Excerpt from "Nice Guys Finish Seventh"
Why We Misquote:
http://makeashorterlink.com/?H3E7126F1(from the excerpt)
>W. C. Fields's best remembered saying is "Any man who hates dogs and children can't be all bad." Fields didn't say it. These words were said about Fields, by Leo Rosten, as he introduced the comedian at a 1939 Masquers banquet in Los Angeles. Rosten, then a young sociologist studying the movie industry, found himself seated on the dais. After the meal he was invited to say a few words about the guest of honor. Unable to think of anything else, Rosten blurted out, "The only thing I can say about Mr. W. C. Fields, whom I have admired since the day he advanced upon Baby LeRoy with an icepick, is this: Any man who hates babies and dogs can't be all bad." According to Rosten his quip brought down the house. He later called it "one of those happy 'ad libs' God sends you." Two weeks later Rosten's line was mentioned in Time Magazine. At the time few people had heard of Leo Rosten. As a result, it didn't take long for Rosten's words to get put in a better-known mouth: that of Fields himself. It's stayed there ever since.
* "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing" was the slogan of UCLA football coach Red Sanders, not Vince Lombardi.
* "The opera ain't over till the fat lady sings" was adapted from an older saying: "Church ain't out till the fat lady sings."
* "Elementary, my dear Watson," does not appear in any of Arthur Conan Doyle's books about Sherlock Holmes.
* Calvin Coolidge didn't say, "The business of America is business."
* Leo Durocher never said "Nice guys finish last." <
And, BTW, James Cagney never said, "You dirty rat!" and Cary Grant never said, "Judy, Judy, Judy!"
And, of course, as we all know, Humphrey Bogart never said, "Play it again, Sam."
And, as an extra added bonus, all these folks are
dead...so I'm cool with the rule!
