When he was 11, he wanted to be a comedian like
Sid Caesar. Then, when he was 15 and saw
Lee J. Cobb in 'Death of a Salesman,' he decided he would be a comedy actor and found that
Mel Brooks was a great influence on his screen writing. He combined both talents with directing in
The World's Greatest Lover (1977), followed by
The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975).