May 23: Notable Births, with Quotes
Explore memorable and revealing quotes from public figures, past and present, who were born on May 23.
Ken Jennings, game show contestant and author (May 23, 1974–present)
“The mechanics of hosting ‘Jeopardy!’ are daunting. There’s a lot going on at once, and Alex made it all look so easy. But I can tell you firsthand, it’s not easy.” —Ken Jennings
Levin, Gary. “‘I was just terrified’: Ken Jennings recalls replacing Alex Trebek as he returns to ‘Jeopardy!’” USA Today, November 9, 2021, https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2021/11/08/jeopardy-ken-jennings-returns-host-year-after-alex-trebek-death/6287733001/.
“If my country called upon me to host ‘Jeopardy!’ I would happily do my patriotic duty. That show is my first love. I, even as a little kid, I would run home from school every day to watch. It’s just a big part of who I am and the person I became, even before I was on the show.” —Ken Jennings
Levin, Gary. “‘I was just terrified’: Ken Jennings recalls replacing Alex Trebek as he returns to ‘Jeopardy!’” USA Today, November 9, 2021, https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2021/11/08/jeopardy-ken-jennings-returns-host-year-after-alex-trebek-death/6287733001/.
Mitch Albom, author and journalist (May 23, 1958–present)
“When you do the things from your heart, they’re right.” —Mitch Albom
Tolin, Lisa. “Hoda Kotb is ‘Making Space’ for life lessons from Mitch Albom.” Today, October 11, 2021, https://www.today.com/podcasts/hoda-kotb-making-space-podcast-mitch-albom-t233118.
“What we choose to fill our arms with, up with, and what we choose to carry, is actually what ends up defining us.” —Mitch Albom
Tolin, Lisa. “Hoda Kotb is ‘Making Space’ for life lessons from Mitch Albom.” Today, October 11, 2021, https://www.today.com/podcasts/hoda-kotb-making-space-podcast-mitch-albom-t233118.
Drew Carey, comedian and game show host (May 23, 1958–present)
“I feel like a widower, you know, in a lot of ways, because I wanted to marry her, and then we had this horrible breakup. And then before I could talk to her again, somebody killed her.” —Drew Carey
Segarra, Edward. “Drew Carey reflects on final conversation with former fiancee Amie Harwick before her tragic death.” USA Today, February 10, 2022, https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2022/02/10/drew-carey-reflects-fiancee-amie-harwick-tragic-death/6744691001/.
“I just liked stand-up comedy so much. I used to memorize Bill Cosby albums and other people’s albums, George Carlin, Flip Wilson. My friends and I would always look at ‘National Lampoon.’ I don’t know, it just seemed like a natural thing. I always loved comedy, and I wanted to try it.” —Drew Carey
Harris, Will. “Drew Carey remembers when ‘The Tonight Show’ really meant something.” AV Club, July 17, 2012, https://www.avclub.com/drew-carey-remembers-when-the-tonight-show-really-meant-1798232466.
Joan Collins, actor (May 23, 1933–present)
“My mother had seven or eight sisters, and everybody was very concerned about how they looked—my mother always had daytime clothes as well as evening wear. At one point, I even wanted to be a designer, and I would design clothes for my aunts.” —Joan Collins
Ford, Tom. “The Immortal Joan Collins Finds Her Way In A New Age.” Interview, October 30, 2018, https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/on-american-horror-story-the-immortal-joan-collins-resurfaces-in-a-new-age.
“I won’t wear anything unless it’s got a full shoulder, or off-the-shoulder. I’m not the jeans-and-t-shirt type. Particularly torn jeans; I think that’s disgusting.” —Joan Collins
Ford, Tom. “The Immortal Joan Collins Finds Her Way In A New Age.” Interview, October 30, 2018, https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/on-american-horror-story-the-immortal-joan-collins-resurfaces-in-a-new-age.
Douglas Fairbanks Sr., actor (May 23, 1883–December 12, 1939)
“You see, we hardly ever go into Los Angeles. It’s no pleasure going to the theaters there because of the crowds and, besides, we have all the new pictures sent up here where we can enjoy them in comfort.” —Douglas Fairbanks Sr.
Kitchen, Karl K. “Horrible Hollywood, Home of Hokum.” OldMagazineArticles.com, June 10, 1922, http://www.oldmagazinearticles.com/Douglas_Fairbanks_and_Mary_Pickford_Article-pdf.
“Would you believe it, that I’ve never been to any of the places in Hollywood and Los Angeles that the newspapers write about? Why, Mary and I have only been to the Ambassador Hotel once since it was built. We spend practically all our evenings at home. And we’re usually in bed at 11 o’clock.” —Douglas Fairbanks Sr.
Kitchen, Karl K. “Horrible Hollywood, Home of Hokum.” OldMagazineArticles.com, June 10, 1922, http://www.oldmagazinearticles.com/Douglas_Fairbanks_and_Mary_Pickford_Article-pdf.
Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linne), taxonomist and botanist (May 23, 1707–January 10, 1778)
“As the reindeer walks along, a crackling noise proceeds from its feet. This excited my curiosity; and inquiring what was supposed to be the cause, the only answer I could get from any one was, that ‘our Lord had made it so.’”
Von Linne, Carl. “A Tour in Lapland, Volume 1.” Project Gutenberg, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/34779/34779-h/34779-h.htm, p. 311.
“The exquisite purity and good flavour of water always depend on the snow, which tends to preserve water as salt does meat. We all know how soon water is spoiled by keeping in a warm place, and, on the contrary, how long it may be preserved in a cold one. The Laplanders treasure up the snow water as if it were the choicest wine.”
Von Linne, Carl. “A Tour in Lapland, Volume 1.” Project Gutenberg, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/34779/34779-h/34779-h.htm, p. 362.
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