Nick Romano in "Knock on Any Door" written by Willard Motely, which was published in 1947 and made into a movie in 1949. Humphery Bogart starred and John Derek played Romano.
Actually it was James Dean who first said it. The orginal quote was, "Live fast, die young, and leave a beautiful corpse." Sounds like ol Jimmy wasn't afraid to embrace his feminine side. ;)
“Live fast, die young and have a good-looking corpse”,
The first quote has been slightly rearranged over the years. It comes from a 1949 movie called Knock on Any Door, starring Humphrey Bogart as a liberal-minded lawyer trying to save a young hoodlum accused of murder. The hoodlum, Pretty Boy Romano, was played by John Derek who was, indeed, one of the best- looking actors who ever stood before a camera. The exact phrase, as he said it in the movie, was: “I wanna live fast, die young and leave a beautiful corpse.”
Response last updated by CmdrK on Aug 28 2016.
Nov 09 2008, 9:11 AM
I am watching a VHS copy of "Knock On Any Door" as I write this. The exact phrase spoken by John Derek was not as quoted above. The correct lines, by "Nick Romano" to his barber (played by Chester Conklin) are as follows: "If it's in my blood, who cares? Live fast, die young, have a good looking corpse."
Return to FunTrivia
"Ask FunTrivia" strives to offer the best answers possible to trivia questions. We ask our submitters to thoroughly research questions and provide sources where possible. Feel free to post corrections or additions. This is server B184.