[on the sale of his Supporting Actor Oscar for his wife's surgery] "I don’t know why anybody would be critical. My wife’s health is much more important than sentimental reasons. The movie will be here, even if Oscar isn’t." "It is not what you have lost but what you have left that counts." "I got my award for special contributions, and I'm hanging around backstage. I found out, months later, that when I was nominated for Supporting Actor, they figured I didn't have a chance, the other guys [Charles Coburn, William Demarest, Claude Rains, Clifton Webb] had too much background. When they got to Supporting Actor, they practically threw me out on the stage."