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- “I don’t cook and I don’t care.” — Ann-Margret
- “Sometimes I think no matter how one is born, no matter how one acts, there is something out of gear with one somewhere, and that must be changed. Life at its best is a grand corrective.” –Jessie Redmon Fauset
- “I’ve had my best times trailing a Mainbocher evening gown across a sawdust floor. I’ve always loved high style in low company.” — Anita Loos
- “I only began to sing because I couldn’t get a job as an actress.” — Barbra Streisand
- “I would rather take a photograph than be one.” — Lee Miller
- When proud-pied April, dressed in all his trim, / Hath put a spirit of youth in everything …
- “We look at the world once, in childhood. The rest is memory.” — Louise Glück
- “True success is figuring out your life and career so you never have to be around jerks.” — John Waters
- “After all, when God created Adam and Eve, they were stark naked. And in the Garden of Eden, God was probably naked as a jaybird too!” — Bettie Page
- “There is only one difference between a madman and me. I am not mad.” — Charlotte Brontë
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Category Archives: On This Day
“Good acting is thinking in front of the camera. I just do that and apply a sense of humor to it. You have to trust the audience to get it.” — Charles Grodin
It’s Charles Grodin’s birthday today. Here is a re-post of the piece I wrote when Charles Grodin died in 2021. Heartbreak Kid. Ishtar. Heaven Can Wait. Midnight Run. Muppet Caper. Rosemary’s Baby. Seems Like Old Times (not as well-known, but … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Actors Studio, Charles Grodin, Memoirs
10 Comments
“The only cause I espouse is man’s right to find his own centre, stand firm, speak out, then be kind.” — Michael Davitt, “Dissenter”
Save your breath, Poem maker Keep it under wraps In the tall tree of yourself — Michael Davitt Both quotes above are English translations of the original Irish language versions, just to be clear. Poet Michael Davitt, born (on this … Continue reading
“I do love Alice in Wonderland though. That’s something I think I could do very well.” — Edie Sedgwick
It’s her birthday today. Her influence on me was massive and I came to her young. I discovered her in high school through the famous oral biography by Jean Stein and George Plimpton, which I inhaled, over and over again. … Continue reading
“I don’t like being approached by people who look at me too intensely, who needed something from me that I didn’t have. I don’t represent anything.” — Liz Phair
It’s her birthday. Talking about her is difficult because to so many – including myself – she does represent something. She didn’t set out to change the world, she was so shy and working in such isolation, but change it … Continue reading
“I don’t really know why, but danger has always been an important thing in my life – to see how far I could lean without falling, how fast I could go without cracking up.” — William Holden
It’s his birthday today. Years ago, I wrote a long essay about William Holden for Slant, which focused a lot on his physicality (he was so athletic and he had great control). I really like that piece. I reiterated my … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Billy Wilder, Stalag 17, Sunset Boulevard, William Holden
12 Comments
“Some syllables are swords.” — Metaphysical poet Henry Vaughan
”I’ve always been much influenced by the 17th-century metaphysical poets like Donne, and especially Henry Vaughan.” — Philip K. Dick It’s Henry Vaughan’s birthday today. I was just thinking the other day about how I encountered certain famous writers in … Continue reading
“To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
“People ask me: ‘What is punk? How do you define punk?’ Here’s how I define punk: It’s a free space. It could be called jazz. It could be called hip-hop. It could be called blues, or rock, or beat. It … Continue reading
“All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl.” — Charlie Chaplin
“The secret of Mack Sennett’s success was his enthusiasm. He was a great audience and laughed genuinely at what he thought funny. He stood and giggled until his body began to shake. This encouraged me and I began to explain … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Directors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Charlie Chaplin, Hart Crane, silent films
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“As a cinematographer, I was always attracted to stories that have the potential to be told with as few words as possible.” — Reed Morano
“I feel like directing is more about who the individual is rather than if they’re a man or a woman. It’s kind of hard to generalize and group all of us female filmmakers into one group, like we’re all going … Continue reading
Posted in Directors, Movies, On This Day, Television
Tagged Handmaid's Tale, women directors
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“Even though I’m writing about very dark material, it still feels like an escape hatch.” — Olivia Laing
“As a writer, I am always trying to get past abstraction, the world of ideas, and putting actual objects in my writing — paintings, photographs — really helps with that. They’re beautiful tools with which to think.” — Olivia Laing … Continue reading