Engelbert Humperdinck
ON THE RECORD · 23 verbatim quotes · every quote source-verified
“just walked straight by.”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-17
Humperdinck said the doctor walked straight by after seeing the tied-up nurse.
“There was one lady nurse who was, I don't think she liked me very much because of the injection that she gave me, she really hurt, and I used to scream at her and I used to ask for somebody else. They wouldn't give me anybody else, but this lady was very bad, and she was really hurt, and I had big blue marks,”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-17
Humperdinck recalled a nurse whose injections were painful and left blue marks on him.
“So we got this rope, and when the nurse came around in the morning before doctor's rounds, I got the nurse, grabbed her, tied her hands behind the back, put her in the empty bed next to us, covered her up.”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-17
Humperdinck described tying up the nurse and hiding her in an empty bed before doctor's rounds.
“Eight weeks later, when I became negative from this disease, my mother visited and, I said, 'Mom, is this place a great place?' I said, 'Cause you remember when you brought me in, the priest was here spent an hour with me,'”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-17
Humperdinck recalled asking his mother about the sanatorium and mentioning a priest who had spent an hour with him when he was admitted.
“When I'm a little better I'm going to do something”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-17
Humperdinck recalled thinking about getting back at the nurse who hurt him with injections.
“I said, 'I don't want her to give me,'”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-17
Humperdinck requested that someone other than the nurse administer his injections.
“I said to my friend in the next bed, I said, 'I've got to get some rope. I get some rope,'”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-17
Humperdinck told his friend in the next bed he needed to get rope to retaliate against the nurse.
“he knew that I was responsible for that..but he ignored it”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-17
Humperdinck said the doctor knew he was responsible for tying up the nurse but ignored it.
“an injection with a needle about this big in your butt”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-17
Humperdinck described the painful daily injections he received at the sanatorium.
“She said, 'Son he was giving you the last rites.' Apparently I had three days.”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-17
Humperdinck recalled his mother telling him the priest had been giving him last rites and that he apparently had three days to live.
“And they had a male nurse come and do it for me, and it was much better.”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-17
Humperdinck said a male nurse replaced the female nurse for his injections and it was much better.
“never let her give me another injection.”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-17
Humperdinck said he was in trouble after the incident but never let that nurse give him another injection.
“to stay on your back for I don't know 8 weeks,”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-17
Humperdinck described the bed-rest treatments he endured during his 1961 tuberculosis sanatorium stay.
“If you don’t put out material that’s going to last, you’re not going to last. Over the years, I sold over 150 million records. My music has been my passport to the world, and it’s been amazing for me.”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-19
He told Billboard in June 2017 about the importance of releasing lasting material and his career record sales of over 150 million.
“an interesting couple of years.”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-19
He described his time serving in Mulheim, Germany, as an interesting couple of years.
“So I ran after I tied my shoelace and stood where I possibly could in the front line, and they started counting Malaya, Cyprus, and I was the next one. Germany. I went to Germany. I was just I just missed Cyprus by one.”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-19
He described how after tying his shoelace he joined the front line and was assigned to Germany instead of Cyprus by just one count.
“all of a sudden I looked down and my bootlace had came undone.”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-19
He recalled that when it came time to line up for army assignments, he noticed his bootlace had come undone.
“in the meantime, everybody's forming into ranks of three.”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-19
He noted that while he paused to tie his shoelace, other soldiers were already forming into ranks of three.
“The way they choose people and when you're in training, you form a rank of threes and the adjutant goes around with the sergeant major, and he goes counts out 24 people, and they'll say hit Cyprus, Germany, Belgium or whatever it is, wherever you're going to.”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-19
He explained how the British Army chose soldiers for their overseas assignments during training.
“It was always a question in my head about how long it was going to last.”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-19
He told Billboard in June 2017 that he had always wondered how long his success would last.
“I never thought that. I was just happy to have success at that time,”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-19
He told Billboard in June 2017 about celebrating 50 years in the music industry.
“unbelievable that I wasn't in that batch”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-19
He said it was unbelievable that he narrowly missed being in the group sent to Cyprus.
“I think God was watching over me because, later on, I found out all the people that went to Cyprus never got there. They got killed in an ambush on the way to Nicosia.”
Engelbert Humperdinck · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-19
He believed God was watching over him because the soldiers assigned to Cyprus were killed in an ambush on the way to Nicosia.