Mom was the greatest influence of my childhood. She wanted to save me from the vice, lust, and drinking that was all about me. — Ethel Waters Copy Share Image
Whenever I write for hotel reservations, I always enclose a set of rules I have made for the hotels. — Ethel Waters Copy Share Image
Today I blame only certain agents for my long eclipse as a public entertainer. — Ethel Waters Copy Share Image
I had always loved John Ford's pictures. And I came to love him, too, but I was frightened to death working for him. He… — Ethel Waters Copy Share Image
The big compliment came from the beer drinkers who didn't know me. They wouldn't drink or move when I sang. If they had their… — Ethel Waters Copy Share Image
I dressed plain, but my partners were always spending more money on clothes than I could afford. — Ethel Waters Copy Share Image
After years in white theaters I dreaded working in colored houses. The noise, the stomping, whistling, and cheering that hadn't annoyed me when I… — Ethel Waters Copy Share Image
Negroes are human beings with exactly the same faults and virtues as members of the other races. — Ethel Waters Copy Share Image
My father came back one day and forced my mother to submit to him. He raped her, holding a knife. — Ethel Waters Copy Share Image
Though I was excited about the Sojourner Truth play, it was not reassuring to think that my entire future might depend on the success… — Ethel Waters Copy Share Image
I found that a couple of bottles of beer would give me a lift, but the third bottle would sober me up. — Ethel Waters Copy Share Image
The white audiences thought I was white, my features being what they are, and at every performance I'd have to take off my gloves… — Ethel Waters Copy Share Image
