Editing Nat King Cole (section)

==Illness and death==
In September 1964, Cole began to lose weight and experienced back problems.{{sfn|Epstein|1999|p=338}} He collapsed with pain after performing at the [[Sands Hotel and Casino|Sands Hotel]] in Las Vegas.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} In December, Cole was working in San Francisco when he was finally persuaded by friends to seek medical help. A malignant tumor in an advanced state of growth on Cole's left lung was observed on a [[Chest radiograph|chest X-ray]]. Cole, who was a heavy [[Tobacco smoking|cigarette smoker]], had [[lung cancer]] and was expected to have only months to live.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/Famous/g/Famous-Tobacco-Victims-Jazz-Singer-Nat-King-Cole.htm |title=Tobacco Victim Nat King Cole |website=Quitsmoking.about.com |access-date=January 31, 2016 |archive-date=January 31, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131225404/http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/Famous/g/Famous-Tobacco-Victims-Jazz-Singer-Nat-King-Cole.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Against his doctors' wishes, Cole carried on his work and made his final recordings between December 1 and 3 in San Francisco, with an orchestra conducted by [[Ralph Carmichael]]. The music was released on the album ''[[L-O-V-E (album)|L-O-V-E]]'' shortly before Cole died.{{sfn|Epstein|1999|p=342}} His daughter noted later that he did this to assure the welfare of his family.

Cole entered [[Saint John's Health Center]] in [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]] on December 7, 1964, and [[cobalt therapy]] was started on December 10. [[Frank Sinatra]] performed in Cole's place at the grand opening of the new [[Dorothy Chandler Pavilion]] of the [[Los Angeles Music Center]] on December 12.{{sfn|Epstein|1999|p=347}} Cole's condition gradually worsened, but he was released from the hospital over the New Year's period. At home, Cole was able to see the hundreds of thousands of cards and letters that had been sent after news of his illness was made public. Cole returned to the hospital in early January 1965. He also sent $5,000 (US${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|5000|1964|r=-3}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}}) to actress and singer [[Gunilla Hutton]], with whom Cole had been romantically involved since early 1964.<ref>"Unforgettable", ''The New York Times'', December 26, 1999</ref>

Hutton later telephoned Maria and implored her to divorce him. Maria confronted her husband, and Cole finally broke off the relationship with Hutton.{{sfn|Epstein|1999|p=350}} Cole's illness reconciled him with his wife, and Cole vowed that if he recovered, he would go on television to urge people to stop smoking. On January 25, Cole's entire left lung was surgically removed. His father died of heart problems on February 1.{{sfn|Epstein|1999|p=355}} Throughout Cole's illness, his publicists promoted the idea that he would soon be well and working, despite the private knowledge of his terminal condition. [[Billboard (magazine)|''Billboard'']] magazine reported that "Nat King Cole has successfully come through a serious operation and... the future looks bright for 'the master' to resume his career again".<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Blues News |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=migEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22nat+king+cole%22 |access-date=September 17, 2015 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=February 6, 1965 |page=28 |archive-date=December 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220214101/https://books.google.com/books?id=migEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22nat+king+cole%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> On Valentine's Day, Cole and his wife briefly left St. John's to drive by the sea. Cole died at the hospital early in the morning hours of Monday, February 15, 1965, at the age of 45.{{sfn|Epstein|1999|p=356}}

[[File:Nat King Cole mausoleum.jpg|thumb|Cole's vault at Forest Lawn Memorial Park]]
Cole's funeral was held on February 18 at [[St. James' Episcopal Church (Los Angeles, California)|St. James' Episcopal Church<!--(Los_Angeles_California-->]] on [[Wilshire Boulevard]] in Los Angeles; 400 people were present inside the church, and thousands gathered outside. Hundreds of members of the public had filed past the coffin the day before.{{sfn|Epstein|1999|p=358}} Honorary pallbearers included [[Robert F. Kennedy]], [[Count Basie]], [[Frank Sinatra]], [[Sammy Davis Jr.]], [[Johnny Mathis]], [[George Burns]], [[Danny Thomas]], [[Jimmy Durante]], [[Alan W. Livingston|Alan Livingston]], [[Frankie Laine]], [[Steve Allen]], and [[Pat Brown]], the [[governor of California]].{{sfn|Epstein|1999|p=359}}

The eulogy was delivered by [[Jack Benny]], who said that "Nat Cole was a man who gave so much and still had so much to give. He gave it in song, in friendship to his fellow man, devotion to his family. He was a star, a tremendous success as an entertainer, an institution. But he was an even greater success as a man, as a husband, as a father, as a friend."{{sfn|Epstein|1999|p=359}} Cole's remains were interred in Freedom Mausoleum at [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)|Forest Lawn Memorial Park]], in [[Glendale, California|Glendale]], California.{{sfn|Epstein|1999|p=360}}