[Ads-l] Broadway Review Origin: "I Am a Camera" "No Leica"

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

A famous one-line theater review employed a horrible pun, but the
identity of the creator has remained uncertain.

The target of the review was the 1951 Broadway play "I Am a Camera" by
John Van Druten which was adapted from Christopher Isherwood's 1939
novel "Goodbye to Berlin".  The two-word appraisal simply stated: "No
Leica". This wordplay was based on the pronunciation "like-a" for the
German camera company Leica.

Drama critics Walter Kerr, Caroline Lejeune, and Kenneth Tynan have
all received credit. In addition, the joke has been attributed to
witty writers such as Dorothy Parker, Jean Kerr, and Goodman Ace.

A citation for the earliest close match was posted by John Baxindine
on Bluesky recently. The joke appeared in the widely syndicated
newspaper column of Walter Winchell in December 1951.

[ref] 1951 December 12, Wilkes-Barre Times Leader Evening News,
Broadway Midnight by Walter Winchell, Quote Page 47, Column 1 and 2,
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. (Newspapers_com) [/ref]
https://www.newspapers.com/article/wilkes-barre-times-leader-the-evening-n/181593291/

[Begin excerpt]
Goodman Ace's capsule criticism of the play, "I Am a Camera": "No
Leica!" ... (Sorry, folks. These Are The Jokes!).
[End excerpt]

Based on current knowledge I think that U.S. humorist Goodman Ace
deserves credit for this joke. The underlying pun was in circulation
several years before the comical review appeared. For example, in 1937
"Sales Management: The Magazine of Modern Marketing" printed the
following:

[ref] 1937 September 1, Sales Management: The Magazine of Modern
Marketing, Volume 41, Number 5, Scratch Pad, Quote Page 54, Column 3,
Sales Management Inc., New York. (Verified with scans) [/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
Monkey songs were popular at the turn of the century. You may remember
one called "Under the Bamboo Tree." A currently popular camera reminds
me of the refrain of that song: "If you Leica me like I Leica you."
[End excerpt]

Here is a link to the Quote Investigator article:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2025/10/02/no-leica/

Earlier citations, interesting material, and feedback would be welcome.
Garson

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org