79 “Is that right?” – Don Favareau, Don Corleone, and the semiotics of friendship Claus Emmeche University of Copenhagen, Denmark Celebrating a round number birthday of Donald Favareau – always ‘Don’ among friends – is an occasion to reflect upon the importance of friendship in any society and some of the semiosic forms it may take, given social circumstances and the character of the persons involved, as for instance acquaintances, close colleagues, or friends. Apart from his seminal contributions (that meet the highest standards of scholarship aimed at by any don) to the theoretical development of biosemiotics and its historiography, Don has been a very crucial hub in the informal communicative-organizational network holding together the biosemiotic community and the ongoing academic exchanges in the field. He has not only performed his civic duties at the International Society of Biosemiotics with great diligence and discretion; Don’s engagement, enthusiasm and delight in investigating complexity at the borders of mind, brain, language and action has always been inspiring and has contributed to a critical- friendly atmosphere so characteristic of the Gatherings in Bio- semiotics. An expression of this spirit of intellectual friendship was Don’s initiative, together with Paul Cobley, to support and cheer up John Deely in June 2016, when Deely was no longer able to participate in meetings or do more research due to a terminal illness. Don and Paul collected a series of video-recorded greetings to John from biosemioticians for whom his work and friendship had been truly