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Comedian and entertainer Spike Milligan died on February 27th 2002, he was buried in the churchyard at Winchelsea, East Sussex in a grave that remained unmarked for around two years, there have been various reasons given for this which I will not repeat here.

Finally in late May 2004 a Celtic cross was erected bearing the now famous quote "I told you I was ill", in Gaelic (Irish).
"Duirt me leat go raibh me breoite".

. . . . . . . . . .The body of
. . . . . . . .B. Franklin, Printer
. . . . .(Like the Cover of an Old Book
. . . . . . . .Its Contents torn Out
. . .And Stript of its Lettering and Gilding)
. . . . . .Lies Here, Food for Worms.
. . .But the Work shall not be Lost;
For it will (as he Believ'd) Appear once More
. . . .In a New and More Elegant Edition
. . . . . . .Revised and Corrected
. . . . . . . . . .By the Author.

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Several times a day, Fields would swim out to sea, pretend to be drowning, and then be "rescued" by one of his accomplices, the lifeguard. Invariably, a large crowd would gather on the beach as the no longer struggling actor was "resuscitated." Once it was clear that this poor fellow was going to live, the suddenly relieved crowd would turn to Field's third accomplice, the hot dog vendor, (who just happened to be standing nearby) and treat themselves to an "I'm-so-glad-he's-alive" snack. At the end of each water-logged day, Fields would split the take with his buddies -- the lifeguard and the hot dog vendor (link).

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My 13 year old son just exploded an old myth for me about WC Fields. He explained that the famous "I'd rather be in Philadelphia" quote, often said to be inscribed on Fields' gravestone, is not true. Sorry to disappoint you, folks, but it's a myth.

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It's a myth that it's on his gravestone but is it a myth that he said it?

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Originally posted by shufitz:
I found this an interesting question. Unfortunately, when I checked out some interesting auto-epitaphs noted on the web, it turns out that they do not appear on the tombstone. (e.g., Winston Churchill's stone does not bear the famous quote, "I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.")