Phyllis Diller? Apocryphal?
Question for Quote Investigator: Physical and mental challenges accumulate as one grows older. Yet, opportunities for growth and achievement are undiminished. A comedian delivered the following pertinent joke:
Question: “Who would want to be 90?”
Answer: “Anyone who is 89.”
Would you please find out who created this joke?
Reply from Quote Investigator: Tracing jokes is difficult because the creators are often anonymous, but there is intriguing evidence for this joke. The earliest match found by QI appeared in “Reader’s Digest” in 2003. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
Some people might say, “Who would want to be 90?” And I say, “Anyone who is 89.”
PHYLLIS DILLER on “Larry King Live”
Phyllis Diller was a pioneering U.S. comedian and actress who was born in 1917 and died in 2012 at age 95. Larry King was a U.S. radio and television personality who hosted “Larry King Live” on the CNN television network for more than three decades. QI believes Diller employed this joke while talking with King. She is the most likely creator.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
In 2004 a columnist in the “The Butner-Creedmoor News” of Creedmoor, North Carolina printed the quip while crediting Diller:2
Some people might say, “Who would want to be 90?” and I say, “Anyone who is 89.” —Phyllis Diller
In 2004 the book “Midlife Mamas on the Moon: Celebrate great health, friendships, sex, and money and launch your second life!” by Sunny Hersh contained the following item:3
“Some people might say, Who would want to be 90? And I say, Anyone who is 89.”
—Phyllis Diller on “Larry King Live”
In 2005 “The Times and Democrat Sunday” of Orangeburg, South Carolina printed an anonymous instance:4
LAUGHTER IS THE BEST DOSE OF MEDICINE
Some people might say, “Who would want to be 90?” And I say, “Anyone who is 89.”
In 2006 the joke together with an ascription to Diller appeared in “Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader: Quintessential Collection of Notable Quotables”.5
The joke credited to Diller also appeared in the 2013 edition of the compilation “Reader’s Digest Quotable Quotes”.6
In conclusion, Phyllis Diller popularized this joke. In addition, she probably authored the joke. She employed it during a television program hosted by Larry King in 2003. QI has not seen any alternative attributions.
Image Notes: Picture of a couple in silhouette from Ali Yasar at Unsplash. The image has been cropped, resized, and retouched.
Acknowledgement: Great thanks to the anonymous person whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration.
- 2003 August, Reader’s Digest (Canada), Volume 163, Number 976, Quotable Quotes, Quote Page 48a, Column 2, Reader’s Digest Magazines Canada, Montreal, Quebec. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 2004 April 29, The Butner-Creedmoor News, Fat Harry’s Cooking Column by Harry Coleman, Quote Page 2A, Column 1, Creedmoor, North Carolina. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 2004, Midlife Mamas on the Moon: Celebrate great health, friendships, sex, and money and launch your second life! by Sunny Hersh, Chapter 15: What Goes Around Comes Around, Quote Page 145, Fast Forward Publications, Long Valley, New Jersey. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 2005 February 13, The Times and Democrat Sunday, Section: Visions: News From the Methodist Oaks Retirement Community, Laughter Is the Best Dose of Medicine, Quote Page 6, Column 2, Orangeburg, South Carolina. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 2006, Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Quintessential Collection of Notable Quotables for Every Conceivable Occasion, Compiled by Bathroom Readers’ Institute, Topic: Aging, Quote Page 120, Bathroom Readers’ Press, Ashland, Oregon. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 2013 Copyright, Reader’s Digest Quotable Quotes: All New Wit & Wisdom From the Greatest Minds of Our Time, Topic: Quotable Tweets, Quote Page 74, Reader’s Digest Association, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎