Category Archives: Interviews

When Peggy Lee wondered ‘is that all there is?’

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Miss Peggy Lee, who was born 95 years ago today and died on Jan. 21 2002 aged 81, had come close to death in 1985 and she laughed when she told me, “Don’t you know … Continue reading

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Recalling … Ernie Harwell, voice of the Detroit Tigers

By Ray Bennett LONDON – The first baseball game I ever saw was at Tiger Stadium in Detroit in 1970 and a bonus of living across the river in Windsor, Ontario, was that I was able to hear the club’s … Continue reading

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Bernard Slade: From ‘Bewitched’ to Broadway

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Bernard Slade, who turns 85 today, created TV shows such as “The Flying Nun” and “The Partridge Family” but he had his greatest success with the smash hit Broadway play “Same Time, Next Year”. When … Continue reading

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Why Carolyn Jones did not want to kiss Elvis Presley

By Ray Bennett LONDON – When I interviewed Carolyn Jones, who would have turned 85 today, she told me she had been sick but she did not tell me she was dying. Famous as Morticia in the 1960s TV series … Continue reading

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A birthday card from Paris from Gregory Peck

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Gregory Peck and I were born on April 5 and when he turned 80 he sent me a card from Paris on which he wrote, “This French graffiti describes perfectly how it feels to be 80 … Continue reading

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Why vet and author James Herriot never got rich

By Ray Bennett The stories of veterinarean James Herriot, who wrote “All Creatures Great and Small” and died 20 years ago today aged 79, remain immensely popular and they attract many tourists to Yorkshire but they did not make him … Continue reading

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Why Jon Stewart should listen to Johnny Carson

By Ray Bennett Count me among those who will hate to see Jon Stewart walk away from “The Daily Show” and I wish he could have heard what Johnny Carson told me about his own temptations to quit “The Tonight … Continue reading

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The time I asked Robert Wagner about mortality

By Ray Bennett “What the hell kind of question is that?” It’s 1985 and I’m sitting with Robert Wagner, who turns 85 today, in his luxury trailer on the Warner Bros. lot where he was making the shortlived TV series … Continue reading

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Warrior Andy McNab loves a good story like ‘Mamma Mia’

By Ray Bennett Things you might know about Andy McNab: He was a highly decorated SAS soldier; he wrote the bestselling “Bravo Two Zero” about his time in combat in the Gulf War; and he writes action thrillers, the latest … Continue reading

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Peter Cook’s pact with the devil for Dudley Moore

By Ray Bennett There’s a general view that comic genius Peter Cook, who died 20 years ago today, was a bitter and unhappy man who resented the film success of his former partner Dudley Moore. That’s not how he appeared … Continue reading

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