WIST Quotations

Antrim, Minna -- Naked Truth and Veiled Allusions (1901)

Dave — Fri, 10 Sep 2021 15:12:27 +0000

The very women who object to the morals of a notoriously beautiful actress, grow big with pride when an admirer suggests their marked resemblance to this stage beauty in physique.

Minna Antrim (1861-1950) American epigrammatist, writer
Naked Truth and Veiled Allusions (1901)

Richardson, Ralph -- In The New York Herald Tribune (19 May 1946)

Dave — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 01:45:00 +0000

Acting is merely the art of keeping a large group of people from coughing.

Ralph Richardson (1902-1983) English actor
In The New York Herald Tribune (19 May 1946)
(Source)

~Other -- George C. Scott

Dave — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 12:52:49 +0000

I apologize if I get an erection, and I apologize if I don’t.

(Other Authors and Sources)
George C. Scott

Comment to an actress with whom he was shooting a love scene in bed.

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Autobiography, ch. 2 “The Vigor of Life” (1913)

Dave — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:14:48 +0000

There were all kinds of things of which I was afraid at first, from grizzly bears to “mean” horses and gunfighters, but by acting as if I was not afraid, I gradually ceased to be afraid.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Autobiography, ch. 2 “The Vigor of Life” (1913)
(Source)

Coward, Noël -- Quoted in Leonard Lyons, “The Lyons Den” syndicated column (16 Aug 1954)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

The only advice I ever give actors is to learn to speak clearly, to project your voice without shouting — and to move about the stage gracefully, without bumping into people.

Noël Coward (1899-1973) English playwright, actor, wit
Quoted in Leonard Lyons, “The Lyons Den” syndicated column (16 Aug 1954)

Variants attributed to Coward:

"You ask my advice about acting? Speak clearly, don't bump into the furniture and if you must have motivation, think of your pay packet on Friday."
"Just say the lines and don't trip over the furniture." [Dick Richards, The Wit of Noël Coward (1968)]

Alternately, another Lyons Den column (24 Jan 1955) quoted Lynn Fontanne, in talking about her acting style with her husband Alfred Lunt:

We read the lines so that people can hear and understand them; we move about the stage without bumping into the furniture or each other; and, well that’s it.

Coward and Fontanne were good friends, and may well have discussed the concepts here previously, or shared the idea one to the other.

The quote is also attributed to Lunt, and to Spencer Tracy.

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