God knows, it had never been my ambition to be a gossip columnist. I
mean, I was never particularly intrigued by show business celebrities.
... I really want most of them to leave me alone, so I can go talk to
writers, which is what I really enjoy. Writers are madmen -- they're
all secretly in the closet, jerking off their egos -- but there's
something rewarding and vulnerable about them. [Esquire, August
1979]