Anne Beatts

“I was attracted to people who were funny because I wanted to be in that world.”

“In some ways, what I need is a wife.”

“The wonderful thing about Gilda Radner was that she was not a person who disappointed.”

“I was lucky that when Lorne Michaels came looking for women comedy writers, there weren't too many in New York at the time. I was at the top of a very short list. I think that was all good fortune.”

“If you want to write for T.V. and movies, you will be subjected to kind and unkind criticism. You had better get used to it and develop a shell.”

“There are some famous people, and I've met them, who you might think are great, and then you meet them, and you discover that they not only have feet but heads of clay.”

“I just wanted to fit in as a teenager, but it was hopeless.”

“If you think of the people who are funny in your life, you'll note it's not because they tell jokes, it's because of their character. If you develop characters, then you'll know them, and you'll know how they'll speak. The comedy will come out of the character.”

“The great thing is that I'm getting my revenge on everybody who treated me badly in high school. The bad thing is I had to go back to high school to do it.”

“There was this real fear in doing 'Square Pegs' after getting such a fast ride to glory on 'Saturday Night Live'. I was afraid that the word would be 'peaks early, fails to live up to promise.'”