Wilson Mizner

Wilson Mizner (May 19, 1876 - April 3, 1933) was an American playwright, raconteur, and entrepreneur. His best-known plays are The Deep Purple, produced in 1910, and The Greyhound, produced in 1912. He was manager and co-owner of The Brown Derby restaurant in Los Angeles, California, and was affiliated with his brother, Addison Mizner, in a series of scams and picaresque misadventures that inspired Stephen Sondheim's Bounce!.

Found 21 thoughts of Wilson Mizner

Wilson Mizner

I can usually judge a fellow by what he laughs at.

The worst-tempered people I've ever met were the people who knew they were wrong.

A fellow who is always declaring he's no fool usually has his suspicions.

Copy from one, it's plagiarism; copy from two, it's research.

A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he gets to know something.

In order to excel, you must be completely dedicated to your chosen sport. You must also be prepared to work hard and be willing to accept destructive criticism. Without 100% dedication, you won't be able to do this.

I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education.

The best way to keep your friends is not to give them away.

When you take stuff from one writer it's plagiarism; but when you take it from many writers, it's research.

To profit from good advice requires more wisdom than to give it.

Some of the greatest love affairs I've known have involved one actor - unassisted.

The days just prior to marriage are like a snappy introduction to a tedious book.

There is something about a closet that makes a skeleton terribly restless.

I know of no sentence that can induce such immediate and brazen lying as the one that begins, 'Have you read - .'

The first hundred years are the hardest.

Over in Hollywood they almost made a great picture, but they caught it in time.

Hollywood is a sewer with service from the Ritz Carlton.

I hate careless flattery, the kind that exhausts you in your effort to believe it.

Life is a tough proposition and the first hundred years are the hardest.

I'd rather know a square guy than own a square mile.

To my embarrassment I was born in bed with a lady.