Top 12 Quotes & Sayings by Esther Rolle

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American actress Esther Rolle.

Last updated on November 8, 2024.

Esther Elizabeth Rolle was an Bahamian-American actress. She is best known for her role as Florida Evans, on the CBS television sitcom Maude, for two seasons (1972–1974), and its spin-off series Good Times, for five seasons, for which Rolle was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy in 1976. In 1979, Rolle accepted the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Special for the television film Summer of My German Soldier.

American - Actress | November 8, 1920 - November 17, 1998

Source: Wikipedia

I ruffle a lot of feathers. And I'm also selective - that makes you a troublemaker. But so be it. I laid a cornerstone for black actors, and that makes me happy.

Esther Rolle

I don't take roles I can't respect. If I can't find a reason to be respectful of the character, I won't do it because I couldn't do it justice.

Esther Rolle

My mother grew up with each of her children - whatever your age, that's the age she'd be when she listened to your stories. She never belittled our problems. It made for something permanent and reliable.

Esther Rolle

I don't play Hollywood maids, the hee-hee kind of people who are so in love with their madam's children they have no time for their own.

Esther Rolle

I had a wonderful father, and I couldn't bear that television virtually ignored black fathers.

Esther Rolle

We feel we have to put concrete on every inch of land. It disturbs the ecology, and it takes away the experience of a child going out into the woods and seeing all of nature.

Esther Rolle

I'm glad to take on the role of a domestic because many of your black leaders, your educators, your professionals came from domestic parents who made sacrifices to see that their children didn't go through what they did.

Esther Rolle

'Hollywood maids' are so idiotic. They grin at everything. I told Norman Lear I didn't want to play a maid because of that 'hee-hee/grin-grin' attitude, and he said, 'Who said I wanted that?' He told me he wanted two strong women that are the black and white of the same coin. I said, 'Oh, well - in that case, I'll be right there!'

Esther Rolle

I'm not so in love with material things that I'll do anything for money. That allows me the luxury of doing things of value.

Esther Rolle

I admit that living in Nigeria sounds romantic, but Africa isn't America by a long shot. It's a different world and a different place in time...

Esther Rolle

I told them [the producers] I couldn't compound the lie that Black fathers don't care about their children. I was proud of the family life I was able to introduce to television.

Esther Rolle

Black college-educated people got to where they are on the backs of domestic help, meaning their parents and grandparents. So people should not forget how they got to where they are.

Esther Rolle

Top 12 Quotes & Sayings by Esther Rolle

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