You really do learn by example... Especially women, sometimes we think somebody's going to rescue us, or somebody's going to teach us how to do it, when in fact we have to understand that the biggest resource we have is inside of ourselves. I know that I can count on me to take care of me. That's a very important thing to know.

I think that there's got to be a comic gene in some way, but it's so much about it is how you grow up.

Today, all patients accepted for treatment at St. Jude's are treated without regard for the family's ability to pay. Everything beyond what is covered by insurance is taken care of, and for those without insurance, all of the medical costs are absorbed by the hospital.

I raised you to be a thoroughbred. When thoroughbreds run, they wear blinders to keep their eyes focused straight ahead with no distractions, no other horses. They hear the crowd, but they don’t listen. They just run their own race. That’s what you have to do. Don’t listen to anyone comparing you to me or to anyone else. You just run your own race.

If you really need to, you have to make it happen.

Women have to make a living. We don't live in a wealthy world where we even have a choice. We're losing our choice of whether or not we need to work. If we want to work, we obviously should work and have that choice, but a lot of women can't even get to the word "want." They need to work. And it's great to see women who needed to work and found a way to become a firefighter or a steel worker. That, to me, is very exciting.

I think in my case, I had no choice but to have a good sense of humor. I grew up with my dad, Danny Thomas, and George Burns and Bob Hope and Milton Berle and Sid Caesar and all those guys were at our house all the time and telling jokes and making each other laugh.