Saruman the White ponders his palantír. "You are the trusted apprentice to one of the greatest Wizards in all Middle-earth" in A Spy in Isengard (Angus McBride cover art for Middle-earth Quest gamebook #1 by Terry K Amthor, Iron Crown Enterprises, 1988). McBride has been memed more than once.
There was a crack, and the staff split asunder in Saruman's hand, and the head of it fell down at Gandalf's feet.
-"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers", by J.R.R. Tolkien
There are a lot of scenes in the Extended Edition of Return of the King that by rights should have been included in the theatrical release; Saruman's final fate ranks among the top of those. And I know this may be a controversial take, but I much prefer him being killed in this scene, fresh after his defeat by the Ents and at Helm's Deep, than at the very anticlimactic Scouring of the Shire business in the books.