2009 marked the 60th anniversary of 'Murphy's Law' ("If anything can go wrong, it will"). In 1949, Captain Edward Aloysius Murphy, Jr. was heard to have said words to that effect which Colonel John Paul Stapp later christened as 'Murphy's Law'.
It had been said, "Acknowledges that although things will probably go wrong, recognizing that fact is the first step in being prepared for when that actually happens." Nick T. Spark first reported 'Murphy's Law' in 2003 and then elaborated in 'A History of Murphy's Law'.
Britain's 'Telegraph' recognized, "For an understanding of how life actually works, we must look to the realm of unwritten law: those adages, maxims, morals, observations, precepts, principles, proverbs, and other sayings that have been handed down over the years by humanity's unelected legislators. Taken together, they constitute the collective wisdom of humankind...Unwritten laws come in two basic varieties: descriptive and prescriptive."
Between November 1988 and March 1989, George Segal could be seen in the TV series, 'Murphy's Law.' He made the observation in 1978, "In your 20s, you go through a stage of innocence. Things get a little more tense, however, when you hit your 30s. You’re supposed to be getting your act together, but aren’t. You suffer through all sorts of emotional crises. So imagine what a nice surprise it is when you reach 40 and you find that the pressures are easing up on you. Sure, you still have crises but you’re more prepared to handle them."
Insisting "life is something that happens while you’re making other plans", George shared, "I’ll tell a secret...If you don’t get it in front, you don’t get it. That’s Segal law...Hits buy you freedom and choice...Actually, I suppose money buys you the illusion of choice."
Of 'Murphy's Law', one writer mentioned in the book 'Successful Television Writing', "The show was a joy to write, playing exactly into our strengths...Unfortunately, the rest of the world didn’t share our enthusiasm for 'Murphy's Law.'"
Of the big screen, George made the observation, "Regardless of the pretensions of the people involved, it is a medium guided by machines. It's magic. I don’t know how it works. All you need is a sheet to hang on the wall, and you can show a movie anywhere. It’s amazing what life a film can have, and what influences an actor can have. One of the crew on ('Rollercoaster' 1977) was telling me that he and his wife spent their first date seeing 'No Way To Treat A Lady' (1968), a movie I was in. As a result, I score very big in their lives. That’s an amazing thing."
