Final Interviews Of Famous Actors

Correction 05/02/2022: A previous version of this article stated that Brittany Murphy's final interview was in 2003. Her final interview was in 2009, not 2003.

The idea of death as humanity's great equalizer has fascinated thinkers, poets, and common people for centuries. The Roman poet Horace wrote, "Pale death with impartial tread beats at the poor man's cottage and at the palaces of kings," and writers ranging from Shakespeare to Mitch Albom have echoed the truth of his sentiments. Nevertheless, there is often something both moving and fascinating in the deaths of the powerful, the wealthy, and the famous.

With the advent of motion pictures and their ensuing popularity, a new mythology was born. The movie star supplanted the gods and heroes of the past in a flashy and sometimes tawdry but always enticing pantheon called Hollywood. Dedicated fans devoured every scrap of information they could glean about their favorite actors, and the gossip press was only too happy to sate their endless appetites for scandal and drama. Ultimately, the only thing more exciting than a star's meteoric rise was, and is, a crushing fall, and no fall is more tragic or relatable than death.

Yet, a star's final public words can have a special power beyond the pull of mere morbid interest. When the death is unexpected, those words can take on a meaning far beyond the star's intent. On the other hand, the words of a star on the brink of death from illness or old age can serve a touching coda or a bitter epitaph to a life of fame. From the prophetic to the poignant, here's a look at the final interviews of some of Hollywood's most famous actors.

No name is as synonymous with the words "movie star" as Marilyn Monroe. As the ultimate blonde bombshell, she set the standard for beauty for a generation and was a paradigm for the modern sex symbol. Beloved for her vivacious personality, breathy voice, and stunning physical attributes, she made her mark in such comedies as "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," and "Some Like it Hot." Yet, her bubbly onscreen demeanor belied a life of loneliness and depression that would fuel her successful dramatic turns in films like "Bus Stop" and "The Misfits," her last completed film.

As documented by Biography, Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926. She spent much of her childhood in foster homes and an orphanage, where she was subjected to abuse and sexual assault. 

While working in a munitions factory in Van Nuys, California, Norma Jean caught the eye of a professional photographer and launched a successful career in modeling. In 1946, she signed her first movie contract, dyed her red hair blonde, and rechristened herself Marilyn Monroe.

Monroe gave what would be her final interview to Life's Richard Merryman. In the article, Monroe spoke at length about the nature of fame, saying " ...everybody is always tugging at you. They'd all like sort of a chunk of you. They kind of like take pieces out of you." The interview appeared in the August 3, 1962, issue of Life, just two days before Monroe's dead body was discovered. Monroe died of an overdose of barbiturates in an apparent suicide.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

Born Marion Robert Morrison in Winterset, Iowa, in 1907, John Wayne was a University of Southern California football star before a shoulder injury permanently sidelined him. As documented in "Shooting Star: A Biography of John Wayne," Wayne got his first taste of Hollywood moving props and furniture on the Fox backlot. Discovered by legendary director John Ford, Wayne would go on to epitomize Hollywood's image of the American cowboy in such films as "Stagecoach," "The Searchers," and "True Grit."

In 1964, Wayne was diagnosed with lung cancer. An operation to remove most of his left lung proved a stunning success. Wayne's openness about his condition endeared him even more to his loyal fans, and the medical community praised him for bringing attention to the disease.Yet, cancer was not through with John Wayne. Although Wayne had, in his own words, "licked the big C," in January 1979, doctors discovered a malignancy in the actor's stomach. Surgeons removed Wayne's complete stomach in a nine-hour emergency procedure.

Wayne gave his last interview to ABC's Barbara Walters just one day before the discovery of his stomach cancer. Looking back on his 50-year-career, Wayne commented on his mortality. "I want to hang around as long as I'm healthy and I'm not in anybody's way," Wayne told the veteran journalist. John Wayne made a final public appearance at the April 9, 1979 Academy Awards. He died on June 11, 1979, at UCLA Medical Center, aged 72.

Immortalized in his signature role as King Mongkut of Siam in the musical "The King and I," a part he would play on Broadway over 4,000 times, Yul Brynner was an enigmatic figure. With his shaved head and stentorian voice, he was an imposing presence in roles ranging from the Pharaoh Ramses in "The Ten Commandments" to the android gunslinger in "Westworld." Yet, according to his son, Rock Brynner, author of "Yul: The Man Who Would be King," the actor's greatest creation was his own persona. When Rock Brynner challenged his father about the inconsistencies he found while researching his past, the actor replied, "The facts of my life have nothing to do with the realities of my existence."

Although the details of Yul Brynner's beginnings are murky, the facts of his sad last days are irrefutable. Aware that his death from lung cancer was imminent, Brynner appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" on January 7, 1985. When asked by host David Hartman if there was anything he could change about his life, Brynner answered  "If I could take back that smoking, we wouldn't be talking about any cancer. I'm convinced of that." After Brynner's death the following October, his widow, Kathy, gave the American Cancer Society permission to use footage from the interview in a powerful anti-smoking campaign, fulfilling one of her husband's final wishes. In the PSA, Brynner looks directly into the camera and says, "Now that I am gone, I tell you, don't smoke."

The late Gene Wilder made a career of playing off-kilter characters. From Roald Dahl's famous chocolatier Willy Wonka to Frederick Frankenstein (that's pronounced "Fronkensteen") in Mel Brooks' comedy classic "Young Frankenstein," Wilder brought eccentric characters to life with a sensitivity rare among comic actors. 

Despite his fame, Wilder was a private man who rarely gave interviews. In one of his last before his death at age 83 from complications of Alzheimer's disease, he spoke with Robert Osoborne of Turner Classic Movies about why he retired from acting. "Once in a while, there was a nice, good film, but not very many," Wilder said. "...but then I didn't want to do the kind of junk I was seeing. I didn't want to do 3D, for instance. I didn't want to do ones where it's just bombing and loud and swearing." Wilder also took aim at Tim Burton's take on Willy Wonka, a role Wilder made famous. "I think it's an insult," Wilder told Osborne. "...I don't care for that director. He's a talented man, but I don't care for him doing stuff like he did."

From biblical epics to dystopian sci-fi thrillers, Charlton Heston brought gravitas to every film he starred in. Heston's role as Moses in "The Ten Commandments" made him a superstar, and roles in several historical dramas, including "Ben Hur" for which he earned an Academy Award, followed. By the late 1960s and early '70s, Heston remolded himself as an action star thanks to such films as "Planet of the Apes" and "Earthquake."

In his later years, Heston was an outspoken advocate of conservative causes, and in 1998, he was elected president of the National Rifle Association.

As reported by CNN, Heston announced that he had Alzheimer's disease in 2002. Heston spoke to ABC's Peter Jennings about his diagnosis in his last public interview, in . "You have to take it as it comes," Heston told Jennings. "You do the best with your life that you can, and what can't be cured must be endured." Heston died on April 5, 2008, aged 84.

Carrie Fisher enchanted millions as Princess Leia in the "Star Wars" saga, and gained respect behind the scenes as a fiercely talented novelist and screenwriter with an acerbic wit. Yet, for much of her life, Fisher faced mental health issues and drug addiction — subjects she spoke about with frankness and humor.

As reported by Bustle, Fisher had been in England promoting her book "The Princess Diarist" when she appeared on "The Graham Norton Show." Taped just weeks before she suffered a heart attack while on a flight from London to Los Angeles, Fisher spoke with humor and pathos about finding her "Star Wars"-era diaries. "I'd forgotten I wrote them. They were in a storage room under my bedroom and so we brought all these things up thinking I'd put them in a book," Fisher said. "I found these three diaries and I was a little saddened by them. I'm very insecure in the books, and I didn't recall that I was that insecure."