I had no idea that such a thing could happen. It never occurred to me.My son told me. He called me and said, "Darling, I just wanted you to know that you have been chosen to receive an honorary Academy Award." I was in the back of this car, and I said, "Oh," and burst into tears, of course, because it was so unexpected and quite wonderful. I thought it's been worth hanging around all these years.

They're great devotees of Noel Coward in England, of course, he's a favorite son, and so to play Coward in London is such fun, and anyway, the role is such a crazy lady. I just love doing that.

All I knew how to do was to act. That's the only thing I had in my favor. That was the thing that propelled me forward.

The older I get, the more I realize how much I have missed because I was so busy entertaining that audience and so busy pursuing a career.

Mystery is something that appeals to most everybody.

I can't say that I deserve longlife; I don't. I've just been around long enough. They say, "My God, she's still here."

Psychologically, you learn the values that are inherent in the dialogue, and you learn to apply it to the way you read the lines. That's acting. You're not yourself saying those lines, you're somebody else.