Katharine Cornell Quotes & Sayings

I was nervous from the very beginning, and it got worse as the years went on. I was conscientious and wanted to do more, always, than I was able. I don't think, when I was playing, that I was ever happy - beginning at 4 o'clock any afternoon. — Katharine Cornell

An actress' best friend is a body which responds instinctively to thought. — Katharine Cornell

Authentic stardom ... is a gift which, if it is to have any permanent significance, must be bestowed by a public rather than a manager. — Katharine Cornell

When an actress is younger, she likes to lower her age, but when she is older, she likes to add to her years. — Katharine Cornell

Actors are as anxious about the state of audiences as aviators are over weather conditions. — Katharine Cornell

A flair for publicity does not necessarily mean a flair for acting. — Katharine Cornell

The audience may not have felt it was right, and the author may have felt a little upset, but every part I've played I've twisted around in my mind until I've made it into something of my own. Looking back over it, I didn't deliberately sit down and plan like that, but it does read like it. — Katharine Cornell

I drifted into acting. My grandfather had a house in Buffalo in which there was a stage, and his friends met every two weeks or so to put on plays. So it was natural for me to put on plays, too, when I went to boarding school. I put on everything in the drama - I was indiscriminate. I put on Yeats and Shaw and Lady Gregory. — Katharine Cornell

I was with the Jessie Bonstelle Stock Company in Detroit and Buffalo for three seasons - 10 performances and a new play every week. She was an amazing woman who did a great deal for me. — Katharine Cornell