On the 50th anniversary of his death, the Right Hook will be honouring comedic legend Stan Laurel, whose iconic work with Oliver Hardy helped to define comedy on screen as we know it. George will be talking to UCD lecturer Barry Brophy, who is writing a book on Laurel and Hardy.
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Among the legendary comedic feats the Geordie comedian achieved during his career, his last words are ones often recalled. As he lay on his deathbed, he whispered to his nurse, “I’d rather be skiing.” Taken aback by her patient’s statement, she turned to him to ask if he was really a skier, to which the dying Laurel replied:
“No, but I’d rather be skiing than doing what I’m doing.”
While we might not know when and where our time might come, every one of us will say a word or phrase that proves to be our swansong, and turns out to be the last thing we’ll ever say. While some of those utterances will be profound, even the everyday ones will carry a certain weight.
Here are some of the last words ever said by stars of stage and screen.
- John Barrymore (1882-1942)
Die? I should say not, dear fellow. No Barrymore would allow such a conventional thing to happen to him.
- Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957)
I should never have switched from scotch to martinis.
- Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977)
Why not? It belongs to him.
The silent-film star said this in response to a priest at his bedside who said, "May the Lord have mercy on your soul."
- Graham Chapman (1941-1989)
Hello.
Suffering from terminal cancer, the Monty Python star's greeting to his adoptive son would be the last thing he ever said
- Joan Crawford (1904-1977)
Damn it... Don't you dare ask God to help me.
When the actress' maid started praying at her deathbed, she let rip with this.
- Douglas Fairbanks Sr. (1883-1939)
I've never felt better.
- Errol Flynn (1909-1959)
I've had a hell of a lot of fun and I've enjoyed every minute of it.
- Jackie Gleason (1916-1987)
I always knew what I was doing.
- Edmund Gwenn (1877-1959)
Yes, it's tough, but not as tough as doing comedy.
When a friend by his bedside said it was "hard to die," the star of the original Miracle on 34th St replied with this zinger.
- Oliver Hardy (1892-1957)
I love you.
Stan Laurel's comedy partner's parting words were said to his wife.
- Bob Hope (1903-2003)
Surprise me.
The beloved American comedian and Oscar host responding to his wife Dolores when she asked him where he'd like to be buried.
- Rock Hudson (1925-1985)
No, I don't think so.
This was Hudson's response to a question about whether he wanted any more coffee.
- Al Jolson (1886-1950)
This is it! I'm going. I'm going.
- Boris Karloff (1887-1969)
Walter Pidgeon.
The star of Frankenstein called out the name of the Canadian actor Walter Pidgeon, but nobody knows why.
- Groucho Marx (1890-1977)
Die, my dear? Why that's the last thing I'll do!
- Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962)
Say goodbye to Pat, say goodbye to Jack and say goodbye to yourself, because you're a nice guy.
These are reportedly the last words said by the troubled actress on the telephone to the actor Peter Lawford, the brother-in-law of JFK.
- Laurence Olivier (1907-1989)
This isn't Hamlet, you know. It's not meant to go into the bloody ear.
The Shakespearean actor quipped this as his nurse spilled water on him while wetting his lips, an allusion to a famous scene from Hamlet.
- George Reeves (1914-1959)
I'm tired. I'm going back to bed.
The actor, who played the first ever on-screen version of Superman, committed suicide shortly after.
- George Sanders (1906-1972)
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.
This was how the British actor, who won an Oscar for playing Addison DeWitt in All About Eve, finished his suicide note
- Jimmy Stewart (1908-1997)
I'm going to go be with Gloria now.
The legendary American actor's wife Gloria had passed away three years before his death.
- Rudolph Valentino (1895-1926)
Don't pull down the blinds. I feel fine. I want the sunlight to greet me!
