Wake me up when Kirby dies; Broker than the Ten Commandments

Wilson Gray wilson.gray at RCN.COM
Tue Nov 30 02:12:10 UTC 2004


On Nov 28, 2004, at 4:29 AM, Bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Bapopik at AOL.COM
> Subject:      Wake me up when Kirby dies; Broker than the Ten
> Commandments
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
> BROKER THAN THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

This is one of the oldest BE expressions known to man. We used this
when we were still swinging through the trees. I don't see a date for
the first cite below, but I wouldn't be surprised to discover that
Satchmo used this expression when he was a pre-teen. I certainly was a
pre-teen when I first heard it in St. Louis, ca.1945.

-Wilson Gray

>    =20
> BROKER THAN THE TEM COMMANDMENTS--47 Google hits, 13 Google Groups
> hits
> =20
>      1. =20
> _Straight  From the Trumpet's Mouth; SATCHMO: My Life in New Orleans.
> By=20
> Louis  Armstrong. Illustrated. 240 pp. New York: Prentice-Hall. $3.50.
> Trump=
> et's =20
> Mouth _=20
> (http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?
> index=3D0&did=3D000000096625537&SrchMode=3D1=
> &sid=3D2&Fmt=3D10&VInst=3DPROD&VType=3DPQD&RQT=3D309&VName=3DHNP&TS=3D1
> 10163=
> 2281&clientId=3D658
> 82)=20
> By CLEVELAND AMORY. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York,
> N.Y.: Oct=20=
> =20
> 10, 1954. p. BR7 (2 pages)=20
> First page: Some of these, Louis tells us, hit the big time with
> "Roast=20
> Beef" (tuxedo) and "frebies" (free meals), others are nothing but
> "poor boy=
> "=20
> sandwiches and were "broker than the Ten  Commandments;...
>
> 2. =20
> _Louis  Armstrong, Jazz Trumpeter and Singer, Dies; Louis Armstrong,
> the Jaz=
> z=20
>  Trumpeter and Singer, Dies in His Home at 71 _=20
> (http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?
> index=3D1&did=3D000000079675134&SrchMode=3D1=
> &sid=3D2&Fmt=3D10&VInst=3DPROD&VType=3DPQD&RQT
> =3D309&VName=3DHNP&TS=3D1101632281&clientId=3D65882)=20
> By  ALBIN KREBS. New York Times (1857-Current  file). New York, N.Y.:
> Jul 7,=
> =20
> 1971. p. 1 (2 pages)=20
> Pg. 41: "I was foolin' around with some tough ones," Mr.. Armstrong
> recalle=
> d=20
> in 1969. "Get paid a little money, and a beeline for on of them
> gambling=20
> houses. Two hours, man, and I was a broke cat, broker than the  Ten
> Commandm=
> ents."
> =20
>
>      _Bucks County Courier Times _=20
> (http://www.newspaperarchive.com/Viewer.aspx?img=3D++xTpPwvmwuKID/
> 6NLMW2twgU=
> cwPTeHajH0yrdQ41FgSWqZgLX4bFkIF+CsZYmrz) =20
> Saturday, July 13, 1968 _Levittown,_=20
> (http://www.newspaperarchive.com/Search.aspx?Search=3Dcity:
> levittown+than+th=
> e+ten+commandments)  _Pennsylvania_=20
> (http://www.newspaperarchive.com/Search.aspx?Search=3Dstate:
> pennsylvania+tha=
> n+the+ten+commandm
> ents)      ...remember when he was broker  THAN THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
> Heart=20
> transplants  were.....LBJ may have been less a gag target THAN usual.
> had an=
>  =20
> awful lot of somebody..
>     _Times Recorder _=20
> (http://www.newspaperarchive.com/Viewer.aspx?img=3DGa2xMtpV76yKID/
> 6NLMW2odsq=
> 4h7NXO1gMV6rU/Tvw/+HTeu2vtXIkIF+CsZYmrz)  Sunday, July 14,=20
> 1968 _Zanesville,_=20
> (http://www.newspaperarchive.com/Search.aspx?Search=3Dcity:
> zanesville+than+t=
> he+ten+commandments)  _Ohio_=20
> (http://www.newspaperarchive.com/Search.aspx?Search=3Dstate:
> ohio+than+the+te=
> n+commandments)      ...remember when=20
> he was broker  THAN THE TEN COMMANDMENTS Heart transplants
> were.....In show=
> =20
> on CBS TV brought in some more THAN slightly  suggestive material..
>      _Bucks County Courier Times _=20
> (http://www.newspaperarchive.com/Viewer.aspx?img=3D++xTpPwvmwuKID/
> 6NLMW2uZ3s=
> hyR7xZusIaZXnzEax/a6TNpIf3zKEIF+CsZYmrz) =20
> Friday, August 09, 1974 _Levittown,_=20
> (http://www.newspaperarchive.com/Search.aspx?Search=3Dcity:
> levittown+than+th=
> e+ten+commandments)  _Pennsylvania_=20
> (http://www.newspaperarchive.com/Search.aspx?Search=3Dstate:
> pennsylvania+tha=
> n+the+ten+commandm
> ents)      ...one to Flip Wil- I was  broker THAN THE TEN
> COMMANDMENTS.' a=20
> mighty  good of what.....pursuit of power is more important THAN civil
>  righ=
> ts=20
> and THE welfare of a..
>    =20
>       =20
>
>      _Frederick Post _=20
> (http://www.newspaperarchive.com/Viewer.aspx?img=3DssVO2f5ZuruKID/
> 6NLMW2lqTd=
> sfpwucUpNKKEzyeIskdbXukfoTed0IF+CsZYmrz)  Wednesday,=20
> January 22, 1997 _Frederick,_=20
> (http://www.newspaperarchive.com/Search.aspx?Search=3Dcity:
> frederick+than+th=
> e+ten+commandments)  _Maryland_=20
> (http://www.newspaperarchive.com/Search.aspx?Search=3Dstate:
> maryland+than+th=
> e+ten+commandments)     =20
> ...or how THEy're 4  broker THAN THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.' biie-GMC
> dealer Sam=
> =20
> C.....eating briers" or how THEy're -broker THAN  THE TEN
> CommandmentFor Po.=
> veil.=20
> 39..
> _News _=20
> (http://www.newspaperarchive.com/Viewer.aspx?img=3DssVO2f5ZuruKID/
> 6NLMW2tJ8k=
> ySV6UN3s07qcrLHUToFSiiXnTayT0IF+CsZYmrz)  Wednesday, January 22,
> 1997=20
> _Frederick,_=20
> (http://www.newspaperarchive.com/Search.aspx?Search=3Dcity:
> frederick+than+th=
> e+ten+commandments)  _Maryland_=20
> (http://www.newspaperarchive.com/Search.aspx?Search=3Dstate:
> maryland+than+th=
> e+ten+commandments)      ...or how THEy're =20
> "broker THAN THE TEN COMMANDMENTS." For  Powell. 39. a.....eating
> briers' or=
> =20
> how THEy're 'broker THAN  THE TEN whole mess" of friends and..
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----=
> --
> --------------------------------------------------------
> WAKE ME UP WHEN KIRBY DIES   =20
> =20
> WAKE ME UP WHEN KIRBY DIES--5 Google hits, 0 Google Groups hits
> =20
> =20
> (GOOGLE)
> =20
> _Gold  Rush Women_
> (http://www.sierrafoothillmagazine.com/women.html)=20
> ... purposes, was an English actor  so noted for his dramatic death
> throes=20
> that a phrase
> coined by bored  theatre-goers, =E2=80=9CWake me up when Kirby
> dies,=E2=80=
> =9D  became ...=20
> www.sierrafoothillmagazine.com/women.html - 17k - _Cached_=20
> (http://216.239.39.104/search?q=3Dcache:RRzT4eS4nlkJ:
> www.sierrafoothillmagaz=
> ine.com/women.html+"wak
> e+me+up+when+kirby"&hl=3Den&ie=3DUTF-8)  - _Similar pages_=20
> (http://www.google.com/search?hl=3Den&lr=3D&ie=3DUTF
> -8&c2coff=3D1&q=3Drelate=
> d:www.sierrafoothillmagazine.com/wo
> men.html)  =20
> _San Francisco  History - Strolling on Sunday Afternoons_=20
> (http://www.zpub.com/sf50/sf/hgsto13.htm)=20
> ...  Such stories of stage life he could tell! Such color of the old
> Bowery=20=
> =20
> Theater!
> How he would dilate on the old slogan, =E2=80=9CWake me  up when Kirby
> dies=
> =E2=80=9D! ...=20
> www.zpub.com/sf50/sf/hgsto13.htm - 12k - _Cached_=20
> (http://216.239.39.104/search?q=3Dcache:z5hykI2xoP8J:www.zpub.com/
> sf50/sf/hg=
> sto13.htm+"wake+me+up+when+kirby
> "&hl=3Den&ie=3DUTF-8)  - _Similar pages_=20
> (http://www.google.com/search?hl=3Den&lr=3D&ie=3DUTF
> -8&c2coff=3D1&q=3Drelate=
> d:www.zpub.com/sf50/sf/hgsto13.htm)  =20
> _WHMC-Columbia-- W Word List: Tamony, Peter (1902-1985), Collection
> ..._=20
> (http://www.umsystem.edu/whmc/invent/3939W.html)=20
> ... Waiting List Wait Out Waitress  Wait-See Wait Tell Next Year Wait
> Up=20
> Waive Waiver
> Waiver Rule Waivers Wak  Waka Wake Wakeathon Wake Me Up When Kirby
> Dies Wak=
> e=20
> Up ...=20
> www.umsystem.edu/whmc/invent/3939W.html - 33k - _Cached_=20
> (http://216.239.39.104/search?q=3Dcache:68s-jb_exEkJ:www.umsystem.edu/
> whmc/i=
> nvent/3939W.html+"wake+me
> +up+when+kirby"&hl=3Den&ie=3DUTF-8)  - _Similar pages_=20
> (http://www.google.com/search?hl=3Den&lr=3D&ie=3DUTF
> -8&c2coff=3D1&q=3Drelate=
> d:www.umsystem.edu/whmc/invent/3939W.ht
> ml)  =20
> _[CTRL] [3] The Ohio Gang_=20
> (http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/msg15487.html)=20
> ...  was a Civil War veteran who always bedded down in a pile of old=20
> newspapers  and,
> by way of bidding good-night, would say, "Wake me  up when Kirby
> dies"=E2=
> =80=94
> whoever ...=20
> www.mail-archive.com/ctrl at listserv. aol.com/msg15487.html - 24k - =20
> Supplemental Result - _Cached_=20
> (http://216.239.39.104/search?q=3Dcache:iYCA04DCniYJ:www.mail-
> archive.com/ct=
> rl at listserv.aol.com/msg15487.html+"wake+me+up+when+kirby"&hl=3De
> n&ie=3DUTF-8)  - _Similar pages_=20
> (http://www.google.com/search?hl=3Den&lr=3D&ie=3DUTF
> -8&c2coff=3D1&q=3Drelate=
> d:www.mail-archive.com/ctrl at listserv.aol.com/msg15487.html)
>    =20
> =20
> _Article  1 -- No Title_=20
> (http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?
> index=3D0&did=3D000000324266932&SrchMode=3D1=
> &sid=3D4&Fmt=3D10&VInst=3DPROD&VType=3DPQD&RQT=3D309&VName=3DHNP&TS=3D1
> 1016
> 28569&clientId=3D65882)=20
> Los Angeles Times (1886-Current  File). Los Angeles, Calif.: Dec 12,
> 1898. p=
> .=20
> 6 (1 page)=20
> The San Francisco papers, in speaking of the death of the pioneer
> actress, =20
> Sarah Stark Thorne, mentions James Stark as her first husband, which
> is quit=
> e =20
> incorrect. The lady was three times married, her first husband being
> the=20
> famous  Bowery actor of fifty years ago, Hudson Kirby. Out of his name
> grew=20=
> the=20
> popular  newsboys' shibboleth of "Wake me up when Kirby dies."
> =20
> _THREE  OLD-TIME THEATRES._=20
> (http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?
> index=3D1&did=3D000000101218470&SrchMode=3D1=
> &sid=3D5&Fmt=3D10&VInst=3DPROD&VType=3DPQD&RQT=3D309&VName=3DHNP&TS=3D1
> 1
> 01628957&clientId=3D65882)=20
> THOMAS W. PITTMAN.. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York,
> N.Y.: Jun=20
> 22,  1902. p. 7 (1 page)  =20
> Kirby, one of the then leading tragedians, frequently played there in
> =20
> National anf patriotic plays, and during his engagements it was the
> common =20=
> saying=20
> of the town, "Wrap me in an American flag and wake me up when Kirby
> dies,"=20=
> as=20
> he was regarded as great in his heroic and prolonged death  scenes.
>    =20
>        4. _In  the Days of "Dese, Dem, an' Dose"; Mr. Harlow Writes
> a=20
> Fascinating  Full-Throated Chronicle of the Old Bowery. The Bowery _
> (http:/=
> /
> proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?
> index=3D3&did=3D000000118215627&SrchMode=3D1&sid=3D5=
> &Fmt=3D10&VInst=3DPROD&
> VType=3DPQD&RQT=3D309&VName=3DHNP&TS=3D1101628957&clientId=3D65882)=20
> By HOLLISTER NOBLE. New York Times  (1857-Current file). New York,
> N.Y.: Jul=
> =20
> 26, 1931. p. BR3 (2 pages) =20
>
>        =20
> First page: Judsob Kirby appeared in "Six Degrees of Crime" and grew
> so =20
> famous for his death scenes that a request of the tired business man
> of the=20=
> =20
> period to "Wake Me Up When Kirby Dies" became a bon mot for  years.
>



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