Wilder in “Skin of Our Teeth,” 1948 (Photo: Carl Van Vechten)
I was looking for a half-remembered quote today, and found it: “There’s nothing like eavesdropping to show you that the world outside your head is different from the world inside your head.” So true.
The quote-sayer was playwright and novelist Thornton Wilder. Then I happened to remember that today is his 109th birthday.
Here’s the quote that Joseph Peschel chose for his own Facebook celebration. It’s also a good one: “I’ve never forgotten for long at a time that living is struggle. I know that every good and excellent thing in the world stands moment by moment on the razor-edge of danger and must be fought for — whether it’s a field, or a home, or a country.”
That’s from The Skin of Our Teeth. So is Carl Van Vechten‘s 1948 photo of Wilder, playing Mr. Antrobus in the production.
Happy birthday, Thornton Niven Wilder (Apr. 17, 1897 – Dec. 7, 1975)!