Airplane! Quotes

Context

This line is spoken by Dr. Rumack, played by Leslie Nielson, in the film Airplane!, directed by Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker, and David Zucker (1980).

Airplane! was the funniest airplane-related disaster until John Travolta wrote a children's book about flying. But Airplane! is infinitely more quotable.

In one of the film's most famous scenes, former pilot Ted Striker (Robert Hays) discovers that both the pilot and co-pilot of Trans American Flight 209 have succumbed to food poisoning. Dr. Rumack asks Striker if he can fly the plane and land it. Striker responds, "Surely you can't be serious," prompting Rumack to say, with a straight face, "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley."

Where you've heard it

You've heard this quote any time someone born before 1980 hears the word "surely." Or "Shirley," for that matter.

Additional Notable References

• The band Don't Call Me Shirley is comprised of four men, none of them named Shirley.
• The Collector's Edition DVD of Airplane! is the "Don't Call Me Shirley Edition."
• It's quoted in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
• Michael Scott gives it a shot.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Surely you can't find this quote pretentious.