The Fine Art of Family Magazine

To celebrate Father’s Day (June 20th), we handpicked these 11 smart, sincere, silly, and sentimental quotes recounting what people—everyone from celebrities to politicians to everyday folks—have learned from or remember most about their dear old dad.

“I’m not afraid of too many things, and I got that invincible kind of attitude from my father.”—Reinhold Niebuhr, theologian/political commentator

“My father, when you were with him, gave you so much attention. It might only last for a minute, but for that minute you felt like you were the greatest thing that ever hit the earth.”—Courteney Cox, actor

“Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best.”—Bob Talbert, columnist

“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”—Mark Twain, author

“The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.”—Theodore Hesburgh, priest

“My dad always used to tell me that if they challenge you to an after-school fight, tell them you won’t wait-you can kick their ass right now.”—Cameron Diaz, actor

“One father is more than 100 schoolmasters.”—George Herbert , poet

“My Father taught me how to be a man – and not by instilling in me a sense of machismo or an agenda of dominance. He taught me that a real man doesn’t take, he gives; he doesn’t use force, he uses logic; doesn’t play the role of trouble-maker, but rather, trouble-shooter; and most importantly, a real man is defined by what’s in his heart, not his pants.”—Kevin Smith, screenwriter/producer/director

“My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition.”—Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India

“I wrote myself a check $10,000,000 for acting services rendered and dated it Thanksgiving 1995. I put it in my wallet and it deteriorated. And then, just before Thanksgiving 1995, I found out I was going to make $10,000,000 for ‘Dumb & Dumber.’ I put that check in the casket with my father because it was our dream together.” —Jim Carry, actor

Published on June 16, 2010

Tags: Celebrating, Family, Thoughtful Thursdays