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1. Everyone’s life would be improved if they do could one great magic trick. And tell one great joke, play one tune on the piano, and do one great origami fold.
2. Even a fool knows you can’t touch the stars, but it won’t keep the wise from trying.
3. ‘Cheers’ was a good first step because I got to write my own material.
4. The biggest challenge in New Orleans has been to find workers who can climb a ladder after lunch.
5. I did a film called ‘The Escape Artist’ for Francis Coppola. I had the title role.
6. Is now the time to legalize prostitution?
7. I’m not Hollywood. I’m a Quarter Rat. I belong here.
8. There’s this perception sometimes around here that I’m this Hollywood guy.
9. I am richer than Davy Crockett. I can settle back and do what I want to do. And what I want to do is card tricks and magic.
10. Did I run real swindles? Oh, yeah. I mean, I started as a — on the street. I did not begin as a performer. I began running the shell game.
11. I did rough hustling, what they call ‘playing against the wall.’ I just played myself with the players, so I would pay; I would make them shill. I would pay certain players and then take from others.
12. Somebody saw me on ‘Cheers’ and thought that I was an actor playing a part as opposed to a guy just doing what he knew. And they gave me ‘Night Court.’ And by the time they realized I wasn’t an actor, I had already signed a five-year contract.
13. If you do sleight of hand without trying to cheat someone, that’s what magic is.
14. I’ve always done magic as a hobby. I’ve done it professionally, too.
15. I created this character that I still have of a guy who is a little bit of a nincompoop — I’m poking fun at street hustlers. I didn’t quite make as much money as one would gambling, but it was a lot safer.
16. Chicago is a big town for magicians and card hustlers. So when I was very young, a fellow sat me down and taught me the Three-Card Monte. And that kind of put me in a — pointed me towards easy money.
17. I used to make my living by understanding people. And the way I learned to understand them was by observing them. I would sit in a train station or a bus station or a restaurant. And I would watch people. I would watch how they related to one another. I would try to get some insight into them and make them as predictable as I could in my mind.
18. But I’m very thankful that no one is slamming my head against the wall anymore.
19. I don’t know how long anything is going to last, so I have to make sure I have something to do tomorrow.
20. In ‘Night Court,’ my name is still Harry, and I’m — my best friends are still three-card monte workers, and I still have spring snakes hidden everywhere and joy buzzers, but I’m the judge.