# Is Walter Mitty a well-known character in US culture? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 30, 2013, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504 "2013-12-30T19:42:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504/81 "2013-12-31T20:08:25Z")
> [@Galwegian](#): > > I think that I was familiar with [Billy Liar](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Liar#TV_series) first, though, from the 1970s UK TV show. And the Tom Courtenay and Julie Christie movie before it. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504/82 "2013-12-31T20:10:16Z")
42, read “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” in high school English class. I also read “The Thurber Carnival” and particularly enjoyed the story about the dog that bit people, as well as “The Night the Bed Fell.” ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504/83 "2014-01-01T01:18:38Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > How many people remember this NBC series based on Thurber’s works? > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1P9-BtHj60](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1P9-BtHj60) I watched that when it was on. Bait for your average Doper: it stars Commodore Decker as the Thurber character. I need to rewatch them, since I was too young to get all the nuances the first time. Him walking through his cartoon wife’s mouth in your clip is so Thurber. I knew him, of course, but thanks to the influence of my mother I read widely of lots of comic writers of the time - not just Thurber but Benchley, Leacock, and my favorite to this day, S. J. Perelman. And eventually Finlay Peter Dunne’s Mr. Dooley pieces. And I’ve know who Walter Mitty is as long as I can recall. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504/84 "2014-01-01T03:24:05Z")
If I ever read any Thurber I forgot able it long ago. I have seen parts of the Danny Kaye movie years ago. But I thought Walter Mitty as a concept was widely known. I’m 46. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504/85 "2014-01-01T03:26:21Z")
> [@vontsira](#): > > I understand that “Walter Mitty” is quite a widely-employed expression in the British armed forces: used to refer to those who make a big production of telling stories, of doubtful veracity, of their own supposed military derring-do. I believe the British military calls military posers and embellishers “Walt” but from the same source. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504/86 "2014-01-01T03:31:49Z")
I don’t know anything about the Danny Kaye movie, but I’m surprised you don’t know the short story. We have nearly identical educational backgrounds, and I could swear I was subjected to that boring piece of dreck multiple times before graduating high school. It was often in the same section as good ol’ J Alfred Prufrock and A Rose For Emily. Snoozeville. (39, educated in suburban public schools outside of Chicago) ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504/87 "2014-01-01T03:51:35Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Which reminds me - 15 years ago, if asked if something was well-known in American culture, I could say “I know about it - so it’s well-known.” But now that I’m mumblety-mumble years old, I find that’s no longer true… I was a Creative Director, in Advertising. I felt relevant because I was part of the coveted 18-49 year old American Male demographic. I knew how to make ads that appealed to ME, and that’s what mattered. Until suddenly I was in my 50s… BTW, I was (and still am) a HUGE Thurber fan. But reading this thread, I don’t mind that they grafted the W. Mitty name onto a movie, if it doesn’t mean that much to the potential audience. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504/88 "2014-01-01T04:51:28Z")
> [@BrassyPhrase](#): > > I’m 44 and I definitely know who Walter Mitty is. I was in advanced classes in school, but I don’t remember ever reading that Thurber story, though I think we read a different one. I loved loved loved the Danny Kaye movie (saw in on tv several times over the years). I found the Thurber story and then read all the Thurber I could get my hands on. > > Unfortunatey, when I was discussing the movie with my Fella a couple of years ago, we were dismayed to find out the Danny Kaye version hasn’t been released on DVD. He did use his google-fu to somehow find me a version that retains the english soundtrack but is subtitled in what I’m pretty sure is Korean. (A very sweet Christmas present that year.) I’m hoping that the new movie will lead to the Kaye movie being released. > > And someone mentioned Marquis in this thread? Oh, I’m swooning over here! I love Marquis even more than Thurber. I just saw the DVD in Walmart yesterday. Apparently it was released earlier this month. [http://www.walmart.com/ip/28455065](http://www.walmart.com/ip/28455065) ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504/89 "2014-01-01T05:14:33Z")
I’m a 31 year old American and I’ve never heard of Walter Mitty, James Thurber, or Danny Kaye. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504/90 "2014-01-01T12:54:04Z")
> [@Kiyoshi](#): > > I’m not American, and for some reason I was under the impression that Walter Mitty was a gangster like Al Capone. I have no idea where that came from. You’re probably conflating him with Frank Nitti. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504/91 "2014-01-01T17:37:01Z")
1. Don’t recall it’s ever being assigned reading in school, but I’m pretty sure I read it before I reached junior high. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504/92 "2014-01-01T17:43:49Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I don’t know anything about the Danny Kaye movie, but I’m surprised you don’t know the short story. We have nearly identical educational backgrounds, and I could swear I was subjected to that boring piece of dreck multiple times before graduating high school. It was often in the same section as good ol’ J Alfred Prufrock and A Rose For Emily. Snoozeville. > > (39, educated in suburban public schools outside of Chicago) We did Rose for Emily, but not Prufrock in high school (that I did in college in an Eliott class.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504/93 "2014-01-01T17:46:15Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Yes. Well, the hole isn’t as big as I thought it would be, so I’m filing it under “small perforation in my cultural knowledge.” ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504/94 "2014-01-01T17:59:36Z")
> [@gladtobeblazed](#): > > I’m a 31 year old American and I’ve never heard of Walter Mitty, James Thurber, or Danny Kaye. Then you don’t know that the pellet with the poison’s in the vessel with the pestle and the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true? ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504/95 "2014-01-01T18:43:29Z")
> [@vontsira](#): > > I understand that “Walter Mitty” is quite a widely-employed expression in the British armed forces: used to refer to those who make a big production of telling stories, of doubtful veracity, of their own supposed military derring-do. > [@Loach](#): > > I believe the British military calls military posers and embellishers “Walt” but from the same source. I’ve never been in the military; gather, though, that on the whole, folk in that line despise behaviour of the kind mentioned here – in the main, the more truly heroic military types have been, the less they’re inclined to talk about it. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504/96 "2014-01-01T18:45:54Z")
> [@gladtobeblazed](#): > > I’m a 31 year old American and I’ve never heard of Walter Mitty, James Thurber, or Danny Kaye. From your name on the board, though; do I guess rightly, that you’re a fan of Harry Turtledove’s “Darkness” novel series? ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504/97 "2014-01-01T18:54:34Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > I just saw the DVD in Walmart yesterday. Apparently it was released earlier this month. > > [Robot or human?](http://www.walmart.com/ip/28455065) Awesome! Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504/98 "2014-01-02T01:15:54Z")
> [@vontsira](#): > > From your name on the board, though; do I guess rightly, that you’re a fan of Harry Turtledove’s “Darkness” novel series? Nope, I was a big pot head when I joined the board, hence the name. I don’t really smoke anymore though, so it might be time for a change. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504/99 "2014-01-02T01:21:24Z")
I’m a 53 year old American and I envy anyone who didn’t have his childhood TV viewing stunk up by Danny Kaye. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504/100 "2014-01-02T01:48:07Z")
52 - I’m a Thurber fan and a Danny Kaye fan and would’ve expected almost everyone on the Dope to know who Walter Mitty was. Just common knowledge. StG [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walter-mitty-a-well-known-character-in-us-culture/677504.md?page=6)