Fame

Long before I was a star, I was a fan.
~ Bill Anderson, Quoted in Criswell Freeman The Book of Country Music Wisdom (1994).

I love to utilize my celebrity status in a responsible and constructive and substantive manner. I like to get my hands dirty rather than a photo op.
~ William Baldwin

An actor's a nobody, a nothing, if he isn't a hit.
~ Bill Bixby, Movieland & TV Time (May 1972).

People love the movies and they just get excited when they see someone from them, no matter who it is. It's always positive.
~ Billy Boyd, Calgary Sun (14 March 2003). Boyd oh Boyd

All musicians start out with ideals but hanging on to them in the face of media scrutiny takes real integrity. . . . Tougher still is to live up to the ideals of your dedicated fans.
~ Billy Bragg, BBC News (24 December 2002). Billy Bragg: The Joe I knew

I¹m much bigger in Britain than I am there. I'm well-known, but my name's That Guy in America. . . . People shout: "Hey ­ I know you! You're That Guy."
~ Billy Connolly, Quoted in Ananova Ltd (27 December 2000). Big Yin happy to find anonymity in Hollywood

Fame is being asked to sign your autograph on the back of a cigarette packet.
~ Billy Connolly

A patriot's blood,
Well spent in such a strife, may earn indeed,
And for a time ensure to his loved land,
The sweets of liberty and equal laws;
But martyrs struggle for a brighter prize,
And win it with more pain. Their blood is shed
In confirmation of the noblest claim --
Our claim to feed upon immortal truth,
To walk with God, to be divinely free,
To soar, and to anticipate the skies.
Yet few remember them.
~ William Cowper, The Task (1785). Book V. The Winter Morning Walk

[G]lory, built on selfish principles, is shame and guilt.
~ William Cowper, from Poems by William Cowper of the Inner Temple, Esq. (1782). Table Talk (written in 1781)

O, popular applause! what heart of man
Is proof against thy sweet seducing charms?
~ William Cowper, The Task (1785). Book II. The Time-Piece

Riches have wings, and grandeur is a dream.
~ William Cowper, The Task (1785). Book III. The Garden

Reputation is favorable notoriety as distinguished from fame, which is permanent approval of great deeds and noble thoughts by the best intelligence of mankind.
~ George William Curtis

History records the successes of men with objectives and a sense of direction. Oblivion is the position of small men overwhelmed by obstacles.
~ William H. Danforth

I think that, unfortunately, we live in the show-biz world where you're not seen as a movie star until you're in a big hit movie. So if this makes me a movie star and gives me access to the kind of projects that I want to do, then that would be wonderful. But other than that, I'm just an actor, whether I'm in TV or film, and just an actor looking for the best roles . . .
~ David William Duchovny, The Charlie Rose Show (Interview; 18 June 1998).

People think celebrities don't have to worry about human things like sickness and death and rent. It's like you've traveled to this Land of Celebrity, this other country. They want you to tell about what you saw.
~ David William Duchovny, in Esquire Magazine (May 1999). David Duchovny isn't really a television star. He just plays one on TV

We were followed around, and it was infuriating. It's hard to describe the powerlessness -- an AA word. You can't win. And it's difficult to be in a position where you can't win. For some reason somebody decided, OK, here's the price you have to pay. Then when you complain about it people go, "Didn't you understand? That's the price you have to pay". . . . We really have to reconsider what it is that a public person gives up. Why does a public person give up all his or her rights to privacy?
~ David William Duchovny, Playboy Interview: David Duchovny (December 1998).

Literary immortality is a moment in geological time.
~ William James "Will" Durant

He was the only person caught in the collapse, and afterward, most of his work was recovered too, and it is still spoken of, when it is noted, with high regard, though seldom played.
~ William Gaddis, The Recognitions (1955).

I have fallen (if I have fallen) in one common grave with the cause and love of liberty; and in this sense I have been more honoured and illustrated in my decline, than ever I was in the highest tide of my success.
~ William Godwin, Political and Philosophical Writings of William Godwin, Vol. II

Fame is the inheritance not of the dead, but of the living. It is we who look back with lofty pride to the great names of antiquity, who drink of that flood of glory as of a river, and refresh our wings in it for future flight.
~ William Hazlitt, in Selected Essays of William Hazlitt (1930). Characteristics (written in 1823)

Fame is the recompense not of the living, but of the dead. The temple of fame stands upon the grave: the flame that burns upon its altars is kindled from the ashes of great men.
~ William Hazlitt, from Lectures on the English Poets (1818). Lecture VIII: On The Living Poets

Reputation runs in a vicious circle, and Merit limps behind it, mortified and abashed at its own insignificance.
~ William Hazlitt, Table Talk, Essays on Men and Manners (1821-1822). On Patronage and Puffing

The love of fame is almost another name for the love of excellence; or it is the ambition to attain the highest excellence, sanctioned by the highest authority, that of time.
~ William Hazlitt

There are names written in her immortal scroll at which Fame blushes!
~ William Hazlitt, Characteristics: in the Manner of Rochefoucault's Maxims (1823).

[T]hough familiarity may not breed contempt, it takes off the edge of admiration.
~ William Hazlitt, Characteristics: in the Manner of Rochefoucault's Maxims (1823).

Being stared at is not fun . . . There are times when someone on the street says, "Are you William Hurt?" and I will say, "No, not at the moment."
~ William Hurt, in Sunday Telegraph (2000).

We are not only gregarious animals, liking to be in the sight of our fellows, but we have an innate propensity to get ourselves noticed, and noticed favorably, by our kind.
~ William James, The Principles of Psychology (1890). Vol. 1. Chapter X: The Consciousness of Self

You can't go home with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. You don't sleep with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. You don't get hugged by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and you don't have children with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I want what everybody else wants: to love and to be loved, and to have a family. Being in love has always been the most important thing in my life.
~ Billy Joel, The New York Times Magazine (15 September 2002). The Stranger

There's only a short walk from the hallelujah to the hoot.
~ William J. Kennedy, in CBS TV (28 July 1985)

I will tell you King's First Law of Recognition: You never get it when you want it, and then when it comes, you get too much.
~ Billie Jean King, Billie Jean (1982).

I've never cared that much for cementing my place in history. Sports is so transitory, so ephemeral. It just seems like so much nonsense comparing me to Helen Wills Moody or Suzanne Lenglen or anybody else from some other time. One lesson you learn from sports is that life goes on without you.
~ Billie Jean King, Billie Jean (1982). Chap. 2

O Giant loud and blind! the great man's fame
Is his own shadow, and not cast by thee.
~ William Wilberforce Lord, from Poems (1845). On the Defeat of a Great Man

Fame has sent a number of celebrities off the deep end, and in the case of Michael Jackson, to the kiddy pool.
~ Bill Maher

I enjoy the attention and I know that I'm in the public eye. There are a lot worse things that you can be asked to do in your life than sign autographs for people who like you.
~ Willie Mason, The Sydney Morning Herald (8 December 2002). Willie's good hair day

I do not believe they are right who say that the defects of famous men should be ignored. I think it is better that we should know them. Then, though we are conscious of having faults as glaring as theirs, we can believe that that is no hindrance to our achieving also something of their virtues.
~ W. Somerset Maugham, The Summing Up (1938).

The man I am writing about is not famous. It may be that he never will be. It may be that when his life at last comes to an end he will leave no more trace of his sojourn on earth than a stone thrown into a river leaves on the surface of the water. But it may be that the way of life that he has chosen for himself and the peculiar strength and sweetness of his character may have an ever-growing influence over his fellow men so that, long after his death perhaps, it may be realized that there lived in this age a very remarkable creature.
~ W. Somerset Maugham, The Razor's Edge (1944).

One must choose between Obscurity with Efficiency, and Fame with its inevitable collateral of Bluff.
~ William McFee

I wish popularity, but it is that popularity which follows; not that which is run after. It is that popularity, which sooner or later, never fails to do justice to the pursuit of noble ends by noble means. I will not do that which my conscience tells me is wrong . . .
~ William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, stated in the Wilkes' Case (1768).

What you want is fame?
Then note the price:
All claim
To honor you must sacrifice.
~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, The Gay Science (1882). Prelude in German Rhymes (Joke, Cunning and Revenge)

Let every man who pants for fame select his own style of pant and go ahead.
~ Edgar Wilson "Bill" Nye

Actually the more plastic and manufactured a pop star is the greater the temptation is to work with them and do something really out of order.
~ William Orbit, in NME (15 September 1990). Trust William

Public misbehavior by the famous is a powerful teaching tool.
~ Bill O'Reilly, The No-Spin Zone (October 2001). Introduction

It is strange how the memory of a man may float to posterity on what he would have himself regarded as the most trifling of his works.
~ William Osler

First your legs go. Then you lose your reflexes. Then you lose your friends.
~ Willie "Will o' the Wisp" Pep (Gugliermo Papaleo)

Those things you're talking about, that's just stuff in the breeze.
~ William ("The Refrigerator") Perry

Fame is a bitch, man.
~ (William) Brad Pitt

I'm not a real movie star. I've still got the same wife I started out with twenty-eight years ago.
~ Will Rogers

And what have kings that privates have not too,
Save ceremony, save general ceremony?
~ William Shakespeare, King Henry V

He lives in fame that died in virtue's cause.
~ William Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus

I would give all my fame for a pot of ale and safety.
~ William Shakespeare, King Henry V. Act III, scene ii

I was adored once too.
~ William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

Live to be the show and gaze o' the time.
~ William Shakespeare, Macbeth

O, the fierce wretchedness that glory brings us!
~ William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens. Act IV, scene ii

These signs have mark'd me extraordinary;
And all the courses of my life do show
I am not in the roll of common men.
~ William Shakespeare, King Henry IV, Part I. Act III, scene i

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.
~ William Shakespeare, King Henry IV, Part II. Act III, scene i

Glory relaxes often and debilitates the mind; censure stimulates and contracts -- both to an extreme. Simple fame is, perhaps, the proper medium.
~ William Shenstone, from Works in Verse and Prose (1764). Essays on Men and Manners

I cannot see why people are ashamed to acknowledge their passion for popularity. The love of popularity is the love of being beloved.
~ William Shenstone, from Works in Verse and Prose (1764). Essays on Men and Manners

Sloth views the towers of Fame with envious eyes,
Desirous still, still impotent to rise.
~ William Shenstone, The judgment of Hercules (1740).

I think I understand what military fame is; to be killed on the field of battle and have your name misspelled in the newspapers.
~ William Tecumseh Sherman

In my mind, I've always been an A-list Hollywood superstar. Y'all just didn't know yet.
~ Will Smith

You learn to live with it. You assume that you're doing the right thing, or why would you do it?
~ William (Bill) Theodore Walton, III (on living in the spotlight), The Chicago Tribune (29 October 2002). Fred Mitchell's Q&A: Bill Walton

Funny thing, I played in the big leagues for thirteen years and the only thing anybody seems to remember is that once I made an unassisted triple play in a World Series.
~ William Adolph "Bill" Wambsganss

My Aunt Minnie would always be punctual and never hold up production, but who would pay to see my Aunt Minnie?
~ Billy Wilder (on Marilyn Monroe's unpunctuality), Quoted in Hollywood Anecdotes (1988).

Here I am, at this age, and girls are coming to see me, jumping up and down.
~ Andy Williams

It's here today, gone tomorrow. Y'know? I think you need to do what you believe in to begin with and do what you're happy with artistically. Just do your own thing and just let it go from there. And whatever happens after that is kind of out of your hands.
~ Lucinda Williams, CNN TV (4 February 1999). Lucinda Williams chooses acclaim over fame any day

I've always been shy, but in New Orleans there were times my shyness would cause me actual physical pain. I'd get so claustrophobic around people that I'd bend over from the sickness in my stomach. That's not a good way to be when you're famous, obviously.
~ Ricky Williams, ESPN The Magazine (16 September 2002). Redemption Song

Sexually, you can do what you want, act out however you want to. It's allowed, I'm a pop star. But it's soulless.
~ Robbie Williams, in News of the World (9 September 2001. Extract from "Somebody Someday" (2001)

Being a famous print journalist is like being the best-dressed woman on radio.
~ Robin Williams

I jog on the Marina, no one bothers me. Had a woman come up the other day and say, "It's true, you do run here." She couldn't quite believe it. Like I was Bigfoot.
~ Robin Williams, San Francisco Examiner (4 October 1998). Robin Williams: Love in the Afterlife

I think Serena likes the attention. Everyone has their year, and this is her year, and next year could be her year, also -- I don't know. But I'm glad she's done well.
~ Venus Williams, The Associated Press (27 December 2002). Serena Named AP Female Athlete of Year

It's solid gold. I'm going to put it up on my mantle.
~ Bruce Willis, The Associated Press (15 February 2002). Willis Gets Hasty Pudding Award

There are, I think, three countries left in the world where I can go and I'm not as well-known as I am here. I'm a pretty big star, folks -- I don't have to tell you. Superstar, I guess you could say.
~ Bruce Willis, (1998).

A merry monarch, scandalous and poor.
~ John Wilmot, Earl Of Rochester, On the King

God bless our good and gracious King,
Whose promise none relies on;
Who never said a foolish thing,
Nor ever did a wise one.
~ John Wilmot, Earl Of Rochester, Impromptu on Charles II

There's not a thing on earth that I can name,
So foolish, and so false, as common fame.
~ John Wilmot, Earl Of Rochester, Did E'er This Saucy World

My show is my statement. What I have to say is on the screen. My life is my own. I don't want to talk about my private self. Why should I?
~ Clerow "Flip" Wilson, in Time Magazine (Interview; 1972). TV's first black superstar

I'm not into that egomaniac, fame, up-front thing. I was always in the shadows at the back, out the way and just do me duty.
~ Bill Wyman (William George Perks), in The Ottawa Sun (21 February 1999). Wyman keeps Rolling along

Yeah, well, they were always a good band. . . . People say, "I've got to see the Stones once." Young kids that have heard about them from their dads and their uncles. So that will go on forever.
~ Bill Wyman (William George Perks), in The Toronto Sun (17 February 1999). Ex-Stone rolls to own drummer