I wasn't straining at the bit to become a movie star any more than I had plotted to get out of vaudeville and into Broadway musicals

I have been ambitious to be a somebody from the time I was 5 years old

I can hold a note as long as the Chase National Bank.

Mom claimed that I could carry a tune at 2 or 3 years of age. Maybe she was a little prejudiced.

I take a breath when I have to.

Mom and Pop were proud of my popularity, but from their point of view, show business was no way to make a living.

I work as often as I want and yet I'm free as a bird