When I was first starting out as an actor, I was under contract to Lucille Ball at Desilu Studios, which was owned by Lucy and Desi Arnaz. Lucy knew I had this passion for movie history which at that time was not a normal thing. Most people weren’t interested in movie history. She said, ‘You know, you would have a happier life as a writer than as an actor. You should be writing about movies, because nobody is.’ She told me that she thought being an actor would never make me happy, but writing would. She knew I was a journalism major at the University of Washington. She told me that if I took up writing as a profession, the first thing I had to do was write a book because people would look at you differently if I did. She told me it didn’t even have to be a good book, but that everyone is impressed with anyone who writes a book because most people lack the discipline to do it. I knew she was telling me this for my own good, not some other agenda, so I quit being an actor and became a writer.
Film historian Robert Osborne (1932-2017)
Cinema Retro interview with Lee Pfeiffer
85 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards
Turner Classic Movie Essentials: 52 Movies and Why They Matter
Screenwriting from Iowa 