A plaque remaining from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem.

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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Entry from October 13, 2013
“The first time I see a jogger smiling, I’ll consider trying it”

The comedienne Joan Rivers said that she didn’t like to jog.  “The first time I see a jogger smiling, I’ll consider trying it,” she was quoted in the New York (NY) Daily News in 1982. The jocular quotation has been including in many collections of quotations about running.
 
Rivers’ observation wasn’t new. however. “Did you ever see a jogger smile?” was the title of an August 1977 newspaper article. “Wouldn’t it be great to see a jogger smiling…just once?” was written in a November 1977 newspaper.
 
   
Wikipedia: Joan Rivers
Joan Alexandra Molinsky (born June 8, 1933), better known by her stage name Joan Rivers, is an American television personality, comedian, writer, film director, and actress. She is known for her ribald, deprecative style. Rivers’ comic style relies heavily on her ability to poke fun at herself and other Hollywood celebrities. Her long career spanning 5 decades has led to her becoming known as a comedy legend and icon, often being referred to as “The Queen of Comedy”.
     
10 August 1977, Gastonia (NC) Gazette, “Did you ever see a jogger smile?” by D. R. Segal (Publisher), pg. 4, cols. 2-4:
I would be willing to admit to error in all this if I ever met a jogger smiling. But the expression I’ve encountered is that of a fellow racing to the medicine cabinet for a fix of Preparation H.
 
18 November 1977, Waterloo (IA) Courier, “Saccharin versus sugar” by Phyllis Singer, pg. 9, cols 3-4:
When I am standing at the window slurping my sugar-filled cup of coffee I can see the joggers go by. Wouldn’t it be great to see a jogger smiling…just once? Sometimes I feel that exercise is nothing more than self-imposed misery.
 
2 July 1978, Dallas (TX) Morning News, “Lapping the field” by John Anders, pg. 3G, col. 2:
I know there are some of you who mistakenly believe that running is good for you. Nonsense. Just look at the faces of these people while they are running. Their faces are drained and they look near death. Have you ever seen a jogger smile while running? Let this be a lesson to all of you.
 
17 January 1982, Dallas (TX) Morning News, “In Quotes,” High Profile, pg. 13E, col. 1:
JOAN RIVERS: The comedienne, quoted in the New York Daily News, on the subject of exercise—“The first time I see a jogger smiling, I’ll consider trying it.”
     
Google Books
Dietwalk:
The doctor’s fast 3-day superdiet

By Fred A. Stutman
Philadelphia, PA: Medical Manor Books
1983
Pg. 134:
Have You Ever Seen A Jogger Smile?
 
Google Books
How do you want your room—plain or padded?:
Sanity-preserving tactics for today’s woman

By Jo Ann Larsen and Artemus Cole
Salt Lake City, UT: Shadow Mountain
1995
Pg. 186:
“The first time I see a jogger smiling, I’ll consider trying it.” (Joan Rivers.)
 
Google Books
1,001 Pearls of Runners’ Wisdom:
Advice and Inspiration for the Open Road

Edited by Bill Katovsk
New York, NY: Skyhorse Publishing
2012
Pg. ?:
The first time I see a jogger smiling, I’ll consider it. —Joan Rivers, ageless comic
   
Google Books
The 2,548 Wittiest Things Anybody Ever Said
By Robert Byrne
New York, NY: Touchstone (Simon & Schuster)
2012
Pg. ?:
1,164
I’ll consider jogging if I ever see a jogger smiling. —Joan Rivers

Posted by Barry Popik
New York CityExercise/Running/Health Clubs • Sunday, October 13, 2013 • Permalink


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