[summing up his professional career]: 30 years and 55 pictures - not more than five that were any good, or any good for me. My specialties are corpses, unconscious people and people snoring in spectacular epics. [To Louella Parsons, after receiving his first Academy Award nomination for Come Fill the Cup]: So many people who have been nominated for an Oscar have had bad luck afterwards. [On his role as the dance-marathon barker in They Shoot Horses, Don't They?]: (The role was) a lifeline for a drowning man, a last chance to show (my) talent as a serious actor.