(PCM) If you have seen the headlines recently that you have most likely heard about Stig Kernell of Sweden and his three word obituary that has since gone viral. Kernell had an incredible sense of humor right up until his death at age 92, so his obituary simply read ” I am dead”. Those three simple words are certainly garnering Kernell with a lot more attention postmortem that he would have ever expected.
Reading Kernell’s last words got us thinking about other famous last words, so we dug around a little bit and complied the list below of famous last words that without a doubt live on in infamy well after the individual is deceased.
Tomorrow I shall no longer be here – Nostradamus
Pardon me, sir. I did not do it on purpose – Queen Marie Antoinette (as she accidentally stepped on the foot of the executioner as she was stepping up to the guillotine)
I live – Roman Emperor (as he was being murdered by his own soldiers)
I am perplexed. Get Satan out! – Aleister Crowley (famous occultist)
Dammit….Don’t you dare ask God to help me – Joan Crawford (to her maid who had begun to pray)
Now why did I do that? – General William Erskine (after he jumped from a window in Lisbon)
No comment – Edward Abbey (writer who was asked if he had any last words, the phrase is also engraved on his tombstone)
Van Halen! – Darrell Abbott a.k.a. Dimebag Darrell (uttered moments before he was shot and killed on stage)
The rest of you can kiss my ass – James Allen Red Dog ( said after apologizing to his family before lethal injection in Delaware)
I do not believe in my death – Salvador Dali
My God! What’s happened? – Diana, Princess of Wales
Goodbye Kid. Hurry back! – Humphrey Bogart (spoken to wife Lauren Bacall as she left his bedside to go pick up their children)
Relax…this won’t hurt! – Hunter S. Thompson (last phrase of his suicide note)
Don’t let it end like this! Tell them I said something – Francisco “Pancho” Villa
Now, now my good man, this is no time for making enemies – Voltaire (when asked by a priest to renounce Satan)
I’ll be in Hell before you start breakfast – “Black Jack” Ketchum (famous train robber)
Die, my dear? Why, that’s the last thing I’ll do! – Groucho Marx
It’s very beautiful over there – Thomas Edison
I’m bored with it all – Winston Churchill
My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go – Oscar Wilde
I hope the exit is joyful and hope never to return – Frida Kahlo
Hey, fellas! How about this for a headline for tomorrow’s paper? French Fries! – James French (convicted murderers last words to the press as he was strapped into the electric chair)
Free your body and soul
Unfold your powerful wings
Climb up the highest mountain
Kick your feet up in the air
You may now live forever
Or return to this earth
Unless you feel good where you are
-John Laird McCaffrey’s tombstone (look at the first letter of each phrase)
Friends applaud! The comedy is finished – Ludwig Van Beethoven
These are just a handful of the many, many famous last words that have been uttered over the years. We hope you enjoyed our list!
