The British stage actor Edmund Kean (1789-1833) was like the James Dean of his time. He gained celebrity and fame at a young age. His performances were fiery and highly…
Category: Theater quotes
“There is less in this than meets the eye.”
On January 4, 1922, the New York Times published a review of the dramatic play Aglavaine and Selysette by the paper’s witty critic Alexander Woollcott. Woollcott had attended the premiere…
The awful origin of “The pen is mightier than the sword.”
On March 7, 1839 the play Richelieu: or, the Conspiracy, by the British politician and author, Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, premiered at the Covent Garden Theatre in London. Few people today…
10 famous quotes and phrases linked to the date January 10
1. and 2. “The die is cast.” and “cross the Rubicon” “The die is cast” was Julius Caesar’s famous remark on January 10, 49 B.C. as he led his troops…
Mae West was very good at being bad…
Mae West (1893-1980) was like Marilyn Monroe, Madonna and Dorothy Parker all combined in one package. She was sensuous, smart and funny. She was a singer, actor, playwright and screenwriter…
A little tea and sympathy (and sex and censorship)…
Back in my college days, I tended to snigger at drug references in rock songs. So, I probably sniggered when I first heard Mick Jagger sing the lines in the…
What is the “It” the Greeks had a word for? And what does that saying come from?
You’ve probably heard the saying “the Greeks had a word for it” (sometimes given as “the Greeks have a word for it”). But you may not be aware of how…
Before Marilyn Monroe, “the seven year itch” was an annoying skin condition…
On November 20, 1952, the play The Seven Year Itch by George Axelrod debuted on Broadway at the Fulton Theatre. It starred Tom Ewell, as a married man attracted to…
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…