1. Mel Blanc: "That's all folks!"
Arguably the world's most famous voice actor, Mel Blanc's characters included Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, and Sylvester the Cat. When he died of heart disease and emphysema in 1989 at age 81, his epitaph was his best-known line.
2. Spike Milligan: "Dúirt mé leat go raibh mé breoite."
The Gaelic epitaph for this Irish comedian translates as, "I told you I was ill." Milligan, who died of liver failure in 2002 at age 83, was famous for his irreverent humor showcased on TV and in films such as Monty Python's Life of Brian.
3. Joan Hackett: "Go away -- I'm asleep."
The actor, who was a regular on TV throughout the 1960s and 1970s, appearing on such shows as The Twilight Zone and Bonanza, died in 1983 of ovarian cancer at age 49. Her epitaph was copied from the note she hung on her dressing room door when she didn't want to be disturbed.
 Joan Hackett's epitaph quoted a sign hung on her dressing room door. |
4. Rodney Dangerfield: "There goes the neighborhood."
This comedian and actor died in 2004 from complications following heart surgery at age 82. His epitaph is fitting for this master of self-deprecating one-liners, best known for his catchphrase, "I don't get no respect."
5. Ludolph van Ceulen: "3.14159265358979323846264338327950
288 . . ."
The life's work of Ludoph van Ceulen, who died from unknown causes in 1610 at age 70, was to calculate the value of the mathematical constant pi to 35 digits. He was so proud of this achievement that he asked that the number be engraved on his tombstone.
See the rest of our list of famous epitaphs on the next page.
