Earlier use in Frank and Ernest (c. 1982), by Bob Thaves, as the characters observe a billboard for a "Fred Astaire Film Festival: "Sure he was great, but don't forget that Ginger Rogers did everything that he did… backwards and in high heels."
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Misattributed
Context: If you give us the chance, we can perform. After all, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels** Keynote address, 1988 Democratic National Convention
“Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, except backwards and in high heels.”
The line originated in a 1982 Frank and Ernest cartoon ( image http://www.reelclassics.com/Actresses/Ginger/ginger-article2.htm) by Bob Thaves as "Sure he was great, but don't forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did, ...backwards and in high heels." On the internet and in many publications the line is incorrectly attributed to Faith Whittlesey (see [List of Websites That Have Attributed Thaves' Line to Whittlesey, http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=en-us&num=100&newwindow=1&q=%22Faith+Whittlesey%22+%22Ginger+Rogers%22+-incorrect+-incorrectly+-%22Bob+Thaves%22+-%22Ann+Richards%22&aq=f&oq=&aqi=, 2009-07-25, Google]) or Rogers herself. Ann Richards popularized the line by using it in a speech but she credits Linda Ellerbee with giving her the line, and Ellerbee credits an anonymous passenger on an airplane with giving her the line (see [Keyes, Ralph (2006), The Quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where, and When, St. Martin's Griffin, 77, 0312340044]). The official Ginger Rogers website http://www.gingerrogers.com/about/quotes.html attributes the line to Thaves.
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Ginger Rogers 7
American actress and dancer 1911–1995Related quotes
A May 3, 1982 Frank and Ernest cartoon.
Elizabeth Knowles, " Backwards and in high heels http://books.google.com/books?id=jxFQqDLav6wC&pg=PT25&dq=%22backwards%22+%22high+heels%22+%22ginger+rogers%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=wPs_U-qZC9PNsQS90YLYBQ&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22backwards%22%20%22high%20heels%22%20%22ginger%20rogers%22&f=false", What They Didn't Say: A Book of Misquotations (Oxford Press: 2006)
" Quotes About Ginger Rogers http://www.gingerrogers.com/about/quotes.html", Ginger Rogers: The Official Site
Often incorrectly attributed to Faith Whittlesey, Ann Richards (who used it in a 1988 speech), or to Ginger Rogers herself
Alternative version: Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, except backwards and in high heels.
Source: http://www.frankandernest.com/
Fred Astaire in a letter to his agent Leland Hayward dated February 9, 1934. He went on to make a further nine musical films with Rogers.
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Fred Astaire in a letter to his agent Leland Hayward dated February 9, 1934. He went on to make a further nine musical films with Rogers. (M).
Arlene Croce, in Croce, Arlene. The Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Book, W.H. Allen, London, 1974. p. 7. ISBN 0491001592.
“Everything I did, I did for my country.”
Nate Thayer interview (1997)
As quoted in "When it comes to shoes, practicality often takes a back seat" https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=85010977 by Mary T. Schmich, The Orlando Sentinel (November 9, 1983), p. 51