The first thing I do every morning is wake up and ask God what he wants me to do today. God is a big part of my life. People who haven’t got God in their life are, well, I think they’re troubled. That’s just the way things are. I read my lesson, talk to my wife about all the good things that have happened to us and thank God that I am lucky enough to do a job that I enjoy. How many people can say that?

About 6 or 7 o’clock I get out of bed, have a shave, get dressed and go out for the paper. We take the LA Times at the moment. There’s a lot going on in the world and, for sure, I like to keep up with the news. Not all of the news is good, but you have to see through all that. You have to choose the moments that matter to you.

I try to stay healthy, sure I do. It’s the only way to be. I eat a lot of fruit and a little bit of cereal for my breakfast. Not too much coffee. Only two cups of decaf. I do have a lot of milk, though… I love my milk. Life has always been busy for me.

I like to work. It keeps me young. I’ve made 350 films and my wife, Jan, and I still go out on tour — singing songs, telling stories. Sometimes we’re away from home for 200 days of the year. By golly, it keeps me young!

We sometimes rehearse in the mornings and I’ll play a little bit of piano. I wrote a couple of songs recently. One of them was for my wife. It was a very simple song called I Love You. And you bet I do. I love her so much. I’ll love her for the rest of my life. Sure, I’ve been married before, but I don’t think about that. It feels like I’ve never been married to anyone but Jan. We’ve been together for 35 years, you know. We celebrated the anniversary just this year.

I think marriage is all about respect. Respect for each other. Respect for other people, for the family. Tradition is very important to us, to sit down and spend some time together. To talk. To share our thoughts. Jan still likes to paint, and so do I. I’ve written books too. Hey, are my books available in England? Life Is Too Short — I hope people can get that over there. Jan came up with the title.

We take lunch not long after 12 noon. My favourite thing for lunch is Jan’s wonderful potato salad. On a hot day — and we got a lot of those in California — there’s nothing better than salad.

Sometimes the grandchildren come over for lunch too. After we’ve finished eating, we sit round the piano and the kids wear my caps and sing songs. In the afternoon we read or watch TV. Jan and I love our TCM — it shows all those great old films. Gosh, I don’t like it too much if one of my old films comes on.

I still find it strange to see myself on TV. Some of them are so long ago. Boys Town, I still like — with Spencer Tracy. And I’ve always liked National Velvet, with Elizabeth Taylor.

Hollywood is very different to what it used to be, but it’s always been very kind to me. Jan and I recently did a cameo for Ben Stiller in his new movie, Tropic Thunder. I’ve worked with some wonderful, wonderful people. We do a tribute to Judy Garland in the live show, and I dance a little bit. Jan says I’m still pretty good. And we show some of the old clips. So many people still love Judy.

I try to exercise as much as I can, but it’s not easy when you’re away from home so much. I like to take our dog, Sir Digby, a little King Charles spaniel, for a walk.

I like to walk. This is a great neighbourhood. We’re right by a lake — a man‑made lake, but it’s still beautiful. Just watching the boats and the trees. When Jan and I finally settle down, I’d like to get a boat.

If we’re staying in for the evening, I like to put on music. Anything classical: symphonies, opera, ballet. I love the sound of music in the house. Jan says she likes to hear the music playing when she’s upstairs. If I have to call her, she sometimes can’t hear me, but we have two macaws, and when they hear me call her name they start repeating it. “Jaaaan. Jaaaannnn…”

I can cook, but I don’t like talking about it. I’m not great in the kitchen.

I have a couple of ideas once in a while, but I leave most of the cooking to Jan.She looks after most things around the house, like decorating or buying furniture. She always checks with me first, though. If we both agree, we do it. It’s a partnership.

Probably my favourite thing for dinner is spaghetti and salad. But I love home‑made stew. Oh, and Waldorf salad. And piccalilli salad — macaroni cheese, peas and sweet pickles. I always try to make sure there’s some ice cream in the house too. I love my ice cream — you bet I do. Jan and I like to go out for dinner every now and then. Especially if the family are over. I usually put a suit and tie on if we’re going out, to look smart, you know. When I’m just around the house I wear shorts and my argyle socks. Jan doesn’t like the socks, but she’s coming round to my way of thinking. It’s my new uniform.

We never stay out late. We’re in bed by 9 or 10. No later than that. I dream, sure I do, but not about the old days.

I don’t like to think too much about the old days. If I dream, I like to dream about tomorrow. About the dreams that are going to come. And, hopefully, those dreams are going to come true.

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