I've fallen and I can't get up!
Encyclopedia
"I've fallen… and I can't get up!" was a catchphrase of the late 1980s and early 1990s popular culture
based upon a line from a United States
-based television commercial.
and protection company called LifeCall. The motivation behind the systems is that subscribers, mostly senior citizen
s as well as the disabled, would receive a pendant
which, when activated, would allow the user to speak into to an audio receiving device and talk directly with a dispatch
service, without the need to reach a telephone
. The service was designed to appeal particularly to seniors who lived alone and who might experience a medical emergency
, such as a fall
, which would leave them alert but immobile and unable to reach the telephone.
In 1989, LifeCall began running commercials which contained a scene wherein an elderly woman, identified by a dispatcher as "Mrs. Fletcher", uses the medical alert pendant after having fallen in the bathroom
. After falling, Mrs. Fletcher speaks the phrase "I've fallen, and I can't get up!", after which the dispatcher informs her that he is sending help.
Taken at its face value, the commercial portrays a dangerous situation for a senior, with perhaps dire consequences: an elderly person suddenly incapacitated at home, unable to get help, perhaps for hours or even days.
The "I've fallen and I can't get up" ad had the double misfortune of being unintentionally campy
and appearing often on cable and daytime television. The fact that the commercial was a dramatization (as clearly stated in the beginning of the commercial) using bad acting also contributed to the humor. The combination made "I've fallen... and I can't get up!" a recognized, universal punchline that applied to many comedic situations. All of these factors made the ad memorable, ensuring the line's place in pop culture history.
According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office
, after first applying in October 1990, LifeCall registered the phrase "I've fallen and I can't get up" as a trademark
in September 1992 until its status was cancelled in 1999. In October 2002, the similar phrase "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!" became a registered trademark of Life Alert
Emergency Response, Inc. In June 2007, the phrase "I've fallen and I can't get up!" also became a registered trademark of Life Alert. Both phrases are currently used on their website as well as in their commercials. The phrase is made out, however, to be much less campy. It is now usually followed by a narrator who talks about the reason behind why such a situation would be severely serious, giving the impression that the people behind the infamous commercial never intended it to have any humor behind it and didn't want the phrase to be used in any humorous manner.
Another catchphrase which was also used by an elderly man named Mr. Miller in the same LifeCall commercial, and also humorously popularized, was "I'm having chest pains!".
It is possible different actresses were used in different markets.
between 1987 and 1989.
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
based upon a line from a United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-based television commercial.
The source of the line
This line was spoken in a television commercial (view here) for a medical alarmMedical alarm
A medical alarm is an alarm system designed to signal the presence of a hazard requiring urgent attention and to summon emergency medical personnel. Other terms for a medical alarm are Personal Emergency Response System or medical alert....
and protection company called LifeCall. The motivation behind the systems is that subscribers, mostly senior citizen
Senior citizen
Senior citizen is a common polite designation for an elderly person in both UK and US English, and it implies or means that the person is retired. This in turn implies or in fact means that the person is over the retirement age, which varies according to country. Synonyms include pensioner in UK...
s as well as the disabled, would receive a pendant
Pendant
A pendant is a loose-hanging piece of jewellery, generally attached by a small loop to a necklace, when the ensemble may be known as a "pendant necklace". A pendant earring is an earring with a piece hanging down. In modern French "pendant" is the gerund form of “hanging”...
which, when activated, would allow the user to speak into to an audio receiving device and talk directly with a dispatch
Dispatch (logistics)
Dispatch is a procedure for assigning employees or vehicles to customers. Industries that dispatch include taxicabs, couriers, emergency services, as well as home and commercial services such as maid services, plumbing, HVAC, pest control and electricians.With vehicle dispatching, clients are...
service, without the need to reach a telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
. The service was designed to appeal particularly to seniors who lived alone and who might experience a medical emergency
Medical emergency
A medical emergency is an injury or illness that is acute and poses an immediate risk to a person's life or long term health. These emergencies may require assistance from another person, who should ideally be suitably qualified to do so, although some of these emergencies can be dealt with by the...
, such as a fall
Falling (accident)
Falling is a major cause of personal injury, especially for the elderly. Builders, electricians, miners, and painters represent worker categories representing high rates of fall injuries. The WHO estimate that 392,000 people die in falls every year...
, which would leave them alert but immobile and unable to reach the telephone.
In 1989, LifeCall began running commercials which contained a scene wherein an elderly woman, identified by a dispatcher as "Mrs. Fletcher", uses the medical alert pendant after having fallen in the bathroom
Bathroom
A bathroom is a room for bathing in containing a bathtub and/or a shower and optionally a toilet, a sink/hand basin/wash basin and possibly also a bidet....
. After falling, Mrs. Fletcher speaks the phrase "I've fallen, and I can't get up!", after which the dispatcher informs her that he is sending help.
Taken at its face value, the commercial portrays a dangerous situation for a senior, with perhaps dire consequences: an elderly person suddenly incapacitated at home, unable to get help, perhaps for hours or even days.
The "I've fallen and I can't get up" ad had the double misfortune of being unintentionally campy
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
and appearing often on cable and daytime television. The fact that the commercial was a dramatization (as clearly stated in the beginning of the commercial) using bad acting also contributed to the humor. The combination made "I've fallen... and I can't get up!" a recognized, universal punchline that applied to many comedic situations. All of these factors made the ad memorable, ensuring the line's place in pop culture history.
According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office
United States Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia,...
, after first applying in October 1990, LifeCall registered the phrase "I've fallen and I can't get up" as a trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
in September 1992 until its status was cancelled in 1999. In October 2002, the similar phrase "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!" became a registered trademark of Life Alert
Life Alert
Life Alert Emergency Response, Inc. is a nationwide company, with headquarters in Encino, California, which provides services that help the elderly contact emergency services. The company's system is based around a main unit and a small wireless help button that is worn on the user at all times...
Emergency Response, Inc. In June 2007, the phrase "I've fallen and I can't get up!" also became a registered trademark of Life Alert. Both phrases are currently used on their website as well as in their commercials. The phrase is made out, however, to be much less campy. It is now usually followed by a narrator who talks about the reason behind why such a situation would be severely serious, giving the impression that the people behind the infamous commercial never intended it to have any humor behind it and didn't want the phrase to be used in any humorous manner.
Another catchphrase which was also used by an elderly man named Mr. Miller in the same LifeCall commercial, and also humorously popularized, was "I'm having chest pains!".
Actress portraying Mrs. Fletcher
Three women have been credited with playing Mrs. Fletcher:- Edith Fore, according to the Phoenix New TimesPhoenix New TimesThe Phoenix New Times is a free, weekly Phoenix, Arizona newspaper, put out every Thursday. It is the founding publication of the New Times Media , but The Village Voice is now the flagship publication of that company....
, and Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, who consider her 1997 death to be newsworthy based on her appearance in the commercial alone. - IMDB also credits the role to both former Ziegfeld FolliesZiegfeld FolliesThe Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
dancer Dorothy McHughDorothy McHughDorothy McHugh was an American actress, model, and dancer, who was best known for her appearance in a commercial for the Lifecall emergency system in the late 1980s where she said the now famous line I've fallen and I can't get up.-Biography:McHugh dropped out school in the sixth grade and worked...
, and to Bea Marcus.
It is possible different actresses were used in different markets.
Actor portraying the dispatcher
The dispatcher was portrayed by character actor Robert "Bob" Snead ("We're sending help immediately, Mrs. Fletcher."). According to IMDB Snead had a number of small television roles in shows such as Murder She Wrote and Highway to HeavenHighway to Heaven
Highway to Heaven is an American television drama series which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1989.- Season 1 :- Season 2 :- Season 3 :- Season 4 :- Season 5 :...
between 1987 and 1989.