Having the critics praise you is like having the hangman say you've got a pretty neck.

But I went to the University of Texas in the 30s, and while there I learned to ride. Mostly polo ponies.

I've never lost my appetite for acting; it's innovative and challenging.

No, I never thought of it in those terms. I used to go into agents' offices and they'd have pictures of these handsome movie men and I knew I'd never be up there. I'm a journeyman actor. I didn't think about stardom.

I'd come out of the army after five years as a medic. I was a medical administrator and we ran hospitals, and I was a Captain in the Army at the end, in 1945.

In the book, I tell the story of seeing old movies when I was young and acting out scenes at home. Now I get scripts, and I act them out.

My wife says that stage acting is like being on a tightrope with no net, and being in the movies, there is a net - because you stop and go over it again. It's very technical and mechanical. On stage you're on your own.