1.  My dentist in Los Angeles was the father of the first young boy Michael Jackson allegedly buggered and who received twenty million dollars as restitution, officially not for the buggering, but for potential film scripts the eleven year old boy said he had ideas for.  You could look it up.

2.  Two of the best years of my life were spent in the Army, after being surprisingly drafted in 1961 even though I was born with a heart murmur that seemed to have disappeared six months before my physical.

3.  While an Army instructor at the newly instituted Psychological Warfare Center at Fort Bragg, I shook hands with then president John F. Kennedy.

4.  Speaking of presidents, when I was seven or eight, I saw FDR in a cavalcade driving down Twenty-first street in South Philly.  He was on his way to the Navy Yard.  My mother made sure I knew who he was.

5.  When I was a sixteen year old teenager I defeated a thirteen year old trumpet player named Frankie Avalon in a weekly Saturday night talent contest at The President, a neighborhood movie theater.

6  I had a professor at St. Joe's College who turned my life around.  Not that I was on a bad track, I was on no track.  He inspired me to learn.

7.  I met the legendary Connie Mack at Shibe Park after a Philadelphia Athletic's game.  He told me to stay in school.  I assured him  I would, but since I was about eight at the time I had few other options.  (The Philadelphia Athletics became the Oakland A's and then became the Kansas City A's.)

8.  I have been a rabid New York Football Giants fan since 1958 and am still delirious with joy over last year's playoff run and Super Bowl win.  I'm looking forward to another Super Bowl appearance.

9.  I lived in New York during the divisive political and social turbulence of the late 1960's and despite that I have never felt such a citywide sense of love and unity as there was in 1969 when my beloved Mets made their miraculous National League pennant drive and went on to win the World Series.  What a great summer to have lived in New York!

10.  Picked up tennis for the first time in the late 70's when I lived in Los Angeles and am mad about the game.  I still play and I sometimes amaze myself and my opponents with my skill.  More often, I take my eye off the ball.

11.  I love the opera.  Love it!  My favorite tenor was Mario del Monaco.

12.  If anyone is familiar with the self-absorbed Los Angeles film and television industry, you will be happy to know how lucky I am to have found such a wonderful, sensible woman there as my wife, Donna.  Now if I could only parlay that luck into a lottery win, life would be perfect.

13.  My beautiful kids are Alexandra, Gabrielle and Mario (whose full name is -- you guessed it -- Mario Del Monaco Boni.  I told Donna it would either be Mario Del Monaco Boni or Mickey Mantle Boni.

14.  I now live in Durham, North Carolina and am doing stand up comedy there and in other local venues.  

15.  As a kid in the 50's, I'm embarrased to admit that our vicious little gang of punks would stalk our neighborhood, ring doorbells and run away, giggling when people opened their door to no one.  Yes, we were a baaaad assed bunch.

16.  I appeared as El Gallo in the New York production of Fantasticks, and in other off-B'dway and B'dway shows, as well as lots of summer stock.  I also toured with the Boris Goldovsky Opera Company. I mention that last one because it was during that tour that I got my draft notice.

17.  My dad gave me five dollars to spend for our high school after-junior prom late night snack at Harvey's.  I double dated with a friend, who said he'd take care of the four dollar and eighty cent bill if I just left the tip.  All I had was the five and needed cab money home.  I ostentatiously laid down the five, made sure I was the last of the four to walk away from the table, picked up the five and walked out.

18.  Okay, I'm not a nutjob about this topic, but when I was in the Army, watching Singing In the Rain at a drive in movie -- remember those? -- I think I saw six flying saucers.   We were in an open convertible and he pointed upwards.  Six blue/green lights flying across the sky in a diamond-like, but not fixed formation.  Reported it to Pope Air Force base.  More people saw the same thing. Still can't figure out what that could have been.   Mulder would understand.

19.  I did a lot of long distance running and was prepping for the New York Marathon, but twisted my ankle and sprained a calf stepping on a tennis ball during a game a week before the event.  Kept running afterwards, but never got to a marathon.

20.  I was a writer, story editor and/or producer on Three's Company, Facts Of Life, 227, Fernwood and America 2Nite, General Hospital, All My Children, Another World and variety shows for Flip Wilson, Alan King and the Captain & Tennille.

21.  I teach screenwriting online for UCLA.

22.  I have never betrayed a friend, or anyone, for that matter.   Happened twice to me, though, and it was painful.

23.  Desert Island questions I'm incapable of answering -- what ten books, operas, films or tv shows would I select?  Even more impossible -- which category of the four would I choose?  

24.  Our house has too many books because my wife and I hate to get rid of any of them.  Help!

25.  I once threw hot dogs at Dick Clark on live TV.  When I was sixteen some friends and I crashed American Bandstand because one of the regulars  said that West Philly kids were better dancers than South Philly kids.   So, one day we cut class and beat them to the entrance.    Bandstand had to let us in, but slowly pushed us into the background to feature their regulars.  One of the sponsors was some hot dog brand, and Dick Clark threw packages into the group during a commercial.  We were so pissed, we opened the packages and threw the hot dogs back at him.  We were evicted, but we were still the better dancers.