Confirm or Deny: Graydon Carter Edition

Maureen Dowd: Annie Leibovitz took your passport photo.

Graydon Carter: She took my passport photo.

You were told to sod off by James Bond.

Confirm! One year I invited all the men who played James Bond to the Oscar party. For one reason or another, all but one were either working or unavailable. We got George Lazenby, who had appeared in the pre-Sean Connery era in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.” I spotted him at the bar by himself. I went over and introduced myself. He just looked straight ahead and then turned and in the sort of fragrant language not generally permitted in a high class newspaper, told me to buzz off.

When you were at Time — and single — you wrote fun tidbits for the “People” page, and you had a romantic encounter with the young woman who wrote Newsweek’s version of the people page, called “Newsmakers.”

No comment.

The two funniest non-comedians you’ve ever met are George Clooney and Anderson Cooper.

In both cases, they were so funny that I had to tell them to stop because I thought my trachea would break.

When a New York Times push alert announced the news of your departure from Vanity Fair, multiple friends later told you that seeing your name pop up on their phone, they assumed it was because you died.

Yes, and for some of them, it put a spring in their step.

Anna Wintour should retire.

Absolutely not. I think she can go on for decades.

Putin once called you to get on the cover of Vanity Fair.

Deny.

The Kushners are the new Kennedys.

Deny. Well, the new Bobby Kennedy juniors, if that’s the arm of the family you’re referring to.

The West Village has been overrun by young frat bros with too much family money and no culture.

Not yet. It’s in the process, perhaps.

Taylor Swift has a lifetime ban from the Waverly Inn.

No, we adore Taylor Swift.

Harry and Meghan are grifters.

Bill Simmons could say that. I never would. I’m not sure grifter is the right word. More “chancers,” which is in English expression for somebody who is on the make.

Your friend David Zaslav, the C.E.O. of Warner Bros. Discovery, is fairly compensated.

Wildly underpaid.

Tom Cruise tried to convert you to Scientology.

Deny.

People who wear their order of Canada rosette on their lapels are ostentatious.

Deny. I just think they’re probably proud of it.

The Democrats need a celebrity candidate in 2028.

Confirm. Well, they need a candidate, and whether it’s a celebrity or not, they’ve got a strong bench. It’ll take six months, and they’ll get things sorted out, and then there’ll be a force.

It takes you two hours to fix your hair every day.

Oh God, much more than that.

You were a gravedigger in Canada as a youth.

I was a gravedigger for one day. The ground in Canada is frozen for about seven months of the year, and so they put a sign up at the high school that said we’re paying, I don’t know, two dollars an hour, if you wanted to come to dig graves. And I thought I could use the money, and I thought it would be interesting. And it was backbreaking and ghoulish, and I didn’t show up for the second day.

You’ve been twice fired via fax.

They weren’t jobs. They were, like, contracts.

You were named one of the 10 sexiest Canadians.

Confirm.

You have the best martini recipe in the world.

I essentially copy the technique of the old fellow who famously used to make them at Dukes London. First off, I freeze anything that can be frozen. The gin or the vodka. And the glass. I prefer a small coupe to those V-glasses that are the corny international symbol for a martini. I happen to like a bit of vermouth, so half a thimble full of that. Then the gin or vodka — probably no more than an ounce and a half — and three olives out of the fridge and a small spoonful of olive juice.

You consider yourself the leading authority on packing a car trunk.

This has been an essential part of travel for a father of five. Think it out before you start jamming things in. Everything should be on the pavement before you begin. Start with the larger bags. Then, Tetris-like, fit them into the truck or back. Try to remain calm.