It’s hard to imagine anyone rejecting the opportunity to hire Harrison Ford, but people make mistakes. Here are a few examples of a few unbelievable rejections.
What They Said: “With your voice, nobody is going to let you broadcast.”
Who Said It: CBS producer Don Hewitt, 1958
Rejected! Barbara Walters (she signed with NBC)
What They Said: “Stiff, unappealing. You ain’t got it, kid.” Who Said It: Columbia producer Jerry Tokovsky, 1965 Rejected! Harrison Ford
What They Said: “You have a chip on your tooth, your Adam’s apple sticks out too far, and you talk too slow.”
Who Said It: Universal Pictures executive, 1959
Rejected! Clint Eastwood
What They Said: “The girl doesn’t have a special perception or feeling which will lift that book above the curiosity level.”
Who Said It: Anonymous publisher, 1952
Rejected! The Diary of Anne Frank
What They Said: “Go learn to cook. Your book will never sell.” Who Said It: A literary agent in the early 1970s
Rejected! Danielle Steel, who got a new agent, and has since sold over 350 million books.
What They Said: “The band’s okay but, if I were you, I’d get rid of the singer with the tire-tread lips.”
Who Said It: BBC radio producer at a 1963 audition
Rejected! The Rolling Stones—and their lead singer, Mick Jagger
What They Said: “His ears are too big. He looks like an ape.”
Who Said It: Talent scout Darryl F. Zanuck
Rejected! Clark Gable
Companion comes from the Latin word com, “with,” and panis, “bread”—someone you break bread with.