Poston on Poston

"In Allen's famous 'Man on the Street' sketches, Mr. Poston was the man who could never remember his name. When Allen was auditioning for the sketch, 'I was, naturally, scared to death,' Mr. Poston recalled in a 1982 interview. 'He asked me my name, and darned if my mind didn't go blank. I sat there like a big dope and held my head. Steve thought I was kidding. He said: 'Hey, that's great! We'll use it.' From then on, I was a regular.'"

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“In ways I don’t like to admit, I’m a goof-up myself. It’s an essential part of my character. When these guys screw up it reminds me of my own incompetence with the small frustrations of life.”

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"Hollywood's not for me right now; I'm a Broadway cat."

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"Take George, for instance," Mr. Poston told an interviewer in 1983. "He doesn't know he's a handyman who makes matters worse when he tries to fix them. He's out of touch with reality, but not in an offensive way. And Cliff in the first Newhart show was from Vermont. He saw nothing odd about putting maple syrup on everything he ate."

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"These guys are about a half-step behind life's parade," he added. "The ink on their instruction sheets is beginning to fade. But they function and cope and don't realize they are driving people up the walls. . . . When these guys screw-up, it reminds me of my own incompetence with the small frustrations of life."

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Asked whether he'd like to one day star in his own show, he said: "I don't know if I would want to see [his supporting roles] stretched to the point of having to carry the burden of a show…. I'd rather be working my head off as a supporting actor than be a giant star unable to get a job.

"Anyhow, my parts are really prime roles for an actor to play. They are terrific fun. I'm having the time of my life doing what I do."