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How can I ever hope to communicate something to you unless I get signals back from you that I’m on the right track or that I’ve started at some place that you’re familiar with?

Alan Alda

I had never really wanted to be famous. Everyone is supposed to want to be rich and famous, but as a boy I never knew what rich was, and the first view I had of famous made me leery.
ALAN ALDA

Everyone Famous First Leery Really Suppose View Want
Remarkably, according to what they told me, nearly every inmate in the prison didn’t do it.
ALAN ALDA

According Every Inmate Nearly Prison Remarkable Told
When does she do all this thinking? We’re together all the time but she thinks deeply about things and with feeling and she can remember the facts. We’ve been married 48 years.
ALAN ALDA

All Dep Feel Married Think Time Together
Nothing important was ever accomplished without chutzpah. Columbus had chutzpah. The signers of the Declaration of Independence had chutzpah.
ALAN ALDA

Accomplish Chutzpah Country Ever Important Nothing
I found I wasn’t asking good enough questions because I assumed I knew something.
ALAN ALDA

Ask Assume Enough Found Good Knew Question Something
I used to be a Catholic. I left because I object to conversion by concussion. If you don’t agree with what they teach, you get clobbered over the head until you do. All that does is change the shape of the head.
ALAN ALDA

Concussion Conversion Left Object Religious Use
In the midst of the sense of tragedy or loss, sometimes laughter is not only healing, it’s a way of experiencing the person that you’ve lost again.
ALAN ALDA

Again Experience Heal Laugher Loss Lost Midst Person Something Tragedy
Several thousand people had been locked up unjustly and, by an incredible coincidence, all in the same prison. On the other hand, they knew an awful lot about how to knife somebody.
ALAN ALDA

Awful Coincidence Hand Incredible Knife Lock Other People Several Somebody Thousand Unjustify
Whenever you wonder about yourself, look up at the stars swirling around in the heavens and just realize how tiny and puny they are.
ALAN ALDA

Heaven Just Puny Realize Star Swirl Tiny Wonder Yourself
The difference between listening and pretending to listen, I discovered, is enormous. One is fluid, the other is rigid. One is alive, the other is stuffed.
ALAN ALDA

Between Difference Fluid Listen Live Pretend Rigid Stuff
Never Have Your Dog Stuffed is really advice to myself, a reminder to myself not to avoid change or uncertainty, but to go with it, to surf into change.
ALAN ALDA

Advice Avoid Change Dog Remember Stuff Surf
As an artist, as an actor, as a writer, you have to use what’s personal to you. You have to be personal about your work; otherwise, it doesn’t ring true.
ALAN ALDA

Actor Artist Personal Use Writer
I’m an angry person, angrier than most people would imagine, I get flashes of anger.
ALAN ALDA

Anger Angry Flash Image People Person
Working on The West Wing was similar in many ways to my experience on M*A*S*H, because you had people willing to work late at night to get it just right.
ALAN ALDA

Late Many Night People Similar Way West Willing Wing Work
It’s nice to have more time to work on the character, and to have big scenes to play. But if there’s something playable there, and if it’s interesting to do, then that’s nice.
ALAN ALDA

Big Character Interset More Nice Play Playable Scene Time Work
For me, I find that even though I’ve accomplished a few things in my life, looking back on accomplishments doesn’t give me a sense of satisfaction.
ALAN ALDA

Accomplish Back Fin Life Look Satisfaction Sene Thing Through
I found I wasn’t asking good enough questions because I assumed I knew something.
ALAN ALDA

Ask Assume Enough Found Good Knew Question Something
No man or woman of the humblest sort can really be strong, gentle and good, without the world being better for it, without somebody being helped and comforted by the very existence of that goodness.
ALAN ALDA

Being Better Gentle Good Humble Man Something Sort Strong Woman
Some of the greatest things, as I understand, they have come about by serendipity, the greatest discoveries
ALAN ALDA

Come Discovery Great Serendipity Some Thing Understand
Originality is unexplored territory. You get there by carrying a canoe – you can’t take a taxi.
ALAN ALDA

Create Existence Originally Own Territory Unexplored
artists try to say things that can’t be said. in a fragile net of words, gestures, or colors, we hope to capture a feeling.
ALAN ALDA

Artist Capture Color Feeling Fragile Gesture Net Say Thing Word
All these things you expect meaning to come from, and sometimes it comes when you’re not expecting it.
ALAN ALDA

All Thing Come Expect Meaning Sometimes
It makes it fun. When an actor plays a character, you want what that character wants. Otherwise it doesn’t look authentic. So I really want to defeat Jimmy – I mean Jimmy as the character.
ALAN ALDA

Actor Authentic Character Defeat Fun Make Play Want
[You have to be] willing to be changed by the person you’re listening to, where you’re not just waiting for a pause so you can say your thing, but you’re actually letting them have an effect on you if they can.
ALAN ALDA

Actual Effect Let Listen Pause Person Wait Will Change
And I want to warn everyone in the press and all the voters out there: if you demand expressions of religious faith from politicians, you are just begging to be lied to.
ALAN ALDA

Beg Demand Everyone Expression Politician Press Religious
For humans, flying isn’t magic, it’s physics.
ALAN ALDA

Fly Human Magic Physics
I wouldn’t live in California. All that sun makes you sterile.
ALAN ALDA

All Country Make Sterile Sun

How can I ever hope to communicate something to you unless I get signals back from you that I’m on the right track or that I’ve started at some place that you’re familiar with?

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How can I ever hope to communicate something to you unless I get signals back from you that I’m on the right track or that I’ve started at some place that you’re familiar with?

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Alan Alda Quotes