Quotes from the Stars of Old Hollywood

Wonderful Georgia Hale Quote About Charlie Chaplin (A Man She Spent a Lifetime Loving)

May 16, 2019 By Joi Leave a Comment

I’ll be writing more about Georgia Hale’s Biography/Autobiography, “Charlie Chaplin: Intimate Close-Ups” in future posts. I cherish this particular book a great deal. Not only are Georgia Hale and Charlie Chaplin two of my personal favorites, it’s very difficult to get my hands on Georgia Hale information, photographs, or collectibles. Her career (while dazzling) was very, very brief and there simply isn’t a lot out there.

Needless to say, this book is a very prized possession. It’s a wonder I don’t keep it under lock and key!

For those who may not know, Georgia Hale loved Charlie Chaplin a great deal. She spent most of her adult life loving him. They never married and the extent of his affections for Georgia can only be guessed at. He seemed to have a great deal of affection for her, on one hand, but on the other hand? Wedding rings… to other women.

As I often say on this Old Hollywood blog, I am not here to judge, nor would I ever attempt to. There had to be something strong and very real in their relationship or Georgia simply wouldn’t have loved him as strongly as she did. This much I’m certain of.

You know, unlike Georgia, a lot is written about Charlie Chaplin. Sadly, it isn’t all favorable. However, within one quote in her book, Georgia has (in my opinion) tied all the pieces of his complex and beguiling personality together…. as, really, only she could.

I can’t possibly even BEGIN to tell you how much I love this quote about Charlie Chaplin by Georgia Hale: “If Charles Chaplin carried within him many contradictions, was tender-hearted, cruel, sensitive, child-like, a poseur, all of these qualities were part of his creative spirit.”

When I first read this quote, it struck me that this type of approach could be taken with many of our favorite Old Hollywood actors and actresses. So many of these wonderful stars behaved and even thought along some pretty original and inexplicable lines. Yet… the qualities we can’t often get our heads around are, as Georgia so eloquently said, part of their creative spirit.

Fay Wray Quotes

February 22, 2019 By Joi Leave a Comment

(In 2004, referring to King Kong) “He (Merian C. Cooper) called me into his office and showed me sketches of jungle scenes and told me, ‘You’re going to have the tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood.’ Naturally, I thought Clark Gable. But then he showed me this sketch of a giant ape up the side of the Empire State Building, and he said, ‘There’s your leading man.'”

“Right after The Wedding March (1928), everything happened at once. Sound was coming in, and color was being used for the first time. It was very exciting to be a part of it.”

(About The Wedding March) “That movie meant a lot to me; my heart was right up in my throat.”

(About King Kong) “When my youngest daughter first saw the film, she said, ‘Kong wasn’t trying to hurt you, he was just trying to protect you,’ which was right.”

(About The Wedding March) “I still love that film, Erich von Stroheim was a wonderful human being, and he took a chance on me. I was only 19 when I did the screen test, but he saw something in me. After 75 years, it’s still one of the happiest experiences of my life. And it was a nice part, wasn’t it?”

“I was known as the queen of the Bs. If only I’d been a little more selective.”

“King Kong is my friend. He’s been my public relations man for years. It was an extraordinarily good role, but the richness of the role that I had in The Wedding March appealed to me more and that’s very understandable, I think, since there weren’t many nuances in the King Kong role. That was a fantasy, and there was a broadness to it that seemed unreal.”

James Dean Tin Sign Features a Quote That’s Both Iconic and Ironic

November 30, 2018 By Joi Leave a Comment

This great-looking James Dean Tin Sign features one of his greatest (and tragically ironic) quotes: “If a man can bridge the gap between life and death, and if he can live on after he’s dead, then maybe he was a great man.”

The 16″ x 12″ sign pictures one of my favorite pictures of James Dean.

When I read this quote again today (for probably the millionth time), it occurred to me how eerily similar he and Marilyn Monroe were and are. Both are huge legends – so huge, in fact, that huge doesn’t even seem to cover it. I searched my mental reserves for a larger, more appropriate adjective but none would serve any better than huge, so I did the next best thing.

I made it bold. STILL not enough for these two!

They’re household names and faces, even among people who have never seen a single scene from one of their movies.

Another thing they, obviously, have in common is the tragic ending to each legend’s life. Both died needlessly and far too soon. James Dean was only 24 when the car wreck took his life. 24! It boggles the mind to think of the things this actor would have gone on to accomplish. He was unspeakably talented and, let’s face it, had more spark on screen than most actors.

Whatever “it” is, both he and Marilyn were dripping in it.

The final thing they had in common is their insight and wisdom. It comes through in their quotes. Each was far brighter than probably even they realized and spending time with them leaves me feeling so cheated. What movies, pictures, and quotes could these huge personalities have gone on to bless us with.

The world is a brighter and better place because James Dean and Marilyn Monroe once walked among us.

Take a closer look at the James Dean Tin Sign pictured here.

Elizabeth Taylor Quotes

August 29, 2017 By Joi Leave a Comment

Elizabeth Taylor

“I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I’m not afraid to look behind them.”

“Big girls need big diamonds.”

Richard came on the set and sort of sidled over to me and said: “Has anybody ever told you that you’re a very pretty girl?” ‘I thought, Oy gevalt, the great lover, the great wit, the great Welsh intellectual, and he comes out with a corny line like that! But then I noticed his hands were shaking as if he had Saturday night palsy. He had the worst hangover I’d ever seen. And he was obviously terrified of me. I just took pity on him. I realized he really was human. That was the beginning of our affair.

“I really don’t remember much about Cleopatra. There were a lot of other things going on.”

(After she divorced Richard Burton for the second time) “I love Richard Burton with every fiber of my soul, but we can’t be together. We’re too mutually self-destructive.”

“I’ve always admitted that I’m ruled by my passions.”

“People who know me well, call me Elizabeth. I dislike Liz.”

“I’ve only slept with men I’ve been married to. How many women can make that claim?”

“I am a very committed wife. And I should be committed too – for being married so many times.”

“I fell off my pink cloud with a thud.”

(About Michael Jackson) “He is part of my heart. We would do anything for each other.”

(About Marilyn Monroe) “She seemed to have a kind of unconscious glow about her physical self that was innocent, like a child. When she posed nude, it was ‘Gee, I am kind of, you know, sort of dishy,’ like she enjoyed it without being egotistical.”

“Acting is, to me now, artificial. Seeing people suffer is real. It couldn’t be more real. Some people don’t like to look at it in the face because it’s painful. But if nobody does, then nothing gets done.” (2005)

“I don’t entirely approve of some of the things I have done, or am, or have been. But I’m me. God knows, I’m me.”

“I don’t like my voice. I don’t like the way I look. I don’t like the way I move. I don’t like the way I act. I mean, period. So, you know, I don’t like myself.”

“I’m a survivor – a living example of what people can go through and survive.”

“Everything makes me nervous except making films.”

“There’s still so much more to do. I can’t sit back and be complacent, and none of us should be. I get around now in a wheelchair, but I get around.” (2005)

“I’ve been through it all, baby, I’m mother courage.”

“If someone’s dumb enough to offer me a million dollars to make a picture, I’m certainly not dumb enough to turn it down.”

“You find out who your real friends are when you’re involved in a scandal.”

“Put on some lipstick and pull yourself together.”

“I hate being called Liz, because it can sound like such a hiss.”

(About Michael Jackson) “What is a genius? What is a living legend? What is a mega star? Michael Jackson – that’s all. And when you think you know him, he gives you more . . . I think he is one of the finest people to hit this planet, and, in my estimation, he is the true King of Pop, Rock and Soul.”

(on John Wayne) His image had as much impact in the world as many of our presidents have had, but Duke was a great actor, a great humanitarian, but always himself. To be a friend was a lifetime thing.”

(Tweet 7/23/2010) “Hold your horses world. I’ve been hearing all kinds of rumours about someone being cast to play me in a film about Richard and myself. No one is going to play Elizabeth Taylor, but Elizabeth Taylor herself.”

“I believe in mind over matter and doing anything you set your mind on. I, along with the critics, have never taken myself very seriously.”

“Success is a great deodorant.”

“My mother says I didn’t open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw was an engagement ring. I was hooked.”

“Some of my best leading men have been dogs and horses.”

In 2009, during a hospital stay, Elizabeth Taylor tweeted to Kathy Ireland: “Thanks Darling for the beautiful flowers and all the prayers. Now can you just get my puppy past security?”

“Never let yourself think beyond your means…mental, emotional or any otherwise.”

Katharine Hepburn Quotes

February 16, 2017 By Joi Leave a Comment

“Who is Katharine Hepburn? It took me a long time to create that creature.”“Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get – only with what you are expecting to give – which is everything.”

(About marriage) “It’s bloody impractical. ‘To love, honor, and obey’. If it weren’t, you wouldn’t have to sign a contract.”

“I wear my sort of clothes to save me the trouble of deciding which clothes to wear.”

“I don’t regret anything I’ve ever done; As long as I enjoyed it at the time.”

“People have grown fond of me, like some old building.”

“I’m a personality as well as an actress. Show me an actress who isn’t a personality, and you’ll show me a woman who isn’t a star.”

“Not everyone is lucky enough to understand how delicious it is to suffer.”

“With all the opportunities I had, I could have done more. And if I’d done more, I could have been quite remarkable.”

“I find a woman’s point of view much grander and finer than a man’s.”

“I remember as a child going around with “Votes For Women” balloons. I learnt early what it is to be snubbed for a good cause.”

“Acting is a nice childish profession – pretending you’re someone else and at the same time selling yourself.”

“Life is to be lived. If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well find some way that is going to be interesting. And you don’t do that by sitting around wondering about yourself.”

“Life’s what’s important. Walking, houses, family. Birth and pain and joy. Acting’s just waiting for a custard pie. That’s all.”

“Life can be wildly tragic at times, and I’ve had my share. But whatever happens to you, you have to keep a slightly comic attitude. In the final analysis, you have got not to forget to laugh.”

“Enemies are so stimulating.”

“I have many regrets, and I’m sure everyone does. The stupid things you do, you regret if you have any sense, and if you don’t regret them, maybe you’re stupid.”

(About Cary Grant) “He is personality functioning.”

(When asked what star quality means) “It’s either some kind of electricity or some kind of energy. I don’t know what it is, but whatever it is, I’ve got it.”

“Who is Katharine Hepburn? It took me a long time to create that creature.”

(When Barbara Walters asked her if she owned a skirt) “I have one, Ms. Walters. I’ll wear it to your funeral.”

(About Marlon Brando) “I don’t think he’s a limited actor at all – I think he’s a very gifted actor. Although I’m afraid he may be a limited person.”

(About Humphrey Bogart) “He was a real man — nothing feminine about him. He knew he was a natural aristocrat — better than anybody.”

(About Peter O’Toole) “He can do anything. A bit cuckoo, but sweet and terribly funny.”

(In 1954, about Judy Holliday) “My, I like Judy Holliday! She looks like a Monet model. And she’s so — so defenseless. I like defenseless people. They’re the best.”

“Cold sober, I find myself absolutely fascinating.”

“I’ve made forty-three pictures. Naturally I’m adorable in all of them.” (1991)

“Acting is the most minor of gifts and not a very high-class way to earn a living. After all, Shirley Temple could do it at the age of four.”

“Now to squash a rumor. No, I don’t have Parkinson’s. I inherited my shaking head from my grandfather Hepburn. I discovered that whiskey helps stop the shaking. Problem is, if you’re not careful, it stops the rest of you too. My head just shakes, but I promise you, it ain’t gonna fall off!

Shop for Autographed Katharine Hepburn Collectibles at HollywoodMemorabilia.com

Lucille Ball Quotes

October 9, 2016 By Joi Leave a Comment

“I’m not funny. What I am is brave. ”

“Luck? I don’t know anything about luck. I’ve never banked on it and I’m afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work – and realizing what is opportunity and what isn’t.”

“If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. The more things you do, the more you can do.”

“It’s a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy.”

“I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.”

“In life, all good things come hard, but wisdom is the hardest to come by.”

“How I Love Lucy was born? We decided that instead of divorce lawyers profiting from our mistakes, we’d profit from them.”

“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.”

“One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.”

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

“The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.”

(about the opening night of I Love Lucy) “All I remember about that night was trying to protect my stomach. Lucie had just been born by Caesarean section and I was wearing a huge bandage over my stomach. I was more concerned with that than anything else. When the laughs started coming, I was very relieved. I remember sayin, ‘Whew! It’s working.'”

“Use a make-up table with everything close at hand and don’t rush; otherwise you’ll look like a patchwork quilt.”

“What could I do? I couldn’t dance. I couldn’t sing. I could talk.”

In acting, Lucille Ball rarely made a mistake. However, on one occasion, she stumbled miserably over a speech while filming an episode of I Love Lucy. She broke the tension by finally yelling into the studio audience to her mother, seated in the top row of the bleachers, “Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll get it!”

Shop for Autographed Lucille Ball Collectibles at HollywoodMemorabilia.com

Rita Hayworth Quotes

September 26, 2016 By Joi 1 Comment

“After all, a girl is – well, a girl. It’s nice to be told you’re successful at it.” – Rita Hayworth

“Every man I have ever known has fallen in love with Gilda and awakened with me.” – Rita Hayworth

“(about her marriage to Edward Judson] “I married him for love; he married me for an investment. My husband was always finding fault with me. He was extremely jealous and quarrelsome. I never had any fun. I was never permitted to make any decisions. From the first he told me I couldn’t do anything for myself. My personality crawled deeper and deeper into a shell.” – Rita Hayworth

“All I wanted was just what everybody else wants, you know, to be loved.” – Rita Hayworth

“What surprises me in life are not the marriages that fail, but the marriages that succeed.” – Rita Hayworth

“We are all tied to our destiny and there is no way we can liberate ourselves.” – Rita Hayworth

“I can’t take his genius any more.” (when asked why she divorced Orson Wells) – Rita Hayworth

“I rode on horseback, though I was terrified of them. That was when I was doing westerns. They were something else again. And I did them because that was work, that was my job. So I don’t start from the top.” – Rita Hayworth

“I was never sick during The Lady from Shanghai (1947). Poor Orsie (Orson Welles) was the one who was sick; Harry Cohn made him sick.” – Rita Hayworth

“I couldn’t get used to the New York weather. On one occasion, I was laid up for a week because I caught a severe cold rushing from the dance studio, still soaked with perspiration, back to the hotel for voice lessons.” – Rita Hayworth

“Movies were much better in the days I was doing them.” – Rita Hayworth

“I guess the only jewels of my life were the pictures I made with Fred Astaire.” – Rita Hayworth

“I never really thought of myself as a sex goddess; I felt I was more a comedian who could dance.” – Rita Hayworth

“Whatever you write about me, don’t make it sad.” – Rita Hayworth

Lucille Ball Quotes Remind Me Why I Will Always Love Lucille as Much as I Love Lucy

January 26, 2012 By Joi 1 Comment

Lucille Ball movie poster FOREVER DARLING

Ability is of little account without opportunity. – Lucille Ball

How I Love Lucy was born? We decided that instead of divorce lawyers profiting from our mistakes, we’d profit from them. – Lucille Ball

I am a real ham. I love an audience. I work better with an audience. I am dead, in fact, without one. – Lucille Ball

I’m not funny. What I am is brave. – Lucille Ball

(About meeting Desi Arnaz for the first time.) It wasn’t love at first sight. It took a full five minutes. – Lucille Ball

I’m sometimes scared of everything that has happened to us. We didn’t think Desilu Productions would grow so big. We merely wanted to be together and have two children. – Lucille Ball

You spell Bob Hope C-L-A-S-S. – Lucille Ball

If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. The more things you do, the more you can do. – Lucille Ball

The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age. – Lucille Ball

A man who correctly guesses a woman’s age may be smart, but he’s not very bright. – Lucille Ball

In life, all good things come hard, but wisdom is the hardest to come by. – Lucille Ball

It’s a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy. – Lucille Ball

Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world. – Lucille Ball

Use a make-up table with everything close at hand and don’t rush; otherwise you’ll look like a patchwork quilt. – Lucille Ball

Luck? I don’t know anything about luck. I’ve never banked on it and I’m afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work – and realizing what is opportunity and what isn’t. – Lucille Ball

(About Audrey Hepburn) She’s a tomboy and a fine comedienne. You’d never think of her being able to do my type of comedy. But she can. She has great energy, frail as she looks. But, well, she’s so beautiful, so ethereal, it would be sacrilege to put her through it. – Lucille Ball

Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead. – Lucille Ball

One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’ t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself. – Lucille Ball

The more things you do, the more you can do. -Lucille Ball

I hate failure and that divorce was a Number One failure in my eyes. It was the worst period of my life. Neither Desi nor I have been the same since, physically or mentally. – Lucille Ball

I regret the passing of the studio system. I was very appreciative of it because I had no talent. – Lucille Ball

Women’s Lib? Oh, I’m afraid it doesn’t interest me one bit. I’ve been so liberated it hurts. – Lucille Ball

I think knowing what you cannot do is more important than knowing what you can. – Lucille Ball

I will never do another TV series. It couldn’t top I Love Lucy, and I’d be foolish to try. In this business, you have to know when to get off. – Lucille Ball

I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done. – Lucille Ball

You see much more of your children once they leave home. – Lucille Ball

I’m happy that I have brought laughter because I have been shown by many the value of it in so many lives, in so many ways. – Lucille Ball

Audrey Hepburn Quotes

May 31, 2010 By Joi 1 Comment

“For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness, For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people, For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry, For Beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day, For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.”

“Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it’s at the end of your arm. As you get older, remember you have another hand: the first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.”

“My own life has been much more than a fairy tale. I’ve had my share of difficult moments, but whatever difficulties I’ve gone through, I’ve always gotten a prize at the end.”

“Success is like reaching an important birthday and finding you’re exactly the same.”

“I had an enormous complex about my looks. I thought I was ugly and I was afraid nobody would ever marry me.” – Audrey Hepburn

“I never thought I’d land in pictures with a face like mine.”

“I never think of myself as an icon. What is in other people`s minds is not in my mind. I just do my thing.”

“My look is attainable. Women can look like Audrey Hepburn by flipping out their hair, buying the large sunglasses, and the little sleeveless dresses .”

“It’s that wonderful old-fashioned idea that others come first and you come second. This was the whole ethic by which I was brought up. Others matter more than you do, so don’t fuss, dear; get on with it.”

“I was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it.”

“I probably hold the distinction of being one movie star who, by all laws of logic, should never have made it. At each stage of my career, I lacked the experience.”

“I was asked to act when I couldn’t act. I was asked to sing “Funny Face” when I couldn’t sing and dance with Fred Astaire when I couldn’t dance – and do all kinds of things I wasn’t prepared for. Then I tried like mad to cope with it.”

“There are certain shades of limelight that can wreck a girl’s complexion.”

“People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.”

“How shall I sum up my life? I think I’ve been particularly lucky. Does that have something to do with faith also? I know my mother always used to say, ‘Good things aren’t supposed to just fall in your lap. God is very generous, but he expects you to do your part first.’ So you have to make that effort. But at the end of a bad time or a huge effort, I’ve always had – how shall I say it? – the prize at the end. My whole life shows that.”

“I decided, very early on, just to accept life unconditionally; I never expected it to do anything special for me, yet I seemed to accomplish far more than I had ever hoped. Most of the time it just happened to me without my ever seeking it.”

“I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it’s the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It’s probably the most important thing in a person.”

“A quality education has the power to transform societies in a single generation, provide children with the protection they need from the hazards of poverty, labor exploitation and disease, and given them the knowledge, skills, and confidence to reach their full potential.”

Eartha Kitt’s Lasting Legacy as Catwoman

December 26, 2008 By Joi 2 Comments

Wow. Talk about making a lasting impression. I never realized it until I looked into it this morning, but Eartha Kitt was actually in only 3 Batman episodes:

Catwoman’s Dressed to Kill (1967)
The Funny Feline Felonies (1967)
The Joke’s on Catwoman (1968)

Three!

It seems like her beautiful face and remarkable voice were around for a lot more. That’s the beauty of syndication.. 3 seems to be 30.

Sadly, Eartha Kitt passed away yesterday – on Christmas Day.

The 5′ 4″ beauty was born in South Carolina. Her birth was the result of a white plantation owner raping a sharecropper mother of African-American and Cherokee Native American descent. I wasn’t going to include that bit of ugliness in this article, but the fact that Eartha came from such unremarkable beginnings, yet ended her life known the world over strikes me as spectacular.

I also wanted to be clear about why her mother would even think about giving her baby girl away – which she did. By the age of 9, Eartha was living in Harlem. She dropped out of school by the age of 15. Eartha was too busy just trying to survive – school didn’t rank up there with finding a place to sleep and something to eat. During this time, she slept at friends houses and on the subway.

While Eartha Kitt was born with a lot of burdens to bear, she was also born with a lot of talent, grit, and determination. She literally sang and danced her way to a better life. Eartha performed with the Katherine Dunham Dance Troupe on a European tour, and she performed as a soloist at a Paris night club, where she became a very big deal.

Get this, the infamous Orson Welles called her “the most exciting girl in the world.”

Eartha Kitt never shied away from speaking her mind. I guess when you’ve already seen life’s ugliest, you throw caution aside – sort of like, “What do I need with you?!” She was all but booted from the country after making anti-war statements during a White House luncheon with Lady Bird Johnson in 1968. It wasn’t until 1977, under Jimmy Carter’s administration, that she was welcomed back to the White House.

Eartha Kitt Quotes:
“I have a great need for affection from an audience. I don’t know whether this is because I had such a tough life when I was a child.”

At the White House, 1968: “I am a mother and I know the feeling of having a baby come out of my gut. I have a baby and then you send him off to war. No wonder the kids rebel and take pot.”

“I don’t carry myself as a black person, but as a woman that belongs to everybody”

“Jamie and I were like brother and sister. He told me in fact he thought of me as a sister. Our relationship was strictly platonic and spiritual.” (About her friendship with James Dean.)

Eartha Kitt was 81 when she passed away, but (again) thanks to syndication, she’ll forever live on just as we remembered her.

Rest in Peace, Eartha.