Now I've Heard Everything

Since 1985, I've done over 10,000 interviews, with notable people, not-so-notable folks, some you've never heard of, some downright infamous.

In most cases, I had anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes with my interview subject. Time to have a cup of coffee, make some small talk, do the interview, and sign some autographs, and say our goodbyes.

But every now and then, I would have a lot less time for the interview. In some cases, only a minute. So today, some short takes.

Years before he became head of Fox News -- way before there even was a Fox News -- Roger Ailes was a media consultant.  Most prominent among his many clients, perhaps, was President Ronald Reagan. Ailes was an adviser to the Presidentg in his 1984 reelection bid, and was indrectly responsible for one of that campaign's most memorable, and decisive, moments.

I met Roger Ailes in the fall of 1987.

Donnie Brasco was a real person.  Well, no, Donnie was an identity created by the FBI, back in the 1980s, when they assigned an agent named Joseph Pistone to go undercover, as Donnie Brasco, and infiltrate some of America's most notorious organized crime familiies.

Janine Turner is best known for her roles on TV's "Northern Exposure" and "Friday Night Lights,"  and in the movie "Cliffhanger."

But until 2014, much of her private life  -- how she prevailed over heartbreak, alcoholism, and the death of her father -- had remained out of public view.

There have been many authors I've interviewed year after year, and one of my favorites -- a guy I always looked forward to talking to -- was this guy, Robert B. Parker.