Quotes

[on Jerry Lewis]: Jerry is my best friend - I know if ever I were in any need, all I'd have to do is make a phone call. Sometimes, on a professional basis, he's exasperating, but anyone who's talented is.

[on Orson Welles, 1962]: I think Welles is great. There are no better pictures than "Citizen Kane" and "The Magnificent Ambersons". A few years ago, when I was working over at RKO, I saw the footage he had shot for that South American picture he never finished, "It's All True". A lot of it was in color. I don't know, I must've sat there maybe ten hours, and I just can't describe it to you. It was like nothing I've ever seen. Fantastic.

[on Tony Randall, 1965]: Randall takes direction beautifully. He filters it through his own mechanism. Some comedians imitate their directors. When you're working with Tony, you feel like a ballet master. His technique is as clean as a chess game. His control is beautiful to watch - an acting lesson for anyone interested in the art of acting.

[on Robert Morley, 1965]: The dialogue he has come up with! He hasn't said one word as written - thank God! Because this man can sneeze better dialogue than was written.