“A shady business never yields a sunny life” was printed in Forbes Epigrams: 1000 Thoughts on Life and Business (1922) by B. C. Forbes, the founder of Forbes magazine. It became one of the most reprinted epigrams from the book and reflected Forbes’ values about honesty in business.
Wikipedia: B. C. Forbes
Bertie Charles Forbes (May 14, 1880 – May 6, 1954) was a Scottish financial journalist and author who founded Forbes Magazine.
OCLC WorldCat record
Forbes epigrams, 1000 thoughts on life and business,
Author: B C Forbes
Publisher: New York, B.C. Forbes Pub. Co. [©1922]
Edition/Format: Book : English
Google Books
24 June 1922, Forbes magazine, pg. 266 ad:
A shady business never yields a sunny life.
(An advertisement for the book Forbes Epigrams—ed.)
3 August 1922, Lima (OH) News, “Shady Business Beclouds Life” by B. C. Forbes, pg. 5, col. 1:
A shady business never yields a sunny life.
(Selections from the book Forbes Epigrams—ed.)
Google Books
Aesop’s Foibles:
With six hundred quotations of the great minds of the ages
By Oscar Berger
New York, NY: John Day Co.
1947
Pg. 28:
A shady business never yields a sunny life.
B. C. FORBES
Google Books
The Modern Handbook of Humor
By Ralph Louis Woods
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
1967
Pg. 18:
A shady business never yields a sunny life. — В. С. Forbes
Google Books
The Fall of the House of Forbes:
The Inside Story of the Collapse of a Media Empire
By Stewart Pinkerton
New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press
Pg. 69:
And many more were to follow: “A shady business never yields a sunny life.”
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:
•“Never underestimate my desire at any given moment to go home” (4/23)
•“I’m a better person when I’m tan and holding a margarita” (4/23)
•“You ARE a good driver. That curb DOESN’T belong there” (4/23)
•“‘It’s been a long week.’—Me, in the middle of Tuesday” (4/23)
•“Buying frozen pizza is such a lie. ‘Oh I’ll save this for when I don’t feel like cooking’. Surprise, surprise. Day one” (4/22)
More new entries...
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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