“What kind of life, especially love life, could I expect as a single woman progressing at lightning speed through her middle years, who was now one-breasted and carried the stigma of having had cancer?” dal libro autobiografico Adventures of a One-Breasted Woman: Reclaiming My Moxie After Cancer.

(Susan Cummings, nata Gerda Susanne Tafel, attrice; Baviera, 10 luglio 1930 – Chandler, 3 dicembre 2016)

 

"Très tôt. Je devais avoir… je ne sais pas, sept ou huit ans. On faisait les travaux pratiques. Les uns dessinaient, les autres faisaient des maquettes, moi je faisais de la sculpture, mais en taillant sur du calcaire avec une lame. Et c’est comme ça que les choses sont parties. Surtout avec l’instituteur, qui, à chaque fois, prenait mes petites sculptures et les mettait au-dessus de l’armoire. Mon père qui était avare de compliments montrait quand même un certain engouement. Alors, j’ai continué." alla domanda di quando avesse cominciato a scolpire figure.

(Ousmane Sow; Dakar, 10 ottobre 1935 – Dakar, 1º dicembre 2016)

 

“I am a gadget freak and I would have loved to have had a real gas gun and sting gun, but they weren't for real.” a proposito del suo personaggio nella serie tv Il calabrone verde del 1966-67.

(Van Williams, nome completo Van Zandt Jarvis Williams, attore; Fort Worth, 27 febbraio 1934 – Scottsdale, 28 novembre 2016) 

 

"We discovered that he could sing, and he discovered that he could sing.” a proposito di Jimmy Somerville, con cui - insieme a Steve Bronski - formò la band Bronski Beat.

(Larry Steinbachek, musicista e compositore; (Londra, 6 maggio 1960 – Amsterdam, 7 dicembre 2016)

 

"Creemos que el marxismo-leninismo es una verdad incontrastable."

(Fidel Castro, nome completo Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, rivoluzionario, militare, politico e dittatore cubano; Birán, 13 agosto 1926 – L'Avana, 25 novembre 2016)

 

"I had four children. And my youngest when we started was like, oh gosh, two or a little less. And sometimes my kids would say to me, you know, "How come you don't scream at those kids on television like you do us?" I said, "Because they're not my real kids and you are, and I want you to turn out to be wonderful human beings" -- and they have. I have four of the most incredible children. And I have five grandchildren." a proposito del suo ruolo di mamma nella serie tv La famiglia Brady del 1969.

(Florence Agnes Henderson, attrice; Dale, 14 febbraio 1934 – Los Angeles, 24 novembre 2016)

 

"I never felt I'd be in movies - my father was strict, old-fashioned. I saw a few movies, but with my grandmother. My father turned down Fox's first contract. Two weeks later, Fox lawyers sent another contract - with a letter from the consul general saying what an honor it was, that I was chosen, so my father finally agreed. I came to Hollywood in 1928 with my grandmother."

(Lupita Tovar, all'anagrafe Guadalupe Natalia Tovar, attrice; Matías Romero, 27 luglio 1910 – Los Angeles, 12 novembre 2016)

 

‘‘He sido la travesti más guapa que ha habido en el mundo’’

(La Veneno, pseudonimo di Cristina Ortiz Rodríguez, nata José Antonio Ortiz Rodríguez, modella, show girl e icona trans; Adra, 19 marzo 1964 – Madrid, 9 novembre 2016)

 

"Come mai le donne, che paiono aver tanto bisogno di identificarsi in un modello femminile, poi non ci votano? Credo che le ragioni siano di due tipi. Primo, noi ci rifiutiamo ai meccanismi di selezione tradizionali, fatti con metodi duri e spietati che le donne non possono condividere. Clientelismo, spese altissime di organizzazione dei consensi e cosi via. In questo siamo più deboli, perché stiamo all'interno di una logica politica più seria. Poi, abbiamo meno appoggio dai partiti. L'esame, nei confronti delle donne, è più severo, e non finisce mai. Gli uomini possono permettersi qualche passo falso. Per noi, al primo sbaglio è finita."

(Tina Anselmi, politica e partigiana; Castelfranco Veneto, 25 marzo 1927 – Castelfranco Veneto, 1º novembre 2016)

"I remember when I was first starting out in the late 50's, and everybody at that time said rock 'n roll was gonna die. I was 15 years old when I started, and I certainly didn't believe that was true. I thought anything that feels this good and makes me want to tap my foot like this can't be a passing fad like everybody says. Of course, they were wrong, and here we are in the 90's and it's alive and well, and getting programmed all over the country, and really all over the world. So it's been a great journey."

(Bobby Vee nome d'arte di Robert Thomas Velline, cantante; Fargo, 30 aprile 1943 – Rogers, 24 ottobre 2016)

 

"When a film is created, it is created in a language, which is not only about words, but also the way that very language encodes our perception of the world, our understanding of it."

(Andrzej Witold Wajda, regista e sceneggiatore; Suwałki, 6 marzo 1926 – Varsavia, 9 ottobre 2016)

 

"The whole process of rehearsing a play involves so many creative and dramatic exercises, that this became my training. In fact, I still consider myself in training. Every time I work it's an educational process because I learn by watching other actors. My career is always going to be an on-going study."

(Bill Nunn, nome completo William Goldwyn Nunn III, attore; Pittsburgh, 20 ottobre 1953 – Pittsburgh, 24 settembre 2016)

 

"Unlike the studio days, where [directors were] under contract, there's no vested interest in filmmakers today, so it's one picture at a time. Nobody cares about the longevity of a director's career today. What they care about is making a successful movie. Consequently, if somebody does something that's successful, they then throw a lot of money and opportunity at them to try and duplicate it. You get into a situation where people are in a sense trying to duplicate what they did well, but usually to diminishing returns."

(Curtis Lee Hanson, regista, sceneggiatore e produttore cinematografico; Reno, 24 marzo 1945 – Los Angeles, 20 settembre 2016)

 

"Mi ricordo un bel libro di Marc Lazar, uscito un paio d'anni fa, nel quale io e Berlusconi venivamo raccontati come gli estremi di un pendolo: da una parte Ciampi, l'uomo che difende le istituzioni, e dall'altra parte Berlusconi, l'uomo che delegittima le istituzioni. Mai come oggi mi sento di dire che questa immagine riassume alla perfezione quello che penso."

(Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, politico, economista, banchiere e 10° Presidente della Repubblica Italiana; Livorno, 9 dicembre 1920 – Roma, 16 settembre 2016) 

 

"È la donna che anima l'abito. Non può essere il contrario. La provocazione è la donna, mai quello che indossa."

(Sonia Rykiel, vero nome Sonia Flis, stilista; Parigi, 25 maggio 1930 – Parigi, 25 agosto 2016)

 

"I felt I had to be brash to make my mark. In this business you don't make out application forms - you have to make an instant impression. I had to do it over and over again before I was finally recognized."

(Steven Hill, pseudonimo di Solomon Krakovsky, attore; Seattle, 24 febbraio 1922 – Monsey, 23 agosto 2016)

 

"It was all that neorealism; it just caught me at the right time. I can't even remember, but I know there were a few films at that time, neorealist films, that they were doing in Europe that we were not doing here. It just felt so real to me and so good. I didn't jump and say, Oh, I want to make movies like that, but I guess I was feeling that without realizing it. The same as when I finally woke up and said, I want to be a director." 

(Arthur Hiller, regista; Edmonton, 22 novembre 1923 – Los Angeles, 17 agosto 2016)

"I taught myself how to engineer by building my own studio. I already had a full time job as a doctor so never worked in any other studio.I recorded demos for people to pay for the studio in my spare time."

 

(Nigel Gray, produttore discografico ricordato principalmente per i primi 3 album dei Police e per Kaleidoscope e Juju di Siouxsie & The Banshees; Surrey, 1947 – Cornovaglia, 30 luglio 2016)

 

"I had the privilege of watching great actors at MGM. That was better than going to any class. Today kids struggle - they have to be waitresses and bartenders while waiting to get a break. Every hour at MGM was a joy! My years there were golden, a wonderful time! I will never regret one moment."

 (Gloria DeHaven, attrice; Los Angeles, 23 luglio 1925 – Las Vegas, 30 luglio 2016)

 

"I could barely set foot outside my own door without someone screaming abuse at horrid old Mrs Mangel" a proposito delle molestie subite perché il pubblico la confondeva col suo odioso personaggio interpetato nella serie tv Neighbour.

 (Vivean Gray, nome d'arte di Jean Vivra Gray, attrice; Cleethorpes, 20 luglio 1924 – Shoreham-by-Sea, 29 luglio 2016)