00:00:01
we have uh the Great and Powerful Oz on the show uh more Michael the became the unintentional star of the podcast
00:00:11
because he's the Touchstone for all the Saturday Night Live people is Lauren
00:00:17
Michaels the common denominator the yeah the touchdown the common denominator the
00:00:24
touchtonator the thing that everyone talks about a lot that's more unwieldily
00:00:29
than the Touchstone but we are thrilled to get him and um it uh he's our most commonly asked
00:00:36
guest when will you have Lauren when will you have Lauren and he was very uh cool to do this because he doesn't do a
00:00:45
lot of stuff and he doesn't like to be bothered and uh I wouldn't either you
00:00:49
got he's got a lot going on yeah I took a chance I called him up at home and I
00:00:52
said Lauren hi this is Dana we'd love you to come on the talk on our podcast
00:00:57
and he goes I don't know who this is but uh no I don't know so I can't even no he
00:01:03
was great so he comes in and he came to the house and did it and uh you know it really reminded me of being back at us
00:01:09
now because me you him it's like sitting at read through or sitting in a meeting
00:01:12
and you have that reverence form and uh you want to make him laugh he's like a
00:01:18
father figure in a weird way you know a lot of pretty much everything I've had
00:01:23
is based on SNL and him keep me on there so he's he's very interesting guy to
00:01:30
talk to he's as smart as they come and I don't know I I probably should have
00:01:34
brought up my Lauren impression but I've talked to him about it off Mike uh before at a restaurant how I then I got
00:01:41
him at you know in 86 when he was in during the uh trying to pick the show I still have no [ __ ] First Act and that
00:01:50
was the first time I got his rhythm and then we talk about laurenisms on the show you know you never leave a hit and
00:01:56
he he's a brilliant guy I mean he really uh is fun to listen to you know it's a
00:02:01
funny one I can't see who it was but someone we know did a movie and uh he was a pretty big star and
00:02:08
and it opened very poorly and I was in a limo with Lauren and I go uh do you think he'll get another movie
00:02:17
and he goes well not every Studio wants to lose 30 million and work with an [ __ ] some do
00:02:24
not all of them well that's kind of his humor yeah that's exactly a good Lauren
00:02:28
this is this is what Lauren would say his sense of humor so we're we're at the
00:02:32
meeting and it's the last show and you go oh this is our last show we have a
00:02:36
two-week break so it'd be like really really nice if the show was really good
00:02:42
instead of a bad show you know I would do this one take a dive tonight we have we're being reviewed
00:02:49
so you know he's a just a fascinating character we got to sit with him for for
00:02:55
a long time and he proved to be very fascinating everything and I really said we hung up hey we didn't talk over keep
00:02:59
talking okay Dana we didn't even so we didn't we referenced for not talking over the
00:03:08
guests because uh he's a great Storyteller and uh we get into a lot of things we get into the current cast and
00:03:14
and and his emotional relationship with cast members and how long he has been there 50th Anniversary never happened
00:03:20
before in the history of Television a guy producing a show up for a half century
00:03:24
so it's an amazing you were incredible in this interview David I have to say
00:03:29
Dana you really sparkled all right here he is our uh main man main man Lauren Michaels
00:03:36
[Music] Conan's got some money coming in um we first of all want to thank you for
00:03:46
coming into your uh responsible for pretty much everything in my life yes in the uh course we have to embarrass you
00:03:53
and thank you we had no plan for this podcast this meeting this won't be in any way no we'll be we'll come it's not
00:03:59
used or aired but you are a surprise and Delight everyone who was on the podcast
00:04:04
started talking and saying nice things about you how much they love you so we just thought well can we get him to come
00:04:11
on so here we are well I I haven't done anything else that's the amazing part yeah but as I
00:04:19
said I have a background of radio chips getting snacks what will make the least noise because can we open the chips and
00:04:31
make a lot of noise and then not as much noise do you like flaming hot I don't
00:04:36
know I'm just reaching for you yes [Music] don't worry about the noise and we'll um
00:04:43
I'm sorry and there's protein bars if you're stuck so if you're really stuck just grab
00:04:50
those those are not too I'll just talk to Dana for a while are you staying at
00:04:54
the Beverly Hills Hotel uh and the Margarita Road emergency there because they're doing the show Bob
00:05:00
because oh okay yeah touchstones one is the Beverly Hills Hotel which you're a huge fan of
00:05:06
in Aspen you stay at the what Aspen was more houses okay St Barts is another touchdown yeah and
00:05:17
of course and my grandson I remember when I'm now Maine oh you did finally pull the trigger
00:05:23
Maine Maine I wasn't cc'd on that so Maine I'll show you pictures that's pretty far out there
00:05:30
I don't think you can't control them we talked about that last time as you get a
00:05:34
little older you're pretty young you want to get into the country and you want to get in wide open spaces and you
00:05:39
want to get to the landscape of your childhood yes and this is as close to Canada as you can get without going to
00:05:44
Canada oh is that what it is nice okay sort of yeah you're Canadian so and what part of
00:05:50
Canada just real quick uh Toronto what part is this near or what part but you were sort of Toronto am I right yeah I
00:05:57
told you Dana but I I left in 1972. it's changed yes and is was the reason we did Tommy Boy in Toronto because of
00:06:07
that or was it a tax no I think that was Paramount was just they would have done
00:06:11
it in Budapest if it was cheaper yeah yeah that's usually where it moves what
00:06:16
was the cost of Tommy Boy versus Wayne's World one I just want to know about we
00:06:20
were 13-5 or something yeah yeah well Wayne's World 35 days of filming and which film is your personal favorite
00:06:29
I think we're more like 25 oh it could have been it seemed like 35 million no
00:06:35
no no 25 days of shooting oh yeah very quick one take Penelope spheris towards the end
00:06:42
uh when Howard Howard Koch uh heart card was uh they were doing the board and and
00:06:52
uh Paramount person that I was uh who's giving us directions and you know if you can make this movie for 12-5
00:07:01
I'll leave you alone and that was sort of the whole idea of it and then we had
00:07:06
an extra day or two and at one point the Rob Lowe character was gonna have Dennis
00:07:12
Hopper as a father and uh so there was a dynamic between the two of them which would play off in
00:07:19
the sense of the Counterpoint and then they said you have to don't have the extra two days so oh that
00:07:27
went away use Mike Barro's phrase We smooshed it uh into one character and that was Rob
00:07:33
oh okay he was great Kurt Fuller that was ended up ended up being lightning in a bottle I only saw the previews and I
00:07:40
remember been told before where the Paramount guy came back we did the previews Mike and I are possessed while
00:07:47
they're watching ourselves we're kind of depressed it's got Ghostbusters numbers
00:07:51
let's eat right that's what is that right we were in the restaurant we were
00:07:56
okay because I was older um we did for sentimental reasons a preview in Wayne New Jersey because it had I
00:08:06
think that's where it was yeah and then we went to a restaurant that was happening in SoHo which had a tin roof
00:08:14
and uh everybody was ordering Mike was in complete depression because it wasn't
00:08:19
a movie he thought he wanted you know what it was all that and he said it got an 86 let's eat 86. okay
00:08:27
for those of you at home is higher than 80. there's two boxes so it means yeah
00:08:33
two boxes yes and also that it added up to that it could be 88 it could be 91 but it was something where he thought
00:08:42
why would you want to keep talking oh we got like we won yeah and uh that was sort of it took me like
00:08:51
a while to get used to it and then he went into the editing room and and uh but it was all there it was all there in
00:08:57
that first cut and part of it was just how fast it moved and the exuberance of it and
00:09:03
as I say most people in America when they're when they're choosing any kind of entertainment the phrase
00:09:10
looks like fun is the most and I've figured out for myself later why so popular I thought the two
00:09:18
so-called losers in town they dropped AMC Pacers parents are having way more fun yeah than anyone in the town so
00:09:25
that's like who wouldn't want to live in that world Tommy Boy I remember you took
00:09:29
me to Chili's after and um it wasn't quite Tommy boys paid for 35 million no zombie boys probably around
00:09:37
the same like same thing well it was always from the studio was always you know these movies have to be made for a
00:09:43
prize you know 15 20 million dollars is a lot of money yeah yeah and then you go
00:09:47
well we can do this for 20. no no I said 15 to 20. we're gonna aim for for 15 but
00:09:53
we may end up at 20. but um but once that happened you were left alone I think because nobody considered
00:10:01
it important which was a big plus yeah you know and I could watch Tommy Boy and be really comfortable because I'm not
00:10:07
wearing are seeing myself yeah and just thought it was the start of David's film
00:10:12
career but for Chris it feels to me like it captured Chris completely yeah yeah like his physical comedies like about
00:10:18
the sentimental side which was kind of him fighting for the walk through the factory and the scene in the boat and
00:10:25
the bagpipes yes that was great it's like Three Amigos it just gets shinier and brighter as Paul and also they're
00:10:33
meant to be fun yeah do you know what I mean and everyone I think when somebody asked me
00:10:39
in an interview about Waynesboro what were you aiming for and I said you know uh really a
00:10:45
confection you know because I said uh in a Marx Brothers movie no one cares for the Fredonia won the war you know
00:10:54
it's gonna go it's it's gonna go 80 90 minutes it's gonna be as funny as it can
00:10:58
be and then it's gonna good night and uh and everybody's happy and so the idea
00:11:03
that you're going to be tied to a plot and have to stick with scenes that didn't work because they're going to
00:11:09
tell the story as opposed to you know Wayne's World's board or has show boy lose the show appointments
00:11:18
Tommy Boy we always say like if you went and pitched a movie of two guys selling
00:11:22
brake pads in Ohio yeah we got to do this of course it just really I think it was Lauren saying uh these two are kind
00:11:29
of funny around the office and I think he told the Turners Bonnie and Terry Turner said can you write something
00:11:33
about that and it was around the office and then said if you can and they did a good job of doing
00:11:40
that and then you kind of take a moment or two in Coneheads too yeah yeah which had already established yeah and Mike
00:11:47
despite the best efforts of you know Mike and Dana was in Wayne's World and uh we had a bit we had a bit of a
00:11:56
competition I guess that's what Paul would say you heard cheers of the audience and then yeah
00:12:04
but we've lived long enough to be very good friends and love each other [Music]
00:12:14
the one thing I thought I of my notes to ask you why did you cast me what was originally at the show yeah on
00:12:22
SNL because there was no Garth there was only way but I mean why did you cast me
00:12:27
on SNL that was a huge spot you know and then you took me and you didn't take a lot of
00:12:35
brilliant people so Jim Carrey I'm very grateful for it but I didn't see Jim
00:12:39
Carrey uh of Frankie Davis oh there's someone else from somebody else they said it's
00:12:45
too big for you yeah I mean I mean looking back because you make the decision well I think you did cast it I
00:12:51
don't know if like a situation comedy but like it was different lovetts was a
00:12:55
flavor Phil was a role and some I fit in there and you rolled the dice and I'm
00:13:00
ever grateful for it but it seems at the time I did not have a lot of confidence
00:13:04
I didn't know what was going to happen you know well I think Lovitz was there
00:13:08
from the year before yeah it's a cruel thing you've burnt the cast yes exactly everyone's got burned up in
00:13:16
a fire I think that was Frank and then as long as I started to skim that sketch I didn't really
00:13:22
yeah yeah but um I sort of knew uh you'd fit from thank God uh what was the name of
00:13:30
the club you saw it yeah for people don't know but now I'm here with Lauren
00:13:34
yeah I had auditioned other times they said you were coming around I didn't want to do at the comedy store and then
00:13:40
Rosie O'Donnell was there I got 40 minutes yeah I'm waiting to go on first
00:13:44
of all I'm terrified right because it's a dream like everyone else you come
00:13:47
through the door there he is then Brandon tarikov the head of the network tartar sauce and then I'm like oh [ __ ]
00:13:54
I'm so nervous and then share and they sat down in the club that was probably my only night with the
00:14:03
children but I know but we were somewhere and they I think sure said where you're going and I said well I'm
00:14:09
going to go see somebody I think is good club oh I'll come and then Brandon went
00:14:13
well I want to go too or he was first I don't remember the order but yeah uh and
00:14:18
they all laughed uh but that wasn't the deciding factor it was just for me you
00:14:24
had uh clear I mean you were funny and you could never much anytime you talk about funny for longer than a minute
00:14:33
you're not funny it's not good it's still Whimsical that I found myself to
00:14:37
that place at that time no and also I'd never been there before probably since
00:14:41
and uh as I said I've been with those people either but uh I do know Cher I guess and but when I run into her she
00:14:48
says I was there when you were just her life was so open yes and and nice and uh she just wanted
00:14:57
everyone everyone to win yeah also if Dana's doing um told me to jump in but if he's doing
00:15:02
church lady chopping broccoli things that literally in your head you could probably just pluck and put right on the
00:15:07
show it's their first show nothing yeah The Whimsy of the Church Lake because it
00:15:12
was part of the set it was probably five minutes of the character and I remember
00:15:16
okay we'll try it who knew and I worked with your ex-wife Rosie Schuster for a
00:15:22
month you you assigned me to a writer she was the one who said Church chat because we thought of a talk show yeah
00:15:27
and I remember bringing the two dresses into you one was a little more feminine and you just pointed to the one we used
00:15:32
yeah and then as it turns out it was such a great thing for the show because I had Phil and Jan coming in and being
00:15:39
brilliant and or Sigourney Weaver the first show and Victoria Jackson and then Sean Penn and then all these
00:15:47
religious scandals so again that was a freaky lucky thing for for us I think it was like very often with the character
00:15:55
uh you have to find at least my end of it is you have to find the context uh you know with with Mike and and you
00:16:03
in Wayne's World it was like he had a very specific look in mind which was the basement stairs coming
00:16:10
down Nora played the mother yes um hair metal I think what didn't the guard thing was I think you should do it
00:16:18
with Dana and and somehow that evolved that was your suggestion yeah for sure he and then the moment it worked it was
00:16:26
like on a ten to one and it played played pretty well uh because it was fresh and had energy and it looked like
00:16:33
fun and it was um and then after that Mike had been with the show three months four months oh yeah
00:16:43
something like that or but after that it was like why are we in that corner right
00:16:47
yeah and you're in that corner because you designed a set that had the stairs
00:16:52
you're as far for the audience as possible so from that point on I think it moved to home base yes and that was
00:16:58
like yeah we don't need the background which is incredibly powerful you can really time time the laughs
00:17:06
where the monologue is where the monologue is I'm just telling people at home yeah yes where it's like
00:17:11
because you can get the audience right down there as the warm up which was was designed a certain way and it's still
00:17:16
the same uh you're you're moving down you know like somebody's somebody does
00:17:23
now it's it's Che right uh and then Keenan comes out and sings the girls and
00:17:29
then you sort of the lights start to go down and you know you're looking at that
00:17:34
spot yeah or you're looking where the cold opening is going to be you're
00:17:37
trained and so you get a sense of where the focus is it's just amazing Lauren
00:17:42
you're you're still there and I I've come back a few times and did update or
00:17:46
whatever you can't get past it I mean you'll never forget it and I think that
00:17:50
for all of us who are unknown go on the show and for the audience to see Will Ferrell do what he did see how David
00:17:57
evolved it's such an amazing visceral experience there's nothing like it and
00:18:02
the music and the way you kept it the same is extraordinary that you didn't let any regime trick you out and change
00:18:08
it what's interesting is there's four new people coming in and it's amazing
00:18:13
because of the pandemic we couldn't let there was no place for everyone to go so
00:18:19
we kept adding people because you have to add people every year and suddenly we have like 23 people
00:18:24
yeah and everybody you're not playing time and so uh and then people left and and so it was so much
00:18:36
fun seeing these these new people because they're they're exactly where you should start they've never been on
00:18:42
television they don't know they don't generally if they have representation
00:18:46
it's primitive and uh you just sort of see them and there's like that exuberance
00:18:53
and excitement and uh and there it just shows and that energy shows and so when you when you start with people who've
00:19:00
never been on television and the audience gets to be part of that process and live with them through it yeah then
00:19:08
I I used to say I'm going to say it now again um that the four longest years of your
00:19:14
life are high school yes you don't have any money you don't have a car any girls
00:19:20
and so staying up late with friends or staying up late by yourself to like one o'clock in the morning it's like a
00:19:29
really exciting thing so when people say the best cast that ever did it generally
00:19:35
it's when they were in high school totally so if they you know and they go oh well no the best was you know you and
00:19:40
Hartman and you you know when you go and follow and you talk about with your friends
00:19:51
that's the only game in town yeah especially back then like that I mean there's more competition now and it's
00:19:55
great that you're still crushing it because with so many things to choose from that was I think when you have a
00:20:02
transition kind of now where some are leaving that you know more familiar faces yeah uh it doesn't mean anyone's
00:20:07
not as good it's just some people get more opportunities coming up and the same thing happened it took me longer to
00:20:12
get my footing when we had Dana unfortunately was just too good it was oh no and also I think Ben Stiller came
00:20:18
in at the same time as Mike yes but he sort of saw this could be a long wait you know like because Sandler everybody
00:20:26
was there and it was killing it and uh and what was interesting about that time was the only people who liked it were
00:20:36
the audience critically it wasn't it's a golden age now yeah Barstow Sports said we were a great we
00:20:45
were the best cast and then you back then they were like this is the worst bunch of [ __ ] untalented even when
00:20:50
we had on a given night back in the late 90s or early 90s sorry late 80s we would
00:20:54
have toonces I'm talking about just we'd have a sprockets maybe I do Bush or
00:21:00
Perot or McLaughlin group Mike might do uh talking lady whatever her name was but we had so many women sing a song
00:21:08
David would do a Hollywood minute yeah so there was a given moment in time you must have felt like she hey I got a lot
00:21:13
of and you need to hit we're doing that documentary on Jim Downey which yeah I
00:21:18
talked to him for four hours it's only going to take 10 years we're gonna use three minutes or
00:21:24
something like that but my son Eddie is working on it right he grew up kind of on the show Etc but uh but not doesn't
00:21:31
really know that period no and Too Young it keeps showing me things from that period that are like hilarious and one
00:21:37
of them you showed me recently was uh parole on Larry King and it's so funny here's a perfect
00:21:45
perfect Downy piece you're created it will will was great Larry King doing it
00:21:50
she's not known for it and there was Chris Catan in there it was people their
00:21:56
platforms were very exotic and Ross Brown was the same old thing because he's same old dribble every time we've
00:22:02
been doing this can I finish one time are you gonna keep talking all ten percent I mean the rhythm of that was so
00:22:07
infectious I never had more fun doing a character you could do that speed you always had that ability that was
00:22:14
something I saw in the audition you could you could move something that fast if it if I can catch a wave with it
00:22:21
rhythmically in my head and I know that it's like casting a line to the audience
00:22:24
can I finish one time yeah and I know you're gonna laugh right now because you
00:22:29
can't not laugh because that's why I'm talking can you figure it that way I
00:22:32
know it is exactly like a song yeah it's extrapolate but you were you audition
00:22:38
with music I did have I did have a little piano thing and stuff but I'm not recommending
00:22:44
that because it's really time to tell it's about to say for that reason the
00:22:48
other night just I was at the Improv doing a benefit and I'm kind of bombing
00:22:52
I mean I'm not I'm doing okay yeah and then I go [ __ ] it I go I did a thing on
00:22:57
SNL called Chop and broccoli it's packed so I do it and give it all my all on the
00:23:01
piano so Innovation so I should never go on and do anything else it killed yeah I
00:23:06
thought that story was I only did it once they think it is because people ask me all the time it was we gave him a
00:23:12
name to me it was just random rock star what was he called Derek something yeah so it's Brit it's rich but it's not my
00:23:20
cart no no it's not McCartney and then I buried it by we did a sketch where the
00:23:25
record company it was a little too sophisticated tells him he has to die because his record sales will go up and
00:23:32
look what happened to Jim Morrison and Hendricks but I don't want to die it was
00:23:36
one of those and it laid it laid there but broccoli lives on you know Lauren when you when you watch these auditions
00:23:41
it's interesting because I was newer to Comedy all I want to do is kill and because I my audition was different
00:23:48
we've interviewed a lot of these people and I'm hearing a lot of more at 8h
00:23:52
which would be just horrifying but uh and it's dead silence you know and everyone's out there and shoemaker's
00:23:57
eating peanuts you know no one it's like hey come down for the audition it's
00:24:01
tough to audition but when I also weren't you brought in a little bit as a writer well the thing was I came in and
00:24:09
Dennis right before I walked on people were catch Rising Star you might have been there I don't actually don't even
00:24:13
know if you were there it was you know some writers came down a handful was me Rob Schneider and Tom Kenny and we were
00:24:18
just doing stand-ups so we do it and Dennis Miller comes up before and he goes hey spuddling he goes you're gonna
00:24:25
bring the a game and I go I mean that's all the a I got I mean I don't know it
00:24:28
might be a b but it's not saving anything my besties might be B and he goes uh yeah I'm saving it for another
00:24:33
audition for America uh Idol so I go listen um yeah and he goes you don't want to kill
00:24:41
too hard throws a red flag with these guys they don't want to get some Road hack and I go so don't do good they're
00:24:47
like David Spade I go Dennis don't do good so good but I realized now when I
00:24:53
watch comics and stuff I look at writing so I can tell someone has game and two lines you know what I mean it's like
00:24:59
Name That Tune I go first line might be a fluke and then they do the next joke and I go there's something going on here
00:25:04
yeah and it's like um you get an eye for it so I think you guys all had that and it and I can watch
00:25:10
someone and not see if they kill or not I don't almost hear it I just go oh that's a good one oh that's a good one
00:25:14
so Dennis said later or maybe down he said no we liked your writing so I don't
00:25:20
even know I don't think we did that well but that didn't matter it was more like
00:25:23
oh I like the way you put that together or that thought or that and that I appreciate you to describe that that
00:25:28
sensibility that you look for well what I think was happening then was we had to
00:25:34
cut a murderer's row of people yeah that we're gonna be dominating for a long
00:25:38
time so you're gonna get to be Ross Perot but in the other day do both parts I saw David sitting in the
00:25:52
corner and he looks so sad but it was just for the wide shot it was a fluky thing but yeah that was you did well but
00:25:59
what I'm getting at is that there's you were Perot there's a thing which I've
00:26:04
done a bunch over the years which is I'll bring someone in as a writer you know they're you know they're going to
00:26:10
be cast eventually you buy some time but they won't go through that self-doubt
00:26:14
why am I not getting on and people say I'm on but I you know I don't see enough
00:26:19
whatever I added that though to my stress I'll talk to comedians who've auditioned and they tell me what they've
00:26:25
auditioned with in the last five or eight years yeah and I won't tell them but I'm thinking to myself not going to
00:26:30
get it yeah and whether it was like you're not afraid of any kind of humor if it was something that's got a logical
00:26:36
but it wasn't funny and I could just tell it didn't fit kind of the frequency of you Lauren
00:26:43
Michaels and your lieutenants there's a certain thing and I it's hard to
00:26:47
describe it because it's it's got a wide bandwidth but there is something you can
00:26:51
see it at read through when someone new puts in something everyone goes oh Jesus
00:26:57
an honest room yeah there's no Bernie's not there you know like so there's not
00:27:02
that and the Network's not there there's no booming laugh you know from so it's
00:27:07
got yeah it's yeah it didn't play and same with the show when something doesn't work there are no laughs on the
00:27:14
air so yeah who do you blame that's the highway that's the fairest thing in the
00:27:18
world yeah really and also you feel you burned it yeah but there are people like
00:27:23
Bowen I brought in as a writer he's great oh and there's you want people to
00:27:28
see how the process works because it's figuring it out those first few weeks
00:27:33
that you know that's it and that's caught you know like that and how fast
00:27:37
it goes and costume changes and uh while he's pointing at it yeah a line that
00:27:43
changed or the writer forgot to tell you I think Chris Rock ran into that problem
00:27:47
of you know we were stressed that we in frustrated we were getting on fast enough but Chris Rock comes in and
00:27:53
they're like you're Eddie Murphy now and you're on in seven sketches and
00:27:57
franken's screaming at him about a Confederate he's playing in general and
00:28:00
he's going no and I'm like poor Rock he's in too much like it's too much
00:28:05
right away yeah and here's the cards and here's this well and I think it got him
00:28:09
off it was a tougher situation for the guy who's one of the funniest yeah but
00:28:12
you knew at least I knew he was really good yeah of course but normally you get to develop in the background right
00:28:20
because you watch a little bit Phil and Jan and I were in the cold opening and I'd never done sketch comedy just stand
00:28:25
up so my first show and I wasn't I didn't realize later I guess I knew I
00:28:30
was before the mall alarm I didn't I didn't know I was in the coal opening
00:28:32
right that's how green I was we were just in the first one it was Game Show psychic I don't know if it was Jack
00:28:37
candy is that what it was Jack Handy sounds funny you know I would answer the questions and Phil was a
00:28:43
perfect in Jan and so we had no time to really acclimate but it was kind of nice
00:28:48
everyone was really involved but this is something Higgin said and I don't know
00:28:52
if he made it but that you basically wrote the Constitution of Saturday Night Live and then you see all these
00:28:58
incarnations so I'm a baby boomer I'm doing late 80s stuff and then you you're
00:29:02
the constant and then you're seeing what kind of Will Ferrell stuff or Bill Hader
00:29:06
humor and then Kate mcginnon and so you're adaptive in a sense you're observing so these new four people are
00:29:12
you seeing something just a little 2022 one of them by the way is from Arizona shut the [ __ ] up and I said yeah and he
00:29:21
said yeah that's where David Spade's from famous they told you but and also the changing culture of
00:29:31
Comedy but you're still there and you're adapting right I mean yeah and and I
00:29:35
think the room is great you know and and uh you know oh yeah and it's a safe space so you kind of
00:29:48
people relax into it I mean it's scary for the auditions of course yeah but it's also at some point you have to bat
00:29:54
at Yankee Stadium if you're gonna be the major league so pretending that that
00:29:58
won't exist and you go right from a club to on the air wouldn't work no passing
00:30:04
through that threshold because it's scary [Music] and for you personally because I always
00:30:13
saw you kind of as a coach in a way that so everybody everybody you're always doing sports metaphors I
00:30:21
mean you complimented me once third person said uh Lauren said you reminded him of Don Mattingly
00:30:27
so I was like that I looked it up take it but you you you see all these personalities come and go and have you
00:30:35
gotten more studer that you surprised you you kind of go well this cast member will be like this I think this one's
00:30:40
going to do well later I mean you must have some intuitive sense or is it all just sort of surprising
00:30:46
sometimes I mean like of these four you've just hired right you know do you have a sense of maybe 10 years ago uh
00:30:55
somebody who's new to the network but you know like uh was a senior person we
00:31:00
were having dinner and he said can I ask you an SNL question well that's nice sure no it was great I
00:31:06
don't he said you know the update with Joe's and Shea uh do you think that's working
00:31:13
and I said no they said oh you know and I went yeah no no it's a it's a thing of like
00:31:23
the way I say it which is unpleasant is that all babies are ugly unless they're
00:31:26
your baby and after three months people say what a beautiful baby and you have to live through that period of people
00:31:34
not being good somebody blows a line somebody comes in on a wrong foot somebody gets accumulate well he doesn't
00:31:41
the card doesn't come up it's all that and people go I don't think that guy's
00:31:45
that funny and you go no he is and I think when you see chemistry and you sort of know they're going to work
00:31:52
well together you and Chris yeah you know it was just there from the beginning it was their
00:31:58
off stage but it was also very clear on camera well it seems like the audience starts to discover you and like you
00:32:04
because you get enough base hits and then you as a performer and David we just get more confident and that feeds
00:32:10
on itself also you go from however successful you thought you were to famous and that transition is just different
00:32:19
suddenly and if in the first season we had a limo for the host that was that was the extent of our budget but uh and
00:32:29
at the party uh John Belushi would quite often go and sit with the hose towards the end and
00:32:37
then as they're getting into the limit say you know so John would say I'll drop
00:32:42
you off and uh about the host at the at the hotel and then he would just drive around all night with his face like
00:32:50
people limos are rare then so who is that and then he'd just be you know hand
00:32:56
on the roof yeah I like when we first of all we didn't have cars back then it
00:33:01
wasn't that far long ago but to this to the set which probably was better be to
00:33:05
have because it's snowing and they're like Marcy's like spit are you here I'm
00:33:09
down at Manny honey and I'm like well I I'm trying to get there I live on the
00:33:13
west side but in snowstorm and then I get there and then afterwards we got to share like you know made sense Cass gets
00:33:20
a car I'd share one with any feature player whatever and then uh and Norm would take one to Atlantic City anyway
00:33:27
where he did very well Marty's like um I'm telling Lauren immediately uh but
00:33:35
I was going to ask you about you just said something about Farley do you remember this stupid story where Farley
00:33:40
was dating uh Aaron at work and uh remember that this is just someone that worked at the office very a nice uh very
00:33:48
cute girl and then on the break they broke up and and they came back and she started dating Steve Martin and so
00:33:54
Farley comes back from Wisconsin and uh Sandler and I are in the office and he goes so uh smoking I hear uh Aaron's got
00:34:03
a new fella and I go yeah but he doesn't know and he goes well he might be richer
00:34:09
but he's not funnier and he's not better looking and he's not more famous we're
00:34:15
like whoops all three and he's like shut the [ __ ] up when I got you can't get better than Seymour that's
00:34:24
a tough one yeah so so Lauren yeah so Lauren I have a lot of questions yeah go ahead look at this
00:34:31
um it seems to me like you love it when the cast and the writers are melding you
00:34:37
don't want either side to really dominate completely I think I made the choice because when I worked on the show
00:34:43
Laugh-In which was a number one show it was to which I contributed almost nothing
00:34:50
writer yeah but we were never at any read through mm-hmm we we didn't go to the studio
00:35:00
and other people would rewrite it and whatever it wasn't what I thought working at a comedy show would be and so
00:35:07
the idea of elevating the writers because every every person from the network in particularly everyone in the
00:35:13
control room goes oh the writers can do no wrong [Music] but the point with it is it's
00:35:20
that collaboration between a performer and a writer is and then the performers all learn how to write do you remember
00:35:28
or at least how to recognize because the survive no rhythm and timing you know that's too many words cut that back yeah
00:35:35
you know what I mean and the the writers theoretically thinking about content of
00:35:40
some sort they don't like to trim yeah I would tell Al and Jim I go with a bush
00:35:44
cold opening you got to cut some words out because I feel like I'm doing homework I feel like I used to get
00:35:49
through it and they they did it but yeah and and they do it immediately because they never talk back they never ever
00:35:56
argue with you or whatever I didn't realize how much they all wanted to be on camera
00:36:02
and then you saw change bank with Jim is great Silvertones man commercial parodies were another secret weapon I
00:36:11
think there's just a thing of watching people on a stage really enjoying themselves feeling uncomfortable when
00:36:21
that level of confidence is there and you know that you got it it's just a different thing and it comes through at
00:36:28
home you just can tell it's exhilarating on the 40th because Mike and I were
00:36:33
closing the show yeah which I want to talk about the 40th because I think it was sort of magic but I said we should
00:36:39
either be very offended or very flattered because it's a four-hour show and there we come as Wayne Garth hey and
00:36:45
we so happen to land it so beautifully and Kanye West was there and we kept going to him and I felt so in the pocket
00:36:52
but God you had to fight the nerves because everyone was a famous person yeah and that was a tough room and yet
00:36:59
and worse uh because the seating was screwed well the 40th was just a fly by the seat of
00:37:07
your pants I mean it wasn't a normal people were still coming in and you know
00:37:11
and I had to send to Jimmy and and uh Justin out so they really took a bullet you know like because people were moving
00:37:19
in still seating and they're performing because the audience was only celebrities right yeah and they're only
00:37:24
live at eight o'clock yeah former hosts music and then you had a spillover room
00:37:29
and people were mad there in the spillover room that room and by the way I don't think there's any
00:37:37
plus ones yeah it was just and the 50th will have no plus ones so what do you think of the 50th I mean isn't it
00:37:44
surreal yeah I I mean and then uh uh I was gonna I have to give an enemy's speech and I hadn't planned on it oh
00:37:52
that's right congratulations we win again yeah no it was like seven years in
00:37:56
a row or something yeah six six still I'm thinking about next year you have to
00:38:02
write this stuff down there uh I think I was gonna say you know like I don't want to say well I'm getting
00:38:10
ready for season 48. because it's insane it's just you know what I mean yeah and yes it was five
00:38:17
years I wasn't there you know after the first five but it's you just sort of go
00:38:23
uh and the other thing that's familiar to people who are joining the show is
00:38:28
the school year you know that that we come in in the fall take Thanksgiving off or take Christmas off uh you know
00:38:37
Easter whatever and spring break and then it's summer and you go away and uh
00:38:43
the original plan was not the network just wanted us to do three shows a month all year round and I went
00:38:48
the seasons are going to run into each other and also it's so such a pressurized environment you have
00:38:59
to get away from everybody I mean for me because I want to kill everybody by the
00:39:02
end oh yeah and you're just a little more to get out yeah and so you go weighing around the end of July you go
00:39:08
yeah I could go back start the message yeah now when the network or the whoever the people you talk to about the show
00:39:15
try to convince you to do something how do you I mean if you how do you navigate
00:39:19
that I mean have you ever lost an argument because it seems like you've have a winning percentage of keeping the
00:39:25
show quality or or it's it's it was anything to do with religion particularly in the
00:39:33
70s there was Jim used to write this uh thing called what if uh and it would always be
00:39:41
written in by a 10 year old paper boy from out to Illinois and uh anyway what if Spartacus has a had a piper cup you
00:39:49
know it's like those kind of right and then we do a redactment of it okay and
00:39:53
at the time uh state senator in New York in arguing for capital punishment said that if the
00:40:02
Romans hadn't believed a capital punishment there would be know Jesus and the Reno Christianity
00:40:10
which seemed insane to me but I I understood how you could get there logically and uh the movie straight time
00:40:19
which was Dustin Hoffman coming out of you know on parole and the his yes friends trying to get him back into
00:40:28
crime so we did it as Jesus does you know gets off with three to five and then he uh is some of the Apostles are
00:40:40
going to come on one more Miracle no one gets hurt you know now to me it was just comedy
00:40:47
you know but it really got uh okay and it uh and it because you'd have to know
00:40:54
the relationship between me and Howard because in the first five years you'd be
00:40:58
like well we can't just do pop and I go well I'm you know we wanted this and so
00:41:05
that week we had Keith Jared and it was like jazz piano and it was brilliant but
00:41:10
it was like now this sketch which was nine minutes we're arguing up until air
00:41:16
really at 11 o'clock which point it's like I'm going uh really yeah you're
00:41:24
denying the Divinity of Christ which I go we're not really it's you know uh
00:41:30
yeah and maybe that's the Canadian part but all I'm getting at is it was like uh
00:41:35
an absolute no no no not even that and I said to one of the network people who was in the room
00:41:42
who all spare uh does this offend you and he said listen Lord I'd let you put [ __ ] sucking on the
00:41:50
air we'll get a 40 share so I'm the wrong guy to ask oh this is really helpful thank you
00:41:59
[Music] well we had Mr clockworthy I think yeah in the in the age and in church chat I
00:42:06
initially had penis in there a lot and he wanted some of those cut out and so I substitute for penis I put in more your
00:42:13
throbbing bulbous area it was way more pornographic but that's good no penis
00:42:18
yeah and I think that for us you know uh because it's live and because we were on
00:42:25
the honor System at the beginning we're still on it you know I was at the Emmys
00:42:30
the other night a bunch of people you know uh said [ __ ] and you go yeah you're gonna get a laugh
00:42:37
you know but is that it's not an age well you know and uh but it is that move the
00:42:44
temptation to do it and for us we would lose Affiliates if we lose right I don't
00:42:49
think you lose anything anymore but but it there's something about and when we
00:42:55
were doing Wayne's World I'd been in 1990 I was in Edward I was on something that a trip uh
00:43:05
and uh yeah and I was with people that I wasn't normally with and they they talked about watching the show with
00:43:13
their kids now no you know in the 70s it was no not supposed to trust anyone over 30 right
00:43:21
and it was like we were doing it for the people we knew and we didn't think the
00:43:25
rest of the country cared and it really didn't until Mr Bill showed up but uh
00:43:31
and they were talking about sitting there with their teenage daughter and how uh how
00:43:39
great it was to both be laughing at the same things as a family anyway I didn't
00:43:43
have kids so I it was kind of I thought oh that and that was Schwing and sphinct
00:43:49
herself we were doing that oh the Madonna the Madonna oh yeah with the Avion bottle right what was the movie
00:43:56
Truth or Dare yeah yeah Truth or Dare look at the thing on that guy or whatever yeah I was it was and uh they
00:44:05
were doing the Avion bottle like like that and she wanted to do it if I had a 16 year old daughter that'd be like
00:44:11
really cringed off and uh we do lots of things that are shocking but I think you
00:44:16
can't just be shocking I think it's great to have hard rails and so it's you
00:44:21
can be a little naughty but you can't just full-blown I mean the penis sketch
00:44:25
where we're all at a nudist colony fantastic piece fantastic piece really holds up didn't it take a year or two to
00:44:31
get it on we lost Toyota we lost two three big sponsors because people would boycott a dealership
00:44:40
um and then because of that sketch yeah and because people would say uh you know
00:44:46
Whoever has the dealership in Mississippi is getting is calling Central headquarters going there's
00:44:52
people outside here protesting and why are you sponsoring that show guys at a nudist colony we had a slot so you'd see
00:45:01
our legs I think Hanks was on it I think it was smuggle right yes it was nice penis how you doing how's your penis and
00:45:08
we said penis like intentionally like 300 times or something missed that one I don't know yeah
00:45:15
it was where the laughs were yeah I don't think it got great laughs right no no I don't think so but there
00:45:23
are certain writers who never don't hear laughs so you never don't hear that yeah
00:45:28
I know they're going to kill actually but like old old ones like uh cheeseburger cheeseburger Pepsi Pepsi
00:45:34
those I don't think kill the first time around I don't think it's kills the
00:45:37
first time around and you train the audience this is good and they and then later they go oh those are the best and
00:45:42
you go yeah very often the first one's not not a hit yeah but uh yeah we did uh
00:45:49
the very first show we're still trying to find out what areas of the studio had
00:45:53
sound and we were on there there was a piece that Rosie wrote uh called b b hospital
00:46:00
and uh it was a maternity hospital for bees and to be the apparently they did the costumes and they were great to be
00:46:07
costumes and uh every now they're just men pacing and then every now and then
00:46:14
the nurse would come out and say it's a worker no it's a worker you know so and
00:46:20
it was just that it's a worker oh yes work and then it was it's a drone oh it's a drone yeah
00:46:26
anyway it played to silence because you couldn't hear it it was in the barcode
00:46:31
it was just terrible so the only note we got from the network was the bees thing
00:46:38
didn't work so don't do that anymore so the second show the bees came on right
00:46:42
and tried and then Paul Simon was hosting he said no no the bees is cut because it didn't work
00:46:49
the third show they snuck on uh in a sketch with uh Rob Runner and Penny Marshall and then there was a long
00:46:59
more and more they're taking their people are in the back or bees you know it's like yeah yeah that's like a big
00:47:05
thing and then Rob went into long speech about how the bees didn't work how funny
00:47:10
and then and then Belushi did that A variation on that speech from Billy Jack of like you know you have Hollywood
00:47:18
writers you have this you come here and we okay you know like that and they kind
00:47:23
of walked off to One Tin Soldier you know like and so that was then the bees were there that's what we loved about
00:47:30
that show yeah it was Anarchy and it was so different yeah and also don't tell us
00:47:36
what's funny all right guys that was part one with Lauren and we're gonna do the whole part
00:47:41
two next week [Music] this has been a podcast presentation of cadence 13. please listen then rate
00:47:48
review and follow all episodes available now for free wherever you get your podcast no joke folks
00:47:56
fly on the wall has been a presentation of cadence 13. executive produced by Dana Carvey and David Spade Chris
00:48:02
Corcoran of cadence 13 and Charlie finan of brilstein entertainment the show's
00:48:07
lead producer is Greg Holtzman with production and Engineering support from Serena Regan and Chris Basil of cadence
00:48:12
13.