quotations about show business
I always tell new people in show business. I say, "Look, show business pays you a lot of money, because eventually you're gonna get screwed. And when you get screwed, you will have this pile of money off to the side already." And they go, "OK, OK, OK, you ready? You ready?" "I got screwed." "You got the pile of money?" "Yeah, I'm fine." I mean, that's the way it works.
JAY LENO
60 Minutes, January 26, 2014
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the road less traveled by and they CANCELLED MY FRIKKIN' SHOW. I totally shoulda took the road that had all those people on it. Damn.
JOSS WHEDON
post on Bronze Beta web message board after discovering that The WB had cancelled Angel, February 14, 2004
Show business is and has always been a depraved carnival.
DAVID MAMET
True and False
There's no doubt about it, show business lures the people who didn't get enough love, attention, or approval early in life and have grown up to become bottomless, gaping vessels of terrifying, abject need. Please laugh.
DENNIS MILLER
attributed, The User's Guide to Being Human: The Art and Science of Self
Show business is the best possible therapy for remorse.
ANITA LOOS
Kiss Hollywood Goodbye
The only thing harder than leaving show business is coming back.
DAVE CHAPPELLE
attributed, I Want to Take You Higher: The Life and Times of Sly and the Family Stone
You pay the man
You pay your dues
When it's all gone, ooh
You sing the blues
AC/DC
"Show Business"
Basically, it boils down to I always feel that show business is a party I snuck into and they haven't found out yet. As long as there are people around dumb enough to pay me, I'm willing to do it.
GILBERT GOTTFRIED
"Gilbert Gottfried on Showbiz Stupidity and Hollywood Legends", Miami New Times, August 25, 2017
I have had my different husbands, my families. I am fond of them all and I visit them all. But deep inside me there is the feeling that I belong to show business.
INGRID BERGMAN
attributed, Notorious: The Life of Ingrid Bergman
The Pope's entrance was stunning. Maybe the Catholics know about miracles, and maybe they know about saints, but they've never received enough credit for what they know about show business.
GEORGE BURNS
Gracie: A Love Story
I know that show business is my life. It always was and it always will be. Nothing holds my interest like show business, nothing excites me more. There's nothing I think or talk about as much. I would hate to have to live without show business. When I'm working, I'm happy.
GEORGE BURNS
Wisdom of the 90s
There's no business like show business.
IRVING BERLIN
Annie Get Your Gun
Show business is ... the science of packing theatres.
WOLF MANKOWITZ
ABC of Show Business
The power of the mass media has brought the dream of stardom to every corner of the globe. In the past young people were most often recruited into show business by family members or friends. Often a life in show business was an economic necessity, not a choice. But with the dominance of the mass media the dream of stardom is available to all. In the future live entertainment will persist, and young people will increasingly aspire to join the ranks of show folks.
JACQUELINE BOLES
Life Upon the Wicked Stage: A Sociological Study of Entertainers
That's what show business is--sincere insincerity.
BENNY HILL
The Observer, June 12, 1977
I think that just trying to work professionally in the world of show business is already trying to overcome adversity. The cards are really stacked against you, and so much of it is completely out of your control.
CORINNE MELANCON
"Arts Speak With Corinne Melancon", Ladue News, August 10, 2017
I went into show business strictly from hunger. Starvation helps to turn you into a good actor, I guess.
JAMES CAGNEY
attributed, Film-makers Speak
What is Show Business? Is it an industry for the manufacture of synthetic laughs and tears?
WOLF MANKOWITZ
ABC of Show Business
Retire? I'm going to stay in show business until I'm the only one left.
GEORGE BURNS
attributed, Gotcha!
Show business is just like high school, except you get paid.
MARTIN MULL
attributed, Laugh Off: The Comedy Showdown Between Real Life and the Pros