War in Heaven (1930), Ch. 1, first sentence
“I never answer my telephone unless it rings.”
[Brother Theodore Complete Collection on Letterman, 1982-89, Don Giller, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj5fVnHWUl4]
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Brother Theodore 15
German-American monologuist and comedian 1906–2001Related quotes

“Let freedom ring, unless it's on vibrate.”
[21 October 2004, http://whedonesque.com/comments/5133, "More X-Men 3 rumors", Whedonesque.com, 2006-12-05]

Homecoming saga, The Memory Of Earth (1992)

On his homepage http://www.stroustrup.com/bs_faq.html#really-say-that, Bjarne Stroustrup states that he did say the above sentence, but also adds "I very much doubt that the sentiment is original." Bjarne Stroustrup's FAQ: Did you really say that?, 2007-11-15 http://www.stroustrup.com/bs_faq.html#really-say-that,

“Ain't no reason for me to kill nobody in the ring, unless they deserve it.”
Comment after the match with Jimmy Ellis was stopped by the referee in the twelfth round (July 1971)