What makes a comedian has nothing to do with religion. Think of Red Skelton, Jimmy Durante, Jackie Gleason, who were all Catholics.

A comedian sees the world bent. I'm tangent to the circle.

You want to know what makes me tick, I'll tell you what makes me tick. I was a boy growing up in Brooklyn; I read a two-penny magazine called 'The Hawk's Nest.' Nobody entered that nest that didn't leave a little richer and a little wiser. And that 11-year-old boy said, 'Isn't that a wonderful thing.' And that's all there is to it.

How could you get angry with Jackie Gleason?

I did the Ed Sullivan show four times. I did the Steve Allen show. I did the Jackie Gleason show.

As a child my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it.