Modern Proverb: Be nice to those you meet on the way up. They're the same folks you'll meet on the way down (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Mullins, Bill AMRDEC]

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

The same quote (more or less) appears unattributed in _The Linking Ring_
Jan 1935 p 944 col 2

"It pays to be nice to the people you meet on the way up, for they are
the same people you meet on the way down."

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
> Behalf Of Garson O'Toole
> Sent: Friday, July 16, 2010 4:17 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Modern Proverb: Be nice to those you meet on the way up.
> They're the same folks you'll meet on the way down (antedating Walter
> Winchell 1932 July 8)
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
---------------
> --------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Modern Proverb: Be nice to those you meet on the way up.
> They're
>               the same folks you'll meet on the way down (antedating
> Walter
>               Winchell 1932 July 8)
>
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> --------
>
> Be nice to people on your way up because you'll meet 'em on your way
> down.
>
> This quotation (with variants) has been attributed to Jimmy Durante,
> Wilson Mizner, and Walter Winchell and others.
>
> The online Oxford Dictionary of Quotations lists the quote under
> Wilson Mizner and cites the 1953 work "The Legendary Mizners".
>
> The Yale Book of Quotations also lists the quote under Wilson Mizner
> and cites the 1949 "The Dictionary of Humorous Quotations" by Evan
> Esar.
>
> Ralph Keyes says "Credit Wilson Mizner for now" in the Quotation
> Verifier. His source notes point to "The Legendary Mizners".
>
> I could not find anything about the expression in the ADS archive or
> at Barry Popik's website.
>
>
> According to a 1932 newspaper account describing a radio broadcast,
> Walter Winchell used the expression over the air in 1932.
>
> 1932 July 8, Pittsburgh Press, "Were You Listening?", Page 21 (GNA
> Page 16), Column 1, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  (Google News archive)
>
> Walter Winchell made only passing reference to Ben Bernie-probably
> admitting that Ben made him look like a sucker in the battle of
> brains. He did give some good advice to bigheaded movie actors: "Be
> nice to those you meet on the way up. They're the same folks you'll
> meet on the way down."
>
> http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=%22bigheaded+movie%22&
>
> In 1933 Golden Book and Reader's Digest apparently contain the
>
> Garson
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

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