You first worked as a drummer in college in Pete Wheeler's band in East Lansing, Michigan. What tunes were on your playlist?

Mostly we played hits of the day -- songs like Glenn Miller's "In the Mood," "Sunrise Serenade," and "Moonlight Serenade" -- and a great deal of Duke Ellington songs like "Mood Indigo" and "Take the A Train." We loved Count Basie and played "One O'Clock Jump" and "Swinging the Blues." We played Benny Goodman's "Don't Be That Way" and "Jersey Bounce." We even played Bob Crosby's "At the Jazz Band Ball."

You joined the Marine Corps in 1942 and were discharged as a captain at the end of World War II. What did you do on your first night out when you got back home?

I'm sorry, but I can't talk about that.

After the war, you graduated from the University of Michigan where you became an All-American basketball player. Do you remember the moment you were given that honor? How did you celebrate that moment?

I was in the Marine Corps, stationed at Paris Island. I received a call from Leo Fisher, the sports editor of the Chicago Herald-American. He informed me I had been selected as the first team All-American and that I was invited to play in the 1945 College All-Star game in the Chicago Stadium. I was very surprised and I thought they had made a mistake.

I have heard you had quite a good shot from long range. Unfortunately, this was before the three-point play. I know you will be too modest to tell me of your best play. So, tell me what was your most embarrassing moment?

I've had so many it would be hard for me to pick out any one. If you need one specific incident, I do recall there was a pushing contest with Red Auerbach. At the time he was the coach of the Washington Caps and later, of course, had a phenomenal career as coach of the Boston Celtics.

And then you went on to play professional basketball for Detroit in the NBA. In the book Vintage NBA: The Pioneer Era 1946-1956, author Neil D. Isaacs reports that, in addition to being the team's starting forward, you were also the team's business manager, press agent and traveling secretary. With the combined salaries of team player and manager, you were the highest paid player in the NBA. How did you do all that without a laptop computer?

Obviously, it was not as sophisticated as it is today. Back in those days we used slide rules, not computers.

What made you decide to leave professional sports?

A lack of talent!

After leaving professional sports as a player, you moved to Chicago and worked for the Arthur Wirtz organization. Mr. Wirtz owned the Chicago Stadium. As a promotor and press agent with that organization, you must have met a lot of interesting entertainers and sports figures. Who were some of the celebrities that you promoted?

Stars like Sonia Henie, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, the famous Flying Wallendas and The Hannafords, a riding horse team. Some of the championship boxing fights featured Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott, Sugar Ray Robinson, Rocky Marciano, Rocky Graziano, Jake LaMotta, Chuck Davey, Carmen Basilio, Gene Fullmer, Ezzard Charles, Ike Williams, Johnny Saxton, Johnny Bratton and Chuck Spieser.

If you had to entertain these celebrities, what nightclubs did you take them to and who played at these clubs?

In Chicago we went to the Chez Paree, the College Inn at the Sherman Hotel, and the Boulevard Room at the Stevens Hotel. They would feature entertainers such as Sophie Tucker, Joe E. Lewis, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Sammy Davis Jr., Jimmy Durante and Maurice Chevalier. In New York City, we went to the Starlight Roof at the Plaza Hotel, "21," The Stork Club, The Latin Quarter or Toots Shors. Also, we'd go to the 500 Club in Atlantic City and the Statler Hotel in Detroit.

As a working press agent, you must have needed to get publicity in the local papers or on the radio. What media personalities did you enlist to help you?

I'd call columnists like Ed Sullivan, Dorothy Kilgallen, Walter Winchell, Louella Parsons, or Hedda Hopper.. In Chicago, of course, there was the immortal Irv Kupcinet. For sports events, I'd call Arch Ward, Dan Parker or Red Smith.

Eventually you won the heart of the featured skater in Wirtz's Hollywood Ice Revue. You literally stole the star of the show when you married Barbara Ann Scott, the 1948 Olympic gold medalist, in 1955. You're a handsome guy so that's not surprising, but how exactly did you explain this to your boss, Mr. Wirtz?

Very carefully! Defining that, I "changed directions" in my business career.

After you married, you went to work for Joseph P. Kennedy and began a long career at Chicago's Merchandise Mart, including 12 years as President. You were involved in political campaigns on the local, state and national level during the 1960s and 1970s. These must have been heady times full of colorful characters. Were you acquainted with any of the entertainers and composers of that time?

Yes. In fact, during Jack Kennedy's presidential campaign, I called on Sammy Cahn and asked him to write some lyrics. He wrote the lyrics for "High Hopes" and that became the campaign's trademark song.

You and Mrs. King did a lot of entertaining during your years in Chicago? Whom do you recall as your favorite local Chicago musicians and singers?

Jimmy Damon is very strong with Sinatra lyrics. Stanley Paul leads a society band that has excellent musicians. And there was a fantastic drummer named Barrett Deems who played with Louis Armstrong.

It sounds trite, but I have to ask. Who were your top musical influences?

The rhythm section of the 1940s Count Basie Band … the extraordinary talent of Joe Jones on the hi-hat … the incredible tom-tom playing of Gene Krupa … the masterful bass drum playing of Louie Bellson … the marvelous triplets of Buddy Rich … Lester Young and his tenor saxophone …and, of course, Benny Goodman and his clarinet ... and the best timekeeper of them all, Dave Tough.

You and Mrs. King dress so fashionably. After all these years of grunge and in this day of casual attire, it is quite refreshing. It is very reminiscent of the urbane lifestyle that is often associated with the jazz scene in the 1940s and 1950s. You appear to live that same sort of stylish lifestyle. Who chooses your clothes, you or Mrs. King?

Barbara Ann and I think very much the same way and like the same things. And we ask each other's opinion.

The November 2000 election indicated a political divisiveness in our country we have not experienced since the Civil War. I think this political divide probably started growing back in the 1960s, at about the same time that jazz started to differentiate into various forms. You, however, play the old standards. People of all ages seem to enjoy it, and the youth of the nation are starting to listen. Does this surprise you?

I'm gratified that they like this type of music which to me has true feelings … and lyrics I can understand.