The Dick Cavett Show "Jerome Rodale Death" Episode (1971 Unreleased Talkshow Episode)

On the 8th June (or the 5th, depending on who you ask), 1971, during a taping of The Dick Cavett Show, guest longevity and health guru Jerome Rodale suffered a heart attack and was pronounced dead shortly after. After finishing his interview, Rodale was sat in a chair next to the current interviewee (New York Post columnist Pete Hamill), when his head suddenly slumped backward, as he let out what was said to be a 'snoring-like' sound. Allegedly, at this point, Dick Cavett turned to Rodale and asked "are we boring you, Mr Rodale?", although Cavett has emphatically denied being able to recall ever having said such a thing.

Somewhat ironically, during his interview, Rodale was quoted as saying "I’m in such good health that I fell down a long flight of stairs yesterday and I laughed all the way", "I’ve decided to live to be a hundred" and "I never felt better in my life!". The episode was never broadcast (for obvious reasons), although Cavett has described the event many times both in public, in interviews and in his online blog.