Leadership Quote by Dick York

Pain shows up here as punchline, proof, and professional hazard all at once. Dick York’s image of “a very large hole in the side of my tongue” isn’t just grisly detail; it’s a way of yanking the listener out of showbiz glamour and into the body. Actors are supposed to sell illusion, but York leads with damage: the mouth literally chewed up by something that can’t be acted through.

The phrasing “before they could pry my teeth apart” carries a backstage, emergency-room intimacy. “They” is an unnamed crew of helpers, implying this happened in the middle of work, in public, with other people forced into caretaking. It also underscores helplessness: a performer known for control and timing reduced to being physically managed. That loss of agency is the emotional core.

Then comes the defensive pivot: “By all evidence, and there’s no denying it.” York sounds like he’s arguing with himself and with anyone tempted to soften the story into nervous exhaustion or overwork. The insistence reads as a bid for credibility, the kind you need when discussing conditions that audiences treat as melodrama. Calling it “that thing I had on the set” is classic minimization - a euphemism that acknowledges stigma, especially in an industry that rewards reliability and punishes vulnerability.

The blunt final word, “a fit,” lands like a diagnosis and a confession. York isn’t chasing sympathy so much as reclaiming the narrative: this wasn’t a diva moment, or burnout, or bad behavior. It was an event in the body, undeniable, interrupting the performance and redefining what “professionalism” can even mean.