This interview was conducted in 1998 at "Jerry's Famous Deli" in Westwood CA with Jewish Television Network's "Celebrity Profile" host, Saul Turtletaub. They sat at a nice table in the middle of the room where they were served coffee, orange juice, water, a fruit plate and bagel. PAUL was wearing a lovely slate blue jacket and shirt, blue jeans and brown clogs.

Paul is very relaxed, a wonderful interview.

 

ST: This, as you know is JTN Celebrity Profile. I am Saul Turtletaub, and, I, my profile today

PAUL: Looks good.. turn to side

ST: ...you like my profile?... is PAUL Michael Glaser, ah,who you know as many people. You know as an actor, as Starsky, and we were talking before and that we now known as Starsky and Klutz, Paul and I. You knew him when he was doing Starsky and Hutch and also as a super director. What do you like doing better?

PAUL: Ah, you mean acting or directing? (Big smile) Can you give me a few more choices(laughs)?

ST: Not that we need them. What else is there? (laughs)

PAUL: Well.., there's golf

ST: There's, like, golf

PAUL: There's golf, and there's ah, reading and there's ah, my baby daughter.

ST: Yes, Zoe.

PAUL: Zoe

ST: How old is Zoe?

PAUL: Zoe's 8 months,....she's 8 months.

ST: Ah. She is cute. The last time I saw PAUL, was at the "Bris" of our grandchild that, ah...

PAUL: That's right.

ST: ... that Maxwell Lee Turtletaub's "Bris"..

PAUL: that's right.

ST:..and Zoe was there...

PAUL: And Zoe was there.

ST: ...sizing them up!

PAUL: Well, (laughs) that's right. She's actually gotten into pointing now.

ST: Oh, really.

PAUL: Yes, you know. They get to a point where all of a sudden there's (PAUL looks up at the corner of the room and points) you look where they're pointing....

ST: I'm waiting.

PAUL: you look and you go "What are you pointing at?" and they go.. (PAUL points at different parts of the room, then down at the table and then his nose)

ST: (laughs)That's it, they're pointing at their finger tips.

PAUL: (laughs) that's right.

ST: I'm waiting for those things to happen, where, right now, Max is only 3 1/2 months and I'm waiting for stuff. When does "stuff" happen?

PAUL: Well, you know, I'm really bad at this. I don't know. ah, Zoe started to roll...

ST: In the bed?

PAUL:(laughing) In the bed. She started rolling she, ahh, you know something, she'll never crawl She'll just roll. You know....

ST: She'll just roll.

PAUL: ..you know those trains, you know, you know the train yards, where the train would come in and the train turntable would move, you remember those...

ST: Right, that's right.

PAUL:...were incredible and you say "wow... that would be a great thing to see.."

ST: Right, that's right.

PAUL: Well, Zoe, rolls to where she wants to go. She looks over there (pointing to his left) and says "I want to go over there and she gets on the turntable and crabs around with her arms and then she rolls over there and then she wants to go some place else, she kinda crabs around and rolls that way.

ST: You know the old saying you have to roll before you can crawl.

PAUL: I don't think so, I don't think so..

ST: You don't think she'll crawl?

PAUL: (big smile)No, she's gonna go right from rolling to give me the keys! (PAUL and Saul both laugh)

ST: That's good. That's good. Now you gotta, I guess, well we never had daughters, as you know, so I don't know. I think I'd be a nervous father if I had daughters.

PAUL: I think that the mother has more trouble with the daughters than the father does. The father as the trouble with the sons. You know...

ST: Why, because you feel that's it's your obligation to make a...

PAUL: Well, I think the son goes, son compares him and, and, and, competes with the father and the daughter compares and competes with the mother.

ST: You know what I think you're right, and I think that never stops. I think it goes right on till their 35.

PAUL: Till the grave!

ST: Yea, 'til the grave and that's it and maybe even afterwards!

PAUL: (laughing) Probably!

ST: That's the expression he turned over in the grave. The rolling never stops.

PAUL (laughing) Rolling never stops.

ST: Now, tell me where you and Tracy met, cause, I don't know that. I know...

PAUL: We met at a meeting...at a business meeting

ST ah huh

PAUL: ... . I was coming into talk to somebody about a project.. and, ah she was, ah, the president of the company.

ST: What company was it?

PAUL: It was, ah,ah, Peter's Entertainment

ST: Ah,huh

PAUL: And so we started having, ah, conversations about this project, then I asked her out for lunch and I grilled her.

ST: For lunch.

PAUL:(laughing) for lunch

ST: Was that delicious or what!

PAUL: (hearty laugh) Oh God help us!

ST: So and, and it ..did she have anything to do with, ah, Kazaam, the movie?

PAUL:Well, she kinda, kinda,it,she had a lot to do with it in that she was there and she was my support, and she was my feedback, my mirror. You know, this was, this happened,... Kazaam was a project that ah, about 2 months after Elizabeth had died, some one called me and the said "do I know of a good film role for Shaque O'Neal?" I said no and , he otta play a genie and I hung up the phone. I thought to myself, well, that's not a bad idea and I was taking Jake to the All-Star game in Phoenix...

ST: Jake's, Jake is Paul's...

PAUL: that's my son, Jake's my son.

ST: Jake's your older son, right.

PAUL: My son, Jake's my son, right, 13 1/2. and so, when I got there, um, I met, ah, Shaque O'Neal, I met his attorney / manager and I said what do you think of this idea? And, of course, they said "well, its great. Do it." It would be great or and whatever. Then I got very fortunate. I found a couple of writers, we sat down and we ah, we ah, created this script and then 10 1/2 weeks we had a green light and a script....

ST: Who, who gave you... what company was that?

PAUL: I did it with Robert Quark, my friend, Robert Quark, who was at that time at Interscope.

ST: Oh,yah, that's right,Ted Fields.

PAUL: Yeah, and then DISNEY ended up, ah, releasing it.

ST: Ah, huh, well, I saw it, I told you, I saw it over the weekend.

PAUL: Yea, you told me that.

ST: And, ah, I was impressed with, first of all, knowing now how hard it is to be a director, since my son has become a director. Ah, I was impressed not only with watching the movie that's fun to watch, but what you had to know. I mean, there's a lot of special effects in there and I don't know how they do any of that. Did you know any of that when you started?

PAUL: Ah, no, I didn't, I didn't, ah, you know, but, you know, so much of directing is ah, ah, problem solving. When it gets to the point of you making the movie....

ST: Right.

PAUL: ..... and, ah, I'd like to think that with enough information you can problem solve and then the issue is how specific you are about applying your attention, you know...

ST: I thought you did a great job with O'Neal cause he came off as an actor... I mean...

PAUL: Well, I...

ST: A lot of these guys don't..

PAUL: He had a very nice presence, a very nice presence, you know.

ST: He really does, and I was telling Paul before, Jake, his son, is in the movie and is terrific!

(continued)