No matter what they do, celebrities manage to have an impact, one way or another. Either by impressing people with their skill in performing their chosen craft. Or by scandalous affairs. Or by eccentricities. Or just by simply being very very interesting. And so on.
But speaking of the latter scenario, some famous people manage to make even their deaths impressive without the components of drama or tragedy that might come to mind, but rather with a strong dose of “say, what?! intereeeesting…“.
Take a look at this recounting of some celebrities intriguing last words, below.
1. Sir Winston Churchill
At the time of his death, this great orator, politician, humorous trickster and just general defender of the free world had a few very straight no-nonsense words to add to his previous famous speeches. They were: “Oh, I am so bored with it all.”
Now whether this was a sign of a final admittance of being disappointed in the farce of human existence or a simple, normal desire to rest after a life-long impressive labor, we will never know. But in any case, it seems like death was a welcome event for Sir Churchill.
2. Oscar Wilde
Another British-man, this literary legend’s wit is well… legendary. So it’s no surprise that in his final moments he had the courage and integrity to stay in character, despite the unknown road ahead of him. Instead of saying something pedantic, pensive or self-important, he chose to go for humor and making those around him have one last laugh as he declared that he and the wallpaper of the cheap Paris hotel he was in were “fighting a duel to the death. One of us has to go.” Classy, witty, ominous, sad and funny in the same time, to reference your certain imminent death via a wallpaper and make it, the wallpaper, the (apparent) center of attention and pre-determined winner.
3. Steve Jobs
This great inventor and scientific mind, who has often been compared with great scientific geniuses of the past, even with the implication that he is our current era’s greatest inventor, uttered some very intriguing words at the time of his death. For a scientist that is.
Because he is reported to have said: “Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow.” Obviously, religious folks have jumped at the chance to say that he found God (and Heaven) in his last moments. While atheists probably still scratch their heads and write it off as the simple spasms of a hiper-active dying and hence malfunctioning brain. Or perhaps we was completely lucid and his brain biologically unaffected, but was just remembering some very pleasant memory from his past to drive away the intense pain caused by the pancreatic cancer that killed him…
4. Walt Disney
Possibly the most enigmatic last words on this last, and certainly the most anti-climactic, Walt Disney’s were: “Kurt Russell.” That’s right, as in the actor Kurt Russell we all know, who at the time was a child actor whom Disney had recently signed a long-term contract with.
Walt Disney wrote these words on a piece of paper right before he died. Why a relatively unknown child-actor would have been the most pressing matter to a colossus like Walt Disney right before passing away is, was unknown to the Disney family, Kurt Russell himself and even the lawyers who invited him to Walt Disney’s office after the man’s death, to discuss the peculiar note left and whether it had anything to do with the will or another part of Walt Disney’s legacy or desires.
As for the previous entry on this list, there exists a very simple explanation, yet hard to understand for most “average” people. Maybe Walt Disney was such a consummate professional that putting his business matters in order was important to the very last.
So, maybe he just wrote down Kurt Russell so he could remember to follow that up with some simple, common-place instructions to the lawyers, having to do with the contract. But he never got around to that second part leaving us with his (perhaps) reminder for us to blow out of proportion. Maybe he just wanted to give the kid a raise. Or… fire him. Who knows?
