"I was the first to refuse the draft. I was the first to speak out against the Vietnam War. I was the first to call the white man the devil."

"I'm a showman, I'm an entertainer."

"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life."

"I'm going to put him in the hospital."

"I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale. I done handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail. You know I'm bad. Just last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized …"