"I discovered this series at a small gay bookstore when I was living above a hardware store in San Diego in the ’80s. I read the first book in 24 hours straight, no sleep. Then I devoured every other novel in the series — all of them — in one day each. If I had to Sophie’s Choice pick only a couple, I would say the first novel and “Babycakes,” topped only by “Maybe the Moon,” his unrelated tome."

"And then another one called Pillow Talk. That’s a little change of pace here, but it is a film that I always love to watch. I must have seen it 10 times. I don’t remember the director’s name, but I know the writer, Stanley Shapiro, is really great with social satire and the battle of the sexes. For me, it’s a film I continue to laugh at each time I see it. The jokes never get stale."

"I guess I would say, again, to choose among a lot of different ones, I love Sullivan’s Travels. I love a lot of Preston Sturges movies. It’s a movie about movies, and I just think it’s just so funny. I love it. The first five minutes of the movie are among the funniest five minutes ever. Like when he’s in the studio boss’s office; it’s the fastest dialogue. [laughs] How they managed to do that scene, it’s just flying."