[Ads-l] Quip Origin: It takes five years to become an overnight success

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The humorous remark in the subject line is a member of a family of
quips that I was asked to investigate, e.g.:

(1) It took her ten years to become an overnight sensation.
(2) It takes twenty years to make an overnight success

The earliest strong match I found was mentioned by gossip columnist
Hedda Hopper:

[ref] 1945 November 15, Daily News, Hollywood by Hedda Hopper, Quote
Page 59, Column 2, New York, New York. (Newspapers_com) [/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
Who was it said Hollywood is the place where it takes five years to
become an overnight success?
[End excerpt]

The Quote Investigator article also lists some precursors which were
not formulated as jokes.
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2025/01/29/overnight-success/

Barry Popik also has a webpage with help citations:
“It takes ten years to become an overnight success”
https://barrypopik.com/blog/it_takes_ten_years_to_become_an_overnight_success

Feedback welcome
Garson

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