DR Ron, Jim Whaley was a great interviewer! And as Steve Martin once said to him, he had the best eyes in show business. Each eye was like a little smile. What a loss it was when he left too soon.
One of the worst days of my life came in August 1992. Jim and I wrote all the time, regardless of where in the world I was or where he traveled. He would always tell me what he was doing, who he interviewed, whether they were good interviews or bad (and his memory of Carol Channing was abysmal), and he would pass on some "dirt" as well.
I had written him in late July. When I got my letter in mid August, it was a thick envelope, and I was anticipating a great read. (At that time, I was station manager of the AFRTS-TV affiliate in Naples, Italy). I remember walking into my office, sitting down, opening the envelope for a long read...and then being puzzled: Inside was my last letter to him, unopened, and another letter from his father. He explained that Jim had suffered a heart attack, but died in the ambulance
en route to a hospital. He enclosed the obituary.
I must have read that letter a dozen times before it sank in.
It was the first major loss in my life: My best friend of nearly 40 years was gone.
