--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was forty, I was getting divorced…" description: "\"When I was forty, I was getting divorced, living in a low-class, dirty hotel in New York. My mother was dying of cancer. I owed $20,000. That was about..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d5/rodney-dangerfield-755_agents_when-i-was-forty-i-was-getting-divorced_2862601.jpg" --- # When I was forty, I was getting divorced, living in a… ![“When I was forty, I was getting divorced, living in a low-class, dirty hotel in New York. My mother was dying of cancer. I owed $20,000. That was about the lowest. I came back to show business, and I couldn't get a job. I was turned down by every small-time agent in New York.” quote by Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d5/rodney-dangerfield-755_agents_when-i-was-forty-i-was-getting-divorced_2862601.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d5/rodney-dangerfield-755_agents_when-i-was-forty-i-was-getting-divorced_2862601.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d5/rodney-dangerfield-755_agents_when-i-was-forty-i-was-getting-divorced_2862601.jpg) > “When I was forty, I was getting divorced, living in a low-class, dirty hotel in New York. My mother was dying of cancer. I owed $20,000. That was about the lowest. I came back to show business, and I couldn't get a job. I was turned down by every small-time agent in New York.” [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Personal hardships and failures led to a comeback in show business despite setbacks **In simple terms:** Hardship fuels determination to succeed in entertainment Key Takeaway Turn adversity into career resurgence Themes perseverance humor career revival Mood humorous reflective Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - audition preparation - networking - personal branding Key Concepts resilience self‑belief Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain optimism after setbacks? - What support systems aid recovery? A Different Perspective Repeated rejections can erode confidence ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Hotel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hotel/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Show business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/show-business/) ## Related quotes > [“What I didn’t want: a low-octane life of draining jobs, counting the days till I’d have time to mow the lawn again, counting the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-weinstein/what-i-didn-t-want-a-low-octane-life-of-draining-jobs-counting-the/) [Alexander Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-weinstein/) > [After I got divorced, I said to myself, I will never, ever get married again. It was in cement. I went through a really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/after-i-got-divorced-i-said-to-myself-i-will-never-ever-get-married/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [When my parents got divorced, there was a custody fight over me. ... and no one showed up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/when-my-parents-got-divorced-there-was-a-custody-fight-over-me-and-no/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [“And to make the matter worse, rich as they were, they never were able to pay anybody anything that they owed. They continued to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/and-to-make-the-matter-worse-rich-as-they-were-they-never-were-able/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Thus you are just not because you give what is owed, but because you do what is appropriate to you as the highest good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/thus-you-are-just-not-because-you-give-what-is-owed-but-because-you/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [“and for the company to which he owed everything. But events took a couple”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-reed/and-for-the-company-to-which-he-owed-everything-but-events-took-a/) [J.C. Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-reed/) > [Mommas youngest getting paper like the oldest one We living better guess God felt he owed us one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-cole/mommas-youngest-getting-paper-like-the-oldest-one-we-living-better/) [J Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-cole/) > [I hope that after I die, people will say of me: 'That guy sure owed me a lot of money.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hope-that-after-i-die-people-will-say-of-me-that-guy-sure-owed-me-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed byso many to so few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-in-the-field-of-human-conflict-was-so-much-owed-byso-many-to-so/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No one asked me to be an actor, so no one owed me. There was no entitlement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-earl-jones/no-one-asked-me-to-be-an-actor-so-no-one-owed-me-there-was-no/) [James Earl Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-earl-jones/) > [My father once told me that anyone who worked for three dollars an hour owed it to himself to put in four dollars' worth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-russell/my-father-once-told-me-that-anyone-who-worked-for-three-dollars-an/) [Bill Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-russell/) > [I was surrounded by too many people who felt that they had a strong sense of entitlement. That I owed them something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-jackson/i-was-surrounded-by-too-many-people-who-felt-that-they-had-a-strong/) [Curtis Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-jackson/) > [If you are a musician who has released albums, it would perhaps be morbidly interesting to know how much you would be owed if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/if-you-are-a-musician-who-has-released-albums-it-would-perhaps-be/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [I owed Lewis one thing, at least. Once you had suffered the experience of presenting a case at one of his Monday morning conferences,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-storr/i-owed-lewis-one-thing-at-least-once-you-had-suffered-the-experience/) [Anthony Storr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-storr/) > [The vast majority of debt that Anglo maintains is owed is strenuously disputed. However, I cannot now pay those loans which are due, following…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-quinn/the-vast-majority-of-debt-that-anglo-maintains-is-owed-is-strenuously/) [Sean Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-quinn/) ## More by Rodney Dangerfield > [For Christmas one year I bought my son a BB gun. He bought me a t-shirt with a bulls eye on the back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/for-christmas-one-year-i-bought-my-son-a-bb-gun-he-bought-me-a-t/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [I knew a girl so ugly, she had a face like a saint-a Saint Bernard!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/i-knew-a-girl-so-ugly-she-had-a-face-like-a-saint-a-saint-bernard/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [Every time I get in an elevator, the operator says the same thing to me: 'Basement?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/every-time-i-get-in-an-elevator-the-operator-says-the-same-thing-to/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [My wife and I were happy for 20 years. Then we met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/my-wife-and-i-were-happy-for-20-years-then-we-met/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [She failed her drivers test. She couldn't get used to the front seat. It took her four lessons to learn to sit up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/she-failed-her-drivers-test-she-couldn-t-get-used-to-the-front-seat/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [I tell ya when I was a kid, all I knew was rejection. My yo-yo, it never came back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/i-tell-ya-when-i-was-a-kid-all-i-knew-was-rejection-my-yo-yo-it-never/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [I don't care how rich and successful a man is. He's nothing without an education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/i-don-t-care-how-rich-and-successful-a-man-is-he-s-nothing-without-an/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [I went to a massage parlor, it was self service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/i-went-to-a-massage-parlor-it-was-self-service/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [What a childhood I had. My parents sent me to a child psychiatrist. The kid didn't help me at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/what-a-childhood-i-had-my-parents-sent-me-to-a-child-psychiatrist-the/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [She was so fat that her belly button makes an echo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/she-was-so-fat-that-her-belly-button-makes-an-echo/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [One night I came home. I figured, let my wife come on. I'll play it cool. Let her make the first move. She went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/one-night-i-came-home-i-figured-let-my-wife-come-on-i-ll-play-it-cool/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [I'm a bad lover. Once I caught a peeping tom booing me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/i-m-a-bad-lover-once-i-caught-a-peeping-tom-booing-me/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [I tell ya, I knew my morning wasn't going right. When I put on my shirt the button fell off, when I picked up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/i-tell-ya-i-knew-my-morning-wasn-t-going-right-when-i-put-on-my-shirt/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [My wife has teeth like the stars... they come out at night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/my-wife-has-teeth-like-the-stars-they-come-out-at-night/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [It's tough to stay married. My wife kisses the dog on the lips, yet she won't drink from my glass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/it-s-tough-to-stay-married-my-wife-kisses-the-dog-on-the-lips-yet-she/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) [Explore all 378 Rodney Dangerfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) ## More Agents quotes > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I don't see \[ Trainspotting \] as an albatross, I see it more as a calling card. 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If you’re a good writer, you’re a good writer.” And if not, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-gessen/honestly-he-says-i-judge-writers-on-how-they-write-queries-if-you-re/) [Keith Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-gessen/) Browse all 1,567 Agents quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I was forty, I was getting divorced, living in a low-class, dirty hotel in New York. My mother was dying of cancer. I owed $20,000. That was about the lowest. I came back to show business, and I couldn't get a job. 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