When I was writing my book on musicals, the only person who I had problems with was Meredith Willson.
There is a chapter in the book on THE MUSIC MAN, so I (naturally) approached Willson for an interview.
He asked that all questions be submitted in writing, which I did.
A week or two later, I received a letter from him, in which he answered my questions...and also insisted that, since he had answered my questions, he now wanted editorial approval of the chapter.
I refused, and this debate went back and forth for several weeks.
Finally, after I had written the chapter, he was still insisting that he approve it, so I offered to let him read it and correct errors in facts ONLY.
[That's the same thing that I did when I wrote Merv Griffin's biography.]
Willson agreed. I sent over the chapter and, two days later, he called me. "Excellent," he said. then hung up.
