"Hollywood has called me in turn the Clothes Horse, the Old Grey Mare-- and Death of a Saleswoman.  Since my comeback (in Sunset Boulevard), I'm glad to say they've thought up a new title-- Gloss."

"When I die, my epitaph should read: 'She paid the Bills.' That's the story of my private life."

"I always look ahead.  I never regret.  I have excitement every waking minute."

"I can smell the character of a woman the instant she enters a room, but I have the world's worst judgment of men."

"The public wanted us to live like kings and queens.  So we did.  And why not?  We were in love with life.  We were making more money than we ever dreamed existed and there was no reason to believe that it would ever stop."

"I was going to be good in movies. I was one of the first deadpan comedians. I was funny because I didn't try to be."

"I feel sure that unborn babies pick their parents.  They may spend a whole lifetime trying to figure out the reasons for their choice, but nothing in any human story is accidental."

"I have decided that when I am a star, I will be every inch and every moment a star. Everyone from the studio gateman to the highest executive will know it."

"A lot of people thought Norma Desmond was the story of my life.  I'm not a recluse, nor am I out of the past..."

"I played everything and never the same thing twice."

"What good is a name if you can't use it."

"Although I could feel anguish and despair as well as the next woman I couldn't succumb to them, or wouldn't... I was a survivor."

"When I'm down on my luck, when I hit bottom, I know there's nowhere to go but up.  That roller coaster Hollywood taught me that."

"When people meet me, they expect me to bite them, I guess because they expect me to be Norma Desmond."

"The public didn't want the truth."

"In those days no one ever thought of becoming a motion picture actress.  It was like saying, 'I want to be a burlesque queen.'"

"Working with Mr. Demille was like playing house in the world most expensive department store."

"I've been Hollywood's guinea pig for more years than I care to remember."

 

Silent Stars