“Drink to me, drink to my health, you know I can’t drink any more.”
Pablo Picasso spoke these final words on the evening before his death, when he and his wife had been entertaining friends for dinner. The 91 year old painter and sculptor died the following morning from a heart attack brought on by pulmonary edema.
“The ladies have to go first.. Get into the lifeboat, to please me.. Goodbye, dearie. I’ll see you later.”
The businessman and financier, thought to be among the richest people in the world at that time, was on the Titanic when it sank after hitting an iceberg. Astor perished when the ship went down, his last words were to his pregnant wife Madeleine as he helped her into a lifeboat.
“Goodnight, my kitten”
These were Ernest Hemingway’s final words spoken to wife Mary shortly before killing himself with a shotgun. The 61 year old novelist and journalist had been suffering from depression and poor mental health leading up to his death.
“Valerie”
The poet and playwright, perhaps best known for his poem The Waste Land, was only able to whisper one word as he lay dying – the name of his beloved wife Valerie.
Thomas Stearns Eliot died of emphysema at his home in London, he was aged 76.
“Let ‘er rip”
Leslie Nielsen had one final joke with this inscription on his tombstone – a reference to his favorite practical joke the fart machine or whoopee cushion, and a play on the acronym of Rest In Peace.
The 84 year old actor and comedian died in his sleep of pneumonia, with family and friends at his bedside, in Holy Cross Hospital Florida.
“Yes, Jesus Loves Me”
This was the title of the last song that Whitney Houston performed in her final public appearance.
The 48 year old singer and actress was found unresponsive in her hotel room bathtub, and attempts to revive her were unsuccessful. The cause of death was listed as “accidental drowning.”
“Mike can get it done”
These were among the last words of the legendary actor and filmmaker, spoken to his son Michael, in the days before his death. They refer to his support for Michael Bloomberg in the 2020 presidential campaign.
Kirk Douglas died at his home in Beverly Hills, surrounded by family, he was 103 years of age.
“I am dead. How are you? I’ll see you soon … I would call and tell you what this is like, but there is no reception up here […]Cut. New scene, new setup, new heavenly location. I have finally got the part that I have been rehearsing for all my life. God gave me the part. This is the end of the road I have been touring on all my life.”
Carrie Fisher left behind this after-death note, writing as if she was dead, which her brother Todd later discovered.
The actress and writer, most well known for playing the role of Princess Leia in Star Wars, died at the UCLA Medical center in Los Angeles, four days after suffering a heart attack on a flight from London. She was 60 years old.
“Bernadette”
This was the Queen of Soul’s final word spoken in a phone conversation with a friend just days before her death. “Bernadette” was her favorite song by The Four Tops.
Aretha Franklin died aged 76 at her home in Detroit, surrounded by family and friends. The cause of death was malignant pancreatic tumor.
“When it looks like I may live longer than five minutes I’ll drop cigarettes like a hot potato.”
The actor and producer, a heavy smoker, spoke these last words shortly before his death at the age of 57 from pancreatic cancer. Patrick Swayze died at his home in Los Angeles with family by his side.
