AmericanActor and motion picture star known for his portrayals of diffident but morally resolute characters. 1908-1997
Popularity:
“William Wyler has always been famous for taking a lot of takes. There is this story that he did this scene with a bunch of very competent people, a very important scene in the movie, and he'd already done it thirty times. One of them came to Willie and said, 'I want to know what we're doing wrong. What do you want us to do?' And Willie said, 'No, you're doing it fine. I'm just waiting for something to happen'.”
“We had an apartment on west side of Central Park. The rent was very reasonable. We found out later that it belonged to a gangster called Legs Diamond and it was a front to his headquarters. It was fine.”
“All the senators were there, and Frank Capra was in a box with his wife with the vice president and his wife, and several other senators. They, as the picture started going, became very quiet. After the picture had been going for three quarters of an hour, the film broke. Frank didn't know where the projection room was exactly, and he found himself outside the building, crawling up a ladder.”
“It was amazing that a play that seems dated in this world... A man whose best friend is a six-foot white rabbit... But it caught on, especially with young people - they surprised me most of all.”
“It's much easier, for example, to play a heroin addict and you're withdrawing - you tear the ceiling off - that's much easier than it is to come in and say, 'Hello.' Or, 'I love you'. When you judge it in that way, the heavy isn't as difficult.”
“I'd like to do Harvey again. I did it two years ago with Helen Hayes in New York. It was a joy. I was so glad to do it again because I never thought I did it right the first time.”
