There is a certain type of white Southerner who respects certain Negro individuals.

If I wanted pity, I got it because I'm illegitimate. And when I didn't want it I was mean and nasty.

In her whole life Mom never earned more than five or six dollars a week. Being without a husband, it was hard for her to find any place at all for us to live.

I could always open shows, perform through the middle, and close shows.

I had always loved John Ford's pictures. And I came to love him, too, but I was frightened to death working for him. He used the shock treatment while directing me.

What broke Mom's heart was realizing that her children knew nothing and cared nothing about the better side of life.

When I act I try to express the suffering or joy I've known during my lifetime.