[Ads-l] Everyone's A Comedian

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Garson O'Toole wrote
> [Begin excerpt]
> While putting some finishing touches to the work yesterday he said:
> "Did it ever occur to you that every man is a humorist? I am not
> referring to the play at Carnegie hall recently, but to every man in
> the daily walk of life.

Andy Bach wrote:
> I wonder what the play was - it sort of implies that the title says that
> "Every man a Comic"  ... or, I guess: "Every Man in His Humour", Ben Jonson
> 1598.

Here is a link to a clipping that shows more of the article from
October 25, 1903 in "The Pittsburgh Daily Post".
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16593364/pittsburgh_daily_post/

I am not sure what play is being referenced. There are multiple
Carnegie Music Halls in Pennsylvania including one in Pittsburgh where
the newspaper is located. The venue in New York is also a possibility.

Garson

> On Sun, Jan 14, 2018 at 9:41 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole <
> adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Margaret Winters wrote:
>> > With apologies to the list if this has been (much) discussed, a friend
>> > asked if I knew who said it first -- I don't.
>>
>> In 1903 the phrase "Everybody is a comedian" appeared in "The
>> Pittsburgh Post". The entertainer and painter Charley Abbe explained
>> his use of the phrase below.
>>
>> Date: October 25, 1903
>> Newspaper: The Pittsburgh Post
>> Newspaper Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
>> Section: Three
>> Article: The Stage and Its People
>> Quote Page 2, Column 6
>> Database: Newspapers.com
>>
>> [Begin excerpt]
>> While putting some finishing touches to the work yesterday he said:
>> "Did it ever occur to you that every man is a humorist? I am not
>> referring to the play at Carnegie hall recently, but to every man in
>> the daily walk of life. One business man goes in to see another, and
>> the first thing he says is have you heard the latest? And then they
>> tell jokes before settling down to business. We are a nation of
>> story-tellers—not in relation to the truth, though. Everybody is a
>> comedian, and everybody is a critic—that is, on comedians.
>> [End excerpt]
>>
>> The citation above is interesting, but I haven't searched enough to
>> make any strong claims about it.
>> The phrase "Everybody's A Comedian Now" appeared in the subtitle of
>> the1935 newspaper article below.
>>
>> Date: December 03, 1935
>> Newspaper: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
>> Newspaper Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
>> Article: New Craze Hits Air Colony: Everybody's A Comedian Now:
>> Reverse a Maxim, Bring It Up to Date - And You're a Member
>> Author: Darrell V. Martin (Post-Gazette Radio Editor)
>> Quote Page 20, Column 5
>> Database: Newspapers.com
>>
>> [Begin excerpt]
>> MOTHER GOOSE UP to date, a la Fred Allen: "Don't kill the goose that
>> might win a prize on my amateur hour."
>>
>> This golden egg is followed by Nick Dawson, who says: "A bird in the
>> hand is better than one from the studio audience."
>>
>> While Jane Froman interrupts to say, "People who live in glass houses
>> are called control men" . . .
>>
>> Jack Benny: "An ounce of pretention is worth a pound on the back, for
>> a radio comic.
>> [End excerpt]
>>
>> Garson
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> > ----------------------------
>> > MARGARET E WINTERS
>> > Former Provost
>> > Professor Emerita - French and Linguistics
>> > Wayne State University
>> > Detroit, MI  48202
>> >
>> > mewinters at wayne.edu
>> >
>> >
>> > ------------------------------------------------------------
>> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
>
>
> --
>
> a
>
> Andy Bach,
> afbach at gmail.com
> 608 658-1890 cell
> 608 261-5738 wk
>
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