The advantage of beating a mute is he can't tell on you.

Harris remains close to his mother Polly and reportedly calls her every night no matter where he is and often discusses particular scenes from his work with her. If you met him you would think he was a choirmaster. Harris's friend and literary agent Morton Janklow said of him: "He's one of the good guys.

Thomas Harris (born April 11 1940) is an American author and screenwriter best known for a series of suspense novels about his most famous character Hannibal Lecter. All of his works have been made into films the most notable being the multi-Oscar winning The Silence of the Lambs which became only the third film in Academy Award history to sweep the Oscars in major categories.