Ian Talks Comedy: Recent Episodes
Ian Fermaglich
Join NYC teacher and former stand up comedian Ian Fermaglich as he talks comedy with some of comedy's best.
Dave Hackel joined me to discuss growing up in Delaware, Ohio; being kept busy by TV; working in radio at 14; doing everything for a cable channel in Columbus for three years; moving to LA and getting a job that supplied prizes for game shows; Turtle wax; writing in the same building as game show writers; getting first break, on Fish; working with Abe Vigoda; getting staff jobs on Shirley, a Shirley Jones sitcom; writing the made-for-TV movie, The Great American Traffic Jam; writing a Love Boat; Harper Valley PTA; 9 to 5 and meeting with April Kelley; doing Webster and working with Bruce Johnson; problems on the set; Alex Karras & Susan Clark vs. Emmanuel Lewis & producers; Out of this World; writing for Dear John; an episode he writes wins Cleavon Little an Emmy; Bill Asher (Bewitched) was a fan of Becker; being a consultant on Frasier; writing #2 Wings fan favorite "Stand Up Kind of Guy"; the story behind it; Wings being a show the meant something to him professionally and personally; working with Al Franken on Lateline; Becker having come from a previous pilot; making him a doctor and casting Ted Danson; test pilot script read; Ian Gurvitz's contributions; trying to make Becker dramatic and showcase issues and still be funny; retirement; travelling the US with his wife, Peter Casey and his wife; Detroit; Motown Museum; Kansas City; Minneapolis; becoming a Padres fan late in life; game show writers; Markie Post; Monty Hall; guests over 90; meeting Carl Reiner; Shawnee Smith; teaching in NYC; teenage political apathy; April Kelly's memory and not knowing who the hosts and musical guests on SNL anymore.
Brandon Maggart joins me and discusses radio in the 1940's; how acting in a school play made him more verbal and popular with teachers; being a singer; going to Sewanee; getting invited to come to NY; going to University of Tennessee; singing and DJing; leaving the Air Force; his opera career; being a guide at NBC; working with Cathryn Damon, Renee Taylor (in Lil' Abner) and Sherry Britton in Top Banana; making his film debut in Armored Command with Burt Reynolds; guest starring in The Defenders, Naked City, and Car 54; doing Barefoot in the Park with Vivian Vance and her paying for his singing lesson; getting so drunk he jumps in the Atlantic Ocean to sober up and almost dies; performing in New Faces of 1968 and having it be old hat compared to Hair; learning burlesque from Sherry Britton; being in the cast of the 1st season of Sesame Street; being Tony nominated for co-starring with Lauren Bacall in Applause; almost making the original cast of SNL; his holiday horror film, Christmas Evil; his role that was cut short from Dressed to Kill; costarring with Robin Williams in The World According to Garp; Jennifer Slept Here; Brothers; Chicken Soup; Fiddler on the West Hollywood Roof; Brothers tackles AIDS; Philip Charles Mackenzie; do you have to be smart to be stupid?; acting in The Wedding Band, the first interracial play with Ruby Dee; being in a minstrel show America Be Seated with Lou Gossett; working in theatre gave him the privilege to work and befriend homosexuals; Purlie with Sherman Helmsley; guest starring in Adventures of Brisco County, Jr, Bakersfield PD, and Married with Children; starring in Spiritual Warrior; hurting his back and being unable to audition; time recovering from surgery leads him to writing and painting; his books length; he knew nothing of his father after he died; his book leaves his footprints
Ian Gurvitz joined me to discuss the derivation of his name; growing up in Plainview; TV he watched including Laugh-In and Batman; William Daniels; going to Ithaca College; moving to NYC and writing for comics; getting hired to write for short lived sitcom A Fine Romance; selling a Wonder Years; writing The Great TV and Movie Quizbook; creating Normal Life with Moon Unit and Dweezil Zappa; writing a Get a Life; creating Charlie Hoover; paying "Where's Sam?"; inspired by a Married with Children episode; joining Wings for a a six week tryout and lasting 6 years; how The Contest episode of Seinfeld deflated the writers room; hiring Amy Yasbeck; writing an episode while his mother is dying in the next room; writing his 1st episode with Kirstie Alley as Rebecca Howe; music rights; Tony Danza Show; watching Ted Danson become Becker; episode he wrote "Crosstalk"; the genesis of Becker; his film LA Blues; working on The Exes; keeping a journal while in development and publishing it as "Hello, Lied the Agent"; why is TV better; business model of TV has changed with streaming; The Bear; Only Murders in the Building; We Were the Lucky Ones; The Day the Crown Cried; his first book, Deconstructing God about religion; his second Dumbf*ckistan, about Sarah Palin's rise to power; anti-college stance of people who went to Ivy League schools; intelligence of other countries; Trump's crowd size; Nixon; Democrats can't brand or fight; Roger Stone; Roy Cohn; Democrats are pushing people away; don't be a dick
Comedian Trent Mabry joins me to discuss his podcast Echo Chamber; Rosie Ruiz: MLB umpires; watching Seinfeld at 6 made him want to be a stand up; his first and second times performing; differences between Indiana and NYC open mic's; importance of social media; not burning material; Norm MacDonald and Gilbert Gottfried; day jobs; winning Indiana's Funniest comedian and that driving him to come to NYC; supportive parents; comedy was the only thing he ever wanted to do; his old podcast where he interviewed comedians; Jeff Altman; no set comedy topics; getting bits to flow together; booking guests and guests he'd want; ultimate goal is a late night show; favorite host being Letterman; Seinfeld NYC vs. Actual NYC; Indiana; his father being a farmer; my great-grandfathers job selling lightbulbs on horseback in NYC; SNL; inability to act; David Spade; being an old soul and watching early TV; streaming doesn't introduce people to old shows; using COVID to watch Sopranos; Rockford Files; Par Bircher; Mark Normand; joke tellers vs. story tellers; playing with silence; alcohol; almost fighting a heckler; getting booked at a Chamber of Commerce dinner; watching the flow of the show he'll perform at; Rusty Kuntz; touchy jokes; recoding a set for SiriusXM
Karyl Miller joined me and talked about growing up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the late 1950's; being a loner; listening to radio and begging her father to buy a TV; going to Cal Arts for a summer program; not going to college; going to night fashion school; mom wanting her to marry a nice Jewish man; being inspired by Lily Tomlin; wrote spec scripts while designing dresses; met Garry Marshall; got a job writing interstitials for Love, American Style; wrote for a dress designer sitcom called Needles and Pins; her spec script got her hired for Lily Tomlin specials and season 3 of the Mary Tyler Moore Show; writing Lily Tomlin's monologues; turning down Lorne Michaels' offer for SNL; writing for Cher's 1975 variety show; her first MTM "Rhoda's Sisters Wedding" and the famous letter sequence; her other episode "WJM Tries Harder"; writing for Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice; writing a freelance episode of Karen; writing a Maude and being afraid of Bea Arthur; being brought into Diff'rent Strokes when Charlotte Rae wants a female writer and being fired after 9 days; teaming up with Richard Pryor to write a Sanford & Son that didn't get filmed; finishing writing a pilot Richard started; working on the Erma Bombeck sitcom Maggie; being picketed while going in to write Love, Sidney; writing an episode of the Bea Arthur sitcom Amandas; being a TV snob and not writing for "bad" shows; the nightmare that was The Cosby Show; Madeline Kahn; Kate & Allie; Foley Square; being on staff on My Sister Sam and fighting with Dianne English over an episode where Pam Dawber has an affair; writing an episode of David Rules; her career being hurt by turning down shows she didn't like and the shows she dd not hiring women; turning down The Love Boat; how doodling on scripts led to cartooning and creating her own font; becoming a political cartoonist and being the President of the Southern California Cartoonist Society
Ferris Butler and his biographer D.B. Frick joined me to discuss his garage band version of SNL "Waste Meet News"; his love for Sid Caesar and Ernie Kovacs; Brooklyn in the 50's and 60's; his pilot for the Vintage Seltzer Hour with Michael O'Donoghue and Garrett Morris; going to NYU film school and being taught by Martin Scorsese and classmates with Billy Crystal; creating Waste Meat News; having Radames Pera on; the budget; New York Magazine says Waste Meat is being copied by SNL; getting hired by Jean Doumanian; how the crew was excited for new season. but the press was already hostile; not getting anything on the premiere; getting Leather Weather on the Malcolm McDowell show; writing the tag to Eddie Murphy's first appearance; writing Tort-U-Matic and her monologue for Jamie Lee Curtis; co-writing Reagan Co for the Robert Hays episode; Howard Stern has beef about his Leather Weather Girl vs. Ferris' sketch; writing the Kung Fu prostitution sketch and slipping a watersports joke by the censors; the difference between head writers Mason Williams and Stevens and Moore; writing one joke for Weekend Update; Brian Doyle-Murray; Bill hosts; he was recommended by Letty Aronson; more Bill Murray stories; is Ferris Butler, Ferris Bueller - Del Close wanted to do a movie about him, Quentin Tarantino believes it; writing "Prison Confession" sketch for Ray Sharkey episode; writing a sketch that got cut at dress; writing the "Big Brother" sketch for Deborah Harry episode; the re-evaluation of season 6; Name That Sin; musical guests; saving his sketches; not being surprised Dick Ebersol didn't as him back; not getting credit for writing for SNL; not being invited to any anniversary; Waste Meat News is in the Paley Center for Media
Jeff Altman and I discuss growing up in Syracuse; his father, Arthur, teaching him slight of hand magic; learning more at Johns Hopkins; moving to LA and going to the Magic Castle; trying out at the Comedy Store; doing a comedy album with Denny Johnston; his Carson impression and two times he met him; doing his voice on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman; doing voices on Norman Lear shows and Archie Bunker's Place; Celeste Holm, who his uncle discovered; his year living off income from being on Merv Griffin; Starland Vocal Band Show; guest appearances on Mork and Mindy and WKRP; playing Huey Hogg on Dukes of Hazard; getting the co-hosting job on Pink Lady; being told they spoke perfect English; working with Sid Caesar and Jim Varney; impressions; Rich Little; talking to Johnny right before he announced his retirement; his on-air prank calls to Letterman; Tim Thomerson; the origins of butt steak; being in the Israeli Candid Camera and almost getting arrested; his appearance on Night Court; his tough times being a cast member on Nurses; hosting Sunday Comics; Franklin Ajaye; doing an episode for the troops in the Gulf War; impersonating Bob Hope to Brooke Shields; his "dad" character; his album, I'll Flip You Like a Cheese Sandwich"; having Seinfeld ask him to be in The Bee Movie; retiring from comedy and going full time into sleight of hand; getting married to a girl he knew from high school and moving to Raleigh, NC; Max Alexander; Pink Lady covers and original songs
Ivan Decker and I discuss his Netflix special; his current You tube special Popcorn; your wife asking you to get something that's closer to her; his son; grandparents; the frenulum; being behind on comedy in Canada; Paul F. Tompkins; debuting as a 16 year old doing Mitch Hedberg; being booed off stage; me seeing Carlin booed off stage; the internet allowing you to know who a comedian is before you see them; my standup career; calling comedy clubs; hunting for jokes; laughing during situations that aren't funny because you can turn them funny later; do ex-comedians think that way; doing Conan; late night TV; how phones ruin comedy; not doing jokes because they might hurt someone's feelings, are in bad taste or might have been done; being on tour means not getting to see his comedy friends; people afraid of going to the bathroom during shows; Vancouver; sports; income disparity between hockey and soccer; American vs. Canadian measurements; Canadian accent is waning; Vancouver sounds like California; Boston Pizza; his love of Curb Your Enthusiasm and the Simpsons; looking like Colin Jost
Robert Wolterstorff joined me to discuss being mentored by Norman Lear; a quick overview of his career; going to SFSU; being mentored by Norman Lear; selling a Good Times; going to work on the Jeffersons; turning down a chance to write / produce the Incredible Hulk; his pilot Pen 'n' Ink aided by Louis Schwartzberg; doing a college interview for Benjamin Spock for President that got picked up by PBS; Jeffersons episodes; befriending Roxie Roker and her husband Sy Kravitz; Jeffersons writer's were older; moving to Universal to write pilots; working for Nicholls, Ross, West; writing for Sheriff Lobo; his pilot for Pen 'n' Ink leads to a lifelong friendship with Fred & Mary Willard; his pilot, the Outlaw; Street Hawk was originally supposed to precede Monday Night Football; finished second to Dallas but not good enough; cost $1 million an episode; getting Tangerine Dream to do the music; hiring Joe Regalbuto and Rex Smith; "predicting the future"; great writing staff; his sitcom pilot Sisters with Sally Kellerman; Quantum Leap; his episode "Jimmy" is nominated for an Emmy; writes Little Rascals movie for Penelope Spheeris; hired to make snow version of Baywatch called Extreme; creates Slappy & the Stinkers based on original Little Rascals script; Extreme; his pilot for Stinger, a superhero parody; Blade Squad; Twice in a Lifetime; his fun in writing Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction; how he got the audience to believe anything; working for military intelligence creating battle drills, IED simulations, and writing military role playing table tops; and working for the Spy Museum
Debra Frank joined me to discuss Sky King; wanting to be Mary Tyler Moore and he Girl from Uncle; being an extra in WUSA and meeting Paul Newman; dreaming of being in Perry Mason; being a tour guide at Universal; doin a Columbo impression on The Peoples Choice Awards; doing theatre and having a lot of downtime; writing a spec Rhoda script and a female Woody Allen film; being a stand in for Kathleen Quinlan and playing a leper in I Never Promised You a Rose Garden; being Louise Lasser's dialogue coach on Mary Hartman; being a typist for a write on the New Laugh In and befriending Robin Williams and Ivana Chubbuck; joining the Improv group Off the Wall; entering a TV writers contest; winning and being paired with Scott Rubenstein; creating and not getting credit for Family Ties; writing sitcoms; switching genres and partners; Carl Sautter; writing a Trapper John; The Motion Picture Home; pitching with Carl a black and white episode to "Crazy Like a Fox"; writing "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice"; Orson Welles; not creating the Dennis Dugan character; not knowing who a credited co-writer is; being nominated for an Emmy, but losing to St. Elsewhere; the controversial "North by North DiPesto"; Imogene Coca; Eva Marie Saint; meeting a new writing partner; getting a two picture deal, writing pilots and a Wonder Years; having two children; taking a three year break; getting a new partner, Steve Hayes and writing 13 made-for-TV movies; Muppets Wizard of Oz; writing songs for the Muppets and getting an Emmy; re-writing My Stepmother is an Alien with Richard Benjamin;
Jim Pankovits discussed with me his father teaching him the game; being a catcher made him know all parts of the game; Doug Rader; watching the Braves; playing and losing the Little League and College World Series; Ed Lynch; getting drafted and moving to second base; minor league travel horror story; getting called up; his first major league hit; the pitchers he went deep off of; facing Dwight Gooden, Orel Hershiser, Steve Carlton; catching Nolan Ryan; facing Fernando Valenzuela; playing for Hal Lanier and Yogi Berra and with Davey Lopes; the Astros clinching the 1986 NL West with a Mike Scott no-hitter; feeling good about his teams chances against the Mets; Lenny Dykstra PH AB didn't surprise him; Kerfeld regrets taunting Carter; Charlie Kerfeld gets caught eating ribs at a Mets BBQ during a game; why the 1980's were the last Golden Age of Baseball; teammates Ray Knight and Phil Garner; Hatchers HR in the 13th; his at bat; coming back in the 16th; post-game exhaustion; Andy Ashby; irregular playing time for rest of career; Minor League manager and coach known for getting tossed and winning; playing with the Red Sox in 1990 and taping their clubhouse celebration for Roger Clemens and Joe Morgan; playing in 1989 for the Dodgers in the minor leagues after spring training with the Pirates; watching a young Barry Bonds
Babs Greyhosky joined me to discuss her love of early sitcoms; her and her father watching The Rockford Files; always wanting to be a writer; having a family friend in Don Bellasario; wrote spec scripts as a substitute teacher; moved to LA and became a secretary for Battlestar Galactica writers; typed pilot of Magnum, PI; humor; first assignment; her name; memorable episodes; stories the king; Greatest American Hero asked to write wedding episode and another fan favorite; Bill Culp; how writing The A-Team was part of the Cannell factory; left before Peppard / Mr. T feud; Cannell v. Larson; Juanita Bartlett; Babs being the only female one hour executive producer in Hollywood; Riptide; people wrote to TV Guide to find out if she was a woman; added depth to Riptide; parodied its competition "Moonlighting" in its last episode; Stefanie Kramer; J.J. Starbuck; got George Clooney his SAG card; writing for Xena, Farscape, and Sheena; residuals; teaching at USC film school; teaching Fernando Kalife of Seven Days; becoming a therapist for veterans with PTSD; her selection of short stories, Hero Avenue; EMDR; Hero Avenue - Kindle edition by Greyhosky, Babs. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
Doug Sivco discussed early kids TV; watching SNL in high school; going to Rutgers and being on the radio; trying out to be an NBC page; NBC Nightly News; Space Shuttle Columbia; Election 1980; literally bumping into to Ted Kennedy; Letterman morning show; getting the job at SNL; taking messages for the cast; remembering hosts Elliot Gould, Chevy Chase, and Rodney Dangerfield; Burt Reynolds saves his butt; getting his brother in almost every week; carrying out Mick Jagger; escorting out Deborah Harry; Gabe Kaplan being a jerk; last episode and after party; the new cast; hanging out with Eddie Murphy; Joe Piscopo, Charles Rocket, and Charlene Tilton; finding Cheap Trick's guitar in the green room; working at WNBC; leaving to do news in Alexandria, La.; going to Wilmington, NC and then Harrisburg, PA; the grind of local news; covering Penn State & Philly sports; bloopers; R. Budd Dwyer; went to work for Dean Witter; his current job; living in Cape Cod; community theater; meeting Gilbert Gottfried and being smitten by Linda Ronstadt and Jamie Lee Curtis
Aubrey Solomon and I discussed being born in Canada; not watching TV since the 1960's; going to USC; his movie, The Klutz; working on the tv show The Art of Film; working on the TV show That's Hollywood and using his thesis on 20th Century Fox; he and his partner Steve Greenberg are asked to write a spec script about MLK & JFK; it gets to Jack Klugman; they pitch him an episode he likes; they get hired and moved up to story editors in the same season because they worked fast; Klugman ran the show; Dr. Asten and Sgt. Brill; Marc Taylor; Jack Klugman's brother would find a medical story in the news and get story credit; the writers would watch 60 Minutes for ideas; creating Quincy; his first name; John Astin wanted Dr. Asten's name spelled differently; writing the pilot tv film for Buck Rogers; Lazarus Syndrome; the "Ounce of Prevention" episode of Quincy; Beyond Westworld; Lou Shaw; Frank Lupo; The Fall Guy; Half Nelson; having to write a Quincy without Jack Klugman and a Rockford Files without James Garner; watching Jack Klugman fire a director; Blacke's Magic; Crazy Like a Fox; 40th Anniversary of Howdy Doody; his second book about Fox Studios; working on the Canadian series Danger Bay; 100 Years of the Hollywood Western; his mentor; Jack Haley, Jr.; his film, The Progeny; spending 20 years as a film editor; and writing the story for the fifth Ice Age movie.
Jay Johnson talks to me about being introduced to puppetry by Ricky Layne and Velvel; starting with his cousins Jerry Mahoney doll at 11; having dyslexia; reading scripts; doing 918 shows the summer after high school at Six Flags in Georgia; hiss first puppet, Squeaky; working Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs in Texas; going to college for marketing; finding Edgar Bergen's trunk; Bob is in the Smithsonian; being friends for 40 plus years with Harry Anderson; surviving Reno with Harry; his 7 foot partner, Ruben Hickory (Rube Hick); making his TV debut on Merv Griffin; working clean; Otto and George and Wayland Flowers and Madame; getting Soap; favorite memories; the mind reading sequence; coming up with ideas for Chuck and Bob; director Jay Sandrich; being married 51 years; being part of an HBO special The Vent Event in 1979; hosting Celebrity Charades; a memorable Pyramid mishap; being mistaken for Dick Clark; an idea for Chain Reaction where Bob would be a contestant that was nixed by NBC's S & P; Mrs. Columbo; Something is Out There; a pilot Sutters Bay; guesting on The Love Boat; being a guest on The Tonight Show; talking to Johnny; his talk/game show So You Think You've Got Troubles; being on the last Jerry Lewis telethon and the first without him; working the phones on the telethon; his Tony Award winning one man show The One and Only; his producers Paul Kreppel and Murphy Cross; going on David Letterman to promote; being cut from a ventriloquist episode of Night Court; the "New Night Court"
Larry Mollin joined me to talk black and white TV; going to Georgetown to study foreign service; going into acting in summer stock with Jeffrey Kramer and Marty Nadler; transferring to Ithaca College; going to Canada where they paid artists; touring Canada's schools and prisons; Santa Jaws leads to a three-album deal; being a roadie for Blood, Sweat & Tears; being friends with the Second City crew; Dan Aykroyd; getting heckled by and destroying Lorne Michaels; his CBC series "Workday"; Disaster land; accidentally setting his next show on fire; creating the Improv Olympics in Toronto; going to LA and getting a recurring role on Brothers and Sisters; writing a pilot for Max Baer Jr.; selling a story to Bret Maverick; being hired by The Devlin Connection; joining ChiPs for the last season; his episodes "Battle of the Bands" and "Rock, Devil Rock; guest stars Don Most, Susan Richardson, and Robert Trujillo of Metallica; John Astin not knowing what a music video was; going to Cutter to Houston and having to apologize to Alec Baldwin about a scene; loving to work on The New Gidget; getting hired to take 90210 to college and increase male demographic; believing in slowing down the romance; his episodes being considered the best by fans; getting fired for wanting to have The Spice Girls as guests; working with Milton Berle; writing for the WWE; his novels; his plays about the 1960's
Susan Lanier and I discuss MLB manager Hal Lanier; her song, "On the Way to Woodstock"; watching "The Miss America Pageant"; growing up in Dallas; being a DJ at 14; studying with Uta Hagen; acting in the film The Pickle Goes in the Middle; doing non-Union movies in NYC with Warhol and Putney Swope directed by Robert Downey, Sr.; going to LA and getting cast on Happy Days; not knowing the current stars; turning down an audition for SNL; Welcome Back Kotter; doing Night of the Iguana with Tennessee Williams; accidentally getting knocked out by Richard Chamberlain: Taryn Powers; Chloris Leachman; Over and Out; Pat Paulsen; Tony Orlando and Dawn Rainbow Hour; not liking doing con's; Henry Winkler; doing The Hills Have Eyes over agents' thoughts; the touring for the premiere; it being considered a terror classic; being cast and let go from Three's Company; the Facts of Life scale; being in the cast of Sha Na Na; Chuck Berry; moving into music; her cabaret act; an audition for a Brian DePalma movie gives her the singing bug; performs her late husband's composition Superstar and her own songs; Swamp Cabaret; getting into photography;
Podcaster / author Jonathan Rosen joined me to discuss growing up watching TV with his family; being a teacher; not wanting to be in show business; being an author of children's author; writing a blog about nostalgia; meeting his co-host Ike Eisenman; his guest want list; landlines; Kim Richards; guests Paul Williams and Meeno Peluce; crushes Cher, Lisa Whelchel, Audrey Landers; leaving things off you want to talk about; musical guests; guests he wouldn't have; guests who pass away after you as them on; his goals in five years; hosting a panel; Podcastcon; Joe Rogan; when to bring up a guests most famous work; and future guests
Julie Larson discusses growing up in Geneva Illinois; Mike Royko; her dad being her greatest comedy influence; growing up in a crowded house; southern sitcoms on the 1960's; Rose Marie; moving to Chicago in 1980; taking classes at Second City; moving to L.A. in 1984; becoming a Comedy Store Player; meeting Colin Mochrie & Ryan Stiles; performing with them at night while working for a law firm in the day; being asked to do improv in an Irish festival; meeting the co-creator of Dharma & Greg there and getting a job offer; what saved her job; prefers joke & story shows; writing credit is given by Chuck Lorre based on his feel of contribution; leaving to go to The Drew Carey Show; doing improv with him; sketch episodes; stunt episodes; in charge when viewers had a chance to be guest stars; her father's last wish; her pilot, Washington Street; how everyone is worthy and can be funny; Barney Miller; Norman Lear; her backyard stage; Keb' Mo; Beverly Hillbillies; Don Knotts; Paul Dooley in Breaking Away; being a woman writer; Last Man Standing; being a strike captain; helping younger writers; making videos for Biden; my stand up; Bob Smith; advice for new writers
Sal discusses growing up in Brooklyn and having TV and movies be his safe space; Catholic school; moving to California at age 12; going to public school; joining the drama department at UC Davis; studying at NYU under Olympia Dukakis; doing a few commercials and The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3 in New York; moving to LA and getting a role in The Montefuscos; The Montefuscos getting canceled; doing Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman; how being nice to a kid at an Elvis Costello concert got him booked on The Tonight Show; getting Soap; meeting Richard Nixon; befriending Diana Canova & Robert Urich; his mother's reaction; MASH; his father; Ray Abruzzo; Barney Miller; how his meatballs impressed Carl Reiner, Mel Broos, Anne Bancroft, and Dom DeLuise and got him three movies; Family Feud; Richard Dawson; Mike Douglas; his play A Steady Rain which landed him on Scandal; wanting to appear on The Bear; his meatball recipe
Markus Jennings and I discuss our mutual love for Saturday Night Live; Chris Farley; Jim Downey; getting tickets; my episode backstage; Chris Elliot; how he can't have a favorite episode; my favorite episodes; favorite cast; impressionists JAJ, Dana, Phil, and Joe Piscopo's versions of the same people; favorite musical guests; cast members; and trivia
Rick Mischel and I discuss being native NYers; growing up on film; went into law entertainment; read scripts at Electric Pictures; becoming Senior VP of Acquisitions for Live Entertainment; FHE; producing Suicide Kings; becoming President of Harvey Entertainment licensing Casper & Richie Rich; Mainframe CGI creates DVD films (Max Steele); Reach Games; Sony hires him to create a features studio; Hotel Transylvania, Open Season and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs tv series; Spiderman animated features; visual effects for MIB 3; Garfield; animation is worldwide; Smurfs; animation quality keeps getting better; working with Popeye; Diary of a Wimpy Kid; Ice Age; Rick & Morty; watching Family Guy, Bob's Burgers, and Simpsons;
Former child actor Sparky Marcus (Issoglio) discusses the origins of his name; being on TV before watching it; first job a McDonalds commercial at 3 1/2; being a SAG member; working on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman; playing a child evangelical preacher; being spanked by Dabney Coleman; Freaky Friday; working with actors who don't like children; not liking to watch himself; not remembering being on a Carl Reiner sitcom; going on AM LA in 1976; meeting George Lucas on the set of The Bob Newhart Show; shooting WKRP and Bad News Bears; being on a series is better than chasing work; child acting hours; working with Jack Albertson, Johnny Whitaker, and Henry Fonda; Grandpa Goes to Washington; What's Happening; David Hollander; Airplane; Goldie and the Bear Go to Hollywood with O.J. Simpson; Happy Days; working on Goodtime Girls with Peter Scolari; Marcia Wallace; Loni Anderson; voice work; Richie Rich; residual checks; Man with Two Brains; getting injured on Trapper John, MD; quitting at 18; not wanting show biz; being unaware of his earnings; having a part-time job parking cars to make his "own" money; Frank Welker; cartoon work; Nancy Cartwright; Don Messick; Rodney Alan Rippy; Norman Lear; Bad News Bears jersey; parents sold all his stuff; getting $30,000 at 18 and spending it in two years; working in PT; meeting his wife on the job and becoming best friends; Kim Richards; Kroft Supershow; his scripts
Covers of some of the most famous songs by people you didn't think would do it: Sammy Davis Jr, Jack Albertson, Carroll O'Connor, Glenn Close, Terry Bradshaw; Jim Nabors, George Burns, Frank Sinatra, and Tiny Tim
Kenneth Tigar joined me and discussed the pronunciation of his last name; his favorite radio shows; hist first TV; watching Requiem for a Heavyweight; Norman Lloyd; acting was just a hobby; getting a PhD in German from Harvard; translated Brecht plays into English; working on The Proposition improv troupe and Broadway show with Judy Kahan, Paul Kreppel; and Fred Grandy; leaving the Proposition to write his dissertation; his first theatre and television roles have been playing Germans; most recognized for Barney Miller; Norman Lloyd and John Randolph get him to L.A.; auditioning for Danny Arnold; shooting the episode "Werewolf"; Danny Arnold's directing; portraying Jesus in the episode "The Photographer"; Lou Grant; not able to be typecast; Bosom Buddies; shooting his Emmy Award winning Hill Street Blues; Cheers; playing Himmler; Night Court; Just one of The Guys; 18 Again; Lethal Weapon 2 & 3; Sam Anderson
I talk to comedian / actor Dave Konig on working with The State; Jon Stewart; Kevin Meaney; Gilbert Gottfried; appearing on Subway Q & A, Hardcore TV;, Law and Order, The Apprentice, Louie, Crashing, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel; the schedule for comedians on cruises and shooting a Dry Bar Comedy Special
Neal Marshad joins me to talk about his father, a graphic artist for Look Magazine; living near a movie theater; learning how to film high school football games; 16 mm vs. the split 8 cameras; going to film school with Leonard Maltin; his editing and documentary professors at NYU; is first documentary, "Sculpture by Isaac Witkin"; working friendship with Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara; creating commercials for NYC with comedians; meeting Tom Schiller; having Bill Murray in his office to tape the track of "Perchance to Dream"; shooting "Java Junkie"; shooting "Falling in Love" with Jon Lovitz and Victoria Jackson; "Love is a Dream" with Phil Hartman and Jan Hooks; "The Land Before Television" with Dana Carvey; "Linden Palmer - Hollywood's Forgotten Director"; shooting "Bar Mitzvah 5000" and getting it nixed by the censors; shooting a concert film for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes; winning an Emmy for cinematography for the 1982 Super Bowl; producing the Johnny Walker Comedy Search for the Comedy Channel; discovering Steve Harvey, Judd Apatow, Brian Kiley, Ellen Cleghorne, Mark Brazill, and Ray Romano; BBC hires him to be the first network to stream video on their website; Mr. Blobby
Eddie Deezen joins me to discuss 1941; working with Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and Christopher Lee; Midnight Madness and tough night shoots; loving most of the cast; doing a pilot with Ally Sheedy that didn't get picked up; doing a back door pilot on The Facts of Life; co-starring on Punky Brewster; going to The Tonight Show and getting his foot run over by Paul McCartney; Beverly Hills Vamp with Britt Eckland, Tim Conway Jr., and Pat McCormick; playing the ponies; starting as a standup at the Comedy Store and being gonged by Paul Williams on The Gong Show and its aftermath.
Impressionist Zach W. Arnold joined me and impersonated George Burns; talks about being in character; sang like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin; discusses his natural singing voice; sings as Ringo Starr; discusses blogging the city of Orlando' playing Ringo in two Beatles tribute bands; what's it like to be in a tribute band; impersonated every US President from JFK to Biden; discusses Rich Little; finding a new take on an impression; Robert DeNiro, Dustin Hoffman, and Matthew McConnaughy; his take on Cheech and Chong; I do John Travolta and Robin Williams; we discuss impressionists Roger Kabler, DC Follies cast members John Roarke and Louise DuArt, Jeff DeHart, and Kevin Pollack; Jack Lemmon & Walter Matthau; Zach does Don Rickles and I introduce his John Wayne as Johnny Carson; impersonates Jimmy Stewart, Truman Capote and Paul Lynde; discusses Dana Carvey, Harry Shearer, Jim Carrey, and Rodney Dangerfield; impersonates Alan Thicke and Tom Brokaw; impersonating Eddie Deezen to Eddie Deezen; impersonating the Klumps; his philosophy of comedy; impersonates Katharine Hepburn, Joan Rivers, Ed Wynn, and Andy Rooney; discusses his grandmothers fascination with Andy Rooney;
Brian Kiley discusses growing up in comedy rich Newton, Massachusetts; his comedy influences - Bob Newhart and Woody Allen; not always being a clean comic; not getting an HBO comedy special as a dirty comic; realizing he needs to be a clean comic to get on Johnny Carson; being clean leads to jobs as an opener; 1985 gig on Boston cable; never did Carson, took 17 years to get to Letterman; TV debut on CBS' Morning Program; Johnny Walker Comedy Showcase; other contestants; being a finalist with Mark Brazill and Steve Harvey; getting the job at Conan and never leaving; getting hired at Ellen; perpetual 13 3week contracts; Clinton jokes; Norm MacDonald; the show changing after 9/11 and slowly putting comedy back in; jokes were not as mean; how he was only a guest at the last minute and never introduced as a writer; Roger Ebert; his mother dying and losing his hair at 22; mistake moustache; getting nominated for Emmys settled everyone down; originally college kids came to see the bands; loved writing In the Year 2000 and Satellite Channels; created the Allergic Zookeeper; writing the funny Emmy writer montages; writing for Conan's post NBC tour; writing for the White House Correspondent's Dinner; moving to Los Angeles; whether his kids find him funny; his black / white bit with Deon Cole; corporate gigs and charities; and his novels.
Christian Bladt joined me to discuss growing up in small town New York; early Saturday morning cartoons, including Hickory Hideout; growing up with SNL in the late 80's; Nick at Nite 30-minute episodes and later 60 minute Comedy Central episodes, still watching; the 85-86 cast; Mary Gross; going to Marist College, interning at Conan O'Brien; meeting Amy Poehler & Robert Smigel; easy to get tickets for Conan; went to an SNL dress rehearsal in 1997; became a page week Norm was replaced by Colin; had friends in both camps; Colin Quinn Explains the NY Times; some wanted Craig Kilborn to take over; Spade in America; Snow of the Century episode; Steve Martin / Blues Brothers 4/22/78; taping the show; Goodman & Aykroyd; working with Tim Meadows; befriending Colin Quinn and Norm MacDonald; Norm calling him Jewish Bladt; being a page at SNL25; escorting Billy Crystal and Dennis Miller up to 8H; SNL will be fifty and The Tonight Show 70; The Kids in the Hall; 50's comedy: Ceasar, Benny & Groucho; Todd Hundley; Baha Men; Jim Downey; Jon Lovitz; season 14 is the best season, IMO; mom bought a VCR to watch Star Trek; Jackie Rodgers Jr.; Negro Leage Baseball; blackface; Bill Cosby; working for VP Al Gore; Monica Lewinsky; Ricky Martin and the Backstreet Boys; what Dennis Miller is like off the air; making fun of both sides; Who Are These Broadcasters?; inappropriate jokes; the WATP metaverse; Hackride; Karl Hamburger; Eric Zane; Stuttering John
"Raised Eyebrows" author Steve Stoliar joined me to discuss silent film comedians; Universal horror monsters; The Three Stooges; how The Marx Brothers were the best; becoming his secretary and archivist; meeting Groucho's friends; going to UCLA to study history and hanged to television; saw decline and fall of Groucho in person as well as rage-ridden Erin Fleming; saving all his witticisms; his book comes out and is now going to be a motion picture; 1972 - he tries at UCLA to get Animal Crackers rereleased; does a press conference and meets Groucho for the first time; Universal rereleases it; a year later, Steve asks for a summer job; becomes secretary and archivist; worked seven days a week; Groucho was a personal history capsule; Groucho worked a benefit concert for the 1906 earthquake and performed the night Pres. Harding died; Groucho's Long Island home on the market; friendship with Alice Cooper; first two films made in Kaufman Astoria Studios; then family moved to Hollywood; their lost silent film "Humor isk" will never be found, but there are censored scenes that might; The Day the Clown Cried; going with Groucho to the set of Bob Hope's Joys; not going to Welcome Back, Kotter; he conservatorship trial; not taking part in the estate trial; gets a job typing scripts for Universal; hired by Dick Cavett based on his humorous correspondence; becomes a freelance TV writer; now his book is becoming a movie; CBS takes a sitcom starring Frank Zappa's children written by Steve and tries to make it "Normal Life"; TV & movies are better and worse than they've ever been; "blue humor"; "objectionable" humor; his other works "Imperfect Storm" abut Howard Storm and "Salami's and Swastikas" based on his fathers letters home.
Michael Mann discusses the other Michael Mann; starting on radio before listening to it; recreating Charlotte's Web on the radio show Let's Pretend; his mom getting him into modeling at 5; a newspaper write up from 1952; performing on Broadway with Bette Davis in Two's Company; performing a portion of the show on Ed Sullivan; working with Lon Chaney, Jr. on a infamous 1952 adaptation of Frankenstein; playing Perry Como's son on his show; appearing in a play One Borrowed Time with Jean Lockhart; costarring on the 1955-1956 sitcom Joe & Mabel with Nita Talbot & Norman Fell; working with Ernie Kovacs & Milton Berle; pausing acting in 1960 to go into the Navy; coming back; guest starring on Delvecchio with future client Judd Hirsch; playing softball vs. Happy Days; Penny Marshall; working with Jackie Gleason twenty-five years later in Smokey & the Bandit; MASH; Taxi; Jim Burrows; Szysznyk; Christopher Walken is fine, just hasn't hosted SNL in a while; going to the Professional Childrens School; guest starring on All in the Family with Billy Crystal; Theodore Bikel; "Stephanie's Conversion" episode; becoming a manager; his clients Molly Shannon, Rachel Dratch, Robert Pine; what he's doing now
Gary H. Miller and I discuss Sergeant Bilko and showing Phil Silvers to Will Smith; not hearing TV due to elevated trains; new screenplay about growing up 1961; being a Brooklyn bred Yankees fan; being a teacher to get out of Vietnam; turmoil today vs. the 1960's; instant TV feedback; getting complete opposite reactions from one episode of Bosom Buddies; going to LA; writing a spec MASH; writing Fred Silverman and getting an assignment on Laverne & Shirley; writes an episode about alcoholism; goes to Bosom Buddies; talent of Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari; going to 9 to 5 next; working with Al Jean & Mike Reiss on Homeboys in Outer Space; writing for Gimme A Break; "The Groupie" introduces Andy Gibb to Kari Michaelsen; blackface episode not his idea; wrote mainly Katie episodes; Dolph Sweet; goes to 1st and Ten and wants to inject reality; does a steroid episode with John Matuzak; writing O.J. Simpson into the show; writing a pilot with OJ; why there has never been a successful show about baseball; trying to write a sitcom about golf; A Different World was a more serious show; writing episodes about restricted golf clubs and racial violence; The Fresh Prince of Bel Air; writing Hilary's fiancées bungee jump death; acknowledging the new actress playing the mother; breaking the fourth wall; "M is for the Many Things" a parody of "The Graduate" with Pam Grier; Homeboys in Outer Space; getting racist notes from Disney; HIOS being the hardest show he worked on; going to Boy Meets World; writing the episodes where Cory has a drinking problem and Sean's father dies; Maitland Ward; Reba; Impossible co-authored by Bob Tischler; auditioning for TMZ sports; football; hockey; 1969 Jets; 1969 Knicks; best vantage point for watching sports at MSG; his screenplay; making it through The Summer of Sam and The Blackout
George joins me to talk about his favorite radio programs; growing up with music; moving to Las Vegas; Sammy Davis, Jr; his wife, Jolene Brand; Ernie Kovacs; his biggest talent is to make things funny; inventing the Vegas lounge act; working on The Dinah Shore Show; Fat Jack Leonard; new comedians and brighter colors; can talk about many different topics like sex and politics; laughter is a panacea; taping Al Hirt on a high rise next to a dead man; origins of Laugh-In; predicting Reagan's presidency; getting Nixon elected; booking Ronald Reagan and the Marquis Chimps in Vegas; Barbara Feldon didn't get the dirty jokes; Lily Tomlin gives the finger; Judy Carne shows her nipple; comedy should be fun; Martin Short; Bill Maher; breaking TV's color barrier; Sammy Davis Jr. vs. Micey Rooney; getting fired from The Judy Garland Show; British comics; discovering Byron Allen, Pamela Rodgers, Robin Williams, Lenny Schultze, and Tiny Tim; Frank Sinatra meets Wayland Flowers and Madam; Turn On; hiring Albert Brooks; creating Soul and working with Redd Foxx; Gregory Hines & Sammy Davis Jr.'s challenge dance; creating Speak Up America for Marjoe Gortner and Jayne Kennedy; George Carlin getting his inseam measured by his wife before a show; working with Geoge Burns, Jack Benny, and Goldie Hawn
Michael J. Weithorn joined me to discuss growing up in Rego Park; the blackout of 1965; his favorite series Dick Van Dyke, Get Smart, and Laugh-In; watching the original SNL in college; going to Swarthmore and having no idea how to get into show business; moving to California right after graduation and teaching for three years; impressing Arnold Margolin who helped him get an agent; writing a freelance script for Benson even though he didn't now Benson's job; his first job on Making the Grade; George Wyner; Gary David Goldberg gave him a job keep him at Family Ties and not take others offers; writing a Cheers episode; thinking Cheers pilot was better than Family Ties pilot; writing Alex-centric episodes using stories from his life; casting Justine Bateman; inventing Skippy in "Death of a Grocer"; writing "The Fugitive" and casting Tom Hanks in the role; "4 Rooms Ocean Vu"; Michael Gross comedic chops; "Stage Fright" becomes a meme & teachers people the acronym SCUBA; "Speed Trap" - Alex on speed; Robert Costanzo; writing "The Real Thing" which introduces Ellen; using Billy Vera and the Beaters "At this Moment"; writing an episode for Peter Scolari; leaving Family Ties and creating Pursuit of Happiness; writing a classic Wonder Years; creating True Colors; cast changes and illnesses; likes to write episodes with surreal dream sequences; his King of Queens version is hated and loved; working on the Sinbad Show; wrote the proposed Krusty the Klown spinoff with Matt Groening but was nixed by James L. Brooks; told to run Sinbad if he wanted South Central to go; FOX cancels most "black" shows; wishes South Central and Ned & Stacey were streaming; writing Ned & Stacey on spec; cast Thomas Haden Church and network wanted Debra Messing; King of Queens was not a spinoff of Raymond; being a big fan of Kein James standup and seeing him starring in a "New Honeymooners"; wrote Carrie in Lean Remini's voice before she was even hired; King of Queens was paired with and crossed over with Raymond; Jack Carter originally hired as Arthur, but they got Jerry Stiller to change his mind; how Patton Oswalt & Nicole Sullivan were cast; his indie film "A Little Help" starring Jenna Fischer; working on Weird Loners, The Goldbergs and Schooled; George Segal and "Where's Poppa"; working on a romcom with 60 year-old actors; Family Ties Vacation and "A, My Name is Alex"
Rachel Saya Jacobson joined me to discuss her tweets, early influences including Laurel & Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, and vaudeville; always performing and creating; Kurt Vonnegut; going to The Tonight Show offices and seeing that's what she wants to do; the immediacy of late night; having a Jewish comedy writer dad and a Japanese mom; her father's always doing bits; going to Emerson; writing for the Hyena, its satirical newspaper; writers room vs. the isolation of writing alone; her duties as an associate producer; advice from the head writer; her first sketch, a parody of Last Week Tonight; not getting an internship at Samantha Bee; her dream dinner with Eleanor Roosevelt and O.J. Simpsons; not speaking Japanese; working overseas; Benny Hill Show and Yakkety Sax; podcasts; younger generation knowing Buster Keaton; working in copywriting during the strike; the days of a writer making a living on one show are over; picketing; Bill Maher; writing for the Independent Spirit Awards and having a joe go viral; her favorite shows now - Succession, Severance and Beef; working on animated series like Big Mouth; meeting hero Mike Drucker on the picket line and Joe Mande doing stand up; working with Josh Gondelman and Opus Moreschi; buying "too much tuna" for Nick Kroll; Chelsea Perretti; Adam Sandler; Alice Ju; Jews in Hollywood; Zach Effron; Adam Sandler's bat Mitzvah movie and "80 for Brady"; her dad is semi-retired but still writing; replacing a late night show with a game show; not thinking she would accept
Chip Keyes joined me to discuss Chip being a nickname for William, his mother being a working woman during the war; watching Howdy Doody & The Mickey Mouse Club and wanting to be in to show business; watching Disney and westerns; getting his comedy from his mother's sharp tongue; the influence of The Dick Van Dyke Show; his love of Maverick and James Garner; writing his first sketch in eighth grade; Laugh In becomes a hit and he sees Second City as a way to make sketch performing a career; forming the Portable Circus; becoming a local hit on campus; doing a gig in Hartford; getting George Sherman to be a director; taking the troupe to New York and around the country; a sketch using the word "shit" gets press and a talking to from a Jesus freak; auditioning and not getting SNL; becoming a page; his original plan was to become a teacher; leaving the page program to move to L.A.; SCTV; getting a play produced; his partner, Jeffrey Lippa wants to be an actor; he makes a critical decision; wins on Match Game to give him time to figure out what he wants; goes back to NYC and host a kids show; makes good money doing commercials; Taxi inspires him and his brother Doug to write a spec script; a great note made his spec script better; writes 2 episodes of Sanford; Mort Lachman becomes a mentor; gets hired on Gimme a Break; writes "The Chief's Gay Evening"; does a pilot with George Kennedy; gets job on Valerie; moved to Perfect Strangers; going back to Valerie and being told to come up with stories that could work for Valerie or a replacement; Valerie Harper was tense and a control freak; hard to write for characters who were so nice; Jack Carter; O.J. Simpson; PORKO; Dennis Burkely; getting a GLAAD Award; Valerie condom episode; episode had a warning and was exiled to late night in his hometown; NBC asks for Fire Prevention week and MLK episodes; not liking the AIDS episode after he left; Willard Scott; Edie McClurg doing an episode after almost dying from giardia; Christine Ebersole; Judy Kahan; turning Mrs. Poole from mean to magical; not bringing back Judy Kahan for season 3; the Paris episodes and working on the Eiffel Tower; Jason Bateman and his father direct episodes; Arlene Golonka & Gerald Gordon; Shaky Ground; not being sure of Matt Frewer as title character; George Kennedy was offer only but still read, Frewer would not read; wishing he could have recast with Phil Hartman or George Wendt; "Matt takes"; Matt improvs with a black dildo in front of a young Jennifer Love Hewitt; working with Chris Demetral, Betty White and Marie Osmond; Reagan jokes; Nixon, Reagan, and Trump; writing two episodes of Two of a Kind for the Olsen Twins; the brothers go their separate ways for a while; write Star Patrol; cast Charles Rocket; line producer shoots out of sequence, network doesn't understand; pilot is rejected
Stacii the Drag Artist joined me to discuss her journey; starting to sing in school; incorporating drag; constant performing; taking voice lessons; producing her own show; writing a one person show; her show at Sparkle; singing in French, pre-school; stage fright; being judged by Willam and Alaska from Rupaul's Drag Race; her first show My Quarter Life Crisis; makeup and drag time requirements; first time seeing drag; didn't know women could do drag; Broadway shows; wanting to do songs from Waitress; eighties music; Total Eclipse of the Heart; favorite singers; Lady Gaga; Sam Smith; interacting with the audience; dealing with ADHD and binge eating disorder; showing the bright side of life; bringing visuals, costumes, and props to her show; how to get tickets; being Jewish; adding a song from Fiddler on the Roof; Barbra Streisand; all Jewish drag show; being observant; my daughter being a fan; having a great family; wanting to tour Australia; being on a reality show; auditioning for American Idol; Taylor Swift; traveling; trouble sleeping; being on Cameo; her accompanist DJ Master Mase; her upcoming tour; Edinburgh Fringe Festival; getting back in the swing after vacation at the Cup open mic
Ed Berenhaus joined me to discuss his influences: Jack Benny, Sonny Fox, Chuck McCann, Soupy Sales, Jay Ward; seeing the Beatles at Shea Stadium and being able to hear them; going to Stony Brook University to be a director but segueing to TV and radio; the many rock acts he saw; growing up in Kew Gardens and having Art Garfunkel's school dictionary; becoming an NBC page when befriended by Cousin Brucie; giving the NBC tour; working with Sonny Fox on NBC children's programming; working on Saturday Night Live; Aykroyd & Belushi shower with the pages; meeting Bill Murray; doing an extra rehearsal the day before the October 11, 1975 premiere; being with Chevy at the 1976 DNC at MSG; the NBC logos; the original idea for SNL (Albert Brooks, Jim Henson); seeing Billy Crystal get cut from the first episode; the Candice Bergen episode being the first one to look like SNL today; watching the theme song be written; checking out the musical guests; working on the Tomorrow show and giving pointers to Dan Aykroyd on his Tom Snyder impression; putting the younger better looking audience members up front; seating celebrities; taking Mick Jagger and Ron Wood to the bathroom during the Eric Idle show; making promos for the news; watching the SNL promos being taped; the problems of writing talk show promos; taking Sean Connery to the bathroom when the door won't open; leaving NBC to go to Satellite Network News; SNN being bought out by Ted Turner; moving to Harpo to make promos for The Oprah Winfrey Show; making fun promos for Nick at Nite; memorable promos for The Donna Reed Show and I Dream of Jeannie used in the movie "As Good as it Gets"; worked for Broadway Video on Sunday Night; meeting Miles Davis; the legacy of SNL; trying to give away tickets to a spontaneous Paul Simon / George Harrison performance; SNL being both original and running ideas into the ground; working for The Jeremy Kyle Show and The Joan Rivers Show; the generosity of working with Joan Rivers; meeting George Burns
Bruce Ferber and I discuss reading sports books as a kid; Thomas Wolffe; attending a summer writing session at Andover while in high school; Phillip Roth; Woody Allen; publishers don't like comic novels; the genesis of his novel "I Buried Paul"; meeting struggling musicians without an outlet; session musicians; there are less crappy sitcoms on now; his book "Elevating Oberman" and subsequent tour; "Cascade Falls" and cookie cutter architecture; "The Way We Work" reveals show business from all angles; Billy Van Zandt tells his Lucy story in "The Way We Work"; Steven Van Zandt endorses "I Buried Paul"; going to NYU to be a director; doing six months of film editing and six months writing; writing a spec MASH and getting hired to write two Bosom Buddies and a Laverne & Shirley; working on House Calls, Star of the Family, Jennifer Slept Here and Oh, Madeline; writing a Simon & Simon; working on Webster and having Alex Karras be a jerk; Eugene Roche; Facts of Life; bad timing for Gung Ho; Duet; working with Alison LaPlaca, Chris Lemmon, Ellen DeGeneres, Danny Gans; working on Growing Pains but not getting to write an episode; working on Nurses; Coach and Craig T. Nelson; running Home Improvement; the cancer scare episode; Sabrina, the Teenage Witch; his spec Cheers; his film "Praying for Tucson" about Presidential candidate Howard Dean; Dan vs.; his wife's passing; pitching an animated series based on the book "Dazzle" about a misanthropic dog
Director Randall Kleiser joined me to discuss his drawing style; his latest work Drawing Directors; Quentin Tarantino; Robert Altman; getting inspiration from other directors; Spike Lee; Oppenheimer; Jerry Lewis; Nina Foch; earliest influence: "The Ten Commandments"; USC Dirty Dozen; "Captain America vs. the Mutant"; "Foot Fetish"; "Peege"; Bruce Davison; hiring the same actors in different projects; Marcus Welby, MD; Dawn; "Portrait of a Teenage Runaway"; "The Boy in the Plastic Bubble"; directing "Grease"; thought to be a small movie, but was huge; directing actors he saw as a kid; Jeff Conaway; getting the go-ahead for "Blue Lagoon"; Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins; describing the set as a summer camp; "Summer Lovers"; "Flight of the Navigator" with Paul Reubens as Max; "Big Top Pee Wee"; Paul Reubens always remembered your birthday; Valeria Golino; "White Fang" and his adaptation; "Honey, I Shrunk the Kid"; doing a sequel to get his next project done; working with Rick Moranis; "It's My Party"; difficulty of getting an AIDS movie done; his friends helping for no money; running Digital Day for the Directors Guild; his documentary, "Baby Boomers Yearbook" about his high school classmates; role of directors with writers and actors on strike; role of AI in the future
Barry Blaustein joined me to discuss watching political events of the early 1960's on a b/w TV; his comedy influences; going to school for broadcast journalism; "Broadcast News"; going to LA and getting jobs on specials; working on The Mike Douglas Show; submitting for SNL; Jean Doumanian asking him to write more, not doing it and getting hired anyway; the writing staff did not intimidate him; Elliot Gould and the Accordion Killer; Malcolm McDowell; Ellen Burstyn and Raheem Abdul Mohammad; his dad coming up with "Is that velvet" from "Coming to America"; writing "LFNY" for Eddie on the seventh show and having people upset; Tommy Torture and Ray Sharkey's erratic behavior; Karen Black episode; Charlene Tilton, Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood and Charles Rocket's f-bomb; writing a Nick the Lounge Singer with Bill Murray; the Writer's Strike; first show back with Little Richard Simmons, Prose and Cons, and Khaddafi Look; show two with Buckwheat; John Mulaney was born in 1982 when he was at SNL; Ted Cruz being a fan of his work; Velvet Jones; Donald Pleasance and Fear; "Hidden Photo"; Michael O'Donoghue; writing the Mick Jagger variety special for Tim Curry; "retiring" Velvet Jones and The Jersey Guy; Gumby; Larry the Lobster; appearing on camera; Ebony & Ivory; going out to L.A. to write for Chevy hosting via satellite; Drew Barrymore; Eddie hosts and Steve Martin makes a cameo; Lily Tomlin; working with Rick Moranis, Sid Caesar, Stevie Wonder and Ed Koch; leaving the show and not being allowed to tell Eddie; Pam Norris; "Coming to America"; being a Mets and Clippers fan; writing the "Police Academy" movies and their humungous success in Russia; What's Alan Watching?; going back with Eddie in 2019 to SNL;
Deborah Aspinall joins me to discuss Universal horror movies; being shy, so stage makeup helped her; hired at a theater at 11; loving illusion; being on film sets at 18; being in front of the camera in Walk the Prank; playing a makeup artist on TV shows; starting out in film with "Playing for Time", "Vortex", and "The First Turn On!"; working on "Toxic Avenger"; gets hired from Metropolitan Opera House to SNL; would do roving special effects makeup; rotating number of artists, MAD TV allowed her to shoot on a schedule that made more sense to hair and makeup; Jan Hooks as a 100 year old woman; Massive Head-wound Harry; Tooncinator; Dana as Bush and Perot; Chevy Chase as Jeffrey Dahmer; Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer; not having the ability to say which cast member more resembles a famous person on SNL but having it on MAD TV; getting SNL's first Emmy nomination; working with Mike Meyers, Chris Farley, and Adam Sandler; Musicians for Free Range Chickens; going to MAD TV; being present at Artie Lange's pig story; Nicole Sullivan; Pam & Tommy; being the Susan Lucci of the Makeup Emmy; Alex Borstein; her work on "Erin Brockovich"; Albert Finney; how her p.a. became the executive producer of "Erin Brockovich"; Jennifer Coolidge; Funny or Die Presidents sketch; getting hired for The Jay Leno Show and staying when he took over the Tonight Show; Leno / Conan "fight"; working the Oscars; Chris Rock and the slap; getting older vs. looking and feeling older; Westworld; Winning Time: Rise of the Lakers; Debra Wilson; "That's My Black Mama"; David Cross; Sponge-Bob Square Pants movies; the Broadway show, her step-son and grandchildren; Martin Short
Deborah Paulmann joined me to discuss starting work in the makeup industry; not liking working in a salon; trying to get in the union; Bert Ruff; how the rules are different now; make-up is a dying art on the internet; SFX Youtubers; microblading; starting free lancing for Barbara Armstrong in 1978 and working exclusively at NBC for five years (1984 - 1989); going to As the World Turns, One Life to Live, then Another World, came back to NBC in 2000 and stayed to 2010; first regular job at NBC was Phil Donahue; sees a mother / mother-in-law feud in the makeup chair; Live at 5 allows her to makeup Bette Davis; memorable working moments with Steven Tyler, Seth Green, Anthony Michael Hall and Robert Downey, Jr.; Chuck Scarborough; starting SNL at the end of the '84-'85 season; doing makeup for extras in the original era; crawling on the ground on air to retrieve a prop for Nora Dunn; Kevin Meaney and her getting locked in the makeup closet and missing his cue; working with Louis Zakarian on SNL and Conan; working with Pamela Stephenson as Joan Collins, Cindy Lauper, Madonna, and Billy Idol; various hosts; young stars brought their makeup teams who couldn't do prosthetics; some favorite people Jon Bon Jovi, Richard Gere, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Rosie O'Donnell, Martha Stewart, Paget Brewster; memories of working with Norm MacDonald, Jimmy Fallon, Will Ferrell, and Darrell Hammond; meeting the SNL host on Thursday's Conan; Jennifer Lopez white towels; working with SNL cast members Will Forte, Fred Armisen. Tiny Fey, Victoria Jackson, Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, and Kevin Nealon; dealing with showbusiness legends Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Bob Newhart, George Burns, and handsy Milton Berle; doing the makeup nightly for Conan O'Brien, Andy Richter, and Max Weinberg; going to HD; Gwyneth Paltrow seeing her legs on HD for the first time; Conan going on TV on the road not done up by her and it going bad; getting paid by Conan for the year NBC wouldn't let him work and the writer's strike; David Letterman unleashes the monkey cam on Live at 5.
Steve O'Donnell joined me to discuss Mike Chisholm; stand up; Sarah Silverman; Norm MacDonald loving to tell comic road stories; Massapequa; Jerry Seinfeld; Carson Daly; Larry Jacobson & Groucho; Edward Everett Horton; Jim Norton; Jim Gaffigan; Jackie "The Joke Man' Martling; hating 50's stand-ups; Shelley Berman; Jack Carter; older Rickles on Kimmel; Pat Cooper; David Brenner; Regis Philbin; using his actual gym teacher on Letterman; Norm's impressions; interview with Jane Fonda; Norm's Clint Eastwood; doing a western bit on Sports Show; 25th Anniversary of the ESPY's; Cleveland Baron's mascot; Norm didn't drive; his memoir; Canada's 70's tourism catchphrase; SCTV; Ghoulardi (Ernie Anderson) leads him to Dave; cliches; his twin brother Mark who was more of an auteur and won a Tony for Hairspray; used for twin jokes on Letterman; appeared with his brother on Strangers with Candy; Sklar Brothers; America's Got Talent; Michael Winslow; Vegas residencies; first job as a greeting card writer; sent all his writings to Letterman and Merrill Markoe while working in a tape room at 30 Rock; his interview; having to give two weeks notice and hearing his jokes being told during that time; being told his work is witty; to laugh or not laugh; a typical Steve O'Donnell joke; bringing his parents to Late Night; midwestern slang for rain; doing Letterman was more than just a job; Jim Downey; his brother individually pre-signing books each with an original joke; Dave changes jokes on air for himself; Viewer Mail construction; Alsace or Al's ass; class clowns; Jeff Martin; many comedians wore eyepatches as babies; todays comedy writers are more diverse and better looking; now being one of the few non-performers on a writing staff; being great on podcasts; the trifectas in comedy performed by Brian McConachie, Eddie Gorodetsky, and Ken Keeler; history buffs Larry David & Conan O'Brien; writing on Great Minds with Dan Harmon; writing for the Chris Rock Show; pitching a bit about to Hannibal Burress and pretending to explain what bling is; Hugh Moore and Shy Tony; writing bad jokes; audiences laughing at straight lines or not knowing old sayings or bits and thinking they're new; "No good deed goes unpunished"; animals that speak foreign languages
Mark Resiman joined me to discuss the brilliance of the Dick Van Dyke Show and working with Carl Reiner on "Summer Rental"; meeting Woody Allen as a teenager; Robert Klein and Rodney Dangerfield; seeing Don Rickles live as a teenager; going to Boston University; getting a job writing jokes for a birthday party comedy album and having it lead to writing for David Steinberg; getting hired for the last four episodes of season six of Saturday Night Live; becoming partners with Jeremy Stevens; writing a Bill Cosby "lite" beer ad for Eddie Murphy and hanging out with him backstage; going to Thicke of the Night; meeting guests Muhammad Ali and Frank Zappa; the comic regulars; the long hours; getting his first movie pitch, "Summer Rental" produced by Bernie Brillstein; working on Dear John with Bob Ellison and Rod Parker; writing the pilot for Puppetman for Brillstein and Jim Henson; writing on Rhythm and Blues; working of Flying Blind with Tea Leoni; consulting; Phil Rosenthal; getting hired on Wings; suggesting Amy Yasbeck; doing Encore! Encore! with Nathan Lane and Joan Plowright; joining Fraser is season seven; creating the Jean Smart character that won her an Emmy; highbrow dialogue added later; Niles and Daphne finally get together; creating the In-Laws starring Elon Gold, Jean Smart, and Dennis Farina; working on Big House with Kevin Hart; Quintuplets rushed into production with Andy Richter; Retired at 35 with George Segal and Jessica Walters; The Exes with Wayne Knight, Donald Faison, Kirsten Johnson; seeing Andi Mack and realizing their is a new kind of family sitcom; Sydney to the Max a parent in the 90's and his kid today; mentoring Danielle Fishel as a director; two sets of kids means hours are easier; strict Disney rules for child actors; multi camera vs. one camera sitcoms; losing weight; one camera sitcoms harder for the actor; Friends would be a nightmare with six equal leads; Angel-Casey-Lee the best people to learn from; how to write
William S. Bickley joined me to discuss faking watching television; watching Liberace with his grandparents; finally getting television and watching anything; family sitcoms were an escape from an abusive home life; going to Baylor University to study English; being a Naval Aviator for a year; being confused for another Bill Bickley; forming a correspondence with Arnold Margolin that allowed him to pitch for Love, American Style; gaining a quick reputation; getting taken under Garry Marshall's wing; writing a treatment for a first-season episode of All in the Family; writing and producing Room 222; meeting Dale McRaven while producing and writing The Partridge Family; asked to join Happy Days while under contract for Partridge Family; secretly writes episodes after hours; asked to run Happy Days and is let out of his contract; first season hours were hellish; asked to do two episodes a week; on first day shooting Ron Howard and Anson Williams get drunk accidentally shooting with real beer; second season test live action clip show uses scenes from the pilot; how he felt Fonzie was a tragic figure; the episode "The Motorcycle"; trying hard to make it look like it was the fifties; the palm tree behind Arnold's that was never seen; introducing Roger Phillips on Happy Days; not remembering episodes he wrote; his series Please Stand By; pitching The Waverly Wonders for Judd Hirsch and getting Joe Namath; going to Out of the Blue and being told to write out its star; having a character on Mork & Mindy named after him; not remembering Down to Earth; his favorite series Perfect Strangers; the real reason Chuck left Happy Days and his plan for bringing him back on the finale; random Happy Days characters; the series "Jumped the Shark" when Richie left; creating Fonzie's magic and seeing it get out of hand; his new project, a sitcom based on Gladys Knight's life.
Arthur Meyers joins me to discuss Ted Cruz's odd Eddie Murphy obsession; the reasons for the WGA Strike; AI; trying to create through AI a short story about if Hitler's name was Steve; AI can't deliver lines like Chris Farley or Mitch Hedberg; having a cold; me losing an episode with Dave Thomas; getting rid of credits; minirooms make show runners jobs harder and employ less writers; studios propose annual meetings to discuss AI; Lorne Michaels; SNL's 50th Anniversary; being a seat filler for SNL 40; going to the after-party; talking to Norm MacDonald; Weekend Update; Herb Sargent and the Weekend Update breakfast; commercial parodies: Swill, Banshee, Craig's Traveler's Checks; his new show Dinner with Parents; It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia; Punch Up the Jam; being a Norm fan; Favorite Weekend Update anchor and set; favorite homebase; his new venture ABC Parenting You Tube Channel; Anna Drezen, being a Letterman and Conan fan; Carson and Letterman Podcasts; other SNL podcasts; pretending SNL was on in the 50's and 60's; oldest and youngest musical guest; Vera Sola; favorite / least favorite musical guests; Frank Zappa; bad musocal performances; his son; what will happen as SNL hits 50; season 7
Oscar winning makeup artist Kevin Haney joined me to discuss growing up in Cinncinnati; watching monster movies but not being a fan of gore; working with Rick Baker and seeing Tom Savini while at Letterman; getting busted walking the streets as Frankenstein as a teenager; being cast in The Wizard of Oz but being enthralled by the old age makeup more than acting; reading Dick Smith's makeup book; being the makeup man his senior year of high school; doing makeup for the Ohio State production of Ghost Dance gets him noticed for "Altered States" at same time he was working on "Basket Case"; gets a job at NBC; is assigned to SNL; Barbara Armstrong is head of makeup; difference between white and black actors makeup; given Harry Shearer to appy makeup to; Lorne was against prosthetics; Doumanian takes over and he is assigned Gilbert Gottfried; makes him up to look like Master Po from Kung Fu; becomes department head in 1981; assigned to Joe Piscopo does Reagan, Sinatra, Nimoy & Iacocca makeup; creates, with Annette Bianco a Joe Piscopo wig; on camera in a Chinese Donahue sketch in April 1984; works on Piscopo's HBO specials; making up Eddie Murphy to look like Mohammed Ali; coaxed back for season 10 and hits it off with Martin Short; working with Dave Thomas; working on "Coccoon" and "Dick Tracy"; winning an Oscar for aging Dan Aykroyd in "Driving Miss Daisy"; Dustin Hoffman shot his "Dick Tracy" scenes later; working on Christopher Lloyd as Uncle Fester in "The Addams Family"; what it is like in a makeup chair; getting criticized for the aging in "Shawshank Redemption"; his work on beaten up Boggs not seen on camera; working on Friends flashback and Russ episodes; how "fat Monica' makeup was used to create Jiminy Glick; being retired; proud of his "Guardians of the Galaxy" crew; still best known for "Basket Case"
Barbara and I talk about her getting the job as film producer at Saturday Night Live; opening the 1981-82 season with Prose and Cons; The Khaddaffi Look; filming some of The Last Days of Silverman's Bunker; Jerry Lewis filming a movie that was never used; working with John Belushi pre-SNL; Babies in Makeup by Nelson Lyon; Fur: You Deserve It with a young Sela Ward; Jogger Motel; Seth Green and Bill Murray: what really happened; Man on the Street Films; George McGovern plays golf through the streets of NY; Video Victims aka Alan, A Video Victim; using Frederick Koehler a lot; The Girls of Saturday Night Live; the three episode arc on the Death of Buckwheat; Buddweiser Light with Robin Williams pretending to ice skate; making her commercials look authentic; Billy Crystal and Christopher Guest's Negro League characters spark the ire of Bill Cosby; makeup artist Peter Montagna makes Eddie Murphy unrecognizable in "White Like Me"; Andy Samberg uses many of her films in a SNL Best of Special; Saturday Night Live Film Festival; Colleen Atwood; Bebe Neuwirth gets one of her first jobs in "Needleman" film; Spinal Tap / Folksmen pre-tapes; Lifestyles of the Relatives of the Rich and Famous; Synchronized Swimming; Danny DeVito blows up ABC; bringing Fernando to Night of 100 Stars; Buddy Young Jr.; Rich Hall; Jim Belushi wants into the cutting room; making sure a giant penis wasn't to smooth in "The Bulge"; Billy Crystal as a substitute during the writers strike; the debacle that was In Search of Francis the Talking Mule; Jim Signorelli; The Lonely Island did the best films besides her; her renegotiations for her fourth season; Martin Short and the Mamie Eisenhower Center for the Dull; creating the 1984-85 opening montage; working on What's Alan Watching?; Mary Salter; Dan Castellaneta in Buckwheat sketch; working with Larry David; Escape from New York, New York; The Clams - a Birds parody; Don't Drink the Water; Hal Wilner
Bob Christianson joined me to talk about being the next Billy Joel; what it means to be a working composer; having Sgt. Pepper be his influence; going to SUNY Potsdam quitting student teaching; joining the Magic Show on Broadway; meeting and replacing Paul Shaffer in The Magic Show and Godspell; doing Gilda Live; performing "I Live to be Unhappy" with Gilda on Broadway; being in The Candy Slice Group; Doug Henning and Gilda Raner being private people; performing in the Broadway play Truckload; arrangeing the Disco version of Babes in Toyland recorded at MSG; touring with Jan Hammer; performing on Aretha Franklin's "Can't Turn You Loose"; being a session musician in the late 70's / eafrly 80's; subbing for Leon Pendarvis in the SNL band beginning in 1983; Jerry Lewis and Don Rickles ad-libs cause producers havoc; accompanying Jim Belushi as Boy George Burns and Rappin Jimmy B and saying "LFNY"; playing piano for Irving Caesar, Mr. Robinson, Michael Douglas; the bandstand being off camera from 1983 - 1986; being inNewsbar with Edwin Newman; backing up Danitra Vance; composing and arranging for The Late Show with David Letterman's 60 Piece Band; his 1982 recording session available on Youtube; writing the theme song to Gimme A Break; people making viral videos out of his music for Sex and the City and the NHL; winning an Emmy and having a documentary made about the NHL theme; losing an Emmy to A Christmas Carol to Lin Manuel Miranda; composing for the films Marvin's Room and Miracle; how he writes his sports themes; inspiration comes at odd times; how Lin Manuel Miranda wrote Hamilton; not being "too precious" with your songwriting; writing and playing on jingles solidifies your craft; deadlines make creativity; Sex and the City needed a lot of music weekly; todays movies need epic scores with no time to write them; why he still admires Billy Joel
Brian Pollack talked to me about his love for The Honeymooners and it's writer Leonard Stern; getting the job and working with Stern on Sledge Hammer!; writers on the picket line look so young; holding cue cards; working on the Horror Hall of Fame in 1974; writing for The Jim Nabors Show and Hollywood Squares at the same time; George Gobel; Rose Marie and Debbie Reynolds; subbing as Cher's cue card guy; "surprising" Paul Lynde for a TV show and finding him dead; Paul was hostile and anti-Semitic when drunk; not knowing Alexis' Smith's career when she did his Cheers; meeting Mert Rich; Phil Kellard gets fired from Hollywood Squares; Jeffersons stole his original pitch and then offered him another episode to write; writing for The Love Boat; favorite episodes of Sledge Hammer!; the cast; firing Jamie Foxx from Roc; getting the job on Cheers with the episode "Please Mr. Postman"; getting a congratulatory phone call from Sam Simon; guest star Admiral William J. Crowe; Rob Long & Dale Staley; favorite episodes; winning the Emmy for "The Days of Wine and Neurosis"; the Dead Emmy Section of the 30 Rock Post Office; seeing gues stars in old movies and not realizing their careers; meeting Hank Aaron at Hollywood Squares; Cheers season 11 was werid; Kirsite Alley asks for them back; their friendship; doing a Cheers sketch for Disney; going to the same psychiatrist as Rodney Dangerfield; being made to re-write Patrick Carlin's script for The George Carlin Show, drawing the ire of George; having to do a rewrite for a new writer on Sister, Sister and having the writer Xerox "her" great reviews; writing with Bob Iles; Sherman Hemsley; Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer; Charles Dutton rejects a Roc script; Roc goes lives; Charles Dutton wants them back; working with Brian Doyle-Murray; Dan Hedaya, Jay Thomas, and Rhea Perlman; Woody Harrelson; imdb mistakes; writing a Simpsons; Boat Trip; his odd array of neighbors
Marc Jaffe joined me to discuss living in Cleveland after Seinfeld; remembering his first TV; Winky Dink; Johnny Carson; liked to write funny things but was not always funny in class; making the teachers laugh; being influenced by Bill Cosby, Woody Allen, and Steve martin; writing for Garry Shandling and Paul Resier; finding his own voice; appearing on Evening at the Improv; easier to do short shots on TV; being a comedian is harder now; improvising what became "Bill & Ted" with Ed Solomon & Mark Cendrowski; getting an MBA; starting standup as a graduate student in Michigan; spending a summer in Chicago moving up the ranks; comes to LA in 1981, the year of the strike; writes for Byron Allen; goes back to Cleveland and gets more work; agent arranges him to meet Jerry Seinfeld and give him comedy material; writes panel for Paul Reiser who vouches for him to Jerry; hired to write standup material for Jerry to perform in the show; pitches over 1000 ideas and gets three made; harder to pitch "The Bookstore" in season 9 because there were more pitches than the second and third season; he would write Jerry's material and Jerry would try it out in clubs with him; giving Jerry notes on performance; marrying an OBGYN and writing a controversial book about it; writing Goo Goo Ga Ga a funny baby book; inventing Elijah's cup, a Passover novelty; doing standup pre and post-Covid; retiring from standup; some older material can't be used because it's considered insensitive, some because the references are too old, and some because relationships are different (ie., daughter's boyfriend is now husband of many years); his wife's Parkinson diagnosis an his taking part in an experiment which isolated the Parkinson's marker; keeping secret his wife's diagnosis so she continue to work as a mohel; coming up with a one man show about his experiences "Side Effects May Contain"; talking about his wife's hypersexuality due to Parkinson's drugs on stage; his children's reaction; being a grandfather
James Patrick Dunne joined me and talked about growing up on the same blok with David Hasselhoff; how music drew him in; making piano records in high school; getting hired by Garry Marshall; being given access to all of the Paramount lot; scoring a movie for Dorothy Hamill; being a Phi Beta Kappa; writing "Do the Fonzie" for Happy Days; writing the theme song for Joanie Loves Chachi; writing "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do" for As the World Turns and having it covered by Anne Murray, Jermaine Jackson, and Whitney Houston; writing "Pumps Your Blood" and getting Anson to sing it; it's life as a jingle; changing the lyrics to "Wash Your Hands" during COVID; the Happy Days softball team; going on a 1980 USO show with Cyntha Weil, Anson Williams, and Marion Ross; the greatness of Marion Ross; his over forty year friendship with ex-roomate Ted McGinley; writing "When You Put Your Heart in It" for the 1988 U.S. Olympic Gymnastic Team and getting it covered by Kenny Rogers and going o #2; writing "Chance of a Lifetime" for the 1992 Olympic Track & Field Team, having it covered by Take 6 and winning a Grammy; writing college alma mater's and fight songs; writing "I'm a Big Girl Now" for Huggies; his career
Janine joins me to discuss her renditions of the National Anthem and This Land is Your Land; moving to Long Island; Doc Pomus; studying historic preservation; getting a job as a receptionist in a service used by Howard Shore; Howard asks her to be his assistant; went to see Patti Smith perform; had to ask for lyrics from band for a shooting script, embarrassing her in front of Taj Mahal; trying to find Steve Jordan on show night; asked to create band space on home base; Leo Yoshimura balked because it didn't have union stamp; Howard called and it became bandstand; filed all paperwork, copyrights, and union activities; appearing in two sketches in the Mary Kay Place episode; SNL never cleared music rights; going through NBC's audio library and bringing music for writers to judge for sketches; Larry the cart guy; Hall Willner did the job muh better than she did; getting officially hired after Mardi Gras episode; Bonnie Raitt; the true story of Elvis Costello's 1977 appearance; giving a backhanded compliment to The Greatful Dead; hanging out with The Rolling Stones; having them sign a picture so that the crew members would know which Stone they were talking to; going to see a Broadway play with Frank Zappa the week after he hosted; not getting Kate Bush; having Gilda hug her when she said how sexy she was as Candy Slice; working on Gilda Live on Broadway; Desmond Child & Rouge; Milton Berle hated by crew who were there on his show thirty years earlier; Twitter's SNL hosts introduce musical guests; Gary Numan; Howard Shore would book someone the opposite of Jean Doumanian's picks; Sun Ra - master of the Walkman; Bette Midler; Linda Rondstadt and Phoebe Snow; The Roches appearance inspire their song "The Big Nothing"; Delbert McClinton; Bill Murray constantly playing The Amazing Rhythym Aces until they were booked; Jaco Pistorius eats the "prop" peanuts during a rehearsal of a Nick the Lounge Singer sketch; the backstage vibe of a party with show girls, camels, and Abe Lincoln: Eubie Blake & Gregory Hines; Steve Martin's Best Show Ever; helping Howard Shore score The Brood; Eugene Record; Michael Palin; crew bets when Jean Doumanian will "steal" Lorne's job; not liking Jean Doumanian; Jean not particularly liking television; SNL is for people who love TV; Walter Matthau; Kirk Douglas; O.J. Simpson; Michael Sarrazin; Marianne Faithfull; leaving with the original cast and having job taken over by Hal Wilner; Hal calling her to ask how things are done; becoming friends and producing shows with him starting in 1985; how Hal got her to start singing seriously; the real meaning of Save the Last Dance for Me; finding Van "Piano Man" Walls; her art.
When I started this podcast in 2020, my then eight year old daughter joined me to talk about her life. Now three years later, she rejoins me to discuss favorite TV shows, music, Youtube, school subjects, her dog, boys and more. Plus she performs Beethoven's Ode to Joy.
Lisa Mende joined me to discussed being asked but ot being able to be on the last Newhart; only being allowed to watch PBS but sneaking The 3 Stooges; always wanting to be an actress; being a child actress in Yiddish theatre; going to study acting at The University of Bridgeport; doing improv with husband Dom Irrera; different types of improv; stand-up being harder than Broadway or improv; the guerilla shooting of Hollywood Shuffle; co-starring in Scrooged as Bill Murray's mother; working with Richard Donner, Bill & Brian Doyle-Murray, and Jack Lemmon; guest starring in Hooperman with John Ritter; The Famous Teddy Z; His and Hers; John Paragon and her get the giggles shooting Honey, I Blew up the Kid; doing a double act with Michel Patrick King in Vegas, Florida comedy condos and The Merv Griffin Show; Dom Irrera writes and has tiny roles on SNL; the '70s/80's comedy community; playing Carol on Seinfeld; her audition; people asking her to say "You have to see the baby"; being on Cameo; shrinkage; The English Patient episode; guesting on Sex and the City; doing Nothing to Lose; co-starring in Rodney Dangerfield's last film;
Kevin Kelton joins me for a writer's commentart for the November 10, 1984 episode of SNL hosted by George Carlin with musical guest Frankie Goes to Hollywood. We talk about working with Carlin; Carlin getting a second chance to act on SNL after not doing it on the premiere; Kevin assisting with a line for Gary Kroeger in cold opening about learning a Walter Mondale impression; odd '84-'85 opening credits; Harry Shearer credited after he left; George is only 47 in this show; was in a great mood whole week; crowd is smaller because they are in a different studio; Carlin takes on religion; supposed to be his fallow period but he's still funny; Willie and Frankie; Chris Guest, Harry Shearer, Martin Short & Billy Crystal did not like other writers writing their characters; Harry would "ice" sketches at read through; Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood added to rerun; Eddie Murphy always lifted what you wrote; Eddie leaves in February 1984; Joe Piscopo thought it was his show but Ebersol didn't; Joe Franklin Show sketches written by Billy, Chris, and Marty; Chris Guests' Senor Cosa; Jackie Rodgers, Jr.; Martin Short and Gilbert Gottfried always "on"; Ghostbusters Show with Chi Chi and Consuela (Mary Gross and Julia Louis-Dreyfus); talent of these women; NY accents make people not seem birght; Kevin appears on Dating Game; Ye Olde Comedy Club - George Carlin as a Revolutionary War comedian; costumes department rents Blue Coats for the Red Coats; Hessians; 60 Minutes Parody; Harry's Mike Wallace; Harry getting fired; 1985 Writer's Strike; Nathan Thurm: Hal Wilner; Not a Cop sketch by Nate Herman; Billy Crystal is the Willie Mays of Comedy; Ted's Book of World Records; getting a sketch cut for time; Larry David's SNL experiences become Seinfeld episodes; Jim Belushi as Bobby Knight inspired chess coach; Pamela Stephenson's breasts have a mind of their own in an Update bit with Kevin under the desk; Andrea Martin; David Misch; Andy Breckman; script coordinators; musical guests; Rich Hall; Strategic Airborne Contraception; goodnights; Jerry Lewis, his new book
Paul Barrosse joined me to discuss his influence of vaudeville and fifties TV comedians; working with Sid Caser at SNL; Dick Ebersol's host choices; Sid wanting more rehearsal time; he and Tim Kazurisnky fitting the same nichde so he knew he wouldn't get airtime; being in a comedy cabaret troupe with adults at 16; directing Threepenny Opera at Northwestern; student written comedy revues led to the Practical Theater Company; PTC had plays, improv revues and rock; improv was scripted beforehand; his theory of improv; how the Practical Theatre Company (himself, Brad Hall, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Gary Kroeger) got hired for Saturday Night Live; their love for the Beatles; the network censoring him out of his part in his first SNL sketch, the PTC Club; letters about "A Christmas Message from April May June"; Nukes are for Kukes, Brad's guitar at Weekend Update and Dick nixing political and physical comedy; Davey Wilson nixes ideas if to hard to direct; difference between Letterman and SNL; writing a Tonight Show parody for The Smothers Brothers; writing Best Little Whorehouse on the Prarie for Robert Blake; Blake's being friendly only to him; Blake's hatred for Michael Landon and Hal Roach; writing Hell Bent for Glory for Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis, Battered Husband and My Friend Zeus for Gary Kroeger, and Guy Crazy for Beauand Jeff Bridges; memories of Stevie Wonder; Ed Koch; Northwestern University houses his sketches; his season only writers Ellen Fogle and Tracy Torme; was let go because he was hired at same pay as cast members and was most expensive and newest writer; he did not handle it well with Dick Ebersol who was friendly to him; went back to PTC; producing specials for TV Land including "100 Greatest TV Themes"; creating Little People, Big World; doing documentaries with Elizabeth Smart and Mary Kay Laterneau; his daughters, all of whom are now in show business; future shows of the Practical Theatre Company
Jamie deRoy discsses her father backing "The Pajama Game" and "Damn Yankees"; her dad being a big fan of Broadway; getting advice from Harold Prince her senior year of high school to stay in Pittsburgh; her leaving for NY fter one year in college; working with Larry Keith and Margot Moser; Sidney Simon; Margot Moser wants her to stay in NY and take voice lessons with her teacher; getting cast in The Drunkard; becoming friends with its musical coordinator, Barry Manilow; getting hired in the mountains and having Barry write the charts; not writing patter; opening for Irving C. Watson; being a popular opening act with comedic songs; opening for Joan Rivers; performing in the Monkey Bar with Crandall & Charles and Mel Martin; Norman Steinberg; Jeffrey Richards has Jamie watch The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged; she becomes co-producer; revival of show is paused by 9/11; producing Mr. Saturday Night; it was supposed to follow The Lehman Trilogy but COVID hit; Jamie performs a duet with Tyne Daly at a benefit for Primary Stages; COVID closed Broadway; many people quit acting; a British cast gets stranded in NY; Jamie gets COVID in October 2022; producing Beetlejuice, Tina, Fiddler on the Roof, Angels in America and The Inheritance; two most emotional theatre events - the end of The Inheritance and the first "Jamie deRoy and Friends" which paid tribute to cabaret critic Bob Harrington in 1992; producing The Lion, The Two of Us (with Jay Johnson) and Say Goodnight Gracie (with Frank Gorshin); seeing understudies; co-starring with Rene Auberjonois in Threepenny Opera; how sitting next to Martin Scorcese got her cast in Goodfellas and how leaving to go to Cannes got her a bigger part that wasn't cut; appearing in See No Evil, Here No Evil; recording nine albums; her TV show of over thirty years, Jamie deRoy and Friends; what shows she has currently out and about to come out; working with Judy Gold; and making sure to tape everything.
Penny Peyser joined me to discuss her love of poetry; starting to write sonnets in a Shakespearean acting class; why some musings become sonnets; having adult children allows her to write adult poetry; do relationships make you a better writer; writing about the division in our country; growing up in Irvington, NY; her father's political career; going to Emerson College; being a member of the Proposition; which is harder - Broadway or improv; Hot L Baltimore; Conchatta Farrell; working on The Tony Randall Show; Tony Randall vs. Mary Tyler Moore on smoking; Hans Conried; Brian Dennehy; Rachel Roberts; starring in the pilot film for BJ and the Bear; her uncle, director John Peyser directs Charlie's Angels; her roles in the In Laws and The Frisco Kid; being pregnant on the set of the TV movie western Wild Times; The Girls in the Office TV movie; guest starring in an episode of $weepstake$ where they didn't know what accent she should play; The Blue and The Grey; The A-Team; guest starring in Masquerade; being a castmember on Crazy Like a Fox and Knots Landing; guest starring on Shameless and procedurals; being about to do a one woman show as her Shakespearean sonnetcharacter Lady Penelope at the Fringe Festival; malls
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comedienne Meghan O'Malley and I discuss her influeces; taking film studies; making student films; her clothing she wears for a set; amount of shows a night; her Instagram show "Barely Making It"; difficullty of Zoom shows; first time performing; taking a class in stand up; being a female comic; pyschinng out an audience by her demeanor; comedian friends on Facebopok; bringer shows; her dad and a field trip I took with him; the homeless; comedians Darin Patterson and Sheba Mason; comedy clubs we have worked; her act described as "silly cleverness"; being told her act was too smart; Rusty Kuntz joke; the c word; Canadians; Jordan Peterson; New Zealand; Hannah Gadsby; Australia; South Africa; high fructose corn syrup; foods that gross us out; hating milk; Eva Anderson; new Night Court; not having a "fallback" job; trying to do a good job but not be promoted; losingmemory due to concussions; getting a role in a SAG film asa bartender because she was a bartender at the bar the movie was shot at; getting bumped by a female comic who made out with the emcee; sexual predator comics; Louis CK; Bill Cosby; old comics who try to hide their jokes when performing; cats; wanting to perform song parodies at my weding; her dad's archery club
Alan Zweibel joined me to discuss growing up where I now live (Wantagh, NY); bar mitzvahs; writing for borscht belt comics; getting his shot on SNL; his famous poetry class anecdote; writing a parody of the Passover Haggadah with Dave Barry and Adam Mansbach; "Go the Fuck to Sleep"; Emily Litella; keeping the character going by adding "Bitch" to her vocabulary; writing and appearing on Chevy's Weekend Update; the Charles Grodin episode; when SNL broke format; writing the Gilda and Elliot Gould romance episode; people loving Gilda and her death affecting people who didn't know her; her dying on his birthday; Bunny, Bunny; his and my favorite Roseanne Roseannadanna; Mr. Death; meeting his wife at the show; being a guest writer three times; doing shows four weeks in a row; Andy Breckman; the 5th season Weekend Update running gag with his picture; being a cast member for one episode for his role in the Conductors Club sketch; Joey Bishop sketch; Lord and Lady Douchebag; being asked to stay by Jean Doumanian; Steve Martin's Best Show Ever; Chico Escuela and his comeback attempt; John Stearns; It's Garry Shandling Show; Ed Solomon; differences in writing for Billy Crystal and Martin Short; Marilyn Suzanne Miller, Rosie Shuster, and Don Novello; Marc Maron; Quintlexia; Gene Wilder; OJ Simpson and the anti-Buffalo sketch he turned down; Celebrity Battle of the Sexes and Races; commercial parodies Banshee and Swill; Jim Downey; Bruce Kirschbaum; Arnie Kogen; Jay Kogen and his It's Garry Shandling Show script.
For his amazing book Laugh Lines go to Amazon.com: Laugh Lines: My Life Helping Funny People Be Funnier (Audible Audio Edition): Alan Zweibel, Billy Crystal - foreword, Alan Zweibel, Blackstone Publishing: Audible Books & Originals
Unfortunately, my computer decided to do an upgrade twenty minutes into my interview with Mr. Long. We discussed becoming a writer, getting his hirst and second script assignments which he described as disasters. he and his partner got their footing and wrote classic as "Veggie Boyd" and "Woody Interruptus" (which introduces Herni). The rest f the interview is here where he talked about not going to the last episode because Boston didn't care when he went to the 200th episode parade; feeling proud that America cared so much to say goodbye; Pig Sty; George & Leo and Bob Newhart not being able to smoke; the Cameo episode with Larry, Darryl and Darryl and Jere Burns; Sullivan & Sons - Brian Doyle-Murray wants a drive net instead of a trailer; starting to write comic political pieces, most American are in the center politically and don't like rules; Covid restrictions and vaccines; everything is failing; more people are writers than historians; unemployment hypocrisy; reporters became journalists with narratives; Congressmen and Senators are inherently corrupt; All in the Family; school choice and merit pay; schools having different missions and different standards; old fashioned note taking schools; parental rights on both sides; must need to learn basics first - then left or right ideology; hire efficiency experts; Sesame Street; hypocrisy of people who got rich off government contrats now hate government giving contracts
Kiki Steele joins me to discuss getting hired at SNL at the tail end of Dick Ebersol's regime and the beginning of Lorne Michaels second; watching the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show; going to Emerson College; being mentored by Norman Lear; Andy Kaufman wanting to hang out in the ladies room at Fridays; working with Paul Miller again on Norman's Corner and Madame's Place; The Hollywood Cubes; Lorne Michaels; messing up timing at the SNL 15th anniversary and being bailed out by Robin Williams; SNL being like a family; her typical week: clean up on Monday; host pitch meeting; typing up scripts Tuesday night and Wednesday morning; putting together the read through packet; timing sketches in read through; waiting for the sketch cards to go up; asking writers for changes; bound scripts delivered on Thursday; counting down musical guest; rehearsals Friday; Herb Sargent delivering baked goods Saturday morning; dress rehearsal; live show; favorite writers: Robert Smigel, Jack Handey; Franken & Davis; the 86 - 90 cast; Bronson Pinchot worst host; Tom Hanks and John Lithgow favorites; Sigourney Weaver gave the pa's gifts; Buster Poindexter had a song ready every week; Francis Ford Coppola episode; William Shatner; Price; 15th Anniversary show; Comedy Channel lures her away but she works two jobs; working with Marc Maron, Alan King, and Bob Hope; finding the movies for MST3K; Higgins Boys and Gruber; Alan Zweibel; women writers; Andy Breckman; first job when hired in 1985 was to clean out old scripts from all the way back to first episode; has her SNL jacket; Lorne got her a clock when she left; working with Will Durst; leaving Comedy Central; doing a pilot with Dave Attell; seeing the moonwalk for the first time; Liberty Weekend; Waylon Jennings saves her life; Terry Sweeney; Danitra Vance; Randy Quaid; Victoria Jackson; Paul Simon; Andrew "Dice" Clay; Sam Kinison; her three daughters, two work/worked at SNL; college admissions consultant
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Listeners, email me at ifermaglich@richmondhillhs.org
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Future guests include SNL script supervisor Kiki Kazanas Steele, "Cheers" writer Rob Long, comedian Megan O'Malley, actress Penny Peyser, Broadway producer and comedian Jackie De Roy, and Kevin Kelton doing a commentary track about the November 1984 SNL hosted by George Carlin with Frankie Goes to Hollywood
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Past Guests whose episodes were "wiped out": John Femia, Sean Kelley, Marc Weiner Mike Preminger, and Dave Thomas.
Phoef and I discuss his name; Dick Van Dyke Show; reading mysteries; James Madison University; writing, directing, and acting in his own plays; sitcoms are almost Broadway plays; writing a spec Newhart; that script got to Cheers and he was offered a freelance job; turned down staff job on Newhart in 1986 for -Cheers; writing the Cheers episode "The Book of Samuel"; "Dinner at Eight-ish"; "Cheers: The Motion Picture"; the monkey episode; writing for periphery characters Al, Father Barry, and John Hill; replacing characters; Kirstie Alleys cigarette trick; "Gift of the Woodi"; The Kelly Song; Prince is a fan; made more money on the song than any one episode; co-creating Bob; writing "The Fan"; Thanks; The Fighting Fitzgeralds; The US version of Coupling; Rob!; Rob Schneider being hard to deal with; working with Cheech Marin and Eugenio Derbez; Boston Legal - working with Candice Bergen and William Shatner; using clips from a 1957 episode of the Defenders in a 2007 episode of Boston Legal; writing mystery novels; wanting to write an X-Files; shows he watches now; Poker Face being like Columbo and The Fugitive; his new series Chesapeake Stars on Hallmark; past Cheers writers I've had on; 30th anniversary of Cheers' final episode
Jeffrey Kramer joined me to discuss early TV; watching 70's TV; being a guest actor; having Tourette's; starring in Madwoman of Chaillot at Ithaca College; co-starring with James Whitmore on stage at age 15; being mentored by Jean Stapleton & Bob Putch; making TV debut in Barney Miller; Happy Days; "Hollywood Boulevard" and its fan Quentin Tarantino; Dick Miller; selling flowers on Fairfax and Pico in between gigs; Chico and the Man; Laverne & Shirley; co-starring in a pilot with Caroline McWilliams and Michael Keaton; turning down CPO Sharkey; Stick Around; "Heartbeeps"; Hard Copy (1987); Mary Tyler Moore Hour; Gene Kelly and Michael Keaton; using your celebrity for good; Marty Nadler; Struck by Lightning; Jack Elam; The Last Resort; Andy Kaufman; Jamie Lee Curtis; people who ask him for his autograph; The Incredible Hulk; "Clue"; "Santa Clause: The Movie"; hiring Dylan McDermont for The Practice; becoming a producer; working for Les Moonves; Tom Skerritt; Fyvush Finkel; using the OJ case on Picket Fences; Adam Arkin; The Practice; Calista Flockhart; guest starring on and producing the pilot of Ally McBeal; the dancing baby; poaching male viewers from Monday Night Football because of the pretty female cast; crossover episode with The Practice; his children; Richard Dreyfuss; Jaws' 50th Anniversary in two years
Patrick Weathers joined me (while watching the December 20, 1980 episode of SNL) to discuss moving up to NY in 1979; working at Studio 54; writing a book about Studio 54 but his agent thinks a TV job is more secure; cold calling Audrey Peart Dickman; his impressions; doing practice sketches; getting his friend David Sheffield to submit; he and David getting hired; meeting Eddie Murphy; Joe Piscopo; Don Pardo; cast and featured players opening montage pictures taken same day; Bruce Willis; David Carradine not drunk or nervous, he saw hosting as highlight of his career; Malcolm McDowell; Malcolm and Patrick sent milk at a bar; Commie Hunting Season most objectional bit in SNL history; pranking writers Arnstein & Hurvitz with Omar Dykes of Omar and the Howlers; Omar brought in as "new talent" to meet Jean Doumanian; Patrick remembers his first speaking role as a door-to-door sniper from episode 3; head writer Mason Williams; seeing the lack of an Arlo Guthrie sketch at read through; James Austin Johnson's Dylans; portraying Dylan, Elvis and more in the Broadway show, "Rock 'n' Roll, the First 5000 Years"; Dylan seeing his Dylan and approving; we watch the Dylan & Guthrie sketch; recalling riffing on Dylan and Guthrie with David Sheffield and Brian Doyle-Murray after read through; Charlene Tilton; 3 Kung Fu sketches; going to Mad TV with David Carradine and afterwards people in a bar trying to fight him, Will Sasso, and David Carradine thinking he was Kain; going to John Lennon's psychic's house in the Dakota 5 days after his death; the psychic, Malene Weiner, telling him to keep John's guitar; his Beatles parody band The Deplorables (in which he plays all instruments); Prince and Aretha Franklin as musical guests; Robert Hays and Sally Kellerman as hosts; his now controversial Ravi Shankar expression; the high note that caused his eyes to bug out; Ray Sharkey; Babes in Thailand; Bill Murray hosts; Jean gets fired, Ebersol fires Patrick, Matthew Laurence and Yvonne Hudson together; getting hired but not appearing on The New Show; working at National Lampoon from 1985 to 1987; Woody Allen cast him and Ann Risley for SNL; Paul Reubens chokes his audition; Leslie Fuller; almost playing Captain Carl on Pee Wee's Playhouse; Terry Sweeney
Ken Levine joined me and discussed the influence of Sgt. Bilko and The Dick Van Dyke show to him and his peers; bad 60's TV; when he decided to become a writer ; why they are known as Levine & Isaacs; writing a spec Mary Tyler Moore Show; writing for Jeffersons and Joe & Sons; writing freelance MASH ; being a college DJ; watching "Bananas" and not wanting to be an old DJ lead him to rethink about writing; meeting his partner, David Isaacs; his first script "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" led to offers from The Tony Randall Show and to write more MASH episodes; joining the MASH staff; Ronny Graham; stories about the episodes "The MASH Olympics", "Merchant of Korea", "Our Finest Hour" and "POV"; 1981-82 sitcom Open All Night; Cheers -start, episodes "Any Friend of Dianes", "The Boys in the Bar"; airchecks; meeting (then) Prince Charles on set of MASH*; life, death, and backstory of Eddie LeBec; writing Cheers related content for the Super Bowl and Mickey Mouse; episodes featuring Wade Boggs and Kevin McHale; keeping the action in the bar is key to the success; writing "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" without an outline; Wang Chung; Sheldon Leonard; background of my favorite episode "Here's......Cliffy”; being in the green room with Elizabeth Taylor; writing and guest voicing a Simpsons; the late Cheers and Frasier script supervisor Gabrielle James; prop master Ed LaPorta and the crew getting their credit
Game show legend Thom McKee joined me to discuss his growing up watching Jeopardy; sitting as a child reading encyclopedias in the bathroom; how his navy training made him quick witted; taking the "general" game show test but wanting Tic Tac Dough because there was no limit; originally taping on weekends; the Navy learning about it and he becomes a celebrity; taping five episodes in a day; getting numbers in the bonus round from his wife, Jenny; always starting in the center; quickness of Wink Martindale; a contestant who introduction made him nervous; topicality of questions; playing trivia weekly now; COVID didn't change his routine; being friends with Mike Post; his dad waiting to meet his future daughter-in-law because the Rockford Files was on; contestants who tied him; one had six ties making the pot the largest in game show history; has the shows on tape but when he's a guest on a TV show he only sees clips of his loss; feeling like Bill Buckner; donated a lot of his winnings to his brother; losing to Eric Krapelian; Eric donated some winnings to Thom's brother; wanting to win but not because opponent made stupid mistakes; one contestant was introduced but never came back to do the show due to nerves; not feigning excitement and being himself; Jenny being brought in for car rounds; two month break was refreshing; landing the 225,000 plane on his aircraft carrier; going on The Merv Griffin Show; Wink misremembering Jenny being pregnant; Wink being friends with Elvis; Chuck Barris; not being overly concerned by Eric Krapelian; feeling fatigued when asked about 10 most populated Japanese cities; only go to take one of twenty vacations (lost all cash value); sold all cars and appliances; playing an Air Force Colonel (turns out he was a Navy Chief Warrant Officer); Wink and the crew thinking of Thom as part of the show; not having to be sequestered and escorted to the bathroom after a while; going into sales after the Navy and settling in real estate; his three children; Jenny wants a grandchild, preferably a granddaughter; Twitter says Top Gun's Goose's look based on Thom; Thom is 66 to 1 odds to take over Jeopardy!; meeting Ken Jennings; being inducted into the Game Show Hall of Fame; inducting Wink the next year; donating solar panels; dinner with Ken Jennings and wife; never studying except one time his wife reads a triva book on the way up and the question appears on that nights show;
Joel Thurm joined me to discuss watching Milton Berle, wrestling, and Disney as a child; wanting to be an actor but finding his calling backstage; working for David Merrick; casting Broadway; moving to L.A.; working on The Pearl Bailey Show; musical guest appearances; Ethel Winant; casting The Bob Newhart Show; casting Henry Winkler and John Randolph; casting Raul Julia, Katherine Helmond, John Ritter, Will MacKenzie, Rene Auberjonois, and Chirstopher Lloyd in very early roles; casting the play and film of The Rocky Horror Picture Show; casting "Grease"; producing "The Boy in the Plastic Bubble"; coercing Olivia Newton John to take the role in "Grease"; swapping the "new, improved" script with the original; turning 80; casting Fantasy Island with Ricardo Montalban and Herve Villechaize; casting Taxi with Judd Hirsch; Cleavon Little being replaced by Jeff Conaway; Nell Carter being unavailable; Andy Kaufman came with the deal; reluctantly accepting the job of casting and producing Angie; casting "Airplane" with Peter Graves; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar being the third choice after Pete Rose and Bruce Jenner; Barbara Billingsley being the second choice after Harriet Nelson; being named NBC's head of talent; casting a casting agent on an episode of Taxi; Eileen Brennan; casting Gavin McLeod and Lauren Tewes for The Love Boat; casting Daniel J. Travanti for Hill Street Blues; Fred Silverman doesn't think he's likeable, so Joel got him to smile; Cheers comes down to three choices for Sam and Diane; NBC won't let Joel cast it; Joel implores Grant Tinker to hire Ted Danson because women will want to fuck him more than William Devane; being wrong on Don Johnson for Miami Vice; casting Florence Halop in Night Court; his favorite show, Law & Order SVU; fandom of Chris Meloni and Mariska Hargitay; recommending Christine Ebersole to SNL in 1981, his assistant recommending Dennis Miller in 1985 and Elvira in 1987
You can order Joel's "Sex Drugs and Pilot Season" here Sex, Drugs & Pilot Season: Confessions of a Casting Director: Thurm, Joel: 9781629339535: Amazon.com: Books
Herschel Weingrod joined me to discuss being influenced by Billy Wilder and Laurel and Hardy; getting his Bachelors in European history; taking film courses close to graduation; going to the London Film School for graduate school; odd jobs taken; looking to write a film noir; getting the idea for "Cheaper to Keep Her" from an article; having Mac Davis star; Roger Ebert said it was a good script; writing "Trading Places" as "Black & White"; the Dukes were brothers his partner, Timothy Harris played doubles tennis with; making them commodities brokers; setting it in Philadelphia; pitched for Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder; Wilder wanted to change the character to be more likeable; Aykroyd gets hired; Ray Milland fails physical, replaced by Don Ameche; 90% of the movie is from the script, 10 % improv; censors won't let Eddie smoke Kools; Don Ameche apologizes for the f-bomb; explanation needed for end of the film; "Trading Places: The Musical"; timelessness of film; writing "Brewster's Millions", a film made many times; "My Stepmother is an Alien"; Jon Lovitz; Gene Wilder wouldn't've worked because he wanted to be loved; John Landis added Franken & Davis, the train and the monkey to the story; Broadway versions of 80's movies have challenges; The Broadway Rule of the "What I want Song"; "Trading Places" Funko Pops; people quoting the movie in real life; Trading Places remembered as #5 Christmas movie; "Twins" - hired to rewrite the original script; added search for the mother; studies twin tics for movie; "Lifted"; Lana Clarkson; "Kindergarten Cop"; how to write for Arnold; "Brewster's Millions" written originally for Bill Murray; people bet on whether he would show up for "Space Jam"; Bill adlibs; picking the players for "Space Jam"; "True Luck"; Peter Weber comedies; Harold Ramis; Cary Grant; Tom Hanks; English antisemitism; Kaifeng Jews
Patric Verrone and I discuss his influences: Chuck McCann, Sonny Fox, Officer Joe Bolton and Jim Henson; Steve Martin; Carl Gottlieb; growing up in Ft. Myers, Florida; going to Harvard with Al Jean; his Lampoon competition packet; working with Andy & Susan Borowitz, Conan O'Brien, and future wife Maiya Williams on the Lampoon; becoming a lawyer; taking a leave of absence to try comedy writing; getting a job on the Late Show with Joan Rivers; rough times on the show; Victoria Principal doxing; leaving Joan Rivers and getting hired on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson; his interview with Johnny; writing sketch and monologue; Sunday morning meetings with Johnny; new characters created; Johnny wanted to dress up less; Carnac moments; The Critic; Doris Grau, Critic / Simpsons crossover; second crossover nixed; writing for the Muppets; the "new" Kermit; his idea of having other puppeteers work on characters and then having Frank Oz dub his voice in; the new puppet, Clifford; working with Dick Blasucci and Paul Flaherty; working with Martin Short, Don Rickles, Billy Crystal and Prince on Muppets Tonight; winning an Emmy and it having it bestowed by Barbara Billingsley; getting hired on Futurama; Cubert Farnsworth; "Problem with Popplers"; no lessons, just jokes; one of my jokes is similar to one in an episode; list jokes; "A Leela of Her Own"; explaining to Hank Aaron his dialogue; writing a Simpsons episode; being President of the Writer's Guild; net neutrality; visiting all fifty states; collecting the Marks Presidential Figurine Set and completing it himself;
Rick Podell and I discuss his early influences; Jackie Gleason; Ed Sullivan; 50's and 60's standups; Alan King; doing standup for his dog; tap dancing; leaving college to do Dames at Sea off Broadway; getting hired as a Universal contract player; doing Baretta and getting a mentor in Robert Blake; Busting Loose; Garry Marshall; Paramount commissary; Chopped Liver Brothers; how appearing on the Mike Douglas Show makes you crave for new material; how his jack-of-all trades style hurt him; working with Milton Berle in Two by Two and meeting his endowment; Budd Friedman gets roasted; writing the pilots Brothers and Our Time with co-writer Mike Preminger; starring in films "Lunch Wagon" and "Underground Aces"; co-starring in "Hero at Large" with John Ritter; losing out on Chips to Erik Estrada; performing with Richard Lewis, Rich Hall, and Dana Carvey; Jay Leno saying he was too handsome to be a successful comedian; touring Montana with Gilbert Gottfried; guest starring as Jackie Jackerman on a memorable Family Ties; guest starring as a mohel on Cheers; writing the screenplay for "Nothing in Common" about his relationship with his dad; having Tom Hanks and Jackie Gleason star; receiving letters from people with the same situations; the film being perceived as too Jewish; Gleason's ill-health; opening with Ginger Rogers for a year; opening for Cher; working on Sunset Boulevard on Broadway with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Glenn Close; being directed by someone who directed Ronald Reagan and Clark Gable; working and later teaching at the Beverly Hills Playhouse; cell phones; and his one-man show
Interviews with four people who wrote to "Late Night with David Letterman" and their queries answered. 1. Carlin Trammel Philo IL 1992; 2. Michael Austin, Pico, Texas September 6, 1984; 3. Scott (Wofford) Kirk September 6, 1984; and Keri Maijala December 6, 1984
Doug McIntyre joined me to discuss Mr. Belvedere (Christopher Hewett)'s testicular accident and narcolepsy; Catholic school; other Great Neck residents Andy Kaufman and Alan King; sitcoms; the Dick Van Dyke Show; the Odd Couple; Norman Lear and Garry Marshall schools of sitcoms; working with Lowell Ganz on Knight and Day; going to Stonehill College; working in advertising; meeting and writing for Jack Klugman; getting a job on You Again? ; Throb; Full House; how Lenny Ripps is this generations Al Boasberg; Pat McCormack; long hours makes great friends on Full House; John Stamos' General Hospital character makes Doug's neighbor happy; writing a crossover episode with Urkel from Family Matters; working on the New WKRP in Cincinnati; pitching a reboot; writing the Soap Opera Awards while not knowing about them; Liberty's Kids earns him a Humanitas nomination; civics; I'm Just a Bill; Jack Sheldon; cancelling the Regents; Long Island Nets and the ABA; soccer; rooting for bad teams; Yankee fans; his love for Jean Shepard; his article about the Wright Brothers leads to his radio career; retiring because politics turns into asshole patrol; his sleep cycle; Donald Trump; open boarders; internet does not tie people to their country; the US flag should be for all people; welfare; US is a great country and is hated by both extreme sides; first Nation comedians; George Washington; Whiskey Rebellion; too much news that tells you what you already believe; his wife, Penny Peyser on The Tony Randall Show; his upcoming book; Frank's Shadow; rubber chickens; his memorabilia collection; and why my students are the future.
I was a big fan of John Putch for many years...unfortunately this taping was ruined by a bad connection. I was able to save over a half hour of the interview, in which John and I discussed being on the Cold Turkey movie set; directing Dick Van Dyke thirty plus years later; appearing with his mom, Jean Stapleton on talk shows; first acting appearance on All in the Family; playing Bob Morton on One Day at a Time; the made for TV movie "Angel Dusted"; writing and directing the "Route 30" trilogy; "The Father and the Bear"; keeping a small batch of movie regulars; All in the Family trivia; his mom appearing on SNL; TV movies "You Had me at Aloha" and "A Holiday Spectacular"; directing Ann Margret; past and future guests Nat Bernstein, Charles Robinson, Jamie Rose, Jeff Kramer, and Stacey Nelkin
NewsRadio's Sesame Street; favorite episodes of Taxi; his submissions for Harvard Lampoon and SNL; the change to writing half hour; how Newsradio creator Paul Simms hired comedy writers with no sitcom experience; his first episodes was co-written with Paul Simms; Newsradio's own style of writing; the length of days at Newsradio; hours were similar to Barney Miller; Christmas Story one of my favorite TV episodes of all time; Fibber McGee & Molly always in the script; joke written for 10% of the audience; writing an episode for Johnny Cash but he never agreed to do the show; Station Sale is an example of a "gang-written" show; team re-write after some read throughs; six people credited with some episodes; jokes sometimes written for 10% of the audience; eunuch jokes on Futurama; James Caan guest stars; episode is an homage to Clockers; Tubalcain; Joe Furey; Phil Hartman; why NBC continuously messed with the series; leaving Newsradio; death of Phil Hartman; 3rd Rock; Preston Beckman programmer; Undeclared; Rob Schneider's sitcom Rob; writing Ron Schneider's Annoying Girlfriend Theatre on SNL; writing the most episodes of Futurama; which show is the most in his creative voice; Sidney Poitier Mr. Pibb joke; Brickleberry; Yucko the Clown; Family Guy; cutaways are the hardest part; Seth MacFarlane's assistants become the best writers; ever meeting the boss; Cherry Chevapravatdumrong; toughest job he ever had; he was a manatee; South Park; Beavis and Butthead; Norm Hiscock
The J. Geils Band Richard "Magic Dick" Salwitz joined me to talk about his first musical hero, Louis Armstrong; practicing his instruments; playing the cornet; getting his first harmonica at the ae of3 when he had the flu; wearing harmonicas; how long a harmonica can last; "Whammer Jammer" breaks harmonicas; meeting J. Geils and Danny Klein in 1966; bootlegs; first record deal; having the Allman Brothers as fans; "Musta Got Lost"; 70's radio airplay and DJ autonomy; opening for the Rolling Stones; performing during an earthquake in Japan; doing SNL with Rodney Dangerfield in 1980; reaction videos to "Love Stinks"; "Centerfold"; "Land of 10,000 Dances"; punk rock; Dennis Miller uses him as a cultural reference in a joke; being introduced to Shun Ng; Shun Ng's childhood; how acoustic guitar and harmonica blend perfectly; Shun being a semi-self-taught musician; Shun's genius; being self-taught on harmonica; his attack playing of the harp; how martial arts and music relate; James Caan's martial arts career; my daughter's martial arts and music lessons; greatest rock 'n' roll front man; rhythm 'n' blues help form the sound of the J. Geils Band; 70's R & B; what he's listening to now; the two types of harmonicas and how people who play woodwind instruments shouldn't smoke.
Jeremiah Ukponrefe joined me to discuss being Canadian; not being a reader growing up; memoirs being both hard to read but also fascinating; the Percy Jackson series; The Outsiders; Of Mice and Men; writing a book; his process; "booing" candy on Halloween; his book The Hive, being Star Wars meets Starship Troopers; morals being subtly hidden in science fiction; self-publishing; his book being one in a series; describing his series' universe; his protagonist, Alex; research; stand up career; only putting crowd work on You tube; how it's hard to break in stand up in Canada; Second City; writing freelance comedy; worse response doing stand-up; bombing on a date; bombing for 35 minutes; no bringers shows in Canada; wants to be knows as a science fiction / fantasy writer and a stand-up comedian; can sell books at shows; book feedback; target audience; each book in his series is for a different demographic; still keeping a day job; producing stand-up shows; roast battles; learning to do stand-up in his voice; storyteller comedians; Ellen DeGeneres; Jay Leno
After the interview is the audio of my last stand-up appearance from August 2011.
To order the Hive" Hive (The Arcane Volumes): Ukponrefe, Jeremiah: 9781777332907: Amazon.com: Books
Game show legend Jim Peck joined me to talk about living in Milwaukee during the Happy Days era; favorite radio shows; the first time he saw a television; going to Marquette University; getting the performing bug; his first job as a booth announcer at WISN; Don Pardo; hosting a series called Confrontation; Jim Peck's Hotline; hard to get guests; Take it from Here from Washington DC; Big Showdown; falling down during entrance and having it be on YouTube today; emulating Johnny Carson; contestant interviews; Hot Seat; the Richard Dawson "feud": Second Cance; Peter Tomarken; going out with Monty Hall on his 94th birthday; Peter Marshall; his unaired late night pilot After Hours: The Jim Peck Special which would have featured Susan Anton, Robin Williams, and Loni Anderson; You Don't Say; Nipsey Russell; Dick Gautier; Robert Ridgely; 3's a Crowd; led to divorces and firings; originally pitched by Jess Oppenheimer as a clean game show and sexed up by Chuck Barris; Chuck realizes "no one had fun on the show"; cheating on game shows; Press Your Luck; The Price is Right; his famous perm; Confessions of a Dangerous Mind; Everything's Relative and other game show pilots; You Tube 3's A Crowd reaction video; being hired to sub for and take over for Jack Barry on Joker's Wild; Barry dying and the syndicator choosing to go with Bill Cullen; calling his mother's friend out of the audience to play game; Divorce Court; Doug Llewellyn; Judge William Keane; show was done with actors and scripts; guest lawyers including John Erlichman; Judge Keane decided case by what he saw, not original outcome; hosting the Drum Corps International on PBS; Milwaukee; retiring from WTMJ-AM in 2021 - his first radio job.
Comedian Glenn Hirsch joined me to talk about his "nickname" Gleeb Hush; the other Glenn Hirsch (The Duck Sauce Killer); meeting a third Glenn Hirsch (a doctor); a similar situation I had with my brother; growing up in Jackson Heights, Queens; his mother being an organized hoarder; old report cards; being a fan of impressionists not comedians growing up; always able to make others laugh; sixth grade teacher asks him to do a monologue; COVID helped him learn about himself; entertaining is exhausting; having several health scares including a burst appendix, sepsis; Non-Hodgkins lymphoma diagnosis; too many stand ups to keep track of; less than seventy comics when he started; no such thing as bringer shows; picking a number and getting a spot; being asked back by Budd Friedman; taking two years to get decent slots; can't make a comedian; me trying out for Last Comic Standing; my sitcom pilot; not caring if he ever got a sitcom; appearing on Evening at the Improv; comedian comradery; adding tags to friends bits; losing to Brad Garrett on Star Search; cancel culture in clubs; playing 55+ communities; Bobby Slayton; being a "New York" sports fan; drugs; having a long distance marriage; concerts he went to; seeing the Rolling Stones with his daughter; getting "spit on" by Joe Cocker and passing around a joint backstage; meeting Muhammad Ali twice; meeting Pete Rose and Willie Mays; his daughter being friends with Y.A. Tittle; guesting on Dallas; losing a part to Sam Kinison: being passed over for a part of a New York Jew and asked to read for his Irish best friend; would he of rather hosted a talk show or had a sitcom; helping John Debellis write monologue jokes; writing and producing Comedy Club Superstars; not being able to just sit and write for others; and how Tom Snyder had the best talk show format
Comedy writer D.B. Frick joined me to discuss watching the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson; George Carlin; comedians of the 1980's; baseball; John Mulaney; banging Bond babes; Herschel Walker; trying stand up; Wantagh; GPS; The Amazing Race; reality TV; Herve Villechaize; Antonio Banderas; Peter Dinklage; blackface; working at UCLA with Conchatta Farrell; Abe Vigoda; being an intern on Late Night with Conan O'Brien; writing a joke that Conan called his favorite of the year; getting the internship; Paul Schaffer; Alan Zweibel; Saturday Night Live's 50th; Lemmings Revival; Tony Hendra; Chevy Chase; sneaking in to the SNL 25th after party; sneaking into the Hayden Planetarium; raising a kid; making money by inventing or inheriting; not being in wills when promised; Mr. T method of travel; teaching improv at Cambridge; getting scalped tickets to Monty Python; his TV show Welcome Back, America; Jackie "The Jokeman" Martling; writing a sitcom for himself pre-COVID; being taken seriously; having friends outside of show biz; borrowing money; giving to the homeless; having a wallet in 2022; putting everything in the back of your phone; crickets; being at Conan when Norm MacDonald had the greatest appearance in late night history; working for Conan O'Brien; how he thinks he blew his chance at Conan; wishing he was part of the original cast of SNL; The Blues Brothers; Bob Nelson; Christopher Guest directing Lemmings; Darrell Hammond; Don Pardo; SNL’s 50th Anniversary; Punkie Johnson; 30 Interviews in 30 Minutes
Director Paul Miller joined me to discuss appearing on TV before ever watching it; Howdy Doody; becoming a director; getting hired at the Ohio State University TV station; getting a job at KGO TV San Fransisco; Electra Woman and Dyna Girl; working freelance for NBC Sports; directing the Oscars and the Osmonds; getting the call to direct Fridays; working with KISS; directing the Hollywood Cubes sketch; how live TV makes changes up to the last minute; how Saturday Night Live uses more pre-taped segments then when he was there; directing the Gilbert Gottfried / Larry David pilot Norman's Corner; NBC urges Lorne Michaels to hire him to replace Dave Wilson as SNL's director; SNL being a writer's driven show; directing the pilot for In Living Color; appearing on camera in first SNL episode; Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey, and Jan Hooks; Sam Kinnison; being pre-empted by the World Series; Roy Orbison; directing SNL during the Technician's Strike; '88 Debate sketch; Mike Myers; coming back for anniversary shows; Damon Wayans; Jim Carrey; working on The Ben Stiller Show, Mad TV, and Not Necessarily the News; directing and being nominated for the Cable Ace Award; Dennis Miller; Kathy Griffin; directing 2 Super Bowl half Time Shows; can you win an Emmy for directing the Emmy's?; directing Charlie Brown's Christmas 50th Anniversary; where he keeps his Emmy; producing and directing The Carol Burnett Show's 50th Anniversary; and his charity work building schools in Africa.
Diana Peckham joined me on the phone to discuss watching the Wide World of Disney and The Ed Sullivan Show; "The Wizard of Oz"; her father being a wrestler in the 1956 Olympics and her grandfather being a professional wrestler in the 1930's; awareness of Andy Kaufman; seeing his challenge on SNL and writing a letter in; being one of four chosen for a "wrestle off"; taking her father and grandfather as coaches; Andy Kaufman's misogynist persona; talking to Al Franken after the show; not knowing what she was getting into in the match; not knowing the referee was Andy Kaufman's manager (Bob Zmuda); her wrestling past; her parents working as AD and assistant AD at Emerson College; offers after the much; the FBI; going to college to be an English teacher and getting a job as a P.E. teacher; having her appearance grow as legend year after year; getting the tape in 1989; showing the video to her AP Lit students; being retired in New Hampshire; getting recognized on FB when SNL started streaming; REM used a clip of her in their video for Man on the Moon; getting royalty checks and marriage proposals; being made to stay in her dressing room during the show; almost getting her shoulder broken during the match; did not fight during dress rehearsal so segment went long and bumped Mr. Bill; how she would have played it; Kaufman v. Lawler; the SNL vote; did Andy die of AIDS or lung cancer?; getting slapped at the wrestle-off; her other competitors; how Andy would wrestle his girlfriend and other plants; the movie "Man in the Moon"; teaching; her children being athletes; and wrestling in the 30's and 40's.
Melanie Chartoff joined me to discuss watching Soupy Sales and Steve Allen; being interviewed by Johnny Carson and Oprah Winfrey; living by herself in Woodstock, NY her the summer of her junior and senior years of high school; her college sweetheart; writing funny songs and putting it into an act; auditioning for the new Laugh In; moving to L.A.; being in the Proposition; working at the Improv with John Debellis; John Debellis and Larry David's love of baseball; getting Fridays; writers room at Fridays was a boys club; Brandis Kemp; "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "Road to El Salvador" parodies; "Women Who Spit" and "Diner of the Living Dead" almost get them kicked off TV; Reagan getting elected in '80 changes the tone; Elevator Sisters; the Plasmatics; musical guests; Marty Feldman; Mark Blankfield's pharmacist; Madeline Kahn; getting her tooth knocked out on live TV; the Andy Kaufman incident; doing a movie "Doin' Time" with Mohammed Ali but not meeting him until years later; Fresno; appearing on Newhart; Parker Lewis Can't Lose; letters from prisoners; The Hollywood Autograph Show; guesting on Seinfeld; being in the finale; Tom Kramer; Tina Sinatra; being a voracious reader; writing a novel; Rugrats and its thirty years of popularity; Phil Proctor; going to England with Robin Leach; Coaching charismatzing - discovering ones unique force of personality; doing improv with therapists; being a feminist; her titles for Fridays; hot tubs; women putting their sexuality out there; Fridays director Tom Moore in the NY Times in a body suit learning how to do trapeze; classic Fridays sketches - "TV is fake"; "Door to Door Whores", and "2nd Amendment";
To Meet Melanie :https://www.hollywoodshow.com/default/main To buy her book melaniechartoff.com and to take her Charismatizing class: Charismatizing.com Fan sitehttps://www.facebook.com/charismatizing Read a review 18506.gif (630×420) (allauthor.com)
Tracy Newman joins me to discuss the first time she picked up a guitar; folk music; her favorite childhood movie "Hans Christan Anderson"; Danny Kaye; George Carlin; Jeff Altman; going to college; going to New York; The Limelighters; Italy; performing at the Bitter End; performing at the Improv; becoming a teacher at the Groundlings; Rodney Dangerfield; dating Rodney Dangerfield; The Groundlings being the feeding ground for SNL; Heidi Gardner; being a founding member; teaching improv; Phil Hartman; non-show business Groundlings; teaching Tress MacNeille, Paul Reubens, and Conan O'Brien; thinking Conan was too raw for Late Night when he got it; Promise of Love TV movie; Valerie Bertinelli & Eddie Van Halen; making an experimental short "True Bliss" with then husband James E. Dean; teaming up with Jonathan Stark; film looping; studying sitcoms to write a spec script; getting hired on Cheers for season 11; her episodes, including, Rebecca's Lover - Not! with Harvey Fierstein; people not knowing Ellen was gay; daytime TV; writing "The Puppy Episode" where Ellen comes out; writing an Ellen for Mary Tyler Moore; winning an Emmy, a Peabody, and a PETA Award; appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson; beating Peter Mehlman for an Emmy but not a Writer's Guild Award; paying for her Peabody; Hollywood Walk of Fame; meeting famous people in LA; Lowell Ganz; being asked to show-run Hiller & Diller by him and Babaloo Mandel; writing various pilots; Bob's bad timeslot but great cast; creating According to Jim and Soul Man; hiring Jim Belushi, her song "Carpool'
A performance of Carpool follows the interview.
To buy Tracy Newman's albums visit Tracy Newman and the Reinforcements - I Just See You - Amazon.com Music
Brian Levant joined me to discuss his first TV souvenir: the scripts to a defunct series Noonday; collecting box tops to get toys; still feeling the way about toys that he did when he first got them; his book "My Life in Toys"; his first word being TV related; collecting salt and pepper shakers; playing with the toys he collected and not keeping them in pristine condition; watching Leave it to Beaver and then bringing them back twenty five years later; The Flintstones; not really collecting superheroes; got the job directing The Flintstones when Stevenn Spielberg saw his Flintstones collection; how Happy Days grew him professionally; Garry Marshall's style; playing basketball while writing and softball in between tapings to create a family atmosphere; Weirdly & Creepella Gruesome; Hanna Barbera "stealing" characters; The Great Gazoo; Harvey Korman; Allan Cumming's stunts in "Viva Rock Vegas"; the book putting his collection to bed for the most part; my collection of TV artifacts; writing the classic Happy Days "A.K.A. the Fonz" and "Hard Cover"; leaving to produce Brothers and Sisters; upcoming 50 Years of Happy Days book with Fred Fox; first episode I remember watching in syndication; my favorite Happy Days joke "Mama, Papa, Sister"; the episodes "Stolen Melodies", "Letting Go"; the finale; Beethoven being a sitcom on steroids; Charles Grodin; Jingle all the Way and working with Arnold Schwarzenegger
Teri Bolo joined by to discuss the lack of Groundling representation on my podcast; her first vivid memory of seeing Peter Pan on TV; going to see Pollyanna and being told she looked like Hailey Mills; her and her aunt going to Gary Austins improv class, which became The Groundlings; what it means to teach improv or to take improv classes; the rules of improv; whether characters are created or fine-tuned in improv; Laraine Newman; "Tunnelvision"; "If You Don't Stop You'll Go Blind"; The Dating Game; The Gong Show; her role in "Carrie"; being on a big time movie set; the famous shower scene; working with George Burns and John Denver in "Oh God"; being cut out of "Animal House"; going to movie locations while on vacation; Gary Austin; Del Close; improv being collaborative and not competitive; Robin Williams; Fred Willard; "The In Laws"; "Mommie Dearest"; my dad meeting Faye Dunaway and my mom meeting the bank robber from the "7-Ups"; making out with a girl for a scene i "Scarface" that you can only see her arm in; "Pee Wee's Big Adventure"; being a stand in for Julia Duffy and The Love Boat; the Newhart episode where she and Julia Duffy played twins; Bob Newhart not getting recognized at the gate; Don Rickles visits Newhart set; 24; "Little Miss Sunshine"; when to approach celebrities;
written by Ian Fermaglich
cast: Ben Rosenfeld / waiter..........................Dylan Gottesman www.backstage.com/tal/dylan-gottesman dylangottesman@gmail.com Ashley Martinez / Sophie / Mary ......... Phoenix Loudermilk www.backstage.com/tal/phoenix-ever ever Gary Rosenfeld / Todd..........................Randall Lakefish Stage Directions...................................Ian Fermaglich
Special Thanks to Kevin Kelton, Stu Kreisman, Tom Ruprecht, and Sam Sandora
Paul joined me to discuss being happy; Earth Angel; taking a year off from college to write a hit; his management changing his age and name; coming from a musical family; his father hating rock 'n' roll; Elvis; making demos in Nashville; Conan O'Brien; The Pointer Sisters; Brill Building; his hits "When" and "7 Little Girls"; "7 Little Girls" being banned in Boston; performing on Dick Clark's Saturday Night show; almost forgetting the words on live TV; The Beatles changing his career to jingle performer and writer; smoking; crooners trying to sing rock; Elvis' success; Col. Tom Parker; Elvis' generosity; Paul Anka; his jazz quarter made of jingle singers 5ive; learning his parts by computer; scat yodeling; his biggest hit "Roses are Red"; being paid to sing at weddings; trying to make a woman cry each time he sings it; his wife Susan; how his book came about; winning a Clio but not getting the award; Arizona uses his song and the case goes to the Supreme Court; "Hello this is Joanie (The Telephone Answering Song)"; wanting to sing a duet with Willie Nelson.
Jon Schroeder joined me to discuss his fake imdb facts; his influences Pee Wee Herman, Chris Elliot, Garry Shandling; Sledge Hammer; going to San Fransisco State; his first job, copying Fresh Prince and Family Matters episodes for syndication; writing promos for the WB; meeting and writing with Doug Benson; getting hired on The Sarah Silverman Program; her show being more cartoonish than Bob's Burgers; working on Jimmy Kimmel Live! during the hiatus; becoming friends with Chris Elliot; Susan 313 pilot; why writers stay on Bob's Burgers; trying to top past holiday episodes; Burger of the Day and Storefront; when Gene repeats things that sound "dirty"; "Sheesh, Cab Bob"; "Carpe Museum"; Regular Size Rudy; my favorite characters; episode titles; "Stand by Gene"; Nora Smith's ability to throw out the perfect line; writing songs for the show; feeling that "Something Old, Something New, Something Bob Caters for You" needed a song and Nora writing it while taking a walk; Bob's Burgers: The Movie; The Oscars; "A Few Gurt Men"; writing Linda stories; differences between Linda and Marge Simpson; age of fans of Bob's Burgers; Teddy episodes; could Bob have been played by Bob Newhart?; guest stars; Kevin Kline as Fischoeder; improv in "Sheesh, Cab Bob?"; "Video Killed the Gene-io Star"; "Dream a Little Dream of Bob" with Jon Glaser, H. Jon Benjamin, and Jack McBrayer improvs; interviewing Bob's Burgers crew or YouTube; not being a performer; writing in the characters voices; Dan Mintz; John Roberts; his podcast "Two Jon's Don't Make a Right"; making lefts are dangerous; Jon Daly's podcast of reviewing podcasts; me talking to people from SNL; going backstage and meeting Don Pardo;
Joe Grossman joined me to discuss having no early TV restrictions; being a fan of David Letterman since 13 or 14; Chris Elliot; trying at first to be a cartoonist; finding out that Letterman has writers; Lewis & Clark College; learning standup at the American Comedy Institute for an article for Time Out NY; writing a submission packet; being passed over for the job twice; eventually getting hired by the Stangel brothers; getting stuff on the first night; meeting Dave after putting away the Late Show bear; a chance encounter with Dave before in an elevator; almost being run over by Dave in the basement; written into bits by Lee Ellenberg, Jeremy Wiener, and Tom Ruprecht; did not write himself in because he did not want to be a performer; how the annual Thanksgiving dinner for the staff gave us Sherman Grossman, the sneezing monkey; monkey handler stories; how a kangaroo ended up on the Late Show; 2008 Writer's Strike brings comradery; Joe starts appearing telling rehashed jokes about other subjects; Chris Christie; "Ox, the Wilderness Expert"; drinking urine in a lot of sketches; rules of urine drinking for young comedy writers; having Grace Helbig play a love interest in a bit; inadvertently talking like Dave; telling viewers about his birthing classes; Dave announcing his child's birth on air; puns with the Foo Fighters and Wu Tang Clan; his last appearance with a highlight reel; Norm MacDonald; going to the last show party and then watching it in a bar at 11:35; cleaning out his office and taking a few mementos; getting hired at Full Frontal with Samantha bee; having to learn a new voice to write to; and adjusting to a new schedule
Roger Eschbacher joined me to talk about his early influences; Romper Room; Monty Python and original SNL, making videos with high school classmates including Tom Kramer; going to college to study communications; getting a job as a PA on Fridays; working with Andy Kaufman; getting a job on Not Necessarily the News; having Conan O'Brien tell him about the Groundlings; working there with Lisa Kudrow and Will Ferrell; working on a George Carlin special; Sunday Comics; Candid Camera; Cheers; Please Watch the Jon Lovitz Special; writing a story for Star Trek: The Next Generation; "Wagon's East"; writing for Aah, Real Monsters; The John Larroquette Show; Detention; Friends; Wendy's commercials; writing for Scooby Doo; Tracy Newman; wrote two books for children; writing young adult science fiction novels; reading them as a kid; the difference between hard sci-fi and soft sci-fi
Amazon.com: Dragonfriend: Leonard the Great, Book One eBook : Eschbacher, Roger: Kindle Store
Amazon.com: Ghost Star (Ghost Star Adventures Book 1) eBook : Eschbacher, Roger: Kindle Store
Road Trip: Eschbacher, Roger: 9780803729278: Amazon.com: Books
Tommy Kovac, podcaster and comedian, and I discuss what bought us to our podcast, favorite guests, favorite moments and all sorts of fun stuff.
Boyd joined me to talk about watching Love American Style with his mom, and being inspired by Steve Martin and The Goodies; going to Oklahoma Christian University; sending samples of his work to Letterman head writer Steve O'Donnell; being chosen for the job over Conan O'Brien; realizing he doesn't know the show that well; feeling like he was in over his head the entire time he was there; getting let go after two years; Pirate Television for MTV; Garth Brooks; writing a spec Roseanne that got him Full House; writing the Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen tv-movie "To Grandmothers House We Go"; Merlin Olsen; OJ Simpson; Little House on the Prairie; getting the job on Nurses; Anson Williams and the Heimlich maneuver; how Nurses saved lives; David Rasche; Sledge Hammer; Robert Wuhl; "Hollywood Knights"; Loni Anderson; WKRP in Cincinnati; Ada Maris; What A Country! with Yakov Smirnoff; getting scared by the made-for-TV movie "Adam"; favorite television shows and the cast and crews love; still hanging out with people from Nurses and Full House today; David Letterman's new show; Lenny Ripps; creating a sitcom for Fox, Rewind; quitting before the pilot was shot; having Rewind cancelled before airing its first episode; writing the Chris Farley film "Almost Heroes"; Chris Farley dying before the movie came out; working with Bette Midler on her eponymous sitcom; Dolly Parton; his art career; Basquiat; everyone should create; Keith Haring; podcasts are a creative outlet; this episode was a back and forth; Harlan Williams hated being around other comedians;
Andrew Nicholls joined me to talk about taping The Tonight Show; early English children's TV; The Flintstones; Monty Python; meeting Darrell Vickers; writing The Blob as a musical; trying to write a book depicting the real life of a comedy writer; how TV is like any other job in some ways; TV being a collaboration - both good and bad; We're Only Joking; how working in Canada gave him and Darrell a full tool kit for writing comedy; the many jobs in comedy he had; Alan Thicke buys some jokes but uses all that were sent; Thicke of the Night; teaming up writers to save money; Wayne Kline; how poorly the show was run; SCTV's parody; babysitting a young Robin Thicke; didn't sit in the audience of the shows he worked on so he has a different experience; writing for Mickey Rooney; working on the pilot Apartment 2C with George Carlin; finding scenes from the Canadian sitcom Flappers co-starring Martin Short on You Tube; SCTV still holds up; Jimmy Neutron's notes flummox fans; sending a first draft away being like sending finely crafted sausage to a pack of dogs; network notes and suits; David Birney on St. Elsewhere; writing a sample package for Johnny Carson that two agents said wasn't good enough but got them the job; how Shelly Cohen got their package to Johnny; 13 week cycles of firings; Johnny saw their output and they stayed; Johnny firing everyone but them after 1988 Writers strike; meeting at Johnny's home in Malibu weekly; Check it Out; Don Adams; Art Fern, Telescam, Aunt Blabby; Teresa Ganzel; show only stopped tape twice; Overlaying Billboards; my favorite episode from 1990; George Carlin; people who died jokes; Johnny's theory, "If people laugh, it's funny"; Roget's Eulogy; two sketches that were nixed: Tongue Twister Magazine and Limerick Bank Robbery; doing remotes from Kentucky; Dominoes Deliverymen Falling; Sniveling Weasel Awards; Worlds Longest Limo; Johnny did not want to do remotes; remotes dubbed over by Johnny; George Carlin Show; Pearl; consulting on sitcoms; The Magic Hour and Howard Stern; British TV
Gabe joined me to talk about growing up a block away from George Carlin and knowing his mother; doing stand up and later talking on the phone and meeting him; his early act; studying under Lee Strasberg at NYU; explosion in number of comedians; open mic nights; doing improv with Robin Williams; not getting bumped back in the day; writing for Bill Maher; becoming a faxer for David Letterman then head monologue writer; being the head monologue writer when the biggest news was Monica Lewinsky; how Dave constructs his monologue; writing for Tom Green; his famous Dave back from the quintuple bypass joke; 9/11 and things Letterman would not joke about after; George W. Bush jokes; moving to write for Craig Kilborn; writing for Tom Green and Jay Leno; do stand ups make better monologue writers?; writing with Snoop Dogg; 3 lines or less monologue jokes; Weekend Update; Instant Recall with WInk Martindale; performing mentalism on Behind Closed Gates; The Amazing Randi; critiques my Johnny Carson jokes I wrote at 17; today's lazy monologue writing; a joke I can't tell anymore; my late night packet mistakes; why some people teaching comedy and writing are scammers; performing stand up on TV; looking at the audience while performing; switching to mentalism; learning mentalism; does a demonstration of mentalism for me; how you have to limit choices to do mentalism correctly; odd phenomena; "fake" psychics
Franne talked to me over the phone and discussed her first love being clothing; being sent home in high school for wearing jorts; seeing Guys & Dolls with her parents; not being married to Eugene Lee; her first productions in Philadelphia with Danny Aiello; touring with Alice in Wonderland; where she keeps her awards; how Lorne Michaels talked her into coming to SNL; drawing and creating the costumes for the Bees; her father engineering the antennae; Lorne not letting her copy write them which led to knockoffs; her typical work week; working with Gilda Radner; lack of budget actualy helped the show; Weekend Update blazers; $1500 budget made them work harder and smarter; today's SNL can do things the original could not; at 40th anniversary Franne could not believe the costume budget; most of SNL is shopped; as show progressed sketches got longer and took more time; Brooks van Horn costume house; Raquel Welch; Mick Jagger; not having much to do with hosts or musical guests; Dan Aykroyd; creating the Coneheads but not being able to apply them because they were classified as wigs; SNL versus NBC departments; being impressed with Christopher Reeve and Angela Lansbury; friendship with Laraine Newman; working with Garrett Morris; being serenaded by Chevy Chase; getting hospitalized with a collapsed lung the same week Chevy injured his groin in September 1976; working on SNL at the same time as Sweeney Todd and Gilda Live; how she helped save "Sweeney Todd"; costuming black and white sketches; appearing in the Bee Capades because she was one of the few on staff who could skate; teaching; painting; still designing sets; being out on Saturday nights
Tom Ruprecht joined me to talk about Woody Allen and David Letterman as his comedy influences; getting an internship during the writers' "golden era"; 1990 writer exodus; working at the Tony Awards; being segment coordinator for "human interest guests"; the Farrah Fawcett episode; moving on to researcher; finding a clip of a Jackson 5 special with Dave that he wouldn't let on; selling comedy pieces to other venues and that getting him on staff; his first joke - Monica Lewinsky and cigar; Nashville episode; Dave's heart attack: guest hosts and emotional return; how a sleeping kid during a Pres. Bush speech turned into "Great Moments in Presidential Speeches"; being on the road taping a remote with Biff on 9/11; John McCain bails on Dave in 2008; Dave uses Johnny Carson's faxed in jokes for his monologue in 2005; Sarah Palin gets "riled up" after joke; meeting Paul Westerburg and U2; pitching Ben Bradlee as a guest; the Courtney Love incident; Paul Shaffer tells a story about hanging out with James Brown and Siegfried and Roy; writing oral histories for George W. Bush and J.D. Salinger; Elaine Joyce; Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando on a road trip after 9/11; Biff enjoys gas station Vienna sausages as 3 am in North Dakota; writing for How I Met Your Mother; how not knowing a TV execs birthday cost The Goodwin Games; Alpha House; becoming head writer of The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore; leaving to join a Jon Stewart animated news parody that was too ahead for its time; staying on Letterman because Steve Martin was the guest and working with him on a piece; "The Whitely Show" segment of The Nightly Show and Jay Leno's bewilderment; writing The People's Mayor pilot for Tom Segura; being hired to bring "the late-night sensibility" to Good Morning America; writing a short story for a website; creating a series How to Steal an Election for AMC.
Link for Tom Ruprecht and Tom Segura's The People's Mayor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhrhbnbkI6A
Andrew Guerdat joins me to talk about growing up in Birmingham, Alabama; loving cowboy shows; Andy Griffith; Ed Scharlach teaches comedy writing and introduces him to his partner Stuart Kreinberg; MASH script got them representation; wrote an episode of The Jeffersons that turns up in the background of Basic Instinct; writing an episode of the forgettable comedy Me and Maxx; moving to Mork & Mindy; ABC ruined a hit by adding too many characters; Robin shoots a scene, does improv, shoots a scene, does improv; all lines were written; particular favorite episode "Mindy, Mindy, Mindy"; moving to Archie Bunker's Place; silly vs grounded comedy; pitching to Carroll O'Connor; Denise Miller; Celeste Holm; Anne Meara; writing the controversial episode "The Red Herring"; "Death of a Lodger" with Don Rickles; "Bunker Madness"; Whiz Kids and McGruder & Loud allowed him to work while sitcoms "were dead"; streaming allows his daughter to find a Sister, Sister she was in in minutes; It's A Living; Paul Kreppel; Marian Mercer; Richard Staahl; TV movie "Dance 'Til Dawn"; Head of the Class hard because cast was too large but smart in that it taught a fact every week; 5th season adding Billy Connolly; "Dead Men Don't Wear Pocket Protectors" - Arvid brings a gun to school; Brian Robbins; Rain Pryor; gets a job running Saved by the Bell: The College Years after never seeing original; tries to grow it up and and is told not to; tapings are out of control; idea for Herman's Head comes to Andrew and his partner in 1983; having it be picked up in 1991 and not allowed to really be involved; how finished product, while funny, was not what he and partner intended; the similarities between "Inside Out" and Herman's Head; Empty Nest; Richard Mulligan allows supporting cast to get the laughs; writing for The Parent 'Hood and Boy Meets World; transitioning to animation with The World of Tosh; Higglytown Heroes; Sherriff Callie's Wild Wild West; Paw Patrol
Scott Jacobson joined me to talk about growing up and being influenced by Letterman, SNL and English comedy; wanting to be in entertainment but not knowing how to get there from Fayetteville, North Carolina; his high school comedy zine; UNC Chapel Hill radio station; interning on the Howard Stern Show; his father's chance golf game gets him an internship at UCB; meets writing partner Rich Bloomquist; being a writers assistant at Strangers with Candy and meeting Stephen Colbert being hired onto the Daily Show; a typical day on the Daily Show; what happens when news events change; sneaking Thomas Pynchon onto the set; leaving The Daily Show after the Writer's Strike; keeping himself busy for a couple of years; being offered Bob's Burgers; "The Mama Pest Hotel" episode; being a real emotion animated series; quilt thief joke; "Ambergris"; Felix Fischoeder; writing for Kevin Kline; Regular Size Rudy; Teddy; how he came to love the characters and understand Tina; "Y Tu Ga Ga Tambien";
Larry Jacobson joins me and Luigi from the Married with Children podcast to discuss opening remarks; Gerard Mulligan, his daughter becoming a TV writer; how jokes can backfire; comedy influences; listening to classic comedy movie dialogue; W.C Fields; Grouch Marx; Woody Allen; Jack Benny; Richard Pryor; starting standup; having Paul Rodriguez tell you you're a better writer than comedian; selling jokes to George Wallace, Wil Shriner; Jay Leno; Jay brings a packet of Larry's to Dave; Larry is hired on a trial basis; first Dave joke kills; PA who writes down Larry's jokes adds his to the list; inventing the "Hookers in Time Square . . ." formula; appearing as Bobby Rahal; death of Tom Carvel; monologue originally called "opening remarks" and were 2 to 3 jokes; Larry overstays in the Late Night guest hotel; Larry re-meets his wife in 1983 and gets married in 1991; being a UCLA ball boy for the 1970-71 NBA championship team; going to the Letterman dressing room to meet Bob Hope, Richard Pryor, and Don Rickles; writing the "I didn't know toast had bones joke" for Rodney Dangerfield; Wil Shriner's 50th birthday party; working for Jimmie Walker and Rodney Dangerfield; moving around NYC; writing for the NBC Bookmobile sketches; "Dial the most Immature person in the Donner party"; being asked to play Bobby Rahal at a convention; the great writing staff; "Biff Henderson's Whatever Happened to?"; "Anton Figg guesses the expiration date"; Jimmy the Greek's Heart Attack Saga; Dave's pre-game pep talk for writer's going on air; Dave calls hacky jokes "Bob & Dolores"; writing two bits for Carson - Carson faxes in a joke (1990) and brings Dave a Publishers Clearing House check (1991); Larry writes a "blue" joke for Wil Shriner that gets them in hot water with Johnny Carson; Garry Shandling; Milford Plaza episode; the show in the office episode; how lucky he felt to be on Letterman at that time with that writing staff; writer's assistants go to have major careers; Larry writes Dave a joke when he hosts the Emmys; Dave pranks staff; playing softball in Central Park and Yankee Stadium; Dave was still accessible; Dave introduces Larry to Tommy Lasorda; Larry goes to Indy 500 with Dave's tickets but Dave can't make it; Dave's wedding gift; Martha Raye joke almost gets a lawsuit; Jack Rollins, Bill Wendell, and Peter Lassally; 1995 Oscars; great guests; working for Jay Leno for 17 years; Jay was at his wedding, both parents funerals, and daughters bat mitzvah; Jay is one of the nicest guys; Larry gets to tell a joke about Passion of the Christ on Leno; Jay Leno's "No Power" Episode; Larry brings New Books to Jay; writing for Gilbert Gottfried & Fred Willard; getting Zac Effron & Vanessa Hudgens to wish his daughter Happy Bat Mitzvah; Jay Leno intros daughters Bat Mitzvah tape; Crew shocks Larry on last day of Tonight Show; Dave's there when mother is sick; Larry realized stand up was not as good as writing; how fortunate his career was
Gerard Mulligan joined me to discuss growing up in Rhode Island; early TV influences such as Milton Berle and Groucho Marx; Steve Allen's Westinghouse Show and its help in creating the Letterman show; high school writing; learning sensitivity in comedy; being an English teacher; moving to San Francisco and being a notary public in City Hall; meeting a homeless man who had the plan for the country; telling off color jokes in Catholic school; trying stand up for the first time; becoming friends with Merrill Markoe who introduced him to David Letterman; Dave hiring him to write Tonight Show monologue jokes when he guest hosted; the morning show; his love for Family Circle; wasting Edwin Newman; the morning show was NBC taking a chance, unlike now; Chicago; his daughter's art; his son's a novelist; theme nights (Harmon Killebrew), Dave says no a lot; Lou Rawls week; Joe Toplyn invents the Velcro Suit; Will it Float; Stupid Pet Tricks; Dave repeats punch lines to dirty jokes as non-sequiturs; "Where's my Bad Credit People At; What If everybody was named Phil?"; Levon Helm doesn't show up; Joan Collins and Willie Nelson decline the show; his hometown paper Narragansett News lobbies to be on "Small Town News"; "working" with Chris Elliot and Adam Reznick; Steve Young laughs so hard he falls off a chair once a year; Dave tried a teleprompter, hired Tony Mendez instead; he, Dave, and Tony go to meet Al Gore; hanging out with old writers at barbeques; Larry Jacobson needing a Japanese rabbi; discussing "Born Again" Bob Dylan with Rich Hall; our favorite musician Elvis Costello; Gerry pre-interviews Elvis in London and he "blows the roof off the dump"; Dave fires Gerry bit; not repeating bits too much unlike SNL; Kristen Wiig's Gillie; Keenan Thompson; Pete Fatovich in the control room when Elvis Costello signs "Radio, Radio"; coming on as Batman; how a joke he wrote and Dave nixed was told on Leno because it was so obvious; accidentally telling one of David Brenner's jokes; love of George Carlin and Rodney Dangerfield; using his town of Nutley, New Jersey in remotes; writers coming up with the idea of doing something funny when their names were announced at the Emmys; James Gandolfini nixes turkey wrestling; The Eurythmics want to get "arrested" as a prank during an appearance; Andy Kaufman wants to commit suicide during a 1980 appearance on the morning show; people who died on stage; largest vase; Gerard impersonates leaders, stars, athletes in the "Ask Who segment"; became a notary on the morning show; Bob Sarlatte becomes a contributor to the morning show; being a big Red Sox fan; being reticent to meet idols Ted Williams and Van Morrison; anti-Semitic, racist and transphobic comments made by Morrissey, Roger Waters, and Ricky Gervais; Jews in comedy and other aspects of life.
Mitchell Laurance joined myself and James Stephens to discuss Alan Zweibel getting him a job as Lornes gofer; being an extra in "Dancing in the Dark"; "Hollywood Bingo"; being in a Jerry Lewis sketch with Robert Klein as Steven Klaven; playing Eric Idle's nurse, Chevy Chase's model' and Kirk Douglas' leg man; being in Bill Murray's first sketch "Execution Rehearsal"; "Hey You" with Gilda Radner; his jobs as associate director and associate producer; the genius of Davey Wilson; the arduous work a Saturday Night Live director must do; the comedic mind of Davey; the NAATPE strike that cancelled the Madeline Kahn episode; appearing in an Imperial Margarine commercial with his twin brother; moving to Los Angeles; living in Penny Marshall's guest house; being given a guest starring role (and a SAG card) on Laverne & Shirley for his birthday; difference between taped and live TV; feeling "out of his body" while taping the episode; being able to do another take; auditioning for Not Necessarily the News; producers have to decide between Mitchell and Danny Breen; Mitchell's brother auditions reluctantly; pilot shot; HBO decides to keep Mitch and Danny; guest starring on Brothers & Night Court; matching screen time with John Larroquette; we play the $25,000 Pyramid; memories of Betty White; working on Matlock with Andy Griffith and In the Heat of the Night with Carroll O'Connor; being in "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" and parodying it with Jim Carrey on In Living Color; his brother fills in for him on Santa Barbara; golf; and SNL's legacy.
Blaine joined me to talk about his first time doing stand up; favorite comedians; his new wave band; Elvis Costello; Fridays; Darrow Igus; Ted Wass; not being allowed to watch certain shows; Andrew Dice Clay; bonding with your dad over comedy; Red Skelton; Patton Oswalt; Small Doses pilot; Mad TV; Artie Lange; Spishak; writing the Claymation sketches; Bea Arthur; Mark Hamill; Donny Most; Martin Short Show; Jimminy Glick; Kevin McDonald, Beat the Geeks; game show hosts; That's Incredible; Lucha Va Voom; Los Angeles Derby Dolls; Mind of Mencia; Nerd Poker; Uno; working on Louie; Gilbert Gottfried; Bobcat Goldthwaite; Emo Phillips; Top 70's/80's sitcoms; Chico & the Man horrible upon rewatch; cheap look of 70's TV; obscure 70's sitcoms; Moe Howard on Mike Douglas Show; Jamie Farr; Mad TV sketch "Vague"; Martin Short makes his writers watch The Chevy Chase Show; Rollergirls; Rhonda Bates; Whodunnit?; Salvage I; Makin' It;Robert Hays; Will Ferrell; Apple Pie; BJ and the Bear; CB Trucking & Monkey Craze of the 70's; Waverly Wonders; Buck Rogers; New Adventures of Flash Gordon; Quark; House Calls; Ray Buktenica; Rhoda; Saturday Night Live; Norm MacDonald
Bill Oakley joined me to talk The Steamed Hams Society and Food Discovery Club; foreign 7-11’s; favorite burger; McRib; Shamrock Shake; best fast food chicken; best fast food pizza; Roy Rogers; Fuddruckers; Jollibee; early TV favorites; Green Acres; SNL and Letterman; met Josh Weinstein at 14; St. Albans School; Harvard Lampoon; Sunday Best; Simpsons - Marge Gets a Job; Treehouse - making nicknames the hardest part; Lisa v. Malibu Stacey; Bart v. Australia; Coriolis effect; Michael Fay; 22 Short Films - Steamed Hams; Superintendent Chalmers; Frank Grimes;tourettes joke; Bart Sells His Soul; King Size Homer; Bart on the Road; The Day the Violence Died; Brian McConnachie; Hurricane Neddy; Itchy Scratchy & Poochie; Lou Gehrig of the Simpsons; My Sister, My Sitter; Homer’s Enemy; Mad About You; censor hates Homer’s Phobia; Homer Simpson v. The City of New York, the Simpsons predictions; Spinoff Showcase
Link for The Steamed Hams Society and Food Discovery Club https://www.patreon.com/steamedhamssociety
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Peter Mehlman joined me to discuss It's Like You Know; his pursuing stand up; Seinfeld and my coincidences; college; Shirley & Maury Povich; being a Yankee's fan, MLB's disclaimer; both of us having dogs named Izzy; Howard Cosell; hypocrisy in sports; NFL anti-trust; sports fans in the US: Detroit Lions; Knicks; Lakers; Lifetime's Attitudes; Dick Cavett; Woody Allen; meeting Larry David; using an article as a spec script; trying to go to all 50 states; writing the "Costanza - Lord of the Idiots line"; length of episodes; Jerry's stand up interstitials; Larry saves the show in editing; Don Adams; Bruce Kirschbaum; "get out"; Teri Hatcher; Courtney Cox; "The Chiese Woman"; Estelle Harris; Liz Sheridan; Taxi; favorite episodes, characters; "The Sponge"; "The Yada Yada"; working on stand up; meeting your idols; Seinfeld's writers credit; networks try to get around quality; reality shows sink scripted shows; the big three networks barely staying alive; Gilbert Gottfried
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Mr. Vance joined James Stephens and I to discuss the ubiquity of "Eddie and the Cruisers"; his early influences; Alan Freed; rock 'n' roll; Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers; buying 45's; being one of the first modern "teenagers"; singing doo wop on the corner; Brill Building; doo wop and rap being music movements that started on the street; Jay and the Americans opens for The Beatles and The Rolling Stones; Jay and the Americans were one of three American bands that survived the British invasion (with The Beach Boys and The Four Seasons); "This Magic Moment", their biggest hit was in 1969; Steely Dan started as their backup band; performed as musical guest on SNL in 1977 singing "The Performer"; hiring Leon Pendarvis to the band; writing the new opening and closing themes; putting together a new SNL band; Eric Mercury; performing on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson in 1962; Captain Beefheart; James Brown; Woody Allen; Tracey Ullman; Rachel Sweet and Hairspray; Animal House, recording "Louie, Louie" with John Belushi
Phil and Tom talk about early influences (Phil - Marx Brothers, Preston Sturges, Tom - Little Rascals, Bob Newhart, Johnny Carson, Woody Allen); Tom's father being head of ABC; taking ratings books to school; having Elizabeth Montgomery over for dinner); Phil gets the acting bug in high school and becomes a playwright in San Fransisco; Tom breaks his leg and watches Johnny Carson every night and dreams of being a writer; Tonight Show position opens up; Johnny's writers are not segregated; Tom writes desk pieces; Phil wrote for Hollywood Squares; Phil on having to write for each character; infamous lunch break; Saturday night is biggest night for TV; Tom writes for Cos; Phil writes for Perry Como & Andy Williams; both write for Rock 'n' America; Tom writes for Richard Pryor Show; Richard throws out all sketches written in pre-production; working with Richard Pryor; various sketches; Paul Mooney; Thicke of the Night; Ralph the runner; writer Jeremy Stevens car gets crushed by Robin Thicke; massive ton of unused sketches; Arnie Kogan; Alan Thicke make sure theme song plays in and out of commercials to get royalties; Fernwood Tonight; Norman Lear; Fred Willard; being head writer for 7 episodes of Saturday Night Live; Charles Rocket; small staff and budget hinders show; Michael O'Donoghue; Tom writes a sketch for Eddie Murphy; Phil and Tom officially become a writing team on The Redd Foxx Show (1986); Sinbad, Pamela Segall Adlon, recurring cast changes; learning about writing a sitcom on the fly; writing on of the most popular episodes of My Two Dads; Dick Butkus; Hooperman; John Ritter; writing their best script - Hooperman episode "Who Do You Truss"; Doogie Howser, MD; Mayim Bialik's first tv role; Drexell's Class; introducing America to Tupac, Jason Biggs, and Brittany Murphy; Drexell getting canceled and moving on to the show that replaced it, Martin; working with Martin Lawrence; The Wayans Brothers; "Detroit" John Witherspoon; Phil teaches pilot writing at UCLA Extension Campus; why writers need to create show Bibles today; Tom being retired; the famous Pat McCormick helicopter and streaking stories;
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Steve and I talk about his early influences (classic comedians and cartoons); meeting his partner, Karl Tiedermann in Horace Mann High School; his college radio show; sending his best bits to the National Lampoon Radio Hour; working with Doug Kenney and Sean Kelly; his first piece Silly Puddy Destroys the World; kids newspaper parody; MOMA Fun Book; King of the Z's a documentary about a cheap 40's film studio; discovering Calvert DeForest (Larry "Bud" Melman)"; film wins at Telluride Film Festival; aired on Showtime; getting a call form Letterman's management two months before Late Night premieres and asking for a job interview; bombing the interview out of excitement but getting the job anyway; Larry "Bud" Melman introduces the first episode ala Frankenstein; pre-production; test shows; being a guest the first week; getting a lot of stuff early; 40th anniversary of inventing the glass breaking sound when Dave throws a blue card; Jim Downey joins as head writer; Gammill & Pross; Andy Kaufman & Jerry Lawlor; Larry "Bud" Melman's Christmas Carol; Bob Hope talks to Larry; Larry had to choose between his job as a receptionist at a methadone clinic and Late Night; Don Giller; Was Jerry Seinfeld bumped by Dick Cavett?; how most Letterman writers stop watching after they leave; Gerry Mulligan; his contract not being renewed; Jim Downey brings SNL hours to Letterman; writing for Robert Klein' segments of TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes; Robert Klein's talk show producer Joe Cates; Robert Klein documentary; King of the Z's on Youtube; being offered to be headwriters of the New Mickey Mouse Club because they were thought of as hip by Disney; how not caring about the job got him the job; writers and crew all became friends; Left after 4 seasons; Keri Russell and JC Chasez; his kids were just as talented as the more famous ones; Annette Funicello; Tiffany Hale; Party Kids; My Little Pony ad; still has a big following; Disney told him not to be too much like the 70's New MMC; too many music rights to get on Disney +; the Don Giller interview that will never be; Steve & Hillary Rollins write an episode of Doug that was considered too funny and he thought was never made; working with his idol Dick Van Dyke; Nastassja Kinski; Bill Murray shows up two weeks before the first show to get writers drunk to get good material; Bill performs 'Let's Get Physical' on first shoiw and almost injures a staff member; Alan Alda: A Man and His Chinese Food; the Criterion Collection
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Wayne Kline talks about growing up with a Methodist minister as a father; Max Schulman; reading because his family couldn't afford a TV; Woody Allen; John Oliver; Alfred Hitchcock; Get Smart; Gilligan's Island; Ginger v. Mary Anne; Dobie Gillis; becoming an Army reserve; selling jokes to George Kirby; never being able to imitate Ed Sullivan; writing The Ed Sullivan Show to sell jokes; reading about the Improv in a newspaper; going on vacation to New York to sell jokes to comedians; Walter Alston; selling a routine to Freddie Prinze; leaving NY for LA; joke structure; winning enough to live off for two years on a gamed show; Ed Bluestone introduces him to Henry Bear & Doug Kenney; writing for the National Lampoon Radio Hour; losing on getting SNL to Alan Zweibel; writing for Jimmy Walker; Rodney Dangerfield; punching up a Doc script leads to his first sitcom; Byron Allen; Helen Kushnick; David Letterman's writing ability; how Wayne saw the talent of Robin Williams on Laugh In; Lenny Schultz; Fernwood Tonight; Fred Willard; One in a Million; Norman Paul; room written shows; Jay Leno's Tonight Show was a feed the hopper show; how Bill Scheft and the Underwear Bomber got Wayne a job with Letterman; being advised by Ross Abrash; trying to beat Mulholland and Barrie for jokes in the monologue; head writer Steve Young; submitting for Bill maher; Curb Your Enthusiasm; Larry David getting him a job copying documents; writing a spec scene for Seinfeld and being told it was too sitcommy; Larry Charles; the horror that was Thicke of the Night and Late Show with Joan Rivers; Joan is replaced by Arsenio Hall; Wayne gets fired then hired by Jay Leno with jokes from a monologue he was going to use; being hired as a full time Tonight Show writer working when Jay Leno guest hosts; Joe Toplyn; how to get into show business; Christopher and David Lloyd; loses jobs to Twitter users; Alan Thicke stories; Jay v. Dave: personalities
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Mike Sacks joined me to talk about his comedy idol, Chris Elliot; his books being autobiographies of characters he's assuming; Andy Kaufman; how his books fooled his father; Tulane; his magazine writing; self publishing "Stinker Lets Loose"; "And Here's the Kicker"; Buck Henry; Jack Handey; Robert Smigel; mean comedy; Jesse Watters; his character, Skippy Battinson; Don Rickles; right wing comedy; Dennis Miller; comedy nerds; co,edy throughout time does not punch down; comedians as comedy writers; "Sex:Our Bodies, Our Junk"; Poking a Dead Frog; Mel Brooks; Jim Downey; talking about writers personal favorite wprk; The New Show; perking up interviewees; cold calling interviews; Peg Lynch; loneliness of writers; his tough time getting women to respond to an interview; Anne Beatts; novelizations; seeing early drafts; Paul Feig; audio version of "Stinker Lets Loose"; being prolific; "method" writing; OCD; Donald Trump; Mel Brook's helping young writers; Alan Spencer; George Meyers; Arthur Meyer; Chris Elliot
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Randy Cohen joins me to talk about the creation of the Top 10 List; growing up in Reading, Pennsylvania; going to Cal Arts to study music and having little talent for it; betting on Johnny Carson's monologues; being a Knicks fan; the solitary life of a writer; first article about Japanese game shows; Modest Proposals a book of satirical letters; meeting the Pope; his first two books; not working with Steve Martin; wanting to end being a freelancer; staying up to watch Letterman; submitting a packet to NBC; not liking Small Town News; having fun appearing on camera; Steve O'Donnell always making him play a doctor; Merrill Markoe's brand of humor; lack of diversity in the writing room; Merrill's structure of pieces lasted after she did; "Late Night in Tokyo"; "Monkey Cam Show"; Dr. Ruth objects to the monkey; "The English Dub Show"; Randy's attempt to do an episode recast; Bad Phone Calls segment; G.E. Handshake; the crew made your piece funnier; man who's; Chris Elliot; leaving in 1990; TV Nation; The Ethicist; most of his writing is under 1000 words; his play The Punishing Blow; being the head writer for the first year of The Rosie O'Donnell Show; his radio show Person Place or Thing
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Steve Young joined me tot talk about his Emmy; his influences; watching Letterman as a teenager for the first time; going to Harvard; Conan O'Brien and the Harvard Lampoon; the Lampoon Castle; his submission; first National Lampoon piece; not being a comedy nerd; Not Necessarily the News; The Rachel Sweet Show; sending a submission packet to Late Night in 1990; being the utility guy; man who's; writing Alan Kalter's coming ups; have Dave affected my memory; Steve teaching at NYU and bringing David Letterman as a guest; Massapequa and Joey Buttafuoco; Jerry Seinfeld; the move to CBS; the constantly changing nature of the show; show becomes more political; Paul Shaffer; his Simpsons episode; ave's Record Collection; finding industrial musicals - musicals written for company functions; his book Everything's Coming Up Profits; documentary Bathtubs Over Broadway; new records collected since documentary; his families reaction; how the documentary was seen by critics, family, and David Letterman; that many people have seen one of these shows; John Roarke does Dave at conventions; why the industrial shows stopped; short films he wrote and starred in; his beard; how Letterman hired from within
All clips thanks to the generosity of Mr. Young himself.
The book: https://www.amazon.com/Everythings-Coming-Up-Profits-Industrial/dp/0922233446/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=everything+coming+up+profits&qid=1646004646&s=books&sprefix=everythings+coming+u%2Cstripbooks%2C63&sr=1-2
Bathtubs over Broadway on Amazon Prime
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Anson Williams joins me to talk about drowsy driving and his invention Alert Drops; his uncle Henry Heimlich and getting his Heimlich maneuver on the Merv Griffin Show; the shooting on Alec Baldwin's set; his famous McDonald's commercial; Happy Days v. Good Times ratings battle; favorite episodes of Happy Days ("Fonzie's Friend", "And they Called it Potsie Love"); the difficulty of performing Pumps Your Blood; his 1977 hit "Deeply"; the theme to Laverne & Shirley; Milwaukee & the Bronze Fonz; being nominated for a Golden Globe; Henry Winkler winning an Emmy for Barry after many years of not getting one for Happy Days; dating Susan Ford (Gerald Ford's daughter); his autobiography Singing to a Bullfrog; his teenage mentor, Willie Turner; teenage groupies; Harvest Time; Hollywood Squares at the Hollywood Museum; guesting on Hollywood Squares; $10,000 Pyramid, and the Magnificent Marble Machine; directing career of 300 television episodes; The Secret Life of the American Teen with Shailene Woodley; Harvest Times; and his variety show pilot Anson & Lorrie.
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Norm Hiscock joins me to talk about his comedy influences: Bugs Bunny, Monty Python, SNL, and the Mary Tyler Moore Show; liking comedy but not performing; meeting Mark McKinney and forming an improv group; Bruce McCulloch joins; the group goes to Toronto; Bruce and Mark joining SNL writing staff in 1985, launching Kids in the Hall; running out of material and Norm joining; favorite Monty Python sketch; King of Broken Promises; To Do List; writing Brain Candy while on SNL; Mark McKinney playing Lorne as the bad guy in Brain Candy; Norm joins SNL; not writing The Paradox car commercial; bringing Mark McKinney's characters Darrill and Melanie (in a controversial sketch) to SNL; his first sketch on his first show; Hi-C & Turkey; David Koechner's character T-Bone; Naked Trucker and T-Bone Show; The Fops; Bob Newhart; Norm MacDonald; Dan Aykroyd; Denver Airport Sketch; Martha Stewart's Topless Christmas; moving to King of the Hill; "And they Called it Bobby Love" wins an Emmy; "Bobby Goes Nuts"; King of the Hill not being another Simpsons; different comedy rhythms; Alice, I Think; The Altar Boy Gang; Corner Gas; other Canadian sitcoms; walking on eggs; re-watching Mary Tyler Moore & Andy Griffith Show; Green Acres; Parks and Recreation; Jerry Gurgich; Audrey Plaza; the best cast he ever worked with; Brooklyn 99; Scully & Hitchcock; Trailer Parker Boys, Kids in the Hall reboot; Space Force; not going to SNL 40
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Jeff and I talk about the "Atomic Shakespeare" episode of Moonlighting; Night Court memories; the origin of Duckman; writing 7 days a week for 6 months (Duckman and Radioland Murders); getting Jason Alexander to play Duckman; why he loved writing it; a possible reboot; the writing staff; how he and Ron have kept a 40+ year partnership; how they work; Mork & Mindy yearly reunions; Gina Hecht; CNN History of Sitcoms; Meet Joe Black written as a screwball comedy for Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman; Bo Goldman lengthens it, takes out humor, becomes three hour epic with Brad Pitt and Sir Anthony Hopkins; Cupid; writing second episode and being show runners; Jeremy Piven's bad behavior gets them fired; The West Wing; meeting with Aaron Sorkin; agreeing to run writer's room; Aaron Sorkin's micro-managing cause Jeff & Ron to quit; working on a pilot for John Cleese; working with Larry Gelbart on a TV version of Network with James Garner; being told single cam's won't work; being asked to inject comedy into She Spies; being told the comedy is hurting She Spies internationally; writing a pilot like Succession in 2003 with characters based on Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch; Jason Alexander in a Hart to Hart reboot; script doctoring Just My Luck for Lindsay Lohan & Chris Pine; current proijects; great pilot scripts vs. star driven "ok" pilots; weirdness of Duckman vs. family of The Simpsons
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John joins me to talk about his book Stand Up Guys and making it like the book the Last Laugh; how comedians "learned" their craft; Elaine Boosler; his mentor comedy mentors; Ronnie Shakes; Larry David; Richard Lewis; auditioning for the Improv; Bill Maher; crowd work; dealing with hecklers; Rita Rudner; Gilbert Gottfried; Andy Kaufman; not watching Man in the Moon; Richard Belzer; his Strat 'O' Magic Srand Up League; Bob Costas; Drew Carey; Max Alexander; Dennis Wolfberg; having strangers give Gilbert Gottfried a dollar; Saturday Night Live - Joe Piscopo, Gilbert Gottfried, Eddie Murphy & Hal Wilner; writing Weekend Update; The SNL/Fridays rivalry tries to hurt John and Larry David's friendship; Billy Crystal Comedy Hour; Into the Night starring Rick Dees; DC Follies; John Roarke; Steve Barker; The Good Life with John Mendoza; writing a dark take on The Flintstones for Billy that was nixed by censors; Make Me Laugh; comedy today; Jackie Martling; his travel schedule; Joe Piscopo
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Michael Short talks to me about how the "attic" comedy tapes he made with his brother Marty led to him being hired on SCTV; joining the show in series 3; writing the Earl and Floyd segments; Stretch Your Arm; getting hired by John Candy to write on Big City Comedy the Monday after SCTV wrapped; Margaret Trudeau; returning to SCTV for the second US cycle; pitching Great White North Palace and winning the Emmy; playing Mike the Bartender on the Cinemax season; the anonymity of working for SCTV; Jim Carrey almost joins the Cinemax cast; working with Jonathan Winters; Speed Zones; Dave Thomas Show; how working for the former Christian Broadcast Company (then Family Channel) let some things by on Maniac Mansion; NBC executives ruin the Martin Short Show; the evolution of Jiminy Glick; working with Jan Hooks; having to make sure he was fired from the Bonnie Hunt Show; casting Bonnie for an unaired Dave Thomas pilot; working on Mad TV with Artie Lange; being too edgy for Wayne Brady; pitching "Pimp My Outhouse" for Blue Collar TV; reality TV; being the first writer hired for Schitt's Creek and being (with Dan Levy) the only one who was there for the whole series; winning the Emmy for best comedy, but COVID keeping him away
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Arthur and I discuss being able to name the host and musical guest for SNL by date; our love of SNL; the Presidential Bash of 1992; the first episode he ever saw; why he loves SNL; his audition in 2018; Dick Van Dyke Show; George Carlin; Norm MacDonald; Meyers Kids Night - his show he and his sisters put on in front of their parents; Wilmette, Illinois; Jim Downer; Robert Smigel; working on Jimmy Fallon's bit for the SNL 40th Anniversary Opening and being a seat filler; he and I tell Brush with Sudeikis stories; MLB Umpires; ugly ballplayers; Panagea 3000; coming up with First Drafts of Comedy for Jimmy Fallon; my late night packet; working with Steve Martin; Shaquille O'Neal; favorite cast members; who wrote what sketch; underrated cast member; '94 - '95 season; getting to use the "vomit hose"; SNL trivia; Lorne Michaels; singing the Beatles with Bridey Elliot; running a Kinks email project; host/musical guest combos on Twitter; Don Pardo trivia; rare SNL episodes; being nervous going bad to 30 Rock; process of creating Thank You Notes and Superlatives; his Comedy Central pilot
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Ilene Graff joined me to discuss going to grade school and high school with my parents and Lowell Ganz; Queens; Mays Department Store; getting a job on Broadway right after college graduation; Promises, Promises; Jill & Jenny O'Hara; Grease with co-stars Jeff Conaway, Barry Bostwick and occasionally John Travolta; not getting to audition for the movie because she was thought of as too old and then have an older actress get the job; working on I Love My Wife with Joanna Gleason and Lenny Baker; moving to Hollywood; guest starring on Brothers & Sisters; getting cast in the ill-fated Supertrain; there is many Supertrain podcasts but not one Mr. Belvedere; Mr. Belvedere's fans; Lewis & Clark; Wendy Holcombe; 13 13th Avenue; Bob Uecker makes Belvedere a go; Ilene's favorite episodes - singing with Robert Goulet; Belvedere's Very Special Episode; libraries; ratings; disastrous move to Saturdays; Rodney Dangerfield; her and her husbands class Making the Song Your Own; her annual holiday concert; watching Mr. Belvedere with my daughter; Brice Beckham's comic timing; adults on Belvedere creating a family atmosphere; what her TV kids are doing now; performing with her grandniece and Lora Tu-Chan from Awkwafina is Nora from Queens.
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Brian McConnachie joined me to talk about early influences; Kukla, Fran & Ollie; Catholic prep school discipline; going to NY to sell his cartoons; Kit & Kaboodle; Alcoholic's Christmas; Heading for Trouble; Cochise at Oxford; Neglectful Mother Magazine; Guns & Sandwiches; Weight Waddlers; Tell Debbie; National Lampoon Radio Hour; Moby Dick; parodying Broadway shows; leaving the National Lampoon; watching the first SNL; doing a live PBS presentation of Rhapsody in Blue (with lyrics); his first wee, at SNL; getting a sketch on; Frank Zappa; a lost Emily Litella sketch; Name Those Bats; Veterans of Foreign Hairstyles; appearing on camera; Mr. Mike's Mondo Video; Lorne almost cancels a piece making fun of a sponsor; Caddyshack leads Brian not to come back for the 5th season; being over-payed by Caddyshack; Rodney Dangefield; SCTV v. SNL; winning an mmy and having Milton Berle mispronounce your name; Vikings & Beekeepers; Strange Brew; Max von Sydow; an unaired SCTV sketch parodying Harold Pinter; Woody Allen; Shining Time Station; regretting not meeting George Carlin; Bill Murray; how he wrote an episode of The Simpsons and one written about him; and his humor magazine American Bystander.
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Harry Shearer joined me to talk about radio as a default outlet; doing all parts of his Le Show; having a studio in his homes; Apologies of the Week; Randy Bass; Colin Powell Tribute Show; talking to whistle blowers; his impressions of Presidents Reagan, George HW Bush, Donald Trump, and George W. Bush; only seeing the Godfather last year and never seeing Titanic or Star Wars; Tom Leopold's Conversion Roast and how he created his rabbi character for it; how 9/11 changed Le Show; lack of censorship; radio stations; Credibility Gap's Tonight Show parody "Where's Johnny?"; Night the Lights Stayed on in Pittsburgh; "Cracking Up"; "Who's On First"; Fernwood Tonight; Fred Willard; K-Time; Synchronized Swimming; The Day the Clown Cried v. Thicke of the Night; Tom Snyder; the infamous Cougerand sketch on SNL; OJ Simpson and the creation of the term "the n word"; Dr. Hibbert; "Excellent"; Laverne & Shirley; The Credibility Gap teaches statistics; Private Secretary; first paycheck
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Rosie Shuster and Marilyn Suzanne Miller join me to talk about MSM's love of the musical Peter Pan; Rosie loving her dad's joke books, West Side Story, and being in the audience of the Ed Sullivan Show; Rosie meets Lorne Michaels and Howard Shore; MSM goes to work for James L. Brooks & Garry Marshall; Rosie writes for Canadian children and crime game shows; sends a monologue for Laugh In that Lorne submits and gets on; Lorne uses Rosie's fathers (Frank Shuster of Wayne & Shuster) CBC specials as a blueprint for SNL; MSM turns down SNL, changes mind; work together on a Lily Tomlin special; cast goes on Tom Snyder; Rosie writes New Dad and creates the Bees; Rosie writes first Emily Litella Update piece; MSM writes Slumber Party for Madeline Kahn; Hard Hars w/ Lily Tomlin and Mommy Beer; Laraine (as Shirley Temple) sings and dances with Garrett and Elliot Gould; The Nerds; The Festrunk Brothers; Uncle Roy; Let's Kill Gary Gilmore for Christmas; Fred Garvin, Male Prostitute; how SNL wanted to make itself laughs and everyone in the production was on top of their game; Lunch Counter Reunion; Lorne encourage differet comic sensibilities; Child Psychologist; coming back in 1981; Eddie Murphy; Adam Sandler; Rosie helping to craft the Church Lady sketches with Dana Carvey; The Taboosters; writing sketches more graphic to bargain for what you really want; MSM goes to the Tracey Ullman Show; Sarah Silverman; MSM on lack of artistry on television; Rosie works on Larry Sanders; MSM writes for Carol Burnett; Rosie is a fan of Arte Madrid; watching SNL today; ageism in Hollywood; Paul Shaffer's genius; being "middle-aged"
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Nat Bernstein joined me to talk bout guest starring on The Golden Girls; early TV memories; going out to LA after college on a whim; getting a PA job on Angie; taking acting class with Gordon Hunt; early appearances on Bosom Buddies, Taxi, Mork & Mindy and Hill Street Blues; getting s free hairpiece for Hill Street; appearances on Newhart and Night Court; different ways people get into show business; The Wonder Years; writing a Wonder Years spec script; paying it forward; writing Opportunity Knocks; writing for Baby Boom; getting Doogie Howser, MD; Neil Patrick Harris; Doogie loses his virginity; how the computer tag was the hardest part of the episode to write; being nominated for a Scott Newman Drug Awareness Award; Markus Redmond; James B. Sikking; selling CBS and ABC The Gregory Hines Show and Over the Top at the same time; Annie Potts and Tim Curry; Norman Lear; Bruce Vilanch; Center of the Universe with John Goodman; Ed Asner; Jean Smart; Olympia Dukakis; Judd Hirsch; Rev. Jim's driving test; working for Nickelodeon's Supah Ninja and for Brian Robbins; Jay Kogen; how hard it is to keep friends in Hollywood where you may be working on a different show every year
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David Misch joins me to talk about directing Tales from the Darkside and Monsters; written humor; the Marx Brothers; being a funny folk singer; Sommerville; being managed by Rollins & Jaffe; Piper Houser; Jay Leno; Andy Breckman; Mork & Mindy; writing his first episode; Robin's ad-libs; writing the scenes on Happy Days for the Mork pilot; "Mork Gets Exposed", Jeff Altman; writing a pilot for a late night talk show with David Letterman; Letterman and Raquel Welch guest star on Mork; "The Mork Syndrome"; Gina Hecht & Jay Thomas; Exxidor; Police Squad comes from M Squad; "Ring of Fire"; Callahan; his two weeks as a guest writer on SNL; Larry David; smoking pot in the offices; Ed Bluestone; John Belushi's cameo on Police Squad; Jerry Lewis; Muppets Take Manhattan; Little Shop of Horrors; Funny the Book; the comedy rule of 3; comedy not getting its due; Robert Wuhl; Rick Moranis; Oscars; Duckman;
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Tom Tenowich joined me to talk about Jack Benny; writing jokes in high school; meeting and writing for Jackie Vernon and Jackie Mason; Rodney Dangerfield; writing for The Dom DeLuise Show and the Jackie Gleason Show; doing Tiny Tim on Gleason; leaving to write for The Golddiggers; joining The Dean Martin Show; Vernon's Viewing Room; Bob Newhart; writing the roasts; Jack Benny's 1st Farewell Special; Tom not being intimidated but impressed by the personas of Gleason and Dean Martin; Dean's rehearsals; Phyllis; The Bob Newhart Show; Mork & Mindy "Mork's Mixed Emotion"; critics and Robin diss Mork as a kiddie show; Robin and ad-libbing; Robin going over studio time; "The Night They Raided Minky's"; moral at the end of the show; Exidor; Foster Brooks; Dorf; Jay Leno; Davd Letterman; Tom's daughter Amy becomes a semi-regular; Lewis & Clark; Check it Out; Perfect Strangers; Cheers; John Cleese; Bob Ellison; Barney Miller; Saved by the Bell being inspired by Ferris Bueller; creating the character of A.C. Slater; casting Tiffany Amber Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkeley, and Mario Lopez; "Jessie's Song"; using the show to talk about environmentalism; Casey Kasem; Tom's wife's unfortunate accident, misdiagnosis and subsequent changing of marital roles; and writing a book about the experience.
The book Crutches Tipped Banana Peels Laugh can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/Crutches-Tipped-Banana-Peels-Laugh/dp/1734952407/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=tom+tenowich&qid=1631389367&sr=8-1
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Lowell Ganz joined me to discuss how watching classic sitcoms was his "college"; his parents reaction to his constant TV watching; meeting Mark Rothman; Mark Rothman's dad giving a script they wrote to Jack Klugman and Tony Randall who gave it to Garry Marshall; getting hired, fired and rehired by The Odd Couple; "The Ides of April" and "Fear of Flying"; moving to Happy Days; writing the experimental three camera episode "Fonzie Gets Married"; going to # 1; introducing Laverne & Shirley; not realizing these characters could be spun off; test pilot scene; favorite episodes; meeting Michael McKean and David L. Lander and sneaking Lenny & Squggy past ABC; Busting Loose; giving new writers their first jobs; Cindy Begel; his skill at joke memory; The Ted Knight Show; The Lovebirds; The Rita Moreno Show; directing; going back to Happy Days; Ron Howard talks about directing; burning down Arnolds; how he personalized the news article that turned into "Night Shift"; Babaloo Mandel; "Splash"; changing Bruce Jay Friedman's original script; Oscars; Writer's Guild Lifetime Achievement Award; Red Buttons; Garry Marshall puts older writers in the room; Danny Thomas; A Happy Days episode gets Tom Hanks "Splash"; Working Stiffs gets Michael Keaton "Night Shift"; "Spies Like Us"; George C. Scott; Lowell's roles in "Splash" & "Parenthood"; Bpb Hope; Phil Silvers; "realness" of "Parenthood"; closes movie to him; unsurity of box office appeal; "City Slickers"; Rick Moranis has to drop out; Bruno Kirby will play either role; David L. Lander; "A League of their Own"; a bad review; ballplayers love it; Penny Marshall's directing"; 5 TV shows from his movies; how his characters are done to him after the movie finishes; "City Slickers II"; "Fever Pitch"; making like less misogynistic than book; ending changing to mirror real life; Mr. Saturday Night the Musical; Garry Marshall's Memorial Service"
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Arnold Margolin joined me to discuss his upbringing; favorite radio shows; first time watching TV; working as an office boy on Broadway; being an understudy in a William Saroyan play and going on; Garson Kanin offering him a role in the original Diary of Anne Frank; moving to LA; Garry Marshall offers him a job and a partner; My Mother the Car; Hey Landlord; Andy Griffith Show; He & She; writing Disney movies; Love, American Style; Star Spangled Girl; writing an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show which was a backdoor pilot for Bill Dailey; a pilot with Don Knotts & Eve Arden; trying to salvage the McLean Stevenson Show; pilot- The Dooley Brothers with Shelley Long; problems with Eileen Brennan on Private Benjamin; Growing Pains; One Big Family; That Girl; drug problems on Webster; working with a young Sally Field and Michael Constantine; how Joey Bishops not liking a friends script lead to him writing roast jokes that Garry Marshall saw; writing the Adventures of Mary Kate and Ashley; Between Love & Honor about Crazy Joe Gallo.
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John Roarke and I discussed early impressionists; Vaughn Meader; audio taping impressions off TV; his stand up act; old vs. young Groucho; getting Fridays; playing Woody Allen in his first sketch; how voices stay in your head and supplant your voice; "Diner of the Living Dead"; "Brotherhood of Men Who Hum Between Words"; his Reagan; Johnny Carson wants his wig when Fridays is cancelled; Three Stooges on Drugs; "A Night in Teheran"; "Road to El Salvador"; "Star Wars Memories"; musical guests; Peter Fonda; Ruth Buzzi; guest hosts; having enough material to withstand the 1981 writer's strike; Dick Ebersol tries to poach the cast; "Ronnie Horror Picture Show"; tape trading episodes vs. Shout Factory release; my crew jacket; "Altered Statesman"; his Bob Hope; riffing with Dave Thomas; Johnny Carson impersonations; Out of This World; DC Follies; Off the Wall; Naked Gun 2 1/2; corporate shows; retirement
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Bruce talks about working with Bob Odenkirk; the agony of writing (and getting credit for) Back to the Beach; Frankie Avalon; pitching for Seinfeld and Larry David; working at Seinfeld; coming up with the idea that George Costanza would work for the Yankees; and connecting the dots that lead to Curb Your Enthusiasm`
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Shelly Zellman joined me to talk about being influenced by The Mary Tyler Moore Show; writing for Donny & Marie; James at 16; Baby I'm Back; Barney Miller; the episode "The Harris Incident"; Jack Soo; When the Whistle Blows; Semi-Tough; It's a Living; Three's Company; John Ritter; Don Knotts; Nichols, Ross, & West; Jeffrey Tambor; Charles in Charge; Eisenhower & Lutz; FM' Allan Burns; Newhart; Ann Jillian Show; Dear John; William Sanderson's good luck charm; Bob Newhart & John Ritter; Don Rickles
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Fred Fox Jr. joined me to discuss his father, comedy writer Fred S. Fox; Bob Hope; working for Hertz; writing a spec All in the Family with Garry Shandling; working as a writer's apprentice on Laverne & Shirley; leaving for Happy Days; specific episodes: "A Shot in the Dark", "Hollywood Part III (The Jump the Shark episode)", "Potsie Gets Pinned", "Kid Stuff", "Mechanic", acting in "Stolen Melodies", "Hot Stuff"; Henry Winkler growing a beard over the summer; "RC & LB Forever", "A Little Case of Revenge" (Tom Hanks v. Fonz); "Welcome Home", and "Passages, Part II" (final episode); writing for Presenting Susan Anton; The Bad News Bears; Here's Boomer; Joanie Loves Chachii; Imps; Webster; It's Your Move - episodes "Dregs of Humanity", "Pajama Party" and "Dad and Me"; He's the Mayor; Sandy Veith vs. Northern Exposure; New Leave it to Beaver; My Secret Identity; Family Matters - Happy Days comparison, Stefan Urqel; Myrtle Urkle; Son the Beach; ageism; Broadway musical "Merry Go Round"; boos "Through Francesca's Eyes" and "You Know You're 50 When...."
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Ed Scharlach joined me to talk about his sixty plus years in show business telling stories about his stepfather Harry Crane; being Jerry Lewis' assistant, writing a spec Honeymooners at 14; Please Don't Eat the Daisies; That Girl; Hey, Landlord; Captain Nice; Good Morning, World; The Ghost & Mrs. Muir; The Dean Martin Show; Odd Couple; Love, American Style; Happy Days; Chico & The Man; 3 Girls 3; Bob Hope; Mork & Mindy "Mork's Mixed Emotions", "The Night They Raided Minski's"' Tom Poston; Tom Sullivan; Lewis & Clark; George Burns Comedy Week; meeting his wife; Robert Mitchum; Duckman; Scooby Doo; his memoir; Starring!
To get Ed's book:
https://www.amazon.com/STARRING-Really-Famous-People-Stumbled/dp/B095LFNRCP/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=ed+scharlach&qid=1626543753&sr=8-3
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Barry Rubinowitz joined me to discuss his comedy influences; writing a sketch for a competition with Lowell Ganz and Mark Rothman; being brought out by them to Hollywood; his first Happy Days; how the change from one to three camera affected the show; his episode "Tall Story"; writing for Laverne & Shirley; his favorite episode "Bachelor Mothers"; change of the Laverne & Shirley characters when they got their spinoff; Busting Loose; The Ted Knight Show; difference in professionalism between Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley; "Ah Wilderness" (HD episode); his Taxi episode "The Apartment"; Down to Earth; creating the Sanchez rule for the Writer's Guild; Rocky Road; writing for Diff'rent Strokes, Webster, and Throb; getting Marjorie Gross a job on Newhart; why it is important to have women in the writer's room; appearing on Jeopardy!; Jeopardy!tricks; his love for the New York Mets
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Eva Almos joined me to discuss TV she watched growing up; starting voice over in Canadian radio; Rick Moranis; loving voice acting the best; re-writing a line on an audition; moving to L.A. for voice overs; studying writing with Ed Scharlach and becoming his partner; Night Heat; Tony Roasto; ALF; creating a voice; Donita Donata; Swamp Thing; Larry Sanders Show; Duckman - Jason Alexander; Secret Service Guy; Michael McKean; An American in Canada; The Blobheads; Howard Busgang; What's New Scooby Doo; Uncle Joe's Cartoon Show; mentoring future animated writers and actors; taping animated programs is better in a group; Joe Flaherty; Wild Kratts; current projects; celebrities who try their own animated series
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Fred Graver joined me to talk about tricking his parents into watching more TV; The Dick Van Dyke Show; going to Notre Dame; getting a job as a typist at National Lampoon; getting hired on Late Night with David Letterman; Merrill Markoe; William Wegman; 360 degree show; writing the Top 10 List; Chris Elliot; remotes; Arnie Barnes; Airplane Anniversary Show; meeting Pete Townshend; best guests; Harvey Pekar; Crispin Glover; Sonny & Cher; working for Norman Lear on Sunday Dinner; getting hired for In Living Color; writing a Hey Mon!; writing Men on Film; Jim Carrey; writing and shooting the episodes; Super Bowl Halftime episode; Night Court; Dick Van Dyke spec script; Cheers last season and Tonight Show wrap up party
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Mert Rich joined me to talk about his Emmys; growing up in Detroit; Soupy Sales; Bill Kennedy; Milton Berle; Jackie Gleason; Carl Reiner; being in one of the last Bob Newhart Shows and meeting Mary Tyler Moore at the wrap-up party; Wayne State; going into advertising; joining Second City; doing industrial films with Steven Kampmann; 1/2 Hour Comedy Hour; side jobs; auditioned for Taxi; doing a Quincy; joining SCTV Network 90; being a Juul Haalamayer Dancer; Jake LaMotta's Raging Bull BBQ; Dr. Tongue's 3D House of Beef; meeting partner Brian Pollack at the Hollywood Square - Match Game Hour; writing a parody of Footlose; writing a What's Happening Now! and a Love Boat; working with Al Jean & Mike Reiss; working on Hulk Hogan's Rock n Wrestling; learning how to use a computer on Sledge Hammer!; Jackie Cooper; episode "Dori Day Afternoon"; creating the character of Cliff's girl friend Margaret O'Keefe on Cheers; episode "What's Up, Doc?"; hanging out with Woody Harrelson; Roger Rees; writing the episode that earned Kirstie Alley an Emmy; You've Lost that Loving Feeling; Bill Medley; Roc; firing Jamie Foxx from pilot; difficulties of Roc Live!; Kurt Rambis; episode "The Stan Who Came to Dinner"; writing a pilot for John Ratzenberger; working on the George Carlin Show; Sam Simon; Brian Doyle-Murray; Sister, Sister; Sherman Helmsley; Secret Dairy of Desmond Pfeiffer; Boat Trip; The Simpsons; Sir Roger Moore; Cheers finale; On the Verge of a Wig - Out; Kirstie Alley; COVID 19;
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Canadian treasure Ron James talked to me about coming to L.A.; becoming a stand up comedian; Second City cast mates; My Talk Show; Bob Tischler; Texas; George Carlin; Richard Pryor; John Cleese; having funny friends; getting advice from Lorne Michaels; Americas influence in his Canadian childhood; Nova Scotia; opening for the Martin Scorcese SCTV reunion; corporate gigs; tough crowds in Alberta; guns; January 6th; Justin Trudeau; clean water on Canadian Native American reservations; Robin Duke; knowing a show is not going well by caterer and guest stars; Chubby Checker; a bad gig in Cancun; The Bear Pit in Edinburgh; Dennis Miller; joke context; people who think they could "try" stand-up; Nova Scotia being his tuning fork; his parents; stand up in person vs. on tv vs. sketch comedy troupes
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Ron Osborn joined me to discuss his childhood as a horror fan; Art Center College of Design; giving blood for a living; meeting Jeff Reno; getting the job on Mork & Mindy and throwing up every morning; pitching stories; writing 12 Angry Appliances; 17 writers in the writers room but Robin gets credit for ad-libbing series; Robin never forgetting a joke; a typical week at Mork; Tom Poston; Too Close for Comfort; youngest writers on a staff of 6; Ted Knight; my favorite episode of Too Close; ABC tries to hip it up; Jm J. Bullock; Audrey Meadows; freelancing a Silver Spoons; Goodnight Beantown; decent ratings but still cancelled; pitching to Night Court; freelance episode leads to them getting hired; great writers room; creating the characters of Phil and The Wheelers;Selma Diamond; Ellen Foley; I Had Three Wives; having to write one more Night Court right before wedding; how I Had Three Wives led to Moonlighting; coming up with scenes on the fly; commenting on being a TV show; Bruce Willis gets the job because Rick Dees turned it down; making a scene longer to give Bruce & Cybill a day off; Allyce Beasley & Curtis Armstrong; "Atomic Shakespeare" pitch; claymation scene; writing & shooting "Atomic Shakespeare"; Paul Sorvino; Charles Rocket; 3 episode arc "Sam & Dave"; adding Curtis Armstrong; "Casablanca" homage episode; Cybill Shepherd's pregnancy changes the series; working with Eva Marie Saint; Dennis Dugan; leaving the show; Goldie and the Bears - the lost Hulk Hogan pilot; selling a Charlies Angels story; working with George Lucas on Radioland Murders;
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Marc Sotkin and I discuss his books The Comatose Adventures of Lenny Rose and With Time Off for Bad Behavior; the final season of Laverne & Shirley; Larry Breeding; coming to LA and joining the Off the Wall comedy troupe; getting hired for Sirota's Court and moving to Laverne & Shirley; Phil Foster; Blansky's Beauties; Working Stiffs; I'm A Big Girl Now; working with Danny Thomas; having a bit part on Laverne & Shirley; writing two specials with Garry Shandling; It's A Living; Ann Jillian; Crystal Bernard; Sheryl Lee Ralph; how not gelling with Bill Maher on a pilot script led to getting The Golden Girls; how working with the ladies was different than on Laverne & Shirley; episodes he wrote: Ebb Tide; Bill Dana; favorite jokes; Golden Palace; replacing Alexei Sayle with Cheech Marin; Don Cheadle and the episode Camp Town Races Aren't Nearly as Much Fun as They Used to Be; The Sinbad Show; Platypus Man; First Time Out; You Wish; Charles in Charge; his internet series Boomer Alley; his graphic novel The Improbables; his short film, The Decision; and what he's working on now.
His books, TV scripts, and The Improbables cartoon can be found on marcsotkin.com
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Ellen Foley discusses her early career; The National Lampoon Show; Jim Steinman; Paradise by the Dashboard Light; 3 Girls 3; Hair; Night Out; Kenny Everrett Video Show; Spirit of St. Louis; Tootsie; Night Court; Married to the Mob; teaching in the School of Rock; and her new album, Fighting Words.
PS: Sorry for the interference on Ms. Foley's IPhone.
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Patrick Harburgh talks about his upbringing in Buffalo' being a ski instructor in Aspen; learn how to write a script; getting hired on Greatest American Hero; creating the character name BA Baracus for the A-Team; creating Hardcastle and McCormick, Destination America; 21 Jump Street (tv and movies); working with young Johnny Depp, George Clooney and Brad Pitt; Aspen Extreme; Sea Quest; The Net; his two books Aspen Pulp and Pirata; not knowing who Steven J. Cannell was when he hired him;
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Dean Friedman joined me to discuss his musical influences; "Ariel"; "Company"; "Lucky Stars"; "S & M"; "McDonald's Girl"; "Hey Larry"; Complete Guide to Synthesizers, Sequencers, and Drum Machines; virtual reality; creating the game Eat-A-Bug and 12 others for Nick Arcade; doing the scores for the UK TV show Boon, I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle, and Eerie Indiana; "Son of Abraham"; crowd-sourcing albums; making money in the music industry; "The Bastard Son of Dean Friedman" and "A Baker's Tale; playing music with your children; All request Zoom concerts;
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Dennis Danziger discusses when he went one on one against Kobe Bryant; studying play writing in the University of Texas at Austin; moving to NY; being a sports junkie; writing an episode of The White Shadow; not remembering Open All Night; how a one act play with Rhea Perlman led to a job on Taxi; writing a pilot After George for Susan St. James; writing an episode of Empire; Kate & Allie; Homeland; and Foley Square; writing a Melba; the unorthodox story of "Daddy, Diary of an Expectant Father"; writing for My Sister Sam and the People Next Door; Antonio Sacre; being one of George HW Bush's Points of Life for his volunteerism; the Pops Club; "The Short History of the Tall Jew"; The Good Men Project; inequality between majority white, black and Hispanic students in LA; The Richard Nixon Sex Tapes - a series of one act plays; Shalom Vietnam
Chris Butler joined me to talk about Devil's Glitch, the world's longest song; seeing The Who on Shindig changing his life; how Broadway showtunes showed him how to write a song; being in an integrated band in the 1960's; going to Kent State; The Kent State Massacre; playing college clubs; 3 one hour sets anight; being friends with Devo, Joe Walsh, and Terry & Chrissy Hynde; writing "I Know What Boys Like" as a member of Tin Huey; recording "I Know What Boys Like"; touring; "Christmas Wrapping" and its surprise success; reacting to reaction videos of "I Know What Boys Like" and "Christmas Wrapping"; writing the theme song and appearing on the pilot of Square Pegs; being the bandleader on One Drink Minimum; living in Jeffrey Dahmer's childhood home; and "aging" out of New York
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Jay Kogen joined me to discuss his father comedy writer Arnie Kogen; making his TV debut on the Dean Martin Show; apearances on The Bob Newhart Show & Newhart; being a recurring character on The Bronx Zoo; being a production assistant on It's Garry Shandling Show with writing partner Wallace Woolodarsky; pitching sketches for The Tracey Ullman Show; he and Wally get hired for The Simpsons; writing "Homer's Odyssey"; how "Krusty Gets Busted" had to have a good mystery; the first "Treehouse of Horror"; watching the Simpsons now; George Meyers; Audrey Meadows; writing "Like Father, Like Clown" for Jackie Mason; creating the 1st Annual Montgomery Burns Award; Dental Plan - Lisa Needs Braces; writing for Sibs, The Single Guy; writing The Wrong Guy; winning a Humanitas Award for an episode of Frasier; Henry Danger; School of Rock; Punky Brewster, and his son's music
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Shelly Clark White joined me to talk about her musical parents; being on Broadway at 7; touring with Cab Calloway; studying opera; being an Ikette; working for Little Richard; singing backup on "MacArthur Park" and with Dusty Springfield; the origins of Honey Cone; hedging her bet by joining the Jim Nabors Show; "Want Ads" goes to #1; Ray Parker Jr.; performing on the first episode of Soul Train; singing with George Burns on The Tonight Show; performing on Sonny & Cher; Hot City; meeting and eventually marrying her husband Verdine White of Earth, Wind and Fire; working for Eddie Murphy Productions of the pilot to the "Coming to America" tv series and "What's Allen Watching?" pilot; 2014 Soul Train Cruise; honors and Awards; reforming the Honey Cones.
Web Site https://www.thehoneycone.com/
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Bruce joins me to talk about the beginning of his career writing for "Donny & Marie" and "Fridays" as well as being head writer for "The Ben Stiller Show"
Bobby Rydell joined me to talk about being from Philadelphia; Kissin' Time; Wild One; reaction videos; Perry Como; his and the other Golden Boys of Bandstands affect on women; The Ed Sullivan Show; A World without Love; Bye, Bye, Birdie; Australia; impressions; George Burns; Sammy Davis Jr.; Michael Buble; My Way; The Great American Songbook; Buddy Rich; Dick Clark; touring after COVID; his near death experience; and singing Happy Mothers Day to You to my mom.
Note - Unfortunately, Mr. Rydell's mike cut in and out during the beginning and end of the interview.
For his tour dates visit www.bobbyrydell.com
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Howard Gewirtz joined me to talk about his name; Oliver Beene; growing up in Rego Park, NY; working for the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's television station; writing a spec script for a George Carlin sitcom; writing for Busting Loose; We're on Our Own; Co-Ed Fever; writing a spec script for Taxi and getting hired; Taxi episode "Shut it Down Part I & II"; writing a Three's Company; writing for Latka; Mr. Personalities; using a UCLA psychologist for research and getting Dr. Joyce Brothers to play the psychologist; casting his and Ian Praiser's mothers in "Sceneskees from a Marriage"; his favorite Latka episode "Latka the Revolutionary"; Carol Kane as Simka; working with Tom Hanks on the episode "The Road Not Taken" and Martin Short on The Associates and "Jim Joins the Network"; J. Alan Thomas; him guest starring in "Of Mice and Tony"; creating Domestic Life with Ian Praiser, Steve Martin & Martin Mull; working with Sylvia Sidney; Down and Out in Beverly Hills; his Simpsons episode "Homer Defined"; Sibs; The Larry Sanders Show; Wings; and his upcoming novel.
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Simpsons legend Al Jean joined me to talk about Get Smart; his submission for the Harvard Lampoon; getting hired to the National Lampoon; Airplane II; Not Necessarily the News; writing for The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson; Carnac jokes; bitch McNuggets; Charles in Charge; the dangers of being on Alf; Sledge Hammer; It's Garry Shandling's Show; getting hired on The Simpsons; the "classic" writers room; becoming show runner in season 3; episodes: The Way We Was; Uncut Femmes; Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington; Tell-Tale Head; Lisa's Sax; hot water heaters; being renewed for season 33 & 34; Daddicus Finch; Homer;'s Barbershop Quarter; the Simpsons getting a Kennedy Center Honor; second choice's being better - Leonard Nimoy, Phil Hartman, Lionel Richie, Steve Sax; possible return of Uncle Herb (Danny DeVito); Sideshow Bob; Kelsey Grammer; Joe Mantegna; Jon Lovitz; The Critic; Doris Grau
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Stacey Nelkin joined me to talk about her upbringing; Stuyvesant High School; being cut from Annie Hall, Celebrity, and Deconstructing Harry; Bullets Over Broadway; CHiPS; Like Mom, Like Me; Triangle Factory Fire Scandal; The Chisholms; California Dreaming; The Last Convertible; Serial; Martin Mull & Bill Macy; Up the Academy; Children of Divorce; Wonderful World of Disney; John Putch; her talent with dialects and languages; Going Ape!; Jessica Walter (who passed away the day before); Halloween III: Season of the Witch; Yellowbeard; dating Peter Cook; getting propositioned by David Bowie; Sunset Limousine; hanging out with John Ritter, Paul Reiser, and Martin Short; Joyce Hyser & Ellen Barkin; The Jerk, Too; TLC; The A-Team; Murder She Wrote; 1st and Ten; OJ Simpson & Marcus Allen; how writing a book about relationships led to her being a relationship and parenting expert on Fox News; her addictions; how her fathers death from an overdose led her to give back to the addicted,
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"Cosby Show" producer and "Home Improvement" creator Carmen Finestra joined me to talk about his comedy upbringing; his first job filling in for Herve Villechaize; Joe Cates; making funny fire warnings; Johnny Cash & Friends; his first sketch is ruined when Johnny reads the cue cards wrong; meeting Steve Martin & Jim Varney; Sha Na Na; Chico & The Man; The Harvey Korman Show; Joe & Valerie; Mel & Susan Together; The King of Kensington; The Love Boat residuals; working with Johnny Cash & Andy Kaufman; Good Times; Highcliffe Manor; writing with Steve Martin & Jack Handy; Angie; Hank Aaron; Ladies Man; Harvey Miller; Twilight Theater; Pat Proft & Neal Israel; It's Not Easy; Punky Brewster; how Brandon was trained; getting hired for The Cosby Show; how Cosby worked; President Reagan learns not to preempt Cosby; how Cosby led to the success of Family Ties, Cheers, and Night Court; the Slumber Party episode and Peter; Danny Kaye; Red Buttons; Say Hello to Goodbye set a ratings recordhe guest stars; Anthony Quinn; Sammy Davis, Jr.; Earle Hyman, Roscoe Lee Browne, and Christopher Plummer do Shakespeare; The Muppets ; Sonia Braga; Tim Allen gets Carmen and Matt's idea for a sitcom; Home Improvement is cast and cast again; Carmen re-imagines Thunder Alley for Ed Asner, Buddies for Dave Chapelle and Soul Man for Dan Aykroyd;
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Mark joined me to discuss Al Franken; growing up in Buffalo; moving to LA; quitting his day job; his stand up material; meeting Dennis Miller; how finding your voice is difficult when you're writing for someone else; getting The Dennis Miller Show; Bob Odenkirk; Mum & Shanz; Herb Sargent; being brought on to The Chevy Chase Show; Chevy farts on FOX execs; performing in front of 12 people including Richard Lewis & Albert Brooks;his SNL showcase; his parents take on his material; screwing with Adam Sandler right before he was to go on; helping Will Forte out of his contract to go to SNL; Robert Smigel; David Letterman; meeting Bonnie & Terry Turner; getting hired for 3rd Rock; creating Mr. Rhodes and having to stay there; how TV portrays teacher; tech schools; demographics should not supercede poverty; old textbooks; racism in the US; the Royal Family; Bernie Sanders; casting Topher Grace; casting Mila Kunis; guest stars Betty White, Tom Poston, Charo, Tanya Roberts and the one that got away; chickening out on meeting Aerosmith; having to write George Harrison''s acceptance speech with him; Chris farley; Eric, Donna & Hyde triangle he hated; trying to "Urkel" Fez; women in America; his mom suffers discrimination; cancel culture; The Birth of A Nation vs. Birth of a Nation; Betsy DeVos; the old Republicans; Bill Clinton becomes corporatist; the Capitol defecation; Republican swingers; humiliation is funny; my favorite scene from That 70's Show; lasting friendships; what he watches now; sports; The Simpsons; being held accountable for what you did as a teenager; forgiveness; Kevin Spacey; cancelling Dancing with the Stars; Lab Rats; Grateful Dead jokes; Drake Sather; meeting and working for your heroes
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Rich Halke and William Lucas Walker joined me to talk about their influences (William - Dick Van Dyke & Gilligan's Island and Rich HBO Comedy Hours); family members and friends who are funnier than you; Rich Rosenstock; David Lloyd & Jay Sandrich; how writing for The Jackie Thomas Show got William a job on Roseanne; Norm MacDonald; the Gilligans Island - Roseanne mash up; starting Sundays at 7; Rich meets Carmen Finestra; Eddie Maxwell; Fred Fox Sr,; George Balzer; Sidney Resnick and the importance of family; bringing a baby to the Friars Club; Leonard Stern; Carl Reiner tells many stories, one about Danny Simon's sons head size; Treva Silverman; the genesis of The Mary Tyler Moore Show; Treva saves the day on MTM many times and gives great notes; Bob Carroll and Marilyn Pugh Davis; Korby Siamis & Tom Fontana influence Bill; Rich helps start the Television Academy Interview webpage; William talks about working with June Lockhart & Milton Berle; William's Frasier episode Roz's Krantz & Gouldenstein Are Dead; James Earl Jones; Irma Kalish writes Maude's abortion, Bob Newhart nixes one on his show; Garry Marshall; Michelle Pfeiffer's hands; Ed Asner; David Lloyd saves Frasier; Allan Burns, Treva Silverman saves Kathleen Turner; Home Improvement's pilot; casting decisions; Michael Fishman; Glenn Quinn; how to write a spec script; what these dinners mean to them.
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Vic Kaplan joined me to talk about going to NYU, working at World News Tonight, Three's Company pilot; Dick Clark Live Wednesday; Fridays; producing stand up specials for Billy Crystal, Garry Shandling, and Robin Williams; It's Garry Shandling Show; Out of this World; doing comedy specials with Harry Anderson, Dennis Miller, Richard Lewis & Penn & Teller; Lookwell; Roc; Get Smart '95; joining Ellen for the Puppy Episode, working with Mary Tyler Moore, Ron White, and Louis CK; KC Undercover
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SNL writers David Mandel, Lew Morton, and Steve Koren joined SNL archivist James Stephens and myself to discuss being the SNL era wrote about least; Al Franken mentoring Dave; learning how much politics to put in a sketch; Ross Perot; Steve Koren's progression to writer; Morwenna Banks; being in a sketch with Bill Murray; Honker meets Canteen Boy; Farley writes a sketch; Lunch Lady Land; being an extra in a monologue; NBA sketch with Martin Lawrence; Red Hooded Sweatshirt; Joe Dicso; February 1993 star-studded lineups; sneaking into Paul McCartney's rehearsal; Herb Sargent; Weekend Update writing breakfast; Norm MacDonald; Jim Downey; Swayze v. Farley Chppendales; Jack Handey; Tuesday night stress; Wednesday read-through; producing your sketch; watching your sketch live; trimming lines; rewriting a monologue between dress and air; Eddie Vedder pitches Operaman's evil twin; You put your weed in there; Musicians to Explain Whitewater; Michael McKean; Taxi Driver: The Musical; Bob Evans Show; the nightmare Sarah Jessica Parker episode; Massapequa Goodfellas; Ian Maxtone-Graham; Jim Carrey: Hot Tub Lifeguard; Elevator Etiquette; Bob Newhart; Monday pitch meetings; It's a Wonderful Newt; Quentin Tarantino's Welcome Back Kotter; John Travolta episode; Grease Goodnights; Planet of the Apes (Charlton Heston); Bob Newhart Goodnights; George Foreman as Hulk; Q & A monologues; George Wendt / Francis Ford Coppola episode; Charles Grodin episode; sketches that never got on; watching the show now; watching with your kids; leaving the show; hearing your jokes or bits repeated;Perspectives; Rock for Michael; celebrity impersonations; story first
Carl Gottlieb spoke to me about childhood radio and TV memories; growing up in post WWII Manhattan; going to Syracuse University with Larry Hankin and Frank Langella; joining the Committee; making A Session with the Committee; writing for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour; winning the Emmy for a great sketch involving David Frye and Liberace; Music Scene with Groucho Marx; The Ken Berry WOW show; Flip Wilson specials; writing commercial parodies for the first three SNL's; Sammy & Company; The Absent Minded Waiter gets Carl an Oscar nomination; The Jerk; Mork & Mindy; Dr. Detroit; working with Dan Aykroyd and Howard Hesseman; The George Burns Comedy Week; being on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson; Morton & Hayes; Carl's Rules for Life
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Actor, writer, producer, comedian Michael Elias joined me to discuss his new book, You Can Go Now; his fifty year friendship with Steve Martin; collaborating on Steve's stand up act and The Jerk; how Mike Nichols was supposed to direct The Jerk; how Carl Reiner changed The Jerk; Steves ad libs; Bernadette Peters; Bill Macy; a cut scene; childhood watching TV through a shop window; working as a busboy in the Catskills in the summer; forming a comedy team with Frank Shaw; appearing with The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson; how that shot got him a writing job; appearing on Playboy After Dark with Jerry Garcia; Head of the Class; The Frisco Kid; Black Bart; All's Fair; Szynyck; why Ned Beatty and Howard Hesseman were tough to work with; ABC demanding a change in Head of the Class cast in order to get fifth season; Billy Connolly; Tall Hopes with Terrence Howard; getting bumped from the Ed Sullivan Show; working with Milton Berle, Bob Hope, and George Burns; Strother Martin; Co-Ed Fever; Scared Silly; The American Snitch; Beaches; Garry Marshall; Young Doctors in Love; Hector Elizondo; Serial; performing in The Living Theater; being in The Brig off-off Broadway and in the film; Mark Lane; Dick Gregory; Dave Davies; Harry Shearer; Bob Einstein's Another Fine Mess; Lush Life;
Mr. Elias book can be purschased at https://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Go-Home-Now/dp/0062954164/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=you+can+go+now&qid=1621023854&sr=8-2
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Sean Kelly talked with me about Between the Lions; comic books; radio comedy; being on early TV in Canada and making him jaded to TV; being on Saturday Night Live for two weeks; Jean Doumanian; Michel Choquette getting him on the Lampoon; Bruce McCall; Canada: The Re&$2!&! Neighbor on Your Doorstep; Beaverton: Canada's humor magazine; Canadian jokes; Son O'God Comix; Zimmerman; his son, writer Chris Kelly; Matty Simmons believing tits sell magazines; National Lampoon Radio Hour; John Belushi, Brian McConnachie, George Trow, and Christopher Guest join the Radio Hour; Well Intentioned Blues; writing Lemmings with Tony Hendra; hiring Chevy Chase; Zal Yanovsky tries to kill Chevy; Chevy permanently disfigures Alice Playten; Doug Kenney; Henry Bear; Michael O'Donoghue; Tony Hendra; Brian McConnachie; at a certain age everyone's Jewish; Paul Jacobs; growing old; seeing Christopher Plummer at 17 and working with him 30 years later; Harvey Weinstein; Robert Downey Sr; Jim Downey; Sam Gross; Al Jean & Mike Reiss; Fred Graver & Kevin Curran; Ted Mann & Tod Carroll; Disco Beaver from Outer Space; Steve Martin: All Commercials; Paul Reubens & Gilbert Gottfried's SNL auditions; Ferris Butler, and some anecdotes of the problems of Saturday Night Live '80.
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Andy Breckman joined me to guess whether I was a vaginal of Casearean birth; his early childhood; only being allowed to watch one show a week on TV; realizing re never had to go to school again and leaving BU; going to LA and becoming a funny folk singer; transitioning into writing; Kevin Kelton;writing Hot Hero Sandwich; being turned down by SNL in 1980; how the SNL audition packet got him the attention of Merrill Markoe; pulling an all-nighter for his Letterman packet; going through his 13 week cycle without getting anything on the air; first joke that got on Letterman; writing a bit that bombed with Jim Downey; leaving Letterman for SNL after a year and a half; writing Dutch Couple for Eddie Murphy; why its bad for writers to get credit for sketches; Larry's Corner with milk through the nose; Winston University; The Bulge; White Like Me; Mr. Monopoly; Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, and Jan Hooks' first sketch - Andy's Psychic on a Game Show sketch; Mike Myers joins the Crips; Japanese Game Show; his feud with Don McLean; his song Railroad Bill; The Misery Index; Monk; Tippy Turtle;
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Denny Johnston joined me to talk about starting out as a folk singer; writing his first act; early insights on Letterman, Robin Williams, and Michael Keaton; The Merv Griffin Show; him doing the funniest thing I ever saw on panel on The Jim Nabors Show; getting on The Tonight Show but not with Johnny; Chevy Chase & Friends; All Commercials . . .A Steve Martin Special; Dirty Dirty Jokes; retiring from stand up and the Moderna vaccine
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Bob joined me to talk about his favorite TV shows growing up; not being a TV addict; USF leading to a job in news, The Guiding Light, working at Radio City Music Hall; writing a telenovela in Mexico; Night Court: writing the episodes "Death of A Bailiff" and "Hart of Stone", writing for Roz, Dan Fielding, John Astin (Buddy) and Will Utay; writing the episode "Crossroads"; writing of Good & Evil; how thirteen episodes were written and only 11 filmed; how Mark Blankfield's character angered the sightless; how comedy can hit close to home; working with Don Rickles on Daddy Dearest; Boogies Diner; Kirk; today's ratings; Social Studies and working with Julia Duffy; Night Stand with Dick Dietrich (Tim Stack); The Wrong Coast; Quackerz; bringing Married..with Children to Russia; Scorpions; and working with Stan Lee for over 20 years on The Last Resort.
Dan Vitale joined me and discussed social media presence; attention he got from Marc Maron's podcast; Lorne Michaels seeing him; his audition for The New Show; his fluctuating weight from 1986 - 1991; Cobra Kai; streaming services give more content; Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Bill Burr & Louis CK; being Lorne Michaels protege; being funnier now than when he was "hot" in the '80's because he's off alcohol and drugs and older; being listed above Norm MacDonald as a SNL cast member in Rolling Stone; growing up in Island Park, Long Island; other famous Island Park residents including Al D'Amato and the basis for Tony Soprano; where he did stand up pre Covid; living through Covid and protests; going back to college and feeling like Johnny Lawrence from Cobra Kai; IPhones; Dave Attell, memories of Don Novello and Randy Quaid; wanting to know who from his cast was invited to the 40th anniversary; Joan Cusack; Anthony Michael Hall; Damon Wayans; Jon Lovitz; Nora Dunn; Dennis Miller; Danitra Vance; Terry Sweeney; A Whitney Brown; Jim Downey; Franken & Davis; remembering the Madonna episode and the horrible week working with Chevy Chase; being with world's largest man Michael Hebrank (1100 lbs.) at the Brookhaven Rehabilitation Center; intermittent fasting; coming back for the Ron Reagan Jr. episode; residuals; current SNL; Baldwin's Trump vs. Carrey's Biden; Taran Killam; Darrell Hammond making SNL a civil service job; Alan Zweibel; and John Murray
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Entertainer, comedian, and podcaster Mark Malkoff joined me to talk his early influences; Norm Macdonald; Andy Kaufman; our fanaticism for Saturday Night Live; being in the audience for Letterman and Conan; Don Novello; Carl Reiner; Mel Brooks; Biff Henderson; working for the Late Show with David Letterman; Donick Cary; the trials of being head writer; Rich Hall; guests he's still working on; Dyan Cannon and Angie Dickinson; how he does a family friendly podcast; the work that goes into his show; being ghosted by a guest; how you never know why a guest can't make it, the "Will Ferrell curse"; Loni Anderson; how mistakes aren't aired anymore; Isabella Rossellini; Daljit Dhaliwal; K-Marr the Discount Magician; Otero; how Letterman hit the ground running; Carson guests who were never asked back; Carson v. Letterman guests; Letterman doing the show for himself vs. Leno doing it for NBC; guest hosts; Johnny's legacy; trial by fire of hosting a podcast
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Jeff Abraham talked to me about the clients he had as a comedy publicist including The Amazing Jonathan, Pam Stone, Jeff Foxworthy, George Carlin, David Brenner, Andrew "Dice" Clay, Bill Maher and George Lopez; His book The Show Won't Go On - which chronicles the deaths of performers onstage including J.I. Rodale, Dick Shawn, and Parkyakarkus, The National Comedy Center, and his upcoming book on the Ritz Brothers.
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We discuss Cheers using the perspective of two guys from the UK who were just born when it went of the air and me, a guy who watched it from when he was eight until it ended when he was fifteen.
Alan Safier joined me and we discussed the things we have in common; his first exposure to theater in kindergarten ; his 4th grade play; a summer camp play; Ohio University; his performance in the 30th anniversary of New Faces of 1952; working with Eartha Kitt; starring in Stop the World, I Want to Get Off with 10 year old Rob Lowe; playing John Adams in 1776; performing in Merchant of Venice and Romeo & Juliet; playing Charles Guitenau in Assassins; doing West Side Story with Tony Dow and Barrie Youngfellow; tying James Whitmore for most consecutive one man shows with three: Say Goodnight Gracie, A Christmas Carol; and Joseph - about Jesus' father; other comedians whose lives could have been one man show; meeting Rupert Holmes; getting into character as George Burns and Albert Einstein; Ethel Merman; Tom Wopat; and the Cleveland baseball team
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Dennis joined me to talk about books he didn't write, the first time he watched SNL, Dan Aykroyd and the Blog Diet sketch; his sketch group Kamikaze Radio; seeing Mr. Mike and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir; the Brer Rabbit Mr. Mike sketch; Michael O'Donoghue's third season; Attack of the Atomic Lobsters; Mr. Mike's Mondo Video; Hugh Fink; Mr. Mike returns for SNL's 7th season; Dennis has Michael O'Donoghue's files; At Home with the Psychos; Fridays and how hard it is to find cast members; Rich Hall; The New Show
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Dennis Blair joined me to talk about originally being a musician; his love for Steve Martin; the first time he got laughs at a gig; auditioning at Dangerfield's; opening for Rodney; writing two specials with him; helping to write Easy Money; his fallout with Rodney; starting to open for Joan Rivers; working with Garry Shandling; getting back in Rodney's graces to be in Rover Dangerfield; what to do if an audience member picks an obscure singer; what to do if a "crap" song is picked; bombing; improvising a whole show; his month long slump while opening for Carlin; Carlin premieres The Modern Man to him; parodying Paul Anka & Eminem in front of them; warming up sitcom audiences; forgetting some gigs and appearances; being in Billy Joel's tell her about it video; rescuing a drunk Rodney for a Tonight Show appearance; being a plant to yell how tall was he; being a sounding board for Rodney's new jokes; his wife comes home and remembers some appearances
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Donick Cary joined me to talk about interning and then writing (and head writing) Late Night / The Late Show with David Letterman, his character A Guy in a Bear Suit, working with Mujibur and Sirajul and Rupert Jee; The Simpsons, writing D'ohing in the Wind, The Last Temptation of Krust; producing and writing The New Girl, Parks and Rec, and A.P. Bio
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William Ham joined me to talk about Mad magazine; his 1st SNL; Chevy Chase; George Carlin; our SNL streaks; Fridays is the Cracked to SNL's Mad; SCTV; favorite SNL writers Michael O'Donoghue, Marilyn Suzanne Miller and Tom Schiller; Dan & Peter Aykroyd; Bill Murray; Phil Hartman; Dana Carvey; Eddie Murphy; Bill Hader; Will Ferrell; Jane Curtin; Gilda Radner; Joulia Louis-Dreyfus; Jan Hooks; Ana Gasteyer; Harry Shearer; Richard Belzer; Christine Ebersole; favorite episodes; least favorite episodes; favorite and least favorite characters; musical guests
Allan Havey joined me to talk about early comedy influence; studying drama in college; coming to New York as part of a comedy team; doing stand up in New York at the time of the comedy boom; The New Show; Young Comedians; doing David Letterman; Night after Night; HBO's One Night Stand; the success of Jerry Seinfeld & Larry David; Louie; Mad Men, and Billions
Robin Duke joins me to discuss how her friendship with Catherine O'Hara led to her career in comedy; getting into Second City; SCTV - her characters Edna Hydecker, Mollie Earle and Shelley Winters; getting SNL when Catherine O'Hara bowed out; her first episode before and after the writers strike; Paulette Clooney, "Be a Ho", "Mrs. T", The Girls of Saturday Night Live; the PTSD of SNL; her Christmas Bonus courtesy of Michael O'Donoghue; Hairem Scarem; JFK sketch; The Last Polka; Club Paradise; Harold Ramis; Man Seeking Woman; Schlitt's Creek
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The delightful Mary Gross talks about her love for Carol Burnett; her high school history club musical with Marilu Henner; attending improv classes; getting on main stage at Second City; working with Sid Caesar; Nuns on the Beach; hosting SNL Newsbreak; Marilyn Monroe singing Downers Are a Girls Best Friend; At Home with the Psychos; the Christmas bonus that wasn't, Spitting Mad Mary Gross; Dr. Ruth; playing Mary Tyler Moore in three different sketches; The Girls of Saturday Night Live; playing Pee Wee Herman; being a guest on the Tonight Show. (Some audio was "crunched" and portions had to be cut out)
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Neil Levy talks abut getting the job on SNL as its 1st PA; smoking extremely strong pot; the generosity of Dan Aykroyd; the first show; George Carlin's monologue; Jane Crowley, the censor; being an extra in a jury sketch; meeting President Ford; booking Miles Davis; Frank Zappa; Louise Lasser; injuring himself as an extra in a sketch; being a Killer Bee with Elliot Gould; writing the promos, coming up next and audience captions; impressing Mr. Mike with a sketch; being a writer on the third season; Funeral Magician; booking and un-booking Carroll O'Connor; Yvonne Hudson; Paul Reubens 1979 audition; finding and getting Jean Doumanian to hire Eddie Murphy; how Eddie saved SNL; A Fiddler Be on the Roof; Altered Walter; Eddie Atari; the afterparties; Charles Rocket, Prince and the f bomb; Dick Ebersol takes over; Dick gets Lorne's blessing; Dick hires Bob Tischler and Michael O'Donoghue; Denny Dillon bag lady sketch; Captain Beefheart and Jack Bruce & Friends; Rod Stewart; booking fear; Catherine O'Hara; Sunken Submarine; leaving the show; Rude Awakening; Lemmings Inc.
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Actor-comedy writer-composer Tom Leopold
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Craig Richard Nelson joined me to talk about his movie debut in The Paper Chase; Blood Sport; Marty Hartman, Mary Hartman; Maude; Fernwood Tonight; Stick Around; Barney Miller; Square Pegs; working in 3 Robert Altman movies; Night Court; Get a Life; Another You, and Stark Trek
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Ken Reid, host of the podcast TV Guidance Counselor, discusses the origin of his podcast; his theme song; childhood fears of the Incredible Hulk and Mr. Bill; meeting the original Not Ready for Prime Time players; SCTV; Fridays; New York / Massachusetts; WPIX; WSBK; Gimme A Break; and a lot more
Comedy great Hugh Fink joined me to discuss his comedy act; Silent Night Deadly Night 4; being on the last Rodney Dangerfield Special; getting SNL and writing Spade in America; working with Norm Macdonald on the Larry King sketches; sketches he's proud of; working with Tracey Morgan; his Comedy Central Present special; getting heckled by David Wells; being head writer of Late Show with Craig Ferguson; his course for aspiring sketch writers; trying to get O.J. Simpson as a correspondent for The Showbiz Show with David Spade; Parental Discretion with Stefanie Wilder-Taylor; and his current endeavor, writing sketches for corporations with and starring David Koechner.
For information on Hugh's class go to www.hughfink.com
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Leonard "Lenny" Rips joined me to talk about comedy as self defense; Joan Rivers giving him his first break; The Mac Davis Show; George Burns; Van Dyke & Company; Bob Einstein; Andy Kaufman; Redd Foxx; Star Wars Holiday Show; Angie; Goodtime Girls; Bosom Buddies; Rodney Dangerfield; 13 13th Avenue, Frankenweenie; What A Country; Full House; Top of the Heap; Me and the Boys; Can't Hurry Love; Blues Brothers Animated Series; Payne; Fast Food Films; The Lot; Holland Taylor; I'm With Her; the generosity of Joan Rivers
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Bobby and I discuss his formative years; 60's TV; winning Best Actor for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; Smokey Bites the Dust; Laugh Trax; The New Battlestars; 1/2 Hour Comedy Hour; Joan Collins; Jan Hooks; Dick Clark; Real Trivial Pursuit; Ted Knight and the fart machine; Dennis the Menace and being friends with Phil Hartman; The New Truth or Consequences; Up Your Alley; The Gong Show; Murray Langston; Linda Blair; the making and killing of Repossessed; Meatballs 4 and the tragedy of Jack Nance; Count deClues Mystery Castle; Mr. Logan's current project- the biography of Rollen Fredrick Stewart, 1 Day $99 Film School.
Visit his sites
Bobbyworks.comQuietTime.com LoganWolf.com
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Kevin and I discuss Face the Music; Fridays; Twilight Theater; Laugh Trax; No Soap, Radio; The Jeffersons; getting SNL; Eddie Murphy's showcase; getting stuff on his second show; Subliminal Advertising Sketch, Lie Detector Sketch; Chess Club Coach sketch; Trivial Pursuit sketch; being locked in Dick Ebersol's office to write Eddie Murphy's Christmas 1984 show; Christopher Guest Auctioneer Sketch, I Am Also the World, Prison Rape Sketch; Women in Prison tv show; Night Court and favorite episodes; Boy Meets World and the genius of Will Freidle; Townsend TV; Boogies Diner; Girlfriend Guy; BIFL; and what he's doing now.
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Phil Proctor joined me to discuss his Amish roots; being a young actor; hanging with Brandon deWilde and Peter Fonda; reuniting with Peter Bergman; joining Radio Free Oz, Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him; Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers; , I Think We're All Bozos On This Bus; having Steve Jobs as a fan' and his friendships with Harry Anderson, Fred Willard, and Jonathan Winters.
Links
Phil's autobiography https://www.amazon.com/Wheres-Fortune-Cookie-Phil-Proctor/dp/138970503X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=phil+proctor%27&qid=1606767943&sr=8-1 His podcast https://sexyboomershow.com/ Firesign's New Album https://www.amazon.com/Dope-Humor-Seventies-Firesign-Theatre/dp/B08KPYC9SY
Email phil.proctor@mac.com Website: planetproctor.com
Jeff Richards joined me to talk about his love and impression of David Letterman, work on Mad TV and Saturday Night Live and his briiliant deep fake podcast
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJBnwz5JYloiL9KpaPkAWgg
http://thejeffrichardsshow.com
Actor, writer, and improviser Mel Green joined me for a chat about his early life, meeting his comedy partner, his year (1980-1981) at Saturday Night Live, working on From Cleveland and his brilliant book Marker.
https://www.amazon.com/Marker-Mel-Green/dp/1452893705
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I had the opportunity to interview Gary Kroeger along with friend and fellow podcaster Andrew Dick of "That Week in SNL" Gary talks about his pre-SNL days, his work on SNL, and his work afterwards
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Kimiko Gelman and I discuss her growing up on Long Island; Loving; getting cast on Rags to Riches; working on the pilot; becoming friends with Tisha Campbell; Joe Bologna; Baby Jessica; Freddy's Nightmares with Page Hannah; Baghdad Cafe with Whoopi Goldberg; The Pickle and working with Shelley Winters and Danny Aiello; getting cast in Mother and working with Albert Brooks and Debby Reynolds; The Pretender; The West Wing; CSI: Miami; The Hunger Games; filming lags and meeting Donald Sutherland in the laundry; working with Jennifer Lawrence; How to Get Away With Murder and 13 Reasons Why, The Glorias and working with Julianne Moore, Bette Midler, and Janelle Monae.
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Charlie Robinson talks about his early career in music; his stage work; early film and TV roles; Fences; Buffalo Bill and its famous (#57 all time TV show by TV Guide) Jerry Lewis episode; being added to Night Court; the concept of Mac's character; Mac's sweaters; singing and hanging out with the Rivingtons; when Richard Moll's car broke down; directing four episodes of Night Court and 1 Love & War; and working with Mary Tyler Moore.
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Margaret Oberman spoke with me about her rise to working on Saturday Night Live, writing for Eddie Murphy, Joe Piscopo and Rick Moranis; her favorite sketches; writing for Andrea Martin; writing a special that starred 21 year old Chris Rock; meeting Sammy Davis Jr.; writing Kim Kardashian's favorite movie Troop Beverly Hills; writing the original script for The Man; writing the BBC series Too Much Sun; and writing Hallmark films
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Diana and I discuss The Bellinis;Lenny (Luca Brasi) Montana; Hollywood High; auditioning for Marni NixonFeast, Ozzie's Girls; guest starring in a memorable Happy Days, Chico and the Man, Medical Story, The First Nudie Musical, Starsky & Hutch; Paul Michael Glaser; The Love Boatpilot;Soap; audition; cast becomes family; Hollywood Squares, Dinah!; Perry Como’s Early American Christmas;Barney Miller;Steve Landesburg; I’m A Big Girl Now;Danny Thomas; Martin Short; People's Choice Award; American Bandstand "Who You Foolin'?"; All Star Salute to Mother's Day; Bob Hope; Bobbie Gentry; Don Rickles; finding out her show got cancelled while On Broadway; Peking Encounter; A Foot in the Door, Night Partners; Yvette Mimieux; Patti Davis Reagan; Hotel; No Complaints;Harold Gould, Murder She Wroteand friendship with Angela Lansbury;Trapper John, MD ; St. Elsewhere; Throb playing Paul Walker's Mom; success in Germany; The Bruce Diet; Home Free; Matthew Perry, Marian Mercer; Maggie Roswell, Carolyn Omine; One True Thing; teaching voice at Manhattanville College remotely
In a lengthy interview, Bob Illes and I discuss his early years; starting a radio comedy show at USC; Digby Wolfe; winning a contest to write for Tennesse Ernie Ford; Mike Ovitz; writing monologues for Bill Cosby; meeting Groucho Marx and Peter Sellers; writing for the Lily Tomlin special and winning an Emmy; The Super Emmy; writing the Sanford & Son episode, "Lamont, Is That You", The Smothers Brothers NBC reboot; Mickey Rose; Chevy Chase; Don Novello; Joe & Sons, One Day at a Time, getting dressed down by Norman Lear and his mea culpa; What's Happening!!, Captain and Tenille Show, Fernwood Tonight, winning another Emmy for the last year of The Carol Burnett Show, America 2-Night; Peeping Times; The Mary Tyler Moore Hour; Steve Allen Comedy Hour; Catherine O'Hara, Flo, Private Benjamin, No Soap, Radio; Silver Spoons; Jason Bateman, John Houseman; The Cracker Brothers; Milton Berle; Double Trouble, Sylvan in Paradise, Jim Nabors; Courtney Cox; Jackie Bison Show; Harry Shearer, Stan Freberg; Amen; Sherman Hemsley; favorite episode; getting cancelled by NBC because Johnny Carson retired; age ranges in sitcoms
Meco and I discuss her modeling career; how the Cheetah Girls Movie inspired her; songwriting; trying out for The X Factor, The Lost Resort and the jungles of Costa Rica; the therapies that she did or did not take part in; her webseries about forming a girl group; and her website, everythingmeco.com
Steven Kampmann talks Cook & Moore; Second City; The Cisco Kid; WKRP in Cincinnati; Newhart; Back to School, Club Paradise, The Richest Cat in the World; The Couch Trip; Clifford; Stuart Saves His Family; For the Boys; Multiplicity; Analyze That; Special Delivery; Buzzkill; Maurice!; and teaches me improv.
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This is a list of the performers I would most like to interview on the podcast. If any body has a lead or if they themselves are listening please email me at nycarter8@aol.com
The list: In alphabetical order:
Julie Brown (Just Say Julie) Dana Carvey Jennifer Crittenden Chris Eliot Melissa Fumero Merrill Markoe Martin Mull Bernadette Peters Martin Short Alan Spencer Charlene Tilton Henry Winkler
Also: Tiffany Haddish Gabriel Iglesisas Tim Minchin (AU) Amber Ruffin
Rich Hall talks about being a street performer; Harry Anderson; moving to NYC in 1978 and doing stand-up with Jerry Seinfeld, Paul Reiser and Gilbert Gottfried; writing for the David Letterman (Morning) Show; doing The Tonight Show with Letterman as a guest host; Fridays; writing and performing on Saturday Night Live; moving to England; QI; Otis Lee Crenshaw; BBC documentaries; Blazing Saddles
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Actor-producer-director Paul Kreppel joined me to talk about growing up in Kingston, New York; early TV; going to Emerson College with Henry Winkler and Andrea Martin; being a guest at Winkler's home during "Fonziemania", The Proposition; Fred Grandy; Judy Kahan; being on David Frost and Mike Douglas, Godspell, Don Scardino, Paul Shaffer; working with Ted Danson and Danny DeVito, auditioning for SNL, Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, moving to LA; Laverne & Shirley; doing a scene with Tony Curtis, It's A Living's cast and first season; retooling, second season and cancellation; Fantasy Island and Bob Denver, tuxedos; Night Court, working with Jay Sandrich on the Cosby Show, It's a Living reboot, adding Crystal Bernard, directing 6 episodes; Ann Jillian; Sheryl Lee Ralph; J.D. LoBue; game show anxiety, Doogie Howser and the unconscious salute; Murder, She Wrote; Edgar Lansbury; Diana Canova; Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh!
At this moment, Tropical Storm Isaias knocked out power but we continued talking about:
directing The Apartment, Thea, and Simon, Yahrzeit,Promises, Promises with Jason Alexander, Barney Martin, Charlie Robinson, Fred Willard, and Jean Smart; moving back to NY; That 70's Show; Jay Johnson doing a benefit, The Two and Only; his partner Murphy Cross and the effort it took to launch a one man show; Jay getting into the zone of one of his ventriloquist helpers
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Unfortunately, Sy Rosen was talking to me during Tropical Storm Fay and the first thirty minutes were erased, but we talked about: growing up in the Bronx, Winky Dink and You, college, going in the reserves, not working on a Joan Baez in Sing Sing special, writing a spec script for the Mary Tyler Moore Show and getting a template back from Allan Burns; selling an episode of The Bob Newhart Show about Carol, joining the writing staff and writing "Death Be My Destiny", the 50th best episode of a TV show according to TV Guide, writing a couple of Tony Randall Show episodes but remembering one; writing a Rhoda; We've Got Each Other; Maude; Free Country as a show that should have done better; Taxi and how Stan Daniels added to the script in the writing room; The Jeffersons and Now You Seen it, Now You Don't; bring Redd Foxx back as Sanford
We return with: Gimme A Break not being about an interracial relationship; the talent of Nell Carter; the adding of Grandpa in season two; writing what is considered the best episode of Best of the West; writing an Open All Night for Patchett & Tarses; doing a pilot with Don Ameche; Spencer with Chad Lowe being one of his favorite shows; Anything for Love; Roomies; The Robert Guillaume Show being about an interracial relationship; Northern Exposure; The Wonder Years episodes being Wayne-centric; writing the episode The Nose and being nominated for a Humanitas Prize; The Home Court; Frasier; Lost on Earth; Working; 2Gether; playwriting; writing comedy for retirement magazines; working with Dean Cameron and Robert Romanus
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My guest tonight was an original writer for Saturday Night Live, a short film maker with over 50 to his credit and is known for directing one of the most famous movies you have never seen. He also was a protege of documentarian Robert Snyder and was befriended and mentored by Henry Miller.
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Fridays
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Gary Murphy and I discuss 50's TV, The Dick Van Dyke Show, meeting his partner Larry Strawther, Butch Whacks & The Glass Packs, moving to LA, working on Merv Griffin, writing spec scripts, getting hired on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, meeting Johnny, working two weeks and going to the Anniversary party, the classic Reagan Who's on First routine, getting fired and then rehired, leaving for Thicke of the Night, the inherit problems, Gilbert Gottfried, writing a Happy Days and a Charlie & Co., Gladys Knights' comedy chops, writing "The Pope's Roadie" sketch for That Was the Week that Was, Without A Clue - an overlooked Sherlock Holmes film, My Sister Sam, Night Court - "Dan the Walking Time Bomb", Reinhold Weege and John Larroquette, the writer's strike and "Danny's Got His Gun" three-parter, Acting Sheriff and working with GOULET, The Sinbad Show, CBS kills The Boys are Back, The Faculty, choosing to work on Men Behaving Badly over Everybody Loves Raymond and quitting mid-season, Union Square, Caroline in the City and Lea Thompson, God the Devil and Bob - unnecessary controversy, working with Alan Cumming, James Garner, French Stewart, Laurie Metcalf, and Nancy Cartwright, Linwood Boomer and Malcolm in the Middle, great pilot, Bryan Cranston, Jane Kaczmarek, Carpoolers, Notes from the Underbelly, TV Land kills The Exes, Alexa & Katie, and his current series Sydney to the Max and the cast Ruth Righi, Ian Reed Kessler, and Caroline Rhea.
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Larry Arnstein talks about growing up on Park Avenue but in an apartment in the back, going to prep school in the middle of nowhere, using the girl to boy ratio as a way to pick a college, meeting his funny and brilliant partner Matt Hurwitz, writing for the Chicken Little Show, writing a short film Purient Interest, writing for Eight is Enough and having to service all ten characters, getting recommended for SNL's 6th season, working 9 am to midnight, his forgiving wife, Peter Tauber and the Rockettes, how Gilbert Gottfried was always laugh out loud funny, Commie Hunting Season, Gail Matthius, Ann Risley, is Gilbert & Sullivan hip, the sobriety of David Carradine and Ray Sharkey, Charles Rocket and the f-bomb, getting fired, writing a Love, Sidney, Not Necessarily the News, watching hours of B-roll and seeing things politicians did not want the public to see, working with the Kroft puppets on DC Follies, You Asked to See It, Again, how Jimmy Brogan was funnier as the warm up comedian than most shows he warmed up for, This Just In , how his books are perfect for AM radio, what he's working on now.
The Dogma of Rufus: A Canine Guide to Eating, Sleeping, Digging, Slobbering, Scratching, and Surviving with Humans The Bad Driver's Handbook: Hundreds of Simple Maneuvers to Frustrate, Annoy, and Endanger Those Around You The Ultimate Counterterrorist Home Companion: Six Incapacitating Holds Involving a Spatula and Other Ways to Protect Your Family The Dog Ate My Resume: Survival Tips for Life After College Cleopatra's Confessions: A Feline Guide to Coping with Dogs, Humans, and Other Pointless Interruptions to a Good Nap
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Comedy writers and Second City legends Jim Fisher and Jim Staahl joined me via Zoom.
We discuss Fish's early days in a stand up comedy duo, joining Second City as David Steinberg's understudy, being groomed as the next David Steinberg, Jim Staahl's college career, being called a "funny" Hamlet, auditioning and understudying all five male performers (Fisher, David Blum, Joe Flaherty, Brian Doyle Murray and David Rasche), Fisher unionizing Second City giving the performers a week off and Staahl having to sub for all the men, Fisher passing out from mono at intermission and Staahl going from eating dinner to onstage before Act II, corporate gigs, leaving Second City with Tino Insana and forming The Graduates, going to the Comedy Store and filming a special with Robin Williams, Staahl joining the cast of Mork & Mindy when Robin crashed his auditioned and they improvised together, being a go-between for Mork & Mindy execs for Robin and Jonathan Winters, Tom Poston, Jay Thomas, the practical joking of former guest Stu Kreisman, the Osmonds poo poo a wine taster sketch, writing and performing with Steve Martin in a special, the menschness of Martin Short, creating, writing and performing in Laugh Trax with Howie Mandel, Gail Matthius, and Lucy Webb, writing "Sledge Hammer", jokes that wouldn't fly today, and their Magnum force parody episode Magnum Farce.
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In a 30 year career, Tom Reeder wrote for some of the best sitcoms of his generation: Barney Miller, MASH, Cheers, and Frasier as well as my personal favorite, Night Court. His episodes are known for their quotability as well as its character explorations.
We talk about his days as an usher for the Carol Burnett Show, getting his job on Barney Miller, writing for Danny Arnold, "Hash", Fish, "Atomic Bomb", A.E.S. Hudson Street, Don Calfa, the difference between writing for Barney Miller and MASH*, the hard work of running* Benson*,* Phyl & Mikhy*, "Possession",* Cheers and not knowing episode titles would someday be known, the fist two seasons of Night Court*, cast changes, writing the Mac episodes, the Steve Landesburg myth, Michael Richards on "Take My Wife Please", Albania, Albania, you border on the Adriatic, writing the episodes of* Cheers and Night Court that aired concurrently, "Cliff, what color is the sky in your world?, Stand by Your Man*, Rosie O'Donnell,* Nurses*,* The*Boys Are Back,* An Affectionate Look at Fatherhood*,* Dave's World and the fun set, Cosby*,* Frasier and the evolution of Kelsey Grammer, retiring from TV, becoming a travel blogger, his daughter's journalism career, and Rep. Tom Reeder (R-Wa.)**
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Kevin Bartini is one of the most sought after audience warm-up comedians, warming up crowds for The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, The Nightly Show as well as headlining comedian across the United States. He also is the only guest to see me do stand up.
Kevin spearheaded the drive to turn West 121st street into George Carlin Way. He talks about the positives and negatives of that experience, Gilbert Gottfried's performance at the post-unveiling comedy show, Lewis Black, Rodney Dangerfield, Vaughn Meader, Jon Stewart, and Bill Cosby.
Kevin's albums can be bought here:
https://www.amazon.com/Unintentionally-White-Album-Kevin-Bartini/dp/B07CXNLJM1
https://www.amazon.com/Western-Masshole-Explicit-Kevin-Bartini/dp/B08BJD9DCM
https://www.amazon.com/Western-Masshole-Explicit-Kevin-Bartini/dp/B08BJD9DCM
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Darin Patterson is a stand-up comedian and writer who's performed at the Boston Comedy Arts Festival and the Park Slope Comedy Festival. He is the host of the SNL Nerds podcast. We talk about: the first time he saw SNL, our all time casts, Phil Hartman v. Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Jan Hooks, blue collar real life comedy, my 2010 trip to SNL, and what's next on his podcast.
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My guest today created the character with the second most appearances on Saturday Night Live with twenty-seven, Mr. Bill.. Over his more than forty-five years in entertainment, he has been a writer, producer, director, voice-over artist, and even podcaster. He has also been active in environmental causes such as the destruction of Louisiana's coastline
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Mark Rothman is best known for having been involved with the creation and production of Laverne and Shirley. He was also the head writer and show runner of numerous other shows including Happy Days and a writer for the Odd Couple. He created Busting Loose and The Ted Knight Show. He also composed the theme song for Busting Loose. He was also writer, theme tune composer and executive producer for The Lovebirds, which used my last name as a laugh line.
In 2013 he had his first novel, "I'm Not Garbo," published. It is a fable about Hollywood in the 1930's. if you would like to buy a copy of the book go to macchus999@aol.com
For Mark's blog http://markrothmansblog.blogspot.com
For Busting Loose https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeEPUFhW6Kw&list=PLQU82Z2BymwNeWcxuZnYtLBWLXihccFg1&index=6&t=0s
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For over 45 years, my guest has been writing comedy in all assets of the media; from National Lampoon magazine to TV specials, variety series, sitcoms highlighted by Cheers, Newhart, and as my listeners will know, my favorite sitcom “Night Court”. He wrote a book Dick Cheney’s Diary in 2008 and is a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post.
Dick Cheney's Diary https://www.amazon.com/Dick-Cheneys-Diary-Stuart-Kreisman/dp/1606933558/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=stuart+kreisman&qid=1592486298&sr=8-4
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For over 45 years, Marty Nadler has been making people laugh in television (Odd Couple, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley), film (Pretty Woman, Princess Diaries, Valentines Day), stand-up (in the Improv in the 1970's and today), and on my podcast today.
3 episodes of Marty's 1979-1980 CBS series Last Resort https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMj2trx1E8c&t=4197s
Look for Marty's new movie I, Mordecai starring Judd Hirsch, Carol Kane, and Sean Astin.
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My guest tonight is a real Renaissance woman. She has been an actress on stage, screen, and television. She writes, produces, improvs, acts, sings, dances, and teaches and best of all she’s here with me today.
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Larry Strawther got into show business as a gofer for the Merv Griffin Show. He went on to write for Laverne & Shirley, Happy Days, My Sister Sam, The Sinbad Show and Night Stand.
His Most Extreme Elimination Challenge is still a cult classic among 20 and 30 year olds.
But for me, he is best known as the executive producer (1989 - 1990), producer (1988-1989) and writer (1987 - 1990) for my favorite sitcom, Night Court. He also wrote my all-time favorite episode of television Night Court's "Another Day in the Life" and tries to stump me with his copy of the script.
He also talks about working with Marion Ross, Harry Anderson, Dianne English, Reinhold Weege and Robert Goulet.
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Lane Sarasohn is a pioneer in television satire. He, along with Ken Shapiro, Chevy Chase and Richard Allen launched Channel One in 1967 and released their greatest hits in the 1974 hit film the Groove Tube (which grossed $104 million in today's money), which influenced much of the comedy that followed. In this supersized episode, he discusses the genesis of the Groove Tube, working with Chevy Chase and Susan Anton on their TV specials, pilot that should of hit and those that shouldn't have, and working on Not Necessarily the News.
Links
http://lanesarasohn.com/ - Lane's personal webpage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JljrU7_RxPY&t=257s - One Armed Bandit Sketch
http://www.ironictimes.com/ - Lane and show #1 guest Matt Neuman's hilarious take at the news
Special thanks to Carol Hatfield Sarasohn (Lane's wife of 51 years) for being so gracious with me taking her husbands time.
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Steve Zacharias has had three careers in screenwriting. First as a television writer on such shows as The Odd Couple, All in the Family (for which he won an Emmy), The Partridge Family, Happy Days, and Quark.
Then in film with screenplays for Revenge of the Nerds, The Last Resort, Johnny B. Goode, In the Army Now, and Eddie.
And for the last 15 years, teaching screenwriting at DuPaul University.
Steve talks about all of this and more on this weeks episode.
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As my first guest, I interview "Chicken Little Comedy Hour" "SNL", and "Fridays" writer and "Not Necessarily the News" head writer on his almost 50 years of comedy writing.
Some sketches mentioned.
SNL: Dave's Variety Store, You Can't Win, Bucks Monologue 5/24/80
Fridays: Hollywood Cubes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se-eXJPu8_c&t=301s
Do yourselves a favor and visit Matt's website www.ironictimes.com, a sort of written version of Weekend Update and make sure to subscribe!
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app