I considered Nat King Cole to be a friend and, in many ways, a mentor. He always had words of profound advice.

As soon as my mother saw my father, she said, "Oh! I think I'm gonna marry that man." That's the reason I've been married four times, because I think it's that easy ... it really is not.

In the beginning, I found myself dealing with a show business dictated by male white supremacists and chauvinists. As a black female, I had to learn how to tap dance around the situation. I had to ... find a way to present my point of view without being pushy or aggressive. In the old days, the only women I saw in this business were in makeup, hairdressing, and wardrobe departments. Now I'm surrounded by women executives, writers, directors, producers, and even women stagehands.

I hope that there are no persons that would want to think ill of me in any direction or any behavior.

I am a breast cancer survivor. I was intrigued to learn how many people prefer to talk to someone if they are familiar with their face, like an actor or a politician. So, I began traveling around the country and doing speeches.

I've spent about that amount of time trying to tell the public that there was purpose in... my business, my career and the roller coaster ride... how the people I associated with worked together.

If you're not invited to the party, throw your own.