Greatly exaggerated!
“The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”So wrote Mark Twain in a cable from London to the Associated Press in 1897.
It seems however that AP has struck again. News outlets around the world reported the death this week of Paul Vance, co-writer of the song Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. This came as a particular shock to Mr Vance, who saw the report on TV!
Apparently a woman who had been recently widowed repeated, in all innocence, her late husband’s claim that he had written the song.
The real live writer is still fending off telephone calls and reassuring relatives and friends that he is very much alive! Apparently he liked most of what was written in his obituaries – but wanted to take issue with some of the things he read!
The BBC had to retract it's report (here), whilst this is the Associated Press killing the story (here)! [The Guardian has now killed the link - probably not directly out of embarrassment!]
posted by Chris @ 7:47 pm
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