"Movies will make you famous, television will make…

“Movies will make you famous, television will make you rich, but theatre will make you good” is a saying that has been printed on many images. Authorship of the saying is unknown, but it was popularized in several forms in the 1980s by actors Derek Jacobi and Terrence Mann.

“‘Movies make you rich,’ he (Derek Jacobi—ed.) likes to say, ‘TV makes you known, but theater is what it’s all about’” was printed in the Los Angeles (CA) Times on July 30, 1981. “It has been said, ‘Movies make you rich. television makes you famous, but theatre is what it’s all about.’ And I (Derek Jacobi—ed.) absolutely believe that” was printed in Back Stage (New York, NY) on December 25, 1981. ‘...films make you rich, and theater makes you good” (from actress Joanne Lumley) was printed in the Los Angeles (CA) Times on January 2, 1983.

“There’s a saying: ‘Film makes you famous; TV makes you rich; theater makes you good’” (said by Terrence Mann) was printed in The News and Observer (Raleigh, NC) on May 20, 1984. “Movies make you famous, television makes you rich and theater makes you good” (said by Terrence Mann) was printed in the Rocky Mount (NC) Telegram on July 15, 1988. “Films make you rich. Television makes you famous. But theatre is what it is all about” (said by actor Norman Painting) was printed in the Evening Mail (Birmingham, UK) on September 30, 1988.

“‘Movies will make you famous; television will make you rich; but theatre will make you good.’—Terrence Mann” was posted on the newsgroup ironheroes on April 19, 2007. “Newfound quote ‘Movies will make you famous, TV will make you rich, but theater will make you good’-Terrence Mann” was posted on Twitter by Michael Saulters on June 14, 2009. This is how the saying is usually given.

Wikipedia: Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi CBE (/ˈdʒækəbi/; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, King Lear, and Romeo and Juliet. He has also performed in Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya and Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac. He was given a knighthood for his services to theatre by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994 and is a member of the Danish Order of the Dannebrog.

Wikipedia: Terrence Mann
Terrence Mann (born July 1, 1951) is an American theatre, film and television actor. He is best known for his appearances on the Broadway stage, which include Chester Lyman in Barnum, Rum Tum Tugger in Cats, Javert in Les Miserables, Beast in Beauty and the Beast, Chauvelin in The Scarlet Pimpernel, Charles in Pippin, Mal Beineke in The Addams Family, and The Man in the Yellow Suit in Tuck Everlasting.

Newspapers.com
2 December 1976, Burlington (VT) Free Press, “Art Garfunkel Has Come A Long Way Since Queens” by Jan Herman, pg. 1c, col. 2:
NEW YORK—Television will make you famous. Movies will make you glamorous. Rock ‘n roll will make you rich.
(This quote is from musician Paul Simon.—ed.)

Newspapers.com
30 July 1981, Los Angeles (CA) Times, pt. VI, pg. 8, col. 1:
RODERICK MANN
HE’S GOT MAKEUP AND WILL TRAVEL
(...)
“Movies make you rich,” he likes to say, “TV makes you known, but theater is what it’s all about.”
(Spoken by actor Derek Jacobi.—ed.)

25 December 1981, Back Stage (New York, NY), “Theatre Is What It’s All About!” by Derek Jacobi (as told to Ira Bilowit and Debbi Wasserman, pg. 105, col. 5:
It has been said, “Movies make you rich. television makes you famous, but theatre is what it’s all about.” And I absolutely believe that.

Newspapers.com
2 January 1983, Los Angeles (CA) Times, Classified Advertising Section, pg. 38, col. 1:
’...films make you rich, and theater makes you good”
(Said by actress Joanna Lumley.—ed.)

Newspapers.com
20 May 1984, The News and Observer (Raleigh, NC), “‘Cats’ star leaps to ‘Camelot’” by James Calloway, pg. 18E, col. 3:
“There’s a saying: ‘Film makes you famous; TV makes you rich; theater makes you good.’”
(Spoken by Terrence Mann.—ed.)

Newspapers.com
15 July 1988, Rocky Mount (NC) Telegram, “Mann comes back home to direct ‘1776’” by Charles Hoskinson, pg. 15, col. 3:
RALEIGH—Actor/Director Terrence Mann loves North Carolina.
(...) (Col. 6.—ed.)
Mann said that each of his different acting projects serves its own purpose. “Movies make you famous, television makes you rich and theater makes you good.”

Newspapers.com
30 September 1988 Evening Mail (Birmingham, UK), “Theatre” by Fred Norris, pg. 33, col. 2:
As he (actor Norman Painting—ed.) braces himself for his appearance on stage at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre tomorrow, he tugs at a wise old face and says: “Films make you rich. Television makes you famous. But theatre is what it is all about.”

Google Groups: rec.arts.theatre.musicals
What Would you Like to Preform?
Jeff Pugel
May 31, 1995, 3:00:00 AM
(...)
Movies make you famous.
Television makes you rich.
Theatre makes you good.
- Terrence Mann

Google Groups: rec.arts.theatre.musicals
Company tickets going fast
Jeff Pugel
Aug 13, 1995, 3:00:00 AM
(...)
Movies make you famous.
Television makes you rich.
Theatre makes you good.
- Terrence Mann

Newspapers.com
14-20 June 1996, Chronicle 3 (Chester, UK), “Celebrity Interview/Brian Glover,” pg. 2, col. 5:
“Films make you rich, television gets you famous and theatre is where you earn your bread and butter,” he (actor Brian Glover—ed.) says.

Google Groups: ironheroes
A reminder from Rick
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Apr 19, 2007, 6:28:55 PM
(...)
“Movies will make you famous; television will make you rich; but
theatre will make you good.”
—Terrence Mann

Twitter
Michael Saulters
@MikeSaulters
Newfound quote “Movies will make you famous, TV will make you rich, but theater will make you good”-Terrence Mann
1:19 AM · Jun 14, 2009·Twitter Web Client

Twitter
Chris Lange 💜💜💜😈
@chrislange101
Movies will make you famous; Television will make you rich; But theatre will make you good.-Terrence Mann c:
12:14 PM · Apr 5, 2010·Twitter Web Client

Twitter
Lisa Kander
@Lisajhk
“Movies will make you famous; Television will make you rich; But theatre will make you good.” - Terence Mann
8:27 AM · Jan 9, 2012·LinkedIn

Twitter
Anshuman Jha
@theanshumanjha
“Movies make you famous. Television makes you rich. But Theatre makes you good.” - Terrance Mann
Happy World Theatre Day 🎭 Various moments between 2003 to 2015, from being a Girish Karnad’s Yavakri to a Ramu Ramanathan ‘Boy’ - Theatre Has made me who I am! #worldtheatreday2021
1:23 AM · Mar 27, 2021·Twitter for Android

Twitter
PridePerformingArts
@PrideArtsInc
“Movies will make you famous, television will make you rich, but theater will make you GOOD.” Terrence Mann #performingarts #terrencemann #sayvilleny #actingclassesforkids #theater
6:47 PM · Jul 12, 2022·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
Centauri Arts
@CentauriArts
“Movies will make you famous; Television will make you rich; But theatre will make you good.” -Terrence Mann
#centauriarts #artsquote
3:01 PM · Nov 21, 2022·SocialPilot.co