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 March 29, 2019
“You go to Los Angeles to become somebody; you go to New York when you are somebody”

“He had heard someone say, ‘You go to L.A. if you want to be somebody, to New York if you are somebody, and you’re in Miami if you used to be somebody’” was printed in the book Blood Relations (1996) by Barbara Parker. It’s not known who authored the saying.
 
“You go to LA to be somebody, you go to New York when you are somebody, and you go to Miami when you want to be somebody else” was posted on Twitter by Kim Anh on December 10, 2009. “Los Angeles is where you go when you wanna be somebody, New York is where you go when you are somebody, and Miami is where you go when you wanna be somebody else” was posted on Twitter by Billy Corben on March 26, 2018.
 
“You go to New York to become somebody; you to go Los Angeles to become famous” is a similar saying.
 
   
Google Books
Blood Relations
By Barbara Parker
New York, NY: Signet
1996
Pg. ?:
Maybe go to California, start over. He had heard someone say, You go to L.A. if you want to be somebody, to New York if you are somebody, and you’re in Miami if you used to be somebody.
 
Twitter 
Kim Anh
@kimanhN
“You go to LA to be somebody, you go to New York when you are somebody, and you go to Miami when you want to be somebody else.”
6:21 PM - 10 Dec 2009
 
Twitter   
basadd
@basadd
LA: when you want to be somebody. NYC: when you are somebody. Miami: when you want to be somebody else. #sketchtown
10:08 PM - 18 Jan 2010
 
Twitter   
Matt Stofanak
@matt_stofanak
You live in New York if you are somebody.
You live in L.A. If you want to be somebody.
You live in Miami if you want to be somebody else.
6:32 PM - 18 Jun 2013
 
Twitter
Topher Mochran790
@cochran108
Replying to @bomani_jones
@bomani_jones Go to Hollywood/LA to be somebody, come to Miami to be somebody else
6:54 PM - 11 May 2014 from Pembroke Pines, FL
       
Twitter
Father of Dragons 🐉
@Official_BRAND
Move to California if you want to be somebody🎥 Move to New York if you are somebody👸 Move to Miami if you want to be somebody else🚶
10:04 PM - 2 Jul 2014
 
Twitter
J Mo
@JMOinKY
You go to Los Angeles if you want to be somebody You go to New York if you are somebody. You go to Miami to be someone else Lol
11:41 AM - 10 Dec 2014
     
Twitter
teddy pendergrass
@QwerkyFrancine
its been said that you go to LA if you wanna be somebody, NYC if you are somebody, and Miami if you want to be somebody else.
1:21 PM - 20 Feb 2015
 
Twitter
MoscaNoche
@ElMoscanoche
@NewMexico Go to LA to be someone, to NY when you’re someone, to Miami to be someone else & Santa Fe when you don’t want to be known at all.
9:25 AM - 22 May 2015
   
Google Books
Running with Raven:
The Amazing Story of One Man, His Passion, and the Community He Inspired

By Laura Lee Huttenbach
New York, NY: Kensington Publishing Corporation
2017
Pg. ?:
When I first moved to Miami Beach in February 2011, a friend broke down the city to me like this: “If you are somebody, you go to New York. If you want to be somebody, you go to Los Angeles. If you want to be somebody else, you go to Miami.”
 
Twitter 
William
@justlogoutbro
People generally move to NYC or LA expecting to be somebody. People generally move to Miami to become somebody else.
4:26 PM - 13 Jul 2017
 
Twitter
Billy Corben
@BillyCorben
Los Angeles is where you go when you wanna be somebody, New York is where you go when you are somebody, and Miami is where you go when you wanna be somebody else.
8:07 PM - 26 Mar 2018
 
Twitter     
Hash Bia ❤️
@AbiaHashmi
“You go to LA to be somebody…NYC because your somebody…and Miami to be somebody else…...”
11:44 PM - 21 Nov 2018
     
Twitter
Steve Roper
@MrRopert
Los Angeles, you go there if you wanna be somebody.. You go to New York if you are somebody. And Miami if you want to be somebody else..
12:40 PM - 6 Mar 2019
 
Uproxx
‘Screwball’ Director Billy Corben Doesn’t Care About Steroids, He Wants To Tell The Truth About A-Rod
RYAN NAGELHOUT 03.29.19
(...)
Billy Corben: There’s an old saying that I often repeat but the more I live the truer it seems to be: L.A. is where you go where you wanna be somebody, New York is where you go when you are somebody, and Miami is where you go when you wanna be somebody else. Miami, specifically, and Florida in general, has always been a sunny place for shady people.

Posted by Barry Popik
New York CityNames/Phrases • Friday, March 29, 2019 • Permalink


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