I never posed as a saint. I would have slept with a man for nothing if I liked him well enough. Ethel Waters More Quotes by Ethel Waters More Quotes From Ethel Waters Though I was a Catholic, I recognized that Protestant churches had something. Ethel Waters protestantscatholicchurch Today I blame only certain agents for my long eclipse as a public entertainer. Ethel Waters agentstodaylong Twenty-five years is a long time for a girl to live out of a trunk, and after looking over a few houses, I fell in love with one in Southwest Los Angeles. Ethel Waters girllongyears If I wanted pity, I got it because I'm illegitimate. And when I didn't want it I was mean and nasty. Ethel Waters nastywantmean I have reason to be shy. I've been hurt plenty. Ethel Waters shyhurtreason When I first went on the stage I was 17 and under the legal age for performers. Ethel Waters stageagefirsts It has been an ache and a joy both to look over this big shoulder of mine at all my yesterdays. Ethel Waters yesterdayjoylooks What broke Mom's heart was realizing that her children knew nothing and cared nothing about the better side of life. Ethel Waters momheartchildren What impressed me most about New York were its huge apartment houses. Ethel Waters apartmentnew-yorkhouse We show girls were forced to live in whorehouses in each town, no other accommodations being available. Ethel Waters accommodationstownsgirl 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. Ethel Waters fogtreatmentused I could always open shows, perform through the middle, and close shows. Ethel Waters middleshows Asking what I considered an impossible salary when I didn't want to work for someone has boosted my pay again and again. Ethel Waters salaryaskingwant I wondered what I would do if I didn't have my God to turn to and be able to read the Book He had divinely inspired. Ethel Waters inspiredablebook Mom was the greatest influence of my childhood. She wanted to save me from the vice, lust, and drinking that was all about me. Ethel Waters childhoodmomdrinking In her whole life Mom never earned more than five or six dollars a week. Being without a husband, it was hard for her to find any place at all for us to live. Ethel Waters life-is-hardhusbandmom I could depend a lot on my shaking, though I never shimmied vulgarly and only to express myself. Ethel Waters black-historydependsblack After years in white theaters I dreaded working in colored houses. The noise, the stomping, whistling, and cheering that hadn't annoyed me when I was young was now something I dreaded. Ethel Waters cheerfearyears Whenever I played Columbus, Ohio, I dropped in to see my close friend, a medium who had mysterious powers. Her Indian guide was Mohawk. Ethel Waters mohawkscolumbusohio The big compliment came from the beer drinkers who didn't know me. They wouldn't drink or move when I sang. If they had their glasses in mid-air, the glasses wouldn't come down. Ethel Waters glassesbeermoving
