“Saving is a very fine thing, especially when your parents have done it for you”

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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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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Entry from October 31, 2012

“Saving is a very fine thing, especially when your parents have done it for you”

“Saving is a very fine thing, especially when your parents have done it for you” is a jocular statement that has been credited to Winston Churchill (1874-1965) since at least 1968 and 1970. Churchill was a very public figure, but it’s not known when he said this (if he ever did).

The quotation has been frequently cited in financial books and quotation collections.

Wikipedia: Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, PC, DL, FRS, Hon. RA (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British Conservative politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. Widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the past century, he served as Prime Minister twice (1940–45 and 1951–55). A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian, a writer, and an artist. He is the only British prime minister to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature, and was the first person to be made an Honorary Citizen of the United States.

15 January 1970, Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch, “Show Time” by Earl Wilson, pg. C-17, col. 1:
REMEMBERED QUOTE: “Saving is a very pleasant thing, especially when your parents have done it for you.”—Winston Churchill.

Google News Archive
23 November 1970, Youngstown (OH) Vindicator, pg. 55, col. 2:
Thought for today:
Saving is a very fine thing, especially when your parents have done it for you—Winston Churchill.

Google Books
And I Quote:
The Definitive Collection of Quotes, Sayings, and Jokes for the Contemporary Speechmaker
By Ashton Applewhite, William R. Evans III and Andrew Frothingham
New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press
1992
Pg. 206:
Saving is a very fine thing. Especially when your parents have done it for you. — Winston Churchill (attrib.)

Google Books
20,000 Quips & Quotes
By Evan Esar
New York, NY: Barnes & Noble Books
1995, ©1968
Pg. 699:
Saving is a very fine thing, especially when your parents have done it for you.—Winston Churchill

Google Books
Guide to Economic Indicators:
Making Sense of Economics (Seventh Edition)
By The Economist
Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
2011
Pg. 100:
Saving is a very fine thing. Especially when your parents have done it for you.
Sir Winston Churchill

Posted by Barry Popik
New York City • Banking/Finance/Insurance • Wednesday, October 31, 2012 • Permalink

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