Renee Taylor and her husband, Joe Bologna, bring their 35 years of marriage and partnership to the Broadway stage "If you ever leave me, I'am going with you." Love stories have always been big hits in Hollywood, but the rarest and most endearing are those among the great stars in real life. Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, Kathrine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, George Burns and Gracie Allen, and then there are Joe Bologna and Renee Taylor. For the past 35 years, Taylor and Bologna have been living and loving (so to speak) on stage and screen, and their fans are all the more appreciative for it. Joe Bologna is Italian and from New York, and Renee is Jewish and from Brooklyn. Pair them up and what you have is comedic gold. Renee is best known for her role of Sylvia Fine, the very blonde, very Jewish mother to Fran Drescher in The Nanny. Putting her natural maternal instincts to practice in the early 1990s, she played the role of the mother to both Brian Benben in HBO's Dream On and Richard Lewis in FOX's short-lived Daddie Dearest (opposite Don Rickles). Joe was most recently seen playing Adam Sandler's dad in the film Big Daddy, although many people will remember him as the mad doctor in the comedic horror-spoof Transylvania 6-5000 and as the out-of-control star of a 1950s TV show in My Favorite Year. Both Joe and Renee have experienced great success in their individual projects, but they undoubtedly will be best remembered for their collaborations on stage and in film. It is this partnership that has taken them to the Broadway stage to star in their own play If You Ever Leave Me, I'm Going With You, which celebrates their lives and careers by using vignettes from some of their best known works, such as the film Lovers and Other Strangers and the play Bermuda Avenue Triangle, as well as video clips of their five wedding ceremonies. Renee Taylor is part Gracie Allen and part Mae West. She is sexy, savvy, and terribly funny. Joe Bologna plays the Ricky to her Lucy (his Latin lover looks and screaming outbursts at Renee are very reminiscent of the Cuban band leader-minus the accent). It is this camaraderie from two acting and life partners that makes each one of their offerings better than the last. Despite a hectic touring schedule, Renee was kind enough to chat with us about one of the great joys in her life: her pets. When her tour brought her to Fort Lauderdale last year, she was good enough to pose for a photo shoot with some furry friends from local animal shelters. She has lent her support to Rescued Pets are Wonderful, a local organization that promotes adoption from local animal agencies. Joe and Renee have one son, Gabriel, who has followed in their footsteps and gone into show business. They live in Beverly Hills. TPT: How many pets do you have? Renee Taylor: Two dogs [both Malteses], one cat and one bird. The two dogs are named Phil and Angel. They are father and son. Phil is 11 years old and Angel is just over a 1 1/2 years. The cat's name is Lazarus. The bird is nameless. TPT: Are there any types of animals you are afraid of or dislike? RT: Snakes and rats. TPT: What do you think you have learned from your pets? RT: Love and loyalty. TPT: What is the hardest thing for you to do as a pet owner? RT: [Get] time away. I love my pets-they sleep with Joe and I every night-well, not the bird, she's in a cage. Just got her a new one. Anyway, but the dogs and cat all sleep on the bed with us. When you're away you miss their being there. TPT: Why are animals important to your life? RT: Because you can never get enough love. TPT: Do your pets travel with you? RT: Occasionally. For the most part, they don't unless I'm taking a really long trip. Otherwise, friends and family will watch out for them while I'm away. You can't duplicate the feeling you get when you get home and they're ready to break the door out when you come up the walkway. I love how they love me. TPT: Your husband is also a well-respected actor and writer, and you both have been married and collaborating for quite some time. Has it been easier or more difficult to have your spouse in the business? RT: Easy. Very easy. We're doing a new show now that headed for Broadway. It's called If You Ever Leave Me, I'm Going With You. We talk about our life, how we met, etc., and then do scenes from the plays that we wrote as we were experiencing our personal lives. There's a moment, every night when we're on stage, that I look at Joe and I fall madly in love him all over again. It's great. TPT: What message would you like to convey to fellow pet owners? RT: Just to remind everyone with a pet how fortunate they are. Animals give so much to humans: they show us compassion [and] some sort of natural order, in some cases, our own human nature. Pay attention to them. TPT: If you could be any animal, which one would you be and why? RT: It is a tie between a lion and dolphin. Lions are so bold and courageous, fearless and strong. Dolphins are so much fun. They are also very intelligent and beautiful. -Kareem Tabsch is a freelance writer who specializes in celebrity interviews. He has interviewed celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Bob Hope, Joan Rivers, Julio Iglesias, and Barbara Mandrell, among others. He writes frequently on animal-related issues as well as on the entertainment industry.

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