Witherspoon died suddenly on May 10, 1935, at the Metropolitan Opera House. He was barely six weeks into his term as general manager, when he collapsed at his desk from a heart attack while meeting with Met assistant manager, Edward Ziegler.
On May 10, 1935, Witherspoon died unexpectedly at the Metropolitan Opera House.  He had only been in office for six weeks as general manager when he suffered a fatal heart attack during a meeting with the Met's assistant manager, Edward Ziegler.