Bessie Love

Bessie Love by Albert Witzel in 1918

Bessie Love, born Juanita Horton (September 10, 1898 – April 26, 1986), was an American actress.

Quotes

• So many people have said it that it must be true.
  • On not having been made aware of her Academy Award nomination, from White, Michael (April 28, 1972). "The Actress and the Four-Letter Cliche". The Guardian (London): p. 13. 
• I had a rudimentary knowledge of dancing and had learned a bit of tap at dancing school, but it was mostly a case of picking it up as one went along.
  • On dancing in film, from Wilkinson, Leslie. "What Are They Doing Now? Part 14". Photoplay Film Monthly.
• He taught us how to be stars. It was a case of knowing how to behave properly in a way that the public expected. Mr. Griffith really taught me everything.
  • On learning to be a star from D. W. Griffith, from Perry, George (September 18, 1977). "Love's No Stranger". The Sunday Times Magazine.
• The pressure on everybody to produce the first all-sound motion picture was tremendous. All the big studios were engaged in this race. We worked 12 to 18 hours a day with only Sunday mornings off to catch up on sleep. For The Broadway Melody we had these huge stage settings. The bigger the set the more trouble it meant for us "sound wise". It would become a maelstrom of activity where every squeak was enlarged to a bellow.
  • On making The Broadway Melody, from The Victoria & Albert Museum
• I began at the top, and worked my way down to the bottom.
  • Facetiously, on the downward trajectory of her career, from Yergin, Daniel (December 11, 1969). "1915, a schoolgirl named Juanita Horton was about to meet D.W. Griffith in Babylon, Hollywood. He made her one of the great stars of the silent movies". Radio Times.
• The bottom seems to drop out of the career of an actor ... every five years.
  • On the lack of stability in her acting career, from Love, Bessie (December 5, 1969). "Grease Paint and the Rent". The Christian Science Monitor: p. 12. 
• The best thing in the world that can happen to anyone is to lose everything. I know. It's happened to me on several occasions.
  • On loss and failure, from Kilgallen, Dorothy (September 7, 1959). "On Broadway". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: p. 64.