“No applause—just throw money”

“No applause—just throw money” is an entertainment gag line of uncertain authorship. Some insist that the line is from vaudeville in the early 1900s, but it has been cited in print since the 1940s.
 
“Don’t bother applauding, just throw money” (said on the radio show “Stop the Music”) was printed in the Dayton (OH) Daily News on October 10, 1948. “Milton Berle, on the televised Texaco Star Theatre, who snaps in such asides as ‘Don’t applaud, don’t applaud—if you like it just throw money’” was printed in Vogue (New York, NY) on February 1, 1949.  “No applause. Just throw your money” was printed in the Sunday American-Statesman (Austin, TX) on April 3, 1949. “Don’t applaud, just throw money” was printed in the Edmonton (Alberta) Journal on August 2, 1951.
 
“Don’t clap just throw money” was printed in The Guthrian (Guthrie Center, IA) on April 6, 1954. “Don’t applaud! Just throw me cash” was printed in the Ames (IA) Daily Tribune on April 11, 1961.
 
   
Newspapers.com
10 October 1948, Dayton (OH) Daily News, “On the Air Waves: Timing Is Important On ‘Stop The Music’ Program” by Margaret Sander, Society Section, pg. 10, col. 2:
At 7:38 a happy-looking man appears and tells you he’s going to introduce the producer, Mark Goodson.
 
A BLOND YOUNG MAN comes out, bows happily and tells you that this is definitely the best-looking audience that he has ever seen. Everybody applauds, of course, and he says “don’t bother applauding, just throw money.”
 
1 February 1949, Vogue (New York, NY), “People Are Laughing At…,” pg. 215:
Milton Berle, on the televised Texaco Star Theatre, who snaps in such asides as “Don’t applaud, don’t applaud—if you like it just throw money.”
 
Newspapers.com
3 April 1949, Sunday American-Statesman (Austin, TX), “Show World” by Steve Perkins, pg. 14-B, col. 6:
“That can-can!” she (Betty Jo Gregory—ed.) recalls. “What a joke! It wasn’t any good straight so I hammed it up by ad libbing all the way through. One night I yelled at the audience, “No applause. Just throw your money.” And they did.
 
“You know they’re using that line again this time. An they didn’t even ask me if they could use it,” she kidded. “Isn’t that a blow? One of the girls used it Saturday night. They got a lot of money too. Bills and half-dollars all over the stage.”
 
Newspapers.com
2 August 1951, Edmonton (Alberta) Journal, “Pitches and Putts” by Johnny Hopkins, pg. 10, col. 3:
Some of his sure-fire laugh-getters are (...) “Don’t applaud, just throw money,” ...
(Referring to Joe Kirkwood, Sr.—ed.)
 
Newspapers.com
8 June 1952, The Coe College Cosmos (Cedar Rapids, IA), “Thru the KOSCOPE with LAG,” pg 3, col. 4:
Don’t applaud, please, just throw money.
 
Newspapers.com
29 June 1952, Sunday News, (New York, NY), “Cabarabian Nites” by Danton Walker, sec. 2, pg. 4, col. 4:
“Don’t applaud,” says Linda, in modest Gleason style, “just throw money.”
(Jackie Gleason’s 10-year-old daughter, Linda.—ed.)
 
Newspapers.com
6 April 1954, The Guthrian (Guthrie Center, IA), “Skool Staf Skores…Stoodants Skorn” by Lee Shroyer, pg. 7, col. 4:
Her motto is “don’t clap just throw money.”
 
Newspapers.com
11 October 1954, The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), “Cols, Champ Surprisers, Are Surprised On Return” by Tommy Fitzgerald, sec. 2, pg. 3, col. 7:
“Don’t mind the applause, just throw money at us,” kiddingly remarked pitcher Ike Delock to provide a laugh for the others still in the bus.
   
Newspapers.com
29 February 1956, Ottawa (ON) Citizen, “Televiews” by Bob Blackburn, third section, pg. 21, col. 2:
When Tommy Trinder came out on the Hope show with “No applause, please, just throw money,” I began to have my first doubts about English humor. They’re still using that line occasionally on the hack nightclub circuits, but I never thought to see a top British comic deliver it on a Bob Hope show in 1956. Oh, well, it got a laugh anyway.
 
Newspapers.com
31 December 1956, Burlington (VT) Daily News, “Sweetie Pie” comic strip by Nadine Seltzer, pg. 9, col. 1:
(One of the child performers of “KINDERGARTEN VARIETIES” says the following.—ed.)
“Don’t applaud! Just throw money!”
 
Newspapers.com
4 January 1957, Chickasha (OK) Daily Express, “Sweetie Pie” comic strip by Nadine Seltzer, pg. 2, col. 5:
(One of the child performers of “KINDERGARTEN VARIETIES” says the following.—ed.)
“Don’t applaud! Just throw money!”
 
Newspapers.com
18 November 1959, Paterson (NJ) Evening News, “The View from Cross’ Castle” by Ron Krommer, pg. 38, col. 3:
To sling an old vaudeville line for the cause: “Don’t applaud…just throw money!”
     
Newspapers.com
11 April 1961, Ames (IA) Daily Tribune, “Corridor Chatter,” pg. 8, col. 1:
If a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing for money. Don’t applaud! Just throw me cash.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Dont Clap - Just Throw Money!
Author: Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives
Article, 1981
Publication: Campaign, October 1981, 35
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Fans, or, Don’t clap—just throw money : a play
Author: Roy Eden
Print Book, English, ©1986
Publisher: S. French, London, ©1986
       
OCLC WorldCat record
No Applause- Just Throw Money: A suite for street performers
Summary: This enchanting documentary spotlights 101 determined performers embodying the energy and creativity that fuel the Big Apple. Its featured players woo the city on the sidewalks, in the subway, and even on the Staten Island Ferry, as they ambitiously carry on the tradition of passing the hat. It’s show business with no budget, no theater and no reviews
VHS Video, English, 1987
Publisher: Direct Cinema Limited, Santa Monica, CA, 1987
 
OCLC WorldCat record
No Applause, Just Throw Money
Author: Sally Engle Merry
Summary: Sally Engle Merry reviews “No Applause, Just Throw Money,” directed and produced by Karen Goodman
Article
Publication: American Anthropologist, 91, Jun 1989, 527
 
OCLC WorldCat record
No applause - just throw money : or the book that made Vaudeville famous
Author: Trav S. D.
Summary: From 1881 to 1932, vaudeville was at the heart of show business in the States. This book chronicles vaudeville’s far-reaching impact and explores the many ways in which vaudeville’s story is the story of show business in America, documenting the history and cultural legacy of this indigenous theatrical form.
Print Book, English, 2006
Publisher:Faber & Faber, New York, 2006
 
Twitter
Just Me
@airborne8019
Replying to William87264803
😎 thank you, thank you. No applause necessary, just throw cash. 😅
8:09 AM · Jun 8, 2022·Twitter Web App
 
Twitter
MaryLIsPastIt *** AlwaysDem
@marylispastit
Replying to @onojermo
No applause ... just throw cash ...
😂🥰😊👍🙋‍♀️✋😷🤣
7:45 AM · Jul 4, 2022·Twitter Web App
 
Twitter
Spider-man Bot
@TheSpiderManbot
Ta-Taa! No applause folks—Just throw money!
5:16 PM · Sep 27, 2022·twittbot.net