- "I don't need bodyguards."
- Jimmy Hoffa, shortly before his disappearance on July 30, 1975.
- "With over 50 foreign cars already on sale here, the Japanese auto industry isn't likely to carve out a big slice of the U.S. market."
- Business Week, Aug. 2, 1968.
- "Who the h*** wants to hear actors talk?"
- H.M. Warner, Warner Bros., 1927, before "talking pictures" caught on.
- "Radio has no future. Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible. X-rays will prove to be a hoax."
- English scientist William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, 1899.
- "I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary Cooper."
- Gary Cooper, after rejecting the role of Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind.
- "Can't dance. Can't act. Can sing a little."
- notes from Fred Astaire's screen test.
Impressive
Still, in spite of that horrible track record, I can't resist making a few predictions of my own. I may be going out on a limb, but here's my forecast for the year 2003:
- The Internet will catch on.
- It might rain, or it might not.
- The sun will rise in the east, unless it doesn't.
- Jupiter will continue to be much larger than Mars.
- Strom Thurmond will celebrate his 101st birthday - without Trent Lott.
- Somebody's cat will cough up a hairball.
- Something's going to blow up.
- A telemarketer will call my house and ask for a Mr. Peggus.
- A telemarketer will call my house and ask for Mr. Petrol.
- A telemarketer will call my house and ask for a Mr. Joe Pesci.
- I'll finally get caller ID.
There you have it. I invite you to save these predictions and, when 2004 rolls around, see how many I got right.
Just send your findings to me, Joe Pesci. (Reprint-Gary Pettus, Jackson, Mississippi Clarion Ledger)
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