Ginger Rogers? Ann Richards? Bob Thaves? Ronald Reagan? Faith Whittlesey? Liz Carpenter?
Question for Quote Investigator: The U.S. entertainer Fred Astaire won high praise as a magnificent dancer. Astaire’s partner Ginger Rogers also achieved acclaim, but she did not achieve the same level of celebrity. A humorous feminist line compares the capabilities of the two:
Of course, Fred Astaire was a wonderful dancer, but Ginger Rogers did everything he did backwards and in high heels.
I do not know the exact phrasing. This line has been credited to Texas politician Ann Richards, cartoonist Bob Thaves, U.S. President Ronald Reagan, and Ginger Rogers herself. I have not seen a solid citation. Would you please explore the provenance of this remark?
Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match known to QI appeared on May 3, 1982, in the comic strip “Frank & Ernest” by Bob Thaves. The strip showed three characters looking at a sign for a “Fred Astaire Film Festival”. One character says the following:1
SURE HE WAS GREAT, BUT DON’T FORGET THAT GINGER ROGERS DID EVERYTHING HE DID, … BACKWARDS AND IN HIGH HEELS.
QI believes that Bob Thaves is the most likely creator of this quip. Ronald Reagan used a version of the line during a speech in 1986. Ann Richards used a version during a speech in 1988.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
The difficulties women experienced while dancing were mentioned in the 1974 novel “The Launching of Barbara Fabrikant” by Louise Blecher:2
I hate the feeling of someone’s hands on my girdled waist; the guy behind me must think I’ve got armor on, and who can hop backward in heels? Nevertheless I dance till the bitter end; look, college is supposed to be a barrel of fun.
The comic strip of Thaves was memorable, and in October 1982 the comical line was reprinted in “Reader’s Digest”:3
Woman after viewing a Fred Astaire film festival: “Sure, he was great, but don’t forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did — backward and in high heels.
— Bob Thaves, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.
In 1983 columnist Mary Strassmeyer of “The Plain Dealer” in Cleveland, Ohio repeated the quip without attribution:4
MARY, MARY’S MUSINGS … Sure Fred Astaire was a great dancer. But don’t forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did — backwards and in high heels.
In 1984 politician Faith Whittlesey served as a public liaison for U.S. President Ronald Reagan. A newspaper in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania published a piece about Whittlesey who used the line while conversing with the reporter:5
Referring to her position as the only woman on the senior White House staff, she quipped: “Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but she did it backwards and in high heels.”
In 1986 Ronald Reagan used the line during a speech:6
Women in America are taking on the tough jobs and, at long last, getting the credit they deserve. You know, if I can refer back to that business I used to be in—it’s not like the days of Ginger Rogers. Her male counterpart got the lion’s share of the publicity, but Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did—and did it with high heels on, and doing it backwards.
In 1987 political consultant Liz Carpenter published “Getting Better All the Time” which contained the following passage:7
We were a real mix of the women of Texas. Ann Richards, our state treasurer who looks like a Junior Leaguer but thinks like a Roosevelt New Dealer, reminded us that women are like Ginger Rogers. “Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did, but she had to do it backward in high heels.”
In 1988 Ann Richards delivered the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention. Richards was the Treasurer of Texas, and she would soon become the Governor of Texas. Richards employed the quip:8
But, if you give us a chance, we can perform. After all, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards in high heels.
In 1989 “Ms.” magazine referred to the speech by Richards:9
Ann Richards did the best job of summing things up in her take-no-prisoners keynote address at the 1988 Democratic Convention: “Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backward in high heels.”
In 1991 the autobiography “Ginger: My Story” by Ginger Rogers appeared. Rogers discussed the comic strip although the title she specified was slightly inaccurate. She wrote “Frank ’n Ernst” instead of “Frank & Ernest”:10
Years and years later, a friend sent me a cartoon called “Frank ’n Ernst” from a Los Angeles newspaper. It showed Fred on a sandwich board announcing a “Fred Astaire Festival.” A woman was standing near the sandwich board, talking to Frank and Ernst. The balloon coming from her mouth said, “Sure he was great, but don’t forget Ginger Rogers did everything he did backwards . . . and in high heels!” I can’t begin to count the number of people who have stolen that line from its creator, Bob Thaves, and credited it to themselves.
In 2006 quotation researcher Ralph Keyes examined this topic in his valuable book “The Quote Verifier”. Keyes communicated with Thaves:11
Some think this line predated the panel by several decades, and may have been a gag on early television. “Frank and Ernest” creator Bob Thaves believes it originated with him. “I am not aware of the ‘Ginger Rogers’ line appearing anywhere before it appeared in Frank and Ernest,” he wrote in an e-mail. “I did not take it from another source.”
Verdict: Unless and until an earlier source comes along, credit Bob Thaves.
In conclusion, QI believes that comic strip artist Bob Thaves deserves credit for this line which appeared in May 1982. During subsequent years other people such as Ann Richards, Faith Whittlesey, and Ronald Reagan used the line.
Image Notes: Picture of a couple dancing from Jonathan Borba at Unsplash. The image has been cropped and resized.
Acknowledgement: Great thanks to Sebastian Cody, Patrick Robbins, Dean Frey, and Chris Marlowe whose messages and inquiries led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Cody pointed to an article from quotation researchers at the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations who mentioned the comic strip by Bob Thaves. Robbins mentioned the keynote speech by Ann Richards. Frey mentioned the Thaves comic strip. Thanks also to previous researchers Ralph Keyes and Fred R. Shapiro who communicated with Thaves who claimed authorship.
- 1982 May 3, The Indiana Gazette, Frank & Ernest Comic Strip by Bob Thaves, Quote Page 23, Column 1, Indiana, Pennsylvania. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1974, The Launching of Barbara Fabrikant by Louise Blecher Rose, Chapter 5, Quote Page 81, David McKay Company, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1982 October, Reader’s Digest, Volume 121, Number 726, Caught in Passing, Quote Page 86, The Reader’s Digest Association, Pleasantville, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1983 May 16, The Plain Dealer, Mary, Mary by Mary Strassmeyer, Quote Page 4D, Column 3, Cleveland, Ohio. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1984 April 28, Public Opinion, Aide explains her job with Reagan by Lorrie Lehrian (Staff Writer), Quote Page 10, Column 5, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1989, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Ronald Reagan 1986, June 28 to December 31, 1986, Remarks at a Republican Party Rally in Detroit, Michigan, Date: September 24, 1986, Start Page 1248, Quote Page 1250, Published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C. (Google Books Preview) ↩︎
- 1987 Copyright, Getting Better All the Time by Liz Carpenter, Chapter: Entertaining, Quote Page 180, Simon and Schuster, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1988 July 19, Chicago Tribune, Richards, in keynote speech, lets loose with the one-liners Quote Page 12, Column 5, Chicago, Illinois. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1989 June, Ms., Great Explorations by Judy Mills, Start Page 58, Quote Page 62, Column 2, Matilda Publications Inc., New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1991, Ginger: My Story by Ginger Rogers, Chapter 16: Finally, A Class “A” Film, Quote Page 137, HarperCollins Publishers, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 2006, The Quote Verifier by Ralph Keyes, Quote Page 77 and 78, St Martin’s Griffin, New York. (Verified with hardcopy) ↩︎