Stammering is different than stuttering. Stutterers have trouble with the letters, while stammerers trip over entire parts of a sentence. We stammerers generally think of ourselves as very bright.

One time I happened to use the word ‘denigrate’ onstage, and it didn’t get any reaction. So as I continued my act, the left side of my brain was fast-forwarding to see if I had...

I’ve been a very lucky actor.

Comedians are never really on vacation because you’re always at attention… that antenna is always out there.

I have an aversion to laugh tracks – the moment I hear a laugh track, I go to another channel.

When I was off TV, people would ask me to please come back, which I think was their way of saying, ‘There’s nothing out there for us.’

I loved ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ because I like Ray and I thought it was beautifully cast, I thought it was great writing. I thought Patricia Heaton was wonderful.

I think that what comes through in Chicago humor is the affection. Even though you’re poking fun at someone or something, there’s still an affection for it.

‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ was the best television, the best cast, the best-written television show ever.

Without great writing, you’ve got a bunch of actors bumping into each other.

I’ve been told to speed up my delivery when I perform. But if I lose the stammer, I’m just another slightly amusing accountant.

Well, my career choice made a difference because I never would have met my wife, Jenny. I met her through comedian Buddy Hackett. He set us up on a blind date and then we got...

Probably the best advice I ever got in my life was from the head of the accounting department, Mr. Hutchinson, I believe at the Glidden Company in Chicago, and he told me, ‘You really aren’t...

People have told me, ‘My dad passed on, but I have great memories of watching your shows with him.’ It doesn’t get any better than that.

Sometimes you forget you’re famous. You wonder, ‘Why is that person staring at me?’

I just don’t think most people put myself and Robert Frost in the same category.

Don’t be silly and don’t waste your time.

Jack Benny was, without a doubt, the bravest comedian I have ever seen work. He wasn’t afraid of silence. He would take as long as it took to tell the story.