I first became a fan of Tony, Grammy & Emmy Award Winning Composer Marc Shaiman when I saw the Broadway musical Hairspray in 2002. I absolutely loved the music & all these years later I'm still singing the songs from that show, especially "Good Morning Baltimore," "I Can Hear The Bells," "Mama, I'm A Big Girl Now," "Big, Blonde and Beautiful" & "You Can't Stop The Beat."

Little did I know, I was actually a fan of Marc's long before Hairspray ever landed on Broadway because I have been a Bette Midler fan since the 1980s & Marc was Bette's Vocal Arranger, Musical Director & Co-Producer for many of her recordings including the Grammy Award winning songs "Wind Beneath My Wings" & "From A Distance."

With the invention of social media, I have also learned that Marc Shaiman & Award winning Comedian Wendy Liebman (whom I've known since childhood) are friends. Wendy heard that I was trying to get an interview with Marc & she was so kind to help connect us & make this interview happen.

In this interview, Marc answered my call to share:

• His inspirations
• The project he is most proud of
• If he ever thought about quitting the industry
• So much more

Connect with Marc: Website

Marc Shaiman and Bette Midler

1. Who inspired you to become a musical director/producer/arranger? Barry Manilow (for Bette Midler), Nelson Riddle (for Frank Sinatra), Peter Matz (for Barbra Streisand).

2. Who is the one person you haven't worked with that you would like to? I'm stumped.

3. Which project are you most proud of? Duh...HAIRSPRAY! With my collaboration with Bette Midler for her appearance as Johnny Carson's final guest a very close second.

4. Is there ever a time you thought about quitting? No. Well, maybe one day for about 2 hours, but it passed.

5. Do you have any strange or unusual talent that no one knows about? No, every thing strange and usual about me is out in the open.

6. If you could dream about anyone while you sleep, who would it be? My dog Walli Woo?

7. Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts? I don't like coffee, so clearly DD.

8. Favorite kind of shoes? Ones that actually fit.

9. Favorite website? Hmmm, how 'bout oldjewstellingjokes.com

10. Favorite musician/singer? Impossible to chose one. Many of the names above would be obvious candidates!

Marc Shaiman

More on Marc Shaiman:

Winner of both the Tony & Grammy Award for the score to the smash hit Broadway musical Hairspray, Marc Shaiman is a legendary composer, lyricist, musical director, producer, and vocal arranger. Marc started his career as a vocal arranger for the one and only Divine Miss M, Bette Midler. He eventually became her Musical Director & Co-Producer for many of her recordings including the Grammy Award winning songs "Wind Beneath My Wings" & "From A Distance." One of Marc's greatest moments working with Bette was their collaboration of her Emmy Award winning performance on Johnny Carson's final Tonight Show.

In addition to the above honors, Marc has also won an Emmy Award for Billy Crystal's Oscar Medleys and nominated for five Academy Awards for the films Sleepless in Seattle, The American President, The First Wives Club, Patch Adams, and South Park: Bigger, Louder, and Uncut.

In 2002 Marc received the "Hollywood Outstanding Achievement in Music-in-Film" award. In November 2008, Marc wrote the satiric mini-musical Prop 8-The Musical, a 3 minute video protesting the passage of California's Proposition 8. The video debuted on FunnyOrDie.com on December 3, 2008 & garnered 1.2 million views (currently it has over 4 million views).