I had no idea what they were saying in Italian as a child, they spoke too quickly on the radio. But I realized that language was very funny.

My father was an American who could cuss in Italian and make an aria out of it. It was wonderful to watch. But then again, he was a Gemini. I believe in that stuff.

I went to Brooklyn College and met this beautiful Jewish girl named Merle, with dark hair, exotic looking and brilliant. So we got married and had three children.

I enjoyed my grandparents very much. My mother and father would always allow me to stay with them.

For TV I don't think I could have gotten a better part than Uncle Junior because of the intimacy of the character based on David Chase's brilliant writing.

The radio was my big influence. Comedy came from the instinctual feel I had for language.

When I started really singing I was 17, 18 years old. I used to go around trying to be a singer in the Bronx. My knees would shake but I learned by doing.