It was my mom who told me, "Ernie, if you make even one person happy with your smile or a funny thing you did every day, you'll have accomplished a great deal." And that's all I've ever tried to do.

You get kicked around long enough, you become a professor of pain.

Everything I do has a moral to it.

I'm what you call a Depression sailor.

I don't chart out the life histories of the people I play. If I did, I'd be in trouble. I work with my heart and my head, and naturally emotions follow.

Writers used to make such wonderful pictures without all that swearing, all that cursing. And now it seems that you can't say three words without cursing. And I don't think that's right.

If John Wayne were alive, he’d be rolling over in his grave!

Every time I step in front of a camera I feel young again. I really do. It keeps your mind active and it keeps you going.

It's not your word that matters, it's who you give it too.

Gary Cooper - the greatest listener in the world! And he used to answer in kind, which is wonderful because you don't see that anymore. People don't listen. They really don't.

The Navy has changed a great deal. Not that the officers of my day were bad, because I served under a lot of good officers, believe me. But there were a few bad ones, too.

And when his head slumped forward into his book, she giggled, for she knew that he was hers.

Often someone else's words can provoke us to memories both painful and sweet, and remind us of things we should have learned, but sometimes forget.

Within every little dream seed is the potential viability of sprouting to becoming a great forest.

Do you have any idea how rare love is? In a thousand years, I have found it but twice, and when I have, I have honored it.

The mind which plunges into Surrealism, relives with burning excitement the best part of childhood.

A child hasn't a grown-up person's appetite for affection. A little of it goes a long way with them; and they like a good imitation of it better than the real thing, as every nurse knows.

For me, a breakup changed my entire life. I was a mess. I really got rocked, and I ended up turning it into a positive thing.

Adaptability is the simple secret of survival.

I never look at the glass as half empty or half full. I look to see who is pouring the water and deal with them.

I like sneakers. I guess I could call myself a collector.