"Little did I know that the last words I would say on WNBC would be the last ones anyone would say"
About this Quote
The intent is part wit, part eulogy for the illusion of permanence in broadcasting. Colmes isn't boasting about influence; he's mocking the industry's instinct to treat every microphone as history-making. By framing his own farewell as unknowingly apocalyptic, he deflates the grandiosity of the "last word" while also acknowledging how powerfully audiences mythologize them after the fact. The phrase "Little did I know" does the heavy lifting: it signals hindsight, mortality, and the way careers get retroactively edited into neat narratives.
Context matters because radio and TV thrive on continuity - the comforting sense that the voice will be there tomorrow. When a station goes dark, it's not just a schedule change; it's a small civic silence. Colmes, a journalist whose public persona leaned genial even inside combative formats, chooses irony over sentimentality. It's a dignified dodge: he honors the moment by refusing to canonize himself, letting the medium's fragility be the real punchline.
Quote Details
| Topic | Mortality |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Colmes, Alan. (2026, January 16). Little did I know that the last words I would say on WNBC would be the last ones anyone would say. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/little-did-i-know-that-the-last-words-i-would-say-108519/
Chicago Style
Colmes, Alan. "Little did I know that the last words I would say on WNBC would be the last ones anyone would say." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/little-did-i-know-that-the-last-words-i-would-say-108519/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Little did I know that the last words I would say on WNBC would be the last ones anyone would say." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/little-did-i-know-that-the-last-words-i-would-say-108519/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.






