Iconic Performers Quotes

Madonna, Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe - they were myths of greatness.

What I like about Elvis is the same thing I like about James Brown, Michael Jackson, Prince. These guys, back in the day, there was no smoke and mirrors. It was just raw talent. They would step out onstage and command an audience. Talk about awesome.

Getting to perform at the Carlyle, following in the footsteps of women like Elaine Stritch, Barbara Cook, Christine Ebersole, Kelli O'Hara, and so many others, is nothing short of a dream come true.

Nobody has communicated with the public more than Lady Gaga. Ever. I trust the audience, and I'm very impressed. As far as they're concerned, she's part of their family. The only guy who ever did that was Bing Crosby, years ago.

Las Vegas without Wayne Newton is like Disneyland without Mickey Mouse.

Not to be mean about it, but some great rock and rollers, like Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry, are pretty one-dimensional.

It's really a grand old, legendary theatre where the spirits of like Judy Garland and all these great performers have been. The clubs are way more underground.

I met Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin when I hung out with Michael Lang just before the Woodstock Festival. They were as charismatic in person as they were on stage.

My dad brought me Michael Jackson and Madonna and said, "This is ALL you need to know!"

It's still amazing to me to walk down the halls of 'SNL.' You see pictures of the greatest comedians we grew up worshiping, basically. It's crazy to be able to still work there.

It's about timing and rhythm. But who could be better than Chaplin or Keaton?

It's not like I'm the first man ever to do this, y'know? You gotta go back to Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby and Sammy Davis Jr. Those are people who've done music well and movies well, and y'know, Frank Sinatra and Elvis and all these dudes have made the transition. I don't know about Elvis, 'bout doin' 'em good, y'know? It's nothin' new.

Certainly there were so many different people I had as heroes growing up. Steve Martin is always my number one. David Letterman's show, that was important. And 'Saturday Night Live,' obviously.

I was obsessed with Carol Burnett and then Tracey Ullman. Like, obsessed with their shows.

The three great moments of my life had to be the concerts of Ellington in 1938, Dizzy in '48, and Ella in '52.

I've always had a thing about Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Helen Mirren, Julie Walters, and Imelda Staunton. I'm hoping to follow in their footsteps.

I never wanted to be a brand director. I didn't want that kind of stamp. I wanted to be more like Pacino or Dustin Hoffman or Meryl Streep or De Niro - you know, a chameleon as a storyteller - because I love all kinds of movies.

Abbott and Costello were huge for me as a very young person.

I love divas. Madonna, Mariah, Beyonce, Britney.

I have the background singers of Ray Charles, the background singers of Smokey Robinson, and the background singers of Barry White and I built a choir around that.

If Elton John and Madonna had a baby it would be Lady Gaga.

I'm massively inspired by Janet Jackson, and I adore Whitney Houston and Madonna.

When I was a kid, I always looked up to people like B.B. King and Ray Charles.

I would love to share the screen with Meryl Streep, wouldn't we all? I would love to work with Spielberg and Scorsese; that would be lovely. I'm also a huge fan of Johnny Depp and the way he creates his characters, so that would be fun. I mean, any of the greats, really.

When I was coming up, everybody wanted to be Tom Hanks. There was always Robert De Niro and Al Pacino - they were the heavily dramatic stuff. I always had a foot in both camps. The hardest thing was to resist the advice to be like someone else. It took me a while to figure that out.