Top quotes by George Burns

Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city. Votes: 32

If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn't ask me, I'd still have to say it. Votes: 24

The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, then having the two as close together as possible. Votes: 20

Happiness? A good cigar, a good meal, a good cigar and a good woman - or a bad woman; it depends on how much happiness you can handle. Votes: 15

First you forget names, then you forget faces. Next you forget to pull your zipper up and finally, you forget to pull it down. Votes: 15

I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate. Votes: 13

You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old. Votes: 13

By [age] 93, I had shrunk quite a lot. My car was known as the Phantom Cadillac. People would see it whizzing by and they would swear there was no driver. Votes: 13

I'm at the age now where just putting my cigar in its holder is a thrill. Votes: 11

Acting is all about honesty. If you can fake that, you've got it made. Votes: 11

It takes only one drink to get me drunk. The trouble is, I can't remember if it's the thirteenth or the fourteenth. Votes: 11

When I was a boy the Dead Sea was only sick. Votes: 11

Don't stay in bed, unless you can make money in bed. Votes: 10

I spent a year in that town, one Sunday. Votes: 8

Be sure to wear a good cologne, a nice aftershave lotion, and a strong underarm deodorant. And it might be a good idea to wear some clothes, too. Votes: 8

I don't believe in dying. It's been done. I'm working on a new exit. Besides, I can't die now - I'm booked. Votes: 8

Too bad all the people who know how to run this country are busy running taxicabs or cutting hair. Votes: 6

I must be getting absent-minded. Whenever I complain that things aren't what they used to be, I always forget to include myself. Votes: 6

I can't understand why I flunked American history. When I was a kid there was so little of it. Votes: 6

I don't have a drinking problem. I drink. I get drunk. I fall down, no problem. Votes: 6

I don't worry about getting old. I'm old already. Only young people worry about getting old. When I was 65, I had Cupid's eczema. I don't believe in dying. It's been done. I'm working on a new exit. Besides, I can't die now - I'm booked. Votes: 6

Love is a lot like a backache. It doesn't show up on x-rays, but you know it's there. Votes: 5

Nice to be here? At my age it's nice to be anywhere. Votes: 5

Just because you're old that doesn't mean you're more forgetful. The same people whose names I can't remember now I couldn't remember fifty years ago. . . Votes: 5

Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxicabs and cutting hair. Votes: 4

I look to the future because that's where I'm going to spend the rest of my life. Votes: 4

I'd rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate. Votes: 3

It's hard for me to get used to these changing times. I can remember when the air was clean and sex was dirty. Votes: 3

I should have been a country-western singer. After all, I'm older than most western countries. Votes: 3

I would go out with women my age, but there are no women my age. Votes: 2

You know you're getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you're down there. Votes: 0

I'm very pleased to be here. Let's face it, at my age I'm very pleased to be anywhere. Votes: 0

Happiness is a dry martini and a good woman ... or a bad woman. Votes: 0

I was brought up to respect my elders, so now I don't have to respect anybody. Votes: 0

A young mind in a healthy body is a wonderful thing. Especially for an old man with an open night. Votes: 0

Someone who makes you laugh is a comedian. Someone who makes you think and then laugh is a humorist. Votes: 0

I like women to be attracted to me. See, when you get 60 years old, and they know you're 60, the only women you can get are 55-year-old women, and I like younger women. Votes: 0

I don't care what you do for a living. If you love it, you are a success. Votes: 0

My major contribution to the format was to suggest that I be able to step out of the plot and speak directly to the audience, and then be able to go right back into the action. That was an original idea of mine; I know it was because I originally stole it from Thornton Wilder's play Our Town. Votes: 0

I'd rather be over the hill than under it. Votes: 0

Yale men do not like to be told anything by people who didn't go to Yale. The closest I came to Yale was once I had one of their padlocks. Votes: 0

In those days the best painkiller was ice; it wasn't addictive and it was particularly effective if you poured some whiskey over it. Votes: 0

Retirement at sixty-five is ridiculous. When I was sixty-five I still had pimples. Votes: 0

I worried about playing God (in the movie Oh God). We're about the same age, but we grew up in different neighborhoods. Votes: 0

Retire? I'm going to stay in show business until I'm the only one left Votes: 0

I can remember when the air was clean and sex was dirty. Votes: 0

No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible Votes: 0

At my age flowers scare me. Votes: 0

Say Goodnight Gracie. Votes: 0

I love to sing, and I love to drink scotch. Most people would rather hear me drink scotch. Votes: 0

People are always asking me when I'm going to retire. Why should I? I've got it two ways - I'm still making movies, and I'm a senior citizen, so I can see myself at half price. Votes: 0

Old age is when you resent the swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated because there are fewer articles to read. Votes: 0

Take care not to wear stripes that are out of sync with your wrinkles. Votes: 0

Sex at age 90 is like trying to shoot pool with a rope. Votes: 0

If you were married to Marilyn Monroe, you'd cheat with some ugly girl. Votes: 0

With the collapse of vaudeville new talent has no place to stink. Votes: 0

From Paris we took the Orient Express to Vienna. I must say I was terribly disappointed; nobody was murdered on the train. Votes: 0

How can I die? I'm booked. Votes: 0

I smoke ten to fifteen cigars a day. At my age I have to hold on to something. Votes: 0

If you live to be one hundred, you've got it made. Very few people die past that age. Votes: 0

If it's a good script I'll do it. And if it's a bad script, and they pay me enough, I'll do it. Votes: 0

I can't afford to die; I'd lose too much money. Votes: 0

A married couple that plays cards together is just a fight that hasn't started yet. Votes: 0

Age to me means nothing. I can't get old; I'm working. I was old when I was twenty-one and out of work. As long as you're working, you stay young. When I'm in front of an audience, all that love and vitality sweeps over me and I forget my age. Votes: 0

And God said 'Let there be Satan, so people don't blame everything on me. And let there be lawyers, so people don't blame everything on Satan.' Votes: 0

As long as you're working, you stay young. Votes: 0

At home we ate fish every Friday, as Catholics were then supposed to do. Being Jewish, I compromised. I wore a hat when I ate fish, out of respect for my own religion and the fish's family. Votes: 0

Be quick to learn and wise to know. Votes: 0

Being an actor is easy, just picture someone in a room and you outside waiting for your cue to go in. Elliot Gould's been trying that for forty years. Votes: 0

Bridge is a game that separates the men from the boys. It also separates husbands and wives. Votes: 0

Critics are eunuchs at a gang bang. Votes: 0

Define your business goals clearly so that others can see them as you do. Votes: 0

Dress simply. If you wear a dinner jacket, don't wear anything else on it ... like lunch or dinner. Votes: 0

Everyday happiness means you can't wait to come home, because the soup is hot. Votes: 0

Everything that goes up must come down. But there comes a time when not everything that's down can come up. Votes: 0

Fall in love with what you're going to do for a living. To be able to get out of bed and do what you love to do for the rest of the day is beyond words. I'd rather be a failure in something I love than be successful in something I hate. Votes: 0

How did I ever get sick? I've already had everything. Votes: 0

I did go to school - my kind of school. When I was a kid I went out ... and you meet people. You talk to them. Anybody says something that makes sense, it stays with you, rubs off on you. That kind of school. Votes: 0

I don't worry about getting old. I'm old already. Only young people worry about getting old. Votes: 0

I drink coffee with my right hand, and I smoke with my left. But I talk with both hands. Votes: 0

I find you have to take each day as it comes and be thankful for who's left and whatever you can still do. Votes: 0

I get a standing ovation just standing Votes: 0

I get up every morning and read the obituary column. If my name's not there, I eat breakfast. Votes: 0

I look better, feel better, make love better and I'll tell you something else....I never lied better. Votes: 0

I never go jogging, it makes me spill my martini. Votes: 0

I smoke cigars because at my age if I don't have something to hang on to I might fall down. Votes: 0

I thought to myself, 'why not write a bestseller?' In the first place, more people buy them and more people read them. You make more money and it doesn't take any more time to write a bestseller than it does to write a book nobody buys. Votes: 0

I use the cigar for timing purposes. If I tell a joke, I smoke as long as they laugh and when they stop laughing I take the cigar out of my mouth and start my next joke. Votes: 0

I was always taught to respect my elders and I've now reached the age when I don't have anybody to respect. Votes: 0

I would read Playboy more often, but my glasses keep steaming up. Votes: 0

I'd rather be a flop at show business than to be a success at something I didn't like. Votes: 0

I'd say that about 82 percent of what I write is bad, but don't go by me; I'm as bad a judge as I am a writer. Look, if it were all good, you'd be paying twice as much for this book. So relax, read it, and if you don't enjoy it, remember that you're saving money. Votes: 0

If I get big laughs, I'm a comedian. If I get little laughs, I'm a humorist. If I get no laughs, I'm a singer. Votes: 0

If I had taken my doctor's advice and quit smoking when he advised me to, I wouldn't have lived to go to his funeral. Votes: 0

If I paid $3 or $4 for a cigar, first I'd sleep with it. Votes: 0

If I paid ten dollars for a cigar, first I'd make love to it, then I'd smoke it. Votes: 0

If you stay in the business long enough and get to be old enough, you get to be new again. Votes: 0

I'm onstage for an hour.I do an hour of stand-up. Actually, I do 10 minutes standing up and 50 minutes sitting in a chair. Oh, occasionally, I stand up again to do a dance or put over a song. But mostly I sit down. A great invention, sitting down. Votes: 0

In show business the key word is honesty. Once you've learned to fake that, the rest is easy. Votes: 0

In what other business can a guy my age drink martinis, smoke cigars and sing? I think all people who retire ought to go into show business. I've been retired all my life. Votes: 0

It's better to be happy doing something you love, even if you don't find success right away. Votes: 0

It's good to be here. At 98, it's good to be anywhere. Votes: 0

It's no surprise that things are so screwed up: everyone that knows how to run a government is either driving taxicabs or cutting hair. Votes: 0

It's one of the old show business axioms. No matter how successful you've been, there's always a younger and sexier seal coming along. Votes: 0

I've been a straight man for so many years that from force of habit I repeat everything. I went out fishing with a fellow the other day and he fell overboard. He yelled, Help! Help! Help! so I said, Help? Help? Help? And while I was waiting for him to get his laugh, he drowned. Votes: 0

Joy is obtaining a big, loving, caring shut-knit household in yet another town. Votes: 0

Let me get one thing straight; I'm not an authority on sex, I'm more of a fan. I think sex is nice; no family should be without it. Of course, there are other things that are just as important as sex, like uh . . . like uh . . . like . . . uh . . . well, I'll think of it later. Votes: 0

Lots of people have asked me what Gracie and I did to make our marriage work. It's simple - we don't do anything. I think the trouble with a lot of people is that they work too hard at staying married. They make a business out of it. When you work too hard at a business you get tired; and when you get tired you get grouchy; and when you get grouchy you start fighting; and when you start fighting you're out of business. Votes: 0

Money is the root of all evil.' Then we hear, 'A fool and his money are soon parted.' What are they talking about? If money is so evil, shouldn't it be, 'A wise man and his money are soon parted'? And another thing, how does a fool get money in the first place? I know some fools who have a lot of money, but they won't tell me how they got it, and I won't tell them. Votes: 0

Much later in life, though, Gracie made a major contribution to the opera world. She stayed out of it. Votes: 0

My best advice: Fall in love with what you do for a living. Votes: 0

None of us kids had a middle name. We were lucky we had any name at all. By the time my mother got around to naming one, there was another on the way. Votes: 0

People are always asking me how much I'm worth. Well, all I can say is, I've got enough money to last me the rest of my life. As long as I die in the next 20 minutes. Votes: 0

People ask me what I'd most appreciate getting for my eighty-seventh birthday. I tell them, a paternity suit. Votes: 0

Sex after 90 is like trying to shoot pool with a rope. Even putting my cigar in its holder is a thrill. Votes: 0

Sex can be fun after eighty, after ninety, and after lunch! Votes: 0

Sex has been around for a long time. You may not believe this, but it was around before I was. Votes: 0

Sex is the Universal Language in which nobody speaks; they don't have to. Votes: 0

She didn't need to go to acting school to learn that the essence of acting is to act like you're not acting. Votes: 0

Tennis is a young man's game. Until you're 25, you can play singles. From 25 to 35, you should play doubles. I won't tell you exactly how old I am, but when I played, there were 28 men on the court - just on my side of the net. Votes: 0

The happiest people I know are the ones that are still working. The saddest are the ones who are retired. Very few performers retire on their own. It's usually because no one wants them. Six years ago Sinatra announced his retirement. He's still working. Votes: 0

The heart is a temple wherein all truth resides. Votes: 0

There are many ways to die in bed, but the best way is not alone. Votes: 0

There are two kinds of cruises - pleasure and with children. Votes: 0

There will always be a battle between the sexes because men and women want different things. Men want women and women want men. Votes: 0

There's an old saying, 'Life begins at forty.' That's silly. Life begins every morning you wake up. Votes: 0

There's nothing wrong with making love with the light on. Just make sure the car door is closed. Votes: 0

This is all so exciting I've decided to keep making one movie every 36 years. Votes: 0

This is the sixth book I've written, which isn't bad for a guy who's only read two. Votes: 0

Well, anybody can be a straight man if he hears well. You just have to wait for laughs. A straight man just repeats the questions and the comedian gets the laughs and you just wait for them and don't let them die completely at the tail end of the laugh. Votes: 0

What actresses do today when they appear on the screen is what they did once upon a time for getting to appear on the screen. Votes: 0

When asked in his late 90s if his doctor knew he still smoked, Burns said, 'No ... he's dead.' Votes: 0

When I die I intend to take my music with me. I don't know what's out there, but I want to make sure it's in my key. Votes: 0

When I was in Vegas women were throwing their hotel keys at me. But it was after they checked out. Votes: 0

When I wasn't working, I put the blame directly where it belonged - I blamed my agent. When I didn't have an agent, I spent time looking for a new agent so I would have somebody to blame. Votes: 0

When I'm in front of an audience, all that love and vitality sweeps over me and I forget my age. Votes: 0

When Jack Benny has a party, you not only bring your own scotch, you bring your own rocks. Votes: 0

When they saw me walking down the street smoking a cigar, they'd say, 'Hey, that 14-year-old kid may be going places.' Of course it's also a good prop on the stage ... When you can't think of what you're supposed to say next, you can puff on your cigar until you think of your next line. Votes: 0

When we played the back end of a horse we always knew that if we worked hard and did a good job we could become the front end. Votes: 0

When you stop giving and offering something to the rest of the world, it's time to turn out the lights. Votes: 0

Young. Old. Just Words. Votes: 0

Young. Old. Just words. Inside we feel like our shoe size. Votes: 0

When I was young I was called a rugged individualist. When I was in my fifties I was considered eccentric. Here I am doing and saying the same things I did then and I'm labeled senile. Votes: 0

Since I've made it to 87 so far, obviously my two kids and my seven grandchildren haven't been too hard on me. On the other hand, the fact that I have an unlisted phone number and move a lot might have something to do with it. Votes: 0

Everyday happiness means getting up in the morning, and you can't wait to finish your breakfast. You can't wait to do your exercises. You can't wait to put on your clothes. You can't wait to get out. And you can't wait to come home, because the soup is hot. Votes: 0

Life's but a day at most. Votes: 0