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"Don’t be helpless, don’t kill yourself, don’t look for trouble. Stuff gets in your way, kick it under the rug. Stay well, stay with it, make it come out. Never, never, never give up."–Ruth Gordon, Mrs. Garson Kanin
A quote Garson Kanin always kept on his desk.
“My creed:
To love justice, to long for the right,
to love mercy,
to pity the suffering, to assist the weak,
to forget wrongs and remember benefits,
to love the truth, to be sincere,
to utter honest words, to love liberty,
to wage relentless war
against slavery in all its forms,
to love family and friend,
to make a happy home,
to love the beautiful in art, in nature,
to cultivate the mind,
to be familiar with the mighty thoughts
that genius has expressed,
the noble deeds of all the world;
to cultivate courage and cheerfulness,
to make others happy,
to fill life with the splendor of generous acts,
the warmth of loving words;
to discard error, to destroy prejudice,
to receive new truths with gladness,
to cultivate hope,
to see the calm beyond the storm,
the dawn beyond the night,
to do the best that can be done
and then be resigned.
This is the religion of reason,
the creed of science.
This satisfies the brain and the heart.”
Robert G. Ingersoll
The second Mrs. Kanin, the lovely, soulful Marian Seldes. With thanks to James Grissom. If you haven’t read his Follies of God? Oh my. Do yourself a favor."What did I say to Marlon [Brando]? Those calls came so suddenly, and they were so sad, a man–a boy, really–in the night, needing a friend. I never consoled him by telling him that he was a brilliant and beautiful actor, because I knew he would reject that. That would have been too easy, something a stranger would say. I loved him so: He was such an important part of my young life, and I watched him in everything, even if it was one of the late shows in the theatres we went to after our performances. All of us actors would do our plays and then head to a theatre to see films. It was like a dream. Walking home at two in the morning–we felt safe always then–thinking and talking about what he had done. Yes, we can all love him for that work, but I felt he was calling us–calling me–to see if he, as a man, was loved and mattered. The theatre is my life and my religion and my drug, yes, but it is people I love the most, and I embrace them and love them as I move about them. I want them to live well and be happy, and that is how I would talk to Marlon. I would remind him that he was loved and needed, and we always come back to that term Tennessee [Williams] gave you: to matter. I let him know that he mattered, and I let him know that I was here for him, we were here for him, listening and writing and remembering. They say he’s gone now, but he isn’t. We will continue to love him, and so he will continue to live." – Marian Seldes/Interview with James Grissom #FolliesOfGod