When I woke up this morning my girlfriend asked me, 'Did you sleep good?' I said 'No, I made a few mistakes.'
Steven WrightRead
When I was on TV in the '80s, I wasn't thinking, 'There's a 10-year-old kid watching this and in 15 years, he's gonna be doing stuff that was influenced by me.' I was trying to get my five minutes together. So now that those people are comedians and they're influenced by me - it's bizarre.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A reflection on the impact of one's work without foreseeing its influence on future generations.
In this quote, comedian Steven Wright shares his surprise at the realization that his work on television in the 1980s had a lasting impact on aspiring comedians who grew up watching him. He acknowledges that, at the time, he was simply focused on his own performance and did not consider how it might inspire a younger audience. This highlights the often-unnoticed legacy that artists can leave behind, influencing the next generation in unexpected ways.
Themes
InfluenceLegacyComedyInspirationTelevision
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech at a comedy festival, a performer could use this quote to reflect on their influences.
More from Steven Wright
All quotes →Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time... I think I've forgotten this before.
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Right now I’m having amnesia and déjà vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this before.
Steven WrightRead
I've been doing comedy longer than I haven't been doing comedy, as I was performing for three years before I even got on 'The Tonight Show.' There's truly nothing like it; it's intense and exhilarating, even though it looks so casual.
Steven WrightRead
I don't get up, get dressed, go out, and think, 'Okay, I gotta find eight jokes.'
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Sponges grow in the ocean. That just kills me. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be if that didn't happen.
Steven WrightRead
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