I always plan dinner first thing in the morning. That's the only way I can get through the day, having a specific meal to look forward to at night.

When I read Dickens for the first time, I thought he was Jewish, because he wrote about oppression and bigotry, all the things that my father talked about.

Ed Sullivan brought me to TV first in 1952, then Garry Moore's program gave me a lot of confidence and freedom.

Modesty is not one of my virtues.

We get the worrywart, the hypochondriac, the money-grubbing miser, the intractable negotiator... Some would say certain of these refer to the stereotypical, or 'stage' Jew. But objectively speaking, the only crime in humor is an unfunny joke.

It's not easy being a father, but I've been allowed a comeback.

My son says I never tell stories about anyone who's living.