If you're a singer you lose your voice. A baseball player loses his arm. A writer gets more knowledge, and if he's good, the older he gets, the better he writes.

I'm not an author, I'm a writer, that's all I am. Authors want their names down in history; I want to keep the smoke coming out of the chimney.

I'm actually a softie. Tough guys get killed too early... I've got a full head of hair and don't wear eyeglasses.

Those big-shot writers ... could never dig the fact that there are more salted peanuts consumed than caviar.

Victor Saville was bad news because he wanted money just to do one big picture.

I read all the time... I read a lot of history books.

I know an awful lot of Hollywood people, who are so self-important, I can't understand it.