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The Quotable
Lucius Beebe
For all that can be said about Lucius Beebe, one thing's for certain: he sure knew how to turn a phrase.
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Here are some shining examples of the acerbic wit of Lucius Beebe.
"In moments of trial,
turn to champagne."
- Lucius Beebe
From San Francisco's Golden Era
by Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg, 1960.
–Lucius Beebe
"Waving at trains is almost as purely American as carrying umbrellas is English."
From the Lucius Beebe Reader, 1967
"We admire to give good parties and the measure of their success is the number of empties, the size of the restaurant bill and the number of screams for bail during the night."
–Lucius Beebe
From a letter written to friend Herb Caen, the legendary San Francisco columnist, written circa 1960. The letter was published by Caen upon Beebe's death in February 1966 in the article titled "Beebe on Beebe".
"If anything is worth doing it's worth doing in style. And on your own terms and nobody goddamned elses."
–Lucius Beebe
From a letter written to friend Herb Caen, the legendary San Francisco columnist, written circa 1960. The letter was published by Caen upon Beebe's death in February 1966 in the article titled "Beebe on Beebe".
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