Tracing Quotations
Ingrid Bergman? Alfred Hitchcock? Stephen King? Stefan Kanfer? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I once heard a remarkably apt description of a director who created horror films: That auteur is a farmer who raises gooseflesh. Gooseflesh is also referred to as goose bumps or horripilation. Would you please tell me the name of the director …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Hitchcock Is a Gentleman Farmer Who Raises Gooseflesh”
Norman Borlaug? John Boyd Orr? George C. Marshall? Question for Quote Investigator: Human deprivation engenders unrest, violence, and war. The following saying has been credited to Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug, an agronomist who contributed to large increases in agricultural productivity: You can’t build peace on empty stomachs. The statement has also been attributed to Nobel …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: We Cannot Build Peace on Empty Stomachs”
Robert Benchley? Arthur Loeb Mayer? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The popular humorist and actor Robert Benchley has been credited with the following response to a colleague who desired company during exercise: Go jogging? What, and get hit by a meteor? Benchley died in 1945; hence, this scenario appears anachronistic. Would you please help determine …
Dorothy Parker? Pauline Kael? Question for Quote Investigator: The decision to greenlight a movie in Hollywood is complicated and protracted. Those eager to make films experience a mixture of encouragement, uncertainty, delays, and heartbreak. Here are two versions of a germane witticism: These words have been credited to author Dorothy Parker and movie critic Pauline …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Hollywood Is the Only Place Where You Can Die of Encouragement”
Christopher McQuarrie? Charles Baudelaire? Kevin Spacey? Verbal Kint? Keyser Söze? John Wilkinson? William Ramsey? John Fletcher Hurst? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The 1995 movie “The Usual Suspects” contains a memorable line spoken by a guileful character about the existence or non-existence of the Devil. The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the …
Warren Buffett? Jim Rasmussen? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The investment record of Warren Buffett has been astonishingly successful. His reputation for sagacity means that his tongue can transform a prosaic remark into an adage of wry plainspoken wisdom such as the following: Risk comes from not knowing what you’re going. I have seen low …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Risk Comes from Not Knowing What You’re Doing”
Marcel Duchamp? Janet Malcolm? Raul Gamboa? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The artist provocateur Marcel Duchamp proclaimed that he could transform a prosaic object into an objet d’art worthy of display in a museum. He famously accomplished this feat with a urinal he dubbed “Fountain” in 1917. See the picture above. Would you please help …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: If I Call It Art, It’s Art; or If I Hang It in a Museum, It’s Art”
Coco Chanel? Arlene Dahl? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The brilliant fashion luminary Coco Chanel was once asked about the proper application of fragrance to the body, and she gave an entertaining reply about osculation. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence located by QI appeared …
Richard Schickel? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The film historian and critic Richard Schickel asserted that men’s refusal to commit to relationships is as prevalent as the common cold. Would you please help me to find the exact phrasing and a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1983 Richard Schickel reviewed the movie “Terms of …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: That Common Cold of the Male Psyche, Fear of Commitment”
Marilyn Monroe? Sheilah Graham? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Beauty icon Marilyn Monroe’s film career was jeopardized in the 1950s when scandal-mongers reported on her past as a risqué calendar model. Interestingly, her popularity and fame actually grew. When she was questioned about the calendar she responded with a clever and hilarious remark about a …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: It’s Not Quite True I Had Nothing On: The Radio Was On”