I don't get excited or riled easily.
I've been an actor all of my life, but not professionally.
As a kid, I used to take the sheet off of my mother's bed, make a tent and put on a show for the neighborhood kids and charge them two packs of matches. Then, the show got so good I started charging a penny.
I get a kick out of just working, making people happy - whether it be in the movies or just playing my guitar.
Age ain't nothing but a figure. Let's go out there and play some kick the can. It's all in the mind; let's become kids. That's been my philosophy of life anyhow, man.
Oh, sure, I love boxing.
My acting has got to be natural. I didn't go to any drama schools. It's a gift from God.
You ain't no more than me, and I ain't no more than you. We're all God's children.
You know, it's nice being an overnight success after 50 years.
You can be dressed the best and have a wicked heart.
Color don't mean anything. People gonna try to put you in a place one way or the other.
I got simple tastes. Don't go in for all that flashy business.
Guy asked me, 'Scat, what is there left for you to do?' And I said, 'A Broadway play, man!' Can you dig it? That's the only thing I never done. I'd like to say I had.
Can you imagine what five or 10 dollars was like in 1925? In those days, you could get room and board for $1.50 a week. Room and board!
You know, I'd forget words and start just singing noises.
I learned when I was a kid not to worry so much about things because it's all going to work out. What will be will be.
I'm 70 years old. I'm a young man, and I've still got a lot to learn, that's right, and I'm learning every day.
The first paid gig? It was back home in Terre Haute, Indiana, back in 1925, '26, when I was going to high school and working in a speakeasy.
I'm a connoisseur of sausage.
I went to the driving range and hit a couple of good shots and I was hooked. Now I have six putters, including one engraved with my name.
