"Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead" is a catchphrase that originated in 1975 during the first season of NBC's Saturday Night (now called Saturday Night Live, or SNL) and which mocked the weeks-long media reports of the impending death of Francisco Franco. It was one of the first catchphrases from the series to enter the general lexicon.
Origin
The death (on November 20, 1975) of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco during the first season of NBC's Saturday Night originated the phrase. Franco's presumed imminent death had been a headline story on NBC News and other news organizations for several weeks. On slow news days, United States network television newscasters sometimes noted that Franco was still alive.
Following Franco's death, Chevy Chase, host of NBC's Saturday Nights comedic news segment Weekend Update, announced Franco's death and read a statement from former president Richard Nixon: "General Franco was a loyal friend and ally of the United States. He earned worldwide respect for Spain through firmness and fairness."
Although SNLs use is the most widely known, it is predated by the John Garfield Still Dead' syndrome," which originated as a result of extensive coverage in the wake of actor John Garfield's death and funeral in 1952.
The phrase is listed in The Oxford Dictionary of Catchphrases.
References
Citations
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