Birthday: April 14, 1925.
Birthplace: West Hampton, Long Island, N.Y.
Occupation: Actor.
Current home: Malibu, Calif.
Marital status: Divorced.
Car: A 1979 silver Mercedes convertible.
Working on: I just finished “Crazy in Alabama” with Melanie Griffith, directed by Antonio Banderas, and “Body and Soul” with Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini.
The last good movie I saw: “Titanic,” although it was a spectacle, rather than a film.
Magazines I read: Time, Newsweek, Art in America, Art & Auction and the scandal sheets when I want to fall asleep.
Favorite pigout food: Peking duck, corn chowder and mixed Chinese vegetables.
Favorite performers: Judy Garland and Nat “King” Cole.
Prized possession: I have the only etching Vincent Van Gogh ever did.
Personal heroes: e. e. cummings, Thomas Wolfe, Beethoven and Michelangelo.
Nobody knows I’m: Trying to be a poet. I’m trying to have a book of my poetry published.
If I could do it over, I’d: Take better care of my health.
The worst advice my mother ever gave me: She didn’t give me any advice, good or bad. My mother was a victim of alcohol; I have been on my own since I was 10 or 11.
If I could change one thing about myself: It would be my weight problem.
People who knew me in high school: Called me “Rodney the Rock” after a cartoon character. I was a good football player, the kind of idiot who carried three guys to get a touchdown.
If I weren’t an actor: I’d own a nice bookstore and I’d paint.
If I’ve learned one thing in life it’s that: There’s no such thing as a favorite of nature. No one is special, although we all think we’ve got some special deal. When death walks in, we’re all the same. I’ve had some brushes with death and I don’t fear it, but I do fear a lingering death.
The three words that best describe me: Determined to survive.
