Oscar Levant Quotes

[Ira Gershwin] said that [P.G.] Wodehouse will address a letter, stamp it and throw it out of his third-story window onto the street trusting in the good nature of passerby to pick it up and mail it.

When I was in my prime, I was an egomaniac and didn’t allow my wife to buy the best sardines–the King Oscars–which bear my name. I felt there should be only one king in my house.

In the middle and late 50′s I was in hospitals constantly. I was committed every time I drew a breath or took an extra twelve pills–which never affected me much because I’m not suicidal.

I have seizures of momentary sanity.

Instant unconsciousness had been my greatest passion for ten years.

A psychiatrist once diagnosed my troubles as “an abdication of will.”

As a rule I never read bad reviews about myself because my best friends invariably tell me about them.

I rated the drug Demerol over sex as the ultimate pleasure at one time. Now I don’t have access to either.

Apropos of nothing, I asked [Truman] Capote, “Are you for integration?” He said, “Yes, are you for integration?” I said, “I’m for disintegration… personal disintegration.”

When I used to speak of the lunatic fringe, I didn’t know I was going to be head of it.

The other night my daughter Lorna reminisced about the time I regressed to complete infantilism. We were having dinner and tapioca pudding was served. A wild glint came into my eyes and in the presence of my wife and children I shrieked at the top of my voice, “I love this more than anything in the world!” I had to be withdrawn from tapioca pudding slowly. It was one of the few times I wasn’t committed to achieve withdrawal.

Now that Marilyn Monroe is kosher, Arthur Miller can eat her.

Once he makes up his mind, he's full of indecision.

I have given up reading books; I find it takes my mind off myself.

I am no more humble than my talents require.