Walter Mitty
Danny Kaye as Walter Mitty
First appearance "The Secret Life of Water Mitty" The New Yorker, March 18, 1939
Information
Nickname(s)	"The Old Man" (in one fantasy)
Occupation	unknown; various fantasy occupations
Title	Commander, Doctor (in fantasies)
Spouse(s)	unnamed except as "Mrs. Mitty"
Portrayed by	Danny Kaye
Created by	James Thurber

Walter Mitty is a fictional character in James Thurber's short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", first published in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and in book form in My World— and Welcome to It in 1942. Mitty is a meek, mild man with a vivid fantasy life: in a few dozen paragraphs he imagines himself a wartime pilot, an emergency-room surgeon, and a devil-may-care killer. The character's name has come into more general use to refer to an ineffectual dreamer, appearing in several dictionaries.^[1] The American Heritage Dictionary defines a Walter Mitty as "an ordinary, often ineffectual person who indulges in fantastic daydreams of personal triumphs." ^[2] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Kaye entertaining U.S. troops at Sasebo, Japan, 25 Oct 1945 David Daniel Kaminsky, known as Danny Kaye (January 18, 1913 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, singer and comedian. ... The New Yorker is an American magazine that publishes reportage, criticism, essays, cartoons, poetry and fiction. ... is the 77th day of the year (78th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... See also: 1938 in literature, other events of 1939, 1940 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Kaye entertaining U.S. troops at Sasebo, Japan, 25 Oct 1945 David Daniel Kaminsky, known as Danny Kaye (January 18, 1913 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, singer and comedian. ... James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894–November 2, 1961) was a U.S. humorist and cartoonist. ... Alice, a fictional character based on a real character from the work of Lewis Carroll. ... James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894–November 2, 1961) was a U.S. humorist and cartoonist. ... For the 1947 film, see The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947 film). ... The New Yorker is an American magazine that publishes reportage, criticism, essays, cartoons, poetry and fiction. ... is the 77th day of the year (78th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... See also: 1938 in literature, other events of 1939, 1940 in literature, list of years in literature. ... My World and Welcome to It was a half-hour situation comedy based on the writings of humorist and cartoonist James Thurber. ... See also: 1941 in literature, other events of 1942, 1943 in literature, list of years in literature. ... See fantasy for an account of the literary genre involving the development of common or popular fantasies. ...

Although the story has humorous elements, some critics see a darker and more significant message underlying the text, leading to a more tragic interpretation of the Mitty character. Even in his heroic daydreams, Mitty does not triumph, several fantasies being interrupted before the final one sees Mitty dying bravely in front of a firing squad. In addition, it is possible to read the events in the story as the responses to the stress of reality by an aging man who is sliding into senescence. In the brief snatches of reality that punctuate Mitty's fantasies we meet well-meaning but insensitive strangers who inadvertently rob Mitty of some of his remaining dignity. His wife is the only inhabitant of reality that we meet more than once. Thurber cleverly leads us into accepting her as a nag by giving Mitty's fantasies a charming lightness and comic-book simplicity that disarms deeper scrutiny. On the other hand, her final appearance suggests that she is a woman struggling to cope as her role shifts from loving life-partner to care-giver as Mitty slowly slides into his second childhood.^{[citation needed]} Execution by firing squad is a method of capital punishment, especially in times of war. ...

Use of the term as an insult

In 1977, Andrew Roth entitled his biography of former British prime minister Harold Wilson Sir Harold Wilson: the Yorkshire Walter Mitty. Wilson successfully sued Roth for libel arising out of a section of the book referring to Wilson's wife. Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... Andrew Roth (born April 23, 1919, NYC) is an American journalist. ... The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is, in practice, the political leader of the United Kingdom. ... James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was one of the most prominent British politicians of the 20th century. ... Look up Yorkshire in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ...

In his 1992 biography of Henry Kissinger, Walter Isaacson records that on 6 October 1973, during the October War, Kissinger urged President Richard Nixon's Chief of Staff General Alexander Haig to keep Nixon in Florida in order to avoid "any hysterical moves" and to "keep any Walter Mitty tendencies under control."^[3] Henry Alfred Kissinger (born Heinz Alfred Kissinger on May 27, 1923) is a German-born American diplomat, and 1973 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. ... The Yom Kippur War (also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, the October War and Ramadan War), was fought from October 6 (the day of Yom Kippur) to October 22/24, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Egypt and Syria. ... Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ... Joshua B. Bolten, the current White House Chief of Staff. ... For other persons named Alexander Haig, see Alexander Haig (disambiguation). ...

In 2003, Tom Kelly, a spokesman for British prime minister Tony Blair, publicly apologised for referring to David Kelly as "a Walter Mitty character" during a private discussion with a journalist. For other people of the same name, see Tony Blair (disambiguation) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born May 6, 1953)[1] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the Labour Party, and Member of Parliament for the constituency... For other persons named David Kelly, see David Kelly (disambiguation). ...

In 2007, Automaker Ford admitted that it had to weed out "Walter Mitty" types who had dreams but no experience, prior to the sale of their Aston Martin British GT car brand to a consortium of business interests from America and the Middle East, headed by Prodrive founder and world rally championship owner David Richards.

Later in 2007, Conservative British MP Sir Peter Tapsell backhandedly complimented outgoing Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair for portraying "...despite the deep disillusionment of his fellow countrymen with his premiership, an optimism that eluded King James II and would have delighted Walter Mitty."^[4] Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), the largest in terms of public membership, and the oldest political party in the United Kingdom. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... Sir Peter Hannay Bailey Tapsell (born 1 February 1930, Hove) is a politician in the United Kingdom. ... The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... For other people of the same name, see Tony Blair (disambiguation) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born May 6, 1953)[1] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the Labour Party, and Member of Parliament for the constituency... James II of England (also known as James VII of Scotland; 14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) became King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland on 6 February 1685, and Duke of Normandy on 31 December 1660. ...

In his book on selection for the Special Air Service, Andy McNab wrote that people who give away the fact that they want to be in the SAS for reasons of personal vanity are labeled as 'Walter Mittys' and quietly sent home. The Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) is the principal special forces unit of the British Army. ... Andy McNab DCM MM (born December 28, 1959) is a British former soldier turned novelist. ...

Also, there is a term in military slang, "Walt", which is an abbreviation of Walter Mitty, which refers to someone who has aspirations to become a soldier, but none of the necessary personal qualities. This bit of slang can also refer to someone who poses as an (ex-) soldier but who isn't a soldier (serving or former) or who poses as something he isn't or wasn't. (e.g. a logistics soldier who poses as an SAS trooper, or a member of the Legion of Frontiersmen). Legion of Frontiersmen, Edmonton, Alberta, 1915. ...

Comparable characters

• Walter Mitty was not the first fictional character to escape from intolerable reality into fantasies. British crime-fiction writer Anthony Berkeley Cox included a similar character in his 1931 book Malice Aforethought, which he wrote under the pen name Francis Iles.
• Thurber's character Charlie Deshler from the short story "The Curb in the Sky" has a similar dynamic as Mitty, retreating from his wife into a world of fantasy. He resorts to describing his dreams in order to keep his wife from correcting him. Eventually he ends up in an asylum, describing the same dream over and over, as his wife corrects him on the details.
• The character served as the model for the Waldo Kitty character of the mid-70s (Filmation).
• Cervantes' Don Quixote is an even older character given to "flights of fancy"--a person who is idealistic or who doesn't have their "feet on the ground" is now called "quixotic"
• The Peanuts character Snoopy is a type of Walter Mitty, as is Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes.
• "Weird Al" Yankovic's character George Newman, from the film UHF, is also depicted as a Walter Mitty character.
• On Indian television, the character Mungerilal is a Walter Mitty. Day-dreams are often referred to as "Mungerilal ke haseen sapne" in Hindi, which means "Mungerilal's beautiful day-dreams".
• The character of Ally McBeal, played by Calista Flockhart and created by David E. Kelley, is also a typical example of a Walter Mitty, notwithstanding the fact that she is a female.
• The online character of eddie-the aggravator, found on many Irish online sites; orginated on The Irish Times forums. Possibly a creation of bored forum moderators. Believes himself to be a US government operative, based in Ireland for some odd un-specified reason, fighting against anti-Americanism and terrorism; he informs all and everyone of his missions, movements, their outcome and his decorations. Probably not a great advert for the war on terror but a fabulous spoof, all the same.

Anthony Berkeley Cox (July 5, 1893 - 1971) was a British crime fiction author, born in Watford, England. ... The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty took the concept of James Thurbers popular book (and later movie) The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and parodied it with anthropomorphised dogs and cats. ... The first Filmation logo. ... (IPA: , but see spelling and pronunciation below), fully titled (The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha) is an early novel written by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. ... Look up Quixotic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000 (the day after Schulzs death). ... For the American rapper, see Snoop Dogg. ... Calvin in a yelling mood. ... Listen to this article (3 parts) (info) Part 1ʉۢ Part 2ʉۢ Part 3 This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2006-01-29, and may not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... This article is about the musician himself. ... UHF (also known as The Vidiot from UHF in Australia and parts of Europe, and Los Telelocos in Mexico) is a comedy film made in 1989. ... Hindi ( , Devanagari: or , IAST: , IPA: ), an Indo-European language spoken mainly in northern and central India, is the official language of the Union along with English. ... Ally McBeal is an American television series which ran on the FOX network from 1997 to 2002 and was one of the best-known dramedy television series of the 1990s winning several awards. ... Calista Kay Flockhart (born November 11, 1964) is an Emmy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning American actress. ... David Edward Kelley (born April 4, 1956) is a prolific multi-Emmy award winning American writer, executive producer, and creator of the well-known television series Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Ally McBeal, Boston Public, and Boston Legal. ...

References in popular culture

The character was played by Danny Kaye in the 1947 film version, and is scheduled to be played by Mike Myers in a future film version. Thurber opposed the 1947 production. Kaye's Mitty is a more comedic character than the original, who is unmarried, gets drawn into a farcical adventure in real life, and triumphs in ways that the original character does not, even in his fantasies. Kaye entertaining U.S. troops at Sasebo, Japan, 25 Oct 1945 David Daniel Kaminsky, known as Danny Kaye (January 18, 1913 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, singer and comedian. ... The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a 1947 movie, loosely based on a short story of the same name by James Thurber. ... The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is an upcoming film being being produced by Paramount Pictures, written by Richard LaGravenese, produced by Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. ...

Walter Mitty is referenced in the lyrics to the songs "Sex and Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll" by Ian Dury, "In The City" by Madness, "Dreams" by The Descendents, "All Dressed Up For San Francisco" by The Philosopher Kings, and "Sammy Davis City" by Joe Strummer and Brian Setzer. Although the character is not specifically referenced within its lyrics, the concept album Eldorado by Electric Light Orchestra focuses on the exploits of a Walter Mitty-style persona. Ian Dury, in a look combining Gene Vincent with a Cockney pearly king. ... Madness are an English pop/ska band from Camden Town, London that formed in 1976. ... The classic Descendents lineup left to right, Frank Navetta, Tony Lombardo, Milo Aukerman, and Bill Stevenson. ... The Philosopher Kings are a Canadian R&B/soul band and were one of the most commercially successful Canadian pop groups of the late 1990s. ... John Graham Mellor (August 21, 1952 – December 22, 2002) better known as Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead singer of the English punk rock band The Clash. ... Brian Setzer (born April 10, 1959 in Massapequa, Long Island, New York) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. ... Eldorado is a 1974 concept album by the Electric Light Orchestra. ... “ELO” redirects here. ...

References