Lucille Ball Quotes

I closed my eyes, put blinders on, and ignored what was too painful to think about. I tried to view my troubles less seriously, and worry less. I tried to curb my temper. Things said in embarrassment and anger are seldom the truth, but are said to hurt and wound the other person. Once said, they can never be taken back.

About this time, when I was eleven or twelve, I tried my first cigarette. DeDe came into my little back bedroom and found it blue with smoke. “Oh, so you’re smoking now,” she remarked pleasantly. “Let’s have one together.” She kept me inhaling one cigarette after another, until I turned purple and then green. I

I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done.

that at all. We’re so used to failure, to being hurt and rebuffed, that we can easily come unhinged by success.

My ideal of womanhood has always been the pioneer woman who fought and worked at her husband's side. She bore the children, kept the home fires burning; she was the hub of the family, the planner and the dreamer.

I'd rather regret the things I have done than the things that I haven't.

Temperament is something you welcome creatively, for it is based on sensitivity, empathy, awareness . . . but a bad temper takes too much out of you and doesn’t really accomplish anything.

I have a theory about the assists we get in life. Only rarely can we repay those people who helped us, but we can pass that help along to others.

The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.

One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.

People either have comedy or they don't. You can't teach it to them.

This producer’s temporary interest in me caused a big roadblock in my career for a while. But I was convinced that eventually I would get going again. In the meantime, I had to give Hollywood a rest and look around for other showcases for my talent. I wound up trying radio. This turned out to be one of the smartest things I ever did. Early in 1938, I appeared on Jack Haley’s weekly radio program, The Wonder Show. This led to a featured spot on Phil Baker’s Hollywood radio show. I worked with some wonderful comics, Jack Carson and Al Pierce, as well as Jack Haley and Phil Baker. This gave me a name in the trade as a good feminine foil. I could flip a comedy line, which a lot of actresses couldn’t do. In radio I couldn’t depend upon props or costumes or makeup;

I cured myself of shyness when it finally occurred to me that people didn't think about me half as much as I gave them credit for. The truth was, nobody gave a damn. Like most teenagers, I was far too self-centered. When I stopped being prisoner to what I worried was others’ opinions of me, I became more confident and free.

Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.

Russell Markert, Lela Rogers, Ed Sedgwick - these were but a few of the experienced theater people who generously gave me a boost. I have a theory about the assists we get in life. Only rarely can we repay those people who helped us, but we can pass that help along to others. That's why, in 1958, I reactivated Lela's theater workshop with two dozen talented kids trying to get started in show business.