Widow of Alzheimer's-Stricken Gene Wilder Reveals His Heartbreaking Last Words: 'I Was Lying Next to Him, And He Sat Up in Bed'
The widow of iconic American actor, comedian and writer Gene Wilder has revealed the final words of her late husband, who died almost eight years ago after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
The comedic legend’s final words to his wife of 25 years were, “I love you,” Karen Boyer said in an upcoming documentary of Wilder’s life.
People magazine got an advanced look at “Remembering Gene Wilder” and shared one anecdote about the star’s last days.
Boyer, who married the acclaimed funnyman in 1991, shared details of Wilder’s final days in vivid detail for the film.
She said that in August 2016 — days before the “Blazing Saddles” star passed away — he asked to go for a swim in their pool, People reported.
“He hadn’t walked alone [in a long time], and it was just a few days before he died, and I looked up, and he was walking across the kitchen, and then he said, ‘I want to go swimming,’” Boyer said.
She added, “He dove into the pool [like] he used to — I saw his little tush in the air — and I was awestruck.”
Boyer said Wilder, then 83, didn’t take to the water for long.
She recounted, “And he took two strokes. He stood up, shook his head the way he always did to get the water out of his ear and said, ‘That’s good.’ [He] went back to bed, and I think he just wanted to get in the pool one more time.”
Days later, Boyer said she and her husband were in bed together listening to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by Ella Fitzgerald.
It was then, Boyer recalled, that Wilder uttered his final words.
Given all the warmth and laughter the star left behind through his decades of work, it is of little surprise those words were an expression of love.
“The music was playing in the background — Ella Fitzgerald was singing ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow,’ and I was lying next to him, and he sat up in bed, and he said, ‘I trust you,’” Boyer said.
Wilder’s widow added, “And then he said, ‘I love you.’ That’s the last thing he said.”
The talented comic, writer and actor was born in 1933 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but crafted a Hollywood career that spanned decades.
He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s three years before his death, but his family opted to keep his health battle private, Vanity Fair reported.
Boyer previously said that while the disease robbed her husband of memories and motor skills, he never forgot he was once a star, even as his disease progressed.
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