There have been only two geniuses in the world. Willie Mays and Willie Shakespeare.

Tallulah Bankhead’s quip yokes together two very different kinds of virtuosity: the athletic genius of baseball’s Willie Mays and the literary genius of William Shakespeare, affectionately reduced to “Willie.” The joke depends on Bankhead’s theatrical bravura and her habit of puncturing cultural hierarchies—treating a ballplayer and the canonical playwright as comparable marvels. It also reflects mid‑20th‑century American celebrity culture, where sports figures could command awe akin to that once reserved for “high” art. The line flatters both men while showcasing Bankhead’s wit and her instinct for memorable, slightly irreverent phrasing.