Were These John Wayne's Last Words?
Movie legend John Wayne boasted a truly impressive filmography. His final movie, however, would prove to be his most poignant. In 1976's "The Shootist," as Biography reports, he played a grizzled gunslinger (a role he had certainly perfected over the years) who had been diagnosed with cancer. Just two years later, Wayne himself received a diagnosis of stomach cancer.
He died in Los Angeles on June 11, 1979, Biography goes on, leaving a tremendous impression on family, friends and co-workers as well as his legions of fans. Though many might expect him to have had last words that reflected his tough and gritty persona, it seems that this wasn't the case at all.
As Irish Central reports, Wayne shared a close friendship with fellow actor and frequent co-star Maureen O'Hara, who visited him several times as his cancer progressed. Apparently, at the end of her last visit, she was on her way out of the door when Wayne piped up, "That's a gorgeous coat, it looks beautiful on you." These would be uniquely touching words for O'Hara — the very last time the pair spoke. However, it seems that they wouldn't be Wayne's very last words.
John Wayne spoke his last sweet words to his daughter Aissa
Per Classic Country Music, John Wayne had seven children from two of his three marriages, all of whom survived him. Two of his sons, unsurprisingly, went on to have prominent roles in the industry themselves. Notably, per Outsider, Michael Wayne produced several of his father's movies, such as 1960's "The Alamo" and 1968's "The Green Berets." According to Neatorama, his family gathered at his bedside as his time came to an end, but it was to his daughter Aissa that he directed his true last words.
Neatorama states that Aissa, then 23 years old, clasped his hand as he began to fade. He had reportedly been semi-conscious for his last days at the hospital, and Aissa wanted to be sure that her father knew his family was with him and he was surrounded by love. She asked if he knew her, if he knew she was there. His heart-touching response was the last thing Wayne ever uttered.
"Of course I know who you are. You're my girl. I love you."
With that, it seems, he was gone. What fitting last words for a man who, despite his rough, tough exterior, could be emotionally transparent when it mattered the most.