic illnesses.

“I resign my spirit to God, my daughter to my country.”

Thomas Jefferson
President of the United States

Jefferson died on the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He queried his doctor “Is it the Fourth?” followed by his last words.

“A dying man can do nothing easily.”

Benjamin Franklin
Founding Father, Statesman, Inventor, Printer

Franklin’s final words came in response to his daughter, who suggested he lay on his side in order to breathe easier. He suffered and died of pleurisy (lung infection or pneumonia).

The Body of B. Franklin, Printer,
Like the Cover of an old Book,
Its Contents torn out,
And Stript of its Lettering & Gilding,
Lies here, Food for Worms,
But the Work shall not be lost,
For it will as he believ’d,
appear once more
In a new and more elegant Edition
Corrected and improved
By the author.
– Benjamin Franklin, on a plaque at his gravesite

“Pardon me, sir. I did not do it on purpose.”

(“Pardonnez-moi, monsieur. Je ne l’ai pas fait exprès.”)

Marie Antoinette
Queen of France and Archduchess of Austria

Marie Antoinette was convicted for treason during the French Revolution. As she approached the guillotine to be beheaded for her crimes, she stepped on the foot of the executioner.

“This is the last of Earth! I am content!”

John Quincy Adams
President of the United States

John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States. His father, John Adams, was the second President after George Washington. After his Presidency, the younger Adams became a member of congress. He suffered a fatal stroke on the floor of the House of Representatives and died two days later.

More funny and strange famous last words

“We’ve caught them napping!”

George Armstrong Custer
U. S. Cavalry Officer

As Custer approached the Sioux/Cheyenne encampment he uttered these words before charging. Few survivors remained to confirm Custer’s final words because of the rout delivered by the warring tribes, leading some researchers to dispute the quote’s accuracy.

“I know you are here to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man.”

Che Guevara
Socialist Revolutionary Leader

The Bolivian army killed Guevara and cut off his hands as proof of death. He has since become a hero and an icon of anti-imperialism and revolution to many people around the world.

Bonus Last Words

Just a few more…

“Let us cross over the river and sit under the shade of the trees.”

Stonewall Jackson
Confederate General

“Don’t let it end like this. Tell them I said something.”

Pancho Villa
Mexican revolutionary

“I am dying beyond my means.” Also… “Either that wallpaper goes, or I do.”

Oscar Wilde
British author

These famous last words are thought-provoking and may have given you a chill or a chuckle. We hope you enjoyed these famous last words — the last thoughts of celebrities, politicians and other famous people.

— Greg Johnson

Greg is a writer and co-founder of ListCaboodle.