39-405: Take My Wife can refer to several television productions, typically inspired by Henny Youngman's famous one-liner, " Take my wife, please " Now Take My Wife , a 1971 BBC television sitcom Take My Wife (1979 TV series) , a 1979 British television sitcom "Take My Wife, Please" ( Married... with Children episode) , the 1993 seventh episode of
78-465: A 2016 comedy series Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Take My Wife . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Take_My_Wife&oldid=844775193 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
117-524: A comedian. Youngman never retired, and he performed his stage act in venues worldwide until his final days. As his fame passed into legendary status, he never considered himself aloof or above others, and he never refused to perform a show in a small venue or unknown club. In a tribute to Youngman, TV and animation producer Mark Evanier described him in a way that emphasized both his money consciousness and his love of performing: He would take his fiddle and go to some hotel that had banquet rooms. He'd consult
156-471: A few bars paid the fee and others closed, most establishments went underground. By 1890, Pittsburgh had about 700 speakeasies but only 92 licensed liquor dealers. This led to national media attention, including a 1891 New York Times article noting: The commonest term in the police news of Pittsburg is the raid of a "speak-easy". [...] the expression became common in McKeesport and spread to Pittsburg, Here
195-483: A focal point. Films were restricted from depicting alcohol on screen, but some still continued to do so because they felt it showed the way Americans lived, such as the scene in Our Dancing Daughters in which Joan Crawford dances on a table in a speakeasy. The poor quality bootleg liquor sold in some speakeasies was responsible for a shift away from 19th-century "classic" cocktails, that celebrated
234-523: A live album for National Recording Corporation performed at the Celebrity Club in St. Louis. Later, the album was re-released as a CD. Like many comedians, Henny Youngman treated his profession as a working job, one where making a living is difficult, and getting paid for the work is all-important. In numerous interviews, Youngman's advice to other entertainers was to nem di gelt (Yiddish for "take
273-651: A long-running stint on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In . In 1955, he hosted a TV series entitled The Henny and Rocky Show, appearing with champion boxer Rocky Graziano . He had cameo appearances in several movies, including Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood ; History of the World, Part I ; and Goodfellas . He had a larger role as the strip-club owner in Herschell Gordon Lewis's The Gore Gore Girls . His autobiography
312-421: A prolonged illness. While she was ill, Henny had an ICU built in their bedroom so she could be taken care of at home (rather than in the hospital), as Sadie was terrified of hospitals. Henny explained the origin of his classic line "Take my wife, please" as a misinterpretation: he took his wife to a radio show and asked a stagehand to escort his wife to a seat. But his request was taken as a joke, and Youngman used
351-760: A resurgence in the 2000s. In 2022, amid the COVID-19 pandemic , the theme again became popular, especially in New York City. From the beginning the speakeasy was relatively small with little or no entertainment involved, but through gradual growth it popularized and expanded to many different areas with new additions of entertainment and eventually made the speakeasy one of the biggest businesses during Prohibition. In many rural towns, small speakeasies and blind pigs were operated by local business owners. These family secrets were often kept even after Prohibition ended. In 2007 secret underground rooms thought to have been
390-487: A series of businesses owned by Charlie Berns and Jack Kriendler. They started the business in Greenwich with a place called "The Redhead" and later moved onto the next operation "The Puncheon Club". The "21" Club was special because of its system to remain under the radar. It was a unique system that used a doorkeeper to send a warning to the bar that it was in danger and the bar would transform into an ordinary place through
429-504: A similar episode in a 2011 film review: I once observed Henny Youngman taping a TV show in the old NBC studios at the Merchandise Mart. We got into an elevator together. It stopped at the second floor, a private club. A wedding was under way. Youngman got off the elevator, asked to meet the father of the bride and said, "I'm Henny Youngman. I'll do 10 minutes for $ 100." Youngman made numerous appearances on television, including
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#1732791153184468-585: A speakeasy were found by renovators on the grounds of the Cyber Cafe West in Binghamton , New York. Speakeasies did not need to be big to operate. "It didn't take much more than a bottle and two chairs to make a speakeasy." One example for a speakeasy location was the "21" Club in New York. This is one of the more famous of the speakeasies and operated until 2020. The "21" Club was only part of
507-462: A wall of what appears to be a billiard saloon. You pull out the drawer, drop in your change, shove the drawer back, call for what you want and then pull out the drawer again and there it is, "Straight" or "Spiked" just as you'd have it. Nobody is heard or seen, and the blind tiger, apparently without any keeper, works like a charm. The first American speakeasies emerged in the Pittsburgh -area in
546-615: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Take my wife, please Henry " Henny " Youngman (March 16, 1906 – February 24, 1998) was an English-born American comedian and musician famous for his mastery of the " one-liner ", his best known being "Take my wife... please". In a time when many comedians told elaborate anecdotes, Youngman's routine consisted of telling simple one-liner jokes, occasionally with interludes of violin playing. These depicted simple, cartoon-like situations, eliminating lengthy build-ups and going straight to
585-543: Is entitled Take My Life, Please! Youngman's last movie appearance was in Daniel Robert Cohn's film Eyes Beyond Seeing , in which he has a cameo as a mental patient claiming to be Henny Youngman. Henny Youngman's stage performances included a series of short, one-line jokes told in rapid succession. For example: "A doctor gave his patient six months to live... but he couldn't pay his bill, so he gave him another six months." Another example: "My wife's purse
624-539: Is interred in the Mount Carmel Cemetery, Glendale, New York , next to his wife Sadie. Speakeasy A speakeasy , also called a beer flat or blind pig or blind tiger , was an illicit establishment that sold alcoholic beverages . The term may also refer to a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars in the United States date back to at least
663-658: The 1880s, but came into prominence in the United States during the Prohibition era (1920–1933, longer in some states). During that time, the sale, manufacture, and transportation ( bootlegging ) of alcoholic beverages was illegal throughout the United States, due to the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution . Speakeasies largely disappeared after Prohibition ended in 1933. The speakeasy-style trend began in 2000 with
702-579: The U.S., The New York Times attributes the term to saloon owner Kate Hester, who ran an unlicensed bar in the 1880s in McKeesport, supposedly telling her rowdy customers to "speak easy" to avoid attention from authorities, which has become a common American anecdote. Many years later, in Prohibition-era America, the "speakeasy" became a common name to describe a place to get an illicit drink. Different names for speakeasies were created. The terms "blind pig" and "blind tiger" originated in
741-409: The United States in the 19th century. These terms were applied to establishments that sold alcoholic beverages illegally, and they are still in use today. The operator of an establishment (such as a saloon or bar) would charge customers to see an attraction (such as an animal) and then serve a "complimentary" alcoholic beverage, thus circumventing the law. In desperate cases it has to betake itself to
780-488: The United States, the word emerged in the 1880s. The first known recorded use is in a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania newspaper article from March 21, 1889, which refers to "speak easy" as the term used in the Pittsburgh -area town of McKeesport, Pennsylvania for "a saloon that sells without a license". A later, June 30, 1889, Pittsburg Dispatch article explains the following: "Speak-easies" have always existed, no matter who first called them by that name. They have been "holes in
819-456: The biggest parts of American culture during this time. Several changes happened as speakeasies formed; one was with integration. People of all races, black or white, would gather together and even mingle. People would mix together and have few or no problems. Another change that occurred was more participation from women. Many businesses would set up their speakeasies to attract women to get more profits. Women also began to insert themselves into
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#1732791153184858-461: The business of speakeasies. Texas Guinan , a former screen and stage actress, opened many speakeasies during Prohibition such as the 300 Club and the El Fey. Guinan greeted customers with "Hey Suckers" and admitted she would be nothing without Prohibition. Her two biggest competitors were Helen Morgan and Belle Livingston. Speakeasies also affected culture during prohibition, and the speakeasy became
897-498: The daily directory in the lobby and find a party—usually a bar mitzvah reception—and he would go up to the room and ask to speak to whoever was paying for the affair. "I'm Henny Youngman," he would tell that person. "I was playing a date in another banquet room here and one of the waiters suggested you might want to have me do my act for your gathering here." He would negotiate whatever price he could get—$ 200, $ 500, preferably in cash—and he would do his act for them. Roger Ebert described
936-513: The eighth season of the American sitcom Married... with Children " Take My Wife, Sleaze ", the 1999 eighth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons "Take My Wife, Please", the 2004 thirteenth episode of the eleventh season of NYPD Blue "Take My Wife" ( Family Guy ) , the 2015 eighteenth episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated sitcom Family Guy Take My Wife (2016 TV series) ,
975-413: The exhibition of Greenland pigs and other curious animals, charging 25 cents for a sight of the pig and throwing in a gin cocktail gratuitously. [They] are in a mysterious place called a blind tiger , drinking the very bad whiskey for which Prohibition is indirectly responsible. "Blind tiger" also referred to illegal drinking establishments in which the seller's identity was concealed. A drawer runs into
1014-418: The kitchen! ' ", or "My wife's cooking is fit for a king. [Gesturing as if feeding an invisible dog.] Here, King; here, King!" Also, "Last night my wife said the weather outside was fit for neither man nor beast, so we both stayed home.") In reality, though, the two were very close, with Sadie often accompanying her husband on his tours. The Youngmans remained married for 59 years until Sadie's death in 1987 after
1053-567: The late 1880s. To manage the sale of "intoxicating liquors," the Allegheny County Liquor Law was passed in 1872. This law introduced alcohol licenses, set closing times, banned sales to minors, and generally aimed to control the unruly environment. Pittsburgh barkeeps mostly complied with these regulations until 1888, when the Brooks High-License Act increased the annual license fee from $ 50 to $ 500. While
1092-655: The line countless times ever after. Youngman had two children, Gary and Marilyn. Gary started his career screenwriting and directing, continuing to work in the film industry in various capacities. Gary is best known for his 1976 film Rush It ! With the exception of a week following his wife's death, and the month he was in his final hospital stay, Youngman worked almost every day for over seventy years without vacations or other breaks. Youngman developed pneumonia and died at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan on February 24, 1998, three weeks before his 92nd birthday. He
1131-541: The money"). He was quoted in an interview with the online magazine Eye : "I get on the plane. I go and do the job, grab the money and I come home and I keep it clean. Those are my rules. Sinatra does the same thing, only he has a helicopter waiting. That's the difference." When the New York Telephone Company started its Dial-a-Joke in 1974, over three million people called in one month to hear 30 seconds of Youngman's material—the most ever for
1170-591: The newspaper men accepted the term as filling a long-felt want. It now passes current all over the country as a descriptive of a resort where strong drink is sold without license. Speakeasies were numerous and popular during the Prohibition years (1920-1933). Some were operated by people who were part of organized crime . Even though police and agents of the Bureau of Prohibition would often raid them and arrest their owners and patrons, they were so profitable that they continued to flourish. The speakeasy soon became one of
1209-663: The opening of the bar Milk & Honey . The phrase "speak softly shop", meaning a "smuggler's house", appeared in a British slang dictionary published in 1823. The similar phrase "speak easy shop", denoting a place where unlicensed liquor sales were made, appeared in a British naval memoir written in 1844. The precise term "speakeasy" dates from no later than 1837 when an article in the Sydney Herald newspaper in Australia referred to 'sly grog shops, called in slang terms "speakeasy's" [sic] in this part – Boro Creek.' In
Take My Wife - Misplaced Pages Continue
1248-642: The punch line. Known as "the King of the One-Liners", a title conferred to him by columnist Walter Winchell , a stage performance by Youngman lasted only 15 to 20 minutes but contained dozens of jokes in rapid succession. Henry Youngman was born to Russian Jews Yonkel Yungman and Olga Chetkin in Whitechapel , in the East End of London , England. His family moved to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn , New York, when he
1287-487: The raw taste of the liquor (such as the gin cocktail, made with Genever (sweet) gin), to new cocktails aimed at masking the taste of rough moonshine . These masking drinks were termed "pansies" at the time (although some, such as the Brandy Alexander , would now be termed "classic"). The quality of the alcohol sold in speakeasies ranged from very poor to very good, depending on the owner's source. Cheap liquor
1326-541: The show, became his manager, and secured an increasing number of appearances on such highly rated network radio shows as "The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour" hosted by Rudy Vallee . During the 1940s, Youngman tried to work into films as an actor, but he found little work in Hollywood. He returned to nightclubs and worked steadily, performing as many as 200 shows per year. Working with writer/producer Danny Shapiro, in 1959 Youngman recorded The Primitive Sounds of Henny Youngman ,
1365-609: The violin, Youngman began in show business as a musician. He led a small jazz band called the Swanee Syncopaters, and during performances, he often told jokes. One night, the club's regular comedian did not show up and the owner asked Youngman to fill in. He enjoyed it and began his long career as a comic. His inoffensive, friendly style of comedy kept his audiences laughing for decades. He first played in clubs and speakeasies , but his break came on Kate Smith 's radio show in 1937. Smith's manager Ted Collins booked him on
1404-416: The wall" and various other things descriptive of their leading peculiarities, but it is only within very recent times, and in the city of Pittsburgh, that they have been dubbed "speak-easies". Speakeasies were "so called because of the practice of speaking quietly about such a place in public, or when inside it, so as not to alert the police or neighbors". Although failing to account for earlier usage outside
1443-454: Was a child. He grew up in New York City, took violin lessons and began as a comedian after he had worked for years at a print shop, where he wrote "comedy cards" containing one-line gags. The comedy cards were discovered by up-and-coming comedian Milton Berle , who encouraged Youngman and formed a close friendship with him. Berle said about him, "The only thing funnier than Henny's jokes is his violin playing." Encouraged by his family to study
1482-406: Was generally used because it was more profitable. In other cases, brand names were used to specify the liquor customers wanted. However, sometimes when brand names were used, some speakeasies cheated; they lied to their customers by giving them poor quality liquor instead of the higher-quality liquor the customer ordered. Prices were four to five dollars a bottle. Speakeasy-themed cocktail bars made
1521-454: Was stolen, but I didn't cancel her credit cards. Why should I? The guy who stole 'em spends less than she does!" He performed while holding his trademark prop of a violin and bow, occasionally playing a short interlude of " Smoke Gets In Your Eyes " on the violin in between jokes. Youngman's wife Sadie Cohen was often the butt of his jokes ("My wife said to me, 'For our anniversary I want to go somewhere I've never been before.' I said, 'Try
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