Sumbitch

[Grant Barrett]

I was watching, uh, "Smokey and the Bandit" (1977) on DVD (I saw three art films last month: I'm covered) and the cast notes for Jackie Gleason have him claiming to have invented the term "sumbitch," among other things, for his role as the demented Southern sheriff. The movie was a huge number two at the box office that year, after "Star Wars," so while I'm skeptical he invented "sumbitch," it seems possible he popularized it.