# Was Cheers the first show to use the phrase “little black book?” **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 21, 2022, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316 "2022-07-21T13:31:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316/1 "2022-07-21T13:31:28Z")
This question is surprisingly difficult to answer using Google, mostly because there was a 2004 movie by the name Little Black Book. The question is about the actual term, since the concept itself obviously predates Cheers. Are there earlier examples of a TV or movie character mentioning their little black book? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316/2 "2022-07-21T13:38:05Z")
See the Odd Couple in 1970 for an earlier mention > **[The Odd Couple 1970 S 3 E 19 My Strife In Court / Recap - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/TheOddCouple1970S3E19MyStrifeInCourt)** > > Oscar scores four tickets to Kiss My Face, the hottest musical in town. Unfortunately, he can't find a girl to go with him. When Felix tries to dispose of the spare ticket, a misunderstanding results in him and Oscar being arrested for ticket … ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316/3 "2022-07-21T13:39:54Z")
Roger Watters of Pink Floyd had a little black book with his poems in it back in 1979 on the Wall album. Little black books with supposed names and phone numbers of available women was a common term dating back at least into the 20’s. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316/4 "2022-07-21T13:45:14Z")
I believe that, in the 1970s, in _Happy Days_, Fonzie, who famously dated a lot of women, had a “little black book.” Without going back and watching episodes, I’m not sure that I can prove that the phrase itself was used on the show, the IMDB entry for the Season 3 (1975) episode, “A Date With Fonzie,” has the capsule summary: “The Fonz picks two of his favorite chicks out of his not-so-little black book to help Richie out of a dating dry spell.” (The two women referenced were the first appearances of the Laverne and Shirley characters. 😃 ) > **["Happy Days" A Date with Fonzie (TV Episode 1975) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0596133/)** > > A Date with Fonzie: Directed by Jerry Paris. With Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Marion Ross, Anson Williams. The Fonz picks two of his favorite chicks out of his not-so-little black book to help Richie out of a dating dry spell. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316/5 "2022-07-21T13:50:27Z")
Not that it predates some of the other mentions, but Tony on Who’s The Boss and I believe Jessie on Full House had them. [From wiki:](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Address_book#Little_black_book) > The 1953 film version of _[Kiss Me, Kate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiss_Me,_Kate)_ features a musical scene in which [Howard Keel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Keel)’s character laments the loss of the social life he enjoyed before marriage, naming numerous female romantic encounters while perusing a miniature black book, which has given rise to the trope of a _little black book_ referring to a list of past or potential sexual partners. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316/6 "2022-07-21T14:21:32Z")
I’d be rather certain the term _little black book_ and it’s meaning goes back centuries even before the time of Don Juan/Don Giovanni. It’s use is archaic today, what’s the 2022 equivalent? A you tube channel lol ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316/7 "2022-07-21T14:26:02Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > “The Fonz picks two of his favorite chicks out of his not-so-little black book to help Richie out of a dating dry spell.” (The two women referenced were the first appearances of the Laverne and Shirley characters) Oh Fonzie! Why do you hate Richie so much? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316/8 "2022-07-21T14:29:36Z")
From a comic book I had in the 60’s: Veronica: my mother said not to trust a man with a little black book. Archie: what color does your mother prefer? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316/9 "2022-07-21T14:33:33Z")
> [@chela](#): > > I’d be rather certain the term _little black book_ and it’s meaning goes back centuries even before the time of Don Juan/Don Giovanni. Originally known as a “minute parchment codex”. Although, being a list of phone numbers, its true usefulness had to wait for the invention of the telephone, as yelling a string of random numbers out your window rarely resulted in getting laid. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316/10 "2022-07-21T14:34:41Z")
I recall an episode of _Happy Days_ where gangsters tried to kill Fonzie by blowing up his garage. He survived the explosion because he was shielded by his little black book–which was actually several steel filing cabinets. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316/11 "2022-07-21T14:37:06Z")
Wow, that really was a ridiculous show, wasn’t it? And yet, I remember being a regular viewer and discussing it in school the next day. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316/12 "2022-07-21T14:38:38Z")
There’s this hit song from 1962. I’m certain it was a well known phrase then. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/J_8ibRs2ZsU/maxresdefault.jpg "Little Black Book") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_8ibRs2ZsU) ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316/13 "2022-07-21T14:38:53Z")
Me, too. That was a two-parter. The explosion happened at the end of part one. I remember impassioned discussions with my friends all the following week. We were genuinely worried that they might actually kill off Fonzie! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316/14 "2022-07-21T14:42:22Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > There’s this hit song from 1962. I’m certain it was a well known phrase then. And, [the lyrics](https://genius.com/Jimmy-dean-little-black-book-lyrics) make it pretty clear that the “little black book” is exactly what the OP is referring to. The first verse: > [@](#): > > Well, my pretty baby just left me this mornin’ > Said she didn’t wanna see me no more > Told me not to call her on the telephone > And never come a-knockin’ on her door > Well, I fumed and I fussed, and I might have cried a little > My head went a-spinnin’ around > But with a little bit of luck, and my little black book > I’ll have another’n before the sun goes down ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316/15 "2022-07-21T14:45:16Z")
The Wikipedia article below dates it to the 1953 film version of the musical Kiss Me, Kate. This is for the usage of it as a small book where people wrote down telephone numbers particularly of dating partners. It couldn’t really be much before that because direct dialing people (not using an operator to connect) was new then. > **[Address book | Little black book](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Address_book#Little_black_book)** > > Address books are often referred to as "little black books" because of the switch to rotary dial telephone service. Early telephone services utilized operators to connect calls; however, in the 1940s and 1950s, the Bell Telephone Company introduced a dial service, whereby customers became responsible for directly entering destination phone numbers to place a call. To make it easier for customers to remember important phone numbers, the phone company offered a free, small Black Book of Telephone ... ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316/16 "2022-07-21T14:46:44Z")
Of course, there was also the “little red book” which served the same purpose. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ftO9ClIhFAo/hqdefault.jpg "Love - My Little Red Book [1966].") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftO9ClIhFAo) ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316/17 "2022-07-21T14:47:29Z")
The phone numbers are modern but the list of conquests, courtesans and ladies is ancient. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316/18 "2022-07-21T14:54:31Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Are there earlier examples of a TV or movie character mentioning their little black book? Definitely. I recall an episode of **Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea** where, in an emergency situation where a couple of officers (on dry land) need to start a fire, one of them refuses to give up the paper in his “little black book”. I was a kid then, and had never heard the phrase before, and had no idea what it meant. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316/19 "2022-07-21T14:58:42Z")
Yeah. I remember that. Laverne, Shirley and Carmin attended Fonzie’s (fake) funeral. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316/20 "2022-07-21T15:03:33Z")
> [@chela](#): > > The phone numbers are modern but the list of conquests, courtesans and ladies is ancient. Obviously. But this the question is about the specific phrase Little Black Book which is a thing that specifically has telephone numbers. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-cheers-the-first-show-to-use-the-phrase-little-black-book/968316.md?page=2)