Ethel Waters

"I had always loved John Ford's pictures. And I came to love him, too, but I was frightened to death working for him. He used the shock treatment while directing me."

"Though I was excited about the Sojourner Truth play, it was not reassuring to think that my entire future might depend on the success of that one show."

"Elia Kazan understood my problems. He was able to bring out the very best in me. He gave me credit for my intelligence."

"We never had a bathtub. Mom would bathe me in the wooden or tin washtub in the kitchen, or in a big lard can."

"Mom was the greatest influence of my childhood. She wanted to save me from the vice, lust, and drinking that was all about me."

"Mom never quit on me. My only regret is that she didn't live long enough to share some of the money and comforts my work in show business has brought me."