Bruce Ferber (author, I Buried Paul; writer / producer Duet, Home Improvement)

<p>Bruce Ferber and I discuss reading sports books as a kid; Thomas Wolffe; attending a summer writing session at Andover while in high school; Phillip Roth; Woody Allen; publishers don&#39;t like comic novels; the genesis of his novel &quot;I Buried Paul&quot;; meeting struggling musicians without an outlet; session musicians; there are less crappy sitcoms on now; his book &quot;Elevating Oberman&quot; and subsequent tour; &quot;Cascade Falls&quot; and cookie cutter architecture; &quot;The Way We Work&quot; reveals show business from all angles; Billy Van Zandt tells his Lucy story in &quot;The Way We Work&quot;; Steven Van Zandt endorses &quot;I Buried Paul&quot;; going to NYU to be a director; doing six months of film editing and six months writing; writing a spec <em>M*A*S*H*</em> and getting hired to write two <em>Bosom Buddies </em>and a <em>Laverne &amp; Shirley</em>; working on <em>House Calls</em>, <em>Star of the Family,</em> <em>Jennifer Slept Here </em>and <em>Oh, Madeline</em>; writing a <em>Simon &amp; Simon</em>; working on <em>Webster </em>and having Alex Karras be a jerk; Eugene Roche; <em>Facts of Life</em>; bad timing for <em>Gung Ho</em>; <em>Duet</em>; working with Alison LaPlaca, Chris Lemmon, Ellen DeGeneres, Danny Gans; working on <em>Growing Pains </em>but not getting to write an episode; working on <em>Nurses</em>; <em>Coach</em> and Craig T. Nelson; running <em>Home Improvement</em>; the cancer scare episode; <em>Sabrina, the Teenage Witch</em>; his spec <em>Cheers</em>; his film &quot;Praying for Tucson&quot; about Presidential candidate Howard Dean; <em>Dan vs.</em>; his wife&#39;s passing; pitching an animated series based on the book &quot;Dazzle&quot; about a misanthropic dog</p>