““When [Claudette Colbert] died at 92, on July 30, 1996, her front-page New York Times obit recalled her “wit, gaiety, cupid’sbow mouth and light touch . . . worldly and sophisticated yet down to earth.” Claudette herself was quoted, “I’ve always believed that acting is instinct to start with; you either have it or you don’t . . . I did comedy because all my life I always wanted to laugh myself. There was never anything that gave me as much satisfaction as to be in something amusing.””
![“When [Claudette Colbert] died at 92, on July 30, 1996, her front-page New York Times obit recalled her “wit, gaiety, cupid’sbow mouth and light touch . . . worldly and sophisticated yet down to earth.” Claudette herself was quoted, “I’ve always believed that acting is instinct to start with; you…” quote by Eve Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/fee/eve-golden-25326_york-times_when-claudette-colbert-died-at-92-on-jul_1435462.jpg)
![“But interviews with [Margaret Dumont] reveal her to have been a perceptive and talented comic actress. “Many a comedian’s lines have been lost on the screen because the laughter overlapped,” she said in the 1940s. “Script writers build up to a laugh, but they don’t allow any pause for it. That’s…” quote by Eve Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cd4/eve-golden-25326_humor_but-interviews-with-margaret-dumont-reve_2290088.jpg)
![“We worked so hard,” [Joan Blondell] said, “and hardly ever had a day off . . . Saturday was a working day and we usually worked right into Sunday morning.” Joan’s good nature may have worked against her in the long run. While fellow Warner Brothers workers Bette Davis, James Cagney, Olivia de…” quote by Eve Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/7a8/eve-golden-25326_long-run_we-worked-so-hard-joan-blondell-said-and_410251.jpg)
![“In 1990 [Claudette Colbert] wished Vanity Fair readers “a fabulous new decade. I’m praying to make it to 2000. After all, I’ll only be 97.” She didn’t quite make it.” quote by Eve Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/066/eve-golden-25326_vanity-fair_in-1990-claudette-colbert-wished-vanity_502789.jpg)
![“[Joan Blondell] biographer, Matthew Kennedy, quotes her as admitting, “If I had taken myself more seriously . . . if I had fought for better roles as, say, Bette Davis did . . . I think I might have been a damned good dramatic actress. But it was just my way; I don’t think I ever had the security…” quote by Eve Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d38/eve-golden-25326_quote_joan-blondell-biographer-matthew-kennedy_1304055.jpg)
![“Talking films revealed [Jean Arthur]'s quirky, remarkable voice: nasal, raspy, querulous— an odd, expressive voice which somehow fit her intense, funny and very smart screen persona.” quote by Eve Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e0f/eve-golden-25326_quote_talking-films-revealed-jean-arthur-s-qui_2061882.jpg)
