“You can get more with a kind word and a gun than with just a kind word”

Brooklyn-born comedian Irwin Corey said in 1953:
 
”“My philosophy is you can get more with a kind word and a gun than with just a kind word.”
 
In Parade magazine in 1969, Corey credited the jocular line to American gangster Al Capone (1899-1947). Capone often gets credit for the line that he never said. “You can get more with a smile and a gun than with just a smile” is a frequent variation of Corey’s saying.
 
[This entry was initially researched by the Quote Investigator.]
     
   
Wikipedia: Irwin Corey
“Professor” Irwin Corey (July 29, 1914 – February 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comic, film actor and activist, often billed as The World’s Foremost Authority. He introduced his unscripted, improvisational style of stand-up comedy at the San Francisco club, the hungry i. Lenny Bruce described Corey as “one of the most brilliant comedians of all time”.
 
Wikiquote: Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel Capone (17 January 1899 – 25 January 1947), popularly known as Al “Scarface” Capone, was a famous American gangster in the 1920s and 1930s.
 
Quotes
You can get much farther with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone.
. As quoted in Forbes (6 October 1986).
 
29 July 1953, Variety, “Survey of Humor,” pg 51, col. 2:
IRWIN COREY: (...) “My philosophy is you can get more with a kind word and a gun than with just a kind word.”
 
24 October 1958, The Evening Star, (Washington, DC), “Midtown New York” by Robert Sylvester, pg. A-30, col. 3:
Philosophy from Irwin Corey at the Village Vanguard: “You can get more with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word.”
 
26 October 1958, Chicago (IL) Daily Tribune, “On the Town: Lonnie Belts Out Songs with a KO Punch” by Will Leonard, pt. 7, sec. 2, pg. 4, col. 1:
A sardonic with who takes a dim view of everything from automobile traffic to the Gettysburg Address, (Don—ed.) Adams sums up his philosophy: “You can get more with a kind word and a gun than with just a kind word,”
   
10 November 1960, New York (NY) Times, “Supper Clubs Are a Proving Ground for Much Talent” by Arthur Gelb, pg. 60, col. 3:
His (Professor Irwin Corey’s—ed.) closing line is apt to be: “I want to leave you with this philosophy: ‘You can get more with a kind word—and a gun—than with a kind word.’”
 
Google News Archive
13 July 1969, Reading (PA) Eagle, “My Favorite Jokes” by Professor Irwin Corey, Parade magazine, pg. 14, col. 2:
I think it was Al Capone who once said: “You can get more with a kind word and a gun than with just a kind word.”
 
IMDb (The Internet Movie Database)
The Untouchables (1987)
Quotes
Capone: You can get further with a kind word and a gun than you can with just a kind word.
 
31 December 1987, Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL), pg 13A:
Gorby and Pals Know You Get More With a Smile and a Gun Than Gun Alone
by Jim Wright
       
Google Books
The Mammoth Book of Comic Quotes
By Geoff Tibballs
London: Constable & Robinson Ltd
2004
Pg. ?:
You can get much further with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone.
AL CAPONE
 
Google Books
Oddball Illinois:
A Guide to Some Really Strange Places
By Jerome Pohlen
Chicago, IL: Chicago Review Press, Inc.
2012
Pg. 274:
DEEP THOUGHTS FROM AL CAPONE
“You can get much farther with a smile, a kind word, and a gun than you can with a smile and a kind word.”
 
Twitter
Stick Or Truth
‏@StickOrTruth
You can do more with a kind word and a gun than with just a kind word.  #jokes
12:20 AM - 11 Jun 2016