Happy Birthday Nichelle Nichols!

I was very blessed in always knowing what I wanted to do, and by the grace of God I've been able to succeed in my chosen career.

Sometimes we respond foolishly before we respond sensibly. We've experienced terrorism, negativism and man's inhumanity to one another before, and yet today we're a better people because of how we respond to it. The evolutionary process moves one step foreword, then two back; then three foreword and two back; then three foreword and only one step back, so that in the end there is a positive process.

Billie Holiday I never met, but I love her music.

Charlie X? Those were the hints, as far as I’m concerned.

I think anybody with any intelligence sits down and sees Star Trek not a kids' show.

I'm a fan of the fans. I love them. They're fabulous. I love being around them. I love their madness and their caring. I love watching them take off for a weekend, don the costumes, and become characters from the 23rd century and beyond. I thank the fans for giving us--me--so much support and love. I want them to know I love them. They'll always be my friends. I'll see the fans, always. They can rest assured of that.

I've agreed to do several Star Trek conventions this coming year.

Science is not a boy's game, it's not a girl's game. It's everyone's game. It's about where we are and where we're going. Space travel benefits us here on Earth. And we ain't stopped yet. 

It's just coincidental that the acting took off first over everything else.

About Leonard Nimoy: He was a true force of strength and his character was that of a champion. Leonard's integrity and passion as an actor and devotion to his craft helped transport Raumschiff Enterprise into television history. His vision and heart are bigger than the universe. I will miss him very much and send heartfelt wishes to his family.

Mahalia Jackson, I grew up around the corner from in Chicago.

Space travel benefits us here on Earth. And we ain't stopped yet. There's more exploration to come.

All the people in Star Trek will always be known as those characters. And what characters to have attached to your name in life! The show is such a phenomenon all over the world.

Musical theatre has always been my first love. I was on my way to Broadway when, as I tell my fans, Star Trek interrupted my career!

I hated the color [of her original Uhura costume], that was all. It was kind of a pea green. Gene hated the color also, and so he called Bill Theiss in and told him he wanted to change that costume, and um, -- so I think I wore that pea green thing for a couple of episodes and then they changed to that beautiful red.

Well my mother was a genuine psychic. She never went into business for it, but she could interpret dreams. She dreamed and other things, and sensory things. If I walked into the house and something was bothering me, and I was always the kind to shelter my loved ones from my problems. I walked out, my mother would say okay sit down and tell me what’s the matter. I’d burst out crying. I’d walk in the house. "Hi I’m home. Guess what I did today?" And she says, "sit down - tell me what’s the problem". And she knew before I knew everything. She knew when people were in trouble and she knew when people were pregnant before they did sometimes. And I grew up with this as a natural thing. It was not a phenomena to me until I grew up and people reacted to it. And I realized that this is something that not everyone has.

In "Plato's Stepchildren," Uhura and Kirk were supposed to kiss under duress from their captors. It became an issue with the director and Gene Roddenberry finally decided to shoot the scene with and without the kiss. Bill Shatner kept kissing until there was only time for one more take. When the camera zoomed in, Bill crossed his eyes and the director didn't notice it until the next day in dailies. Of course the last scene was unusable and they had to go with the kiss scene, which became history as the first interracial kiss on TV.

Uhura never had another name during the series. One of the fan writers wrote "Upenda" - which means "peace" in Swahili, I understand -- not officially, but in some of their fan writings. And it sort of took hold. But when they were going to do the official history of Star Trek in a published book, the writer called Gene and asked him was "Uhura" her first name or her last name? Gene said, "Well, Nichelle and I never decided." We always leaned towards it being her last name because it's taken from the Swahili "uhuru" which means freedom. So it would sort of be like the same as "Freeman." So he said, "You can make it her last name." The writer said, "What about her first name? I've come up with one in Swahili. It's Nyota." Gene said, "I can't give you that permission because Nichelle and I named her together, and she has rights to that, so you'll have to call her and get her permission." So he gave him my number, and he called me and I laughed and was delighted. He said, "I have a name and it's Nyota." I said, "That's quite beautiful. What does it mean?" He said, "It means 'star'." I said, "You can have my permission!" So I have since said that her name is Nyota Upenda Uhura, which would mean a free-floating star: "star of freedom and peace". I like that.

The day Jimmy Doohan fell into the water off the Bird of Prey. All the actors in the live scene thought it was a joke and jumped in after him. Nimoy, who was directing the film, was flabbergasted but quickly jumped in with them and screamed at the camera crew, "Keep shooting -- keep shooting!" It turned out to be a keeper and one of the best shots in the movie.

I think I am going to meet with Zoe and let her pick my brain if she wants to, but I would like to hold that in abeyance to see what she, because she’s such a lovely actress and creative actress herself. I’d love to wait and see what she brings to it so that I can understand, so that I can get to see who and what Uhura was like and what the qualities were that Uhura, Nyota Uhura had that qualified her to go on that first five-year mission where no man or woman had gone before. I think she might bring some interesting new qualities to the character.

I’ve grown up just thinking that what people refer to as powers are natural extension of our lives, of our abilities, and are hidden somewhere in that 90% of our brain that even Einstein hadn’t used yet.

It was towards the end of the show and I was really considering leaving the show, for no other reason than I wanted to return to the theatre. I went in to talk to Gene - this was I was getting up nerve to tell him I was leaving the show, but at this point I went in and I said "Gene, I've been watching each of the episodes and they each get better and better" and I said, "And I discovered something: you're writing morality plays." And he said, "Shhh. They haven't figured it out yet."

Happy Birthday Rick Berman!

If obesity is a disease, it is the only one that I am familiar with that you can cure by taking long walks and keeping your mouth shut.

Kids are not driving themselves to McDonalds. It's not about kids and their choices. It's about parents and their choices.

The way unions are presently structured is often anachronistic. They don't want to recognize that the world has moved on. Management isn't treating employees like they were in the 1930s or '40s.

It's not an easy task. On the other hand, I have nothing to be ashamed about. We created 624 hours of television and four feature films and I think we did a hell of a job. I'm amazed that we managed to get 18 years of the kind of work that everyone involved managed to contribute to, and it's certainly more than anyone could have asked for.

The reason that the law is set up with secret ballots is that it's too easy to compromise someone's intention.

On leaving the Star Trek franchise: "It's not an easy task. On the other hand, I have nothing to be ashamed about. We created 624 hours of television and four feature films and I think we did a hell of a job. I'm amazed that we managed to get 18 years of the kind of work that everyone involved managed to contribute to, and it's certainly more than anyone could have asked for."

Two things built the Internet: Star Trek and porn.

No one wants the next Star Trek movie to work more than I do. I just hope it's a little closer to the movie we all want it to be.

May all your hopes, wishes and dreams come true!

Live long and prosper!

Happy Birthday Dick Van Dyke!

Emotionally, I'm about 13.

I'm a very neat person.

In the best of all worlds, the producers would take some responsibility for the kinds of things they're putting out. Unfortunately, they don't.

My maternal grandfather owned a grocery store that also sold kosher meat. He did well.

I didn't even start dancing until I was in my thirties, and it was like flying.

I love musicals, but I find it's just so deadening. You know, 30 takes, you do a little piece here and a little piece there. There's hours and hours of waiting. And to me, that's as far away from real performance as you can get.

In Bernie Sanders, I see a man saying that the emperor has no clothes while everyone around him insists they see clothes. Whether or not he makes it to the White House, I hope and pray that everyone hears the alarm he is sounding now; it may be the last voice we ever hear.

Somebody sent me a British magazine listing the 20 worst dialects ever done in movies. I was No. 2, with the worst Cockney accent ever done. No. 1 was Sean Connery, because he uses his Scottish brogue no matter what he's playing.

It's more in my nature to be optimistic, I think. I'm one of those people who gets up on the right side of the bed in the morning.

Pandering to the scandal hungry public is a total lack of responsible journalism.

Everyone should dance. And everyone should sing. People say, 'Well, I can't sing.' Everybody can sing. That you do it badly is no reason not to sing.

My memory's not too good.

I have a beautiful, young wife who sings and dances, so there's a lot of duetting going on at my house.

As for my studies in school, I was a solid student. I was strong in English and Latin, but I got lost anytime the subject included math. I wish I had paid more attention to biology and science in general, subjects that came to interest me as an adult. I could have gotten better marks, but I never took a book home, never did homework.

Once you're dead, your worries are over.

Television's going, as far as I'm concerned, downhill, and I'm an anachronism.

A lot of actors seem to dislike typecasting these days. The funny thing is, that's a fairly recent development. It used to be that actors wanted to be typecast so audiences could remember them and identify with them.

Dick Martin was a good buddy, and he was always a lot of fun to have around.

I got into a Broadway show before I ever sang and danced. I learned how after I got in the show.

I'm the Steven Spielberg of Malibu.

There's a lot of very funny people I'd love to work with that I've never met, of course. I love Steve Martin and Jim Carrey.

I love to harmonize.

I married somebody half my age, and everybody thought I was crazy, but she is just an absolute angel.

The years have been just full of surprises for me, and a lot of fun.

So at 16 I got a job at the local radio station. And I was working after school and weekends. I did the news; I did everything. I did - played records.

I was born in the Coolidge administration. Can you believe that? So I've seen a lot of politics.

All of us involved say 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' was the best five years of our lives. We were like otters at play.

I swim, go to the gym, and do a little dancing every day and a little singing.

Today, if you're not an alcoholic, you're nobody.

It's quite hard to act yourself all the time.

I learned everything that I know about comedy and about show business and a lot about life from Carl.

My life has been a magnificent indulgence.

A lot of violence, a lot of gore in it, and I just didn't want to do that kind of thing.

The American people hit the streets and did something that the government wouldn't do: the Civil Rights Act. It didn't go down well with the corporate world.

I don't have any children; I have four middle-aged people.

'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' was a movie that I repeatedly turned down. The movie's producer, Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli, known for his tight-fisted control of the James Bond movie franchise, desperately wanted to re-team Julie Andrews and me after the success we'd enjoyed with 'Mary Poppins.'

I don't think we've got much of a chance to tell you the truth. But our main problem is our audience skews a little older than most shows, and I don't think our people can stay up that late. I certainly can't.

I never even had a bachelorhood: I went straight from my parents' home to a marriage.

I grew up in Danville, Illinois, right in the middle of the state.

My wife didn't like Hollywood or its stars, but she made an exception when, in 1972, we were invited to dinner - cooked by Frank Sinatra.

I have four children and I have seven grandkids.

I was 5 years old when the stock market crashed; I lost everything.

I never made a good movie.

The Horny Toad in Cave Creek has great food. When I'm in Arizona, I have at least one meal there. I have a daughter who lives out there, and Dee Dee Wood, who was the choreographer on 'Mary Poppins,' lives out there. I still get out there once in a while, but not in the summer.

I think most people will tell you that. They can go along and, while they're denying that they are addicted, say it's stress this, it's this, it's that. But I - it's - I think - I really believe there is a gene. Some people become addicted and others don't.

I'm crazy about Judi Dench.

I turned down some movies that were quite good. mainly on the basis of taste.

I never had a lot of confidence in myself.

I was always in show business but in many ways was not really of show business. I didn't move in show business circles, particularly, still don't do it.

I've always thought if I could pick my interviewer, it'd be Charlie Rose, who I think is the best.

My kids are so much better parent than I was.

I have a lot of friends who say that one of the freedoms of being older is you don't care what other people think, which I don't think is right. You care what other people think, but if you're comfortable in your own skin, that doesn't bother you.

My son Barry, of course, has been on from the beginning. And his son Shane is playing now a med student regularly on the show. And at one point or another, I've had all four of his kids on the show.

Working with my son was like falling off a log. I had so much fun doing it.

Oh, I had an idea for a pilot of my own at the time, and then Carl sent me about eight scripts and simply I threw my idea out the window because the writing was just so good.

I pay attention to the news. I take the 'New York Times.' I do the Saturday crossword.

Oh, well, my first love is comedy or singing and dancing.

My father made about $25 a week. We always lived just on the edge.

Probably one of the happiest moments, outside the birth of all of my kids, was the first time we won an Emmy, that the show won an Emmy. That was a big night.

I've always wanted to learn kick boxing.

So as my kids will tell you, they had a pretty normal life.

I cannot live alone.

So I think we're kind of an alternate choice for people who have had it with sex and violence.

I don't think parents can protect their kids in this media-nut culture.

Stan said he used to keep Hardy late, make him miss his golf game, and really get him mad.

There are no more Walt Disneys anymore.

You know, I'm almost out of the habit of watching episodic television now.

As wonderful as they were, my parents didn't teach me anything about self-discipline, concentration, patience, or focus. If I hadn't had a family myself, I probably never would've done anything. Marriage taught me responsibility.

I like 'The Office.' I particularly like the British version with Ricky Gervais. Of course, I liked the 'Seinfeld' show a lot. I thought that was an awfully good show.

The thing I'm most proud of is my family, the way they've turned out.

When I started having kids, I thought, 'I don't want to do anything they can't watch.'

The first time I met Mary Tyler Moore, I thought she was just beautiful, but I thought she was a little young.

I've had a lot of writers, in particular, who said they got into writing because of the 'Van Dyke Show.' They said it looked like fun.

All that nipping and tucking doesn't make you look younger - only stranger.

I played a killer twice. Once on 'Matlock,' on Andy Griffith's show, I got to play the killer.

I'm not cantankerous.

I was lucky to get the kinds of parts I wanted. I always said I didn't want to do anything my kids can't see.

Just knowing you don't have the answers is a recipe for humility, openness, acceptance, forgiveness, and an eagerness to learn - and those are all good things.

I've won several Emmys, a Tony and a Grammy, so maybe somebody will let me have an Oscar, and then I'll have a full set.

I'm an old, white-haired guy. If I'm not recognized, I'm treated pretty much like every other elderly. But if people recognize me, it's a whole different thing.

My favorite unknown movie is 'The Comic.'

There are no sure answers, only better questions.

'Mary Poppins' was one of the best experiences of my life.

When I was a kid, I had ambitions for being a television announcer, which was before television took off, you know, in the late '40s.

When I auditioned for 'Bye Bye Birdie' on Broadway, Gower Champion said, 'You've got the job!' I said, 'Mr. Champion, I can't dance.' He said, 'We'll teach you what you need to know.'

If I'd known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.

Rob Petrie is who I really am - in personality and general ineffectiveness.

That rule about having to act one's age? I just don't buy it.

I worked nightclubs all through my 20s, and I was a teetotaler.

I'm kind of proud of being a love child.

Do you know that I was the anchor on the 'CBS Morning Show?' And my newsman was Walter Cronkite.

For some reason, as time gets short in life, wasting time escaping through entertainment bothers me.

I watch 'Al Jazeera.' They have news that you can't find anywhere else. They do great documentaries, too.

Unfortunately, the spouses of performers have a terrible, terrible life. They get shunted aside, pushed aside, ignored.

I'm always announcing my retirement. I'm still not retired.

Every morning I have something to do, I'm better off. It's bad to get up and not have something to do.

I found out retirement means playing golf, or I don't know what the hell it means. But to me, retirement means doing what you have fun doing.

Divorce is something that I never dreamed would happen to me. But it did.

Jon Stewart kills me. I love him. And Bill Maher. He does an hour on HBO. But entirely political. It is awfully rough, but he does make me laugh.

Happy Harry Kim Day!

I would have never guessed when it came down to the basics. Well, let's just say... the birds and bees will be very confused. 

Stray radiation from the nebula. I thought it was the proximity alarm. 

Have you ever been in love, Captain? 

Seven, you've been around humans for a while now. What do you think about... love? 

Did your skin ever flush when you were near another person? Did your stomach ever feel like... someone hollowed it out with a knife when you were apart? Did your throat ever swell when you realized it was over? Seven of Nine - Seven of Nine told me love's like a disease! Well, maybe it is. Pheromones, endorphins, chemicals in our blood - changing our responses... physical discomfort; but any way you look at it, it's still love! 

Now, you don't know Commander Tuvok. If he sees one electron out of place, he calls for red alert! 

I'm violating about half a dozen regulations by just being in this room. And what we did earlier... I don't know if Starfleet even has a regulation for that. 

Oh-oh, careful! That's the weapons array. You know, you almost vaporized your living quarters. 

I guess I'm asking the wrong person. 

I've got to be honest, I wasn't expecting something so... different. 

t's still me. The guy who was in your seat at the Ktarian music festival; the guy who took three weeks to work up the courage to ask you out; the guy who still wakes up in the middle of the night - and says your name out loud, hoping you'll answer back.

I've got a disease; but I'm willing to live with the symptoms. Doesn't make much sense, does it? 

You're the last person I expected to help me.

Well, that's why I took this shuttle. But every time I break a rule, I feel like my skull's gonna decompress. 

I think I have access to a runabout, but I'm going to have to break it out of space dock.

Why does everyone say "relax" when they're about to do something terrible?

Starfleet thinks I'm a Maquis spy. 

That man you were going to marry - if you could have just taken a hypospray to make yourself stop loving him, so that it didn't hurt so much when you were away from him - would you have done that? 

I've already been briefed, Commander. 

You once told me that you used to treat life like one big game: rules, players, winners, losers. You never took any of it seriously, until you lost.

Look, I know this is going to sound a little funny, but... how long have I been coming to this coffee shop? 

It's an old story - boy meets girl from the wrong side of the galaxy. Boy loses girl. 

This is no ordinary phone call, Doc. We're talking to yesterday; timing is everything.

You also told me you were afraid of what would happen to you, if you didn't take Captain Janeway up on her offer. Now I see why. 

Chakotay: Shield generators? 
Harry Kim: Online. 
Chakotay: Plasma flow? 
Harry Kim: Stable. 
Chakotay: Com-link? 
Harry Kim: Secure. 
Chakotay: Lunch? 
Harry Kim: Salami sandwiches.

Happy Birthday Michael Dorn!

After doing STAR TREK for so many years, to do just regular makeup is such a treat. Just put some makeup on and "thank you very much," you're on your way.

I'd love to star in a television series of my own. I love the idea of living with a character for a number of years, watching him grow.

I love good comedy. I don't like bad comedy. Of course, nobody loves bad comedy, but there's a lot of bad comedy out there.

I like plays, movies, everything. It doesn't matter.

I was diagnosed with an early, early stage of prostate cancer. I was almost a vegetarian then. I was heading that direction. What pushed me over the edge, was the doctor who did the diagnosis. He said in a discussion about prostate cancer that he had never seen a vegetarian with prostate cancer. And this is not a holistic doctor, this is a regular, mainstream doctor. And I was just blown away.

But now they have it down to a real science where it's about an hour.

When I was growing up, I had a G.I. Joe doll, and now, to see a recreation of my character as an action figure ... it's strange. Because Worf doesn't really look like Michael Dorn without makeup, it's easier to separate myself from these recreations, but it's still strange, flattering, and weird all at the same time.

When you're on a series, it's tough to go on and do something else afterward. If you're smart, save your money and you can wait out the bad times, until something else comes along.

Ron Moore. He was the guy that on our show and Deep Space Nine wrote the best Klingon episodes. He wrote great episodes in general but he wrote the best Klingon episodes. I always could tell when he was going to write a Klingon episode because he was able to grow a beard really quick and I'd see him with the beard, like a Worf beard, and I go "Ah, Klingon episode coming up!" and he goes "Oh yeah."

I love good comedy. I don't like bad comedy. 

I've spent so much time in that makeup that I'm now unrecognizable. The business doesn't know who I am.

Mother nature is a law unto herself and prone to moods beyond the ken of man.

I have not been recognized.

But now they have the series down to a real science where it's about an hour.

I miss working with my friends and the fun we had. Working on the series was the best time I ever had on a set. I am disappointed that they cancelled the series when they did, because I felt that by the seventh season, we were really hitting our stride, and that episodes were getting better and better. Some people say that the show had run its course and that it was time to quit, but I disagree.

Even people that were never interested in science fiction are interested in STAR TREK.

When you're on a series, it's tough to go on and do something else afterward. If you're smart, save your money and you can wait out the bad times, until something else comes along.

Was seriously just a name. They didn't tell you what to do. They didn't tell you how they wanted the character to be nothing. You went in to audition for this character name and that was it. When I started, before I came onto the set, I went to Gene Roddenberry and said: hey, what do you want from this guy? Who is he? And being as smart as he is, he said: don't listen to what you've heard or read or seen in the past, nothing. Just make the character your own. And that's what I did.

Happy 100th Birthday Kirk Douglas!

Sometimes, the thing that ties you down sets you free.

No matter how bad things are, they can always be worse. So what if my stroke left me with a speech impediment? Moses had one, and he did all right. 

I didn't start out to be a movie star. I started out to be an actor.

Cancer does give you a new rejuvenation. I know what it's like to be down. I lost a couple of good friends - Larry Hagman and Nick Ashford - who had the same type of cancer that I did, and that makes you think.

I was living in a terrible time when people were being accused of being communists, and they attacked the movie industry, especially the writers. People couldn't work if they were on the blacklist. The studios banned them. It was the most onerous period in movie history. I don't think we have ever had a period so dark as that.

All children are natural actors, and I'm still a kid. If you grow up completely, you can never be an actor.

I studied Judaism a lot. I studied religion in general, and I have never imposed my Judaism on my kids. They are what they want to be. I think... you must care for others. That's the correct religion, I think.

I don't need a critic to tell me I'm an actor. I make my own way. Nobody's my boss. Nobody's ever been my boss. 

Being second generation in Hollywood is complicated: Success is expected, and yet the track record of the second generation is not great. Only a small group of us, like Jane Fonda, have succeeded. 

I love talking to interesting people - people like O.J. Simpson, Andretti... I love champions. A champion has something special about him.

My mother, we were a very poor family. When I was a kid, we would be in our little room, and there would be a knock on the door almost every night with a hobo begging for food. Even though we didn't even have enough to eat, my mother always found something to give them.

If you want to know about a man you can find out an awful lot by looking at who he married.

When you become a star, you don't change - everyone else does. 

My first job was on Broadway. Then I went into the Navy. When I came out of the Navy, I went back to Broadway and a friend of mine, Lauren Bacall, was in Hollywood filming with Humphrey Bogart. She told one of her producers I was great in my play, and he saw it and cast me in 'The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'.

Now, what does an actor who can't talk do? Wait for silent pictures to come back?

People are always talking about the old days. They say that the old movies were better, that the old actors were so great. But I don't think so. All I can say about the old days is that they have passed. 

If I have to speak in public, I am terrified. Kirk Douglas I Am, Speak, Public When you reach 95, after you get over your surprise, you start looking back.

My four sons all knew I was a Jew, but they were allowed to be whatever they wanted to be. The only thing important to me was that they be good people who help other people, because all religion should try to make you a better person and a more caring person. Whenever religion does that for you, it's a good religion.

I have been an actor for most of my life. When I started out, I didn't think about anything except what was good for me. Like many movie stars, I became all wrapped up in myself.

You know, you have to have some inner philosophy to deal with adversity. 

Fear is a terrible thing. It makes you do awful things.

All my life, I have taken inventory at intervals. For example, when I became a movie actor and suddenly I had to deal with fame, money and playing so many roles, I lost myself. I said, 'Who am I?' And I wrote my first book to deal with that, 'The Ragman's Son.'

Too often, I have not been what I wanted to be; I've succumbed to pressures. Yes, I have. The things I've done that I liked, I've always done against advice. 

Virtue is not photogenic. What is it to be a nice guy? To be nothing, that's what. A big fat zero with a smile for everybody.

You know, sometimes an interviewer will look at me and say - you're bright! They're actually surprised I might be bright.

God bless Dad, he came to every one of my shows. I was bad, and I had horrible stage fright. My dad was so relieved - he'd say, 'You were terrible; this kid is not going to be an actor.' Finally, I did a play and he said, 'Son - you were really good.' 

If I thought a man had never committed a sin in his life, I don't think I'd want to talk with him. A man with flaws is more interesting.

The learning process continues until the day you die.

Sometimes an interviewer will look at me and say, 'You're bright!' They're actually surprised I might be bright.

Love has more depth as you get older.

I think religion has caused so much catastrophe in the world. 

In order to achieve anything you must be brave enough to fail.

I was not a very good Jew. I never practised what Judaism tells you to do, to teach your kids all about Judaism.

I came from abject poverty. There was nowhere to go but up.

I'm an actor; I have made my living by acting, and I almost think I owe it to the public to express my feelings and not as a character on a screen but as myself.

Why can't a woman be more like a dog, huh? So sweet, loving, attentive.

I have studied religion, and I have concluded that there is some power. We don't understand it.

People are composed of many things, and in my work, what influences me is the complexity of people - the chiaroscuro of dark and light. When I play a strong guy, I try to find, where is he weak? And, conversely, when I play a weak guy, where is he strong?

Virtue is not photogenic, so I liked playing bad guys. But, whenever I played a bad guy, I tried to find something good in him, and that kept my contact with the audience.

I guess I was a bad boy... Yes, yes, I've had lots of women in my life.

It's tough to make a movie about movies... We're all too close to it. But 'The Bad and the Beautiful' was very good.

When you have a stroke, you must talk slowly to be understood, and I've discovered that when I talk slowly, people listen. They think I'm going to say something important! 

Acting is make-believe. I never believe I'm the character; I want you to believe.

What would my parents think about America if they arrived here today? Would they even want to come? I wonder.

I was conscious of my father's fame from the time I was 6. 

Acting is a youthful profession.

When I first came to Hollywood, the blacklist was just starting, and they were having hearings in Washington. What most people don't know is the judge of these hearings himself was later convicted of misappropriation. 'Spartacus' helped break the blacklist, because Spartacus was a real character.

I never had any desire to be a film actor. I never thought I was the good-looking movie type, which I assumed they wanted.

Fifteen years ago, I suffered a stroke, which caused me to lose my speech. Now, what does an actor who can't talk do? Wait for silent pictures to come back? I work with a speech therapist twice a week. 

Fame is as much about luck as it is about talent, perhaps more.

I have one computer that my wife gave me. All I know how to do, and I do it every day, is play Spider Solitaire. And I don't have a cell phone. 

Listen - pacemaker, crash, stroke. What does it mean? God doesn't want me now. That's all.

I didn't think I was so tough until I did 'Champion'; then I was a tough guy.

I know Italians and I like them. A lot of my father's best friends were Italians. 

Happy Birthday Sarah Silverman!

As a kid, I was terrified. I was a bed wetter, and I had to go to sleepaway camp every summer, which was humiliating and terrifying. I had lots of insecurities and scaredness.

I have no religion, but I can't escape being extremely Jewish ethnically - that is, culturally. In other words, I'm not religious, but I worry and I'm neurotic. And I'm very good with money.

My dad loves to be talked about, good or bad. He just loves it. He's not even hearing the content, he's just hearing him. When I'm onstage, he's looking at the audience members and can't believe that there are strangers listening to me, and he's just delighted by the whole thing.

It shows the truth - that the real meaning of a word is only as powerful or harmless as the emotion behind it.

I never defend my material. Comedy is subjective.

I tend to be more arrogant on stage. Far more ignorant. I sometimes say what I think and sometimes say the opposite of what I think and the lines get blurred, but I can only hope that some kind of absolute power transcends.

I don't really care for, like, fat jokes about women, specifically. 

Some people say my humor focuses too much on stereotypes. It doesn't. It focuses on facts.

Jesus' words have become so perverted over time — it's been like a game of telephone.

In terms of television and movies, I've been really interested in seeing the partnership of comedy and beauty and heart. I think they can go together really well and really thoughtfully. But, I'm a total one-hour drama addict. I think when you're a comedian, you tend towards dramas because that's the less stressful thing to watch.

I wrote, "I love chinks." And who doesn't?

I'd love to do drama if it was interesting.

I just think of myself as a comedian, really. I mean, I talk about being Jewish a lot. It's funny because I do think of myself as Jewish ethnically, but I'm not religious at all. I have no religion.

People are always introducing me as "Sarah Silverman, Jewish comedian." I hate that! I wish people would see me for who I really am — I'm white!

I have very vivid dreams - almost always action-adventure. I'm often on the run. I've always had dreams. When I was little, I'd go to sleep with my head on my hands, which were in fists like I was looking through a camera. I felt like sleep was the movies - just drifting off to the movies. 

If my boyfriend and I ever have a kid, we'll just be honest with it. We'll say that mommy is one of God's chosen people, and daddy believes that Jesus is magic!

I do love the idea of ritual. I'm a very ritualistic person. I have to wash my face twice, and on the second wash before I rinse, I brush my teeth, then I rinse, then I floss, then I put on moisturizer. I'm ritualistic. Jewishness is very ritualistic.

I was driving and got tired and thought this would be a good place to stop.

Growing up, I always loved Disney movies, but the first movie I remember seeing is 'Sleepers,' so I wasn't really taken to children's movies.

I'm always writing; I'm always jotting things down on paper or making notes in my iPhone. Then I'll make myself sit down and kind of shape it up, but there's really no other way to practice other than onstage.

My comedy notebooks are filled with random journal entries. It's all the same. I can look back on old joke notebooks, and know exactly what was going on in my life. 

You want to make people laugh and by virtue of that please them, but when you're instructed to make people laugh and please them, you're too resentful to do it.

I mean, I talk about being Jewish a lot. It's funny because I do think of myself as Jewish ethnically, but I'm not religious at all. I have no religion.

I like my messiness on stage, though I watch comics who come at a joke from every angle and I think, 'Yeah! That's how it's done!' But for me it's the audience. If I feel connected to them, I have so much fun, and if not, it stinks. 

I don't set out to offend or shock, but I also don't do anything to avoid it.

I think I've been called edgy - but in all honesty, there is a safety in what I do because I'm always the idiot. Unless you're just listening to buzz words and not taking into account the context of the situation, you see I'm always the ignoramus.

And then before going back for my sophomore year, I decided to change my major to arts and sciences, and my dad cut a deal with me: He said if I'd quit school he'd pay my rent for the next three years, as if I were in school.

I enjoy the last quarter of all basketball games.

If you are truly offended by an 80-year-old man saying you're not funny, then you're probably not funny.

You know, I think whatever a comic talks about onstage is all they talk about offstage.

Well, I'm not afraid to say something if I think it's funny, even if it's harsh or racist.

But I think you can make fun of anything as long as it's funny enough.

Everyone self-Googles. And, I have, of course, the Google alert.

I like my life alone. 

 They've got great parents; I'm just trying to be the fun uncle.

Earlier in my career, I was really tight, really together, and knew who I was and I was confident. I kind of feel in between now.

I looked up and saw the shape of a heart made by the silhouette of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon kissing.

I'm doing a lot of stand-up, but not like when you're living in New York and you can do three sets a night and it's your life, and you sleep all day and you wake up and you eat with a bunch of other comics and then get ready for the night.

I have a ton of Holocaust stuff, and some of it is really hard core.

I do love the idea of ritual.

It fills me with a weird rage to wear shoes that make me not able to walk easily or run if I had to. It feeds into this whole 'war on women' thing in my head.

I remember when I got a part on 'Seinfeld' it was like an out of body experience, I was so excited. 

Relations between black and white would be greatly improved if we were more accepting of our fears and our feelings and more vocal about it.

I had a lot of depression as a kid.

I was always the class clown; I made my family laugh, and that was when I was always happiest. I grew up listening to stand-up comedians' albums and watching them on TV, on 'The Tonight Show' and Letterman.

You're supposed to have friends you can tell anything to.

Men like to squash you. I just want someone who's happy with himself, happy with his life. He doesn't have to squash mine.

I started out in clubs, and I've always liked clubs. I like theaters because people are there for the show.

I definitely think that prescription drugs, like antidepressants, are prescribed so cavalierly, anyone can get anything, but I need it. I do think that it needs to work hand and hand with therapy.

Jews, black people - any people who are hated or who have suffered, either as individuals or as a people - use humour. It is a survival skill. 

I mean, I love being with friends and I love kissing and loving someone to pieces. But it's hard to find someone who doesn't ultimately start judging you and your choices.

The first time I did stand-up was the summer I was 17.

I have no right to talk about race. I'm white; I didn't grow up in an all-black neighborhood. But the license I see for myself is I'm a member of the world.

By the time I would have graduated, at 22, I was a writer and featured performer on Saturday Night Live.

When I came out to L. A., I got a part in an episode of 'Star Trek: Voyager,' and I hired an acting coach.

I really think everything is fair game.

I like my life alone. I mean, I love being with friends, and I love kissing and loving someone to pieces. But it's hard to find someone who doesn't ultimately start judging you and your choices. 

That's not to say that I don't find anything offensive.

I can't believe how much time has passed. The first time I did stand-up I was 17, and I was really a stand-up once I was 19 in New York, and now I'm 41, and I still feel like I haven't found myself onstage.

I'm Jewish, but I'm totally not.

I love making videos on my couch. You can put those on the Internet fast. I can express myself. 

I just think of myself as a comedian, really. 

I'm a very ritualistic person. I have to wash my face twice, and on the second wash before I rinse, I brush my teeth, then I rinse, then I floss, then I put on moisturizer. I'm ritualistic. Jewishness is very ritualistic.

What are the chances there is a God, really? 

My growing up years, we watched 'Happy Days,' every night. I don't know what was reruns and what was new. 

I never want to be in a position where I have to defend my material. It's too subjective. It's for other people to defend or not defend.

Smells definitely do have a crazy impact on me.

If I have kids, I'll adopt.

I think maybe I became funny because as a kid, I was a Jew in a town of no Jews, and being funny just instinctively came about as a way to put people at ease around me.

The first time I did stand-up I was 17, and I was really a stand-up once I was 19 in New York, and now I'm 41, and I still feel like I haven't found myself onstage. Earlier in my career, I was really tight, really together, and knew who I was and I was confident.

I still have highs and lows, maybe I don't cry salty tears as much. 

I'm not the marrying type, but I always want to be with someone who is a fan.