Tallulah Bankhead Quotes

My father warned me about men and booze but he never said anything about women and cocaine

“I`ll come and make love to you at five o`clock. If I`m late, start without me”.

“It`s the good girls who keep diaries; the bad girls never have the time.”

“I`ve tried several varieties of sex, all of which I hate. The conventional position makes me claustrophobic; the others give me a stiff neck and/or lockjaw.”

“Cocaine isn`t habit-forming. I should know - I`ve been using it for years.”

"I was raped in our driveway when I was eleven. You know darling, it was a terrible experience because we had all that gravel".

"No darling but I`d love some of your TWA tea".

“What`s wrong dahling? Can`t you recognize me with my clothes on?"

“I`m as pure as the driven slush".

“I`ve been called many things, but never an intellectual".

“It`s one of the tragic ironies of the theatre that only one man in it can count on steady work - the night watchman.”

“The less I behave like Whistler`s mother the night before, the more I look like her the morning after.”

"Don`t think this has taught me a lesson!"

"Codeine...bourbon..."

“I have three phobias which, could I mute them, would make my life as slick as a sonnet, but as dull as ditch water: I hate to go to bed, I hate to get up, and I hate to be alone.”

“If I had to live my life again, I`d make the same mistakes, only sooner.”

“They used to photograph Shirley Temple through gauze. They should photograph me through linoleum.”

“I`d rather be strongly wrong than weakly right.”

“Cocaine isn`t habit forming. I should know-I`ve been using it for years.”

“There is less in this than meets the eye”

“My heart is as pure as the driven slush."

“I read Shakespeare and the Bible, and I can shoot dice. That`s what I call a liberal education.”

“Television could perform a great service in mass education, but there`s no indication its sponsors have anything like this on their minds.”

“I`ve tried several varieties of sex. The conventional position makes me claustrophobic and the others give me a stiff neck or lockjaw.”

“Only good girls keep diaries. Bad girls don`t have time.”

“I`ve been called many things, but never an intellectual.”

“I have been absolutely hag-ridden with ambition. If I could wish to have anything in the world it would be to be free of ambition.”

I have three phobias which, could I mute them, would make my life as slick as a sonnet, but as dull as ditch water - I hate to go to bed, I hate to get up, and I hate to be alone.

I`m as pure as the driven slush.

The only thing I regret about my past is the length of it. If I had to live my life again, I`d make the same mistakes, only sooner.

Earl Wilson: "Have you ever been mistaken for a man on the telephone?" Tallulah: "No, have you?"

On seeing a former lover for the first time in years: "I thought I told you to wait in the car."

They used to photograph Shirley Temple through gauze. They should photograph me through linoleum.

Nobody can be exactly like me. Sometimes even I have trouble doing it.

On why she called everyone "dahling": "Because all my life I`ve been terrible at remembering people`s names. I once introduced a friend of mine as Martini. Her name was actually Olive."

It`s the good girls who keep diaries; the bad girls never have the time.

I`ve tried several varieties of sex, all of which I hate. The conventional position makes me claustrophobic; the others give me a stiff neck and/or lockjaw.

Here`s a rule I recommend: Never practice two vices at once.

Say anything about me, dahling, as long as it isn`t boring.

Acting is a form of confusion.

No man worth his salt, no man of spirit and spine, no man for whom I could have any respect, could rejoice in the identification of Tallulah`s husband. It`s tough enough to be bogged down in a legend. It would be even tougher to marry one.

Cocaine isn`t habit-forming. I should know - I`ve been using it for years.

I read Shakespeare and the Bible, and I can shoot dice. That`s what I call a liberal education.

The only man in theater who can count on steady work is the night watchman.

If I had to live my life again, I`d make the same mistakes, only sooner.

Don`t think I don`t know who`s been spreading gossip about me . . . After all the nice things I`ve said about that hag (Bette Davis). When I get hold of her, I`ll tear out every hair of her mustache!

If you want to help the American theater, don`t be a performer--be an audience.

My father warned me about men and booze, but he never mentioned a word about women and cocaine.

Nobody can be exactly like me. Even I have trouble doing it.

I Was there in the South of France When Zelda (Fitzgerald), poor darling, went off her head. She had gone into a flower shop and suddenly for her all the flowers had faces. Of course, some flowers, such as pansies, *do* have faces.

I read Shakespeare and the Bible, and I can shoot dice. That`s what I call a liberal education.