American cartoonist Scott Adams passed away after a long battle with cancer on Tuesday, 13 January, at the age of 68.
In his professional life, Adams is best known for creating the comic strip Dilbert in 1989. It was a satire of American corporate life from the perspective of a low-level engineer. It was published in syndication in many different newspapers across the country. In 1999, Dilbert was turned into an animated show, which ran for two seasons on the UPN network. Actor Daniel Stern, best known for his role in the Home Alone movies, voiced the titular character Dilbert on the show.
In 2023, the cartoon’s distributor, Andrews McMeel Syndication, ceased publishing Dilbert after some allegedly racist comments made by Adams in a podcast.
Adams also became a prominent figure in American politics. In 2016, he was one of the few major figures in entertainment to voice his support publicly for then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. He was one of the most eloquent proponents of Trump’s policies, who engaged in high-minded debates, such as with neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris in July 2017.
In May 2025, he revealed to the public his diagnosis of prostate cancer, and conceded that he did not have much time left to live. Due to his intense pain, he even applied for California’s legal assisted suicide programme, but withdrew after he discovered that taking testosterone blockers eased his physical suffering.
His ex-wife Shelly Miles shared his final message on the video-sharing site Rumble. According to her, Adams’s last public comments are:
‘If you are reading this, things did not go well for me. I have a few things to say before I go. My body fell before my brain. I am of sound mind as I write this on 1 January 2026. If you wonder about any of my choices for my estate or anything else, please know that I am free of any coercion or inappropriate influence of any sort, I promise.
Next, many Christian friends of mine have asked me to find Jesus before I go. I am not a believer, but I have to admit, the risk-reward calculation for doing so looks very attractive to me, so here I go: I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour, and look forward to spending an eternity with him. The part about me not being a believer should be quickly resolved if I wake up in heaven. I won’t need any more convincing than that. I hope that I am still qualified for entry.’
Scott Raymond Adams was born on 8 June 1957 in Windham, New York, and passed away on 13 January 2026 in Pleasanton, California. May God rest his soul in peace.
