"Feets Don't Fail Me Now"

[Sam Clements]

If you type "feets don't" into my SABR ProQuest (Hist. NYTimes, Chic.Trib,
LA Times) you get his Obit from 1973, saying he said it.

SC
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fred Shapiro" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Saturday, September 18, 2004 7:08 PM
Subject: "Feets Don't Fail Me Now"


> I am trying to trace back the expression "feets, don't fail me now."  This
> is often said to be a catchphrase of Mantan Moreland in the Charlie Chan
> movies, but apparently that is an urban legend.  Moreland may have used it
> in his nightclub act.
>
> My home access to ProQuest Historical Newspapers is screwed up right now.
> Can anyone tell me the earliest occurrence of this phrase on ProQuest?
> Also, any other insights into the history of the expression would be
> welcome.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
>
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> Fred R. Shapiro                             Editor
> Associate Librarian for Collections and     YALE DICTIONARY OF QUOTATIONS
>   Access and Lecturer in Legal Research     Yale University Press,
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