My father was funnier than me. My father was Richard Pryor-funny. I'm just a better businessman.

And when I was angry, when I was younger, I was in a cocoon. Now I'm a beautiful, black butterfly.

I had a great time working on 'Saturday Night Live.' It was one of the important times in my life.

When you look at the artists who have come up through 'Billboard' over the years, it's incredible.

Every person has contributed to me as a human, but a lot of the characters I do are ones I created.

If I had to describe my sense of humor, I would say it's contemporary wit, you know what I'm saying?

I want to let my fans know I love them and I'm coming your way and I'm bringing truckloads of funny.

If we all had a little bit of Michael Jackson in us, I think it would make the world a better place.

I think it's good that I get scared because, if you never get scared, you don't have any need for guts.

I've gone through my trials and tribulations, and sure, it's gotten bumpy and all that, but I'm here. OK?

Stand-up and comedy is the place where we are supposed to be able to make fun of all of the world's ills.

People bring camera phones into comedy shows and clubs and concerts, and sound bites never come out right.

Even when I'm sitting up in this glass castle, I still got my street soldiers telling me what's happening.

We need to learn to laugh at ourselves because when you don't laugh, you cry. And I don't feel like crying.

I'm a big, big movie fan. I watch 'The Ten Commandments' and the original 'Planet of the Apes' every night.

Michael's the ultimate entertainer. After Michael Jackson, it's Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, and Bruce Lee.

Cool is the enemy of funny. You can't be cool and be funny at the same time. Only Eddie Murphy could do that.

Being funny wasn't a career choice growing up, it was my way out of situations; a way to survive another day.

When you're in the spotlight, people want to dissect you and then put you back together the way they want you.

If there's one thing I've learned in my life, it's that curiosity might kill cats, but it doesn't kill people.

I grew up in the projects in Brooklyn, and I consider myself lucky and blessed to be where I am - just working.

If I gamble, I'll play roulette. My wife and I will play roulette, and that's about it. I'm not a heavy gambler.

I was like any other inner-city kid with a chip on his shoulder because his daddy and his mommy wasn't together.

There aren't a lot of guys out there keeping it real. Everybody's been branded. Everybody's been bought and sold.

Stand-up is really personal. It's not like somebody else is writing the script and you have to do what they write.

Too many people focus on the thing, instead of the heavenly glory of it. I don't want to give away what to expect.

They say that every Jewish person is supposed to love one black person in his life. I'm glad Lorne Michaels chose me.

I have the person at home, the person who has his privacy, too. Michael Jackson didn't do the moonwalk in his kitchen.

I don't have a hateful bone in my body. I don't believe anyone should be bullied or made to feel bad about who they are.

I remember when I was on 'Saturday Night Live' my first year, and I wasn't getting much. I was down; I was ready to quit.

Stand-up don't get no respect - it's the hardest thing to do in show business. You don't have no band and there's no music.

I'm old, and so busy with work, that I like to just stay home and get my sleep now. I try not to burn both ends of the candle.

What I have learned over the years is to try to stay in the moment. I want to feel it all because I've realized nothing lasts.

You can't hold me to the same standard as the president or a school teacher. I'm just a comedian. My job is like Archie Bunker.

Let's focus on the funny. ... That's what I'm focused on... This is the gift God gave me. That's what I want to touch in people.

Rock bottom for some people is death. Some people never learn from their mistakes. They don't learn from other people's mistakes.

Everything I talk about in stand-up is my experiences as an American, as a father, as a husband, as a black man, as a human being.

Sometimes I think we're exposed to things we shouldn't be exposed to too early. I think that sets the tone to a person's whole life.

I love animals, but I don't want to talk to them. I'd rather be able to talk to other people on other continents and understand them.

If you can get your life down to one minute at a time, you don't miss anything. You have total abundance of information and material.

Working with Bruce Willis makes my career authentic. I may not get an Oscar, but I worked with Bruce Willis. That matters more to me.

For my first gig, I got $75. I could make money being funny, so I pursued it as a career and have turned it into a lucrative business.

Yeah, race exists. Racism is still here, and it's doing well. Turn on the news. I don't think me and my comedy can really change that.

I don't see myself as angry, although other people see that. I just see myself as a short, dumpy guy with bad feet, and I'm passionate.

When I do stand-up... I get to do whatever I want to do. There's no boundaries. You'll get to know me. You'll leave with a piece of me.

People live too much of their lives on email or the Internet or text messages these days. We're losing all of our communication skills.

Because Eddie [Murphy] came from where I come from, the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. People in the projects used to call me Fat Murphy.

I guess I'm entertaining; I guess I'm interesting. I guess the things that I say sell papers. I guess they sell magazines. I don't know.

In my heart, I really don't care who you love, same sex or not; as long as you have the ability to love, that's the important thing here.

Eddie [Murphy] is an icon. He's one of the reason why I started doing comedy in the beginning. He opened a lot of doors for black people.

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