Mom never quit on me. My only regret is that she didn't live long enough to share some of the money and comforts my work in show business has brought me.

I was born out of wedlock. Nobody brought me up.

After years in white theaters I dreaded working in colored houses. The noise, the stomping, whistling, and cheering that hadn't annoyed me when I was young was now something I dreaded.

I never accepted the idea that I was all through. I guess no person who has once been a star can do that, ever.

Many people know how to criticize, but few know how to praise.

The big compliment came from the beer drinkers who didn't know me. They wouldn't drink or move when I sang. If they had their glasses in mid-air, the glasses wouldn't come down.

I want affection and tenderness desperately, but there's something in me that prevents me from handing it out.