Quotes by John Osborne

Asking a working writer what he feels about critics is like asking a lamp-post what it feels about dogs.
– John Osborne
Don't clap too hard - it's a very old building.
– John Osborne
Here we are, we're alone in the universe, there's no God, it just seems that it all began by something as simple as sunlight striking on a piece of rock. And here we are. We've only got ourselves. Somehow, we've just got to make a go of it. We've only ourselves.
– John Osborne
The British public has always had an unerring taste for ungifted amateurs.
– John Osborne
The whole point of a sacrifice is that you give up something you never really wanted in the first place. People are doing it around you all the time. They give up their careers, say - or their beliefs - or sex.
– John Osborne
They spend their time looking forward to the past.
– John Osborne
We all of us waited for him to die. The family sent him a check every month, and hoped he'd get on with it quietly, without too much vulgar fuss.
– John Osborne
What are we hoping to get out of it, what's it all in aid of - is it really just for the sake of a gloved hand waving at you from a golden coach?
– John Osborne
There's no such thing as failure - just waiting for success.
– John Osborne