Loretta Swit

“My first thought in life was wanting to be an actor. I was in ballet slippers and on pointe as soon as I could walk. I always wanted to be an actress, not a mother or housewife.”

“Alan Alda is a dear friend, nothing like the cynical, bitter Hawkeye.”

“Television is hard work. It's all hard work. Theatre is hard work. I tell you, I have bruises from changing backstage. Those quick changes are really difficult.”

“Animals are thinking, feeling creatures. They're sensitive.”

“I felt like I was flying without a net. But once I realized that the audience was my partner, I was flying a jet, because the people would allow me to develop the character on stage.”

“It's never too late to go out and get that feeling back.”

“When I went to school, I was in the same mode. I did the things I enjoyed, what I loved.”

“Everybody has their thing. I think you can always do what you like.”

“My parents didn't want me to go into show business. They were afraid of what would happen if I didn't succeed. They wanted me to get married and have babies. I never saw marriage and family in my life.”

“I'm an art collector, have been for years, and I paint. Needless to say, the artwork in my houses, apartment is extensive.”

“Acting is not hiding to me; it's revealing. We give you license to feel. 'Hey, she's crying, so it's okay if I cry, too.' That's the most important thing in the world, because when you stop feeling, that's when you're dead.”

“I never really thought it out. I just woke up one day, and I was involved in all these projects. They just seemed to involve animals.”

“I have certain strong interests that fill my life as well.”

“Telling parents in New Jersey you want to act isn't exactly like telling them you want to be a doctor or a dentist. There are no guarantees. It's hard, but all the arts are. Can you imagine the pain of writer's block?”

“When I left the house to become an actress, my mother literally flung her body across the door and said, 'You're killing me!' It was a very strict household. That can be okay, but there was also no nourishment, either.”

“Watching movies was like going to school for me. It still is. You're always learning. Even if it's bad, you're learning what not to do.”

“Actors are always identified with certain parts. To some, Marlon Brando will always be the Godfather. That's just how it is, whether the character happens to be your own personal favorite role or not. You can't ever get away from it.”

“I love being creative in all forms.”