Marshall Field? Harry Gordon Selfridge? John Wanamaker? César Ritz? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a famous customer service slogan that has been highlighted by several business people. Here are two versions: The customer is always right. The customer is never wrong. Do you know who created this motto? Quote Investigator: The earliest close match …
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Our Comedies Are Not To Be Laughed At
Samuel Goldwyn? William Cox? Cumberland’s Comedies? Mack Sennett? Johnny Grey? Christie Comedies? Abe Stern? Carl Laemmle? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A Hollywood movie producer had achieved great fame with opulent historical dramas. His company also released financially lucrative comedies which were embraced by audiences but lambasted by critics. While attending a lavish party the producer …
Not Everyone Will Understand Your Journey. That’s Fine. It’s Not Their Journey To Make Sense Of. It’s Yours
Zero Dean? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: On Facebook I saw a potent statement about purpose and individuality: Not everyone will understand your journey. That’s fine. It’s not their journey to make sense of. It’s yours. These words were superimposed on a beautiful picture, but no ascription was provided. You have examined many quotations with incorrect …
Always Go To Other People’s Funerals — Otherwise, They Won’t Come To Yours
Yogi Berra? J. F. Shaw Kennedy? Charles Lee? Punch Magazine? Clarence Day? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A comical remark about funeral attendance has been attributed to the baseball great Yogi Berra: Always go to other people’s funerals; otherwise they won’t go to yours. A simple interpretation seems to require ghosts to attend a future funeral. …
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Writing Is the Art of Applying the Seat of the Pants to the Seat of the Chair
Sinclair Lewis? Mary Heaton Vorse? Felicia Gizycka? Robert Benchley? Douglas Fairbanks Jr.? Marianne Gingher? Stevie Cameron? Andrew Hudgins? Nora Roberts? Stephen King? Oliver Stone? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: An astonishingly simple stratagem has been recommended to anyone who wishes to become a famous author, playwright, screenwriter, or composer. The secret to success and productivity is …
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It’s Not What You See That Is Suspect, But How You Interpret What You See
Isaac Asimov? John A. Keel? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Recently, I read a book called “The Mothman Prophecies” which discussed mysterious sightings of a human-sized moth-like creature in West Virginia in the 1960s. There are many ways to attempt to interpret bizarre and enigmatic visions. The book included an intriguing quotation attributed to the well-known …
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The First Draft of Anything Is Shit
Ernest Hemingway? Arnold Samuelson? Bernard Malamud? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The prose style of the famous author Ernest Hemingway was spare and direct, but to achieve that form he often worked through multiple drafts. A pungent remark about rewriting has been attributed to the Nobel Prize winner. Here are three versions: The first draft of …
That’s Not Writing; That’s Just Typing
Truman Capote? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The authors of The Beat Generation were an influential disaffected group whose works jolted the culture of 1950s America. The spontaneous prose technique employed by the central figure Jack Kerouac in the composition of his 1957 novel “On the Road” was acclaimed and disparaged. The most trenchant criticism reportedly …
History Is Just One Damn Thing after Another
Arnold J. Toynbee? Max Plowman? H. A. L. Fisher? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous historian Arnold J. Toynbee wrote a monumental 12-volume work titled “A Study of History” in which he delineated the trajectories of several major human civilizations. Surprisingly, a comically depreciatory definition of history is attributed to him. Here are two versions: …
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Lyricist Versus Composer: The Song “Ol’ Man River”
Oscar Hammerstein II? Dorothy Hammerstein? Leonard Lyons? Dear Quote Investigator: The division of credit between music composers and lyricists can be controversial. Some lyricists believe that their song writing skills are not given adequate respect. One vivid anecdote revealed the unhappiness of Dorothy Hammerstein who was the wife of the prominent Broadway song creator Oscar …
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