Watch CBS News

Quincy Jones And Michael Caine Share Remarkable Bond, Friendship

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Say the name of Grammy-winning producer Quincy Jones, and most everyone has a unique story to share.

"Without him, the career would have probably started years and years later, if not at all," said Whoopi Goldberg, actress and co-host of TV's "The View."

The same could also be said for Oscar-winning actor Sir Michael Caine.

"There was a video cassette that taught you to act by Michael Caine," said comedian Arsenio Hall. "I couldn't afford acting classes, but I was able to get that cassette from Tower Records on Sunset and that was my first teacher."

But Jones and Caine have much more in common than just the entertainment business.

It was while they were working together on the 1969 movie "The Italian Job" that they realized something rather remarkable: both were born in the same year (1933), same day (March 14), same hour, just minutes apart.

When asked how they've been able to maintain their friendship across the decades - and the Pond - Jones and Caine say it just comes naturally.

"When it is real, you don't have to try to maintain anything...it just happens," Jones said. "I hear his name, I see his movies, I get a call from him, it always touches me from the bottom of my soul."

"We travel and cross the Atlantic all of the time, you know I have made loads of pictures in LA and everything, and he comes to London a whole lot of the time," said Caine. "So we see each other a great deal, we are even seeing each other now...we are in Las Vegas."

CBS2's Pat Harvey recently sat down with both men  - icons in their respective industries. She says, it's easy to see what keeps their 40-year-old friendship unbreakable: trust and love.

"You know, that is our relationship, everything we know about each other, it's so open we have no secrets, and there are no secrets from the world," said Caine. "We are not secretly something or another." Added Jones, with a laugh, "We have nothing to hide."

Jones is known around the world for his work with legendary recording artists, including Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, and Stevie Wonder.

With 27 Grammy awards to date, the honors keep coming for Jones, who was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.

Two-time Academy Award winner Sir Michael Caine was knighted in 2000 for his contribution to cinema in a career that continues to touch generations of fans.

"You know, I have gained respect," he said. "I have gone from 'Alfie', to being called Alfred." Jones interjects, "That's Sir Alfred!" Caine says, That is right, I am Sir Alfred."

The two luminaries celebrated their 80th birthdays together raising money for a philanthropic cause close to both men at the Cleveland Clinic in Las Vegas, the hospital at the forefront for brain health and research for neurodegenerative brain diseases.

But for Jones and Caine, it was just another milestone in two storied careers.

"You know what he says to me all of the time? 'Michael, if you can live another five years, you can live another five years, because they are finding this stuff the whole time," said Caine. "I mean, look at the age limits right now, there are so many people who are living to be over 100 now, people who lived to be over 100."

Harvey asks both men if they can reconvene at the same table in another ten years? "You can count on it," Jones said.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.