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gifts. He's terrible when you give him presents. He gets uncomfortable and shy and usually makes some remark that annoys you because he's uncomfortable. He just loves to give.

Often, when I'm with Frank, I compulsively start singing myself. Frank is like my two boys. When I sing, they roll on the ground. Frank gave me a great compliment. He said that I'm the only man he knows who can sing an entire song without getting one note right! So last year we together made a record of Winchester Cathedral for our Christmas party. Frank had his voice erased from the record, and with Duke Ellington's band for a background, I slaughtered Winchester Cathedral. I cleared the room in one minute flat!

This is ending the whole interview, but you are such a happy person basically, I think from an interviewer's point of view, is there anything that you fear?

Well, I don't like getting old. I'm watching myself very carefully now. I think that I told you that we've made Bob Bernstein president of Random House two years ago, before the RCA deal, because my idea was to establish the succession. I watch myself with Bob. Every once in a while I catch myself resenting the fact that he is actually president of Random House and is making decisions without consulting me. He not only has every right to do this, but it's what I want him to do! But I have to watch myself. Giving things up is very hard, especially while you still have all of your faculties.