Who really said it
A well-documented Allen joke, traced to Eric Lax’s 1975 book; its original page was not inspected.
Last verified 9 Nov 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?
For presentations
Unconfirmed quote & credit
“I don't want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve it through not dying” — Woody Allen, quoted in Eric Lax, On Being Funny (1975); original page not independently inspected
Can you use it?
Still under copyright (rights held by Woody Allen and/or the publisher or estate). A short, credited quote is generally fine for talks, teaching, and internal decks; for commercial, published, or large-scale reuse, get permission.
Image direction — grounded in this quote’s real context; paste into your image tool
In context
Evoking the world of Woody Allen — American writer and comedian. Theme: "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve it through not dying". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
Minimalist
Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve it through not dying". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
Provenance
I want to achieve it through not dying.
Read the attribution evidenceHow we verified this
The identified twentieth-century work remains in copyright; only a short excerpt is used for identification and criticism.
Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.
Context
The joke rejects the conventional consolation of surviving through one’s artistic work. A 1970s interview source is cited for this version, while a contemporary discussion of Allen’s writing also records it; the original interview page was not inspected here.
Explore
More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.
Go further
Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.
The entry prints the wording and identifies Lax’s 1975 book and page 235.
The article quotes the same two-sentence joke and credits Allen.
Wikiquote records a variant repeating “immortality,” and points to On Being Funny.
Background on Allen as a writer, comedian and filmmaker.
You’re skipping our source pages — these links now open the source directly. Show them again
The author
For writers & researchers
Eric Lax, On Being Funny: Woody Allen and Comedy, p. 235, cited in the checked quotation record (1975).
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘I don't want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve it through not dying’?” Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/i-dont-want-to-achieve-immortality-through-my-work-i-want/