I am interested in a lot of things - not just show business and my passion for animals. I try to keep current in what's going on in the world. I do mental exercises. I don't have any trouble memorizing lines because of the crossword puzzles I do every day to keep my mind a little limber. I don't sit and vegetate.

I'm just happy as a lark having a good health. People say are you thinking about retiring, I don't have time to think about retiring.

I know unless I'm true to myself I couldn't be happy. Too much emphasis is placed today on externals and too little on character.

When I started in television, it was brand new. It was the miracle over in the corner of your room. Now the audience has seen every story line. People have heard every joke. They can predict the plot almost before a show starts. That's a hard, sophisticated audience to reach.

I'm in the middle of my sixth book, which is about animals at the Los Angeles Zoo.

As the years went on, the audience has become very jaded. They've heard every joke, they've seen every story line, they know where you're going before you even start to get there. And that's a hard audience to keep interested.

I think everybody needs a passion. Whether it's one passion or a hundred, that's what keep life interesting.