Attribution? - "If I knew I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself."
~~seadancer~~
Who said it first? Does anyone know?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"If I knew I was going to live this long,
I'd have taken better care of myself."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The first time I heard it, it was attributed to Cary Grant.
Now, a Google search attributes it to Mickey Mantle.
I think it's also attributed to George Burns.
---Sea
bobgnome
"~~seadancer~~" <seadan...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:fvvdi1$r4f$1...@news.datemas.de...
In Nigel Rees _Brewer's Famous Quotations_
it is attributed to Eubie Blake.
However, and I quote, "In "Radio Times" (17
February 1979) Benny Green quoted Adolph
Zukor, founder of Paramount Pictures, as having
said on the approach to his hundredth birthday,
'If I'd known how old I was going to be I'd have
taken better care of myself.' Zukor died in 1976,
having been born in 1873."
btw, Blake's remark was quoted in "The Observer"
[13 February 1983].
k
~~seadancer~~
> "~~seadancer~~" <seadan...@yahoo.com> wrote
Thank you, k. Good research.
At least we know it wasn't Mickey Mantle who said it first. (g)
Eubie Blake: 1887-1983 (died at age 96)
Adolph Zukor: 1873-1976 (died at age 103)
Wow!
BTW, Blake wrote "I'm Just Wild About Harry".
---Sea
ObQuote:
“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past,
worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present
moment wisely and earnestly.”
-Buddha
The Sanity Inspector
I started taking better care of myself once I saw how expensive
funerals are.
-- Paul Harvey
--
bruce
The dignified don't even enter in the game.
-- The Jam
~~seadancer~~
> Related:
> I started taking better care of myself once I saw how expensive
> funerals are.
> -- Paul Harvey
LOL - That's a keeper!
---Sea
What did the over-eager coffin salesman say to the reluctant customer?
"We also have a nice selection of urns if you would like to think outside of
the box."
From:
http://www.publicradio.org/applications/formbuilder/projects/joke_machine/joke_page.php?joke_cat=%22What%22+Jokes&car_id=35442
Steven K. Robison
-Eubie Blake, 1883 - 1983 (when Blake, then age 97, was asked at what age
the sex drive goes)
***
This is as I have the above with attribution; obviously, in view of Sea's
dates, something is wrong; Blake did not make it to age 97. Anyone know
whether Blake actually said this? [I will have to say, the quote is clever;
but, that of course does not make it accurate. -- SKR]
*************
"~~seadancer~~" <seadan...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:g02lql$7cv$1...@news.datemas.de...
~~seadancer~~
> You'll have to ask somebody older than me.
> -Eubie Blake, 1883 - 1983 (when Blake, then age 97, was asked at what age
> the sex drive goes)
> dates, something is wrong; Blake did not make it to age 97. Anyone know
> whether Blake actually said this? [I will have to say, the quote is
> clever; but, that of course does not make it accurate. -- SKR]
Hmmm, according to Wikipedia and IMDb, Blake died at the age of 96.
We read anecdotes about famous people, but we really never know how true
they are. At least they are amusing. :)
---Sea
ObQ:
“Anecdotes are sometimes the best vehicles of truth,
and if striking and appropriate, are often more
impressive and powerful than argument” -Tryon Edwards
The Sanity Inspector
> "Steven K. Robison" <srobi...@hsonline.net> wrote
Blake died five days after his 100th birthday, on February 12, 1983,
in Brooklyn, New York. News of his death was carried by major
newspapers and television stations internationally. That year a
proliferation of concerts celebrating Blake's life and music by the
music world honored his memory.
-- "Eubie Blake." Encyclopedia of World Biography Supplement, Vol. 25.
Thomson Gale, 2005
And I still remember the headline in the local newspaper: "Eubie Hits
100"
~~seadancer~~
bruce
Hmm, that means that Wikipedia and IMDb are wrong about the age at which
Eubie Blake died. I guess we can't believe everything we read. (g)
ObQ:
"I have abandoned my search for truth, and am now looking for a good
fantasy."
-Ashleigh Brilliant
--
Sea :)
libreria
> Blake died five days after his 100th birthday, on February 12, 1983,
> in Brooklyn, New York. News of his death was carried by major
> newspapers and television stations internationally. That year a
> proliferation of concerts celebrating Blake's life and music by the
> music world honored his memory.
> -- "Eubie Blake." Encyclopedia of World Biography Supplement, Vol. 25.
> Thomson Gale, 2005
> And I still remember the headline in the local newspaper: "Eubie Hits
> 100"
> bruce
>
> Hmm, that means that Wikipedia and IMDb are wrong about the age at which
> Eubie Blake died. I guess we can't believe everything we read. (g)
______________________________________________________________
Just read on further <s>
From wiki....
In later years Blake listed his birth year as 1883; his 100th birthday
was celebrated in 1983. Most sources, including the Encyclopædia
Britannica,[3] and a U.S. Library of Congress biography,[4] incorrectly
list his birth year as 1883. Every official document issued by the
government, however, records his birthday as February 7, 1887. This
includes the 1900 Census, his 1917 World War I draft registration, 1920
passport application, 1936 Social Security application, and death
records as reported by the United States Social Security
Administration.[5] Peter Hanley writes: "In the final analysis, however,
the fact that he was only ninety-six years of age and not one hundred
when he died does not in any way detract from his extraordinary
achievements. Eubie will always remain among the finest popular
composers and songwriters of his era.
--
//libreria
AQ website: Photos, FAQ, AQers websites
http://www.altquotations.com/
_____________________________________
~~seadancer~~
[Bruce, The Sanity Inspector wrote]:
>> Blake died five days after his 100th birthday, on February 12, 1983,
>> in Brooklyn, New York. News of his death was carried by major
>> newspapers and television stations internationally. That year a
>> proliferation of concerts celebrating Blake's life and music by the
>> music world honored his memory.
>> -- "Eubie Blake." Encyclopedia of World Biography Supplement, Vol. 25.
>> Thomson Gale, 2005
>> And I still remember the headline in the local newspaper: "Eubie Hits
>> 100"
>> bruce
>
>> Hmm, that means that Wikipedia and IMDb are wrong about the age at which
>> Eubie Blake died. I guess we can't believe everything we read. (g)
> ______________________________________________________________
> Just read on further <s>
> From wiki....
> In later years Blake listed his birth year as 1883; his 100th birthday
> was celebrated in 1983. Most sources, including the Encyclopædia
> Britannica,[3] and a U.S. Library of Congress biography,[4] incorrectly
> list his birth year as 1883. Every official document issued by the
> government, however, records his birthday as February 7, 1887. This
> includes the 1900 Census, his 1917 World War I draft registration, 1920
> passport application, 1936 Social Security application, and death
> records as reported by the United States Social Security
> Administration.[5] Peter Hanley writes: "In the final analysis, however,
> the fact that he was only ninety-six years of age and not one hundred
> when he died does not in any way detract from his extraordinary
> achievements. Eubie will always remain among the finest popular
> composers and songwriters of his era.
Good for you! You found some important info there.
I located it on the following webpage at "Wiki":
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eubie_Blake
According to that, Wikipedia and IMDb are *right*
about the age at which Eubie Blake died.
Wikipedia says:
Birth name: James Hubert Blake
Born: February 7, 1887
Died: February 12, 1983 (aged 96)
--
Sea
auntk...@gmail.com
pyotr filipivich
in alt.quotations the following:
--
pyotr filipivich
Just because they're invisible doesn't mean they are your friends.
David C Kifer
TV, but I have no idea if he was the first to use it. Most good lines get "borrowed" eventually.
<click, Google, click>
According to Wikipedia:
Eubie Blake continued to play and record into late life, until his death February 12, 1983.
...
His head stone, engraved with the musical notation for "I'm Just Wild About Harry", was commissioned
by the African Atlantic Genealogical Society (AAGS). The bronze sculpture of Blake's bespectacled
face was created by David Byer-Tyre, curator/director of the African American Museum and Center for
Education and Applied Arts, in Hempstead, New York. The original inscription indicated his correct
year of birth, but individuals close to him insisted that Blake be indulged; and paid to have the
inscription changed.
“If I'd known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.”
— Eubie Blake
...
While Blake was reported as having said this on his birthday in 1979,[6] it has been attributed to
others, and appears in print at least as early as 1966 (where it is attributed to an anonymous
90-year-old golf caddie).[7]
...
[7] Gold, Bill (November 24, 1966). "The District Line......" The Washington Post, Times Herald p. G20.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eubie_Blake
Strangely, a 2008 picture of Blake's gravestone does have the changed date of birth, but does NOT
include the "If I'd known..." line, so Wikipedia may not have been implying that the line was added
to his gravestone:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6201608
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=6201608&PIpi=10782403
Mickey Mantle was only 64 when he died, which seems a bit young to be using that quote; it was also
eight years after Blake died, and 29 years after Blake was first credited with using it.
"Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 - August 13, 1995)"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Mantle
George Burns was 100 when he died, the year after Mickey Mantle.
George Burns (January 20, 1896 – March 9, 1996)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Burns
My interpretation of this? The anonymous old golf caddie said it in 1966, Eubie Blake made it
famous, anyone else who may have used it borrowed it from Blake.
Other opinions welcome.
--
Dave
"Tam multi libri, tam breve tempus!"
(Et brevis pecunia.) [Et breve spatium.]
reallit...@gmail.com
It was Phil Harris, I believe, who said, "Dub used to say, 'If I'da known I was gonna live this long....I'da taken better care of myself."
This was THE first time I had ever heard the quip.
Several celebrities used it AFTER that show aired, including George Burns, and, I think, talk show host Mike Douglas joked about it with Eubie Blake on the Mike Douglas Show.
Here is Curt Gowdy's new season ABC promo for the 1972 American Sportsman season.
Hope this helps.
reallit...@gmail.com
Second, I can personally vouch there was great "age" controversy when Eubie Blake passed away. I vaguely remember they adjusted his age after he passed. The early 1970s included a period of American nostalgia. The wide-collar polyester shirts which accompanied the leisure suits often had very old-fashioned graphic prints on them. Eubie's favored genre climbed to incredible heights as part of that nostalgia movement.
Plus, I did NOT post the link to the American Sportsman promo...
https://youtu.be/CK18yfr7MC0
leftcoas...@gmail.com
Joseph C. Fineman
have said "If I'd known" rather than "If I knew".
--
--- Joe Fineman jo...@verizon.net
||: Better pissed off than on. :||
dmar...@gmail.com
Tauser