“Beer doesn’t make you fat, it makes you lean—against bars”

“Drinking beer doesn’t make you fat, It makes you lean….against bars, tables, chairs, and poles” is an old vaudeville joke, cited in print since at least 1895. The joke is of unknown authorship, although it has been credited to the actress and comedian Polly Moran (1883-1952), vaudeville comedian Ed Lowry (1896-1983), actor and comedian George Burns (1896-1996), and musician Gerard Way (born in 1977).
 
 
WorldofQuotes.com 
“Drinking beer doesn’t make you fat, It makes you lean….Against bars, tables, chairs, and poles.”
George F. Burns Quotes
 
SearchQuotes.com
“Drinking beer doesn’t make you fat, It makes you lean…. Against bars, tables, chairs, and poles.”
Gerard Way quotes
 
23 October 1895, Kalamazoo (MI) Gazette, “Our Wit and Humor,” pg. 7, col. 1:
First Youth—Lager beer makes a man fat, the doctors say.
Second Youth—Sometimes. But it makes that chap lean—against the corner for support.
 
14 November 1903, Arizona Republican (Phoenix, AZ), “Maxm’s Maxim,” pg. 9:
Beer makes some men fat and others lean—against something.—Chicago News.
 
Google News
19 October 1935, The Leader-Post (Regina, Saskatchewan), pg. 4, col. 5:
Jones; Beer makes me fat.
Smith: Well, I once saw it make you lean— against a lamp-post.
   
1 September 1981, Omaha (NE) World-Herald, L. M. Boyd column, pg. 16, col. 1:
Lean
You remember Polly Moran? She was the humorist who said beer did not make her fat, but made her lean. Against bars, posts, tables.
 
Google News Archive
25 June 1982, Reading (PA) Eagle, “Most widows live longer” by Louis M. Boyd (Crown Syndicate), pg. 5, col. 4:
Beer does not make you fat, but makes you lean. Against bars, posts, tables. Polly Moran said that.
 
Google Books
Vaudeville Humor:
The Collected Jokes, Routines, and Skits of Ed Lowry
Edited by Paul M. Levitt
Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press
2002
Pg. 96:
You say beer makes you lean?
— Yes, against buildings, poles, and lampposts.
(Ed Lowry, 1896-1983—ed.)
   
FSDetroit
March 4, 2010
Keating’s Corner
By John Keating
FOX Sports Detroit
(...)
And since he’s serious about becoming truly the best he can be, perhaps Miguel can take to heart one last quote:  “Drinking beer doesn’t make you fat, it makes you lean—against bars, tables, chairs, and poles ...”
 
Google Books
The Beer Devotional:
A Daily Celebration of the World’s Most Inspiring Beers
By Jess LeBow
Avon, MA: Adams Media
2010
Pg. 192:
“Drinking beer doesn’t make you fat, It makes you lean . . . against bars, tables, chairs, and poles.” —Anonymous