Buster Keaton

"The hardest thing about any physical comedy is that you have to be willing to look foolish."

"I always made pictures to please myself."

"You can be funny without being famous."

"The gag is the important thing."

"I am a businessman first, an artist second."

"If you want to understand me, watch my pictures."

"Comedy is a serious business."

"I never think about what I'm doing. I just do it."

"Time is the greatest teacher, but it teaches by taking things away."

"The best gags are the ones that come from life itself."

"I've been knocked down more times than I can count, and I've always gotten up."

"A good picture tells its own story without words."

"Nothing is funny unless you feel it deeply."

"Work is the only thing that has ever made me happy."

"You have to be prepared to take chances."

"The secret to comedy is timing and taking it seriously."

"Life is full of pratfalls, and you just have to keep getting up."

"I never planned anything in my life."

"The camera is your best friend if you know how to talk to it."

"Suffering is the only thing that teaches you anything."

"Comedy requires both precision and recklessness."

"I believe in doing things the hard way."

"Entertainment must come from the heart."

"Every disaster contains the seeds of opportunity."

"You must keep moving forward, no matter what."

"The best comedy is when you recognize yourself in it."

"I've made more mistakes than most people have had opportunities."

"Perfection is the enemy of completion."

"A good laugh is worth a thousand tears."

"You can't learn comedy, you have to live it."