Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes was an American actor who worked across stage, film, and television throughout the twentieth century.
Born in Washington, D.C. on October 10, 1900, Hayes began her career as a stage actor and at one point performed as a Ziegfeld girl. She went on to establish a presence across multiple performance mediums, working not only in theater but also in film and television over the course of her long career. She also wrote autobiography, adding the role of author to her professional identity.
Hayes received recognition in each of the principal areas of her craft. On stage, she received the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. In film, she received both the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, a distinction that reflects the breadth of her screen work across different periods of her career. She also received Kennedy Center Honors, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the National Medal of Arts, placing her among those performers who were recognized at the highest levels of both artistic and civic distinction in the United States.
Hayes died on March 17, 1993, in Nyack, having spent more than nine decades as a citizen and working figure of American cultural life. Her career, which encompassed stage performance, film acting, television work, and autobiographical writing, remained rooted throughout in the English-language tradition of American performance.
Quotes by Helen Hayes
From your parents you learn love and laughter and how to put one foot before the other. But when books are opened you discover you have wings.
When Charles first saw our child Mary, he said all the proper things for a new father. He looked upon the poor little red thing and blurted, ‘She’s more beautiful than the Brooklyn Bridge.’
Our ability to achieve success depends on the strength of our wings gained through knowledge and experience. The greater our knowledge and experience, the higher we can fly.
The wings of life are like those of a butterfly. As a child, we are protected and guided by our parents like a cocoon potecting a butterfly. Later, we test our own wings, sometimes fluttering, falling or soaring to great heights.
When traveling with someone, take large dose of patience and tolerance with your morning coffee.
I'm a boss by nature. I'm bossy. I'm not imperious, but I don't really want people to curtsy low before me and back out of rooms, but I do like to run things.
When Charles first saw our child Mary, he said all the proper things for a new father. He looked upon the poor little red thing and blurted, “She’s more beautiful than the Brooklyn Bridge.”
At 50, you need to laugh about your age. If you don’t, everybody else will do it for you. Happy birthday, old chum!
The theatre demanded of its members stamina, good digestion, the ability to adjust, and a strong sense of humor. There was no discomfort an actor didn’t learn to endure. To survive, we had to be horses and we were.