Quotes from Loretta Swit

When I went to school, I was in the same mode. I did the things I enjoyed, what I loved.

I don't think we should be deprived of the privilege of free speech.

Telling parents in New Jersey you want to act isn't exactly like telling them you want to be a doctor or a dentist. There are no guarantees. It's hard, but all the arts are. Can you imagine the pain of writer's block?

If you're 90 and look good in a mini-skirt, go for it. What is 'age appropriate'? Such nonsense. My mother lived to 106, so what's middle-age? Seventy is the new 50.

M*A*S*H offered real characters and everybody identified with them because they had such soul. The humor was intelligent and it always assumed that you had an intellect.

Acting is not hiding to me; it's revealing. We give you license to feel. 'Hey, she's crying, so it's okay if I cry, too.' That's the most important thing in the world, because when you stop feeling, that's when you're dead.

Shirley Valentine is a beautiful character and so well written. What Shirley speaks and thinks is so logical.

Hot Lips changed a lot in eleven years. Initially, Margaret Houlihan behaved as though a man were the only thing that could complete her life, and she didn't see what richness her life contained. She gained a lot of self-esteem through the years, and she came to realize that what she did, what she offered, was valuable.

When I left the house to become an actress, my mother literally flung her body across the door and said, 'You're killing me!' It was a very strict household. That can be okay, but there was also no nourishment, either.

My parents didn't want me to go into show business. They were afraid of what would happen if I didn't succeed. They wanted me to get married and have babies. I never saw marriage and family in my life.

I don't eat or wear animals, but I never tell people not to - that's just my view.

The pursuit of happiness is in our Constitution. We're all entitled to have the best we can.

M*A*S*H offered real characters and everybody identified with them because they had such soul. The humor was intelligent and it always assumed that you had an intellect.

So much of life is luck. One day you make a right turn and get hit by a car. Turn left and you meet the love of your life. I think I made the correct turn.

If you care enough, you make a difference.