I've always been a strong family advocate. I had a wonderful family growing up.

I was the singing voice of a cartoon character. I did dog food commercials. I did a lot of commercials, actually, and helped pay my rent and my classes. Then I'd get one good line or two good scenes. I was building my career and building my own experience and learning technically what it was like to be on a set and all of those things.

You think you're in control, and you're trying to get that square peg in that round hole. You're frustrated, and you realize that you're not in control of everything. You need to just step back and let God.

I only had one focus and one direction, and I knew where my spirit and heart lived, and it was in singing and dancing and acting, being that. I know a lot of young people dream that, but it's good that it worked out for me because it was all I ever wanted to do.

The ladder of success in Hollywood is usually a press agent, actor, director, producer, leading man; and you are a star if you sleep with each of them in that order. Crude, but true.

The secrets of success are a good wife and a steady job. My wife told me.

The African Americans' story is one that seems to be a repeated commitment to a scenario for success and failure. With each failure, the blow is that much more traumatizing until finally one reaches a point where there is to some degree an internalization, skepticism, fatalism, and expectation that it isn't going to work.

Young people need the hands-on training that comes with a summer job. They need to know how to dress for success and nail job interviews. But most of all, they need mentorship, guidance, and inspiration.