arlene alda graduates phi beta kappa from hunter college.fulbright scholarship. >> that make me very happy. >> rose: me too. realized her dream of becoming a professional clarinetist. wade it hard to give up the clarinet. >> i paced it out. you know i can't even remember palpably what it was like. my thought was well i could always play locally. at that point we're in national and there were a lot of professional musicians in new jersey and i was fortunate enough to play in little chamber group with them. we gave local concerts. this was great but by then i wasms already interested in photography. i think the practical side of me really took over. and the photography became my new obsession. basically i kind of phased out the clarinet little by little. i'm still lucky in that friend will ask me do you want to play some chamber music. >> rose: what are you doing for these scientists. >> about eight or nine years ago i helped start this center for communicating science at stony brook university. we put, we start with oddly enough improv cision

. ♪ charlie: arlene and alan alda are here. she is a photographer and author. latest book is called, "just kids from the bronx." it is a collection of personal memories from more than 60 bronx residents past and present. president bill clinton called it a down-to-earth inspiring book about the american promise fulfilled. arlene's husband alan alda is an award-winning actor known for his roles in "m*a*s*h," "the west wing," and most recently, "the blacklist." in recent years, he has become a visiting professor at the alan alda center for communicating science at stony brook university. i'm pleased to have them both here. welcome. we will talk a little bit about science later, but let me talk about this book. this is your idea? arlene: yes, very much, but it happened in tandem with going back to the building in which i grew up. it had a name -- the mayflower. i went back with a guy named mickey drexler who is ceo of j.crew. i didn't know mickey when he grew up in that building. i went back with him. when we were talking, it touched me and i knew nothing about mic

arlene alda. ♪ john: i'm john heilemann. mark: and i'm mark halperin.ith all due -- lindsey: whoa, yankee boy. i'm lindsey graham from south carolina. and with all due respect to my south carolina friends, get your butt to new hampshire, i need your help. ♪ mark: a granite state greeting and top of the evening to you from manchester, new hampshire. on the show tonight, budget cuts. jeb bush's struts. and lindsey graham's guts. but first, it is tuesday, it is election day in israel. we will not know for a while if prime minister benjamin “goes by b.b.” netanyahu will retain his title.

i'm joined by arlene alda and alan alda known for his role in m.a.s.h., but also in the losing presidential "the west wing." arlene, this book has great stuff that i think is not -- it's about an era before the crime got completely out of hand but like in north philly where i grew up going out on hot days we didn't do it but al pacino sleeping in the fire escape, with his pillows, because it was so damn hold in the bronx, and let's talk about that sitting on the roof with thinks grandpop which i used to do with my grandpop. so big city so american. tell us about it. >> well pacino especially he's very lyrical in his language. what he describes is you know the details of the soft tar in the bottom of the chair, you know spreading newspapers out. then what he describes is the sound of all the voices with the different accents that you could hear up on the roof. whether i was italian or jewish, polish irish or german. it was all there. in the end by saying you know it was like a eugene o'neill play. how beautiful is that? a tremendous appreciation for what nurtured him, and the grandfather was

>>> it's not often you hear of a celebrity marriage that has lasted as long as alan and arlene alda'suples they struggled financially until alan's career took off on the hit tv series m.a.s.h. >> he's a real showoff. >> he is. >> while alan was a tv star the bronx born arlene began pursuing photography and later starting writing books. now she's out with her 19th book. it's kaubld "just kids from the bronx" and we're so happy you guys are here with us today. >> good to see you both. >> and it all started with a rum cake on the floor. >> the rum cake was on the refrigerator to cool and then it ended up on the floor. we were the only two that went in with spoon to eat it off the floor. all of these websites that try to tell you if you match up with another person they're wasting their time asking questions. toss a cake on the floor and see who goes are it. >> did you know right away that alan was going to be the one for you? >> absolutely -- well -- >> yes, you did. >> and you know what clinched it? first of all we walked in the park for about an hour. he was going to take me back to th

alan and arlene alda. first, this is "today" on nbc. skippy!! yippee!! fun fun fun! shiny!skippy. yippee!! ♪ [alarms blaring] ohhhhh... whoa whoa whoa! who's responsible for this?!? if something goes wrong, you find a scapegoat. ...rick. it's what you do. ahhhhhhhh! what'd you say? uh-oh! kelly! if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. rick. don't walk away from me. ahhhhhhhh! . >> back at 8:39. hawk eye pierce in the beloved series mash and nearly 60 years ago, he found the love of his life his wife arlene. she is an award winning author and photographer out with her 19th book just kids from the bronx. arlene and alan good morning. nice to see you both. >> good to see you. >> going back to where it all began. back to the bronx. you, your mom and sister and brother in a one-bedroom apartment. >> and the dog. >> what are your fobbedest memories from that time? >> fantastic memories and all crazy adventures. my brother building airplanes in this little apartment. wood model airplanes. >> i built those. >> the smell o