"Kiss my grits!"

(Polly Dean Holliday, attrice; Jasper, 2 luglio 1937 – New York, 9 settembre 2025) 

 

"I didn't know anything about speed or diet pills, but they gave me these little red pills, like Benzedrine, that you can only buy in Mexico now." raccontando di quando a Hollywood la costrinsero a perder peso.

(Connie Francis, pseudonimo di Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero, cantante e attrice; Newark, 12 dicembre 1937 – Pompano Beach, 16 luglio 2025) 

 

"È vero che non si può reagire violentemente, ma se il dottor Gasbarri, grande amico, mi dice una parolaccia contro la mia mamma, gli aspetto un pugno! Ma è normale! È normale!" da un suo discorso del gennaio 2015 dopo l'attacco terroristico alla sede del giornale satirico Charlie Hebdo. 

(Papa Francesco, nome d'arte di Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 266° papa della Chiesa cattolica; Buenos Aires, 17 dicembre 1936 - Città del Vaticano, 21 aprile 2025)

 

"I'm very lucky in that I haven't cultivated fame. Which, from what I've seen of my contemporaries, takes an enormous amount of time. I have a lot of respect for people that do it and they're successful at it ... Especially people that aren't such talented actors."

(Val Edward Kilmer, attore; Los Angeles, 31 dicembre 1959 – Los Angeles, 1º aprile 2025)

 

"Films are about personality: the better the personality, the better the film."

(Paul Morrissey, regista, sceneggiatore, montatore, direttore della fotografia e produttore cinematografico; New York, 23 febbraio 1938 – New York, 28 ottobre 2024)

 

Nudo femminile in piedi, 1918-20, olio su tela, Galleria Nazionale finlandese, Helsinki.

(Karl Isakson; Stoccolma, 16 gennaio 1878 – Copenaghen, 29 febbraio 1922)

 

"I went through all the psychiatry thing, trying to find out why I drank. I finally ended up with the president of the American Psychiatry Association in Hartford telling me, "I'm damned if I know why you drink"."

(Dana Andrews, nome completo Carver Dana Andrews, attore; Contea di Covington, 1º gennaio 1909 – Los Alamitos, 17 dicembre 1992)

 

"We each have two lives. The one we learn by and the one we live after that."

(Madlyn Rhue, pseudonimo di Madeline Roche, attrice; Washington, 3 ottobre 1935 – Woodland Hills, 16 dicembre 2003)

 

"What's jazz, lady? If you don't know, I can't tell you."

(Thomas "Fats" Waller, pianista, compositore e cantante; New York, 21 maggio 1904 – Kansas City, 15 dicembre 1943)

 

"Peter Sellers became a monster. He just got bored with the part [Inspector Clouseau] and became angry, sullen and unprofessional. He wouldn't show up for work and he began looking for anyone and everyone to blame, never for a moment stopping to see whether or not he should blame himself for his own madness, his own craziness."

(Blake Edwards, pseudonimo di William Blake Crump, regista, sceneggiatore e produttore cinematografico; Tulsa, 26 luglio 1922 – Santa Monica, 15 dicembre 2010)

 

"Where I kick myself is where I think I actually contributed to the myth of the intelligence services being very good."

(John le Carré, pseudonimo di David John Moore Cornwell, agente segreto e poi scrittore di romanzi di spionaggio; Poole, 19 ottobre 1931 – Truro, 12 dicembre 2020)

 

"They're still on, those things. It's quite amazing. It's like, "Ah, God, there I am again!" The thing I can say about that is I had never seen the show when they asked me to do it. I'm not a big television-watcher. It sounded stupid to me, so I turned it down. And my daughter, then, who was of that age, said, "No, you have to do it, you have to do it! I love that show, and I want to meet those kids". She had to meet those kids. I said, "All right. I'll do it. I'll do it once, but that's all I'm doing". So I did, and had a very nice time, and they asked me back, and my daughter did get to meet those kids, so I was a big hero in the house. It's amazing, the power of the tube. I've done all this body of work, and they say, "Oh yes, Rachel's father". I go, "Give me a break."...He was nasty, which made it more fun. Nice guys are boring. I don't mean in real life. As an actor, those characters are boring. I loved that he was difficult, particularly to the Ross character, David Schwimmer's character. Most of my stuff was with Jennifer Aniston and David, which was terrific, because I really like them both. I didn't have much to do with the other people. But when I first came on, I didn't know who was who, because I'd never seen the show. So I started talking to Lisa Kudrow, thinking she was Jennifer Aniston. I had no idea. This was the second year of Friends (1994), or maybe the end of the first year. They weren't the huge stars that they became later. I had no idea who was who. But they were kind enough to point me in the right direction. Pathetic, I know." a proposito del suo ruolo nella serie tv Friends.

(Ronald Leibman, attore e doppiatore; New York, 11 ottobre 1937 – New York, 6 dicembre 2019)

 

"Il palcoscenico, la ribalta, il pubblico: questa triade formava ora tutta la mia vita. Non mi restava tempo che per ben poco altro."

(Beniamino Gigli, tenore e attore; Recanati, 20 marzo 1890 – Roma, 30 novembre 1957)

 

"When people are laughing, they don't beat up on you. You're secure and safe. It's when they stop laughing that it's dangerous."

(Leslie William Nielsen, attore; Regina, 11 febbraio 1926 – Fort Lauderdale, 28 novembre 2010)

 

"I have never appeared in talking pictures but I hope my voice and my English will permit me." 

(Lya De Putti, all'anagrafe Amalia de Putti, star del cinema muto che fallì la prova del sonoro; Vojčice, 10 gennaio 1897 – New York, 27 novembre 1931)

 

"Every day I remind myself of all that I have been given... With singing, you never know when you are going to lose the voice, and that makes you appreciate the time that you have when you are still singing well. I am always thanking God for another season, another month, another performance."

(Anita O'Day, nome completo Anita Belle Colton O'Day, cantante jazz; Chicago, 18 ottobre 1919 – Los Angeles, 23 novembre 2006)

 

Il pensatore ne La porta dell'inferno, 1880-1917, bronzo, Museo Rodin, Parigi.

(François-Auguste-René Rodin; Parigi, 12 novembre 1840 – Meudon, 17 novembre 1917)

La porta dell'Inferno:

 

 

"Ho sentita annunziata la Barbieri, con l'aggiunta di Nini. S'ella ha trovato marito, non può disperar più nessuno di trovarlo." frecciata alla collega Marianna Barbieri-Nini.

(Maria Clelia Giuseppa Strepponi, detta Giuseppina, soprano e seconda moglie di Giuseppe Verdi; Lodi, 8 settembre 1815 – Villanova sull'Arda, 14 novembre 1897)

 

He is a coward, a cheat and lazy. All there is in his life is deceit. He's the only person I know who goes as far as to lie to his own analyst. (He is) obsessed with the desire to be loved, and with the need for money. The only thing we have in common is our demons." parlando del padre celebre, da un'articolo del The Guardian, ottobre 2003.

(Guillaume Depardieu, attore; Parigi, 7 aprile 1971 – Garches, 13 ottobre 2008)

 

 

“I went to the theater and did my song and dance, and I heard from the back (Jerome) Robbins’ voice saying, ‘Can you do a backflip?’ I just threw a backflip, got lucky, and it worked out.” parlando di quando lo scelsero per il ruolo di Riff nel musical West Side Story.

(Michael Callan, all'anagrafe Martin Harris Calinieff, attore; Filadelfia, 22 novembre 1935 – Los Angeles, 10 ottobre 2022)