Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Wit is a comic's defense weapon.
I'm not slim and trim like Johnny Carson.
I can't sit still. It drives me up the wall.
In high school my mind wandered all the time.
I enjoy life. That doesn't mean I don't care.
No one's an overnight sensation unless you're Batman.
I try to play Hogan in an off-hand throwing lines way.
You make more money in dinner theaters than on Broadway.
I don't smoke, I don't drink, two out of three ain't bad.
I'd like to do movies. The kind of comedies Jack Lemmon does.
Actually, Hogan is an extension of what I used to do on radio.
I made it a point to study the people in the business I admired most.
I never would take a role of radio announcer, disc jockey or musician.
Well, I take my drums everywhere I go so I can play them for relaxation.
Some people never do become a success and then start looking for a crutch.
When I blow a line at Disney I say, 'Oh fudge,' instead of what is really on mind.
Look at 'Bonanza.' If you rely on a gimmick or one big star, you've got a problem.
It's not unusual for my room to be stacked with newspapers gathered during a trip.
I learn by admiring others, listening and correcting what wouldn't be right for me.
Maybe, realistically, in a career you have only one hit series. Maybe 'Hogan's' was mine.
Audiences won't buy an Ozzie Nelson walking and talking around about Rickie's new bicycle.
I don't dig jogging. I've tried, I really have, but I don't get any enjoyment out of jogging.
The way I look at it, you've got to quit your TV series before they'll consider you in movies.
Someone like Van Johnson can spend 52 weeks a year on the road because he doesn't have a family.
I own half a million dollars worth of-houses in California. That's a lot for an unemployed actor.
Hogan's' came from left field. It isn't 'McHale's' and it isn't 'Combat.' You can't categorize it.
Unless you do an Archie and Edith Bunker, there's not much left In TV for husband-wife conversation.
If you'll notice, we don't have any real out and out jokes on 'Hogan.' Basically the program is drama.
I really always wanted to be an actor, I guess, but I did enjoy being a disc jockey here in Los Angeles.
Frankly, I'm a drummer; and when I wanted to let off steam, I would just go and beat the hell out of my drums.
I remember Jerry Lewis said once that when small, he was the nutty kid in his neighborhood and I was the same way.
Whenever anyone asks me what I did in the service, I just tell him I was a member of the famed 'Remington Raiders.'
The day of the 'Partridge Family' type of show and the 'Brady Bunch' is long gone. The old 'Ozzie and Harriet' days are over.
I know that when I've passed the Jim Nabors set at our studio, I call out 'Hi Gomer,' and I can't honestly think of his real name.
You know what they say: You go on the road and you're out of the business. Out of sight, out of mind. I can't afford that sort of thing.
After two years with 'Donna,' they offered me a new contract, but I said no. I didn't want to be the fourth man through the door any more.
My wife kept looking at the Jack Paar show and telling me that's what I should be doing on television. But I kept telling her she was wrong.
I like Johnny Carson because he doesn't hold anything back when he's going for a laugh. Johnny will do anything, say anything, to get his laugh.
I look at the things that Dick Van Dyke and Danny Kaye do on television, and I think: Maybe I could do that. And I never miss a Jack Lemmon picture.
I turned down more offers to be Jack Paar or Johnny Carson or Steve Allen before the people on the 'Donna Reed Show' gave me a chance to earn while I learned.
I work best under pressure. At home I look at a script for about 10 minutes then I get distracted bymy records, or my tape, or my videotape machine, or Scotty.
Working at Disney makes you aware of the family image of the studio. There are no naughty words used on the set like there were on the all-male cast of 'Hogan's Heroes.'
People look upon a person in TV as someone they can see for nothing. This is carried over in casting pictures. They're afraid; they will not cast a TV lead to be a lead in a movie.
Once I started tossing quips at Shelley Berman and he got more and more incensed. Finally, during a commercial, he exploded, 'I didn't come here to be a straight man,' and walked out.
Believe it or not, Jack Lemmon was my inspiration. I saw him in 'Mr. Roberts' at the Stratford theater. I was just 21 or 22 at the time and I thought some day I would like to be an actor.
I had an idea that I wanted show which would keep me happy for five years. I tried to figure how I'd feel if I had to do the part for five years. This one 'Hogan's Heroes' filled the bill.
Hard comedy goes for the fences. It's also what you might call take-a-risk comedy because if you don't hit a home run, you might strike out. It's either a belly laugh or it's no go and no show.
I had this fantasy. I would be at the Paramount Theater in New York and Louis Prima's drummer falls sick. The theater manager asks, 'Is there a drummer in the house?' I run up on stage and bang instant fame!
I had to talk for a long time to explain to the producer why I wasn't right for 'Please Don't Eat the Daisies.' I also had to explain why I didn't want to do 'My Living Doll' before Robert Cummings was considered for the role.
I was doing a show in Bridgeport, Conn., and getting offers for more money from Boston and other cities in the east. But I figured I would hold out for New York. Then one day, I got a call out of the blue from Hollywood from KNX.