Where do you think that attitude comes from?

When I was 22 years old, my girlfriend, Diana Hyland, was dying from cancer…See, I had sympathy pain. I felt my scalp, and I said to her, ”Oh, what if this is a tumor, what if I have cancer, too?” And she said, “Well, honey, if you do, you're going to have to deal with it.” [Quietly] I looked at her and I thought, This woman is dealing with it every single minute, death is right in her face, and if she can do that, I can. From then on, there was hardly anything that I couldn't look at without thinking, OK, deal with it. That statement was like a gift, and she didn't know she gave it to me.

Do you still think about her?

Oh, yeah. [Looking away] I loved Diana. I mean, she's someone I miss. I met a driver today, this guy who had known her. I was so surprised. He said he used to work at Schwabs, and she'd come in and help him with his acting. And I thought, Well, that's Diana. I could see her encouraging this guy to continue his acting career… It's moments like that when I miss her and think, God, you know, where is she? The funny thing is, I'm her age right now.

Right, she was 41 when she died.

I often think, Oh, this is the year. She was my age and this is how much experience she had.

And now you have Kelly. What is it about your wife that ties you together? What does she do for you?