“Just because I’m a little – well, you know, different – people believe anything weird about me.” – Mabel Normand Photographer: Aaron Tycko (1919) “When Miss Normand first came to my company, she got such a small salary that I can’t think of any word short enough to tell about it. Now she gets the second […]
“I know audiences. They don’t like to say, ‘Oh, what a magnificent performance.’ They would much rather say, ‘My, doesn’t she look awful?’” – Joan Bennett “She looks so quiet and sweet. But underneath that gentle exterior, watch out.” — Mary Pickford, who nicknamed Joan “Pollyanna Borgia” in the late 1920s. Source: Joyce Haber […]
“I believe it pays to be poor because then you have to put up with disagreeable things. You can’t run away, so you stay and fight them.” —Mae Clarke Source: Alice L. Tildesley in 1933 “It’s trite to say, ‘I always wanted to go on the stage.’ People who read and write about stage […]
“Hollywood adores bunk and hooey. It’s expected of us. After all, the secret of success lies in finding out what people want and then giving it to them.” – Bette Davis Source: Laura Ellsworth Fitch (1935) Photographer: Elmer Fryer “Baby Jane”…a childhood photo. Hell’s House (1932). With Pat O’Brien. “In my view, […]
“Yes, I was fired by Fox. The last few parts I was given there were pretty insignificant. I did a quickie and right afterwards got a lead with a big company. Perhaps I wasn’t doing as well as I could at Fox. But I’m not ashamed of having to play in an independent production. When […]
“Death is the only thing that really is frightening to me. The calendar turns, and eventually, you have to go.” – Bela Lugosi Source: Aline Mosby (1955) Photo: 1931 “I have never met a vampire personally, but I don’t know what might happen tomorrow.” — Bela Lugosi Photo: Dracula (1931) “If […]
“I’ve always played sexy roles. My voice always has been low and what they call ‘fetching.’ I’ve always put my hands on my hips and rolled my eyes.” – Clara Bow Source: Dan Thomas (1965) “I hate being called a flapper. For a long time, they made me play such punk parts, that […]
“I personally dislike photographs showing an undue expanse of legs. Consequently I will not have such pictures taken for publicity purposes. When I am working in a picture, that is different. Personal likes or dislikes have no place there. If we are to interpret characters correctly we must put ourselves into the flesh and blood […]
“I’ve never had a dull moment in my life. I’ve always wanted to try something new. When I was a child, I wouldn’t wear what the other kids had. I won’t now. I had the first pantie girdle, the first broadtail suit, the first sack dress — from Givenchy. I was even the first Gloria. […]
“When I first came to California an interviewer asked me what is the dangerous age of a man and a woman. They ask such funny questions, so naive! I told him I did not know the dangerous age of man. I have not been one. The dangerous age of a woman is from one to […]