Legend often has it that Molière died onstage, but that’s not actually true. On February 17, 1673, the audience watching Le Malade Imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid) at Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris almost witnessed Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, the writer and actor better known as Molière, die onstage. He collapsed in a coughing fit, but the show soon went on, and he finished his performance as hypochondriac Argan. Unlike his character, Molière was actually gravely ill with tuberculosis, and just a few hours later, he died from a hemorrhage.