While appearing as a guest on "The Tonight Show" one evening, famed hotelier Conrad Hilton was asked by his host (Johnny Carson) whether he had a "message" for the American people.

With great gravity, Hilton paused momentarily before turning to the camera. "Please," he pleaded, "put the shower curtain inside the tub!"

[These are sometimes said to have been his last words.]

[Hilton, born in San Antonio, New Mexico, began his career renting out rooms in his adobe home.]