I was introduced to Ron Shelton by Gary Lemel who was the head of the music department at Warner Bros. Ron hired me to write some incidental music for his film “Cobb.” I recorded the music and Ron was very happy with what I did. Being a jazz fan when he found out that I wrote “Here’s To Life” we became fast friends. I guess he liked my New York accent and sense of humor because he hired me to be the bartender in the film as well. We shot it up in Lake Tahoe at the Cal Neva Lodge. I was up there for a week, so I got to know Lolita Davidavich who was Ron’s girlfriend. We hung out together during the times we were not needed on the set.

Being involved with this film musically and as an actor was a lot of fun for me. As soon as I met Ron I liked him instantly. When he found out how close I was to Milton Berle, he asked to meet him. I then set up a lunch at the Friars club for us. A few weeks later I made a dinner party at my house and I invited Milton and Ron and Lolita . The evening was incredible. Milton told show biz stories and we all listened and laughed and ate and laughed some more. Ron and I still talk about that special night. We have developed a great relationship and we see each other socially when all of our schedules permit. He’s a real cool guy.