Too many gun owners think we`ve wandered to some fringe of American life and left them behind.

What cannot be cured must be endured. (From his final televised interview in December 2002, regarding his recent diagnosis of Alzheimer`s disease)

Al Gore is now saying, `I`m with you guys on guns.` In any other time or place you`d be looking for a lynching mob. (2000)

The Constitution was handed down to guide us by a bunch of those wise old, dead, white guys who invented this country. It`s true - they were white guys. So were most of the guys who died in Lincoln`s name, opposing slavery in the 1860s. So, why should I be ashamed of white guys? Why is Hispanic pride or black pride a good thing, while white pride conjures up shaved heads and white hoods?

After spending all of last winter in armour it`s a great relief to wear costume that bends. - After completing El Cid (1961)

America didn`t trust you with their health-care system, America didn`t trust you with gays in the military, America doesn`t trust you with our 21-year-old daughters. And we sure, Lord, don`t trust you with our guns. - On President Bill Clinton

(From a taped announcement concerning his having symptoms of Alzheimer`s disease): "For an actor, there is no greater loss than the loss of his audience. I can part the Red Sea, but I can`t part with you, which is why I won`t exclude you from this stage in my life. ... For now, I`m not changing anything. I`ll insist on work when I can; the doctors will insist on rest when I must. If you see a little less spring to my step, if your name fails to leap to my lips, you`ll know why. And if I tell you a funny story for the second time, please laugh anyway."

I`m pissed off when Indians say they`re Native Americans! I`m a Native American, for chrisakes!

It`s ridiculous for an actor that good to keep playing Las Vegas hoods. - on Robert De Niro

The Internet is for lonely people. People should live.

The big studio era is from the coming of sound until 1950, until I came in... I came in at a crux in film, which was the end of the studio era and the rise of filmmaking.

Warren Beatty is non-typical of Hollywood liberals. He thinks Clinton is an idiot.

Well, we have certainly produced great art before we did this. In my view, there are any number of areas of government which tax money should not be spent.

She was a great broad, in all the meaning of the word. - Following the death of Barbara Stanwyck in 1990

Society mends its wounds. And that`s invariably true in all the tragedies, in the comedies as well. And certainly in the histories.

I have spent my life in service to these two sacred sets of work - the gift of human passion in William Shakespeare and the gift of human freedom enshrined in the American bill of human rights. Tony Blair can have his body guards and the police are all allowed to defend themselves, then so should the people.

People in the film community think being politically active means getting on Air Force One and going to dinner at the White House. I`ve scorned a few liberals in this town, and I get a kick out of that.

It`s been quite a ride. I loved every minute of it.

In recent years, anyone in the government, certainly anyone in the FBI or the CIA, or recently, in again, Clint`s film, In the Line of Fire, the main bad guy is the chief advisor to the president.

Dirty Harry, for example. Clint Eastwood was not a rogue cop. He was a maverick cop, but he was a good guy.

Shakespeare is the outstanding example of how that can be done. In all of Shakespeare`s plays, no matter what tragic events occur, no matter what rises and falls, we return to stability in the end.

[On Richard Harris] Richard is very much the professional Irishman. I found him a somewhat erratic personality and an occasional pain in the posterior. But we certainly never feuded.

People don`t perceive me as a shy man. But I am. I am thought of mostly in terms of the parts I play. I am seen as a forbidding authority figure. I only wish I were as indomitable as everyone thinks.

The trouble with movies as a business is that it`s an art, and the trouble with movies as art is that it`s a business.

[On Richard Harris] He`s something of a fuck-up, no question.

[On Ava Gardner] Today marked the worst behavior I`ve yet seen from that curious breed I make my living opposite. Ava showed up for a late call, did one shot (with the usual incredible delay in coming to the set), and then walked off just before lunch when some Chinese extra took a still of her. She came back after a painful three hour lunch break only to walk off, for the same reason.

I`ve played three presidents, three saints and two geniuses - and that`s probably enough for any man.

He was a wonderful, forthright and honorable man. - Following the death of Gary Cooper in 1961

Somewhere in the busy pipeline of public funding is sure to be a demand from a disabled lesbian on welfare that the Metropolitan Opera stage her rap version of Carmen as translated into Ebonics.

I have a face that belongs in another century.

Jackson was one of my favorite Presidents. One mean son of a bitch.

In Hollywood there are more gun owners in the closet than homosexuals.

If you can`t make a career out of two de Milles, you`ll never do it.

[On Orson Welles] He was not an extravagant director. I mean, `Warren Beatty` can spend $60 million making Reds (1981) a half hour too long and it crosses nobody`s lips that that`s too much money.

There are actors who can do period roles, and actors who can`t ... God knows, Duke Wayne couldn`t play a first-century Roman! - On The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)

I find my blood pressure rising when Clinton`s cultural shock troops participate in homosexual rights fund raisers but boycott gun rights fund raisers - and then claim it`s time to place homosexual men in tents with boy scouts and suggest that sperm-donor babies born into lesbian relationships are somehow better served.

You can spend a lifetime, and, if you`re honest with yourself, never once was your work perfect.

I have played three presidents, three saints and two geniuses. If that doesn`t create an ego problem, nothing does.

The minute you feel you have given a faultless performance is the time to get out.

You can take my rifle ... when you pry it from my cold dead hands!

[On Sophia Loren] All in all the most trying work time with an actress I can ever recall. Mind you, she`s not a bitch. She`s a warm lady, truly; she`s just more star than pro.

There is no duty more noble than that which has called you across the world in defense of freedom. Yours is a mission of hope and humanity for the oppressed. Rest assured that while pretend-patriots talk of supporting you, even as they condemn your noble cause, an unwavering vast majority of Americans share and take pride in your mission. You represent all that is good and right about America and are the true face of American patriotism. You walk in those same righteous footsteps of all those patriots who, before you, fought to preserve liberty for all. Our prayers and our personal gratitude are with you and your families. May God Bless You, Charlton and Lydia Heston. - Message sent to the US troops in Iraq, April 2003

My Dear Friends, Colleagues and Fans: My physicians have recently told me I may have a neurological disorder whose symptoms are consistent with Alzheimer`s disease. So ... I wanted to prepare a few words for you now, because when the time comes, I may not be able to. I`ve lived my whole life on the stage and screen before you. I`ve found purpose and meaning in your response. For an actor there`s no greater loss than the loss of his audience. I can part the Red Sea, but I can`t part with you, which is why I won`t exclude you from this stage in my life. For now, I`m not changing anything. I`ll insist on work when I can; the doctors will insist on rest when I must. If you see a little less spring in my step, if your name fails to leap to my lips, you`ll know why. And if I tell you a funny story for the second time, please laugh anyway. I`m neither giving up nor giving in. I believe I`m still the fighter that Dr. King and JFK and Ronald Reagan knew, but it`s a fight I must someday call a draw. I must reconcile courage and surrender in equal measure. Please feel no sympathy for me. I don`t. I just may be a little less accessible to you, despite my wishes. I also want you to know that I`m grateful beyond measure. My life has been blessed with good fortune. I`m grateful that I was born in America, that cradle of freedom and opportunity, where a kid from the Michigan Northwoods can work hard and make something of his life. I`m grateful for the gift of the greatest words ever written, that let me share with you the infinite scope of the human experience. As an actor, I`m thankful that I`ve lived not one life, but many. Above all, I`m proud of my family ... my wife Lydia, the queen of my heart, my children, Fraser and Holly, and my beloved grandchildren, Jack, Ridley and Charlie. They`re my biggest fans, my toughest critics and my proudest achievement. Through them, I can touch immortality. Finally, I`m confident about the future of America. I believe in you. I know that the future of our country, our culture and our children is in good hands. I know you will continue to meet adversity with strength and resilience, as our ancestors did, and come through with flying colors - the ones on Old Glory. William Shakespeare, at the end of his career, wrote his farewell through the words of Prospero, in The Tempest". It ends like this: `Be cheerful, sir. Our revels now are ended. These our actors, as I foretold you, were all spirits and are melted into air, into thin air: And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, the cloud-capp`d towers, the gorgeous palaces, the solemn temples, the great globe itself, yea all which it inherit, shall dissolve and, like this insubstantial pageant faded, leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.` Thank you, and God bless you, everyone." (9 August 2002)

Vote freedom first. Vote George W. Bush. Everything else is a distant and forgettable second place. This is the most important election since the Civil War. Al Gore, if elected, would have the power to hammer your gun rights right into oblivion. Instead of fighting redcoats, we are now fighting blue blood elitists. (2000)

Clergymen tend to be unreliable and pompous figures. Seldom Jewish rabbis, less often Catholic priests, but Protestant ministers tend to be ... not really very admirable. Not necessarily evil, but silly. And wrong, of course. - Talking about modern Hollywood`s stereotypical portrayals of religious figures

If you need a ceiling painted, a chariot race run, a city besieged, or the Red Sea parted, you think of me.

And their pals vote for their stuff when they`re not on the panel, and it just keeps going that way. And they tend to be very fringe artists, so anything before the 20th century is not worth considering. This is out of date.

As an artist, I understand that, and I value the creative input of the artist.

I have lived such a wonderful life! I`ve lived enough for two people.

I didn`t change. The Democratic Party slid to the Left from right under me.

Hard` is what I do best. I don`t do `nice.

It is essential that gun owners unite in an active, growing force capable of flexing great muscle as the next millennium commences.

Once the 1964 Civil Rights Act passed, I had other agendas.

Gregory Peck was one of those few great actors of generosity, humor, toughness and spirit. From our fight scene in The Big Country (1958) to his willingness to stand up for what he believed personally, Gregory Peck faced life`s challenges with great vigor and courage. - Following the death of Gregory Peck in 2003

Political correctness is tyranny with manners.

After hearing an unkind remark made about his condition by George Clooney, nephew of Rosemary Clooney: "It`s funny how class can skip a generation, isn`t it?"

I can`t remember a time when I didn`t want to be an actor.

The law-abiding citizen is entitled to own a rifle, pistol, or shotgun. The right, put simply, shall not be infringed. (1998)

Mainstream America is depending on you - counting on you - to draw your sword and fight for them. These people have precious little time or resources to battle misguided Cinderella attitudes, the fringe propaganda of the homosexual coalition, the feminists who preach that it`s a divine duty for women to hate men, blacks who raise a militant fist with one hand, while they seek preference with the other.

In recent years, anyone in the government, certainly anyone in the FBI or the CIA, or recently, in again, Clint`s film, In the Line of Fire (1993), the main bad guy is the chief advisor to the president.

You cut their money back, for one thing... I go back a long way with the NEA.

Now what Tarantino will say to that is, `Don`t you understand? This is a black comedy. We`re holding this up to ridicule.` There`s no worse thing you can accuse a cool person of being than not getting a joke. - On Pulp Fiction (1994)

Undeniably the American art form, too. And yet more and more, we see films made that diminish the American experience and example. And sometimes trash it completely.

The big studio era is from the coming of sound until 1950, until I came in ... I came in at a crux in film, which was the end of the studio era and the rise of filmmaking.

It is not widely known that one of the finest gun collections on the West Coast is Steven Spielberg`s. He shoots, but very privately.

Sam is the only person I`ve ever physically threatened on a set. - On working with director Sam Peckinpah.

You could think of extraordinary examples to the contrary: The Grapes of Wrath... and even into the 70s.

Alexander is the easiest kind of movie to do badly. - On why he turned down Alexander the Great (1956)

The great roles are always Shakespearean.

In the beginning an actor impresses us with his looks, later his voice enchants us. Over the years, his performances enthrall us. But in the end, it is simply what he is.

People have been asking me for thirty-five years if I was losing jobs because of my conservative politics. I`ve never felt that was the case.

Most people in the film community don`t really understand what being politically active means. They think it is just doing interviews. I`m content that the Hollywood left thinks being a political activist means riding Air Force One and hanging out with the President.

Here`s my credo. There are no good guns, There are no bad guns. A gun in the hands of a bad man is a bad thing. Any gun in the hands of a good man is no threat to anyone, except bad people.

It was one of my best recent years. And now I`m not drinking at all. I wasn`t slurring my words. I wasn`t falling over, but I realized it had become an addiction for me. And in my profession, it`s a terrible flaw to fall into. I believe I did it in time. [On conquering his alcohol addiction in 2000]

I`ve been killed often, on film, the stage, and the television tube. Studios insist the audience doesn`t like this. It`s been my experience that it makes them unhappy, but that`s not the same thing. In any event, they often attend those undertakings where I come to a violent end even more enthusiastically than they do those where I survive. There may be a message for me somewhere there.

I was young and foolish. - Explaining his endorsement of the Gun Control Act of 1968

To the world, you are America.

It`s been quite a ride.

[On Anne Baxter] We never had a cross word. However, I did not find her enormously warming and there was no great personal stirring between us as friends.

Somebody once approached Kirk Douglas and said they had enjoyed his performance in Ben-Hur (1959). So he said, `That wasn`t me, that was another fellow.` And the man said, `Well, if you aren`t Burt Lancaster, who the hell are you?`

Affirmative action is a stain on the American soul.

I marched for civil rights with Dr. King in 1963 - long before Hollywood found it fashionable. But when I told an audience last year that white pride is just as valid as black pride or red pride or anyone else`s pride, they called me a racist. I`ve worked with brilliantly talented homosexuals all my life. But when I told an audience that gay rights should extend no further than your rights or my rights, I was called a homophobe. I served in World War II against the Axis powers. But during a speech, when I drew an analogy between singling out innocent Jews and singling out innocent gun owners, I was called an anti-Semite. Everyone I know knows I would never raise a closed fist against my country. But when I asked an audience to oppose this cultural persecution, I was compared to Timothy McVeigh. (1999)

I have never felt I was being ill-treated by the press - ill-treated by Barbra Streisand, maybe. But Ms. Streisand I suggest is inadequately educated on the Constitution of the United States.

It`s hard living up to Moses.

There`s a special excitement in playing a man who made a hole in history large enough to be remembered centuries after he died.

I don`t know the man - never met him, never even spoken to him. But I feel sorry for George Clooney - one day he may get Alzheimer`s disease. I served my country in World War II. I survived that - I guess I can survive some bad words from this fellow.

[from his final televised interview in December 2002, regarding his recent diagnosis of Alzheimer`s disease] What cannot be cured must be endured.

I`ve played cardinals and cowboys, kings and quarterbacks, presidents and painters, cops and con-men.

[on Robert De Niro] It`s ridiculous for an actor that good to keep playing Las Vegas hoods.