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Thomas J. Grasso was convicted of murdering two elderly citizens. His eventual sentence was death by lethal injection, and his dying words were spent complaining about his last meal. ‘I did not get my Spaghetti-O’s,’ he said. ‘I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this.’
Sir James Matthew Barrie was the famed Scottish author of Peter Pan. He died of pneumonia in 1937, on the top floor of London’s Adephi Terrace House. His final, tragic words were: ‘I can’t sleep.’
Ernest Hemingway was a hard-drinking, influential American writer. He was diagnosed in 1961 with the genetic disease hemochromatosis, which caused mental and physical deterioration, ultimately leading him to commit suicide that same year. His final words were spoken to his wife, Mary. They were: ‘Goodnight, my kitten.’
John F. Kennedy was the much-loved 35th President of the United States. He was murdered in 1963 in one of history’s most contentious assassination plots. JFK’s last words were: ‘No, you certainly can’t’, which he said in response to a remark made by the wife of then-Governor John Connelly: ‘You certainly cannot say that the people of Dallas haven’t given you a nice welcome, Mr. President.’
Charles Gussman was a writer and TV announcer. He wrote a number of successful radio serials and the pilot episode of Days of Our Lives. He died of failing at age eighty-seven. In his final moments, his daughter reminded him of his wish to depart with memorable last words. Gussman gently removed his oxygen mask and whispered: ‘And now for a final word from our sponsor …’
Thomas B. Moran was a pickpocket known by the nickname ‘Butterfingers’ because he could ‘slide in and out of a pocket like pure butter’. In his lifetime, Moran reportedly stole as many as 50,000 wallets. He died in Miami in 1971. His last words were: ‘I’ve never forgiven that smart-alecky reporter who named me Butterfingers. To me, it’s not funny.’
Alfred Hitchcock was one of the most influential filmmakers of all time. He died of renal failure at age eighty in his Bel Air home. Hitchcock rejected the offer for a priest. His dying words were: ‘One never knows the ending. One has to die to know exactly what happens after death, although Catholics have their hopes.’
Jack Soo was an actor on the TV series Barney Miller. The series featured a running gag where Soo’s character made crappy coffee. Soo himself went on to develop cancer of the oesophagus. When he was wheeled into an operating room, he joked to a co-star that: ‘It must have been the coffee.’ In a tribute episode, cast members raised their coffee cups in Soo’s memory.
Elvis Presley was a film star and rock music icon. He was plagued with health problems in his later life which, coupled with a punishing tour schedule and addiction to prescription medication, led to his premature death in 1977 at age forty-two. During a sleepless night, Presley told his wife that he was ‘going to the bathroom to read.’ It’s possible he meant the big bathroom in the sky.
One of the greatest warriors of all time, Alexander the Great was asked moments before his death who he thought should succeed him as commander of his empire. It was an appropriate question, as Alexander the Great had no heir. With his barely audible voice, the great fighter uttered these final words: ‘To the strongest’.
