Marvin Miller: Michael Anthony

Quotes 

• Michael Anthony : [Anthony enters the study to see Tipton, seated in a high backed chair at his desk, with a phonograph record player and a miniature roulette wheel on his desk beside each other. Only Tipton's right arm is visible to viewers]  You sent for me, sir?

  John Beresford Tipton : [Indicating the roulette wheel]  What's your pleasure, Mike?

  Michael Anthony : [Thinking]  Eleven Black.

  John Beresford Tipton : [Tipton spins the wheel. It stops]  Nine Red. You lose, Mike.

  [Indicating the record player and the wheel] 

  John Beresford Tipton : These two have a lot in common, besides the fact that they both spin. People sometimes stake as much on the spin of a record as they do on the spin of the wheel.

  Michael Anthony : I'm not certain I follow you, sir.

  John Beresford Tipton : Some people gamble their hopes and their futures on the success of a record. As with the roulette wheel, sometimes they win, sometimes they lose.

  [Tipton hands an envelope to Anthony] 

  John Beresford Tipton : Our next millionaire.

  [Anthony accepts the envelope and bows] 

• Michael Anthony : [to the viewers]  Susan Johnson was, in her own words, a very typical teenager. She went to high school, she drank malts, and she had a boyfriend.

• Michael Anthony : [Anthony inquires at the local teen ice cream parlor and Susan Johnson is pointed out to him. She is about the leave a booth]  Excuse me, are you Miss Susan Johnson?

  Susan Johnson : Yes.

  Michael Anthony : My name is Michael Anthony. Could I join you for a few minutes? I assure you it is most important.

  Susan Johnson : Well, I guess it'd be alright.

  Michael Anthony : Thank you.

  [Joining Susan in the booth] 

  Michael Anthony : I dropped by your house to see your mother but she wasn't in.

  Susan Johnson : Oh, she was probably marketing.

  Michael Anthony : Yes, one of the neighbors told me I'd probably find you here.

  Susan Johnson : What can I do for you?

  Michael Anthony : [Opening his briefcase]  I have a gift for you and your mother.

  [Displays check] 

  Michael Anthony : A cashier's check for $1,000,000.

  Susan Johnson : Well, thank you.

  [She grabs the check and starts to leave] 

  Michael Anthony : Where are you going?

  Susan Johnson : I'm going to take it over to the fountain to be cashed.

  Michael Anthony : No, Miss Johnson, please!

  Susan Johnson : I think one good joke deserves another.

  Michael Anthony : [Removing a paper from his briefcase]  Will you please read this document?

  Susan Johnson : [Reading]  I can't tell anyone where we got this money

  [She is talking a little too loud to suit Anthony, who gently shushes her] 

  Susan Johnson : or the amount, other than our husbands, under penalty of forfeiture of the unused funds.

  [Susan is a bit skeptical] 

  Michael Anthony : Miss Johnson, this is not a joke. This check is good. If you have any doubts about it, I would be happy to escort you to the bank.

  Susan Johnson : Who would give my mother and me a million dollars?

  Michael Anthony : I can't answer that.

  Susan Johnson : Then who?

  Michael Anthony : The donor must remain anonymous, in accordance with the terms of this agreement. But the money is yours and your mothers to do with as you wish. Now, if you'll just sign this paper

  [Susan signs and Anthony returns the promise to his briefcase] 

  Michael Anthony : Thank you.

  Susan Johnson : A million dollars! I must be dreaming.

• Michael Anthony : [to the viewers]  My name is Michael Anthony. For many years before his death, I was fortunate enough to be Executive Secretary to John Beresford Tipton. John Beresford Tipton, man of many millions and much mystery. This is Silverstone, a 60,000-acre estate he preferred above all of his other properties, where he lived actively with his various interests and pursued his hobbies, one of which was to give away, anonymously and tax-free, one million dollars to people he had never even met.