Earlier this month, Danny DeVito talked with James Corden on his CBS late night show about voicing the character of Bob the dog in the new release of “The One and Only Ivan” movie “I am a dog person, a cat person, an animal person,” DeVito told Corden. He’s also a family person and said he wished he could bring his New Jersey family with him to San Fele, Italy, where his grandparents emigrated from -- and “where it all started.”

DeVito and I had a 30-minute phone conversation last month from his California home talking about his growing up in Asbury Park and attending Our Lady of Mount Carmel School and Church, which are still open today. Back then, it was all Italian-American and he shared fond memories of being an altar boy and attending the old school, which was on Bangs Avenue, where the church was in the basement.