[Ads-l] Quote Origin: I'd Like To Pay Tribute To My Four Writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

A show business anecdote states that a popular religious television
show of the 1950s received a prestigious award. When the host of the
show attended the ceremony, he noticed that fellow awardees were
acknowledging the writers who were employed to help create their
shows. Hence, the host added the following line to his acceptance
speech:

[Begin quotation]
I feel it is time I pay tribute to my four writers: Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John.
[End quotation]

The host namechecked the writers of the four canonical Gospels. This
line has been attributed to Catholic Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, but some
contend that this scenario was fictional, and the line was crafted by
a comedian such as Milton Berle, Bob Hope, or Arthur Godfrey.

I received a request to investigate this topic.

Fulton J. Sheen was the host of the show "Life Is Worth Living" from
1952 to 1957. The program was popular, and Sheen won an Emmy for "Most
Outstanding Personality" for his efforts in 1952, but the award
ceremony was held in February 1953. Further, Sheen did not attend the
Emmy event, and the gold statuette was accepted for Sheen by a priest
based in Los Angeles.

I determined that the joke was circulating before the Emmy ceremony.
The earliest match appeared in a column published in the "Fort
Lauderdale News" of Florida in July 1952:

[ref] 1952 July 4, Fort Lauderdale News, Pass in Review: "The Voice"
by Orville Revelle, Quote Page 4, Column 2, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
(Newspapers_com) [/ref]
https://www.newspapers.com/article/fort-lauderdale-news-godfrey/201696836/

[Begin excerpt]
Just the other day, Arthur Godfrey was talking about Bishop Sheen and
how he appeals to American listeners and viewers. Arthur says this is
due to Bishop Sheen's writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, et al.
[End excerpt]

Hence, based on current evidence, I believe that this quip originated
with the entertainer Arthur Godfrey. Comedian Bob Hope used a version
of this joke in March 1953.

In December 1954 "Look" magazine gave an award to Sheen for "Best
Religious Program". Sheen employed a version of the quip when he
accepted the award.

Here is a link to the Quote Investigator article:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2026/07/19/four-writers/

Feedback welcome
Garson O'Toole

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