Stupid Deaths: Molière

Appearing before Death, French actor and playwright Molière proudly describes his comic talents. He explains that, during a performance as a man who imagines illnesses, a genuine coughing fit was mistaken for part of the act. The revelation that the collapse was fatal sends Death into fits of laughter. Molière stands unimpressed as his host mines the story for theatrical jokes and briefly forgets that he cannot die again.

The sketch compresses the historical account: Molière suffered a coughing fit during The Imaginary Invalid and died later that night.