Estelle Talley was the most influential figure in turning little nappy-headed Eric Bishop into the man I eventually became.
She got to see me rise to the highest heights.
And she knew it all came about because of the hours and the toil she put in.
‘Act Like You Got Some Sense’ by Jamie Foxx.
That’s what every parent wants to see our children soar.
When I won the Academy Award, I paid tribute to her in my acceptance speech.
“She was my first acting teacher,” I said from the stage.
“She told me ‘Stand up straight, put your shoulders back, act like you got some sense.
‘…She still talks to me, only now she talks to me in my dreams.”
Even when I didn’t know it myself.
There’s not really a neat way to wrap up who Granny was as a person.
You just needed to know her.
Even when it means you gotta be tough with them.
Sometimes you gotta be toughbecauseyou love them.
Just like she always loved me.
Excerpted from the bookAct Like You Got Some Sense: And Other Things My Daughters Taught Meby Jamie Foxx.
Copyright 2021 by No Brainer, Inc. Reprinted with permission of Grand Central Publishing.
