Harvey Fierstein Quotes

Harvey Fierstein shares bold, confident advice on identity, confidence and dignity.

15 quotes

1. I am what I am I am my own special creation So come take a look Give me the hook or the ovation It's my world that I want to have a little pride in My world and it's not a place I have to hide in Life's not worth a damn till you can say Hey world I am what I am.

2. To the delight of millions of little children, the Santa in New York's great parade will be half of a same-sex couple. And guess who the other half will be? Me! Harvey Fierstein, nice Jewish boy from Bensonhurst, dressed in holiday finery portraying the one and only Mrs. Claus.

3. Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself. [2]

4. I often say that if you want to really want to understand the contract of marriage, just ask anyone who has been divorced. The marriage contract is one of property rights. Or maybe you can look in the Bible to see what Adam had to say about divorce, since Eve was his second wife.

5. Always admit when you're wrong. You'll save thousands in therapy... and a few friendships too.

6. So, did I work with Warhol? I worked with him less on that play then I did on other things. He actually did a portrait of my rabbit and some other stuff. Warhol was definitely... Warhol.

7. I got the regular call, that they were doing a Broadway musical of Hairspray, and would I come and audition. I was familiar with the movie, because at the time it came out my lover wrote for Premiere magazine, and we had to see everything.

8. Is a gay play a play that has sex with other plays?

9. There are easier things in life than being a drag queen. But I ain't got no choice. Try as I may, I just can't walk in flats.

10. A thing of beauty is a joy till sunrise.

11. You may feel powerless as a child, but the world will one day be yours. And you're responsible for it. So, seize the day and take charge of it.

12. The world is full of more interesting things than my voice.

13. I really am a theater person. That means you put something out there, and you let it go. Tomorrow night is a new performance.

14. Actually, I think the average voice is like 70 percent tone and 30 percent noise. My voice is 95 percent noise.

15. While we dance in the streets and pat ourselves on the back for being a nation great enough to reach beyond racial divides to elect our first African-American president, let us not forget that we remain a nation still proudly practicing prejudice.