"an extraordinary guy can never have an ordinary day
he might live a long goodbye, but that is not for me to say
i dig his friends, i dig his shoes
but he is just a child with nothing to lose but his mind.”
— Oasis, ‘Magic Pie’
"give ‘em the old three ring circus
stun and stagger ‘em
when you’re in trouble, go into your dance."
— Chicago, ‘Razzle Dazzle’
"it was gravity which pulled us down and destiny which broke us apart
you tamed the lion in my cage but it just wasn’t enough to change my heart
now everything’s a little upside down, as a matter of fact the wheels have stopped
what’s good is bad, what’s bad is good, you’ll find out when you reach the top
you’re on the bottom"
— Bob Dylan, ‘Idiot Wind’
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"I detest reasons."
— Bill Fallon in The Great Mouthpiece
"In court is where Bill Fallon lived a hundred lives compressed into one. There is where every nerve in his body, and every cell in his brain was concentrated on the greatest contest in the world, the greatest sport in life to him—the outwitting of the prosecution."
—Donald Henderson Clarke, In the Reign of Rothstein
"Arthur F. Driscoll […] asked if Mr. Rothstein did not have considerable influence with Attorney Fallon, to which the witness replied, ‘No one has any influence with him.’"
— New York Times, ‘Says Girl Promised Divorce As She Wed’ (May 11, 1925)
"'I object,' said the prosecutor. 'Mr. Fallon is charging on the witness and poking his finger almost in the man's face.'
'You will stop all threatening gestures,' the court said.
Mr. Fallon cupped his ear with his palm. 'I didn’t hear what your Honor just said.'
The court repeated: 'I said to cease pointing your finger.'
Mr. Fallon folded his arms and stood unnecessarily close to the witness as he continued the cross-examination."
— Gene Fowler, The Great Mouthpiece
"Sidney Skolsky tells of the trigger mind of Bill Fallon […] in this fashion. An opposing lawyer had finished with a four-hour closing address. Fallon stood up, smiled at the jury and said to the judge: 'Your honor, I will follow the example of my learned friend who has just concluded and submit the case without argument.'"
— O.O. McIntyre in The Times-Picayune, 17 August 1930
“What happened to him […] might have happened to anybody’s boy. He never grew up. I believe he would have been one of the greatest geniuses of the stage. He had everything that goes to make the intelligent artistic star. I think he failed more through success than anything else. His environment overwhelmed him. He was fundamentally good, no matter what appeared on the surface. There is no question as to his artistic ability. He had soul."
— David Belasco on Fallon in The Great Mouthpiece
"You were born a wise guy, and I guess you’ll die that way."
— Rothstein to Fallon in The Great Mouthpiece
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