Quote: Cary Grant telegram anecdote based on Gar Wood story - testimony from Timothy Ferris

[Garson O'Toole]

LH wrote
> And speaking of the unattestable Groucho wire, does this belong to
> the same set of apocryphal telegrams as the Cary Grant one we've
> discussed previously?
>
> Telegram to CG vacationing in France:  HOW OLD CARY GRANT
> Reply telegram from CG: OLD CARY GRANT FINE STOP HOW YOU

I wrote about the Cary Grant telegram anecdote on the Quote
Investigator blog. Similar telegram stories were told about Gar Wood
and General Mark Clark. Sam Clements found the earliest cite for the
tale, and it featured Gar Wood.

In 1961 the journalist George Dixon stated that a man named Tom Ferris
was responsible for sending the famous reply telegram, and the subject
was Gar Wood.

After posting my research I received some interesting new
collaborating information from the superb science writer Timothy
Ferris who stated "The author of the joke was my father, Tom Ferris, a
former journalist, critic, and short-story writer working for the
Hannagan publicity agency."

Details are given in the blog post. I would welcome any additional
information or citations. Thanks. Garson

http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/10/30/how-old-cary-grant/

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