New York comedian Henny Youngman (1906-1998), known as the king of the one-line joke, stayed at a lot of hotels. “A girl was knocking on my hotel room door all night. Finally, I had to let her out,” he often joked. The joke has been cited in print since at least 1971.
Another hotel joke in the same Youngman routine is, “This is an elegant hotel—room service has an unlisted number.”
Wikipedia: Henny Youngman
Henry “Henny” Youngman (original Russian surname Yungman) (March 16, 1906 – February 24, 1998) was a British-American comedian and violinist famous for “one-liners”, short, simple jokes usually delivered rapid-fire. His best known one-liner was “Take my wife—please.”
28 October 1971, San Diego (CA) Union, Don Freeman TV-radio column, pg. B4, col. 1:
Henny Youngman was complaining that he couldn’t sleep all night. ‘This girl kept pounding on the door to my room,” says Henny. “Finally, I had to let her out.”
Google News Archive
18 February 1977, St. Petersburg (FL) Times, “Take this story…PLEASE!” by Jim Willse (AP), pg. 4D, col. 1:
(The following is from a Henny Youngman comedy routine—ed.)
“I’m staying at a lovely hotel here in town—room service has an unlisted number. My room is so small that when I put my key in the door, the window broke. All night long, there was a girl knocking at my door. Finally I had to let her out.”
Philly.com
From The Catskills To Casinos, Youngman Left ‘em Laughing
March 01, 1998|By Steven Rea, INQUIRER MOVIE CRITIC
(...)
“A girl was knocking at my door all night long—I finally had to let her out of my room.”
Google Books
Show Biz Training:
Fun and Effective Business Training Techniques from the Worlds of Stage, Screen, and Song
By Lenn Millbower
New York, NY: AMACOM (American Management Association)
2003
Pg. 112:
“There was a girl knocking on my hotel room door all night! Finally, I let her out.” — Henny Youngman
Google Books
Quotes, Jokes & Anecdotes
By Gerard O’Boyle
Leicestershire: Matador
2012
Pg. 206:
There was a girl knocking on my hotel room door. Finally I let her out.
Henry Youngman
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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