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I Work To Stay Alive.

-Bette Davis

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I Work To Stay

Bette Davis

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I Work To Stay Alive.

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I Was So Uncomfortable At A Party Recently When The Conversation Droned On About Women Who Are Constantly Getting Married. I Was On The Edge Of My Chair, Close To Squirming In Embarrassment Because I Myself Was Guilty Of Four Husbands. I Finally Leaned Forward And Squeaked, 'but One Died!

Technicolor Makes Me Look Like Death Warmed Over.

The Only Way You Can Become A Legend Is In Your Coffin

I Would Take A Bad Script And A Good Director Any Day Against A Good Script And A Bad Director.

I Have Been At War From The Beginning. I've Never Looked Back Before. I've Never Had The Time And It Has Always Seemed So Dangerous. To Look Back Is To Relax One's Vigil.

She's The Original Good Time Who Was Had By All.

I Will Never Be Below The Title.

One Can Make More Enemies As A Female With A Brain, I Think.

It's True We Don't Know What We've Got Until Its Gone, But We Don't Know What We've Been Missing Until It Arrives. Pleasure Of Love Lasts But A Moment, Pain Of Love Lasts A Lifetime.

I Don't Take The Movies Seriously, And Anyone Who Does Is In For A Headache.

If Everyone Likes You, You're Not Doing It Right.

You Can Lose Everything But You Can't Lose Your Talent!

Men Become Much More Attractive When They Start Looking Older. But It Doesn't Do Much For Women, Though We Do Have An Advantage: Make-up.

I Have Eyes Like A Bullfrog, A Neck Like An Ostrich And Long, Limp Hair. You Just Have To Be Good To Survive With That Equipment.

You Should Never Say Bad Things About The Dead, You Should Only Say Good . . . Joan Crawford Is Dead. Good.

I Wouldn't Piss On Joan Crawford If She Were On Fire.

I Never Said Anything That Was Unprintable. Never Said Anything Just For The Sake Of Being Startling.

Old Age Is No Place For Sissies.

What A Fool I Was To Come To Hollywood Where They Only Understand Platinum Blondes And Where Legs Are More Important Than Talent.

As A Female I Think It's A Terrible Hindrance In Business. I Think It's A Terrible Hindrance For Any Female To Have A Lot Of Intelligence In Private Life, But I Think In Business Sometimes It's Even Worse Because There's Deep Resentment.

I Was Never Very Interested In Boys - And There Were Plenty Of Them - Vying With One Another To See How Many Famous Women They Would Get Into The Hay.

Sex Is God's Joke On Human Beings.

Discipline Is A Symbol Of Caring To A Child.he Needs Guidance.if There Is Love, There Is No Such Thing As Being Too Tough With A Child. A Parent Must Also Not Be Afraid To Hang Himself. If You Have Never Been Hated By Your Child, You Have Never Been A Parent.

The Secret Of Marriage Is: Separate Bedrooms And Separate Bathrooms.

I'd Luv To Kiss Ya, But I Just Washed My Hair.

I've Lost My Faith In Science.

I Survived Because I Was Tougher Than Anybody Else.

Inspirational Women

I Never Did Pal Around With Actresses. Their Talk Usually Bored Me To Tears.

I Believe One Should Be A Woman At Home.

There Are New Words Now That Excuse Everybody. Give Me The Good Old Days Of Heroes And Villains, The People You Can Bravo Or Hiss. There Was A Truth To Them That All The Slick Credulity Of Today Cannot Touch.

Attempt The Impossible In Order To Improve Your Work.

I've Always Liked Men Better Than Women.

People Often Become Actresses Because Of Something They Dislike About Themselves: They Pretend They Are Someone Else.

I Sent My Flowers Across The Hall To Mrs Nixon But Her Husband Remembered What A Democrat I Am And Sent Them Back.

Today Everyone Is A Star - They're All Billed As 'starring' Or 'also Starring'. In My Day, We Earned That Recognition.

She Did It The Hard Way.

You Mustn't Miss The Moment. There's Only One First Sailing Into Rio Harbor.

I Have Always Felt Proud Of My Oscars And My Numerous Nominations. This Pride Is Due To The Fact It Was The Result Of Voters From The Members Of My Own Profession. This, Of Course, Is A Great Compliment For One's Work. I Hope Each Winner Of An Oscar Is As Thrilled As I Was When I Received Mine.

Temperament Is Something That Is An Integral Part Of The Artist. Not Temper, Temperament. There Is A Vast Difference.

I Went Back To Work Because Someone Had To Pay For The Groceries.

I Want To Die With My High Heels On, Still In Action.

I'd Marry Again If I Found A Man Who Had Fifteen Million Dollars, Would Sign Over Half To Me, And Guarantee That He'd Be Dead Within A Year.

It Is My Last Wish To Be Burried Sitting Up.

Mother Of Three; Divorcee; American. Twenty Years Experience As An Actress In Motion Pictures. Mobile Still And More Affable Than Rumour Would Have It. Wants Steady Employment In Hollywood. (has Had Broadway). References Upon Request.

I May Not Have Been Wearing A Mink Coat, But I Was Traveling With A Dog. That Should Have Made You Think I Was An Actress!

There Was More Good Acting At Hollywood Parties Than Ever Appeared On The Screen.

Women Are The Essential Part Of The Theater But The Writers Are Not Writing About Women. I Think They're Too Perplexed About The Whole Female Situation Probably.

Your Luck Is How You Treat People.

Without Wonder And Insight, Acting Is Just A Trade. With It, It Becomes Creation.

I Was Thought To Be 'stuck Up.' I Wasn't. I Was Just Sure Of Myself. This Is And Always Has Been An Unforgivable Quality To The Unsure.

Basically, I Believe The World Is A Jungle, And If It's Not A Bit Of A Jungle In The Home, A Child Cannot Possibly Be Fit To Enter The Outside World.

Home Is Where You Go To When You've Nowhere To Go.

Brought Up To Respect The Conventions, Love Had To End In Marriage. I'm Afraid It Did.

In This Business, Until You're Known As A Monster You're Not A Star.

Wave After Wave Of Love Flooded The Stage And Washed Over Me, The Beginning Of The One Great Durable Romance Of My Life.

Once The Love Bug Wears Off, As It Inevitably Does, You Are Shocked To Discover That You Really Didn't Know The Object Of Your Affections At All. We Know This To Be So, Even As We Repeat The Same Mistake Over And Over And Over.

There Comes A Time In Every Woman's Life When The Only Thing That Helps Is A Glass Of Champagne.

There May Be A Heaven, But If Joan Crawford Is There, I'm Not Going.

If You've Never Been Hated By Your Child, You've Never Been A Parent.

The Male Ego With Few Exceptions Is Elephantine To Start With.

Old Age Ain't For Sissies

Gay Liberation? I Ain't Against It, It's Just That There's Nothing In It For Me.

You Will Never Be Happier Than You Expect. To Change Your Happiness, Change Your Expectation.

I Am A Woman Meant For A Man, But I Never Found A Man Who Could Compete.

I Think It's Just Too Much Trouble To Be Dishonest And Keep Up With Yourself.

I Firmly Believe, However, That If Your Children Have Never Hated You, You Have Failed As A Parent.

Good Actors I've Worked With All Started Out Making Faces In A Mirror, And You Keep Making Faces All Your Life.

The Only Reason Anyone Goes To Broadway Is Because They Can't Get Work In The Movies.

They Say That In Hollywood One Can't Be Honest, But I Think Honesty Counts In Hollywood Just As Much As It Does Anywhere Else. I Think It's Just Too Much Trouble To Be Dishonest And Keep Up With Yourself.

You've Got To Know Someone Pretty Well To Hate Them.

I Have Often Seen An Actor Laugh Off The Stage, But I Don't Remember Ever Having Seen One Weep.

If Everybody Likes You, You're Pretty Dull.

In This Rat-race Everybody's Guilty Till Proved Innocent!

Evil People You Never Forget Them. And That's The Aim Of Any Actress-never To Be Forgotten.

Acting Should Be Bigger Than Life. Scripts Should Be Bigger Than Life. It Should All Be Bigger Than Life.

Bigger Than Life

I Think Men Have Got To Change An Awful Lot. They Still Prefer The Little Woman.

The Best Time I Ever Had With Joan Crawford Was When I Pushed Her Down The Stairs In Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?

One Can Be Respected With The Truth In Hollywood Just As Much As Anywhere Else You Know Or Else I Wouldn't Have Had A Career.

Getting Old Is Not For Sissies.

Everybody Has A Heart. Except Some People.

The Real Female Should Be Partly Male And The Real Male Should Be Partly Female Anyway.

Pleasure Of Love Lasts But A Moment, Pain Of Love Lasts A Lifetime.

Success Only Breeds A New Goal

I Will Not Retire While I've Still Got My Legs And My Make-up Box.

Funny Inspirational

Strong Women Only Marry Weak Men.

Actually, I Think Business Women Are Better Women At Home, If You Want To Know The Truth Because You Do Understand What Goes Into A Day's Work Out In The World, A Very Nerve-racking Affair.

Success Is Built On Disappointment, And Disappointment Is Inherent In All Success.

Success And Failure

Being Called Very, Very Difficult Is The Beginning Of Success. Until You're Called Very, Very Difficult You're Really Nobody At All.

You Know What Nostalgia Is, Don't You? It's Basically A Matter Of Recalling The Fun Without Reliving The Pain.

There Is A Certain Ecstasy In Wanting Things You Can't Get.

One Begins To Realize That One Is Getting Old When The Birthday Candles Weigh More Than The Cake.

It's A Rare Man Who Can Stand Being Around An Intelligent Woman, Let Alone Married To Her.

Yes, Burn Your Bridges.

With The Newspaper Strike On, I Wouldn't Consider Dying.

The Act Of Sex, Gratifying As It May Be, Is God's Joke On Humanity. It Is Man's Last Desperate Stand At Superintendency.

To Look Back Is To Relax One's Vigil.

I Was The Female Marlon Brando Of My Generation.

I Have Been Uncompromising, Peppery, Intractable, Monomaniacal, Tactless, Volatile, And Oftentimes Disagreeable... I Suppose I'm Larger Than Life.

Larger Than Life

Pray To God And Say The Lines.

You Should Know Me Well Enough By Now To Know I Don't Ask For Things I Don't Think I Can Get.

I Think I'll Have A Large Order Of Prognosis Negative.

There's Only One Way To Work -- Like Hell.

If You Want A Thing Done Well, Get A Couple Of Old Broads To Do It.

Psychoanalysis. Almost Went Three Times - Almost. Then I Decided What Was Peculiar About Me Was Probably What Made Me Successful. I've Seen Some Very Talented Actors Go Into Analysis And Really Lose It.

Without Discipline And Detachment, An Actor Is An Emotional Slob, Spilling His Insides Out. This Abandonment Is Having An Unfortunate Vogue. It Is Tasteless, Formless, Absurd. Without Containment There Is No Art. All This Vomiting And Wheezing And Bursting At The Seams Is No More Great Acting Than The Convulsions Of Raving Maniacs.

From The Moment I Was Six I Felt Sexy. And Let Me Tell You It Was Hell, Sheer Hell, Waiting To Do Something About It.

People Stood On Their Chairs, Cheering And Waving. And It Was All For Me! Waves Of Love Flooded The Stage And Washed Over Me. I Started To Cry. The Sweetness Of Such A Moment Is Impossible To Describe. One Is Both Lover And Beloved. ... I'd Found The One True, Enduring Romance Of My Life.

I'm The Nicest Goddamn Dame That Ever Lived.

Never, Never Trust Anyone Who Asks For White Wine. It Means They're Phonies.

Dramatic Art In Her Opinion Is Knowing How To Fill A Sweater.

If Men Found Out How To Give Birth To Children They'll Never Propose Again.

I Don't Think In Business It Matters Whether You're A Man Or A Woman If You Can Do Your Job And Have A Brain.

Oh, Don't Let's Ask For The Moon. We've Already Got The Stars.

It's Better To Be Hated For Who You Are, Than To Be Loved For Someone You're Not. It's A Sign Of Your Worth Sometimes, If You're Hated By The Right People.

I Was Thought To Be "stuck Up." I Wasn't. I Was Just Sure Of Myself.

[on Gay Men:] Let Me Say, A More Artistic, Appreciative Group Of People For The Arts Does Not Exist ... They Are More Knowledgeable, More Loving Of The Arts. They Make The Average Male Look Stupid.

Almost As Many Inhumanities Are Committed In The Name Of Love As In The Name Of Religion.

We Movie Stars All End Up By Ourselves. Who Knows? Maybe We Want To.

The Out-of-work Actor Wears Out More Than Shoe Leather. The Very Sensibilities That Make Him An Artist Are Shattered By The Disregard He Is Shown As A Human Being.

I Do Not Regret One Professional Enemy I Have Made. Any Actor Who Doesn't Dare To Make An Enemy Should Get Out Of The Business.

I Wanted To Be The First To Win Three Oscars, But Miss Hepburn Has Done It. Actually It Hasn't Been Done. Miss Hepburn Only Won Half An Oscar. If They'd Given Me Half An Oscar I Would Have Thrown It Back In Their Faces. You See, I'm An Aries. I Never Lose.

Some Young Hollywood Starlets Remind Me Of My Grandmother's Old Farmhouse -- All Painted Up Nice On The Front Side, A Big Swing On The Backside, And Nothing Whatsoever In The Attic.

At 50, I Thought Proudly: Here We Are, Half Century! Being 60 Was Fairly Frightening. You Want To Know How I Spent My 70th Birthday? I Put On A Completely Black Face, A Fuzzy Black Afro Wig, Wore Black Clothes And Hung A Black Wreath On My Door.

Fasten Your Seat Belts, It's Going To Be A Bumpy Night! - As Margo Channing In All About Eve

Joan Crawford Is A Movie Star. I Am An Actress.

An Affair Now And Then Is Good For A Marriage. It Adds Spice, Stops It From Getting Boring... I Ought To Know.

Among The Reasons Marriages Fail, Sex Ranks No Higher Than Fourth, Behind Money, Having Only One Bathroom, And An Inability To Communicate, Reasons One, Two And Three.

It's A Very Independent Male Creature That Lives Alone, And A Lot Of Independent Females Who Live Alone. It's All Very Sad But It's Much Easier For Both Sexes To Do It This Way Nowadays.

If Hollywood Didn't Work Out, I Was Prepared To Be The Best Secretary In The World.

I Am Doomed To An Eternity Of Compulsive Work. No Set Goal Achieved Satisfies. Success Only Breeds A New Goal. The Golden Apple Devoured Has Seeds. It Is Endless.

Congratulations

I Guess I'm Larger Than Life. That's My Problem.

Larger Than Life

I Work To Stay Alive.

Don't You Hate People Who Drink White Wine? I Mean, My Dear, Every Alcoholic In Town Is Getting Falling-down Drunk On White Wine. They Think They Aren't Drunks Because They Only Drink Wine. Never, Never Trust Anyone Who Asks For White Wine. It Means They're Phonies.

I Didn't Forget Your Breakfast. I Didn't Bring Your Breakfast. Because You Didn't Eat Your Din-din.

My Passions Were All Gathered Together Like Fingers That Made A Fist. Drive Is Considered Aggression Today; I Knew It Then As Purpose.

The World's All Full Of Thoughts About Wars And Space, And Tragedies To The World. That's What Writers Are Thinking About Because That's What The World Is Thinking About.

May Each Of My Grandsons Know, At An Early Age, What His Life's Ambition Is -- And May He Be Successful In His Pursuit Of That Goal.

I've Been Lucky. I'll Be Lucky Again.

I Often Think That A Slightly Exposed Shoulder Emerging From A Long Satin Nightgown Packs More Sex Than Two Naked Bodies In Bed.

Hollywood Always Wanted Me To Be Pretty, But I Fought For Realism.

Playing Our Parts. Yes, We All Have To Do That And From Childhood On, I Have Found That My Own Character Has Been Much Harder To Play Worthily And Far Harder At Times To Comprehend Than Any Of The Roles I Have Portrayed.

The Key To Life Is Accepting Challenges. Once Someone Stops Doing This, He's Dead.

Self Confidence

To Fulfill A Dream, To Be Allowed To Sweat Over Lonely Labor, To Be Given A Chance To Create, Is The Meat And Potatoes Of Life. The Money Is The Gravy.

Locations Are All Tough, All Miserable. I Never Left The Sound Stage For 18 Years At Warners. We Never Went Outside The Studio, Not Even For Big Scenes.

You Know What I'm Going To Have On My Gravestone? 'she Did It The Hard Way.'

It Has Been My Experience That One Cannot, In Any Shape Or Form, Depend On Human Relations For Lasting Reward. It Is Only Work That Truly Satisfies.

A Sure Way To Lose Happiness, I Found, Is To Want It At The Expense Of Everything Else.

The Real Actor - Like Any Real Artistj- Has A Direct Line To The Collective Heart.

I Don't Think Of Myself As A Character Actress - That's Become A Phrase Which Means You've Had It.

If Everybody Likes You, You Are Not A Very Interesting Person.

Life Is The Past, The Present And The Perhaps.

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