But not as hard as farce.
Neuendorffer
----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.du.edu/~jcalvert/classics/latin/latin22.htm
Da me suaviolum, puella (or puere)! our lascivia persona would say.
Puere is a new case, the Vocative, used for direct address. In the
second declension, masculine nouns change -us to -e for the vocative. If
the word ends in -ius, it simply drops the -us: Marce, Sexte, Publi,
Suetoni, for example. In other declensions, and for the feminine, it's
the same as the nominative. You have surely heard what Suetonius
reported Caesar said when he was murdered: et tu, Brute. Naturally, he
used the vocative. What Caesar really said was "kai su, teknon" - - "and
you, my child" -- in Greek. All educated Romans knew Attic Greek, and
ornamented their speech with it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/6537/real-c.htm
http://www.mapping.com/words.html
Socrates (469-399 B.C.)
"Crito, I owe a cock to Asclepius. Will you remember to pay the
debt?"
Socrates was a Greek philosopher broke with tradition to investigate
both ethics and logic. Possessed with an amazing ability to irritate
politicians, he was eventually convicted of corrupting the young people
of Athens through his teaching and sentenced to death by drinking
hemlock.
Archimedes of Syracuse (298-212 B.C.)
"Wait 'till I have finished my problem!"
Archimedes was the leading mathematician of the Hellenistic Age. During
the Second Punic War after Syracuse sided with Carthage, it was besieged
by the Roman army under the command of Marcellus. For two years,
between 214 and 212 B.C., the city fought off the Romans using many war
engines invented by Archimedes including catapults and flame throwers.
Syracuse eventually fell through internal treachery and, during the sack
of the city, Archimedes was captured and killed by a Roman soldier.
Archimedes last words have also been recorded as "Don't disturb my
circles!" and "Stand away, fellow, from my diagram. . . . Somebody give
me one of my engines."
Caesar, Julius Gaius (100-44 B.C.)
"You too, my son?"
Although Marcus Junius Brutus was a trusted young friend of Caesar's, he
was also one of the conspirators who murdered him on the Ides of March
in 44 B.C. When Caesar entered the Senate that day, all of the senators
stood to show respect. Some of the conspirators snuck behind Caesar's
chair while others moved forward as if to greet him. As one grabbed
Caesar's robe to signal the beginning of the attack, another struck a
glancing blow to his neck. Each of the attackers then bared their
knives and closed around Caesar in a tightening circle. Caesar
attempted to fight the assassins until he saw his trusted friend,
Brutus, approach dagger in hand. In surprised resignation Caesar
uttered his famous last words, fell to the floor, and pulled his robe up
over his face. Brutus then stabbed Caesar in the groin and all of the
attackers joined in. In the frenzy, Caesar was pushed against a statue
of his old enemy, Pompey, which soon became drenched in blood. All
told, the attackers stabbed Caesar twenty-three times. Most people know
that the Latin translation of "You too, Brutus?" is "Et tu, Brute?" and
many will recall that in Shakespeare's play, the bard adds a final
English sentence to these Latin words, "Then fall, Caesar!" However,
some have suggested that the famous phrase was probably spoken--if it
was spoken at all--in the Greek that was commonly used by Roman
officials. The Greek version of Caesar's last words is "Kai su,
teknon?"
Lawrence, Saint (?-258)
"Turn me. I am roasted on one side."
Saint Lawrence is one of the most celebrated Roman martyrs. A church
deacon during the time Emperor Valerian was vigorously persecuting
christians, Lawrence also served as the keeper of the church's
treasures. He was arrested and told that to save himself he must give
the church treasures to the government. Lawrence readily agreed and
told the official that it would take at least eight days to assemble
them. On the eighth day, Lawrence returned to the prefect and presented
him with hundreds of poor and disabled men, women, and children.
"These," he said, "are the riches of the church." The enraged official
then ordered Lawrence to be stripped, tied face down on a gridiron
suspended over a bed of coals, and slowly burned to death. Lawrence
maintained a cheerful appearance through out the ordeal and, when asked
if he had any last request, responded with his last words. His behavior
was said to have been so impressive that several Roman senators
converted to Christianity on the spot, and hundreds of citizens did the
same the following day.
Abelard, Peter (1079-1142)
"I don't know."
Peter Abelard was the most noted philosopher of the first half of the
12th century. He spent many years as a teacher of philosophy and is
credited with establishing the University of Paris. Abelard's
consistently questioning methods of teaching irritated the Church, and
his writings were banned for much of his life. He is best remembered
today for his ill-fated love affair with Heloise.
Wallace, William (1270-1305, Scottish Patriot)
"Freedom"
DeMolay, Jacques (1244?-1313)
"Let evil swiftly befall those who have wrongly condemned us
- God will avenge us."
Jacques DeMolay was elected Master of the Knights Templar shortly after
the order had been defeated by the Muslims and expelled from the Holy
Land. The Templars' headquarters was temporarily established in Cyprus,
and many Templars returned to the continent while DeMolay sought support
throughout Europe for a new Crusade. In 1306, he was summoned to France
by Pope Clement V (who had been installed in French "captivity" by
Phillip IV, "the Fair") to discuss combining the Templars with another
order, the Knights Hospitaller. Clement informed DeMolay that Phillip,
who coveted the extensive lands and treasure owned by the order, had
made horrendous charges of Templar homosexuality, heresy, blasphemy, and
thievery. Infuriated, DeMolay challenged the king to make the charges
public, and after many weeks of secret plotting Phillip surprised all of
Europe by arresting almost 5,000 Templars including DeMolay. Clement
initially chose not to intervene, but eventually sided with the king.
The next seven years of Templar imprisonment included a series of
tortures, confessions, recantations, and executions until Phillip felt
he had sufficient power to eliminate the Master himself. DeMolay was
was executed along with Geoffrey de Charney, the Temple Preceptor of
Normandy. Phillip had both men taken to the Isle of Javiaux, a small
island in the River Seine where they were slowly roasted to death over a
hot, smokeless fire. Throughout the ordeal, DeMolay shouted out curses
to Phillip and Clement.
Thirty-three days later, Pope Clement V died painfully from cancer,
abandoned by his friends. Seven months later, Philip the Fair died
violently in a hunting accident.
More, Thomas, Sir (1478-1535)
"This hath not offended the king."
Sir Thomas More was a prominent English statesman and philosopher whose
most famous work, Utopia, describes an ideal society based upon reason.
More served as the Speaker of the House of Commons and was a champion of
free speech. He became Lord Chancellor in 1529 but resigned three years
later because he disapproved of King Henry VIII's break with the
Catholic Church. More was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1535 for
refusing to recognize Henry as the leader of the Church of England. He
was found guilty of treason and beheaded later that year. Sir Thomas
More spoke his last words as he laid his neck on the executioner's block
and carefully arranged his long, gray beard so that it would not be cut
by the sword. More's last words have also been recorded as, "I pray you,
I pray you, Mr. Lieutenant, see me safe up, and for my coming, down let
me shift for myself." In the 1966 movie, A Man for All Seasons, Thomas
More's (actor Paul Scofield's) last words were "I die the king's good
servant, but God's first."
Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536)
"Mine eyes desire thee only. Farewell."
Catherine of Aragon was the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella and the
wife of Henry VIII. Although she bore a daughter, the couple could
produce no male heir, so Henry asked the Pope for an annulment. When
the Roman Church did not act quickly enough, Henry appointed Thomas
Cranmer as the archbishop of Canterbury. Cranmer's first official act
was to grant Henry the divorce he sought. Catherine was then stripped
of her titles and denied the company of her daughter. Shortly before she
died mysteriously in 1536, Catherine wrote Henry a letter that closed
"Oculi mei te solum desiderant. Vale."
Boleyn, Anne (1507?-1536)
"Oh God, have pity on my soul. Oh God, have pity on my soul."
Anne Boleyn was Henry VIII's second queen and the mother of Elizabeth
I. She was executed after she fell into Henry's disfavor. From the
scaffold, she addressed the spectators who came to see her beheaded,
"Good Christian people, I am come hither to die, for according to the
law, and by the law I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak
nothing against it. I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak
anything of that, whereof I am accused and condemned to die, but I pray
God save the king and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler nor
a more merciful prince was there never: and to me he was ever a good, a
gentle and sovereign lord. And if any person will meddle of my cause, I
require them to judge the best. And thus I take my leave of the world
and of you all, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me. O Lord
have mercy on me, to God I commend my soul." Following her speech, she
was blindfolded and led to the block where she repeatedly prayed, "To
Jesus Christ I commend my soul. Lord Jesu receive my soul." As she
placed her head on the stone, she began to cry and spoke her last words.
Anne Boleyn did say "The executioner is, I believe, very expert, and my
neck is very slender," but these were not her last words. She said this
to Mr. Kingston, the Constable of the Tower, while being consoled by him
on the day before her execution..
Rabelais, Francois (1494?-1553)
"Bring down the curtain, the farce is played out."
Francois Rabelais was a French writer who had been a Franciscan friar, a
Benedictine monk, a secular priest, and a physician. The obscene humor
and ecclesiastical satire of his greatest book, Gargantua and
Pantagruel, led to his condemnation by the Sorbonne. Rabelais's last
words have also been recorded as "I owe much; I have nothing; the rest I
leave to the poor" and "I am going to seek a great perhaps."
Aretino, Pietro (1492-1556)
"Now I'm oiled. Keep me from the rats."
Pietro Aretino was an Italian satirist who was known as the "Scourge of
Princes" for his bitingly witty attacks on the aristocracy. When his
good friend, the painter Titian, came to him with a problem, Aretino was
quick to offer assistance. The Duke of Urbino had commissioned Titian
to paint a nude portrait of his old and ugly wife. As Titian feared the
consequences, Aretino hired a beautifully proportioned prostitute to
pose for the body and urged Titian to paint a flattering portrait of the
duchess for the head. The duchess was extremely pleased with the
result, which Titain had named The Venus of Urbino. When the pair of
friends presented the painting to the duke, he turned to Aretino and
sighed, "If I could have had that girl's body, even with my wife's head,
I would have been a happier man." Aretino found the remark so
exceedingly funny that he collapsed in a fit of laughter that provoked a
stroke. Aretino was unconscious by the time a priest was brought to
administer the last rites. No sooner had the priest finished, when
Aretino opened his eyes, spoke his final two sentences, and expired.
Cranmer, Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury (1489-1556)
"When the flames are lit, this hand shall be the first to burn."
Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley (the Bishop of London), and Hugh Latimer
(the Bishop of Worcester) were forced to stand trial as Protestant
heretics after Queen Mary reestablished the Catholic faith as the
official religion of England. All three were convicted and sentenced to
be burned at the stake. Cranmer's case was appealed to the Pope, and
while he awaited a response, Ridley and Latimer were executed. Cranmer
was forced to watch their burning just prior to which which Latimer
allegedly announced, "Be of good comfort, Master Ridley; we shall this
day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England as I trust shall
never be put out." While awaiting a decision on his appeal, Cranmer
recanted six times, some of them in writing. It was, of course, to no
avail. On 21 March 1556, Cranmer was taken to St. Mary's in the center
of Oxford and, following a sermon, was ordered to publicly recant. To
everyone's surprise, he repudiated his recantations, "And forasmuch as
my hand offended in writing contrary to my heart, therefore my hand
shall first be punished; for if I may come to the fire it shall be first
burned." After he was taken to the stake and the fire started, Cranmer
held his right hand directly into the flame and cried out his last words
for everyone to hear. Cranmer's last words at the stake have also been
recorded as "This is the hand that wrote it, and therefore shall it
suffer first punishment," and "I have sinned, in that I signed with my
hand what I did not believe with my heart. When the flames are lit, this
hand shall be the first to burn."
Nostradamus (Michel de Notre Dame) 1503-1566
"Tomorrow, I shall no longer be here."
Nostradamus was a cryptic prophet whose verse has been credited by some
as foretelling future events despite its vague language and lack of any
chronological reference. His predictions achieved local recognition
after he claimed to have discovered a cure for the plague. Word of one
of his prophesies eventually reached Catherine de Medici, the
superstitious wife of Henry II, who believed it was about her husband:
"The young lion will surpass the old one in national field by a single
duel. He will pierce his eyes in a golden cage two blows at once, to
die a grievous death." After Henry was killed in 1559 during a
tournament when a lance, yielded by a younger opponent, pierced his eye,
Nostradamus achieved true fame. One evening, in 1566, Nostradamus's
assistant found him writing at his bench and bid him good night saying
"Tomorrow, master?" After Nostradamus replied, the assistant left the
room. When he returned the next day, he found Nostradamus dead and a
note on the desk: "Upon the return of the Embassy, the King's gift put
in place, Nothing more will be done. He will have gone to God's nearest
relatives, friends, blood brothers, Found quite dead near bed and
bench."
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.
Raleigh, Sir Walter (1554?-1618)
"Strike, man, strike!"
Sir Walter Raleigh--a poet, historian, explorer, philosopher, and
soldier--was the epitome of a Renaissance man. Unfortunately, Raleigh's
anti-Spanish privateering alienated King James I who charged him with
treason in 1603. Raleigh was held, under sentence of death, in the
Tower of London until 1616 when he was finally granted a reprieve. The
reprieve was revoked in 1618 after Raleigh sailed to South America and
attacked a Spanish camp near the Orinoco River. Upon his return to
England, Raleigh was beheaded. Before his execution, Raleigh refused to
be blindfolded and touched the ax, saying " Doest thou think that I am
afraid of it? This is that that will cure all sorrows." He then placed
his head on the block and noting a hesitance on the part of the
executioner said, "What dost thou fear? Strike, man, strike!" It took
two blows to sever his head, which his wife embalmed and kept in a red
leather bag until her death 29 years later. Raleigh's last words have
also been recorded as "'Tis a sharp remedy, but a sure one for all
ills", "I have a long journey to take, and must bid the company
farewell" and "So the heart be right, it is no matter which way
the head lieth."
Vega Carpio, Lope Felix de (1562-1635)
"All right, then, I'll say it, Dante makes me sick."
Vega Carpio was a Spanish playwright who wrote more than 1800 plays.
Cromwell, Oliver (1599-1658)
"My design is to make what HASTE I can to be gone."
Oliver Cromwell ruled England as the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth
from 1653 to 1658. His skill as a military commander was largely
responsible for the parliamentarians victory over Charles I during the
Civil War. Although he initially attempted to reconcile differences
with the king, Cromwell eventually signed Charles's death warrant and
assumed the office of Lord Protector. His rule was primarily based on
the strength of his own personality. Although Cromwell died peacefully
and passed his office to his son, the Commonwealth soon collapsed, and
Charles II was restored to the throne.
Louis XIV (1638-1715)
"Why are you weeping? Did you imagine that I was immortal?"
Noticing as he lay on his deathbed that his attendants were crying.
Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley (1689-1762)
"It has all been most interesting."
Lady Mary, an English writer and world-traveler, was close friends with
many prominent political and literary figures. She is also credited
with first introducing English physicians to the Turkish practice of
smallpox inoculation.
Voltaire (1694-1778)
"This is no time to make new enemies."
When asked on his deathbed to forswear Satan.
Euler, Leonhard (1707-1783)
"I die."
Leonhard Euler was the most prolific mathematician in history producing
over 850 books and articles. Although Swiss, he spent most of his adult
life in Berlin and St. Petersburg. On the afternoon of his death while
amusing himself with mathematical puzzles and calculating the orbit of
the newly discovered planet, Uranus, he asked that his young grandson be
brought in. Euler stopped his work, finished his tea, and began to play
with the child. Suddenly, his pipe dropped from his mouth, he announced
his death, and fell to the floor. The backlog of articles that Euler
had written was so large that the St. Petersburg Academy continued to
publish them for the next fifty years.
Antoinette, Marie, Queen of France (1755-1793)
"Pardonnez-moi, monsieur."
Marie Antoinette was the wife of King Louis XVI. She was convicted of
treason following the Revolution and sentenced to death by beheading.
As she approached the guillotine, she accidentally stepped on the foot
of her executioner.
Marat, Jean-Paul (1743-1793)
"They shall all be guillotined."
Jean-Paul Marat was one of the most radical and bloodthirsty of all the
leaders of the French Revolution. His extreme positions had isolated
him from most of his colleagues by 1793, but he continued to publish his
views in his newspaper, L'Ami du Peuple, which he edited from his
bathtub where he soaked for most of each day to relieve the itching and
pain of a chronic skin infection. On 13 July, a woman named Charlotte
Corday asked the guard at his apartment door if she could deliver
information about a counter-revolutionary group to Marat. Marat granted
her entry, and she sat in a chair next to his tub and handed him a list
of conspirators. After reading the list, Marat remarked, "They shall all
be guillotined." As he did, Corday pulled a long-bladed kitchen knife
from her dress and drove it into Marat's left chest; she had actually
come to avenge the execution of a friend. Marat called the name of his
common law wife as he collapsed and died in the tub. Charlotte Corday
was caught and executed four days later. Despite his unpopularity,
thousands of Parisians flocked to view Marat's heart when it was later
displayed by his allies.
Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770-1827)
"Friends applaud, the comedy is over."
Ludwig van Beethoven, a German composer, was one of the world's greatest
musical geniuses. In 1792, Beethoven moved from the provincial court
city of Bonn to Vienna, where he studied with Haydn. His hearing had
begun to fail by 1798, but he continued to produce a massive volume of
music including numerous masterpieces. Unfortunately, the last thirty
years of his life were filled with a series of personal tragedies. In
addition to his deafness, he became depressed after ending a
relationship with an unnamed--and probably married--lady; he struggled
through a series of legal battles to gain custody of his nephew
following the death of his brother; he was plagued by financial problems
and huge debts, and his health began to rapidly fail after his nephew
attempted suicide in 1826.
Hegel, Georg Wilhelm (1770-1831)
"Only one man ever understood me. And he really didn't
understand me."
Hegel was a German philosopher whose works, which had a major influence
upon Marxism, are notorious for their obscurity.
Bronte, Emily (1818-1848)
"I lingered around them, under that benign sky; watched the
moths
fluttering among the HEATH and harebells; listened to the soft wind
breathing through the grass; and wondered how anyone could ever imagine
unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth."
Emily Bronte, the English author of Wuthering Heights, was one of the
three Bronte sisters who channeled their oppressive and secluded
childhood experiences into a series of novels that influenced the
direction of modern English literature. Bronte published Wuthering
Heights in 1847, but her happiness and success were short-lived. She
soon became ill and died the following year.
Sedgwick, John (1813-1864)
"Nonsense, they couldn't hit an elephant at this distance."
In response to a suggestion that he should not show himself over the
parapet during the Battle of the Wilderness.
Lincoln, Abraham
(Laughter)
As Abraham Lincoln was watching the play, Our American Cousin, on the
night of his assassination at Ford's Theater, one of the actresses
called for a shawl to protect her from the draft. One of the actors
ad-libbed a reply, "You are mistaken, Miss Mary, the draft has already
been stopped by order of the President!" Lincoln shared his last laugh
with the rest of the audience.
Booth, John Wilkes (1839-1865)
"Tell mother, tell mother, I died for my country. . . .
useless . . . useless . . ."
After John Wilkes Booth fired a fatal shot into the back of President
Lincoln's head, he jumped from the box to the stage of Ford's Theater in
Washington shouting "Sic Semper Tyrannis," the motto of the Commonwealth
of Virginia. As he leapt, his boot caught in some bunting causing him
to break his left leg upon landing. He fled the city with a
co-conspirator, David Herold, and eventually ended up trapped by
soldiers while hiding in a barn at Richard Garnet's farm in Virginia.
Herold gave himself up when called upon to surrender, but Booth yelled
back, "Captain, this is a hard case, I swear. Give a lame man a
chance. Draw up your men twenty yards from the door, and I will fight
your whole command." When his offer was refused, he shouted, "Well, my
brave boys, you can prepare a stretcher for me." The soldiers then set
fire to the barn in an attempt to drive Booth from it as their orders
were to capture him alive. Booth began to shout, "Kill me! Kill me!"
In the confusion, at least one soldier shot into the barn. Booth
collapsed, struck in the neck by a round. He was dragged from the
flames and onto the porch of Garnet's house where he died mumbling.
Marx, Karl (1818-1883)
"Go on, get out! Last words are for fools who haven't said enough!"
Karl Marx was the German economist, philosopher, and revolutionary who,
with the aid of Friederich Engles, produced most of the theory of modern
socialism and communism. As he lay in bed shortly before his death, his
housekeeper foolishly asked if he had any last words.
Beecher, Henry Ward (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 a national figure. His popularity lasted throughout his
life, surviving a sensational adultery trial in 1875 that ended in a
hung jury, an acceptance of Darwinism, and even his eventual rejection
of the divinity of Jesus.
Barnum, Phineas Taylor (1810-1891)
"How were the circus receipts in Madison Square Gardens?"
P.T. Barnum was the most famous American showman of all time. He began
his career in 1835 when he purchased a very old hymn-singing slave
named Joice HETH and exhibited her as the 161 year old nurse of George
Washington. As an additional attraction, he added the preserved body of
a FeeJee Mermaid--in reality the top half of a monkey sewn to the tail
of a fish. By 1841, Barnum had earned enough to open the American
Museum in New York City where his attractions included General Tom Thumb
and--for a short time--Jenny Lind in addition to a host of animals and
sideshow attractions. In 1871, he took his "circus" on the road and,
ten years later, merged his operation with James A. Bailey's. After
taking his "Barnum and Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth" on a triumphant
tour of London during the winter of 1889-1890, Barnum returned to New
York City.
Ibsen, Henrik (1828-1906)
"On the contrary."
Henrik Ibsen was a Norwegian playwright who achieved international
recognition for such classics as A Doll's House and Hedda Gabler. Ibsen
suffered a stroke in 1900 and spent the last years of his life confined
to bed. One day, he heard his nurse remark to a visitor that he was
feeling better. "On the contrary," cut in Ibsen just before he died.
Villa, Francisco "Pancho" (Doroteo Arango) (1878-1923)
"Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something."
Pancho Villa was a Mexican bandit, revolutionary, and folk hero. He
conducted a guerilla war against the national government for many years
until he was granted amnesty and a hacienda in return for laying down
his arms. He retired in Chihuahua, Mexico, but was assassinated by
supporters of his long-time enemy, General Alvaro Obregon. Villa made
his last request to newspaper reporters as he lay dying.
Kafka, Franz (1883-1924)
"Kill me, or else you are a murderer!"
Franz Kafka, born in Prague in 1883, became one of the most influential
writers of the 20th century. As Kafka lay dying of tuberculosis, he
begged his physician for an overdose of morphine to end his suffering.
While alive, Kafka only published a very few selections of his short
fiction including "The Metamorphosis," a story about a young man who,
symbolically, is transformed into a huge disgusting insect. Following
his death, friends published the bulk of Kafka's work, including The
Castle and The Trial, despite his final instructions that they destroy
the manuscripts, "Dearest Max, my last request: Everything I leave
behind me ... in the way of diaries, manuscripts, letters (my own
and others'), sketches, and so on, to be burned unread."
Crane, Hart (1899-1932)
"Goodbye, Everybody!"
He committed suicide by jumping overboard during a steamship voyage.
Barrymore, John (1882-1942)
"Die? I should say not, dear fellow. No Barrymore would allow
such a conventional thing to happen to him."
Runyon, Damon (1884-1946)
"You can keep the things of bronze and stone
and give me one man to remember me just once a year."
Keynes, John Maynard (1883-1946)
"I wish I'd drunk more champagne."
Thomas, Dylan (1914-1953)
"I have just had eighteen whiskeys in a row. I do believe that is a
record."
O'Neill, Eugene (1888-1953)
"Born in a hotel room--and God damn it--died in a hotel room."
Eugene O'Neill, thought by many critics to have been the most important
American dramatist, earned one Nobel and four Pulitzer Prizes during his
lifetime. He was born in a New York City Broadway hotel room, the son
of an Irish-American actor. For much of his life he suffered from a
debilitating Parkinson's-like disease. When he died in 1953, it
was--much to his chagrin--also in a hotel room.
Dean, James (1931-1955)
"My fun days are over."
Bogart, Humphrey (1899-1957)
"I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis."
Gwenn, Edmund (1875-1959)
"It is. But not as hard as farce."
On his deathbed, in reply to the comment `It must be very hard.' (in
_Time_ 30 January 1984) 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 in Miracle on 34th Street in his most
remembered role as Santa Claus. Gwenn continued acting well until his
eighties.
Costello, Lou (1906-1959)
"That was the best ice-cream soda I ever tasted."
Flynn, Errol (1909-1959)
"I've had a hell of a lot of fun and I've enjoyed every minute of
it."
Rodgers, James W. ( -1960) [American criminal]
"Why yes, a bulletproof vest!"
Philby, St John ( -1960)
"God, I'm bored."
Kennedy, John F. (1917-1963)
"That's obvious."
Kennedy had just responded to the Texas governor'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. Kennedy was visiting Dallas to
help prepare for his coming election campaign. On arriving in Dallas,
Kennedy said: "If someone is going to kill me, they will kill me." Many
citizens were lining the streets to watch the procession as it passed.
Oswald, Lee Harvey
"I will be glad to discuss this proposition with my attorney, and
that
after I talk with one, we could either discuss it with him or discuss it
with my attorney if the attorney thinnks it is a wise thing to do, but
at the
present time I have nothing more to say to you."
On 22 November 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed President Kennedy
from a window of the Texas Book Depository in Dallas. Later that
afternoon, he shot Officer Trippit of the Dallas Police and was shortly
thereafter apprehended inside the Texas Theater. Two days later, he
addressed his last words to Inspector
Thomas Kelly of the U.S. Secret Service just before he was shot and
killed by Jack Ruby.
Astor, Lady Nancy Witcher Langhorne (1879-1964)
"Jakie, is it my birthday or am I dying?"
Lady Astor was the first woman 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.
Sanders, George (?-1972)
"Dear World. I am leaving you because I am bored. I feel I
have
lived long enough. I am leaving you with your worries in this sweet
cesspool. Good luck."
George Sanders was a British actor whose film career spanned four
decades and included Rebecca, Forever Amber, and All About Eve, for
which he won an Oscar. The screen's epitome of a cad, Sanders was
married four times in real life; his wives included two of the Gabor
sisters, Zsa Zsa and Magda. In April 1972, Sanders checked into a hotel
in Barcelona, wrote a short suicide note, and took an overdose of
sleeping pills.
Presley, Elvis (1935-1977)
"I hope I haven't bored you."
Hilton, Conrad N. (1887-1979)
"Leave the shower curtain on the inside of the tub."
Conrad Hilton was born in San Antonio, New Mexico, and began his
careerby 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. He assumed control of a small hotel in Cisco, Texas, in 1919 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.
Saroyan, William (1908-1981)
"Everybody has got to die, but I have always believed an
exception
would be made in my case. Now what?"
William Saroyan was a Pulitzer Prize winning writer of plays, short
stories, and novels whose works were noted for their sentimental
optimism. Before his death in 1981, Saroyan telephoned his final words
to the Associated Press.
Olivier, Laurence (1907-1989)
"This isn't Hamlet, you know, it's not meant to go into the bloody
ear."
To his nurse, who spilt water over him while trying to moisten his lips.
Hubbock, Chris
"And now, in keeping with Channel 40's policy of always bringing you
the latest in blood and guts, in living color, you're about to see
another first--an attempted suicide."
Just before she shot herself during a broadcast
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