Randy Pausch, 47; Terminally ill professor inspired many with his 'last lecture'

Randy Pausch, a terminally ill professor whose earnest farewell lecture at Carnegie Mellon University became an Internet phenomenon and best-selling book that turned him into a symbol for living and dying well, died Friday. He was 47.

Pausch, who was a computer science professor and virtual-reality pioneer, died at his home in Virginia of complications from pancreatic cancer, the Pittsburgh university announced.

When Pausch agreed to give a theoretical "last lecture," he was participating in a long-standing academic tradition. Except a month before giving the speech, the 46-year-old Pausch received the diagnosis that would heighten the poignancy of his address.

Originally delivered last September to about 400 students and colleagues, his message about how to make the most of life has been viewed by millions on the Internet. Pausch gave an abbreviated version of it on "Oprah" and expanded it into a best-selling book, "The Last Lecture," released in April.

Yet Pausch insisted that both the spoken and written words were designed for an audience of three -- his children, then 5, 2 and 1.

"I was trying to put myself in a bottle that would one day wash up on the beach for my children," Pausch wrote in his book.

Unwilling to take time from his family to pen the book, Pausch hired a co-author, Jeffrey Zaslow, a Wall Street Journal writer who covered the lecture. During more than 50 bicycle rides crucial to his health, Pausch spoke to Zaslow via a cell-phone headset.

"The speech made him famous all over the world," Zaslow told The Times. "It was almost a shared secret, a peek into him telling his colleagues and students to go on and do great things. It touched so many people because it was authentic."

Thousands of strangers e-mailed Pausch to say they found his upbeat lecture laced with humor inspiring and life-changing. They drank up the sentiments of a seemingly vibrant terminally ill man, a showman with Jerry Seinfeld-esque jokes and an earnest Jimmy Stewart delivery.

If I don't seem as depressed or morose as I should be, sorry to disappoint you.

He used that line after projecting CAT scans, complete with helpful arrows pointing to the tumors on his liver as he addressed "the elephant in the room" that made every word carry more weight.

Some people believe that dying may be especially insightful since they must make every moment count. Some are drawn to valedictories such as the one Pausch gave because they offer a spiritual way to grapple with mortality that isn't based in religion.