Who really said it
A variant of Allen’s Death: the sourced line begins “It’s not that I’m afraid to die.”
Last verified 9 Nov 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?
For presentations
Disputed wording — copy with the correction
“I'm not afraid of death; I just don't want to be there when it happens” — Woody Allen, Death, in Without Feathers (1975); “afraid of death” is a wording variant · Verbatim: “It’s not that I’m afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”
Can you use it?
Still under copyright (rights held by Woody Allen and/or the publisher or estate). A short, credited quote is generally fine for talks, teaching, and internal decks; for commercial, published, or large-scale reuse, get permission.
Image direction — grounded in this quote’s real context; paste into your image tool
In context
Evoking the themes of mortality and courage. Theme: "I'm not afraid of death; I just don't want to be there when it happens". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
Minimalist
Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "I'm not afraid of death; I just don't want to be there when it happens". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
Provenance
It’s not that I’m afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.
Read the attribution evidenceHow we verified this
The identified twentieth-century work remains in copyright; only a short excerpt is used for identification and criticism.
Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.
Fact-check
A variant of Allen’s Death: the sourced line begins “It’s not that I’m afraid to die.”
Wikiquote identifies the line in Death, collected in Without Feathers (1975), and transcribes the differing opening. The Google Books destination verifies edition metadata only; this research did not read the original printed page. The displayed “afraid of death” is a variant, not that transcription. Evidence ↗
Context
The sourced form belongs to the play Death in Without Feathers. The popular version rewrites its opening, so it is best presented as a variant of a literary joke rather than a verbatim remark made on a particular public occasion.
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More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.
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Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.
The Death entry uses “It’s not that I’m afraid to die”.
Google Books identifies Allen, Random House, 1975 and the volume; no claim that its original page text was read.
John Dart’s 1977 essay discusses the play Death and Allen’s concern with mortality.
Background on the writer and comedian.
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The author
For writers & researchers
Death, in Without Feathers, as transcribed by Wikiquote (1975).
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘I'm not afraid of death; I just don't want to be there when it happens’?” Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/im-not-afraid-of-death-i-just-dont-want-to-be-there-when-it/