"I came down from Jacksonville on a train that was the slowest train I'd ever been on. I said to the conductor, 'Can't you run any faster?' He said, 'Yeah, but I gotta stay on the train.' A woman ran up to the conductor and said, 'Stop the train. I have to get to the maternity hospital.' He said, 'You had no business getting on the train in that condition.' She said, 'I didn't.'"
"I had a brand-new Mercury. I loaned it to my brother last week. I said, 'Treat it as if it was your own.' He sold it."
"I was walking in Manhattan the other day and a guy ran up to me and said, 'How do I get to the nearest hospital?' I told him, 'Just walk across Park Avenue with your eyes closed.'"
"I went up to the salesgirl. I said, 'I'd like to see something cheap in a man's suit.' She said, 'The mirror's on the left.'"
"What gets me is that estimated tax return. You have to guess how much you're gonna make. You have to fill it out, fix it up, sign it, send it in. I sent mine in last week. I didn't sign it. If I have to guess how much I'm gonna make, let them guess who sent it."
"You know what a stewardess is. That's a girl who asks you what you want, then straps you in the seat so you can't get it."
Murder
On January 28, 1976, Edmondson was dropped off at his home by Randall Koehl, his 16-year-old driver and friend, who lived next door. Koehl then drove a woman in Edmondson's CadillacEldorado convertible to a house in East Point. Koehl stated that the woman was acting oddly. He stated he had never seen her before. After returning the car, he went home.
The next day, Edmondson was accosted at his College Park residence by three men, one of them armed with a pistol. After a demand for $5000, Edmondson produced a check for $300; afterwards, the gunman decided to wait overnight with Edmondson until the local bank opened, at which time, the intruders escorted Edmondson into his automobile and "drove around for an hour". When the car was stopped, three of the four men (including Edmondson) exited, and Edmondson was shot three times in the head, killing him. All three assailants were eventually arrested, charged with murder and armed robbery, convicted on both charges, and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Edmondson's death was satirized by Chevy Chase on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" segment, two days after the shooting with a joke written by Michael O'Donoghue: "Well, the popular TV personality known as Professor Backwards was slain in Atlanta yesterday, by three masked gunmen. According to reports, neighbors ignored the Professor's cries of 'Pleh! Pleh!' "[1]
professor, backwards, james, edmondson, june, 1910, january, 1976, also, known, vaudevillian, comedian, appeared, from, 1950s, early, 1970s, most, notably, sullivan, show, tonight, show, merv, griffin, show, dean, martin, show, mike, douglas, show, where, appe. James Edmondson Sr June 10 1910 January 29 1976 also known as Professor Backwards was a vaudevillian comedian who appeared on TV from the 1950s to the early 1970s most notably on The Ed Sullivan Show The Tonight Show The Merv Griffin Show The Dean Martin Show and The Mike Douglas Show where he appeared more times than any other guest citation needed In addition to traditional stand up comedy Edmondson s act featured his ability to write in script that was upside down and or backwards spell and pronounce words backwards and read an inverted blackboard correctly Edmonson as Professor Backwards Contents 1 Quotes from the Professor Backwards act 2 Murder 3 References 4 External linksQuotes from the Professor Backwards act EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed June 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message I came down from Jacksonville on a train that was the slowest train I d ever been on I said to the conductor Can t you run any faster He said Yeah but I gotta stay on the train A woman ran up to the conductor and said Stop the train I have to get to the maternity hospital He said You had no business getting on the train in that condition She said I didn t I had a brand new Mercury I loaned it to my brother last week I said Treat it as if it was your own He sold it I was walking in Manhattan the other day and a guy ran up to me and said How do I get to the nearest hospital I told him Just walk across Park Avenue with your eyes closed I went up to the salesgirl I said I d like to see something cheap in a man s suit She said The mirror s on the left What gets me is that estimated tax return You have to guess how much you re gonna make You have to fill it out fix it up sign it send it in I sent mine in last week I didn t sign it If I have to guess how much I m gonna make let them guess who sent it You know what a stewardess is That s a girl who asks you what you want then straps you in the seat so you can t get it Murder EditOn January 28 1976 Edmondson was dropped off at his home by Randall Koehl his 16 year old driver and friend who lived next door Koehl then drove a woman in Edmondson s Cadillac Eldorado convertible to a house in East Point Koehl stated that the woman was acting oddly He stated he had never seen her before After returning the car he went home The next day Edmondson was accosted at his College Park residence by three men one of them armed with a pistol After a demand for 5000 Edmondson produced a check for 300 afterwards the gunman decided to wait overnight with Edmondson until the local bank opened at which time the intruders escorted Edmondson into his automobile and drove around for an hour 1 When the car was stopped three of the four men including Edmondson exited and Edmondson was shot three times in the head killing him All three assailants were eventually arrested charged with murder and armed robbery convicted on both charges and sentenced to life imprisonment Edmondson s death was satirized by Chevy Chase on Saturday Night Live s Weekend Update segment two days after the shooting with a joke written by Michael O Donoghue Well the popular TV personality known as Professor Backwards was slain in Atlanta yesterday by three masked gunmen According to reports neighbors ignored the Professor s cries of Pleh Pleh 1 Trigger man Michael Gantt was paroled in May 2009 by the Georgia Department of Corrections References Edit SNL Transcripts Dick Cavett 01 31 76 Weekend Update with Chevy Chase SNL Transcripts Tonight External links EditProfessor Backwards at IMDb Packaging the Presidency with a description of Edmondson s stand up act Appeal to reverse convictions in Professor Backwards murder case 1977 Quotations from James Edmondson Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Professor Backwards amp oldid 1042897574, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
