OCTOBER 21 - Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” makes the earth move

On October 21, 1940, Ernest Hemingway’s famous novel For Whom the Bell Tolls was published.

The title comes from the famous line by British poet John Donne: “...never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

The novel was a huge bestseller that also generated some famous lines.

For example, in Chapter 7 there’s “Where do the noses go?” That quote was made especially famous by the film adaptation of the book, in which Ingrid Bergman says it to Gary Cooper.

In Chapter 13 there’s “But did thee feel the earth move?” (Hemingway used “thee” and other antiquated terms of speech in the novel supposedly as a way of translating what was being said in Spanish.)

That line became famous enough to turn “feel the earth move” into a humorous euphemism for good sex – and gave songwriter-singer Carol King the title of her hit song “I Feel the Earth Move” (1971).

In Chapter 43 of For Whom the Bell Tolls, there’s another oft-quoted line: “The world is a fine place and worth fighting for.”

It’s included in many books of quotations and one of its many admirers is Senator John McCain. He used the variation Worth the Fighting For as the title of his autobiographical book published in 2003.

Ironically, McCain’s campaign nemesis, President Barack Obama has named Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls as one of the "three books” that have inspired him.

Obama said the other “two” were Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon and “the tragedies of William Shakespeare.” (Maybe he read Shakespeare's tragic plays all in one big collected volume.).

I live near Key West, where Ernest Hemingway lived from late 1920s to the late 1930s. He worked on some of his most famous works there, like A Farewell To Arms and the short story “The Snows of Kilimanjaro.”

Hemingway’s novel To Have and Have Not is set in Key West. (The movie version with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall changed that for some reason.)

His former house in Key West, now called the Hemingway Home and Museum, is a big tourist attraction that is famous for the dozens of “polydactyl” (six- and seven-toed) cats that hang out there. They’re descendants of the polydactyl cats Hemingway had there in the Thirties.

As a Keys resident, I should probably like Ernest Hemingway. But, the truth is, his style of writing never really made the earth move for me.

Plus, I’m just not macho enough to appreciate the fine arts of bullfighting, boxing, big game hunting and killing beautiful big fish – four of Hemingway’s favorite things. And, basically, from what I’ve read about him, he seems like he was a real jerk.

But I really like his polydactyl cats.

Here are some of the other famous quotes and phrases linked to October 21:

• “England expects that every man will do his duty.” - The famous almost last words of British Admiral Horatio Nelson to his men at the sea battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805. His men did their duty and defeated the French and Spanish fleet in the battle, but Nelson was killed.

• “Ruh-roh!” - Catchphrase of the dog Astro in The Jetsons cartoon series. Astro first appeared in the fourth Jetsons episode, which first aired on October 21, 1962. “Ruh-roh!” was later borrowed by another famous cartoon dog, Scooby Doo. The fact that I know this may be a telltale sign that I’m not a Hemingway kinda guy.

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OCTOBER 20 - “Enquiring minds want to know.” No use in inquiring why.

There’s a tipping point at which a famous phrase becomes a cliché.

The well known ad slogan for The National Enquirer supermarket tabloid – “Enquiring minds want to know” – passed that point long ago.

The Enquirer trademarked the slogan in 1981. And, according to the information filed in the U.S. trademark database, it was first used by the gossipy tabloid on October 20, 1981.

During the rest of the 1980s, the slogan was heavily used in print, radio and TV ads and soon became a pop culture catchphrase. (Check out this funny example of a vintage Enquirer TV ad on YouTube.) 

Interestingly, the word “tabloid” was originally a trademarked name for a type of pill made by Burroughs, Wellcome and Co., a British pharmaceutical company founded in 1880. The company’s “tabloid” combined several different ingredients in one pill.

The editors of the Westminster Gazette liked the term and, in 1902, decided to use it as a name for their newspaper. Burroughs, Wellcome sued for trademark infringement but lost – thus paving the way for the term to evolve into its current form.

The term was and still is applied in publishing parlance to newspapers printed in the tabloid format, rather than the  broadsheet style. But in popular usage it now tends to be associated with sensationalistic, celebrity-obsessed publications like The National Enquirer and The Star.

Of course, in recent decades, the tabloid “rags” inspired the broader field of “tabloid journalism” in magazines and on TV.

Apparently, enquiring minds do want to know, as much or more than ever.

And, people still remember and repeat The National Enquirer’s famed ad slogan – even though it is usually misquoted as “Inquiring minds want to know.”

Here are some of the other famous quotes and phrases linked to October 20:

• “It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations.”  - Winston Churchill’s famous quotation about quotations, from his autobiographical book My Early Life, which was published on October 20, 1930.

• “Big girls don't cry.” - The well known song title and lyric by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, released as a single on October 20, 1962. 

OCTOBER 19 - Spiro Agnew warns us about effete intellectuals

Nowadays, Conservative Republican provocateurs like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Ann Coulter get lots of media attention for coming up with new insults aimed at liberals and Democrats.

But Spiro Agnew (1918-1996), the Republican Vice President under President Richard M. Nixon, was paving the way for them four decades ago.

Agnew unleashed one of his most famous zingers on October 19, 1969, at a Republican fund-raising dinner in New Orleans.

Four days earlier, opponents of the Vietnam War had organized a major anti-war demonstration, the October 15th Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam.

Hundreds of thousands of people participated in moratorium events in the United States and Europe.

Agnew was a staunch defender of the Vietnam War, so naturally he had to take a swipe at the protesters.

He characterized them as people who “overwhelm themselves with drugs and artificial stimulants.”

He went on (and on) to say:

“Education is being redefined at the demand of the uneducated to suit the ideas of the uneducated. The student now goes to college to proclaim rather than to learn. The lessons of the past are ignored and obliterated in a contemporary antagonism known as ‘The Generation Gap.’ A spirit of national masochism prevails, encouraged by an effete core of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as intellectuals.” 

Other Conservatives and the press especially loved that last sentence. And, soon, the core of the insult was compressed into the phrases still heard today – “effete intellectual snobs” and the shorter version “effete intellectuals.”

Spiro generated a number of other “Agnewisms” before resigning as Vice President in 1973, such as “the nattering nabobs of negativism” and the “hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history.”

He resigned as part of a plea deal to avoid potential jail time for bribery and tax evasion dating to his tenure as governor of Maryland, just prior to becoming Nixon’s V.P.

It was quite a scandal at the time. But, heck – at least Spiro wasn’t taking drugs or acting like an effete intellectual. Though I do think he might have qualified as a nattering nabob. (You could look it up.)

Here are some of the other famous quotes and phrases linked to October 19:

• “It was a pleasure to burn.” - The famous opening line of Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451, in which social rebels try to preserve what effete intellectuals (and other authors) wrote in books. The novel was copyrighted on October 19, 1953.

• “Nudge, nudge, wink, wink..” - One of the many great catchphrases from the Monty Python's Flying Circus TV series, first used in a sketch in Season 1, Episode 3, which was first aired on BBC-1 in the UK on October 19, 1969.

OCTOBER 18 - Nigel Rees’s “Quote…Unquote” Newsletter will soon be available by email

I’m departing from my usual format in today’s post to mention a great quotation resource that’s being made available online to quote buffs.

The venerable “Quote…Unquote” Newsletter, which has been published in printed format for 18 years by the eminent British quotation expert Nigel Rees, is now available exclusively in electronic format.

Rees is Britain's most eminent and prolific quotation expert. He’s written over 50 books on quotations and related subjects, like clichés and epitaphs. He’s also the host of BBC’s long-running “Quote…Unquote” radio quiz show and has hosted and been a guest on many other British radio and TV shows.

Until recently, The “Quote…Unquote” Newsletter was available mainly by snail mail. It was distributed here in the United States thanks to another esteemed language maven, Robert Skovgard, creator of The Executive Speaker Newsletter and a nationally known speechwriting expert.

Recently, Skovgard sent out an email to American subscribers announcing that, with the next quarterly issue in January 2010, The “Quote…Unquote” Newsletter will become a free, electronic-only publication, delivered as an emailed PDF attachment.

You can view a sample issue and and sign up to get the newsletter via email by visiting the “Quote…Unquote” Newsletter website.

The only cost is a small, one-time $5 set-up fee. That incredibly reasonable payment can be made online or arranged by phone.

I’ve been a fan of Nigel Rees’ books and a subscriber to the “Quote…Unquote” Newsletter for years. It’s a terrific and entertaining source of information about quotations.

It’s also engagingly interactive. Subscribers can submit queries on quotes they’re curious about – and can submit facts they may know about the quotes Rees and his readers are trying to track down.

If you enjoy reading and learning about quotations, I have two words for you about the “Quote…Unquote” Newsletter email subscription option: GET IT!

Also, do yourself a favor and buy some of Nigel’s books. They’re all fun to read and full of interesting facts and trivia.

Here are some of the famous quotes and phrases linked to October 18:

• “We must love one another or die.” - The well known line from the poem “September 1, 1939” by W.H. Auden (1907-1973). First published in October 18, 1939 issue of The New Republic. This quote was featured here in a recent post.

• “If you've seen one city slum you've seen them all.” – One of the infamous quotes by Spiro T. Agnew (1918-1996), President Nixon’s ill-fated V.P. Spoken by Spiro in a campaign speech in Detroit, Michigan on October 18, 1968.

OCTOBER 16 - Castro said “History will absolve me,” but it doesn’t seem likely

On October 16, 1953, Fidel Castro made a four-hour speech, but it wasn’t one of his long stem-winders to his followers.

It was a speech he gave as a prisoner, while being tried in court for leading a small group of rebels in an attack on the Moncada military barracks in Cuba on July 26th.

The remarks Castro made during his trial included his famous quotation: “History will absolve me.” (“La historia me absolver.”)

The Moncada Barracks attack was an attempt to start an insurrection against the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. It failed at the time and the men involved were either killed or captured by Batista’s soldiers. But it turned out to be the beginning of the “Cuban Revolution.”

The historical record makes it pretty clear why the revolution happened. Fulgencio Batista was a ruthless dictator. And, he got rich taking cuts and bribes from the U.S. corporations that ran most of Cuba’s major industries and from the American mobsters who ran most of the hotels and casinos in Havana. Meanwhile, most Cubans were poor, uneducated, ill-housed and disenfranchised.

In his remarks at his October 16, 1953 trial, Castro reviewed the many political crimes of Batista and his illegitimate presidency. The entire speech is famous among Marxists, but most books of quotations just give the “History will absolve me” line.

Batista made the mistake of not executing Castro after he was found guilty at the trial. Instead, Fidel was put in prison and then – in an even bigger blunder – Batista allowed him to be released in 1955, thinking he was no longer a serious threat.

The following year, Fidel, his brother Raul Castro, and Che Guevara began organizing disgruntled Cuban peasants into a growing revolutionary army. A few years later they succeeded in driving Batista out of the country (along with the American corporations and the mob).

For a brief time, it seemed like a victory for the Cuban people and potentially for democracy, since Castro had pledged to restore a democratic government.

Then, of course, Castro became a Communist, made himself the semi-godlike ruler of the country and brutally crushed any dissent.

History may absolve Castro for ousting the ruthless dictator Batista. But I doubt if any honest historical accounts absolve Castro for becoming a ruthless dictator himself.

Here are some of the other famous quotes and phrases linked to October 16:

• “I shot an arrow into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where.” - The well known and often parodied lines from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “The Arrow and the Song,” which he composed on October 16, 1845.

• “Believe it or not.” - In 1918, artist and sportswriter Robert Ripley started publishing an illustrated feature about sports accomplishments and oddities in the New York Globe. He called it Champs & Chumps. After a while, he started including stories about non-sports-related oddities. Eventually, Ripley abandoned the sports angle entirely and, on October 16, 1919, his feature was retitled with the famed phrase we know today – Believe It or Not.

OCTOBER 15 - We’re still hearing that “giant sucking sound”

Earlier this year, speaking about the outrageous bonuses paid to AIG executives from taxpayer money, Representative Steven Latourette (R-Ohio), made this quip:

“Ross Perot, when he ran for president in 1992, he talked about the giant sucking sound. Well, today, there's another giant sucking sound going on in Washington, D.C., and that's the tightening of sphincters on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, as people are having to explain who put [the AIG bonuses] into the stimulus bill.”

Even if you don’t know who Ross Perot is or don’t know he coined the phrase “a giant sucking sound,” you’re probably familiar with it. It’s from “a famous quotation.”

So, what makes a quote “a famous quotation?”

It’s not just that it’s familiar to a lot of people at a certain period of time.

The great British quote maven, Nigel Rees, has rightly criticized a modern trend in quotation reference books, like the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, to include pop song lyrics that may simply be “familiar” at the time the book was published.

“Remember the dreadful example of the 1999 edition of the Oxford DQ, stuffing in remarks and supposedly quotable lyrics from the Spice Girls?” Rees wrote in his “Quote...Unquote” newsletter. “What a surprise that they have mostly gone from the most recent edition.”

In other words, many “quotes” have a short shelf life. They may be heard for a year or so, but they don’t have real longevity in our language and culture. Thus, they aren’t really “famous quotations.”

And, a quote is not necessarily a famous quotation just because it’s in quotation reference books.

Bartlett's Familiar Quotations and other weighty quotation tomes include hundreds of quotes most people are not familiar with.

These less familiar quotes may be worthy bits of wisdom or wit, or worth knowing for the purpose of cultural literacy. But they aren’t automatically “famous quotations” just because they’re in Bartlett’s and other quotation books.

My own working definition of a “famous quotation” is a quote that is both widely known and which has had, or is clearly likely to have, a long life in our language – by being cited, quoted, misquoted, mocked, recycled and/or repurposed on a fairly regular basis.

Like the phrase “a giant sucking sound.” It began it’s rise to quotation fame on October 15, 1992.

On that night, Independent candidate Ross Perot was in a televised presidential debate with Republican President George H. W. Bush and Democratic nominee Bill Clinton.

During the debate, Perot made this comment about NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement:

“If you're paying $12, $13, $14 an hour for factory workers and you can move your factory south of the border, pay $1 an hour for your labor, have no health care, have no environmental controls, no pollution controls and no retirement, and you don't care for anything but making money, then there will be a giant sucking sound going south.”

Perot’s entire sentence did not become famous, but the phrase “a giant sucking sound” certainly did and we still hear it used and repurposed today – on a fairly regular basis.

So, in my book, and my blog, Perot’s original use of it qualifies as “a famous quotation.”

Here are some of the other famous quotes and phrases linked to October 15: 

• “Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war.” - These words and the rest of the lyrics to the hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” were written by British clergyman Sabine Baring-Gould and first published in the Church Times on October 15, 1864. The music was composed later by British composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of Gilbert and Sullivan fame, and first published with the lyrics in 1871.

• “It keeps going, and going, and going . . .” - The famous ad slogan for the “Energizer bunny” battery ads. The bunny and slogan first appeared together in a TV ad aired during the second game of the 1989 World Series, on October 15, 1989.

OCTOBER 14 - First they came for the Communists – or was it the Industrialists?

On October 14, 1968, Congressman Henry Reuss of Wisconsin made some remarks in Congress that included what became a very famous quotation – and created one of the great quotation muddles.

The quote Reuss read was recorded in the Congressional Record as follows:

“When Hitler attacked the Jews, I was not a Jew, therefore, I was not concerned. And when Hitler attacked the Catholics, I was not a Catholic, and therefore, I was not concerned. And when Hitler attacked the unions and the industrialists, I was not a member of the unions and I was not concerned. Then, Hitler attacked me and the Protestant church – and there was nobody left to be concerned.”

Reuss credited the quote Howard Samuels, Administrator of the Small Business Administration and, according to Reuss, “a leader of the Nation’s Jewish community."

It was soon pointed out that the quote was not created by Samuels, but was actually a version of words said by the German theologian and Lutheran pastor, Martin Niemöller (1892-1984). And, books of quotations mistakenly began attributing the lines in the Congressional Record to him.

Niemöller was one of the brave German church leaders who spoke out against Hitler’s persecution of the Jews and other minority groups. He was put in a concentration camp for his views, but survived. And, starting in 1946, he began talking in his sermons and speeches about the collective guilt Germans shared for going along with Hitler’s insanities.

A brief summary of Niemöller’s remarks on this topic was cited in the 1955 book by Milton Mayer, They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45 (Phoenix Books).

The book’s passage later morphed into the quote read by Congressman Reuss. Then some anonymous person turned that into a poem which was and still is erroneously attributed to Niemöller.

The poem appears in various versions naming various groups in varying order. A commonly seen version is the one that starts with the Jews:

“First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.”

Here’s the bottom line: Niemöller DID say words similar to what is in the Congressional Record, Mayer’s 1955 book and the poem. But he didn’t say anything exactly like any of those “quotes.”

The version read into the Congressional Record by Congressman Reuss omitted “Communists,” which no savvy American politician could publicly sympathize with, and inserted “industrialists.”

Niemöller himself never mentioned industrialists in his postwar sermons, but he did include Communists in his list of groups that were persecuted by Hitler. Indeed, when asked about his famous “quote,” Niemöller said he preferred versions that included them.

The most definitive research on the “First they came for...” quotation was done by Harold Marcuse, a professor of German history at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He posted a summary of his research online and it’s well worth reading if you’re a fan of this famous misquote or a fan of quotation history.

Here are some of the other famous quotes and phrases linked to October 14: 

• “Breakfast of champions.” - The famed slogan for beer. No, just kidding to see if you’re paying attention. It’s the famed slogan for General Mills’ breakfast cereal Wheaties. It was created in 1933 by American adman Knox Reeves. According to the U.S. trademark database, it was first used in commerce on October 14, 1933.

• “As quickly as you can, snatch the pebbles from my hand. When you can take the pebbles from my hand, it will be time for you to leave.” - The famous TV quote in the opening sequence of the series Kung Fu (1972-1975), starring David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine, which began its first season on October 14, 1972.  The pebbles line was spoken by Master Kan (Philip Ahn) to Caine as a young boy. Later in the opening sequence, Caine is shown as a young man who succeeds in grabbing the pebbles. Then the Master says: “Time for you to leave.”

 

OCTOBER 13 - “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”

In 1950, Bette Davis was a couple years past 40.

She was a famous but aging Hollywood actress whose career was starting to go downhill.

But that year, producer and director Joseph L. Mankiewicz gave Bette a plum role in his film All About Eve (which he also wrote).

The character Davis played in it is a famous but aging Broadway actress whose career was starting to go downhill.

All About Eve premiered in New York City on October 13, 1950 and was released nationwide the next day. Movie fans everywhere soon knew the now legendary line Davis delivers in the film.

The line comes during a scene in which Davis throws a birthday party for her director and companion, played by Gary Merrill (who became her real life husband that year).

When she notices him being a bit too nice to an aspiring young actress (Anne Baxter), Davis gets jealous, starts quaffing drinks and acting snappish.

Her friend (Celeste Holm) notices and says to her: “We’ve seen you like this before. Is it over, or is it just beginning?"

Davis downs another drink, walks over to a staircase, looks down with a devilish smile and responds with the famed movie quotation:

“Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”

Of course, since the year was 1950, she was alluding to buckling up during a bumpy flight on an airplane. Cars didn’t have seatbelts back then.

All About Eve was a major hit that rejuvenated Bette’s career, earned her an Oscar nomination and a Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival.

There isn’t quite such a happy ending for the aging actress she played in the film. But I won’t tell you what happens. You should watch it for yourself on DVD – or (until the copyright cops take it down) watch it online on YouTube. It really is a great and classic movie.

Keep your eyes open for a young Marilyn Monroe during the party scene. It was one of her early roles and she didn’t get much screen time, but her beauty and sexy charisma are apparent. (Click this link to see a snippet.)

Here are some of the other famous quotes and phrases linked to October 13: 

• “You must remember this, a kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh...” - The famous song “As Time Goes By,” written by American songwriter Herman Hupfeld, was made famous by the movie Casablanca (1943). But it was originally written for the Broadway musical Everybody’s Welcome, which opened at the Shubert Theater in New York City on October 13, 1931.

• “Fail-Safe.” - The title of a book by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler that debuted in serialized form in the October 13, 1962 issue of The Saturday Evening Post magazine. It was soon published as a book that became a bestseller, burning the scary Cold War term “fail-safe” into America’s consciousness and language.

 

OCTOBER 11 - “I would like to feed your fingertips to the wolverines.”

On October 11, 1975, a new comedy show debuted on NBC. It opened with a skit featuring three comic actors who were not well known at the time.

In the skit, a professor tutors a European immigrant on how to speak English. As the two sat together in a small room, the professor began with an unusual language exercise about wolverines…

PROFESSOR: “Let us begin. Repeat after me. I would like...”

IMMIGRANT: (With a noticeable accent.) “I wude like...”

PROFESSOR: “...to feed your fingertips...”

IMMIGRANT: “...to feed yur fingerteeps...”

PROFESSOR: “...to the wolverines.”

IMMIGRANT: “...to de woolvur-eenes.”

After a couple more odd exercises about wolverines and badgers (or, “woolvur-eenes” and “bed-jurs”), the professor suddenly gasped, clutched his chest and fell to the floor, apparently dead from a heart attack.

The European Immigrant looked puzzled for a moment. Then he gasped, clutched his chest and fell to the floor, copying the professor.

Next, a Stage Manager walked into the scene, smiled into the camera and said these familiar words for the very first time:

“Live from New York – it’s Saturday Night!”

The three not yet famous comedians in the skit were: Michael O'Donoghue (1940-1994), a former National Lampoon magazine writer picked as head writer for the new Saturday Night Live show; John Belushi (1949-1982), who went on to become one of the most beloved American comic actors of the era; and, the fortunately still living comic legend, Chevy Chase (b. 1943).

They were all original members of Saturday Night Live’s revolving group of comic actors called “The Not Ready for Prime Time Players.”

The first host of SNL that night was my favorite curmudgeon, the great George Carlin (1937-2008). I especially miss him.

Here are some of the other famous quotes and phrases linked to October 11:

• The term “Blonde Bombshell” was catapulted into our language by a 1933 ad slogan for a movie that said: “Lovely, luscious, exotic Jean Harlow as the Blonde Bombshell of filmdom.” The movie, originally titled Bombshell, premiered in the USA on October 11, 1933. When the slogan and film quickly became famous, the studio changed the title to Blonde Bombshell.

• “Well, isn't that conv-e-e-nient?” It seem that on another October 11th – October 11, 1986 – we first heard some other well known catchphrases from Saturday Night Live. That’s when another former SNL cast member Dana Carvey introduced a new character to the show. “Could it be...Satan?” No, it was The Church Lady. “Well, isn't that special?” (Yes, it was!)

Wanna watch the first episode of Saturday Night Live again? Click the image below to see it on Amazon.com…

OCTOBER 9 - The Greeks had a phrase for it: “Know thyself.”

On October 9th in the year 28 B.C., the Temple of Apollo at Delphi was dedicated.

An inscription on the temple said: “Gnothi seauton.” In English, that’s the famous quotation “Know thyself.”

The quote is generally attributed to “The Seven Sages of Greece,” a.k.a. the “Seven Wise Men,” though the words are sometimes attributed to the Greek philosopher Thales or the Greek statesman Solon.

Thales and Solon were two of the “Seven Sages,” a group of 6th century B.C. deep thinkers that also included Periander, Cleobulus, Chilon, Bias, and Pittacus.

In today’s This Day in Quotes post, I’m including the “Know Thyself” video I made for my Quote Counterquote blog. Hope you like it... 

Here are some of the other famous quotes and phrases linked to October 9:

• “Better living through chemistry.” - The well known and oft-parodied advertising slogan for the DuPont company, first made famous by its use on the DuPont-sponsored radio show Cavalcade of America, which debuted on October 9, 1935.

• “The Iceman Cometh.” - Title of the play by American playwright Eugene O'Neill (1888-1953) that led to many other “[The something] Cometh” variations – such as "The Diceman Cometh," title of a 1989 performance video by comedian Andrew Dice Clay. O'Neill’s famous play premiered at the Martin Beck Theatre in New York City on October 9, 1946.

“The Famous Quotes of October 8th,” a short film script by SubtropicBob

 

EXT. OCEANSIDE RESTAURANT IN KEY WEST –  MORNING

An older man (around 59 years old) is sitting at one of the tables at an outdoor restaurant in Key West, sipping Cuban coffee, reading a book of quotations. At a nearby table are a beautiful young woman and handsome young man. They are wearing dark, expensive-looking sunglasses and have an air of celebrity. The older man notices a waitresses pointing at the couple and talking to another waitress.

WAITRESS:

“Who's that behind those Foster Grants?”

The older man recalls that the girl’s question started out as an ad slogan for Foster Grant sunglasses. According to the trademark file for the slogan in the US trademark database, it was first used in commerce on October 8, 1959.

The young male celebrity also overhears the waitress. He gives her a flirty grin and responds.

YOUNG MALE CELEBRITY:

“I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy,
A Yankee Doodle do or die;
A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam’s,
Born on the Fourth of July.”

The older man remembers that those lines are from the song by George M. Cohan titled “Yankee Doodle Boy.” It was written for the stage show Little Johnny Jones, which was first performed in Hartford, Connecticut on October 8, 1904.

The young woman celebrity seems hurt that her male companion is paying more attention to the waitress than to her. She whispers to him.

YOUNG FEMALE CELEBRITY:

“Keep the home-fires burning.”

The older man overhears her and recalls that those words come from an old World War I song. The lyrics were written by Lena Guilbert Ford and the music was composed by Ivor Novello. It was first published as sheet music under the title “‘Till the Boys Come Home” on October 8, 1914, but the title was later changed to “Keep the Home-fires Burning.”

The young male celebrity, seems offended that the woman is trying to rein him in. He stands up angrily, pushes his chair back so fast it falls over and yells at her.

YOUNG MALE CELEBRITY:

“I am not a number – I am a free man!”

The older man is startled by the fact that the young man’s words come from one of his favorite TV series from the late Sixties, The Prisoner, starring Patrick McGoohan. The line was used at the beginning of each episode starting with the second episode, "The Chimes of Big Ben," which originally aired in the UK on ITV on October 8, 1967. (An updated remake of the series begins airing this fall.)

The angry young male celebrity stalks off, leaving the beautiful young woman in tears.

The older man recalls a line from Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night's Dream, which was entered into England’s Stationers’ Register (Britain’s early version of a Copyright Office) on October 8, 1600. We hear the line echo in the older man’s mind.

VOICEOVER:

“Lord, what fools these mortals be!”

FADE OUT.

OCTOBER 6 - Mae West was very good at being bad

Mae West (1893-1980) was like Marilyn Monroe, Madonna and Lady Gaga all combined back in the 1920s and 1930s.

She was sensuous, smart and funny. She was a singer, actor, playwright and screenwriter – and a genius at generating and capitalizing on sex-related controversy.

Indeed, the first play she starred in on Broadway (which she also wrote, produced and directed) was titled Sex (1926). It scandalized the prudes and censors of the day, got her arrested for “obscenity” and made her one of the hottest and most sought after celebrities in the country.

West went from being a stage superstar in the Roaring Twenties to film superstardom in the Thirties.

Among her most famous and most quoted films was I’m No Angel, which was released in the U.S. on October 6, 1933.

It was West’s second hit film with Cary Grant as her leading man. Their first film together, released earlier that year, was She Done Him Wrong.

In that one, West purred the famed line: “Why don't you come up sometime and see me?” – which is usually misquoted as “Why don't you come up and see me sometime?”

In I’m No Angel, West plays a man-hustling, lion-taming circus star, who likes to “find ‘em, fool ‘em and forget ‘em” – until she falls in love with Cary Grant.

You probably know some or all of West’s most famous lines in I’m No Angel even if you haven’t seen it. The most quoted quips from the film include:

“I’ve been things and seen places.”

“Oh, Beulah...Peel me a grape.”

“When I’m good, I’m very good. But when I’m bad, I’m better.”

“It’s not the men in your life that counts, it’s the life in your men.”

Near the end of I’m No Angel, West also gives a sly, self referential nod to her misquoted line from She Done Him Wrong by saying: “And don't forget. Come up and see me sometime.”

In case you haven’t seen her in this classic comedy, you can take advantage of today’s modern film-viewing technology and watch it on YouTube.

Here are some of the other famous quotes and phrases linked to October 6:

• “California, here I come, right back where I started from.” - The chorus of the well known song “California Here I Come” by Buddy de Sylva, Al Jolson and Joseph Meyer. It was introduced in Jolson’s musical show Bombo, which opened in New York City on October 6, 1921.

• “There is no Soviet domination in Eastern Europe.” - President Gerald Ford’s infamous flub in his October 6, 1976 presidential debate with Jimmy Carter, which made him seem unaware of the Soviet domination in Eastern Europe.

OCTOBER 5 - Quayle's no Jack Kennedy and Bentsen probably didn't coin that quip

It’s not often that debates between candidates for Vice President of the United States generate a famous quotation – or even much attention. But there are some notable exceptions.

One is the October 13, 1992 vice-presidential debate, in which Independent Ross Perot’s V.P. pick, James Stockdale, said “Who am I? Why am I here?” (It had the unfortunate effect of making him seem a bit out to lunch.)

A more famous quote from a vice-presidential debate occurred four years earlier on October 5, 1988.

In that one, Republican V.P. candidate Senator Dan Quayle debated Senator Lloyd Bentsen, candidate for the Democratic Party. (The presidential candidates were Republican George Herbert Walker Bush and Democrat Michael Dukakis.)

At one point during the debate, journalist Tom Brokaw asked Quayle if he was prepared to serve as president in the event that became necessary.

Quayle replied: “I have as much experience in the Congress as Jack Kennedy did when he sought the presidency.”

Bentsen responded with this famous zinger:

“Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.”

The Democrats and the media loved it. And, ever since then the linguistic formula “You’re no [fill in the name]” has been part of our language, usually used for comedic effect.

Of course, despite all the attention the line received, Bush and Quayle handily beat Dukakis and Bentsen in the November 1988 election.

And, though the famous quip made Bentsen seem like a debating genius, he didn’t come up with it on the spur of the moment – and probably didn’t coin it.

Before the debate, Bentsen received extensive training from top professional speakers trainer and debate coach Michael Sheehan.

Sheehan knew Quayle often compared himself to President Kennedy when reporters asked him about his qualifications. Sheehan also knew that Bentsen knew Kennedy.

So, during their practice for the vice-presidential debate, Sheehan had Bentsen prepare and hone a response in advance. Indeed, some political observers assume Sheehan created the famed Kennedy response for Bentsen.

Sheehan is the best of the best when it comes to speakers training for politicians (and corporate executives, celebrities and anyone else).

I actually happen to know Michael Sheehan and here’s my opinion about who coined the “You’re no Jack Kennedy” quote: Lloyd Bentsen is no Michael Sheehan.

Here are some of the other famous quotes and phrases linked to October 5:

• “Hold the fort! I am coming!” - Legendary Civil War signal flag message sent by Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman to a beleaguered Union garrison at Allatoona Pass, Georgia on October 5, 1864. 

• “See the USA in your Chevrolet.” - Chevrolet ad jingle famously sung by Dinah Shore in every episode of the The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, which first aired on October 5, 1956.

OCTOBER 4 - Ras Tafari provides lyrics for Bob Marley

The song “War” by Bob Marley & the Wailers is well known to reggae music fans worldwide. It’s on their classic LP, Rastaman Vibration (1976), one of the most famous reggae albums ever recorded. (You can watch videos of them performing “War” live on YouTube.)

As serious reggae fans know, the lyrics of the song come from a speech by the Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie I. He gave it on October 4, 1963 at a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

Selassie was born in 1892 into Ethiopia’s royal family, which practiced the Ethiopian Orthodox version of Christianity and traced its origins back to King Solomon of Israel and Makeda, Queen of Sheba.

His birth name was Tafari Makonnen. As a young nobleman he was called “Ras Tafari” – the title “Ras” roughly translating as “Duke” in English. When he ascended to the position of Emperor in 1930, he took the name Haile Selassie, which means “Power of the Trinity.”

After World War II, Selassie was a leader in efforts to help African countries transition to independence from European colonial powers. He also encouraged “Pan Africanism,” which fostered a sense of unity and pride among people throughout the world whose ancestors were taken from Africa as slaves.

To Jamaican “Rastafarians,” His Imperial Majesty Ras Tafari was (and is) viewed as God incarnate – the Dread Lion of Judah, King of Kings.

Thus, it’s fitting that Rastafarians Bob Marley and the Wailers immortalized key parts of Selassie’s October 4, 1963 U.N. address in their song “War.” Here are some of the words they used from that eloquent speech:

“Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned...until there are no longer first class and second class citizens of any nation...until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes...until that day, the dream of lasting peace...will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained.”

The song added a refrain to Selassie’s words suggesting that until racism is finally stamped out, there will be continue to be “war” – at least in a cultural sense.

To which I say: “Jah Rastafari!”

Here are some of the other famous quotes and phrases linked to October 4:

• One fitting additional quote to give here is “Fight the real enemy!” – the highly controversial comment made by Irish singer Sinead O’Connor as she tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live in 1992. Ironically, she did and said that right after she sang an a cappella version of the Wailer’s song “War.” She later said it was a protest against sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. That SNL episode started at 11:30 P.M. on October 3rd, but when Sinead uttered her infamous words it was after midnight and thus October 4, 1992.

• For many years, her controversial protest on Saturday Night Live was an “albatross around the neck” of Sinead O’Connor. That’s a phrase derived from the famous poem by British poet, critic, and essayist Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” – which was first published in a volume of anonymous poems on October 4, 1798.

OCTOBER 2 - The day we crossed over into The Twilight Zone

Exactly fifty years ago, on October 2, 1959, Rod Serling presented for your consideration the first episode of his legendary sci-fi/fantasy TV series, The Twilight Zone.

The name of the series itself became a descriptive term. And, phrases from the introductions Serling did for the shows (like “presented for your consideration”) are still quoted.

In the debut episode – “Where Is Everybody?” – we first hear Serling’s deep voice doing the original version of the show’s intro. In later episodes, we also see him standing there with a cigarette, looking suave, doing opening narrations.

He wasn’t originally supposed to be heard or seen on the show.

When the pilot episode was shot, the voice of well known announcer Westbrook Van Voorhis was used for the intro. (Voorhis did the narration for the old March of Time radio and movie theater newsreel series, in which he used the famous catchphrase “Time…marches on!”)

But when The Twilight Zone was greenlit and picked up by CBS, Voorhis wasn’t available to do intros for other early episodes. So, Serling – who created the series and wrote many of the scripts – decided to do the opening narration himself.

His voiceover in the title sequence for the first episode and other early Season One eps went like this:

“There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call – the Twilight Zone.”

Later in Season One, Serling starting using a different intro that added the familiar “next stop” line:

“You are about to enter another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop, the Twilight Zone!”

The version used in Seasons Four and Five had the “crossed over” line fans (like me) fondly remember:

“You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension – a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into the Twilight Zone.”

The familiar atonal theme we usually think of as the music for The Twilight Zone wasn’t heard until Season Two. It was written by avant-garde French composer Marius Constant.

The opening music in the first season was written by legendary soundtrack composer Bernard Herrmann, whose created some of the greatest film scores ever recorded, from Citizen Kane in 1941, to Psycho in 1960 and Taxi Driver in 1976.

The star of the first episode aired on October 2, 1959 was Earl Holliman, who was later more widely known as the cop partnered with Angie Dickinson in the 1970s series Police Woman.

In “Where Is Everybody?” Holliman plays a man in an Air Force jumpsuit who inexplicably finds himself in a town where all the people have disappeared.

I won’t say any more about the plot or the final hallmark Twilight Zone twist at the end. Because – look, there’s a link up ahead – where you watch it for yourself on Hulu.com.

Here are some of the other famous quotes and phrases linked to October 2:

• “The public be damned.” - The infamous comment by captain of industry William Henry Vanderbilt (1821-1885) on October 2, 1882, when asked what he thought about the public’s views on how his railroads were run.

• “Good e-e-vening.” – Alfred Hitchcock’s (1899-1980) famed opening welcome on his TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents, which first aired on October 2, 1955.