- Hello Nurse (vaudeville)
"Hello, nurse!" was a popular
catcall used during the heyday ofvaudeville . One of manyrunning gag s used in many vaudeville shows was the appearance of a voluptuous, suggestively-dressed woman wearing anurse 's uniform. Upon her appearance, the main characters in the vaudeville sketch would call out, "Hello, NURSE!" This phrase is also the basis for the "wolf whistle" whistling sound used in theUnited States and other countries to suggest that a pretty girl has entered the room.Contemporary Usage
In the animation "
Animaniacs ", the catcall is a favorite catchphrase of The Warner Brothers and sometimes their sister Dot. A minor character, Hello Nurse, is not only a frequent target of the call, but is named for it, as well.The catchphrase was later used in the British film Valiant, when
Ricky Gervais ' character enters a medical hut.The phrase also turned up at the end of a sketch about
Florence Nightingale in the "Histeria! " episode "Better Living Through Science".The novel "
Gilligan's Wake " includes a chapter "Hello Nurse" about the life of the fictional and voluptuous Ginger character prior to the TV sitcom.
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