“There's one that I remember so dearly, it's called the Three Character Classics. The first phrase goes... 'People at birth are inherently good.'”

“We have to keep company with supposedly bad characters if we are to survive and not succumb to mental atrophy. People of good character, so called, are the ones who end up boring us to death.”

“I have three ex-wives. I can't remember any of their names, so I just call 'em Plaintiff.”

“It is fortunate to be of high birth, but it is no less so to be of such character that people do not care to know whether you are or are not.”

“When I got back into show business in 1961, I felt — for obvious reasons — that nothing in my life went right, and I realized that millions of people felt the same way. So when I first came back my catch phrase was "nothing goes right."”

“Remember that show 'My Three Sons'? It'd be funny if it was called 'My One Dad'… wait, what?”

“I believe that one of the principle ways in which we acquire, hold, and digest information, is via narrative — so I hope you will understand when the remarks I make begin with the first sentence of our childhood — that we all remember — the phrase: "Once upon a time."”

“People think that painting is about color
It's mostly composition
It's composition that's the whole thing
The classic image-
Two late Tang dishes, one with a flower image,
one empty – the empty form goes all the way to heaven
It is the classic form – lighter weight.”

“It was good, and nothing good is truly lost. It stays part of a person, becomes part of their character. So part of you goes everywhere with me. And part of me is yours, forever”

“A good novel is one that shows the complexity of individuals, and creates enough space for all these characters to have a voice; in this way a novel is called democratic — not that it advocates democracy but that by nature it is so.”