Cary Grant? Mary Astor? Hugh O’Brian? Danny Doakes? Herschel Bernardi? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: I read an article last year about celebrity lookalikes that discussed the different stages of a Hollywood career. I remember a few of the stages: Get me John/Jane Smith. Get me someone who looks like John/Jane Smith. Who is John/Jane Smith. …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
If You Want to Know What a Man’s Like, Look at How He Treats His Inferiors
J. K. Rowling? Lord Chesterfield? Sirius Black? Charles Bayard Miliken? M. C. B. Mason? Dear Quote Investigator: My favorite quotation from the entire Harry Potter series was the brilliantly insightful remark spoken by the character Sirius Black: If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his …
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Now We’re Just Haggling Over the Price
George Bernard Shaw? Winston Churchill? Groucho Marx? Max Aitken? Mark Twain? W. C. Fields? Bertrand Russell? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a famous story about sex and money that I have heard in myriad variations. A man asks a woman if she would be willing to sleep with him if he pays her an exorbitant …
No Legs, No Jokes, No Chance!
Walter Winchell? Michael Todd? Rose Bigman? Helene Hanff? Richard Rodgers? Dear Quote Investigator: The most famous review in Broadway history is also the most controversial, and I hope you can help solve the following mystery. In 1943 a hardworking theater group in New Haven, Connecticut was trying to prepare a major musical so that it …
The Next Time I Send a Damn Fool for Something, I Go Myself
Samuel Goldwyn? Michael Curtiz? Sheilah Graham? Jones? Scones? Louis Cukela? Fictional? Dear Quote Investigator: There is an unintentionally hilarious remark credited to the movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn. He sent an assistant on an important errand and was angry when the task was badly botched. In exasperation Goldwyn created this classic rebuke: The next time I …
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April, Like a Child, Writes Hieroglyphs on Dust with Flowers
Rabindranath Tagore? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: My daughter remembers a poem, or part of a poem, and she asked me about it. I don’t recognize it and have not been able to find it. Perhaps you can work your magic. April writes hieroglyphs in the sand Wipes them away and forgets Quote Investigator: Your daughter …
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The Telegraph is Like a Very, Very Long Cat (or Dog)
Albert Einstein? Shah of Persia? National Telegraphic Union? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Albert Einstein was once asked to explain radio communication, and he supposedly gave the following answer: You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los …
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Books Will Soon Be Obsolete in the Schools
Thomas Edison? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Ebooks have surged in popularity since Amazon introduced the Kindle and Apple released the iPad. Some futurists believe that paper books will be phased out and replaced by electronic books. But I came across a fascinating false prediction made by the most important innovator of the previous century: Books …
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Tennis, Anyone?
Humphrey Bogart? George Bernard Shaw? W. Somerset Maugham? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Before Humphrey Bogart played iconic tough and sophisticated characters he appeared in drawing room comedies on Broadway. Supposedly in his first scene as a young actor he came striding onto the stage swinging a racquet and saying: Tennis anyone? Later this line became …
In the Future Everyone Will Be Anonymous for Fifteen Minutes
Banksy? Andy Warhol? John Leland? Graham Greenleaf? John Hilvert? Neal Gabler? Dear Quote Investigator: The rise of the hacktivist group “Anonymous” reminded me of an artwork I saw by the graffiti provocateur Banksy. He (or she, or they) created a pink television set with a screen that displayed this message: In the future everyone will …
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