After completing my Delores Hall story, I was kept constantly busy at the _TV Shopper_ for as long as I stayed in New York. At first Bruce gave me all the leads, many of whom were people who had requested to be on the cover. But soon I was after bigger game, and began to systematically hunt down people whom I had grown up admiring. I scanned _People_ magazine each week to find out which celebrities were New Yorkers. When I landed an important interview, I often visited the New York Public Library of Performing Arts in Lincoln Center to study the clipping files and prepare my questions.
A few interviewees were distant and arrogant, making it clear that they wouldn't be wasting their time with me if not for the insistence of their agent. A cover story in the _TV Shopper_ could possibly extend a Broadway run for a few days or sell another $10,000 worth of tickets to the ballet or opera. But the vast majority of my interview subjects were friendly, respectful, and even a little flattered by the thought of being on the cover. In general, the biggest people were most likely to be unpretentious and generous of spirit.
It was thrilling experience to meet and interview the people who had been my idols only a few years before. When we were alone together in a room, I felt that -- if only for that brief period -- I were the equal of someone who had achieved greatness. I had grown up reading Superman comics, and one day it flashed on me: this is Metropolis and I'm Clark Kent!
My subjects probably found me somewhat of a rube. I didn't dress well, I had little knowledge of New York, I asked some very simplistic questions, and until 1979 I didn't use a tape recorder. So perhaps some of the stars were put off their guard and revealed more of themselves than they would have to a more professional interviewer. I was struck by how single-minded they were for success. Probing their brains was like getting a second college education. Their main message was: Don't waste your life and don't do anything just for money.
Of course, many people declined my request for an interview. Among those I fished for, but failed to reel in, were Richard Chamberlain, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Bob Keeshan (Captain Kangaroo), Rex Reed, Halston, Carrie Fisher, Russell Baker, Ted Sorensen, Joseph Heller, Margaret Meade, Helen Gurley Brown and Ira Gershwin. Then there were the Eastsiders and Westsiders too famous to even approach, such as Woody Allen, Bob Hope and Mikhail Baryshnikov.