What is the truth or falsehood of the famous exchange between Churchill and a woman (Nancy Astor?) who accused him of being drunk? Did it really take place? —J.M.
It’s true, but the lady was Bessie Braddock MP, and Churchill’s retort was not strictly original. From my book, Churchill by Himself, page 573:
[Bessie Braddock MP: “Winston, you are drunk, and what’s more you are disgustingly drunk.”]
WSS: Bessie, my dear, you are ugly, and what’s more, you are disgustingly ugly. But tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be disgustingly ugly. —1946. Ronald Golding to the Editor.
Not original to Churchill, but world famous, and confirmed by Ronald Golding, a bodyguard present on the occasion, as WSC was leaving the House of Commons after a late evening’s debate. Lady Soames, who said her father was always gallant to women, doubted the story, but Golding explained that WSC was not drunk, just tired and wobbly, which perhaps caused him to fire the full arsenal. However, he was relying on his photographic memory for this riposte: in the 1934 movie It’s a Gift W. C. Fields’s character, when told he is drunk, responds, “Yeah, and you’re crazy. But I’ll be sober tomorrow and you’ll be crazy the rest of your life.” Verdict: Churchill editing W. C. Fields.
