A white person listens to my act and he laughs and he thinks, 'Yeah, that's the way I see it too.' Okay. He's white. I'm Negro. And we both see things the same way. That must mean that we are alike..... So I figure I'm doing as much for good race relations as the next guy.

Mediocre people are the most dangerous people in the world.

People say "God will find a way." God can't find a way if you're in the way.

Poets have said that the reason to have children is to give yourself immortality. Immortality? Now that I have five children, my only hope is that they are all out of the house before I die.

The worst thing to do is to die while reading LIFE magazine.

But if that's what you want to be, that's what you will be - as long as you study.

Anyone can dabble, but once you've made that commitment, your blood has that particular thing in it, and it's very hard for people to stop you.