When I was little, and whenever I had to wear a dress while my mother took up the hem or made any alterations, she told me to keep a thread from the dress in my mouth while she was sewing, and that would keep me from getting stuck by the needle.
Television does devour you because you have all sorts of responsibilities, and I really needed to renew myself. I think I owed it to myself. So I honored myself and quit. I think that's a wonderful way to put it.
I'm not a religious freak, but I do believe that there is a higher power.
Superstitions actually played a big role in my life. I wouldn't even go on a casting call if I had a hunch that it was an 'unlucky' day.
I saw I wasn't an ingenue like Debbie Reynolds.
When I moved to New York to start my acting career, I was always very, very careful to walk way around ladders, and black cats could ruin my day. There were many silly things that brought fear into my life.
We used to listen to all the marvelous operas on records. Music was a very important part of our lives.
I always learned to be philanthropic... to give back.
I want to tell everybody to celebrate every day, to savor the day and be good to yourself, love yourself, and then you can be good to others and be of service to others.
My family was very loving but also very superstitious. My mother was always telling us, 'Don't walk under a ladder or you'll have bad luck,' or, 'If you spill salt, be sure and toss a pinch over your shoulder, or you're in trouble.'
I was doing a lot of drama until I took the comedy role in the series 'Car 54, Where Are You?,' and I've been tagged as a comedian ever since.
You can take wonderfully talented actors, wonderfully talented writers and producers, and, uh, do a wonderful show!... but if it doesn't hit with the public in two minutes, it's bye-bye.
Gee whiz, I know that some movie stars don't like to be bothered, but I don't mind. I think it's part of the package, and it's not a bother.
