The man at left in the above photo is (I think) Paul Willson, a very clever actor and a nice guy who is irrelevant to this posting. The guy at right is who we're talking about. That's comedy writer Arnie Kogen responding when someone asked him how many truly funny jokes he's written in his long career.
You may know Arnie from his work for MAD magazine where he's been a major contributor since Alfred E. Neuman lost his front baby tooth. Arnie has also written for dozens and dozens of TV programs including The Carol Burnett Show, Empty Nest, Newhart, The Dean Martin Show and many, many others. He has three Emmy Awards. He also has a sterling reputation which he will risk later today by appearing on Stu's Show, the oft-plugged-here podcast for which each Wednesday, Stu Shostak interviews someone from the world of television. I don't recommend every episode of Stu's Show to you but I recommend this one. Arnie is a very witty man and he has achieved the impossible in show business: Everyone likes him. Everyone. Of course, they don't know some of the things I know.
There are two ways to listen to Stu's Show. There's the free way. "Tune in" while they do it live today at 4 PM Pacific, 7 PM in the East, other times in other climes. The show runs a minimum of two hours and sometimes goes longer. This is the best way to hear it because not only is it free but it somehow seems more participatory even if Stu doesn't get around to taking phone calls. Listen in at the Stu's Show website.
You can also listen to it the pay way. Go to that selfsame website after the live webcast. There, you can download it or any of hundreds of wonderful episodes for a measly 99 cents each. But to get the real deal, order four for the price of three. You will enjoy Arnie and you will enjoy just about anything else you select there.