I was married when I was 17. I knew nothing. I was full of romance.

Hollywood's old trick: repeat a successful formula until it dies.

From the first moment on the set I was consumed with curiousity about the technical side of shooting a sound picture.

I was the first celebrity in pictures to be marrying a titled European.

I've given my memoirs far more thought than any of my marriages. You can't divorce a book.

So they were turning, after all - those cameras. Life, which can be strangely merciful, had taken pity on Norma Desmond. The dream she had clung to so desperately had enfolded her. Norma: You see, this is my life. It always will be! (In a whisper) There's nothing else - just us - and the cameras - and those wonderful people out there in the dark. All right, Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my close-up.

Nobody gets anything for nothing.