quote of the day (April 11, 2008)

A quick welcome to any new readers to QOTD who were guilted into visiting by my plaintive email. A quick tribute to our regular readers ("there are dozen of you! dozen!).

And now onto today's quotes - a Fred Willard retrospective. Quotes from some of his best performances, all of them from Christopher Guest movies...

1984's This Is Spinal Tap:

"May I start by saying how thrilled we are to have you here. We are such fans of your music and all of your records. I'm not speaking of yours personally, but the whole genre of the rock and roll."
--Lt. Hookstratten (Willard) welcomes Spinal Tap, Britain's Loudest Band, to the Lindberg Air Force Base

1996's Waiting for Guffman:

"We consider ourselves bi-costal if you consider the Mississippi River one of the coasts."
--Blaine, Missouri's biggest actor, Ron Albertson (Willard), discussing his dual life as an extra in Hollywood and a travel agent in Blaine

2000's Best in Show:

"Doctor, question that's always bothered me and a lot of people: Mayflower, combined with Philadelphia - a no-brainer, right? Cause this is where the Mayflower landed. Not so. It turns out Columbus actually set foot somewhere down in the West Indies. Little known fact."
--Empty-headed dog show commentator Buck Laughlin discusses the origins of the Mayflower Dog Show

2003's A Mighty Wind:

"Hey, where's the real mayor, wha' happened? Somebody shot the mayor, but they did not shoot the deputy."
--Blowhard Mike LaFontaine, manager of the New Main Street Singers and former child star, speaks at a NYC reception for some folk bands hosted by the New York Deputy Mayor