July 1: Notable Births, with Quotes
Explore memorable and revealing quotes from public figures, past and present, who were born on July 1.
Princess Diana, British royal (July 1, 1961–August 31, 1997)
“I think like any marriage, specially when you’ve had divorced parents like myself, you’d want to try even harder to make it work and you don’t want to fall back into a pattern that you’ve seen happen in your own family.” —Princess Diana
Bashir, Martin. “The Panorama Interview.” BBC, November 1995, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/diana/panorama.html.
“I remember when I used to sit on hospital beds and hold people’s hands, people used to be sort of shocked because they said they’d never seen this before, and to me it was quite a normal thing to do.” —Princess Diana
Bashir, Martin. “The Panorama Interview.” BBC, November 1995, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/diana/panorama.html.
Dan Aykroyd, comedian and actor (July 1, 1952–present)
“There is enough range in humor where you don’t have to go scatological and you don’t have to go pulling any divisive cards to get a laugh. There is so much in the world to comment on that is outside the realm of offensiveness.” —Dan Aykroyd
Parker, Ryan. “Dan Aykroyd Supports Hurtful Comedy Getting the Cancel-Culture Ax.” The Hollywood Reporter, November 2, 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/dan-aykroyd-ghostbusters-afterlife-snl-cancel-culture-1235036791/.
“Who can be the subject of an impression today? That’s an area of discussion. Can I do my James Brown imitation? He was one of my best friends. I do his voice pretty good. But maybe I shouldn’t anymore.” —Dan Aykroyd
Parker, Ryan. “Dan Aykroyd Supports Hurtful Comedy Getting the Cancel-Culture Ax.” The Hollywood Reporter, November 2, 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/dan-aykroyd-ghostbusters-afterlife-snl-cancel-culture-1235036791/.
Debbie Harry, singer (July 1, 1945–present)
“I’m sensitive, but yet I’m tough. I want to live through things and move on.” —Debbie Harry
Lentini, Liza. “Dreaming Of Debbie.” SPIN, March 1, 2021, https://www.spin.com/2021/03/debbie-harry-blondie-interview/.
“I think that you have to have a really strong identity or sense of values with what you’re doing and regardless of what happens…the stuff that feeds you has to come from your work, and that somehow that has to make it all worthwhile.” —Debbie Harry
Lentini, Liza. “Dreaming Of Debbie.” SPIN, March 1, 2021, https://www.spin.com/2021/03/debbie-harry-blondie-interview/.
Twyla Tharp, choreographer and dancer (July 1, 1941–present)
“I don’t believe in this Romantic idea of the suffering artist; I don’t believe in suffering anything. I think everyone can be creative, but you have to prepare for it with routine.” —Twyla Tharp
Coutu, Diane. “Creativity Step by Step.” Harvard Business Review, April 2008, https://hbr.org/2008/04/creativity-step-by-step.
“It’s an absolute mistake to think that art is not practical—or that business cannot be creative. The best artists are extraordinarily practical. The most creative painters I know mix their own paint, grind it, put in the fixative. They make use of everything they have at their disposal.” —Twyla Tharp
Coutu, Diane. “Creativity Step by Step.” Harvard Business Review, April 2008, https://hbr.org/2008/04/creativity-step-by-step.
Sydney Pollack, director and producer (July 1, 1934–May 26, 2008)
“If words are a primary instrument of diplomacy and diplomacy is a primary alternative to violence, then do words have to have the same power as bullets do? Or knives or something like that? And can they?” —Sydney Pollack
Minghella, Anthony. “Sydney Pollack interview: ‘If I had to do a movie and there was no love story in it I would just be bored.’” BFI, May 22, 2017, https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/interviews/sydney-pollack-interview.
“I’m not a writer myself so I’m forced to try to get what’s a sort of an odour or a colour or something I feel in my head from a writer and that’s a… I don’t have a recipe for that process.” —Sydney Pollack
Minghella, Anthony. “Sydney Pollack interview: ‘If I had to do a movie and there was no love story in it I would just be bored.’” BFI, May 22, 2017, https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/interviews/sydney-pollack-interview.
William Wyler, director and producer (July 1, 1902–July 27, 1981)
“I would hardly call myself an auteur—although I’m one of the few American directors who can pronounce the word correctly.” —William Wyler
Patterson, John. “William Wyler: Interviews.” DGA Quarterly, Winter 2010, https://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/0904-Winter-2009-10/Books-William-Wyler.aspx.
“These Westerns, all routine and elementary, had to move!” —William Wyler
Patterson, John. “William Wyler: Interviews.” DGA Quarterly, Winter 2010, https://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/0904-Winter-2009-10/Books-William-Wyler.aspx.
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