FAMOUS LAST WORDS

Hello ladies and gents this is the Viking telling you that today we are talking about

Humphrey Bogart

“I should have never switched from Scotch to Martinis.”

These are the witty last words of Hollywood legend Humphrey Bogart. The founder member of the hard drinking, heavy smoking rat pack, he was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus in 1954 but did little about it until it was too late. On his deathbed in January 1957, he bid his wife, Lauren Bacall, and children goodbye and uttered this immortal line before dying just a few seconds after. He was 57.

John Barrymore

"Die? I should say not, dear fellow. No Barrymore would allow such a conventional thing to happen to him."

The last words of John Barrymore, the American actor of stage, screen and radio who bridged the silent and sound era. He came from a theatrical dynasty and was the paternal grandfather of actress Drew Barrymore. A heavy smoker and drinker, in 1942 Barrymore collapsed while appearing on Rudy Vallee's radio show and died later the same day. According to Errol Flynn's memoirs, film director Raoul Walsh "borrowed" Barrymore's body before burial, and left it propped in a chair for a drunken Flynn to discover when he returned home from The Cock and Bull Bar, but many dispute this.

Winston Churchill

"I’m bored with it all.”

The last words from the mouth of statesman and great orator, Winston Churchill, before slipping in to a coma. He died 9 days later aged 90. Thought of as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century, Churchill's speeches are often credited with mobilising the embattled British to “never give up” and to eventually win the Second World War. But aged 90, after a lifetime of tremendous achievement and unstinting service to his country, he finally surrendered.

Dominique Bouhours
“I am about to - or I am going to - die: either expression is correct.”

The last words of legendary French grammarian Dominique Bouhours certainly immortalised his skills. A tremendous wit, he never failed to demonstrate his proficiency in all aspects of grammar, seizing the opportunity to show off even as a frail man on his death bed in 1902. The question is… did he also dictate how his last words should be punctuated?

I hope you liked this post and as always have a chilled day from the Viking.