MovieChat Forums > Sleeper (1973) Discussion > A name I missed

A name I missed

posted 9 years ago by churchr-1
5 replies | jump to latest

When this first came out there was a reference I didn't get because the person wasn't familiar to me but from context I assumed it was some right-wing sort. Not recognizing the name I also forgot it and was never able look it up now, 200 years later in the age of Wikipedia.

Woody is being interviewed by the scientsts, it's the scene where he keeps the Playboy for future reference and says something like "oh yeh, that's when xxxxxxxx got hold of an atomic bomb."

Could someone fill in the blank for me?

[–] RIP_IMDb 9 years ago

Albert Shanker.

I'll let you know when I come-up with a new signature, .

[–] churchr-1 9 years ago

Thank you, that's been a long time coming.

[–] RIP_IMDb 9 years ago

You're welcome!

I'll let you know when I come-up with a new signature, .

[–] scrabbler1 9 years ago

I was 10 years old when I first saw the movie in 1973. I didn't know who Albert Shanker was, but my dad did and told me who he was (the head of the Teacher's union). Like many of the jokes in the movie, the reference was so weird it was funny.

[–] NewtonFigg 9 years ago

The point of the gag is that Albert Shanker was a volatile, confrontational union leader, and it was not unthinkable that if he had a nuclear bomb that he might have blown up the world.