DENYS ARCAND - Denys directed me in "Le Declin de l'empire Americain", which we won heaps of awards for ("Critics' Choice" at Cannes; 9 Genies). He's a pip to work for, always yelling and screaming, but he brought out the best in me and all the other actors on set, from what I could tell during the week and a half I was involved in shooting as The Motorcyclist, a small but crucial non-speaking role. I've always been fortunate to have great directors like Denys Arcand who have been able time and again to best showcase my unique acting abilities. Under the direction of monsieur Arcand, I literally became a Motorcyclist.

JOHN BANNER - Everybody remembers John as the guy who played clutsy Sergeant Schultz in "Hogan's Heroes". It was a really popular sitcom even though it didn't have much substance. What most people don't know, is that John was a versatile actor, who played a lot of other roles on television, in movies and on the stage.

MIKE BULLARD - This guy hosts "Open Mike with Mike Bullard" on CTV and the Comedy Network. He's a close pal of mine. I liked his stuff when I first saw him at Yuk-Yuks back in the day so I took him under my wing and taught him all he needs to know. He keeps asking me to be on his show, but I think I've done enough of those kinds of guest appearances. Maybe if I decide to do another movie I'll pop in for a few minutes to advertise it.

RICHARD GERE - Nah, just kidding! This is another pal of mine, Alex Avolio, one of the best Richard Gere impersonators around. I've used him in a few sketches with "The Fabulous Three", like our world renowned Hamster Sketch. That sketch always gets big laughs. Alex is a good sport.

SIR ALEC GUINNESS - Alec was Macbeth at the Stratford festival the same year I was Falstaff in Henry IV, Part I. I was always very impressed with ability to memorize large amounts of text in a very short amount of time. I was very sad when Alec died last August. In this picture here Alec is acting in one of his hundreds of movie roles as Obe Wan Kenobe in a movie called "Star Wars" which turned out to be a smash hit. I'm still kicking myself for turning down that role, but at least a good friend of mine got the part. Alec was such a prolific and successful actor in England that Queen Elizabeth knighted him in 1958, and honour I can never hope to achieve since I'm not English.

GENE HACKMAN - Gene Hackman and I were both in a film you've probably heard of called "The Conversation", which won many awards at festivals all over the world. I knew from the time I met him on set that he would be one of The Great Ones, and, as this photo from the 1993 Academy Awards proves, I was right! He took home the Best Supporting Actor oscar for the movie "Unforgiven". That film was done by Clint Eastwood, who I (regrettably) still haven't met.

CHRISTOPHER HEWETT - "Mr. Belvedere" and I have been friends since the 1970s. I forget the exact year we met, but we were both in New York. I was on vacation and he was directing a show on Broadway he was also in called "No Sex Please, We're British". He was in some big movies like "The Producers" (as the gay director), and was a regular on the TV series "Fantasy Island" (as "Lawrence") before it went off the air, with perhaps my biggest fan, Ricardo Montalban.

ROCK HUDSON - Mr. Hudson was one of those incredible actors who taught me quite a bit. I had a small part in his movie "Seconds" - it was one of my earliest film roles - and he helped me grasp my motivation. I remember I was so nervous about my role in that movie that I asked the director, John Frankenheimer, to list me under a pseudonym in the credits. It's the first and only time I ever used the stage name "Aaron Magidow", a little tid-bit of Corey Mystyshyn trivia that might come in handy someday! I am still very saddened that Mr. Hudson died of AIDS.

BOB NEWHART - Bob and I used to do a lot of sets at the same dives in Chicago, back in the day. I remember one night at this awful tavern called "Juke's Joint", we did our sets, nobody was there, then sat down in the corner booth and helped each other write new material until like four in the morning. I helped him come up with that stuttering delivery/"Button-Down Mind" schtick. He's one of the funniest stand-up comics I've ever seen, and a truly great guy, and I'm really glad to see that he has achieved so much success in his life. I still call him up on the phone from time to time.






DWIGHT SCHULTZ - I first met Dwight in L.A. in 1980. I was in town shooting a commercial for some kind of cereal, and it turned out our agents put us in the same Howard Johnson's. He was with the Center Theatre Group (I'd never heard of them) which was putting on some play "Crucifer of Blood" at the Ahmanson Theatre. He asked me to check it out, I did, and was very impressed with his performance as Major somebody even though the play left much to be desired. We've been kind of "pen pals" since then and even reunited to do an episode of "The Outer Limits" since I owed a favour to the producers. Dwight's a workhorse, like me, still performing after all these years. You probably know him best as Howling Mad Murdoch from the "A-Team" TV show in the 1980s or as Lt. Barclay from the new "Star Trek" show. He was also in that "Fat Man & Little Boy" movie with that asshole Paul Newman who beat me out for a real choice role in "Cool Hand Luke" because he was friends with the director.

PETER SELLERS - I only worked with Peter once when shooting for the film "Being There". He was one of those naturally funny people; he kept everybody in stitches during the shoot. I remember most of all the physical comedy he would do outside his trailer, where he and I and a couple other movie stars would play cards some afternoons. He'd keep tripping over things, slurring, throwing things at his personal assistant, just as if he were drunk. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life at a performance that wasn't mine. July 24, 1980 was a sad day indeed. We'll miss you, Pete.

ALAN THICKE - Alan has had a lot of trouble "staying in the spotlight" during his career. I remember at an ACTRA convention at the Royal York Hilton in Toronto in the summer of '93 how he took me aside and asked me for some advice. His sitcom "Growing Pains" had run its course about a year before and he hadn't had much work since. I told him to dump his agent, hooked him up with mine, and got him a gig hosting that "Pictionary" game show, which is still on in syndication.

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