Maury Povich is alive and well, but at 87, the former tabloid talk-show host is comfortable enough with his mortality that he spent months helping a New York Times writer craft his prepared obituary. But something about the process got under his skin.

“I get a call from the New York Times about four or five years ago, and this guy who I find out later on is a terrific writer is calling me because they want to write my obit,” Povich said Friday on the “Founder’s Story” podcast with host Daniel Robbins. “And I went, ‘Oh, wow. This is interesting.’ So, I’ve spent the last couple of years talking to the New York Times about my obituary, which is written.”

So far so good for Povich, who then had one simple request. It was denied.

“The only thing I’ve got very pissed off about was I finally asked the writer, ‘How about can I see it? Can I see my obit? I would love to see my obit,’” Povich continued. “He said, ‘We can’t show you that. Are you kidding me? This is the New York Times. We don’t show people what we write.’ I said, ‘Does that mean I’m going to have to read about it after I die?’”

For decades, media outlets have routinely pre-written obituaries for notable people and even accidentally published them, just ask Abe Vigoda – but Povich wouldn’t mind that one bit. He’s still miffed the Times won’t let him have a peek.

“You know what I said to myself?” he recounted. “‘Well, then if that’s the case, let’s have the funeral right now so that everybody can stand up and say all these things about me and I can listen.’”

“Times obituaries are written by Times journalists. Our writers research and report the full lives of the subjects of obituaries, but they are only finalized and published after the subjects are deceased,” a Times spokesperson told (and hat-tip to) Entertainment Weekly

“Maury,” ran for more than 30 seasons in syndication before Povich finally retired from daytime TV, and now hosts the “On Par With Maury Povich” podcast.

“There is no doubt that our shows in the ’90s and early 2000s spawned all the ‘Housewives’ shows, all the Kardashians, any kind of reality show now on cable was all sparked by our shows,” Povich said.