The 'Incredible' Last Words George Harrison Ever Spoke To Ringo Starr

Former Beatles George Harrison and Ringo Starr had an often complicated, yet still incredibly close and enduring friendship. After all, if their bond could survive Harrison cheating on his then-wife Pattie Boyd with Starr's wife (royally aggravating ex-bandmate John Lennon in the process), it could withstand just about anything. The heartwarming last words Harrison spoke to Starr shortly before his death in 2001, at the age of just 58, perfectly encapsulates that bond. Around the time Harrison passed away as a result of lung cancer, which had also spread to his brain, Starr's daughter, Lee Starkey, was dealing with an eerily similar illness. She had been diagnosed with a rare brain tumor in 1995, and though doctors were able to successfully treat it at the time, it returned in 2001. 

In legendary, and super wealthy, director Martin Scorsese's 2011 documentary "George Harrison: Living in the Material World," Starr recalled that Harrison was ready and willing to support him and his daughter in their time of need, even when Harrison was actively dying. "I went to see him, and he was very ill," Starr shared (via American Songwriter). The former Beatles drummer continued, "He could only lay down. While he was being ill and I'd come to see him, I was going to Boston 'cause my daughter had a brain tumor. I said, 'Well, you know, I've got to go. I've got to go to Boston.' He goes — it's the last words I heard him say, actually — he said, 'Do you want me to come with you?,'" tearfully adding, "So, you know, that's the incredible side of George." Starkey successfully underwent another round of treatment in the early 2000s. She celebrated her 55th birthday in 2025.

It's hardly a secret that the members of The Beatles didn't always see eye-to-eye. Hence their permanent disbandment in 1970. Although he maintained a close friendship with Ringo Starr afterwards, George Harrison wasn't particularly interested in reuniting with The Beatles. During a 2012 appearance on "Conan," Starr humorously recalled that he regularly invited Harrison to perform with his supergroup, Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, only to be rebuffed each time. "He'd say, 'You'd have to give me all the money,'" Starr divulged. Mind you, this likely had to do with the fact that Harrison famously hated touring, rather than any ill will towards his former bandmate. 

George Harrison wasn't exactly hurting for cash either, reinforcing the apparent jovial nature of his comments. Besides, their friendship survived a lot more than just the breakup of the Beatles and Harrison's affair with Starr's ex-wife in the early '70s. If there's one thing Starr has made abundantly clear over the years, it's that he deeply loved Harrison, despite their occasional disagreements. Take, for instance, in 1976, when he released "I'll Still Love You," a cover of a previously-unreleased song written by Harrison, and he threatened legal action over how it came out (particularly, the way the track was mixed). 

"Well, the last time we were cross was when George was suing me," Starr dished in a joint appearance with Harrison on "Aspel & Company" years later, in 1988. "[He called and said], 'I'm going to sue you.' I said, 'No, George, don't sue me.' 'No, I'm gonna sue you. I don't like what you've done.' [...] I said, 'Sue me if you want, but I'll always love you.'"