American comedian and actor Jackie Gleason's last words were "I always knew what I was doing." Gleason smoked four packs of cigarettes a day. While touring in the lead role of Larry Gelbart's play Sly Fox in 1978 he suffered chest pains, forcing him to leave the show in Chicago and undergo triple-bypass surgery. Gleason initially went to the hospital for chest pains but was treated and released. After he suffered another bout the following week, it was determined that heart surgery was necessary.
During production of his last movie he was suffering from terminal colon cancer, which had metastasized to his liver. "I won't be around much longer", he told his daughter at dinner one evening after a day of filming. Gleason kept his medical problems private, although there were rumors that he was seriously ill. A year later, on June 24, 1987, Gleason died at his Florida home.