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| Displaying Sarcasm Anecdotes: 1311 Found |
Stork Outwitted
One day, George Jessel arrived at the exclusive Stork Club with the very beautif...
Laborious Day
One night, when the director of Peter Pan dismissed the cast after a long...
Exceptional Soldiers?
William Pitt was once visited in London by several volunteers offering their ser...
Singed Photo
While appearing on "The Goon Show," Peter Sellers received a curious letter from...
Kool Reception?
In 1921, Chinese ambassador Wellington Koo visited America to represent China at...
Punctuated Equilibrium?
In 1802, Timothy Dexter published a twenty-four page pamphlet (entitled "A Pickl...
Glass Menagerie?
In the mid-1950s, Bob Wolff became the voice of Madison Square Garden. "The reas...
M-C-R-C-N? (long)
In 1495, Dr Rodrigo Gonzalez de Puebla was sent to London by Ferdinand and Isabe...
Ranching on the Beltway
Herbert Hoover once complained to former president Calvin Coolidge that his atte...
Stop and Go
The pianist Oscar Levant was playing one evening when a woman arrived late and p...
Smash Hit
A notoriously vain actor named Dustin Farnum once boasted to Oliver Herford that...
Q & A
William Phelps, marking exam papers shortly before Christmas one year, came acro...
Out of Order
One day at the height of the Vietnam War, Lord Mountbatten agreed to appear on "...
Final Request
Shortly before his execution by firing squad, the notorious murderer James Rodge...
Punchier Paragraphs
One day Milt Sosin's editor at The News ordered the staff to write shorte...
Ignose
Albert Szent-Gyorgyi once submitted a paper describing his isolation of a new su...
Hawks & Hepburn
Though director Howard Hawks got along well with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepbur...
Ronald Reagan: Uncommon Cents
In Ronald Reagan's first televised budget speech as president, he used a handful...
Talk Show
Eddie Fisher once appeared on a television program during which entertainers sou...
Charitable Interpretation?
On a visit to New York, Harpo Marx was bombarded by requests from various charit...
Cheesy Stunt
Famed street magician David Blaine once spent 62 hours sealed in ice in Times Sq...
Members Only?
F. E. Smith annoyed many patrons of London's exclusive Athenaeum Club (of which ...
Yappers
While attending the symphony one evening, Henry Parker was dismayed to find that...
Spleen
Joseph Hyrtl once examined a particularly nervous candidate for a medical degree...
Jayne Mansfield: Got Milk?
The famously well-endowed Jayne Mansfield (whose studio chair on the set of ...
Dewey Morning
On election eve, 1948, Thomas Dewey (who, according to polls, was poised to defe...
Mark of Distinction
Charles Steinmetz was once called out of retirement by General Electric to help ...
Sammy Davis Handicap
One day in the 1950s, Sammy Davis, Jr lost his left eye in a car crash (on his w...
Dinner Party
While attending a private dinner party one evening, Alfred Hitchcock, whose famo...
Oliver Herford: Comic Ambition
One day Oliver Herford was solemnly asked by a serious young woman whether he re...
Sarcoma?
Evelyn Waugh was no fan of Winston Churchill's obnoxious journalist son, Randolp...
Riot Act
Such was his ineptitude as a public speaker that David Hartley (a member of Parl...
Feeling Better
One day during his tenure as president of the Philippine Commission, William How...
Slit Trench
General George S. Patton never allowed himself to flinch under fire and strongly...
Moon Rocket
Robert Goddard's early musings about building a rocket large enough to reach the...
Truman Capote: Autograph Si...
"The late, much-lamented Truman Capote was in a New York restaurant on one of th...
Storehouse of Knowledge
At a dinner held in his honor one evening, Harvard president Charles W. Eliot wa...
Elaine Stritch & Noel Cowar...
During a rehearsal one day, Elaine Stritch began to sing, "When the tower of Bab...
Astor Overboard?
In 1929, Lady Astor won election to the British House of Commons (the first woma...
By George!
Among George Antheil's early avant-garde pieces, none caused a greater sensation...
Red in the Face?
Eleanor Roosevelt once subjected Winston Churchill to a diatribe on the subject ...
Hard Lines
Oscar Wilde's legal battle with the Marquis of Queensberry (his lover's father) ...
Dorothy Parker: Leaden Excuse
The New Yorker was launched (in 1925) by Harold Ross on a shoestring budg...
Point Well Made?
While visiting Henry Ward Beecher one day, Robert Ingersoll noticed a beautiful ...
20th Century-Fox?
Despite his pioneering role as founder of Twentieth Century-Fox, Darryl F. Zanuc...
Art Louver?
Upon his return home after a visit to Paris one year, Humphrey Davy was asked wh...
Puisne Judge (long)
As a puisne judge, Bowen once adjudicated in a memorable case involving a burgla...
Bridge Burner?
While planning a campaign one day, one of Richelieu's officers, poring over a ma...
Recession
The latter portion of Jimmy Carter's presidency was plagued by recession. The Am...
John Edwards: Power Hungry?
Though touted as a candidate for his party's nomination in the 2004 presidential...
Advanced Intellect
One day late in life Sir Malcolm Sargent was asked: "To what do you attribute yo...
Strung Quartet?
One evening George Bernard Shaw attended a performance by an Italian string quar...
Understatement?
One day George Kaufman visited the office of theatrical producer Jed Harris, a m...
Giving Thanks
At the height of his success, a newspaper calculated that Rudyard Kipling was ea...
Serendippable!
One day in 1853, an annoying guest at a resort in Saratoga Springs, New York, co...
Private Time?
Dorothy Parker was once visited in the hospital by her secretary, whom she had s...
Phool
"Joseph Parker stepped into the pulpit of the City Temple in London for his Thur...
National Pride
Winston Churchill entered a men's washroom in the House of Commons one day and, ...
Skinner & Shaw
One day in 1935, Cornelia Otis Skinner, enjoying great success in the title role...
Wolfgang Puck: Mint Sauce
While working in the kitchen of his restaurant Ma Maison one day in the 1970s, c...
Writer's Revenge
Like many screenwriters, Norman Krasna resented Jack Warner's insistance that hi...
Open Season?
While hunting one day with director Howard Hawks and William Faulkner, the accla...
Tracking Device
In July 2000, a federal judge granted a request by alleged mobster Vincent Marin...
W. C. Fields: Persistent Sa...
One day W. C. Fields was accosted by a very persistent insurance salesman. The m...
Unscripted Solution
John Ford once directed a film for Samuel Goldwyn and MGM. When the shooting beg...
Western Civilization
Mahatma Gandhi was once asked what he thought about Western civilization. "I thi...
La Scala
While serving as general manager of New York's Metropolitan Opera, Gatti-Casazza...
Tony Kaye: Alan Smithee Pro...
Tony Kaye, peeved by New Line Cinema's refusal to grant him more time to work on...
Yapper?
One day Samuel Butler visited his wife on what he believed to be her deathbed: ...
Third Fleet
In October 1944, the Japanese circulated bulletins claiming that most of the shi...
Jed Babbin & the Wimpy French
In the run-up to the war in Iraq in May 2003, President George W. Bush was disma...
Penetrating Question
The Russian physicist Lev Landau once attended a session of the Russian Academy ...
Bitter Harvest
Barbara Bush once accompanied her husband, President George Bush, on a state vis...
Pablo Picasso: Small World
Picasso once found himself discussing art with an American GI who professed to d...
Pablo Picasso: Fake Picassos
The production of forged Picassos naturally grew apace with the artist's acclaim...
Richard Gere: Sex Object
When Richard Gere returned from the set of Yanks he found that ...
Mating of Tigers
Edith Sitwell once received letter from a concerned reader. "Dear Dame Edith," i...
Crick & Churchill
When his Cambridge college began the construction of a chapel in 1961, the biolo...
Conjunction
"Eddie Cantor and Georgie Jessel were on the same bill on a vaudeville unit," Jo...
Phil Spector: The Screw
In 1961, legendary producer Phil Spector teamed up with Lester Sill to form Phil...
Pressed Off?
"The ambassador of a great nation called at the White House one day for an impor...
Robert Mitchum: Collection Cup
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the delicate Loretta Young and the rough-and-tumble Robe...
Perfectly Agreeable
One afternoon in 1911, Woodrow Wilson, then serving as New Jersey's governor, re...
Second Best?
The drama critic James Agate once approached Lilian Braithwaite at a social func...
Mass Consumption?
Prior to a Washington performance of "La Boheme" which Dwight Eisenhower was pla...
Lackey Guess?
Despite the charlatanism inherent in his writings, John Taylor cultivated a rema...
Rosalind Russell: Timeless ...
At a luncheon party one day, a snooty young actress fixed Rosalind Russell with ...
Mad Ladie
Because her prophecies were deemed a danger during the troubled religious climat...
Lost Reverend
One day early in his career, Billy Graham arrived in a small town to preach a se...
Groucho Marx: Chastity
Groucho Marx was descending in the elevator at the Hotel Danieli in Venice one d...
Casablanca Lawsuit (long)
When they learned that a new Marx Brothers film was to be entitled "A Night in C...
Freudian Quip
In his capacity as a comedian on "You Bet Your Life" Groucho Marx interviewed ma...
Cool Customer
One day long before his incarnation as a railway mogul, James Cooley worked as a...
Peter Sellers: Talking to God
Late one night, following a disappointing day wrestling with a troublesome scene...
Baignieres's Mutiny
The Parisian saloniere Euphrasie Aubernon was famed for her autocratic nature. S...
All For Nought
A man of Douglas Jerrold's acquaintance who was notorious for borrowing funds fr...
Hélas Pour Godard?
Despite a career spanning four decades in which he made more than 100 films and ...
Definitely Maybe?
Dorothy Parker and a friend once found themselves gossiping about a mutual acqua...
Immortal Reply
One evening while attending one of George Gershwin's famous parties, Groucho Mar...
Future Champion?
When black fighters first began to dominate the heavyweight boxing circuit, many...
Animal Crackers
Though George Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind had written "Animal Crackers" with the ...
Two Bits?
Andrew Carnegie was once visited by an ardent socialist who spoke at great lengt...
Sheen for President
Charlie Sheen was once asked whether he'd like to have his father's job playing ...
Mutual Feeling
While visiting Blenheim Palace (the Churchill family's ancestral home) one day, ...
Fitting Reply
Noel Coward once spent a very uncomfortable night at a bug-infested hotel in the...
Red in the Face?
One day shortly after his retirement from the University of Chicago, Robert Hutc...
Bread Winner?
Feodor Chaliapin once spent the night with a young woman from a town through whi...
Lights Out?
In 2001, Martin Creed was awarded the prestigious Turner Prize (for excellence i...
Top Management?
Atlanta Braves shortstop Darrel Chaney was once asked how the team's management ...
Paderewski
The pianist Merit Rosenthal once went to hear the famed Paderewski play in Londo...
Labouchere
One day during his tenure as a British attache in St. Petersburg, Henry Labouche...
Jack Benny: Thirty-Niner
Well into his sunset years, Jack Benny often claimed to be thirty-nine years old...
Trouble Brewing
In 1972, the Milwaukee Brewers lost twenty of their first thirty games. Needless...
Film Critic
In February, 2000, famed film critic Rex Reed was arrested for shoplifting three...
Cub Reporter
An editor once admonished his cub reporter, Mark Twain, never to state as fact a...
Ingrid Bergman: Bergman's Baby
Shortly after Ingrid Bergman's departure for Italy in 1949 (to make ...
Oscar Levant: Elegy
Shortly after George Gershwin's death, Oscar Levant was approached by a man who ...
George W. Bush: Bush Quiz!
How did Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien respond when his spokeswoman calle...
Wedding Gift?
Shortly after her newly-divorced husband, Louis Calhern, married Julia Hoyt, Ilk...
Resignation
While visiting his club one evening, Oliver Herford was approached by a notoriou...
Lonsdale
"The only deadly sin in the eyes of the membership of the Garrick Club was to be...
Ironic?
"An old man turned ninety-eight, he won the lottery and died the next day. It's ...
Oscar Party
"One morning in the summer of 1950, Billy Wilder was sitting alone, eating break...
Popular Representation
When an unscrupulous industrialist was nominated for a cabinet post one day, one...
Prodigious Claim
Picasso once fell into an acrimonious conversation with a woman over his so-call...
Gasbag
One evening, the rival lawyers Joseph Choate and Chauncey M. Depew found themsel...
Bennett's Box
At a low point in Constance Bennett's career, her Hollywood agent (Sue Mengers) ...
Wedding Present
One day in November 2000, Elton John was asked to suggest the "perfect wedding p...
Smoot
While working as a cub reporter for the New York World, Heywood Broun was...
Fab Three?
In 1989, George Harrison rejected Paul McCartney's latest proposal for a Beatles...
French Academy
Francois Coppee was once asked by the wife of an aspiring writer to support her ...
Lieberman-Cheney Debate
After his stint as George Bush's Secretary of Defense, Dick Cheney entered the b...
King of Kings
During the production of King of Kings, director Cecil B. De Mille was di...
Banker's Banker
One day the legendary banker Amadeo Peter Giannini (whose Bank of America Nation...
Sure Thing
One weekend, the legendary producer Jack Warner went to the races at Hollywood P...
Eddie Murphy: Career Trajec...
In the 1990s, Eddie Murphy went through a dark period during which his films (mo...
Urban Design
In 1905, Evelyn Nesbit married a wealthy businessman named Harry K. Thaw. The fo...
Highway to Hell!
During the American invasion of Panama in 1989, troops blasted AC/DC's "Highway ...
Famous Last Words
Toward the end of his life, Voltaire was advised to foreswear Satan. He declined...
Godfather of Bellies
So much did Marlon Brando's weight balloon during the production of ...
Clark Gable: King of Hollyw...
Clark Gable's wife Carole Lombard once gave him a hand-knitted penis warmer as a...
Mainly on Grass?
Charlie Sheen once produced a collection of poetry (entitled ...
Cheap Shot
During his wild youth, Joe E. Lewis stayed for a time at a boardinghouse whose p...
Underwhelmed
Many critics were underwhelmed by Jerry Hall's nude turn as Mrs. Robinson in the...
First Impressions
One day in the early 1960s, John Lennon walked into London's Indica art gallery ...
Wooster Sauce
Horatio Bottomley once arrived at the home of Lord Cholmondley. "I wish to speak...
Speeding Ticket
"I was given a ticket," Denis Norden once recalled. "I said to the policeman, 'W...
SASE Sentiment
One day during the Civil War Abraham Lincoln received a letter from a female adm...
Peter Ustinov: Tanks
"In January 1942, I received my call-up papers," Peter Ustinov once recalled. "A...
Nice Compliment
In 1965, Christopher Plummer starred opposite Julie Andrews in Robert Wise's scr...
Gamut
Katharine Hepburn's early performance in "The Lake" was not universally well-rec...
Caught Peering
At a party one evening, Tallulah Bankhead caught a peer of the realm blankly sta...
Parliament of Owls?
At a reception in honour of several former British prime ministers, Harold Macmi...
Pope's Fiat
"The Pope's new Fiat, which can withstand direct machine gun fire, was designed ...
Whiner
The indignation of the Italians over the denial of their claims to the Adriatic ...
Civilized
Lytton Strachey, like the other philosophers, writers, and artists in the Blooms...
Margot Asquith: Silent Trea...
While visiting Hollywood one year, Margot Asquith (the second wife of British Li...
Cellist
During a rehearsal one day, Sir Thomas Beecham grew impatient with a female cell...
Baseball Organist
During a minor league baseball game at Jack Russell Stadium in 1985, the organis...
Groucho Martian
While interviewing an unusual woman one day, Groucho Marx was surprised to hear ...
Triers
As the Allies advanced into Germany at the end of World War II, General Patton r...
Seance Question
"Groucho Marx, who loathed pretension and could not abide the occult, was once c...
Dietrich Close Up
One day Marlene Dietrich railed at her photographer for producing a series of un...
GUT Reaction
Like many of his colleagues (among them Albert Einstein) Werner Heisenberg spent...
Imperceptibly Ajar
"The door is imperceptibly ajar." Thus reads a stage direction in one of Samuel ...
Arnold Schwarzenegger: Body...
Arnold Schwarzenegger biographer George Butler once recalled a conversation he h...
Unprecedented Insult
One day in court, the future Canadian prime minister Richard Bedford Bennett fac...
Rummy and the Pentagon
Upon his appointment as Secretary of Defense in 2000, Donald Rumsfeld began to r...
Franco Corelli & Birgit Nil...
"During a performance of Turandot [in 1961], the tenor Franco Corelli, af...
Phil Cavaretta: Ivy League ...
St. Louis Cardinals catcher Joe Garagiola once recalled playing in a memorable g...
George W. Bush: Bush Quiz!
How did Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien respond when his spokeswoman calle...
David Spade: Calling the Union
"I was pretty young," David Spade once recalled of his most embarrassing date. "...
Dorothy Parker: Shedules
"Dorothy Parker was at a party in New York where an American actor who had appea...
Stephen Jay Gould v. New Yo...
"In 1980, Luis Alvarez, Walter Alvarez, Frank Asaro, and Helen Michel published ...
Scottish Timber?
On his famous tour of Scotland with James Boswell (his biographer), Dr. Johnson ...
Unremitting Kindness
Douglas Jerrold once fell into conversation with a man on the subject of a mutua...
Turbulent Sea?
Famed screenwriter Nunnally Johnson once arrived at a restaurant to have lunch w...
Charming Introduction
One night at an evening reception, Eugene d'Albert introduced a friend to his ne...
Meyer Who?
To ensure continued critical acclaim for his operas, the German composer and pia...
Fraternal Jesting?
J. M. Barrie was once approached by an inexperienced cast member who was anxious...
Imp of Darkness?
Sarah Bernhardt was once referred to by an American clergyman as "an imp of dark...
Afterthought
The composer Max Reger once received a nasty review from a critic named Rudolf L...
Heaven For Dummies?
St. Augustine was once asked, "What was God doing through all the eternity of ti...
Go East, Young Man?
In October 1863, after a successful lecture tour along the eastern seaboard, hum...
Ultimatum
Shortly after Disney bought Laurence Dworet's original screenplay for ...
Contempt
William Wordsworth once declared that he had "the greatest contempt for Aristotl...
The Burbs
Joseph Choate once opposed an attorney from Westchester County (a wealthy reside...
Demi M@@re
Several stars celebrated birthdays on November 11th, 1999, among them Keri Strug...
Royal Toast
John Wilkes, having become a supporter of Pitt's government (in 1786), was often...
Iranian Cheerleaders
Following America's loss to Iran in the 2002 World Cup, Jay Leno complimented th...
Jewish Crusader
While lunching at the Algonquin Hotel one afternoon, George S. Kaufman was subje...
Mule in Lamb's Clothing?
Charles Lamb was once upbraided by a fuckingvisor for his tardiness. "You arrive...
Vicious Circle?
Dorothy Parker and a friend once fell into a conversation about a certain uninhi...
Water Clock
Water clocks were used in Roman courtrooms to ensure that opposing lawyers were ...
Henry Clay: Clay in His Hands
While Henry Clay's oratorical prowess won him the adulation of much of the House...
Fitting Solution?
So fond of cigars were producers Dan Staley, Rob Long and Tom Anderson that they...
Wendy Liebman: Blind Dates
Wendy Liebman was often set up by her friends on blind dates, with mixed results...
George Gallup & the Telepho...
Like many polls conducted before the presidential election of 1948, George Gallu...
Ingenue
One day Alfred Capus attended a rehearsal during which a certain ingenue (in the...
Pardon?
One day Frederick the Great conducted a tour of inspection of a prison in Berlin...
9-11
Shortly after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001, U.S. Attorney Gener...
Relatively Speaking...
"Isabella Stewart of New York never thought much about ancestry until she marrie...
Charles Barkley: Height of ...
Charles Barkley once threw a 5'2" fan (who, apparently, was looking for a fight)...
Random Search
In August 2002, a female accountant was singled out for a random search before b...
Psycho Solution
Psycho (1960), Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller, is famed for its gris...
Margot Asquith: Self-Regard
Shortly after the appearance of Margot Asquith's autobiography, Dorothy Parker r...
Crafty Writer
Sinclair Lewis was once booked to give a lecture at Columbia University on the w...
Enron Meetings
"Dick Cheney finally responded today to demands that he reveal the details of th...
Confederate Forces
In the later months of 1862, Abraham Lincoln grew distinctly annoyed that Genera...
Hollywood Agent
During the early stages of production on A Midsummer Night's Dream in 193...
Casting Call Girl
Joan Crawford was once asked whether, in a bid to land a coveted role, she had e...
Central Misperception
Leon Trotsky, who spent much of his time during World War I playing chess in Vie...
Johhny Cash: Unchained
"Johnny Cash was a man of immense grace, but he never mellowed. When ...
Churchill & DeGaulle
Winston Churchill was once informed by his butler that French President Charles ...
Piano Concerto
Sir Thomas Beecham once found himself conducting a mediocre pianist in a Mozart ...
Sally Jesse Raphael
In February 2003, daytime television talk show host Sally Jesse Raphael annouced...
Ferber
Edna Ferber once wrote a letter to the New Yorker's legendary founder and...
Play Bill
When Mrs. Jordan, a mistress of William IV who was receiving a thousand pounds a...
Happy Ending?
During the production of his classic Oscar-winning 1930 film ...
Alan Cumming: Denim Kilt
One day in 2003, Alan Cumming arrived at the premiere for X2 (the ...
King of Kings
"[The famed financier] Otto Kahn went with Cecil de Mille to see his picture ...
Manure Spreader
During one of William Jennings Bryan's numerous presidential campaigns, he was i...
Hillbilly Deluxe
To deter the hordes of reporters which descended upon Barbra Streisand's Malibu ...
George Bernard $haw
MGM studio chief Samuel Goldwyn once attempted to purchase the film rights to se...
Heckler
"As a professional clown," Nancy-Jo Wright once remarked, "I entertain groups at...
Impromptu Remark
Churchill's talent for extemporaneous debate was 'apparent' to fans and critcs a...
With Esteem
While browsing in a second-hand bookshop one day, George Bernard Shaw was amused...
Telling It Like It Is
Howard Cosell was often called arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, and ve...
Portrait of the Artist as a...
During the 1920s, the Rumanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi and James Joyce were...
Bridge Club
While playing bridge at his club one night, George Kaufman expressed his extreme...
Tunnel of Love?
Barry Crimmins, once fell into a discussion concerning the 'struggle for the sou...
Frank Lloyd Wrong?
One day during the filming of L.A. Confidential, Kevin Spacey found himse...
Russell Crowe: 40 Odd Foot ...
A hapless journalist once asked Russell Crowe what was happening with his band "...
Nosy Sitter
A certain woman, having commissioned a $5,000 portrait from John Singer Sargent,...
Herbicidal Maniacs?
Arnold Bennett, visiting George Bernard Shaw's apartment one day, expressed surp...
Way to Go
One day during a lecture tour of the northern states, Wendell Phillips was accos...
Hoare-Laval
In 1935, British foreign secretary Sir Samuel Hoare reached an agreement with hi...
Ant Colony
While attending a dinner party one evening, Beatrice Campbell found herself seat...
Whistler & Wilde
Not surprisingly, James Whistler and Oscar Wilde, both notorious attention-lovin...
Margaret Smith: Change Room
While shopping at Ann Taylor one day Margaret Smith was interrupted by a clerk a...
Stubborn as a Fox?
In November 1779, Charles Fox, having delivered a vitriolic speech attacking gov...
Classic Thurber
Prompted by the success of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Samuel Goldwy...
Singular Teacher?
Artur Schnabel, having been asked to tutor an aspiring pianist, tested the young...
Told In Vain?
A certain matronly woman, in conversation with Cicero, vainly declared: "Why, I ...
Narcissist
"Tell me," Oscar Levant once asked his friend and fellow pianist George Gershwin...
Sixth Rhapsody
Merit Rosenthal often teased a certain friend (and fellow pianist) about his pen...
Going Down?
In 1951, comedian Red Skelton, slated to appear at the London Palladium, was fly...
Old Spice
In the late 1800s, the noted socialites Elizabeth Marbury and Elsie de Wolfe (La...
Reconciliation
While visiting the Garrick Club one New Year's Eve, Freddy Lonsdale was advised ...
Wonderful Evening
"I have had a perfectly wonderful evening," Groucho Marx once declared as he was...
Ghostwriter
Alexandre Dumas's prodigious output was largely attributable to a vast corps of ...
Old Man and the Flea
In 2002, magazine editor and writer Kathryn Bold won Hemispheres magazine's Imit...
The Dink
The 4' 5" Peter "The Dink" Dinklage was once asked which commonly-asked intervie...
Classic Kendal
During a rehearsal one day, Dame Madge Kendal asked a manager to bring a kitchen...
Lachrimose Landry
Former running back Walt Garrison was once asked whether he had ever seen legend...
Fool
While attending a party one evening, Dorothy Parker was confronted by an arrogan...
Rich Reply
One day on the set, John Rich had enormous difficulty with a certain outdoor sho...
Close Harmony
During a particulary dismal dress rehearsal of Dorothy Parker's play ...
Harold Macmillan & Khrushch...
One day in September 1960, the famously unflappable British prime minister Harol...
Tempo
Merit Rosenthal was once badgered into attending a recital given by a mediocre s...
Girl's Best Friend
The London hostess Mrs. Ronald Greville was noted as much for her vanity as for ...
Overdue Comment?
Walter Sickert was once visited in his studio by two young men who rather overst...
Oscar Party
"It was after midnight and [famed director Billy Wilder] just announced that the...
Game For Music?
While visiting a restaurant one evening, George Bernard Shaw and a friend found ...
Amateur Photographer?
Senator Barry Goldwater, a talented amateur photographer, once took a picture of...
Swan
At the end of Wagner's opera Lohengrin, a magic swan appears, drawing a b...
Assinine Question
Marie Antoinette found life with Louis in general and court etiquette in particu...
Social "Science"?
The Nobel-prize winning economist George Stigler was once asked why sociology, p...
Washington Monument
Shortly after the publication of a scandalous biography of George Washington, pr...
Playground Bully
Shortly after winning the mayoral race (with a 91% mandate) in 2002, Baltimore m...
Harold Macmillan: Fathers a...
Among Harold Macmillan's fiercest critics was his own son, Maurice, who once sen...
Shouts and Murmurs
Alexander Woollcott was once asked to sign a first-edition copy of one of his bo...
Heaven and Hell
Lord Desborough was infuriated one day to find his obituary printed in ...
Crime Scene Investigation
One day in May 2002, Carol Mendelsohn, Ann Donahue, and Anthony Zuiker (the exec...
Osama & Geraldo
"According to the New York Daily News," Jay Leno reported shortly after t...
Tyson Tattoo
Just days before a boxing match in February 2003, Mike Tyson was seen sporting a...
Classy Response
Barbara Cartland was once interviewed for the BBC radio program "Today". The int...
Dream within a Dream
"Allegedly, the story goes like this: Billy Wilder runs into Louis Malle - this ...
USBS?
One day during his tenure as America's Postmaster general, Winton Blount called ...
Dorothy Parker: Guest Book
Though William Randolph Hearst frequently invited prominent Hollywood personalit...
Great Depression
One day during the panic which marked the early days of the Great Depression, Ke...
Black and Tans
Dunsany Castle, Lord Dunsany's home in County Meath, Ireland, was once sacked by...
Great White Way
While visiting Manhattan one evening, G. K. Chesterton was taken to view the bri...
Foreign Aid
In March 2003, George W. Bush announced that any invasion of Iraq would be follo...
Sick Horse
When one of her horses became ill, Elizabeth Arden called the world-famous Mayo ...
Secrets
After the battle of Assaye the young Arthur Wellesley was enlisted to negotiate ...
Hollywood Virgins
Howard Hughes was famed for his sexual appetite. "In his heyday he boasted of de...
Ronald Reagan: Wooden Speaker?
Ronald Reagan, whom Clark Clifford once famously dubbed an amiable dunce, was no...
Calling Card
George Bernard Shaw once received a calling card from a certain woman noted for ...
Urine Sample
Noel Coward was once asked for a urine sample by the doctor in attendance at the...
Coolidge
One day in 1933, Dorothy Parker was informed that former president Calvin Coolid...
Thurlow
One day during his stint at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, Edward Thurlo...
Punch Drunk
Late one night, world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey, was interrupted ...
Royal Insult
Famed paparazzo Glenn Harvey once found himself speaking with Lady Diana Spencer...
Rehearsal
At a rehearsal one day, Sir Thomas Beecham was dismayed to find the orchestra, w...
Evita
Eva Peron rose from obscurity through a combination of talent, beauty, and oppor...
TGIF
While officiating a Notre Dame-Harvard football game one year, Robert Maxwell wa...
Wham!
The Guiness Book of World Records once listed Alexander Woollcott's revie...
Hot Ticket?
One day Christopher Atkinson began a lecture by explaining that he would be exam...
Sex Show
While shooting a film in Japan one year, Joan Collins went out on a date with a ...
Limousine Liberal
During a roundtable discussion in 1998, Jane Fonda offended many Southerners by ...
Rothschild's Father
One evening, Lord Rothschild alighted from a hansom cab, giving the driver a gen...
When We Were Very Sore
Dorothy Parker was dismayed to learn one day that, in a bid to promote her lates...
Bottomfeeders
The wit and lawyer William Travers once joined a group of people watching the en...
Art Critic
During a press conference at a Copenhagen art gallery one day, Led Zeppelin drum...
David Ben-Gurion: Israeli S...
One day in 1955, Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion received a letter from ...
Heinous Marriage
In 1841, the poet Heinrich Heine married Eugenie Mirat, an uneducated, boorish, ...
Ta-Ta Dumdum
Oscar Hammerstein's wife, Dorothy, was not shy about singing her husband's prais...
Classic Milligan
The great British comedian Spike Milligan once telephoned an airline and was pla...
Morley
Robert Morley once bumped into his old friend and fellow actor Llewellyn Rees, w...
Remembrance
While attending one of Paderewski's farewell performances one evening, Merit Ros...
Petition Berners
"My brother Sacheverell, my sister-in-law and I were lunching with Lord Berners ...
Blithe Spirits
During a difficult rehearsal of Blithe Spirit one day, fellow thespians C...
Rudy Giuliani: SNL
After the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington in September 2001, comedy...
Winston Churchill: Preposte...
A critic once castigated Winston Churchill for composing a sentence which ended ...
Beethoven Concerto
While rehearsing a Beethoven concerto with the conductor Otto Klemperer one day,...
White Meat
While visiting America one year, Winston Churchill attended a buffet luncheon at...
Von Trauma?
Shortly after his victory at El Alamein, General Montgomery dined with the captu...
Tour of Iran
During an official tour of Iran one year, French president Charles de Gaulle and...
Connoisseur
Johannes Brahms was once invited to dinner by a noted wine connoisseur. In the c...
Double Date
Burgess Meredith once found himself on a regrettable date with the actress Dorri...
Fitzgeralds
Rock Hudson, whose legal name was Roy Fitzgerald, once found himself discussing ...
Francis Ford Coppola: Apoca...
The completion of Francis Ford Coppola's classic 1979 Vietnam War epic ...
Davis & Schwarzenegger
One day during the 2003 California gubernatorial election, Governor Gray Davis, ...
Count d'Orsay & Lady Holland
Count d'Orsay was once seated at a formal dinner beside Lady Holland, who, bent ...
Iron Lady
British prime minister Margaret Thatcher was famed for her domineering manner. D...
Albertans & Eskimos
In 1932, William "Bible Bill" Aberhart, the radio evangelist-turned-politician, ...
Bennett & Edwards
Before embarking upon a political career future Canadian prime minister Richard ...
Martin O'Malley: O'Malley's...
Shortly after winning the Baltimore mayoral race (with a 91% mandate) in 2002, M...
Jean Chretien: Shawinigate
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien was once reminded of his role in "Shawinig...
Joe Queenan's Father
The writer and humorist Joe Queenan once visited an anger management therapist t...
Al Franken & Bill O'Reilly:...
In 2003, Al Franken published a hilarious book skewering several prominent Repub...
Katharine Hepburn: Pants
Katharine Hepburn almost always wore pants, even when doing so was decidedly unf...
Justin Timberlake: Lovin' It
In 2004, McDonald's began using lines from Justin Timberlake's "I'm Lovin' It" i...
Mick Jagger: Laughter Lines
While attending a party one evening, the jazz singer George Melly was introduced...
John Mayer: Tall Boy
"People do seem surprised at how tall I really am," 6'3" John Mayer once remarke...
Andy Warhol: Saving Face
"I once had lunch with a select group of Warhol regulars, including Fred Hughes ...
Groucho Marx: Bad Review
"I didn't like the play," Groucho Marx once remarked, "but then I saw it under a...
Otto Kahn & Marshall P. Wilder
"I knew a fellow named Otto Kahn," Groucho Marx once recalled. "His close friend...
Derrick Shepherd: Low-Slung...
"A Louisiana state representative wants to make it illegal for people to wear lo...
Boston
Oliver Herford was no fan of Boston. "When I go abroad, I always sail from Bosto...
Boswell Meets Johnson
One day James Boswell was finally introduced by a friend to Dr. Johnson (after s...
Evening at the Improv
One day during his stint with a Berlin theater troupe, Karl Wilhelm Unzelmann wa...
Fishy Story
Irked during a performance by a large group of coughing visitors, John Barrymore...
Ray Kroc: What a Kroc
One day while driving in Southern California, McDonald's chief Ray Kroc paid a s...
Slight Problem
Director Barry Sonnenfeld had grave reservations about casting the wafer-thin 5'...
Existential Crisis?
When an express train to London made an unscheduled stop at Reading station, Cyr...
Johnson's Patron
During the eleven years which he spent compiling his famous dictionary, Samuel J...
Fred Allen: Scary Thought
Fred Allen once spotted a haggard, unkempt, long-haired cellist in the orchestra...
Minor Omission
One morning while teaching English composition at Yale University, John Berdan r...
Gossip
The famed theater manager Lilian Baylis vehemently discouraged romances between ...
Slight Consolation
One day, one of Richard Sheridan's servants dropped a large pile of plates. The ...
James Woods: It's Called......
James Woods fought hard to convince director Oliver Stone that he was suitable t...
Wallensteined?
While conducting the New York Philharmonic, Bruno Walter, noticed that Alfred Wa...
Dingo Starr?
After joining the Beatles, Ringo Starr was treated as a "faithful spaniel." John...
Coventry Cathedral
During the early 1960s, a comedian posing as Sir Basil Spence, the architect beh...
Scotsman's Handkerchief
After dining with several sheriffs and judges at a formal Old Bailey banquet (in...
Can't I Own Canadians?
Shortly after the famously fundamentalist Laura Schlessinger attacked homosexual...
Worst Enemy
George Kaufman was once buttonholed at a Hollywood party by a fellow writer who ...
Tawny Pipit
One day in 1944, the screenwriter Nunnally Johnson and a group of his fellow wri...
Pisser?
One day at a press luncheon, Tristan Bernard found himself seated beside a femal...
Chef de Protocol?
One day in August 2002, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was outraged to learn t...
B-B-B-Babies
One day Charles Lamb was asked by a woman how he liked babies. The poet's reply?...
Bach Specialist
The famed harpsichordist Wanda Landowska once found herself arguing with another...
Kiss This!
After her arrest and conviction by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for tax ev...
Vegetables
In 1965, when the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) opened its doors...
Longfellow & the Queen
"I assure you, Mr. Longfellow," the queen once told the poet, "you are very well...
Sharon Stone: Joe BS
In his notorious Hollywood expose, American Rhapsody, star screenwriter J...
Julie Andrews: Last Laugh
Though she had played the original Eliza Dolittle in the successful Broadway mus...
Mitford & Evans
Dame Edith Evans was once informed that the noted writer Nancy Mitford was stayi...
Motivation
One day on the set, director Roman Polanski was asked by an actress about her ch...
Roger Ailes: War Protest
One day during the war in Iraq in March 2003, antiwar protesters blocked traffic...
Sad Case?
Frank Case once met a dejected Faulkner in the lobby of New York's Algonquin Hot...
Slippery Slope
In May 2001, the United States Supreme Court ruled seven to two that Casey Marti...
Bishop Be Damned
As lord chancellor, Edward Thurlow was charged with dispensing several church be...
Fontenelle
When various accounting anomalies were discovered at the French Academy, one of ...
Kate Beckinsale: Like Mothe...
Kate Beckinsale was once asked whether her four-year-old daughter had discovered...
Harsh Wind?
One day at the height of his popularity the flutist Stephen Foster was invited t...
Robert Browning: Buttonhole
Robert Browning was once buttonholed at a party by a bore who riddled the poet w...
John Komrade Galbraith
The noted right-wing journalist William F. Buckley, Jr. once tried to arrange a ...
Sumner
Little love was lost between Ulysses S. Grant and Massachusetts senator Charles ...
Cupboard
New York Times drama critic Clive Barnes once attended a mediocre play ca...
Jim Carrey: Comic Debut
One day when he was 15 years old, Jim Carrey visited a Yuk Yuk's comedy club in ...
Dorothy Parker: Constant Re...
"Constant Reader" was Dorothy Parker's book reviewing pseudonym at ...
Chris Kattan: Retarded Comm...
Shortly after applauding Sean Penn's role as Sam Dawson in Jessie Nelson's ...
Jim Kern: Leaving the Mound
Texas Rangers pitcher Jim Kern reluctantly left the mound during a game one day....
In Praise of Love
Jean-Luc Godard's films were frequently criticized for being self-conscious, slo...
Jacko's Nose
One evening on "The Tonight Show" Jay Leno announced that Michael Jackson had ha...
Salary Cut
After one particularly bad season, New York Yankees pitcher Vernon Gomez was ask...
Grudge Match
While campaigning for the governorship against George Pataki, Andrew Cuomo, a "h...
Jobs, Not Condoms
In the late 1980s, Irish comedian Arthur Mathews launched a faux campaign parody...
Wellington: French Officers
When several French officers, embittered by their recent defeat at Waterloo, tur...
Bachelor
The pianist Oscar Levant once attended a dinner party to which the playwright an...
Open Secret
Golfing legend Ben Hogan was once asked (by Nick Faldo) whether there was any "s...
ChEE Pass?
Isabella Gardner, a native New Yorker, was once called upon by a grande dame of ...
Roots
Detlev von Liliencron once spent an evening conversing with a group of local nob...
Ten Commandments
One day during the production of The Ten Commandments (1923), Paramount c...
Congress
In 1846, Lincoln ran for Congress as a Whig against an evangelical Methodist nam...
Lincoln's Boots
Abraham Lincoln was visited one day by an aristocratic young English traveler. W...
Welcome to Russia
"While Arthur Ransome, now a favourite children's author, but then a corresponde...
Pointed Remark?
The portly Edmund Burke once delivered a passionate oration before the House of ...
Team Meeting
Shortly after signing Ivan Golac, a Yugoslav international, legendary Southampto...
Sympathy Vote
In 1960, in a blatant case of sympathy voting, the Academy overlooked performanc...
Hollywood Agent
Ignorance of the great classics was widespread during Hollywood's Golden Age. On...
Twelve Hundred Thousand
At one point during the Civil War, Lincoln was asked how many men the Confederat...
The Women
In 1939, Joan Crawford appeared opposite Norma Shearer in George Cukor's ...
Ad Man
What did comedian Red Skelton once claim to be the world's longest word? The one...
Good Form?
Bob Dylan and Van Morrison once shared a British accountant, who, finding both m...
Watts Riot?
When (in 1896) the poet and critic Theodore Watts added his mother's surname(Dun...
Flight of Fancy
While visiting a fashionable Parisian restaurant one evening, James Whistler end...
Donor Crosby
In 2000, it was revealed that Melissa Etheridge and her partner, Julie Cypher, h...
Catherine Zeta-Jones: Old D...
Many eyebrows were raised when Catherine Zeta-Jones married Michael Douglas, a m...
Inferiors
A friend of Dorothy Parker's once endeavored to convince her of the fine quality...
Whist
While playing whist (a precursor to the game of bridge) one evening, Samuel Parr...
Bowing Out
Eugene O'Neill visited a nightclub only once in his life. During a lull in the f...
Sour Kraut?
One day during World War II, Pablo Picasso was visited by the German Gestapo in ...
Body Parts
One day years after losing his right eye (at Calvi in 1794), Admiral Horatio Nel...
Mistress To The Church
Though never ordained a priest, Poggio - as a secretary in the papal Curia - wor...
Rational Response
In 1936, at the height of the Spanish Civil, general Jose Moscardo's Nationalist...
Fascist Salute
One day in 1937, Oswald Mosley (the founder of the British Union of Fascists) sp...
Class Reunion?
In March 1981, president Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest by a would-be assas...
Franklin Delano Roosevelt &...
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was once accused by Republicans of using taxpayer mone...
Literary Critic
Over lunch one day, A.V. Alexander, the First Lord of the Admiralty, lectured th...
Beaverbrook
While visiting the washroom in his London club one day, Edward Heath happened to...
Red-Hot Stove
In the early 1860s, Secretary of War Simon Cameron was implicated in a scandal i...
Ham Actor
During a scene in Jane Eyre in which Orson Welles was to be burned to dea...
Tigress
Mrs. Patrick Campbell, famous for creating the role of Eliza Doolittle in George...
Sandman
A young dramatist, eager for Carl Sandburg's opinion, once invited the poet to a...
Movie Music
Irving Thalberg once sent an emissary to persuade Arnold Schoenberg to produce a...
Limato Juice
In the run-up to the 2003 Academy Awards, New York Post gossip columnist ...
Blowin' in the Wind
1963 marked the appearance of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, and with it the...
Miraculous Performance
One evening Noel Coward and Lady Diana Cooper attended a performance featuring a...
Crappy Architecture?
"Leo Pavia was driving through Hastings with James Agate. Leo stared at the buil...
Louis Philippe
Talleyrand was openly contemptuous of the manner in which Louis Philippe handled...
Karat or Stick?
Princess Margaret found Elizabeth Taylor's enormous diamond ring rather offensiv...
Pedestals
"Amid the celebrations and the darker scenes of death and looting," David Remnic...
Crank Calls
"After I took office as mayor," Bert May (of the Kentucky League of Cities) once...
Diplomacy
Valentine Dale was once offered a post in Flanders by Queen Elizabeth, who expla...
Family Fued
JFK, Jr. once ran a reproachful letter from the editor in George (his sho...
War Effort
When America entered World War I in 1917, Columbia University president Nicholas...
Manchester Reunited
At the turn of the millennium, Manchester United was an international force, the...
Leo the Lion
Director Marshall Neilan cultivated a first-rate rivalry with MGM chief Louis B....
Drug Proof My Ass
Although Arnold Schwarzenegger downplayed his drug use over the years, he was ap...
George Clooney: Clooney's E...
After reports surfaced that he had been involved in a "steamy" dance with Julia ...
Horatio, Hornblower?
Hubert Humphrey was the Democratic vice-presidential candidate in the 1964 presi...
California Angels
Despite a talented roster, the California Angels failed to win a single World Se...
Ring Lardner & Arthur Jacks...
While staying in a hotel one night, Ring Lardner and Arthur Jacks stocked their ...
Small Consolation
A student, struggling with Platonic mathematics, once asked his master, "What pr...
Pas de Deux
After the debut performance of Billy Rose's "The Seven Lively Arts" on Broadway,...
Club Rules
While playing golf one hot summer day, Harpo Marx and George Burns elected to fi...
Watch This!
While visiting a speakeasy one day, Robert Benchley and Dorothy Parker were show...
Sacre du Printemps
At the historic premiere of Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps in 1913, u...
Coffee Lover
Voltaire, who drank copious amounts of coffee throughout his life, was once warn...
Theatre of Imagination
Actress Ruth Gordon once enthusiastically told George Kaufman about her latest p...
General Wolfe
One of James Wolfe's fellow commanders, perhaps irked by his aggressive manner, ...
Sarasate: Genius
The famous violinist Sarasate was once visited by a noted critic who proclaimed ...
Going Down?
Shortly after the creation of the Actors' Equity Association (in 1913), George M...
Irons in the Fire
After her first manuscript was rejected by several publishing houses, Elinor Gly...
Pshaw?
One evening, a young George Bernard Shaw met the celebrated Oscar Wilde at the L...
Financial Advisor
One day Herbert Beerbohm Tree's financial manager at the Haymarket Theatre cauti...
Dead in a Month?
In her later years, Dorothy Parker often battled depression with a heavy dose of...
Ingratitude
Gerald Du Maurier once sent Charles Laughton a glowing letter, along with a gift...
Fritz Kreisler
The noted violinist Fritz Kreisler was once asked by a society hostess how much ...
Merde
One evening, Erik Satie attended the debut performance of Debussy's "La Mer" (th...
Modern Movement?
Midway through the performance of a certain mediocre modern piece, Klemperer not...
Classic Hirst
In April 2003, controversial British artist Damien Hirst, famed for his series o...
Rossini Roast
Rossini was visited one day by a man seeking his opinion of a pair of oratorios ...
Crossini?
Rossini was in the habit of marking errors in his students' compositions with sm...
John Ford: Maverick Director
Legendary director John Ford, who strongly resented studio interference, was vis...
Third Man
Al Gore was understandably not impressed with the outcome of the 2000 presidenti...
Broken Windows?
"Bill Gates and the president of General Motors have met for lunch, and Bill is ...
Idiot Producer
"Akira Kurosawa was no stick-in-the-mud. When a production company proposed to s...
Rochester
George Kaufman, while walking along Fifth Avenue in New York with his wife one d...
Hillary Clinton: Carpetbagger
While campaigning for a seat in the New York senate, Hillary Clinton, an Illinoi...
Dick Cheney: Spotted Dick?
In 2001, Dick Cheney embarked upon a three-day hunting trip through the woods of...
Violinist
While attending a musical party one day, George Bernard Shaw was asked by his ho...
Tailspin
New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, whom Ted Dawson once compared to Gen...
Cheap Lie
While visiting an antique shop one day, William Gladstone encountered an early 1...
Churchill Line
Winston Churchill, a prolific writer, once coined a term to describe inefficient...
Paula Trashed
In July 2003, Paula Jones, famed for her allegations (of sexual misconduct) agai...
Inscrutable
Zsa Zsa Gabor was married nearly a dozen times. "Her face is inscrutable," Oscar...
That's Entertainment
During the performance of a Beethoven symphony one evening, Hector Berlioz, sobb...
Famuos Lsat Wrods
Commissioned to negotiate a loan that would enable Louis XVI to escape at the ou...
Perfect Remedy
In later life Mark Twain suffered from various ailments, among them arthritis an...
Passerby
At a party one evening James Whistler found himself buttonholed by a notorious b...
Haldane
The great geneticist J. B. S. Haldane once found himself embroiled in a philosop...
Behan Critical
Brendan Behan was once asked what he thought of theater critics. "Critics are li...
Evasive Maneuver
President Cleveland was pestered one day by a reporter seeking a statement on a ...
Grand Blooper
Shortly after NATO accidentally bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in May 19...
Edison's Phonograph
One day the famed journalist Henry Morton Stanley - having witnessed a demonstra...
American Dream
"Where else but in America," Red Buttons once mused, "can a poor black man like ...
Legeipsnelue?
Pierre Monteux once suddenly stopped the Philadelphia Orchestra during a rehears...
Cream of Ulster
One day during his brief tenure at Campbell College in Belfast, Samuel Beckett w...
Better Served Cold?
Early in his career, George Bernard Shaw had his request to stage a play repeate...
Corporal Punishment?
One day during the American Revolution an officer on horseback wearing civilian ...
United Nations?
One day during his tenure as America's delegate to the United Nations, Adlai Ste...
NATO Workers
NATO secretary general Joseph Luns was once asked how many people worked at NATO...
Parting Shot
Johannes Brahms was not without his critics. Philip Hale, for example, once sugg...
Guantanamo Bay
"Some human rights groups are complaining that the al Qaeda detainees in Guantan...
Grrrr
One day before the war, Winston Churchill was dismayed to learn that his daughte...
Going, Going, Gone
The composer Maria Cherubini once granted an audition to a man with such a power...
Wit's End?
While performing one evening in a local theater, John Kemble found himself const...
Pillar of Truth?
At the end of one of Robert Bunsen's courses, an unfamiliar student presented hi...
Gray-Blue
At a party one evening, someone remarked of G. K. Chesterton's brother Cecil tha...
Message
MGM co-founder Samuel Goldwyn was often criticized for producing films with litt...
Olympic Persuasion
In 2003, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that New York had d...
Fine Impression
The actress Henrietta Hodson had a long-running fued with W. S. Gilbert. One day...
Silver Tongue
At a dinner for Commonwealth dignitaries one evening, Winston Churchill was appr...
Berned?
"A snooty woman of Lord Berners's acquaintance once complained when a head waite...
We
One day a pompous young minister used - in the presence of Edward VII - the roya...
Noble Sentiment
Benjamin Disraeli was once pestered by a pompous man seeking a baronetcy. "You k...
Egalitarian Brahms
Johannes Brahms could be insufferably sarcastic and rude - even to his friends. ...
Shaft?
Samuel L. Jackson was once asked whether his varied roles had a common thread. "...
Big Mouth?
One evening, Jacqueline Susann and her husband were invited to a dinner party at...
Lukewarm Relief
Benjamin Disraeli once served as the guest of honor at a public dinner. The kitc...
Concorde Crashes
After the crash of Air France flight 4590 in a Paris suburb in 2000 (due to a bl...
Pointed Comment
"On the surrender of [John Burgoyne's] British army to General Gates, at Saratog...
Unfortunate Client
A young lawyer was once called upon to make his first appearance in a courtroom ...
Heated Argument
The famous French salonniere Mme Geoffrin once found herself embroiled in a heat...
Cracked Logic
While walking along the rue St. Honore in Paris one day, Christoph Gluck acciden...
Cuba Gooding, Yapper
For his role as football player Rod "Show Me the Money" Tidwell in Cameron Crowe...
Harry Situation
Despite (or because of) his brilliance, Herman J. Mankiewicz had a difficult tim...
Teetotaler
An ardent supporter of the temperance movement, Rutherford B. Hayes' wife (aka "...
'Killer' Joke
One day during World War II, Oscar Levant was called in to appear before the dra...
Shakespearean Insult
Shakespeare's plays are thought by many scholars to have been written by Francis...
Lobsters
While dining at an expensive restaurant one evening, Georges Feydeau was served ...
Twain's Tie
Returning from a visit with Harriet Beecher Stowe one day, Mark Twain was reprim...
Elm Tree
While visiting a wealthy friend in the country one day, Wolcott Gibbs was shown ...
Splendid Ass
Someone once tactlessly remarked upon Georg Lichtenberg's enormous ears. "Well, ...
Dry Humor
Lord Beaverbrook's valet often referred to his master as "the Lord." Randolph Ch...
Constitutional Convention
It was suggested during the Constitutional Convention that the nation's army be ...
Infinite Jest
During Andrew Jackson's first term, his friendship with Peggy Eaton, the attract...
Soul of Wit
On his 91st birthday, Milton Berle was honored at the Friars Club, the famed fra...
Yoko Ono: Slamming Yoko
Like her creative endeavors, Yoko Ono herself was often critically lambasted. "I...
Professional Windfall
Ronald Reagan's victory in the 1980 presidential election was welcomed by many p...
Cold War
"I believe Ronald Reagan can make this country what it once was," Steve Martin d...
Log Cabin
Not everyone was fooled by Ronald Reagan's aw-shucks manner. "Reagan's in the ne...
Trudeau's Pool
Canadian Prime minister Pierre Trudeau's parliamentary opponents made much of th...
Trudeau's Victory
Pierre Elliott Trudeau's victory in Canada's 1968 election was not universally w...
The Refrigerator
Chicago Bears defensive tackle William Perry was not called "The Refrigerator" f...
Stone's Stones
During a publicity tour for Sliver in 1993, Harry Winston loaned Sharon S...
Comic Timing
Mae West once found herself acting opposite Alison Skipworth. Skipworth, suspect...
Friendly Retort
In the spring of 1955, Gypsy Rose Lee's good friend (and famed milliner) Mr. Joh...
Pearl of Wisdom
"Mrs. Havemeyer, whose collection of paintings is today the pride of New York's ...
MacBeth
While contemplating a possible revival of "Macbeth" on Broadway, Alexander Wooll...
Snubbed
Some time after the restoration of Napoleon III, Lady Blessington was forced by ...
Usual Suspects
O. J. Simpson's vow to "find the real killers" (after his acquittal on charges o...
Convention Speech
"George W. Bush spoke for 58 minutes at the Republican Convention," Craig Kilbor...
Whitney Houston
In January 2000, Jay Leno reported that Hawaiian security guards had discovered ...
Constitution of India
Indira Gandhi won such sweeping victories in the elections of 1971 and 1972 that...
Top Billing
When Warren Beatty, the alleged inspiration behind Carly Simon's "You're So Vain...
Forgiveness
Spanish prime minister Ramon Maria Narvaez was visited on his deathbed by a prie...
Posh
While examining the menu at a posh New York restaurant one evening, Chico Marx t...
Dan McQuayle
How Dan Quayle managed to become America's 44th vice-president is as much a myst...
On The Road
"Almost a year after The Town and The City was published, Jack Kerouac ar...
Just Desserts
While riding in a carriage one day, Lord Norbury and John Parsons (another Irish...
Touche
Like the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001, the Kennedy assassination in...
Clear Direction
During a rehearsal of Noel Coward's Hay Fever one day, Dame Edith Evans -...
Violin Lessons
One evening at the height of his career, George M. Cohan took his father for din...
Cleat Mark
During a Pittsburgh-Penn State football game which Robert Maxwell was officiatin...
Guillemot
One day William Ker visited a natural history museum with a young girl of his ac...
African Lion Safari
Little love was lost between Theodore Roosevelt and J. P. Morgan. In 1902, Morga...
Desire for Peace
One day during the Yalta Conference following World War II (in 1945), Winston Ch...
House Heckler
Virginia congressman John Randolph was once heckled in the House by a colleague ...
Standard Quip
Heywood Broun once composed a review describing the performance of Geoffrey Stey...
Spector Insult
Legendary producer Phil Spector was once asked whether he enjoyed the work of An...
PMRC
In the 1980s, Tipper Gore famously launched a campaign against profane lyrics in...
Russian Winter
During a particularly cold spell one winter, the famous Russian chess player Sav...
Free Turkeys
In 1995, despite Tupac Shakur's legal troubles (for various gun-related offenses...
Calvin Coolidge: Medical Ha...
A smooth-talking salesman once persuaded the wife of President Calvin Coolidge t...
Skyscraper
While British Prime Minister A. J. Balfour was visiting America one year, his ho...
Bulow Me
Legendary conductor Hans von Bulow's untempered complaints about his native land...
Estimable Quadruped
"During a rehearsal at His Majesty's Theatre of Die Meistersinger, Sir Th...
Churchill's Mustache
While serving as a young subaltern, Winston Churchill (who then sported a trim m...
Duelists
Georges Clemenceau once fought a duel with a long-time political rival (and futu...
Dame Edna
Dame Edna Everage (who once introduced Zsa Zsa Gabor to a BBC audience as "The M...
Poster Boy
Pat Buchanan, noted for his political extremism, naturally bore the brunt of man...
Scary Thought
"Michael Jackson is going to quit touring and concentrate on acting," 'Tonight S...
Lucky Thirteen
"Ike Turner's thirteenth wife has left him," Bill Maher reported in December 199...
Arnold Schwarzenegger: Age ...
During an appearance on the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" in June 2003, Arnold Sc...
How to Lose an Audience in ...
Shortly after starring in How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days in 2003, Kate Hud...
Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald's original title for The Great Gatsby was ...
Swelled Head
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree once reproached a young actor for his arrogant manner....
Near-Beer
"When Frederick Lonsdale, the dramatist, was in America during the prohibition p...
Rambling Speech
One day when he was nearly ninety years old, A.E. Matthews attended a luncheon t...
Eton-Harrow
"When Stanley Baldwin - who went to Harrow - was Prime Minister, his Home Secret...
Seven Minutes
In 1921 Michael Collins, then commander-in-chief of the Irish Free State Army, a...
After the Fall
"Noel Coward was in New York with Claudette Colbert after Arthur Miller's autobi...
Two-Faced Abe?
Abraham Lincoln was once accused of being two-faced. "If I were two-faced," he r...
Rakes's Progress
After a performance of Igor Stravinsky's The Rakes's Progress one evening...
Plays for the Ages
George Bernard Shaw was not without his critics. "Shaw writes plays for the ages...
American Legend
In 1974, John Wayne agreed, in exchange for publicity for one of his films, to s...
Konrad Adenauer: Wedding Pr...
As chancellor, Konrad Adenauer often received wedding proposals in the mail. Whe...
Bankruptcy Hearing
During the course of his bankruptcy hearing, Wilfrid Hyde-White was examined by ...
Majestically Rising?
Marc Connelly was once invited to a lecture on the recently completed bridge ove...
Temperamental Singer
In 1897, the financier John Chaloner was declared certifiably insane and incarce...
Bullfight
During a visit to Spain in 1958, the writer Barnaby Conrad was badly gored while...
Brandy Drinker
Talleyrand once reproached a guest for downing a glass of fine brandy in a singl...
Battle of Britain
"There is no denying that the Supermarine Spitfire, the most famous plane in the...
GMT
The great mathematician and physicist Paul Dirac once attended a meeting in an a...
Mother's Pride
The Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman was once celebrated as the "sm...
Chi Son?
During a rehearsal one day, Puccini was dismayed to find Enrico Caruso dragging ...
Te Deum
Jean-Baptiste Lully, court composer to Louis XIV, was once informed that his Hig...
Annoying Fan
While performing his Moonlight Sonata in London one evening, Felix Mendel...
Dickens' Bookshelf
Before moving into Tavistock House, Charles Dickens installed a secret door to h...
Age and Wisdom
During Greer Garson's glory days, Joe Ruttenberg was her favorite cameraman at M...
Bush Roast
In March 2001, George W. Bush made his first appearance as president at the Grid...
Reincarnation of Shirley Ma...
After developing an intense interest in paranormal phenomena, Shirley MacLaine p...
Philo T. Farnsworth: Dr. X
One day in the late 1950s, Philo T. Farnsworth reluctantly appeared as a mystery...
Stalin & the Pope
At the end of World War II, FDR suggested that Pius XII should be among those co...
Sound of Silence
As a child, Paul Simon smiled so rarely that his parents nicknamed him Cardozo (...
Jaime Nebot: Political Advisor
During a press conference in October 2003, Jaime Nebot, the mayor of Guayaquil (...
Hillary Clinton: Living His...
Shortly after the publication of Living History (her memoirs) in 2003, Hi...
Simon Raven: Raven's Reply
Shortly after his divorce, the writer Simon Raven received a cable from his form...
Hays List
Shoerly after Will Hays assumed the presidency of the Motion Picture Producers a...
Gump Worsley: Trouble
New York Rangers goalie Lorne "Gump" Worsley was once asked which team gave him ...
Palmer Blooper
At the L.A. Open at Rancho Park one year, Arnold Palmer reached the 18th tee in ...
Johnny Apple & the Wall Str...
At Princeton, young Johnny Apple funneled all of his energy into running the ...
Al Franken: Savin' It
While working on his bestselling book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A...
Miss Manners & High-Heeled ...
Judith Martin, famed for her popular syndicated "Miss Manners" column, once rece...
Zimbabwe Farce
As the Zimbabwe's economy collapsed at the turn of the millennium, artists and c...
Gary Bettman: NHL Commissioner
When the NHL lured Gary Bettman away from the NBA and appointed him to serve as ...
Al Sharpton & Cardinal O'Co...
"[Former New York archbishop] Cardinal O'Connor once asked me how I could suppor...
Theodore Roosevelt & The Ir...
In 1912, George Newett, the owner of a small town newspaper in Ishpeming, Michig...
Mick Jagger: Old Git
"Despite a massive publicity massage that jammed his dimpled prune into every me...
Jake Johansen: Suede Jacket
"A lady came up to me on the street and pointed at my suede jacket," Jake Johans...
Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anni...
"This week, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston traveled to the Middle East to try t...
Jessica Simpson, Texas Bimbo
While driving to a promotional Christmas concert for KISS-FM in Dallas in 2004 (...
The Doors: Squeaky Clean
The Doors once considered allowing General Motors to use their classic song "Lig...
Billy Corgan: Performing fo...
One day in 2001, former Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan performed Bob Dy...
Beatrix Potter: Seeing Beatrix
"My favourite anti-celebrity anecdote," Sunday Times writer Neil Pendock ...
Bob Lutz: Warning Labels
"When I was CEO of Exide batteries," General Motors vice-chairman Bob Lutz once ...
Rupert Everett: Apologies
While appearing in a West End production of a Noel Coward play early in his care...
Owen Nolan: No Mercy
In Fenruary 2004, the Toronto Maple Leafs faced the Ottawa Senators in a memorab...
Ben Stiller: Sad Situation
One day on the set of Along Came Polly, Ben Stiller was bit by a ferret w...
Harold Ramis: Modern Parenting
One morning, Harold Ramis's son Daniel expressed concern that he would get yelle...
Geoffrey Rush: Shine
"Geoffrey Rush's big break came with Shine, based on the tale of disturbe...
Steven Spielberg: Drink to ...
Steven Spielberg did not always see eye to eye with his father, an emotionally d...
Donald Trump: Apprentice Go...
In July 2004, Donald Trump played in a celebrity golf tournament. "We had a huge...
Patrick Roy: Heckling Fans
During the NHL playoffs in 2003, a reporter asked Colorado Avalanche goalie Patr...
Slim Preston: Straight Flush
Esquire writer and amateur gambler James McManus once recalled his first ...
Mickey Spillane & Ernest He...
"Many writers resented Mickey Spillane because he wrote pulp unapologetically an...
Michael Moore: Hunting Season
After a year at the University of Michigan, Michael Moore started a small altern...
Michael O'Donoghue: Elvis i...
"I've seen this attributed to John Lennon," director John Landis once recalled, ...
Oscar Wilde: Rudiments of F...
As a young student at Oxford, Oscar Wilde once arrived late for an examination i...
Pete Rose: Drinking Buddy
Shortly before the 1970 Major League Baseball All-Star Game (in July 1970), Nati...
John Kerry: Something Nice ...
"I want to start by saying something nice about President Bush," John Kerry decl...
James Cameron: What Are You...
During the production of Aliens, Sigourney Weaver complained about the us...
Barry Morse: Actor
Barry Morse's rols as the relentless Lt. Philip Gerard on the classic television...
Kevin Spacey: Phone-Free Zone
As artistic director of London's Old Vic theatre, Kevin Spacey regularly issued ...
Joe Queenan: Anger Management
The writer and humorist Joe Queenan once visited an anger management therapist t...
Dinah Washington & Quincy J...
"[Dinah Washington's] determination was a godsend to young musicians she believe...
Pope Benedict: Prayer of Gr...
"It is said that Pope Benedict XIV had a good sense of humour and this lasted un...
Patrick Roy: Patrick Roo-aw
Vancouver Canucks coach Marc Crawford was once asked how long French-Canadian go...
Dave Wannstedt: Resignation
On November 9, 2004, "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno reported that Miami Dolphins c...
Chris Russo: Domestically C...
"Chris is domestically challenged," Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo's wife Jeanne on...
Tony Danza: Tonight Show In...
Early in his career, Tony Danza was invited to appear on "The Tonight Show Starr...
Buddy Hackett: Producer's P...
"Buddy Hackett told me a story one time," David Brenner later recalled. "One of ...
Ian Fleming: Likely Story
James Bond creator Ian Fleming was once invited to speak at a lunchtime function...
George S. Kaufman: Society ...
The playwright and wit George S. Kaufman once received a request for a letter fr...
James Fisk: Robber Barrons
In 1869, the railroad financier and speculator James Fisk joined forces with fel...
Ernst Beyer: Nutty Idea
"Psychologist Ernst Beyer, it is claimed by his students, would often attempt to...
David Prowse: Vader Voice
Mark Hamill: "They didn't tell Prowse they wouldn't be using his voice [in St...
Sesame Street President
In February 2003, America's Homeland Security department announced that the nati...
Ulysses S. Grant: Hack Golfer
In an attempt to encourage him to take up golfing, a friend once took Ulysses S....
Harpsichord
During a rehearsal of his opera Flavio one day, Handel, accompanying the ...
Horizon
During the course of a speech one day, Walther Ulbricht, extolling the glories o...
Berry Nice
One day Sydney Smith received a basket of strawberries from one of his parishion...
Cloudy Day
Ring Lardner was once asked about a recent trip he had taken to England. "There'...
George S. Kaufman: Golden P...
A promoter once praised the productivity of a gold mine with an eye on persuadin...
Superstar Contract
After batting just .187 in 86 games with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1981, Danny Ai...
Prompt Response?
Eugene Klopfer once forgot his lines on stage and paused for the prompter, Frau ...
50-50
Despite having bet on Richard Nixon in the 1968 presidential election, Ann Lande...
Louis Sherwin: Hollywood Sc...
Like many screenwriters with literary leanings, Louis Sherwin was often reluctan...
Bad Protocall?
Caninius Revilus had the distinction of serving as consul for a single day. When...
Novel Insult
A young composer once asked for Hans von Bulow's opinion of his latest compositi...
Cuppa Kappa Chino?
Alex Haley's self-aggrandizing uncle always wore his Phi Beta Kappa key on a cha...
Glorious Analogy
During the Glorious Revolution of 1688, Lord Halifax was among the first to take...
Cold Cuts?
Sydney Smith once called upon the newly appointed bishop of New Zealand to wish ...
General Relief?
General Grant once endeavored to have a particular officer relieved of his comma...
Three Clubs?
John Locke was once introduced by his patron Lord Shaftesbury to two noblemen. W...
Wilt Chamberlain
Wilt Chamberlain, famed for his claim to have slept with some 20,000 women, once...
Morgan
In a burst of patriotism, J. P. Morgan once declared, "America is good enough fo...
Self-Expression
Mies van der Rohe was once asked by a student about the role of "self-expression...
Los Angeles Marathon
In his capacity as grand instigator and supreme leader of the Los Angeles Cacoph...
Anything...?
Groucho Marx once received a form letter from his bank manager which concluded: ...
War of Attrition
In the 1890s, William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal became engaged i...
It's 1988
In 1988, Barry Crimmins visited his hometown (Skaneateles, in upstate New York) ...
Skaneateles
Barry Crimmins was often asked where he was from. "I'm from the Midwest," he onc...
Norman Thomas
While he boasted many distinguished supporters, Norman Thomas lacked popular app...
Half-Assed?
Although she was half-Jewish, George Kaufman could not always rely on Dorothy Pa...
John Maynard Keynes: Appare...
John Maynard Keynes was once approached after a lecture by a young man demanding...
Southey
The noted classical scholar Richard Porson was once asked what he thought of the...
Green Sentiment?
One spring, while strolling through their Abbotsford estate Sir Walter and Lady ...
Future Past?
Al Gore was understandably unimpressed with the outcome of the 2000 presidential...
Lemons Lemons
In 1976 legendary University of Texas basketball coach Abe Lemons was asked whet...
Deathbed Confessor
One day toward the end of his life, Malherbe, a poet famed for his obsession wit...
Protectors
"I [Henry David Thoreau] went to the store the other day to buy a bolt for our f...
Foote in Mouth?
One day Samuel Foote and a number of friends found themselves discussing a certa...
French Invasion
Metternich once approvingly remarked that Lord John Dudley was the only Englishm...
Piggy
One day "Armour and Company" founder Philip Armour decided to reward several emp...
BOOK BY GRASSET
One day Jean Cocteau's publisher, Bernard Grasset, suggested that publishers wer...
Battle of Wits?
A certain distinguished Oxford don was in the nasty habit of inviting clever you...
Garden
Samuel Taylor Coleridge once fell into conversation with a gentleman who posited...
Una voce?
A singer once gave a glorious rendition of Rossini's famous aria "Una voce," emb...
Doug Perkins & Specsavers
Following his retirement from Welsh rugby, Doug Perkins, the famed former Llanel...
Tom... Waits
Tom Waits frequently annoyed reporters with his tall tales, inaudible responses ...
Marla Maples
One day during her affair with Donald Trump, Marla Maples declared that, because...
Dummy
Though director John Boorman proposed sending a dummy over a waterfall for a sce...
Stutterer
Erasmus Darwin was once asked by an impertinent young man whether he found his n...
Unusual Relationship
In his autobiography, actor Eddie Fisher claimed to have had an "unusual relatio...
JAP Chicken
When her neighborhood assembled a cookbook to raise funds for a local environmen...
Old Hickory
While preparing to attack New Orleans, the British admiral Sir Alexander Cochran...
Peruse This!
One Friday afternoon during his tenure as foreign secretary, Ernest Bevin arrive...
Rats
One day early in his legal career, Abraham Lincoln received a letter from a law ...
Wood & Groucho
Though he directed some of their films, the Marx Brothers frequently clashed wit...
Three Weeks
Legendary studio chief Jack Warner once asked composer Harry Warren how long it ...
Butkus's Eye
During a rough game against the San Francisco 49ers one rainy day, Chicago Bears...
Voltaire: Slow Poison
Voltaire, who reportedly consumed 50 cups of coffee every day, was once told tha...
Classic Coward
An interviewer once asked Noel Coward whether he had anything to say to the ...
Omaha
Joan Rivers was no fan of Omaha. "Omaha is a little like Newark," she once decla...
Dubious Promotion
On September 23, 1779, off Flamborough Head in northeast England, John Paul Jone...
Flying Ants
One day theatrical producer David N. Morton received a telegram informing him th...
Smart Alleck
James Joyce's aversion to office work may have stemmed from his father's experie...
Chris Robinson: Tour of Bro...
After announcing plans to tour with the equally volatile Gallagher brothers (fro...
Inchoate Virtue?
Speaker of the House Thomas Reed once found himself in conversation with another...
3/4 Constitutional Dilemma
"Four years ago - in the middle of the Labour Party's leadership election," Roy ...
Vegetarian Surprise?
Peter Pan author James Barrie was once seated beside George Bernard Shaw ...
Repplier
Agnes Repplier was once visited by a young woman who rather overstayed her welco...
Right & Wrong
"When I am right, I get angry," Charles De Gaulle once remarked. "Churchill gets...
We, We, We...
Mark Twain was peeved by Walt Whitman's habitual use of 'we' when he spoke about...
Twain Beds?
Mark Twain did much of his writing in bed, irrespective of the time. One day, hi...
Pshaw
The comedian Danny Kaye once visited George Bernard Shaw shortly after his ninet...
Radio Luddite
National Broadcasting Company chief David Sarnoff once delivered a speech lioniz...
Twins
Between 1750 and 1753, Voltaire, exiled from Paris, lived in Prussia with Freder...
Dry Humor
Mark Twain was no fan of James Fenimore Cooper's fiction: "It is a restful chapt...
Lincrusta
Before the success of his film score for Laurence Olivier's Henry V (in 1...
Lohengrin
Gioacchino Rossini was once asked his opinion of Wagner's opera ...
Not Home
One day Scipio Nasica dropped in to visit his friend the poet Quintus Ennius and...
Tyendency for Exagyeration
Karsavina, the prototypical prima ballerina, was once asked whether she had been...
Official Secrets Act
One day in January 1979, Clement Freud delivered an address in the House of Comm...
Sparky
When Sparky Anderson assumed the management of the Detroit Tigers, he promised t...
Ignorance or Apathy
Utah Jazz president Frank Layden once confronted a particularly difficult player...
MC Doan?
During an appearance on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" in August, 2002, Tra...
Notorious Comment
In 1946, a double-amputee World War II veteran named Howard Russell (who had los...
Parsifal
Richard Wagner was not without his critics. "Parsifal," fellow composer D...
Percentage
Before his incarnation as a comedian, Jeffrey Jena worked for some time as a gra...
So They Say...
One day toward the end of his long life, Winston Churchill paid a visit to his o...
Berry Nasty
Max Beerbohm was having tea with his biographer, S. N. Behrman, one day when Eli...
In Vino Veritas
One evening Cicero was offered a glass of substandard wine by a friend with whom...
Victoria in Heaven
As Victoria lay dying, a member of the royal household wondered aloud whether th...
Telaboration
Until the latter part of the 20th Century, it was common practice for all commun...
Stih & Frieder
Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the Berlin-based conceptu...
Vienna Opera
"Once [Birgit Nilsson] was negotiating a contract with Herbert von Karajan, at t...
Bill Maher & R. Kelly
In 2001, R&B star R. Kelly (who married Aaliyah in 1994, when she was 15 years o...
Author's Advance
The producer George Edwardes was once asked for an advance which would enable a ...
Whiz Kid?
In 2001, defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld put Andrew Marshall in charge of an a...
Surreal Answer
Luis Bunuel was once asked whether he had been deeply affected by his Jesuit upb...
Gilbert in a Pickle
Among W. S. Gilbert's neighbors at Grims Dyke (his mansion in Stanmore just outs...
Smell-O-Vision
In 1960, Mike Todd, Jr unveiled a $2 million motion picture featuring Smell-O-Vi...
Back-Stabber
One day in 1992, Time Warner's Jerry Levin visited the company's chief, Nick Nic...
Deathbed Skeptic
On his deathbed, Voltaire (a skeptic at best) was visited by a priest to hear hi...
Ali Baba
One evening Berlioz attended the debut performance of Ali Baba, an opera ...
Lowther
James William Lowther, Speaker of the British House of Commons between 1905 and ...
Congressional Deficit
Like many Republicans, Iowa Congressman Jim Ross Lightfoot frequently complained...
Joe Strummer & the Clash: S...
One day Joe Strummer and his Clash bandmates found themselves counting the numbe...
Talleyrand's Death
"Talleyrand was, by any standard, a miserable character. He was a remarkably cap...
Mirabeau & Talleyrand
During an early session of the constitutional convention following the French Re...
Hay Fever
Dr. Holmes, a long time asthma-sufferer, was once asked how hay fever could be c...
Canadiens Captains
In the 1990s, the Montreal Canadiens went through captains like a baby through d...
Paetus & Arria
Accused of taking part in a plot against the emperor, the Roman senator Cecina P...
Thousand Words?
Invitations to Hugh Hefner's legendary parties at the Playboy mansion were large...
Short Sermon
"At a rehearsal for the coronation of Edward VII the late Lord Salisbury was ask...
Steinitz
Like every World Chess champion, William Steinitz was frequently riddled with an...
Tracy Smith's Glasses
One day Tracy Smith's boyfriend told her that he tought she looked better withou...
Model Insurer?
In April 2003, Ray Jones announced that his company's 1.5 acre Model Railway Vil...
Pretty Baby
Brooke Shields, who was named one of the most "intriguing" people of the year by...
Cromwell's Portrait
While viewing an exhibition of paintings of English royalty by the renowned port...
Snubs
Beau Brummell once famously engaged in a nasty row with his former friend, the p...
Coldplay & the Paparazzi
One day in 2003, a paparazzo named Jon Lister caught Coldplay frontman Chris Mar...
Hal Roach: Oscar Speech
At the 64th Academy Awards in 1992, 100-year-old the legendary producer Hal Roac...
Sage Advice
"When Major Gwilym Lloyd George was looking round for men to run his plan for th...
Jim Schoenfeld & Don Koharski
On May 5th, 1988, the New Jersey Devils suffered a crushing 6-1 defeat in the co...
Walter Mutter
Walter Pater, though widely admired as a writer and critic, was less formidable ...
Hollywood Moment
At the Academy Awards dinner in 1942, the legendary director Cecil B. De Mille a...
Pope's Last Words
Though lying on his deathbed, Alexander Pope was assured by his doctor one day t...
History Writer
One day following the publication of Napoleon III's history of Julius Caesar, Th...
Naomi Wolf
"Al Gore's new advisor, [yuppie feminist author] Naomi Wolf, wrote a book saying...
Trashy Sequel
When a Gone with the Wind sequel (entitled Scarlett) sparked a bid...
Concussion
In November 1999 Broncos receiver Ed McCaffrey suffered another concussion. Was ...
American Missionary?
While traveling in India one year, Norman Cousins found himself talking with a H...
Jim Finks
After a brutal loss one day in 1986, New Orleans Saints general manager Jim Fink...
Whistler
James Whistler was not noted for his modesty. "It's a good thing," someone once ...
Sermon
During a sermon one day, a Welsh revivalist preacher swept to his conclusion by ...
Pearls and Swine
Beatrice Lillie (Lady Peel) was once accosted by a haughty old dowager who scrut...
Plagiarist
One day Bertrand Russell was approached by a writer who had recently completed a...
Radical Words
FDR once delivered a radio address in which he identified four distinct politica...
Lang Behind The Scenes
Early in his career, Otto Lang worked as director William Wellman's third assist...
Self-Made Man
The legendary writer and wit George S. Kaufman once overheard a self-made millio...
Eisenreich's Diapers
Jim Eisenreich's wife gave birth while he was playing for a young Florida Marlin...
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