A FEW FAMOUS SAYINGS OF FERENC MOLNAR

APR 12 1940

related by
SANDOR NADAS

"God, how can you live so far?" - was the greeting of Ferenc Molnar, author of "LILIOM" to his friends at the peer when he arrived in New York recently. The manuscript of his new play was in his pocket. Molnar is generally regarded as one of the wittiest men of Europe. The clever, pointed anecdotes of the great Hungarian dramatist are quated alike in the drawing rooms of Paris, London, Budapest. These sayings are seldom innocent, in fact they are sharp, biting ones and sometimes outright cruel. He has no regard for any one not even for himself when it comes to get a laugh from his audience. He is an inexhaustable well of jokes. Whenever a party threatens to become dull, someone starts to tell Molnar stories and the atmosphere is electrified immediately. Of course some of the quotations will be false, but the ones quoted below have been verified by the author and thus bear the authentic Molnar trade-mark.

Weekly:

There was a weekly in Budapest with a pushing, disagreeable editor who appeared everywhere whether expected or not, but out of fear of his paper no one ever dared to invite him out. Molnar was annoyed by the fact that wherever he went, be it the theatre, restaurant or society, the editor always hung around him. Finally one day he said to him in public: "Wouldn't it perhaps be better if your paper would appear daily, and you, my friend, only once a week?"

Apples:

Molnar is very fond of apples. In Geneva he went to the fruit store every day and bought an apple and ate it right there. However, he objected to the apples being too small and lacking taste. One day the storekeeper announced that he received a shipment consisting of new crop apples from the famous Swiss apple district Canton Wallis. He picked out a huge apple almost the size of a melon: "These are our famous Swiss apples" he proudly asserted. Molnar took a good-natured look at the huge thing and said: "Now I can understand how the Swiss National hero, Wilhelm Tell, had the courage to aim at the apple right on the head of his own child."

A FEW FAMOUS SAYINGS OF FERENC MOLNAR - Cont'd

### Artist:

This is about an Hungarian artist who painted all day with utmost devotion to his art but his work was so hard to understand that he could never manage to sell any of it. However, one could see him every night at the artist club, where he used to gamble all night. With luck and ability he usually managed to win. "Poor chap", said Molnar, "what he earns with hard work at night gambling, he paints away recklessly by day."

### Chicken:

There was a little peasant inn near Budapest which was famous for its freshly fried young chicken. One summer night while Molnar had dinner there with his usual company, the chicken on the ground kept on annoying the guests. One little chicken began to pick at the feet of the great dramatist. He tolerated it for a while but when the little impudence got hold of his shoelace, Molnar threatened under the table: "Listen, you, better behave or else I'll order you fried."

### Jealousy:

The well-known producer Ray Goetz went to Budapest a few years ago. He had dinner at the beautiful Danube Quai with a young Hungarian author who is known for his professional jealousy: "What about Ferenc Molnar"-Goetz asked-"has he as much acclaim as ever?" "On the contrary", said the jealous colleague,"he is not running in good form lately. His last play was terrible. He drinks too much, and to boot, the strongest brand of liquor."

The American producer did not reply but when the envious author inquired about his plans, Goetz remarked: "I would like to work on a play here. Could you tell me where I can get some of the strong liquor which Molnar drinks?"

### Theater:

A Budapest theater was on the rocks. Suddenly the owners announced that they appointed a new manager who was known for his ruthlessness and shady deals. The finances of the theater were almost beyond possibility of redemption and Molnar remarked: "This is the first time to my knowledge that a rat fled to a sinking ship."

### Marriage:

A little night flower was being married to a good-for-nothing, Molnar thus greeted the bride: "Tell me, my child, how could you ever consider a man who was willing to marry you?"