According to widespread opinion, it is the legendary American gangster that the phrase "with a good word and a gun can achieve much more than a kind word alone." We checked whether Al Capone said this.

The fact that it was Al Capone - the author of the given phrase and its variations, reports "RIA Novosti" "Gazeta.ru", "Russian newspaper" And many other resources. You can find out about this from the magazine "Science and Life"as well as from books such as "Russian language in aphorisms", "Come on correctly: the modern dictionary of Russian scolding", "We speak Russian with Olga Severskaya" And Roman Yulia Latynina "Parsing of flights". In 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin, without specifying the author of the quote (and mentioning a specific weapon - Smith & Wesson), declaredthat she was born in the USA in the 1920-1930s. In the criminal drama "Uzchakable" (1987) Al Capone performed by Robert de Niro speaks: “I grew up in a dangerous area. They said that you can more achieve more with a kind word and a pistol than just a kind word. ”

The American gangster in Italian origin of Alfonse Gabriel Kapone lived a relatively short life - 48 years old, eight of which he spent behind bars, and more eight at home, suffering from numerous diseases, the struggle with which ended in 1947 by his defeat. However, it is useless to look for something similar to our quote in sources until 1947. There are no similar statements - both with the attributing of the hood and without it - in the available publications.

This phrase first appears in 1953, when in the magazine Variety A transcript of the NBC radio broadcast was published, containing a “overview of humor for centuries”. One of the characters performed by the brilliant comedian Irwin Corey says: “My philosophy is simple and piercing. Shooting point blank, point blank, without frills, simply, piercing. My philosophy lies in the fact that a kind word and a gun can be achieved more than one good word. ” At the same time, the character’s name is Hamlet, although the Shakespearean hero is more known for his own owning a sword, not firearms.

For several years, this joke was completely logically attributed by Irwin Corey (for example, in the newspaper Evening Star dated October 24, 1958), but sometimes left and Without authorship. And only in the sources of the late 1960s do we meet the first references to Al Capone in connection with the statement. In particular, in the minutes of the meetings of the US Congress, published on February 5, 1969, reportedthat the chairman of the Federal Energy Commission Lee White in his speech attributed this phrase to the legendary gangster. In July of the same year, in the application to the Parade Magazine newspaper, a selection was released on behalf of Irwin Corey "My favorite jokes". And now in it about the famous phrase is said already: "I think, Al Capone once said it." After that, the quote in all seriousness began to be attributed to the gangster in the publications of the most diverse level, and she healed her own life in this capacity. Of course, the film “untouchable”, which we mentioned above, played an important role in its distribution, which was a great success throughout the world. However, the main laurels in an incorrect association seem to belong to the author of pseudocytas, comedian Irwin Corey. But Al Capone, as far as possible to check, did not say anything like this.