“Champagne wishes and caviar dreams” was the closing line spoken by host Robin Leach on the television show Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (1984-1995). Broadway columnist Walter Winchell had described in 1951 young stage hopefuls that live a “coffee-and-doughnut existence with champagne-and-caviar dreams.”
A popular phrase dating to the late 1800s is having “champagne taste on a beer budget.”
Wikipedia: Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous is a television series that aired in syndication from 1984 to 1995. The show featured the extravagant lifestyles of wealthy entertainers, athletes and business moguls.
It was hosted by Robin Leach; Leach was joined by Shari Belafonte in 1994, and the show was renamed Lifestyles with Robin Leach and Shari Belafonte. Robin Leach ended each episode with his signature phrase, “champagne wishes and caviar dreams”.
Wikipedia: Robin Leach
Robin Douglas Leach (born 29 August 1941; London, England) is an English celebrity writer famous for hosting his first show, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, in the mid-1980s and into the mid-1990s, which focused on profiling well-known celebrities and their lavish homes, cars and other materialistic endeavors. His voice is often parodied by other actors with his signature phrase, “champagne wishes and caviar dreams.” During the final season, he was assisted by Shari Belafonte, and the show was renamed, Lifestyles with Robin Leach and Shari Belafonte.
9 February 1951, Mansfield (OH) News-Journal, “True Expression of Broadway Is the People That Live There” by Walter Winchell, pg. 9, col. 1:
A coffee-and-doughnut existence filled with champagne-and-caviar dreams.
(Stage hopefuls—ed.)
25 April 1966, Lebanon (PA) Daily News, “Walter Winchell…of Broadway,” pg. 17, col. 3:
A coffee-and-doughnut existence filled with champagne-and-caviar dreams.
8 August 1985, Cleveland (OH) Plain Dealer, “TV host’s spiff just for show” by Maria Riccardi, pg. 9B, col. 2:
“Instead, it’s the show everybody loves to love…People are addicted to ‘Lifestyles.’ Everybody likes to dream champagne and caviar dreams.”
24 December 1986, Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald, pg. D4, col. 9:
Merry Christmas to all our friends and relatives. May all of you have Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams in the New Year.
OCLC WorldCat record
Caviar dreams
Author: Judy Nichols
Publisher: Burnaby, B.C. : Zumaya Publications, 2003.
Edition/Format: Book : Fiction : English
OCLC WorldCat record
SHARING THE WEALTH - Escape to a world of champagne wishes and caviar dreams to start a luxury business.
Author: Chris Penttila
Publisher: [Santa Monica, Calif. : Chase Revel,
Edition/Format: Article : English
Publication: Entrepreneur. (May 2003): 88
Database: ArticleFirst
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.
Recent entries:
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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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