Many people (us included) have always had a love for the Old Hollywood stars of the silver screen. People like Cary Grant, Lucille Ball, Judy Garland, and Katharine Hepburn could captivate the whole world with their compelling performances in movies even before the advent of color film. These stars were people to look up to, ideal images to aspire to, and many of them were more than willing to share their wisdom.
Lucille Ball
"Love yourself first, and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world."
Lucille Ball is best known for I Love Lucy, the hilarious early sitcom in which she plays the comically hopeless wife of her real-life husband at the time, Desi Arnaz. What some people may not know, though, is that she was quite a career woman, founding her own production company with Arnaz in 1950. This quote could be the motto for her career: "If you don't love what you're doing and you don't put yourself first, you will never be happy."
Katharine Hepburn
"We are taught you must blame your father, your sisters, your brothers, the school, the teachers - but never blame yourself. It's never your fault. But it's always your fault, because if you wanted to change you're the one who has got to change."
This quote may sound a bit harsh, but it is one of her most beloved, and very characteristic of who Katharine Hepburn was as a person. She was unique in Hollywood for her tomboyish attitude and her refusal to let any of the stereotypical rules set for actresses at the time define her. The idea here is that you can't control what happens to you in life, but you can control what you do about it. To sit around and blame others for your misfortune is a waste of time, time that would be better spent learning, growing, and improving yourself.
Cary Grant
"Destiny is not necessarily what we get out of life, but rather, what we give."
Cary Grant was one of the most handsome and beloved leading men ever to grace Hollywood. He made movies that ranged from comedy to melodrama to action, and he spent much of his life trying to live up to the character he had created for himself (another of his famous quotes says: "Everybody wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant."). This quote, though, is indicative of how he thought about what we get out of life. You make your own destiny, and you do that by giving all you've got to the things you value the most.
Judy Garland
"Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else."
Judy Garland catapulted to fame with The Wizard of Oz when she was just a teenager, and appeared in many classic and well-loved films as an adult as well. Her singing voice was angelic and her acting was soulful and captivating. She had a troubled life off-screen, but as this quote says, she knew that being yourself was the most important thing you could be. She was unique in Hollywood for her talents, and because she always tried to be a "first-rate version" of herself instead of imitating her peers.
