Superman (1978)

Jackie Cooper: Perry White

Photos 

Quotes 

• Perry White : Now listen to me, I tell you boys and girls - whichever one of you gets it out... is going to wind up with the single most important interview since... God talked to Moses!

• Perry White : Lois, Clark Kent may seem like just a mild-mannered reporter, but listen, not only does he know how to treat his editor-in-chief with the proper respect, not only does he have a snappy, punchy prose style, but he is, in my forty years in this business, the fastest typist I've ever seen.

• Perry White : Now look. The Post: "It Flies." The News: "Look, Ma, No Wires." The Times: "Blue Bomb Buzzes Metropolis." The Planet. "Caped Wonder Stuns City." We're sitting on top of the story of the century here! I want the name of this flying whatchamacallit to go with the Daily Planet like bacon and eggs, franks and beans, death and taxes, politics and corruption.

  Clark Kent : I don't think he would lend himself to any cheap promotion schemes though Mr. White.

  Perry White : Exactly how you would you know that, Kent?

  Clark Kent : Uhm... Just a first impression?

  Perry White : Well, anyway, who's talking cheap? I'll make him a partner, if that's what it takes!

• Perry White : Olsen! Why am I paying you forty dollars a week when I should have you arrested for loitering? Go get Mr... er...

  Clark Kent : Kent.

  Perry White : ...Kent here a towel!

  Jimmy Olsen : Right, Chief.

  Perry White : And make mine black and no sugar!

  Jimmy Olsen : Right, Chief.

  Perry White : And don't call me 'sugar'!

• Perry White : I want the name of this flying whatchamacallit to go with the Daily Planet like bacon and eggs, franks and beans, death and taxes, politics and corruption.

• Clark Kent : That doesn't seem to make sense.

  Perry White : The world doesn't make sense, Kent. You ought to know that by now.

• Jimmy Olsen : Golly, Miss Lane, how come you get all the great stories?

  Lois Lane : A good reporter doesn't get great stories, Jimmy.

  Perry White : A good reporter...

  Lois Lane , Perry White : Makes them great.

• Perry White : There's only one "p" in "rapist." Lois Lane, say hello to Clark Kent.

• Lois Lane : It's got everything. It's got sex. It's got violence. It's got the ethnic angle.

  Perry White : Yeah, so does a lady wrestler with a foreign accent.

• Perry White : [Lois typing away]  Ah, the sex maniac profile.

  Lois Lane : Right! Look, 9-to-5 it's a Pulitzer Prize winner. What do you bet?

  Perry White : There's no "z" in "brassiere."

• Clark Kent : Frankly, I've never been able to understand violence in any form, Mr. White.

  Perry White : I know that about you, Kent. That's one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you. I've been in this news game 40 years, man and boy. And I got where I am with guts, compassion, elbow grease, and something you're sadly lacking in, son.

  Clark Kent : Humility?

  Perry White : No, not humility. You got bags of humility. Aggression. Confidence! That's the ticket! Take charge. Let people know who you are.

• Perry White : [to Clark]  I was a reporter before most of my friends were copy boys. That's what I want you to do, boy. Get Lois to introduce you to *Superman*. Find out who he is. What's he like? Where'd he get that blue suit? Did he have it made? Is it silk? Is it plastic?