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RE-RELEASE - Robert Smigel

March 25, 2026 / 01:15:09

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Robert Smeiggel.

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Robert Smeiggel

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>> coming back at you.

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>> You know, we will say this a lot, but

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arguably the best sketch writer. There's

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no such thing as the best. He's among

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>> the greatest uh

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>> comedy sketch writers

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>> of his generation. And he's written a

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lot of movies with Sandler and so and

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he's our friend and uh it was just fun.

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is Triumph the dog. That's very orry.

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>> Yeah, I think he does a lot of Triumph.

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And Triumph actually, well, you'll see

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it gets a little get gets heated a

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little bit between us and Triumph.

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>> Oh, that's right. And Triumph Oh, also

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Smiggle, didn't he? Wasn't he the

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headwriter for Conan for a while for the

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first show?

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>> Uh for the the talk show he did. Yeah.

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Yeah, he was the headwriter there. And

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he's uh he was one of my bosses at SNL

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because he was always in the room

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picking sketches with Franken and Downey

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and Lauren. So he always had a lot of

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pole.

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>> Mhm.

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>> He does night of night of too many

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stars. I think that's for autism. It's

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his charity.

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>> He did the Dana Carvey show that lasted

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eight episodes with

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>> Dino Stapanopoulos.

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>> That disaster.

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>> Steve Carell and Steven Colbear.

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>> Whoops. Allstar

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>> Louis CK.

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>> Louis CK I hired as my headwriter.

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>> I mean,

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>> no,

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>> she did pretty well.

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>> Um, all right. So, here's Robert. We

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have a lot of laughs cuz we know him

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very well.

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>> Enjoy

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>> all the momentum we had with the Lauren

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impression.

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>> Oh, we were Oh, yeah. And you were

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saying Lauren, you did impression before

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that. before Mark McKini. Mark McKini

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did um the only person who did it my

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first year was Mark McKini and he did

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like a

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>> beautifully accurate Lauren like a

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wellobserved Lauren

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>> and actually said complete sentences

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>> and it was very impressive. But then the

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next year I just started doing cartoony

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Lauren on my own. And then I went into I

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remember going into Dana's office.

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>> Mhm.

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>> And uh you know I and I admitting that I

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sort of do Lauren like you know I want

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to show and look I think Dana and then

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Dana's like oh yeah I do Lauren too. And

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Dana starts going like oh what do you

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think of act three?

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Just had that move. Like something

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Lauren's never done in his life. I did a

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lot of things.

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>> Incredibly per. It was just perfect. It

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was like this self-satisfied.

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>> We still have no [ __ ] first act.

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>> I've got no [ __ ] first act. No

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[ __ ] code.

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>> Marcy, look at the book of horn, please.

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Chapter two.

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>> Frank and ride a bush. Frank and ride a

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bush. Franken ride a bush. Immediately

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>> Frank and a bush. There was a lot of

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bush cold openings.

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>> Franken.

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>> Remember Robert when you made the

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cartoon thing where you flip the pages?

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Which what which cartoon?

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>> Well, I was doing Bush Senior so much. I

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didn't know that the writing staff was

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kind of like again. So then I saw a

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thing where it's like a flip page where

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it was Bush.

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Yeah. And he sp You spin it and see me

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as Bush.

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>> It was like It was like a series of It

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was like one of those flip.

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What was it? It was like Was it Franken

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putting Bush cold open on the What?

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>> I thought it was Bush taking a poo or

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something. I thought it was

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scatological.

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>> It could have been.

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>> I like Frank and putting the card on the

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on the uh lineup.

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>> I have to say Franken takes a beating on

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your show.

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>> He's coming. He's coming on very very

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soon.

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I mean, he's become like Well, Sarah got

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him back by stabbing him in the head

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with a pencil.

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>> Yeah.

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>> Did you hear that one?

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>> Well, I went through

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>> I was not there. That was after I had um

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left for Conan. But but do you remember

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this? Uh Spade, I bet you remember this.

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So one of the impressions I I was the

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one I think who started that

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>> like me and Conan I used to do this

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thing for Conan of Al. Um and I feel bad

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because Al got me the job actually and I

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love Al but but he was tough back then

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and so everybody kind of yeah needed to

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release some energy. Mine was like Al on

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his back and it like a snapping turtle.

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>> Flip me over.

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>> Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.

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>> Well, I I thought that's why he would

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when he was running for senator, I

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thought he'll be great in there because

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Al is blunt and doesn't he just says

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what he thinks. I thought that'd be good

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for It was great. But on the but well

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boy when he was in the Senate he was my

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hero because he

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>> he kind of like

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>> contained himself from being as

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confrontational like I mean at the show

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>> his last few years at the show I think I

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think he was kind of unhappy to be

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honest with you. I mean, he was like in

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his 40s and I don't think this is what

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he was dreaming of doing in his 40s and

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I I think it was I think that's in his

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defense like he was confused as to what

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he wanted to do with his life and then

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he started writing those books and I

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think he found direction and

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>> yeah he's always hyper political and

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that was fun writing with him and Downey

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cuz you know dreams and then he's

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sitting next to Spade at readthrough and

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he's like what happened.

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>> It's like George Seagull and just shoot

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me. He goes in the middle of a scene.

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He'd stop and he goes, he'd look at the

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crowd. He goes, "I did a movie with

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Elizabeth Taylor and I'm standing next

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to this [ __ ] now."

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>> Well, I remember Jan Hooks once saying

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to me, "Shmag, don't become one of those

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writers who's 50 years old and wearing

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blue jeans and sitting on the floor,

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flannel shirt, whatever you do." It's

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always sitting on the floor with a

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notebook.

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>> It's true. I mean, it's just you never

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grow up when you're at that

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>> a little sache where you put your

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bitterness in a bitterness pouch. We're

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like just keep loading things

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>> and Al's defense didn't get up the show.

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I did 6 years. It gets mind-numbing and

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it gets you're in a box of like no sun

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and pizza and ordering in and stress and

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everyone else's energy. And so,

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>> you did a long run there, too. You seem

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pretty normal, but that that was a long

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run you had.

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>> I did a long run that I got out when I

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was like 33 and to do the Conan show and

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then I came back but in a much more

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sane capacity. I just did the cartoons.

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Yeah. And all I had to do was show up on

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>> Yeah. All I had to do was show up on

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Saturday. So I wasn't really a part of

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the the thing anymore. But Al was like,

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you know, there every day and he's like

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in his 40s.

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Well, let's get back to Schmiggel's

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unbelievable career. Do we want to be a

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little bit uh do we want to go a little

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bit to Young Smiggle first or would you

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like to go later?

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>> Young or what about Can my friend come

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on cuz he thinks Young Smiggle's a

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[ __ ] boore to be honest.

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>> Yeah. Let me see who do you got over

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there?

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>> He's been he's been uh he's been riding

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me ever since.

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>> This is This is unique for Fly on the

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Wall. We have a a guest with a special

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guest. You have a guest with a guest

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who's just I don't know. He just thinks

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that he can jazz it up. You know,

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>> he better behave.

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>> Should I bring him out?

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>> Bring him out. Why not?

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>> This is Oh goodness.

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>> WHAT? HERE I AM. Here I am. FINALLY. GOD

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Jesus Christ. What a long wait. No, this

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is terribly exciting. So exciting.

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>> Hi, Triumph.

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>> Blind.

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>> Do not make fun of this show or us.

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Triumph. I did. Please.

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>> Oh, I know. I understand. Those are the

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ground rules I have to work with.

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>> No, no, no jokes about the show. No, no

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making fun of anyone.

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>> Okay, good.

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>> No, honestly, this is a great show. Fly

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on the wall.

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>> Not for me to poop on. No, no, fantastic

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show.

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>> That's good. Fly on the wall. There's a

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lot of buzz I hear around Fly.

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>> Good job, Triumph. Thank you.

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>> Yeah, the same kind of uh buzz flies

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make around my ass.

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You see it because it's not as attract

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[ __ ] and the show is what makesense. You

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see the joke you get.

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>> Yeah, that took a turn. But you like it.

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It's

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>> it's what it's a switcheroo.

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>> No spade. This is a great show. It fills

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a need, you know, because let's face it,

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Saturday Night Live, it hasn't gotten

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enough attention or retrospectives or

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anniversary shows.

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Just I mean honestly I mean just the

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other day I was thinking this uh after

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watching my best of finesse Mitchell DVD

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I was THINKING WHY WHY HAS SNL BEEN

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written about only slightly more than

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World War II? Why not?

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And today's show my goodness. How did

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you land this guest? The hand up my ass.

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Seriously, I'm worried. I'm I'm a little

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concerned. This is your first season.

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You've already run out of people we care

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about.

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>> No, Smiggle's a big deal. He wrote a lot

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of great stuff. Hey, sure he is.

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Everybody stay tuned. We've got the

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fourth funniest guy from the the Bear

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sketch.

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>> And you have to explain what this sketch

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was to people under 60.

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It's trouble.

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>> This is what you're looking forward to.

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You already did Sandler, Rock, Mike

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Myers. This is your future. This is

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pretending to be interested in questions

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like tell me in coming up with goat boy

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which came first to you the goat or the

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boy is it a boy who becomes a goat or a

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goat who becomes a boy? Our listeners

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really our 10 remaining listeners are

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dying

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>> there's more we didn't get the news.

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>> No I kid I kid again.

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>> Oh he's kidding Dana.

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>> No your show's great. It's a very very

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successful money grab. I mean hit

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you have like how many subscri you got

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like 400,000 listeners right? Yeah,

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>> I'm going to say yes.

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>> And not to this episode, that's for

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sure. But up to now,

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>> now here the all we can hope today is to

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beat Alan's Y Bell's numbers

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>> numbers.

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>> And who better?

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>> Who better to co-host this show than

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Dana Carvey, one of the alltime greatest

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cast members on Saturday Night

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>> and then why why would you say that?

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It's almost as if you think I'm going to

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hurt your feelings. Oh, I think this

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will be a compliment.

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>> Exactly.

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Dana Carvey, one of the all-time

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greatest cast members of Saturday Night

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Live, and David Spade, who was also on

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the show.

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>> No, Spade's everywhere. Spade is doing

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great. He's everywhere. This is Dana,

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this is actually a boost for you. You

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know, audiences are connecting with you

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again. That's what's great. I only wish,

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Dana, that you did this show like 15

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years ago, you know, when podcasts were

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starting and all the people you do

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impressions of were still alive.

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>> Now it's like

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>> I've lost a lot of them.

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>> Now it's like, hey folks, what would

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happen? What if Ross Perau and Jimmy

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Stewart weren't rotting corpses slowly

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disintegrating into the soil? So might

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go something like the

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Well, you're you're trying to be

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president. Yeah, I can't finish one

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time. I'll just do it there. I did.

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>> Listen to your act. It's like the audio

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six sense. I hear dead people.

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>> I'm sorry. Is this wrong? This is a

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podcast. You're supposed to You're

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supposed to be complimenting each other

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on

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>> That's what it is, right?

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>> I mean, yeah,

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>> that's what podcasts are. White people

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complimenting each other.

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>> Yeah. We need more old white people.

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Very nice.

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>> Old white people complimenting. Old

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white people. Old white people

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compliment. I've got a theme song for

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you.

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>> Harmonize with me, Dana. Old white

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people complimenting. Old white people.

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Old white people.

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>> Old white people.

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>> It's very hard to do over Zoom. I just

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realized.

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>> I Yes.

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>> Listen, Spade Spade,

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>> I don't I don't want to uh insult you.

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You had an amazing career.

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>> Thank you.

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>> Yeah. Tommy boy then starring in a

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string of hit sitcoms that no one

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remembers

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waiting for him to fake laugh.

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>> I'm laughing.

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>> Hey,

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>> and God bless Bernie Brilstein, right?

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He started the whole thing off, right?

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>> Calling the creators of Just Shoot Me

00:12:55

and gently coaxing Steve Levitan to hire

00:12:58

his client.

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>> You need a comic relief guy.

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>> I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't

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mean to. No, it's hysterical. Easy trim.

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>> Um,

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snippity dippity.

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>> No, I think we got to put people We got

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to let them

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>> No, that's that's uh showed your thing.

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You did your thing.

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>> Did Triumph hurt your feelings? I need

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to know.

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>> No,

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>> not at all.

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>> Little bit spade.

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>> No, because I thought Triumph is a

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little older now and maybe he was not

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like that anymore.

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>> No, no, it's like it's I'm older. That's

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the problem. Like I didn't give a [ __ ]

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about this when I started trying.

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>> I I liked old white people complimenting

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other old white people or something like

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that. That was

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>> We looked it up. There's 2.8 million

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podcasts.

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>> Are you kidding me?

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>> It's like it's like co It's just there's

00:13:46

more every day and no one knows what to

00:13:47

do and people are getting affected with

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it.

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>> Here's what I've observed about this one

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because I've listened to a few.

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>> Okay.

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>> And what's very funny to me, Spade, is

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like you're one of the funniest persons

00:13:57

in the world. This is an old white

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person. compliment

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compliment.

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>> But on this show,

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>> it's all about

00:14:06

>> a life you lived when you were like in

00:14:08

the 90s and you're kind of have to

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revert.

00:14:12

>> It's you're always reverting to that guy

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at the show

00:14:16

>> who hadn't made it big yet. You're like

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always like,

00:14:19

>> "Yeah, no, you guys were incredible and

00:14:21

I didn't know what to do."

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>> Right. It's just funny to me that Spade,

00:14:26

who's had this amazing run.

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>> Well, it does when we throw back,

00:14:33

>> everybody gets back in that around the

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writer table and how [ __ ] ordering

00:14:38

Huxley's and all the stupid [ __ ] It

00:14:40

sort of throws you back to the dim

00:14:41

lighting and feeling like [ __ ] all the

00:14:44

time.

00:14:44

>> It was a stressful. Would you consider

00:14:46

it? I would say like I love the show so

00:14:50

much and people I met and worked with

00:14:52

and yet I was always stressed.

00:14:54

>> Yeah. I also remember how skinny your

00:14:57

little office was. Like I think people

00:14:59

thought it was some palatial place. It's

00:15:01

these little dungeons and then I would

00:15:03

go along the line and poke my head in to

00:15:05

see if I can get my name on anybody's

00:15:07

sketch.

00:15:09

>> Do you remember Do you remember what I

00:15:11

my affectionate nickname for you was?

00:15:13

>> No. What was it? Spudley.

00:15:15

>> No. Well, everybody had Spudley into the

00:15:17

noodles. No, Chief Not show

00:15:20

>> Chief Not Show because I was never in

00:15:22

the show.

00:15:24

>> It's so he was but

00:15:26

>> I wasn't in much. I think I went

00:15:27

>> You got in it in 9345.

00:15:30

>> I did go

00:15:31

>> once Dana left.

00:15:33

>> That's what was weird. It's so weird

00:15:34

because you were kind of pigeonholed. I

00:15:37

remember your audition.

00:15:38

>> Yeah.

00:15:39

>> And you were very funny, but you were

00:15:40

kind of like spade light. You weren't

00:15:42

like

00:15:43

letting your whole kind of

00:15:46

>> persona

00:15:47

>> persona come out later. Yeah.

00:15:49

>> And people like saw you as like this

00:15:50

nicel looking kind of blonde guy who did

00:15:52

some impression. I think you did Tom

00:15:54

Petty.

00:15:55

>> Yeah.

00:15:55

>> It was like oh he's going to be like a

00:15:57

Dana Carvey type

00:15:58

>> and then and Dana Carvey was still on

00:16:01

the show. So I think people didn't know

00:16:03

what to do with

00:16:04

>> I think I didn't but I also wasn't in in

00:16:06

full disclosure

00:16:08

thinking I was the new Dana Carvey. I

00:16:10

was like, "Are you this guy?" I go,

00:16:12

"This guy's the best guy." And he does a

00:16:14

million things. I go, "I got to find

00:16:16

what I can do." And luckily, like even

00:16:18

that Hollywood minute where Lauren I was

00:16:20

sort of teetering and then he's like,

00:16:22

"Well, just do more stuff like that cuz

00:16:23

that makes me a little different from

00:16:24

Dana." And then I could find my own

00:16:27

little niche or something. I don't know.

00:16:28

It was tough. It was very that that part

00:16:30

was tough.

00:16:31

>> Even the receptionist, which was like

00:16:32

the best sketch of that season.

00:16:35

>> Oh yeah. I remember someone in a high

00:16:38

position saying, "Yeah, but could Dana

00:16:40

play that?" No [ __ ]

00:16:42

>> No, of course he could.

00:16:44

>> I came in and played an alien, right?

00:16:47

Did I play? I felt bad because I said,

00:16:50

you know, it's always hard, smile, if

00:16:51

you're a writer and if you're a new

00:16:52

writer to put Mike Myers or Dana in

00:16:55

something where they don't have a lot to

00:16:56

do.

00:16:57

>> But, you know, in your head you're like,

00:16:58

"Oh, it'd be fun. I have access to all

00:17:00

these great people and I don't know."

00:17:02

They're quietly going, "Ah, it's not

00:17:04

that great." But Dana goes, "Yeah, I'll

00:17:06

do whatever." So I go, "You come in at

00:17:07

the end as an alien." I don't realize

00:17:09

they're gonna put him in like three

00:17:10

hours of makeup and hair. Remember, you

00:17:12

had a big bulbous head on.

00:17:13

>> I had a giant like, "Oh no, I can't put

00:17:16

Dana through this shit."

00:17:19

>> And it also makes sometimes

00:17:20

>> I was part of being on the team.

00:17:22

>> Yeah. You know what I have to say? No

00:17:24

one complain.

00:17:24

>> McKinnon still gets into crazy outfits

00:17:26

and says two lines in a sketch. I liked

00:17:28

on the 40th anniversary Steve Martin

00:17:30

goes in full King Tutt outfit for three

00:17:32

lines in a song or whatever cuz he's

00:17:36

committed and it's fun. I love it and

00:17:37

everyone's there to have fun.

00:17:38

>> And it's also like 70 million people are

00:17:40

watching that one.

00:17:42

>> It's all different. Yeah, you're right.

00:17:44

>> Everybody's Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, the

00:17:46

receptionist I mean it's it was so

00:17:49

exciting to see a new person kill too.

00:17:51

Like that's one of the great things on

00:17:54

the show when that happens. like uh that

00:17:56

guy James when he did Trump for the

00:17:59

first time this year.

00:18:00

>> Yeah, he was great.

00:18:01

>> It was like thrilling, you know.

00:18:03

>> Oh, it was amazing. Yeah.

00:18:05

>> And when audience finds it cuz I had

00:18:06

been sort of kicking around the show for

00:18:08

a while and that was a hard one to to

00:18:10

get on. I think it took a few swings.

00:18:12

>> Oh, the receptionist.

00:18:13

>> Yeah. And then it got on with MC Hammer

00:18:15

at 5 to one

00:18:16

>> and then the next time it got on first

00:18:18

sketch. So that with Ros. Yeah. With

00:18:20

Rosanne. There's really there's only

00:18:22

like three. So that's the one you

00:18:24

remember. It's like bye-bye. There's

00:18:26

there's only two of them, but you know,

00:18:27

if they remember what they remember, you

00:18:29

know.

00:18:29

>> Yeah. Church lady was on more than 20

00:18:31

times the first season.

00:18:34

>> More than they had shows. Were you on

00:18:36

twice?

00:18:37

>> An early chat and then they I do a good

00:18:39

night chat after Jack

00:18:41

>> DY show. We tried to sneak the church

00:18:43

lady into commercial shows. Remember

00:18:45

that?

00:18:45

>> Oh yeah.

00:18:46

>> For real. We did that. We were like, can

00:18:48

we superimpose the church lady or George

00:18:50

Bush over a commercial? Were you allowed

00:18:53

to use that stuff on on Dana Carvey

00:18:55

show?

00:18:55

>> I technically because of my contract

00:18:58

when I came in. I owned the church

00:19:00

slave.

00:19:01

>> It was very different back then. you

00:19:02

could like write you could write a list

00:19:05

of the characters that you created

00:19:07

before going to Saturday Night Live and

00:19:09

Dana had a long list

00:19:11

>> and so yeah nowadays it's the complete

00:19:14

opposite like they own everything and

00:19:16

then you have like after seven years you

00:19:19

have to do movies with the I don't know

00:19:22

>> just do a mandatory

00:19:23

>> I know then you do movies you go back to

00:19:24

the show it is different you do

00:19:26

commercials and movies and you miss

00:19:28

shows and you go back to the show it's

00:19:29

pretty cool for the cast I think

00:19:30

>> yeah it's really Yeah. And now that's

00:19:32

true now. Yeah. Leading up to this 50th,

00:19:35

they're all they're all they all come

00:19:36

and go.

00:19:37

>> They they told me to told me, my manager

00:19:39

said, "Write on the flight out there,

00:19:41

write all your characters and give them

00:19:43

to Jim Henry." And I'm sitting there

00:19:44

with a blank piece of paper on them.

00:19:46

Delta going, "I don't what characters?

00:19:48

What are you [ __ ] talking about? I'm

00:19:49

a standup." So I'd go, "Skateboard crazy

00:19:52

guy talks with the lisp." You know, I'm

00:19:54

just like making up something in case I

00:19:56

write it one day or in case it sounds

00:19:58

like a sketch I do and it clicks.

00:20:01

anything like yeah you need a man or

00:20:03

thing but Robert do you want to talk

00:20:05

about some of our hits

00:20:08

>> your big hits

00:20:09

>> me and you well you know together yeah

00:20:12

>> yeah well I mean I Dana so I was there

00:20:15

for a year

00:20:17

>> before Dana

00:20:18

>> and then I got in in ' 86 with Phil and

00:20:20

J6

00:20:22

and he was like someone I had I

00:20:24

connected with what I loved about Dana

00:20:27

was that he spade you'll understand this

00:20:30

like generally like passive aggressive

00:20:34

behavior rules at that show. Like who?

00:20:37

I'm good. I could possib No, my sketch

00:20:39

is terrible. Don't put my sketch on.

00:20:42

>> It couldn't possibly me. I'm I I'm being

00:20:44

paid. Like that's what And then there's

00:20:48

people like Love it who are like,

00:20:49

"What's going on?"

00:20:52

>> They're anti-semitic. That's why this

00:20:54

sketch didn't make it.

00:20:56

>> You know why they cut it? Because it's

00:20:58

funny. That's it. It was too good that

00:21:00

it was too funny. That's why they didn't

00:21:02

put it on. Yeah, I was John was great.

00:21:04

>> I was sadly a little closer to John. I

00:21:06

was like, "Robert, you have no poker

00:21:08

face." Lauren, I remember him telling

00:21:10

me.

00:21:11

>> There were people like me. I didn't

00:21:13

really make big stinks, though. But I

00:21:15

was, you know, imitating Lauren behind

00:21:17

his back like everybody eventually. Now

00:21:19

everybody I'm told I'm told you go to

00:21:21

the show now, everybody does Lauren.

00:21:24

>> Literally literally everyone

00:21:27

>> they all You've seen this? Have you

00:21:30

witnessed this?

00:21:31

>> Well,

00:21:32

>> that's what I heard.

00:21:33

>> James Austin Johnson had a good one. You

00:21:35

know, Bill Hater, of course. Any reason.

00:21:37

>> No, but I think people they say that

00:21:39

people just do it around the office.

00:21:40

>> Oh, just around you to each other.

00:21:43

>> Uh read through is going to start

00:21:45

everyone get to their seat, you know,

00:21:46

and that's like a first, right? But what

00:21:49

I loved about Dana was that he had he

00:21:52

just came in. He had a list of

00:21:55

impressions that he like handed out to

00:21:57

the writers. Like he wasn't

00:21:59

>> he didn't pretend that he was above

00:22:01

doing that

00:22:02

>> which was like so refreshing to actually

00:22:06

admit that you care

00:22:08

>> without being like cutthroat or

00:22:10

anything. He was just being

00:22:11

straightforward.

00:22:12

>> I just thought it made sense. I I was

00:22:14

able to do a bunch of voices. I thought,

00:22:15

well, let the writers know cuz I realize

00:22:18

you guys are just writing sketches and

00:22:20

if someone sees Casey Kasem or

00:22:22

something, maybe they put him in. I

00:22:23

don't know.

00:22:24

>> Of course, that's the best way to do it.

00:22:25

Here you go. Here you go, Jack. Handy.

00:22:27

Here you go, Odenkirk.

00:22:29

>> Robert, you approached me with was Robin

00:22:31

Leech doing some kind of Japanese

00:22:34

pruning or

00:22:36

>> I don't know why.

00:22:37

>> I don't remember.

00:22:38

>> Yeah, cuz you'd seen his name on the

00:22:39

list, but I had a catchphrase for that

00:22:41

one. I'm Robert Leech. I'm yelling and I

00:22:44

don't know why. Right.

00:22:45

>> So I had

00:22:45

>> I loved Robin Lee, but then it was Robin

00:22:48

Lee for everyone under 70.

00:22:51

>> But Robin Lee was such a lifestyle of

00:22:53

rich and famous.

00:22:54

>> Another one of a celebrity that is no

00:22:56

longer with us. One of my impressions,

00:22:58

you know, Dino Stapanopoulos, who our

00:23:00

listeners might know. Every time someone

00:23:02

I do an impression of passes away, he

00:23:04

texts me. Another one, another one down.

00:23:06

Whether it's Regis or Bush, you know,

00:23:09

>> you're going to kill in heaven, Dana,

00:23:11

someday.

00:23:13

>> Yeah.

00:23:15

I didn't know Dino did that.

00:23:16

>> I thought Robin Leech was so hilarious

00:23:18

and he had a great hook for it. I don't

00:23:21

know why.

00:23:21

>> Oh, no. Everything Dana I thought Dana's

00:23:23

Travolta was hysterical because it was

00:23:25

so it was so not what Travolta sounded

00:23:28

like in the 80s anymore.

00:23:30

>> It's just like he's basically doing an

00:23:32

exaggerated

00:23:34

welcome back Cotter.

00:23:35

>> Welcome back Cotter for everyone

00:23:37

>> listen to that. If you want to do a John

00:23:39

Travolta, just say the word weird. Is

00:23:42

slack so weird.

00:23:43

>> Slack

00:23:45

weird entry to that. But

00:23:47

>> slack, but also slack. So

00:23:50

>> what's that? What's that?

00:23:52

>> Well, it's like Dana would say slack so

00:23:55

weird.

00:23:56

>> Slack slack so weird. You know,

00:23:58

everybody should do whatever.

00:24:00

>> We very much connected because we liked

00:24:04

and doing we liked doing impressions

00:24:06

that were kind of abstract. We like

00:24:09

creating abstract impressions. And so,

00:24:12

you know, Dana had some under his belt

00:24:14

obviously and then I tried to help him

00:24:15

with, you know, Johnny Carson and Regis.

00:24:19

The Regis thing was very strange cuz

00:24:21

like I wrote it for Phil Hartman.

00:24:24

I wrote it for Phil Hartman and it went

00:24:25

to dress

00:24:27

>> and it didn't do great. And then Dana in

00:24:29

his gentlest non-cutthroat way just

00:24:32

happened upon me like a week later and

00:24:34

was like,

00:24:36

>> you know, I'm Regis is kind of small and

00:24:38

Irish and like I had just had a total

00:24:40

blank. I had just picked Phil because he

00:24:42

was the oldest cast member.

00:24:44

>> Yeah.

00:24:44

>> And I thought of I thought of him as

00:24:46

just okay, he's the old guy

00:24:48

comparatively. But Dana was absolutely

00:24:51

right. He looked more like Regis and

00:24:53

then he started doing him and

00:24:54

>> well I I didn't realize when I started

00:24:57

watching him in New York he had

00:24:58

essentially just just got on nationally

00:25:00

but we would get up around 9 Paul and I

00:25:02

and we would watch it and we just fell

00:25:04

in love with him.

00:25:05

>> Oh yeah shining guy in the world

00:25:07

>> and then getting to know you. Yeah. Just

00:25:10

hanging out in your office and we

00:25:11

started you know bouncing off. Are you

00:25:12

ready for this? This guy's crazy. You

00:25:15

got all the I think one of your things

00:25:17

very Robert Smeiggel or something about

00:25:19

you know I'm down at the Shriders and

00:25:20

I'm behind Broka I can I can't get a

00:25:22

seat you know. So we we bonded all

00:25:24

>> there was that thing of like the

00:25:26

explosion. This was something that he

00:25:28

really did on the show and THEN BROKA'S

00:25:31

GOT THE FRONT ROW SEAT AND I'M SITTING

00:25:33

WITH YOU KNOW PATRICK SEES IN THE IN THE

00:25:35

BACK. ANYWAY, it was a great event

00:25:39

>> and he takes a sip of his coffee.

00:25:40

Anyway, it was terrific. It's like he's

00:25:42

got nothing else. So, he just goes to

00:25:45

>> Joy was there. Joy.

00:25:46

>> Anyway, we wish them well. Oh, yeah.

00:25:47

When Joy hosted that was always uh Regis

00:25:50

was uh

00:25:51

>> But you can't let Dana around an

00:25:53

impression. He comes circling. It's like

00:25:55

all right, just give it to him. He's

00:25:56

going to figure it out.

00:25:58

>> So, and then his when he wrote his book,

00:25:59

they said we want to call it I'm out of

00:26:01

control. And he had to go out, you know,

00:26:02

all said I'm out of control.

00:26:05

>> That was something that made up Dana

00:26:07

Gardi made up, but I don't understand

00:26:09

Garnney. But um the you know one so we

00:26:13

had you know and then Carson came around

00:26:15

um yeah and just I started playing

00:26:18

around with it.

00:26:19

>> I think the Turners actually had written

00:26:21

the Carson sketch.

00:26:23

>> Did they?

00:26:24

>> And I looked at it. You showed it to me

00:26:26

and I had just a couple of moves in my

00:26:28

head and then it sort of brought out

00:26:29

some moves that you had.

00:26:32

>> Like the thing that

00:26:35

I love Johnny Carson so much. He was

00:26:37

like he was incredible voice

00:26:38

>> in the 70s when I was a teenager growing

00:26:40

up um I used to watch him constantly and

00:26:44

>> um he was so charismatic and he's still

00:26:46

the greatest ever but there was then

00:26:49

Letterman came on

00:26:50

>> in like the early 80s and immediately

00:26:55

>> got some you know

00:26:56

>> the ant show or whatever you want to

00:26:58

call that. Well, he was like reinventing

00:27:00

everything and then Johnny for no good

00:27:03

reason started feeling insecure about

00:27:06

it. You could see it on the show because

00:27:07

he started trying to do things that

00:27:09

Letterman was doing, but he didn't know

00:27:11

how to do it

00:27:12

>> the way Letterman did. Letterman would

00:27:14

just let them happen.

00:27:16

>> Johnny would be like, "We're about to do

00:27:18

something that's a little weird.

00:27:21

>> This is a little different. This is not

00:27:23

not the norm."

00:27:24

>> That's right. You know, we're going to

00:27:27

walk over. We're gonna take a camera and

00:27:29

it's gonna follow me. I can't do them as

00:27:31

well as you, Dana, but it was like your

00:27:34

jaw.

00:27:35

>> I'm gonna Yeah. Clench your jaw. Thank

00:27:36

you.

00:27:38

>> Camera is going to follow me and it's

00:27:40

going to walk out of the studio and I'm

00:27:44

going to go to another set. It's like,

00:27:46

okay, we

00:27:47

>> ask unusual questions to people.

00:27:49

>> Unusual questions that people are not

00:27:51

going to know is even they don't know

00:27:53

what's going to happen. All right, so

00:27:55

let's start doing it. Now, I'm walking.

00:27:57

See, I'm walking across and it was

00:27:59

>> this is a bit you were witnessing a bit.

00:28:01

>> It's a little weird. And so I was giving

00:28:04

him this a little weird had this

00:28:06

expression. He had a couple of things

00:28:08

like when Johnny

00:28:09

>> like calls people over to the comedians

00:28:12

like funny stuff. Funny stuff.

00:28:14

>> That was funny stuff. And then you had

00:28:16

weird wild that

00:28:17

>> weird wild stuff. And for those of you

00:28:18

at home, you're watching a thing called

00:28:20

a television. You know how you would

00:28:21

bring?

00:28:22

>> So then it became that where we just did

00:28:24

the overly setup

00:28:26

>> Johnny Carson thing and then it was so

00:28:28

dry. It was maybe the driest thing you

00:28:31

ever did on the show, Dana. And then but

00:28:33

it always Ed McMahon's

00:28:36

Ed McMahon's rhythmically kind of uh

00:28:39

>> Yes.

00:28:40

>> acknowledging it and um you know giving

00:28:42

it like just like yes, you were correct

00:28:45

sir would always make it work. was like

00:28:48

the fact that you would say these

00:28:49

strange things and then Ed would kind of

00:28:52

affirm them.

00:28:54

>> Yeah. He was the release button cuz but

00:28:56

that was the first time and I've said

00:28:57

this before but when I was on SNL and

00:29:00

wasn't concerned with the laughs I just

00:29:02

was having so much fun being Johnny and

00:29:05

when I got the wig on I am Irish Carson

00:29:07

Carvey my eyes are a little close

00:29:08

together and I I god I kind of look like

00:29:11

him you know and then I could just look

00:29:13

in the mirror and just uh just get into

00:29:15

that attitude of being just this

00:29:17

whatever that

00:29:18

>> you going to hair and makeup too it's

00:29:19

just that

00:29:20

>> really sets you up and um then the the

00:29:23

third rail of the ones that really had a

00:29:25

lot of episodes. Carson did Carcinio. We

00:29:28

could talk about that, too. Regis had a

00:29:29

lot of

00:29:30

>> love to talk about Carinio anyway.

00:29:32

>> Well, Carcinho, let's let's do that now.

00:29:34

>> That was the extension of the Carson

00:29:36

impression. We did this

00:29:38

>> we did one before that that actually did

00:29:41

piss Johnny off and and then they

00:29:43

>> I don't know I don't know if they asked

00:29:44

you to do that late night history show

00:29:47

but they asked me so I did it and I

00:29:48

talked about it

00:29:49

>> and then they edit it to make it look

00:29:51

like

00:29:52

>> we didn't really give a [ __ ] how Johnny

00:29:54

>> felt

00:29:55

>> responded to it and we did we were

00:29:57

really upset about it like we did this

00:30:00

sketch where

00:30:03

our so Chris Rock gets hired in like

00:30:05

1990

00:30:07

and um

00:30:08

>> plays our senior hall.

00:30:10

>> Yeah. Which he didn't do like I remember

00:30:12

I that's another guy I got to see

00:30:14

audition and he was hysterical and like

00:30:16

obviously

00:30:18

you know incredible obvious hire but I

00:30:20

remember asking Lauren does it matter he

00:30:23

doesn't seem to be an impressionist.

00:30:25

He'll do areno.

00:30:28

It was that.

00:30:29

>> Don't worry about uh Chris.

00:30:31

>> He's got the hair and he he can do our

00:30:33

sineo.

00:30:35

Just remember it's like

00:30:38

black guys on the show always have the

00:30:39

burden of having to do like every black

00:30:41

person.

00:30:42

>> Yes, we talked about that with Chris.

00:30:44

Yeah.

00:30:44

>> Oh, you did a

00:30:45

>> little bit. I think David brought it up.

00:30:47

>> Yeah, it is tough because everything

00:30:49

just gets assigned and no matter, you

00:30:51

know, if it's even closed. Okay, Chris,

00:30:53

you're doing Al Roker this week.

00:30:54

>> Exactly.

00:30:56

>> Yeah. Joe is diverse now.

00:30:58

>> Bit played an Asian character. I played

00:31:01

Tony Montana as like a Cuban character.

00:31:04

You know, I had a bigger

00:31:06

>> I wonder if you could write that,

00:31:08

Robert. Um, today is like, can you write

00:31:10

anyone to play anything but they are

00:31:12

what they are? I don't know how they do

00:31:14

it there. I wonder if they have meetings

00:31:15

and go, could I play this or

00:31:17

>> Oh, at SNL.

00:31:19

>> Yeah, at SNL.

00:31:20

>> Well, they definitely let women play

00:31:22

>> men.

00:31:22

>> Men?

00:31:23

>> Yeah,

00:31:24

>> they still let that happen. No, I know.

00:31:26

It's it's it's it's interesting because

00:31:28

like even like something like I mean I

00:31:32

totally blackface thing is obviously a

00:31:36

red flag and it's oddly it's something

00:31:38

we didn't do in our era and never found

00:31:40

it happening in the '9s.

00:31:42

>> Yeah.

00:31:42

>> The '9s were a strange time where it

00:31:45

seemed like the floodgates opened and

00:31:46

people were doing

00:31:48

>> exceptionally rude stuff. I don't know

00:31:50

if it's because cable was starting and

00:31:52

the networks felt the need to compete,

00:31:54

>> but

00:31:56

>> you try too hard and you go in different

00:31:57

directions that are sometimes wrong

00:31:59

directions. You just don't know and then

00:32:01

>> Yeah.

00:32:01

>> it levels out. Yeah.

00:32:03

>> But like I just did this puppet show

00:32:06

that uh failed whatever. like and and we

00:32:09

had this guy who we was going to do

00:32:11

Obama

00:32:12

>> and he had done Obama on the Conan show

00:32:15

for like three or four years and he just

00:32:17

sounded exactly like Obama.

00:32:19

>> So I wanted to hire him and then I found

00:32:22

out that he was white. I didn't realize

00:32:24

I had no idea. I just knew he sounded

00:32:26

exactly like Obama

00:32:28

>> and they said you can't hire him.

00:32:30

>> Do they ever call you now smile to uh

00:32:32

write or help or come off the bench and

00:32:34

uh

00:32:34

>> No, I I was there when Adam No, they

00:32:37

never called me. They don't

00:32:40

>> they um

00:32:41

>> although I actually sent Colin Jo an

00:32:43

idea this week and didn't didn't hear

00:32:45

back.

00:32:46

>> Didn't hear back.

00:32:48

>> It was an on a winour idea.

00:32:50

>> I thought

00:32:51

>> Don't don't try to give him Iraqi Pete.

00:32:53

That's Adams.

00:32:54

>> Actually, you would be great for this on

00:32:56

a win idea.

00:32:58

>> Is that me playing him or Dana?

00:33:00

>> No, I'm talking about Spade. It's It's a

00:33:02

very

00:33:03

>> Hey, it's a very

00:33:04

>> You could own that. Spade playing Anna

00:33:06

Winter. The idea was um that she uh it

00:33:11

was like an update feature where Anna

00:33:13

Winour is uh sitting next to somebody

00:33:16

like uh who's the guy? Jared Leto. He's

00:33:19

always wearing something insane.

00:33:21

>> They just had the Met Gala.

00:33:23

>> Yeah. Yeah. Jared Leto. Yeah. He's got

00:33:25

great,

00:33:25

>> you know. And then it was just going to

00:33:26

be on a win tour very quietly and dryly

00:33:29

and very stiff. uh insulting, you know,

00:33:33

um Michael Chase outfit, Michael Chase

00:33:36

suit, you know, like uh is this a

00:33:39

fundraiser for victims of fashion? And

00:33:43

then like um you know,

00:33:46

and then she turns to Colin Joes like,

00:33:48

you know, is that a suit or are you

00:33:50

being humped by a couch? And then she

00:33:53

starts getting rim shots and just starts

00:33:56

walking into the crowd and starts doing

00:33:59

>> walking around.

00:34:00

>> Yeah. walking around the eight. She

00:34:01

stands up and starts just doing crowd

00:34:03

work, but she's she's completely stiff,

00:34:06

you know, and it's just if that tie was

00:34:08

any louder, Marley Matlin could hear it.

00:34:14

>> Looks like Joseph A. Bank made it

00:34:16

tonight.

00:34:18

>> What if Triumph was at the Met Galler?

00:34:20

>> Yeah. What would he do? Crazy.

00:34:23

>> Actually, I've tried to I've wanted to

00:34:24

do the red carpet.

00:34:26

>> That's perfect. That's one of the few

00:34:27

things I've

00:34:28

>> I still want to do as triumph.

00:34:30

>> Please don't let triumph own Kim K.

00:34:35

>> Well,

00:34:36

>> she lost the

00:34:36

>> Now I have like these personal

00:34:38

relationships that I care about. Like I

00:34:40

would never touch her because

00:34:43

Pete Davidson's a friend.

00:34:45

>> Oh, friend of the show.

00:34:46

>> No, I He's a great guy. I know him. And

00:34:49

but like Dana, this is something

00:34:51

>> Well, we never talked about the Carson

00:34:53

thing, but this is another one that All

00:34:54

right. I don't know if you want to talk

00:34:56

about this, but

00:34:57

>> I'll talk about anything.

00:34:58

>> We're 30 or I'm 30 or 32 or whatever you

00:35:01

were

00:35:01

>> and Dennis gets bounced from his

00:35:05

syndicated show

00:35:07

>> and I have this idea to do Dennis is now

00:35:09

doing a cooking show,

00:35:11

>> right? Which we we called Dennis and he

00:35:13

said [ __ ] go ahead. Right.

00:35:15

>> You did call him.

00:35:16

>> I thought that I did.

00:35:17

>> Maybe you called him. I didn't call him.

00:35:19

>> Yeah, I believe I called him. Yeah,

00:35:22

>> I don't think we But that was like then

00:35:25

>> and I and I thought in my head I was

00:35:27

like this is my duty as a Saturday Night

00:35:29

Live sketch writer. I can't play

00:35:30

favorites,

00:35:32

>> you know?

00:35:32

>> I I this is my privilege to work.

00:35:34

>> Duty comes first.

00:35:36

>> Yeah. That's how I seriously I took it.

00:35:37

And now to show I would say by like the

00:35:40

time I was 40 I was like no I would

00:35:42

never do that again.

00:35:44

>> Yeah. Well, I don't think at that point

00:35:46

there was any sort of uh idea that

00:35:49

Dennis wasn't on his way with a career.

00:35:52

Like he'd done the black and white

00:35:53

special. He had the talk show, you know,

00:35:55

Dennis I mean all he did after that was

00:35:58

host an HBO show that got like 20.

00:36:00

>> Exactly. So to me to me I thought it was

00:36:03

so funny and the way you wrote it

00:36:05

Dennis's vernacular

00:36:07

>> in a in a daytime cooking show. I don't

00:36:09

know if you could quote some of that. I

00:36:10

mean, maybe it maybe you're right, but I

00:36:12

feel like I still wouldn't do it now. I

00:36:15

wouldn't be able to I'd be too nervous

00:36:16

about

00:36:18

>> whoever's feelings it was.

00:36:20

>> I I understand that. I I feel the same

00:36:22

way. I I like I kind of sometimes feel

00:36:25

bad for Biden when I see him sort of

00:36:27

lost or whatever. And so, it's different

00:36:29

doing it now. It's weird when you get

00:36:31

older and life kind of kicks you on the

00:36:33

nuts and and you learn what pain is and

00:36:36

uh

00:36:37

>> Yeah.

00:36:38

>> Well, you know how careers are so hard

00:36:40

and up and down, you're like, I'm going

00:36:41

to probably hurt someone's career

00:36:42

somehow accidentally.

00:36:44

>> You know who would

00:36:45

>> Biden's hair looks like a spiderweb. Go

00:36:47

ahead.

00:36:48

>> The one person who would always scold me

00:36:49

when I was even when I was younger, and

00:36:51

I guess it's because he was sensitive to

00:36:53

all the bad reviews he was getting was

00:36:56

Sandler. He was like like I was doing

00:36:59

those cartoons and they were going

00:37:00

really well.

00:37:01

>> Yeah. Yeah.

00:37:02

>> You know, and I would do a cartoon about

00:37:04

like David Brener or something. Yes.

00:37:06

>> Being a guest on a talk show and it was

00:37:08

fun with real audio. And I would use a

00:37:10

real David Brener story, but I would

00:37:12

have him going on every talk show and

00:37:14

each host would get bored and press a

00:37:16

trapoor button and he would fall down

00:37:18

and go like, you know, so he starts on

00:37:21

like the Tonight Show and then trap door

00:37:23

goes down to Conan and then it goes down

00:37:25

to like Tom Snider and then

00:37:27

>> hilarious.

00:37:28

>> I remember that one. Yeah.

00:37:30

>> Yeah. And it was really funny and

00:37:32

everybody I played it for Conan because

00:37:34

Conan was in it and he was laughing

00:37:36

really hard and then I get a call from

00:37:38

Stanley. You feel good about yourself,

00:37:39

bud? You feel good about that?

00:37:41

>> No.

00:37:41

>> That guy that What if that guy's home

00:37:43

watching? You know, he's like had a hard

00:37:45

day and he's watching the show and he's

00:37:46

like,

00:37:47

>> "Yeah,

00:37:47

>> what is this? Why? What did I do?"

00:37:50

>> Yeah. Why?

00:37:51

>> He did Brener, didn't he? Sandler could

00:37:52

do Brener on the show.

00:37:54

>> He did a great David Brener.

00:37:55

>> That's right.

00:37:56

>> But it wasn't nearly as mean as this

00:37:58

cartoon.

00:37:59

>> No, it wasn't mean. It wasn't.

00:38:00

>> Remember the one you did where you had

00:38:02

you had Steman hiding from Oprah in the

00:38:04

mansion?

00:38:05

>> Oh my god. That was that was from the

00:38:07

Comedy Central show. And it's

00:38:09

interesting you bring that up because

00:38:11

that was a cartoon I wasn't going to do.

00:38:14

It was one of those lines that I would

00:38:16

draw for myself which people are always

00:38:18

shocked. You had

00:38:20

>> lines. I did. But I I I like I didn't

00:38:22

like to make fun of drug addiction.

00:38:25

>> I I always felt like when people are,

00:38:28

you know, that desperate.

00:38:30

>> It's not funny. you know, it's it's

00:38:32

like, you know, everybody

00:38:35

>> it's easy to to reduce somebody to a

00:38:37

cartoon character,

00:38:38

>> but I that was one and another one was

00:38:41

women's looks. I really hated

00:38:44

>> making fun of a woman for her looks

00:38:47

because women are held up to these

00:38:49

ridiculous standards and uh it just felt

00:38:52

shitty. And so this Oprah one was Andy

00:38:54

Breman's premise. And it the premise was

00:38:57

that Steedman

00:38:59

uh every time Oprah wants to have sex.

00:39:02

Steedman has convinced Oprah that he's

00:39:04

an international spy.

00:39:07

And every time Oprah wants to have sex,

00:39:10

Steman pretends he's getting an alert

00:39:13

and he has to go off. I'm not making it

00:39:14

sound as funny as it was funny and so I

00:39:18

like it. I broke the rule because it was

00:39:21

just too funny. And it it remains like

00:39:24

one of the funniest cartoons I've ever

00:39:26

been involved in. And uh but it was Andy

00:39:29

Breckman's idea. Also one of the nicest

00:39:32

people I've ever worked with,

00:39:34

>> Andy Breman. And yet he had this idea

00:39:36

that I thought was too neat.

00:39:43

>> Ask him about the bears. The bears the

00:39:45

big one. I love it.

00:39:47

I just want to say very quickly that I

00:39:49

know that John McGlaclin, which you

00:39:51

completely created,

00:39:53

>> loved loved our sketch.

00:39:55

>> Oh yeah,

00:39:56

>> Regis loved it. Perau loved it. George

00:39:59

Bush Senior loved it. It was only sweet.

00:40:02

Johnny Carson got a little tweaked and I

00:40:05

don't

00:40:05

>> Carson, we should talk about this one

00:40:07

cuz it was like uh So yes, so Rock comes

00:40:10

on. I got I'm sorry. Cario comes on and

00:40:14

plays Arcio.

00:40:15

>> Rob comes on and plays Arsenio. And this

00:40:17

was at this time when Johnny

00:40:19

>> was getting sort of threatened by

00:40:21

Arsenio's presence. Arcenio was white

00:40:23

hot.

00:40:24

>> That's a bad choice of words I suppose,

00:40:26

but Arenio was like

00:40:28

>> on fire. Everybody was talking about him

00:40:32

and we did that thing of like now I

00:40:33

understand that this you know that would

00:40:35

overexlaining thing but in this case it

00:40:37

was like

00:40:38

>> I understand you have a show

00:40:40

>> Dana you should do it. you remember.

00:40:42

>> I understand you have a show and um it's

00:40:45

um

00:40:46

>> and it says here he was like looking at

00:40:48

his notes. It says here that your show

00:40:51

is up against my show.

00:40:53

>> Yes. And it says here I did not know

00:40:56

that and your ratings have actually gone

00:40:58

up higher than my mine starting to

00:41:01

decline.

00:41:02

>> Right. It's weird. Weird.

00:41:03

>> I did not know that. And now it says

00:41:06

here, it says further that your show is

00:41:08

considered hip

00:41:10

and mine I am starting to be considered

00:41:12

out of touch.

00:41:13

>> Yeah.

00:41:14

>> I did not. Did you know that?

00:41:16

>> Yes.

00:41:18

>> A really sad yes.

00:41:20

>> Yes.

00:41:21

>> But but the thing that Johnny got

00:41:23

maddest at, Dana,

00:41:25

do you remember this? It was the first

00:41:27

guest. We had a throwaway first guest

00:41:29

before we bring on our cine.

00:41:32

>> Susan Day, right? It was Susan Day and I

00:41:35

had written it for Chenade O' Conor for

00:41:37

Jan Hooks to play Chenade

00:41:39

>> because she had already done it and it

00:41:41

was hilarious and um she's very serious

00:41:43

and you know you guys are just would be

00:41:45

doing

00:41:46

>> not a not a lot of hair on her head.

00:41:49

That is that is that is quite a dome you

00:41:51

know all that kind of stuff.

00:41:52

>> A little smooth on the upper turf.

00:41:56

>> Yeah.

00:41:56

>> Yeah. Okay.

00:41:57

>> Not a hairy woman sir.

00:42:00

>> From ear to ear not a lot going on.

00:42:02

Lauren was like, uh, you know, she's

00:42:05

done Chenade, she does a killer Susan

00:42:07

Day, which she had done once on the

00:42:08

show, and it was killer.

00:42:10

>> So Lauren suggested,

00:42:12

>> Lauren suggested, and it wasn't like it

00:42:14

wasn't funny. He suggested, what if he

00:42:16

has Susan Day on, but he keeps wanting

00:42:18

to talk about the Partridge family

00:42:20

>> and it had been years since it'd gone

00:42:22

off. Yeah.

00:42:23

>> Yes. And so that was how we wrote it.

00:42:25

And then Johnny took it

00:42:28

as like, are you seeing this, Ed? He

00:42:30

really, he said this on the show.

00:42:31

They're saying I'm scenile.

00:42:34

>> Mhm.

00:42:34

>> He literally thought we were now calling

00:42:36

him scenile

00:42:38

>> all because we had changed that opening.

00:42:41

>> That was the one that I thought was

00:42:42

Yeah. Yeah. He said it on He said it as

00:42:46

Dana or he

00:42:47

>> No. Johnny said it on his own show. He

00:42:50

started

00:42:51

>> Wow. Wow.

00:42:51

>> bitching

00:42:53

>> about Saturday Night Live on his own

00:42:55

show. And Dana,

00:42:57

I heard you say this to Regis and it

00:42:59

broke my heart because I had never heard

00:43:00

this. You said to Regis in an interview

00:43:03

like I don't know five, six years ago. I

00:43:05

saw

00:43:06

>> you said that you heard that Johnny said

00:43:11

when they start making fun of you, it's

00:43:13

time to go away.

00:43:15

>> Well, he would say it over at in Burbank

00:43:19

in the hallway, the big giant studio,

00:43:21

and just yell it out. They're making fun

00:43:23

of me now. It's time to go. Yeah, that

00:43:26

that that

00:43:27

>> but what what I realize and I would take

00:43:29

it for anyone in show business that

00:43:32

eventually

00:43:33

>> you become a characture of yourself if

00:43:36

you're a comedian. It doesn't matter.

00:43:38

You I don't want to name the person. You

00:43:40

could see someone and kind of go is that

00:43:42

a celebrity impersonator or is that the

00:43:44

real guy? So you do become a caricature

00:43:46

of yourself. It's kind of flattering.

00:43:48

But you know for Johnny I couldn't get

00:43:51

on the show after that.

00:43:53

body from SNL did for a year

00:43:55

>> and he really took it took it to heart

00:43:58

and so then

00:43:58

>> it was heartbreaking for us but then

00:44:01

>> then I think I also heard from you

00:44:04

back then. So then we did the Carinio

00:44:07

sketch which was basically Johnny

00:44:09

>> as trying to be like Arcenio.

00:44:11

>> Trying to be like Arsenio Hall and it

00:44:13

was a big hit sketch. He had the pointy

00:44:15

hair and had elongated fingers.

00:44:18

>> Yeah.

00:44:18

>> And he would do you see this head? All

00:44:20

you have to do is go whoop whoop whoop

00:44:22

and the audience goes whoop whoop whoop.

00:44:25

>> Do you know that a house is called a

00:44:26

crib? Ed, did you know that?

00:44:29

>> I did not know that. Yeah. Yeah.

00:44:31

>> You know, Robert, I did Carson two

00:44:33

months before he quit as standup.

00:44:35

>> Oh wow.

00:44:36

>> And he came back to the back and he

00:44:39

goes, "Who hates Dana Carvey?" I go, "I

00:44:41

do." And he goes, "That's my boy."

00:44:43

>> Really?

00:44:43

>> No, he No, he didn't. He came back and

00:44:45

said hi to me. But I remember it was

00:44:46

very hard to get on the show. I did do

00:44:49

it two months before he got off. And he

00:44:51

did come back, but he came back.

00:44:53

>> And you were on Saturday Night Live. You

00:44:54

broke the code.

00:44:55

>> No, I I was I on I went off in 93, I

00:44:59

believe.

00:45:00

>> You were absolutely on the show, Dave.

00:45:02

>> Yeah. Okay. Okay. For sure.

00:45:03

>> But let me just say this real quick.

00:45:05

Carvey told me that that he liked the

00:45:09

Carcinio sketch, but he said, "What do

00:45:12

you say? It makes fun of both of us."

00:45:13

>> You know, they're making fun of Arseno

00:45:15

as much as they're making fun of me. I

00:45:16

mean that that that's funny stuff, you

00:45:18

know, that kind of thing.

00:45:19

>> So So I remember feeling a lot better

00:45:21

about And then and then he did start

00:45:23

letting people on the show again.

00:45:26

>> No.

00:45:27

>> I mean I I was saying I got on somehow

00:45:29

and uh

00:45:30

>> I don't know just did my crummy act and

00:45:32

got out of there. But uh he he did he

00:45:35

waved me over Mike. I say that

00:45:37

>> and I left. I didn't go.

00:45:40

>> You gave him the finger.

00:45:42

>> Well the guy backstage Macaulay said he

00:45:45

goes get on there. hit your mark and get

00:45:46

off. And I go, "What if Johnny waves you

00:45:49

over?" And he goes, "He won't. Just go

00:45:50

do it." And I go, "Oh my god."

00:45:52

>> So I went out and turned and left and he

00:45:54

goes, "There he is." And

00:45:57

come over. He goes,

00:45:58

>> he goes, "Martin Short was with him."

00:46:00

And he goes, "Have him come over." And

00:46:01

he goes, "I'm trying to, but he won't

00:46:02

look at me." And he goes, "He's too

00:46:04

nervous." All right. There he goes. All

00:46:05

right. Well, that was David Spade.

00:46:06

>> He said that on the air.

00:46:08

>> Yeah.

00:46:08

>> That's amazing.

00:46:09

>> And then he came backstage.

00:46:11

>> Where were you? Uh, and I went, "What

00:46:13

the [ __ ] were you me there with egg?"

00:46:15

>> I had my shirt off.

00:46:17

>> You made a [ __ ] fool.

00:46:19

>> Yeah. And it was a bo [ __ ] torrential

00:46:21

storm back in my room cuz I was so

00:46:23

scared. I have my shirt off and I have

00:46:24

Pepto-Bismol. And they knock and I open

00:46:26

and it's it's Ed, I think, Doc and

00:46:29

Johnny. And he goes, "Uh,

00:46:31

>> all three of you.

00:46:31

>> I didn't." Yeah. He goes, "I didn't." He

00:46:33

goes, "I didn't get a chance to say good

00:46:36

job. I wanted I come over and nice job."

00:46:39

And I go, "Oh, I didn't even see you or

00:46:40

whatever." And he goes, "Pepto-Bismol,

00:46:43

I'm trying to quit the stuff myself."

00:46:45

And then he walked away. Isn't that

00:46:47

great? It's terrible.

00:46:48

>> That's a fantastic story.

00:46:49

>> He did a bit.

00:46:51

>> He did a bit, but in in reality, he was

00:46:54

um he was broken inside and he he went

00:46:57

around the office and says, "When they

00:46:59

start not not coming over to the couch,

00:47:02

it's time to

00:47:03

>> Who put you up to this?" Dana Carvey

00:47:05

that [ __ ]

00:47:08

>> So, it's you, Spain.

00:47:09

>> Yeah. You're the one who pushed him out.

00:47:12

>> Let's go. Let's go. Ed. Ed, let's go

00:47:14

back and find him. John, come on. LET'S

00:47:15

GO.

00:47:16

>> I'LL HIT HIM HIGH. YOU hit him low.

00:47:19

>> Hit him.

00:47:20

>> Well, talk about McLaclin, too, because

00:47:22

we Well, that was a great McLaclin

00:47:24

group.

00:47:24

>> John McLaclin ran a round table.

00:47:28

>> Well, we got to everyone know you did

00:47:30

Mclaclin. You did the Bears. So many.

00:47:32

You did Clucky [ __ ] Gaga.

00:47:35

>> Hey, what did you help me with the

00:47:38

Clucky or or Schmidz gay? You helped me

00:47:40

with one of those two.

00:47:41

>> I was almost in Schmidz for a rough

00:47:43

draft and then it went to Sandler and

00:47:44

>> Farley. It went to far that was that was

00:47:46

Downy's idea and it was a brilliant call

00:47:49

to take the two youngest guys in the

00:47:51

cast and make them the guys. That was

00:47:53

that was

00:47:53

>> What was I was I older than them?

00:47:56

>> I originally I had it as Dana and Kevin

00:47:58

because I thought it this is going to be

00:47:59

the first sketch of the year

00:48:01

>> and Dana and Kevin are the guys and then

00:48:03

I don't remember a draft with you. No,

00:48:06

someone maybe Shoemaker or someone said,

00:48:08

"I think you're in this."

00:48:09

>> Remind me what this sketch is. Gay.

00:48:12

>> Oh. Oh. Oh. Schmidz Gay. That was a

00:48:14

became a film, didn't it?

00:48:15

>> That was a big one. Yeah. Yeah.

00:48:17

>> No. You think it was the ambiguously gay

00:48:18

duo?

00:48:19

>> No. I was thinking commercial.

00:48:20

>> Sandler and Farley did something by a

00:48:23

pool.

00:48:24

>> Yeah. With Van Hal.

00:48:25

>> It was a parody of all those uh

00:48:27

>> So that that was,

00:48:28

>> you know, sexist beer commercials. It's

00:48:31

one of the ones I'm most proud of.

00:48:34

hysterical, but that ended up being

00:48:36

>> also like that the gay people weren't

00:48:38

like portrayed in any kind of like

00:48:40

mocking way, right?

00:48:42

>> The whole joke was turning the tables on

00:48:45

these objectifying these ridiculous

00:48:48

commercials that associate beer with

00:48:50

objectifying women.

00:48:52

>> And it just got this huge

00:48:55

It got one of the biggest responses.

00:48:57

>> So great Halen song in it. Oh yeah.

00:49:00

>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. and Farley and Sandler

00:49:03

doing the conga line. Yeah, it was

00:49:05

amazing.

00:49:06

>> But um but Spade, I thought you either

00:49:08

helped me with that or cluck and

00:49:09

chicken, which is my personal favorite.

00:49:11

>> Oh, cluck and chicken. I don't know. I

00:49:12

mean, sometimes I just get in there and

00:49:13

try to help anywhere.

00:49:14

>> I think you threw in I think you threw

00:49:16

me some jokes in there.

00:49:17

>> Maybe I threw you gaga gagi.

00:49:20

>> That sounded like me. The gag

00:49:24

me.

00:49:25

>> Oh, I love uh uh Sandler's voice. And

00:49:28

that was so funny. That was a cartoon.

00:49:30

That was half cartoon commercial parody.

00:49:33

>> Yeah, cartoon. Yeah, cartoon super.

00:49:35

That's how I met the guy JJ Settlemeer

00:49:38

who ended up doing um the first few

00:49:40

years of fun TV funhouse

00:49:42

>> cartoon V5 house. Welcome back to my

00:49:45

show. You But you put Lauren's voice in

00:49:47

there. Did anyone say anything?

00:49:49

>> That's maybe the hardest I've ever

00:49:51

laughed in my life because I became a

00:49:54

10-year-old again. Like the way I would

00:49:57

when I was 10, I would draw cartoons of

00:49:58

my teachers, that kind of thing.

00:50:00

>> Yeah.

00:50:00

>> And when a teacher would see, I would

00:50:03

like giggle like

00:50:05

and I remember the first time

00:50:08

>> you saw the dress rehearsal that the

00:50:10

ambiguously gay duo ran and and then

00:50:13

this little cartoon Lauren comes out and

00:50:15

chases the dog. Lego my show. LEGO MY

00:50:19

SHOW. AND I'M WATCHING Lauren watch it.

00:50:22

>> Oh my god.

00:50:22

>> And I'm just in tears. I was like, you

00:50:26

know, Lauren would call it, you put a

00:50:28

beanie on the boss.

00:50:29

>> You put a

00:50:32

>> What is that? Just make fun of the boss

00:50:34

or a beanie on the boss.

00:50:35

>> It's like it's like reducing the boss to

00:50:37

a, you know, lower status. It's like he,

00:50:40

you know, Lauren had a term for every

00:50:42

comedy move in the world.

00:50:43

>> Totally.

00:50:45

>> I've seen every sketch four times, you

00:50:47

know, so it's hard for me. Everything

00:50:50

you've anyone's written, I've seen a

00:50:51

version of it in my

00:50:53

>> One of my favorite recent Lauren ones

00:50:55

within the last 5 years around funny

00:50:57

people, people that do comedy. There's

00:51:00

only 900 of us on the planet.

00:51:02

>> Oh, really?

00:51:04

>> Yeah. It's a specific number like Well,

00:51:07

maybe that's true. I don't know.

00:51:08

>> We did run some numbers.

00:51:09

>> He's down to 898.

00:51:11

>> Yes. If you don't count Steve and Marty,

00:51:15

>> Steve counts for three. Marty, he counts

00:51:18

for a hundred.

00:51:19

>> I think uh Robert asked that good.

00:51:21

>> Didn't we ask William Shatner if he was

00:51:24

okay with that sketch you wrote? I think

00:51:26

he was right.

00:51:27

>> Oh, yeah. I pitched it to him

00:51:28

>> and he like sketch.

00:51:30

>> Yeah, that was a big famous sketch that

00:51:31

you wrote. Still resonates all the time.

00:51:34

>> That's a big big one.

00:51:35

>> Well, I have an affinity for nerds

00:51:37

because I was an SNL nerd. I was big a

00:51:40

nerd as anybody. I was completely in awe

00:51:43

of the show when I got there. I like

00:51:46

knew who Edie Baskin and Leo Yoshimura

00:51:49

were. Like I memorized them. That's how

00:51:52

pathetically nerdy I was.

00:51:54

>> So yeah, like you know, a lot of my most

00:51:57

famous stuff has to do with like Triumph

00:51:59

and the Star Wars line

00:52:01

>> is one of my happiest memories because I

00:52:04

was like making fun of them, but I felt

00:52:07

an affinity toward them at the same

00:52:09

time. The the nerds waiting online for

00:52:11

Star Wars and Triumphs. Uh they were all

00:52:14

like they all took it so well. They were

00:52:18

all just comedy fans. It was like uh

00:52:20

>> Yeah. It was like when it was like Have

00:52:23

you guys did you guys I'm sure you

00:52:25

spayed espec you both probably got to

00:52:26

meet Don Rickles, right?

00:52:28

>> Yeah, I did. Yep.

00:52:30

>> Did he insult you when he met you the

00:52:31

first time?

00:52:32

>> Do do an impression of a gorilla is what

00:52:34

he said to me.

00:52:35

>> Oh, really? Yeah. you know, uh, Smag's

00:52:39

on, um, one time, uh, Chris Farley took

00:52:42

his mom to see him on one of the breaks

00:52:43

on the weeks off and he goes and he

00:52:45

goes, I go, "What happened?" He goes,

00:52:47

"We sat right in the front row." And,

00:52:49

uh, he goes, Rickles comes over to him

00:52:52

in the middle and goes, "What's your

00:52:54

name, Tiny?"

00:52:55

>> And he goes, "Uh, he goes, my name's

00:52:58

Chris." And he goes, "How much you

00:53:00

weigh, Chris?" And he goes, "About 260."

00:53:02

He goes, "Hm, the left side of your ass,

00:53:04

maybe.

00:53:07

And then he went to the next table.

00:53:08

>> Yeah. Then he just

00:53:09

>> So he knew that it was Chris, right?

00:53:11

>> I don't know. I don't know. It's just

00:53:12

all funny.

00:53:13

>> So funny. He's just like, I'm just going

00:53:15

to treat him like anybody else.

00:53:17

>> Yeah. He just goes, "There's a fat guy

00:53:18

in the front, sir. Maybe go for him."

00:53:20

>> Yeah.

00:53:21

>> He has a little bug in his ear when he

00:53:23

got older. Fat guy. Three. Three

00:53:26

>> lady wearing a flower box hat.

00:53:29

>> Take four steps to the right. Fat guy

00:53:30

alert.

00:53:31

>> Closer. That's him. That's him.

00:53:34

>> Get him.

00:53:36

I took it as a badge of honor. I love

00:53:39

being ripped by

00:53:40

>> Oh, yeah. When when I met him, I was a

00:53:42

producer at the Conan show, I think. Or

00:53:43

no, I was doing Triumph,

00:53:45

>> I think.

00:53:46

>> And I did it for for Rickles, but but I

00:53:49

met him first. They introduced me

00:53:51

because they wanted to make it okay that

00:53:54

it, you know, make sure he would be cool

00:53:55

with it.

00:53:56

>> And he sees me and he just says, "Hello,

00:53:58

Rabbi." Which I later heard was a move

00:54:02

he had for a lot of Seemetic.

00:54:05

That was his move.

00:54:06

>> Like John Stewart told me once that that

00:54:08

was the first thing he said to John

00:54:09

Stewart when he

00:54:10

>> I'm Yeah, he had his biggest just a good

00:54:13

safe offensive across the board thing to

00:54:15

say.

00:54:15

>> Yeah, you know, we've all got our

00:54:17

standard zingers

00:54:18

>> going full full circle toward the end.

00:54:20

>> You think Triumph never said the buzz

00:54:22

around flies around my ass before.

00:54:25

You're sadly right.

00:54:26

>> There's only so many mathematical ways

00:54:29

to get a ass joke. Okay, they can be

00:54:32

flying around. But Regis told me once,

00:54:35

this was to when when Rickles was still

00:54:37

on the road, you know, honest to God,

00:54:39

some nights you don't know if he's going

00:54:40

to make it. They give him two eyeballs.

00:54:41

He's rubbing his knees. Honest to God, I

00:54:44

don't know. When they play the music, he

00:54:45

goes out and he kills him for an hour,

00:54:47

kid. Then he lies down.

00:54:48

>> I like I like honest to God.

00:54:50

>> Honest to God.

00:54:50

>> Honest to God, who's better than Robert

00:54:53

Smeaggel? Honest to God, this guy, he's

00:54:55

everywhere. I mean, you know, it really

00:54:56

is.

00:54:57

>> He was really nice to me, too. I You

00:54:59

know, one time, this is insane.

00:55:01

I had an idea for a sitcom and it's one

00:55:04

of the happiest half hours of my whole

00:55:06

life. I got to sit in a hotel room and

00:55:08

pitch Larry King and Regis Philin a

00:55:11

sitcom where they played an old gay

00:55:13

couple

00:55:15

and they took it dead serious like this

00:55:17

is a great idea and they had already

00:55:20

like consulted Rickles about it and

00:55:23

Larry King's like Rickles says we can do

00:55:25

it but we can't be too swishy swish

00:55:30

and um you know we would just talk about

00:55:32

it and Regis the funniest was Regis he

00:55:34

was like so Bob, again, I apologize for

00:55:37

my inferior reges, but it's like,

00:55:39

>> so if we do this, you know, I know

00:55:41

there's going to be a script, but not

00:55:43

not really, right? I mean,

00:55:45

>> you know, we can get out there and Larry

00:55:46

and I can just go off, right? Just play

00:55:49

off each other, right? Oh, there's a

00:55:51

story to the, you know, it's a sitcom.

00:55:54

It's got to happen. Yeah, but Bob, I

00:55:56

mean, yeah, Bob,

00:55:57

>> learning lines and Yeah. I mean, we have

00:56:00

a natural thing, Bob. Uh,

00:56:03

>> Rickles says, Rickles says we just have

00:56:05

to look natural. I'm like, when did

00:56:07

Rickles become the oracle of Su

00:56:09

everything by Rickles?

00:56:11

>> Mr. CPO Sharky.

00:56:13

>> CPO Sharky 1975. Yeah.

00:56:16

>> If if you have a copy of that treatment,

00:56:17

can you send it to me and Dana?

00:56:19

>> Um,

00:56:19

>> I don't think I ever bothered to write

00:56:21

it. Somehow they said yes

00:56:23

>> to just meeting with me for a half an

00:56:25

hour. One one one other thing

00:56:28

>> that Smiggle has that's one of the

00:56:30

funniest titles is the autism benefit.

00:56:33

The night of too many stars.

00:56:36

>> It's the funniest thing.

00:56:36

>> Both of you have done.

00:56:38

>> Of course.

00:56:38

>> Thank you. One. Well, both of you have

00:56:39

done it.

00:56:40

>> You

00:56:42

um you've done it a couple of times.

00:56:44

Dana, you did the first one and it was

00:56:46

one of the greatest bits that it's ever

00:56:48

been on that. We've done like seven of

00:56:49

them.

00:56:50

>> What was it?

00:56:50

>> Well, Hal Wilner, rest his soul.

00:56:53

>> Yes. music

00:56:54

>> was an incredibly great guy who uh was

00:56:56

the music um

00:56:57

>> supervisor

00:56:58

>> supervisor at Saturday Night Live and

00:57:00

>> for 200 years

00:57:02

>> for 200 years. He missed the first um

00:57:05

300 and he um he would help me book he

00:57:10

knew everybody in music.

00:57:12

>> Yeah. and he would help me book the show

00:57:15

with, you know, he we had a booker who

00:57:18

would be paid and then Hal for free

00:57:19

would get me, you know, he got me Elvis

00:57:22

Costello once, he got me Sting and this

00:57:25

particular bit he got me Lou Reed and it

00:57:27

was like a surprise appearance. the

00:57:29

people in Rosland. You remember we did

00:57:30

this in Rosland and they were crazy.

00:57:33

>> And Lou Reed comes out and it's like

00:57:35

Jimmy Fallon saying Lou Reed and he's

00:57:37

gonna have an all-star band

00:57:39

>> and then one by one he introduces the

00:57:41

all-star band and it's all comedians.

00:57:45

>> Mhm.

00:57:45

>> It's on the drums Dana Carvey on the

00:57:48

guitar. Con O'Brien

00:57:50

>> I think Sandler was there too.

00:57:52

>> Jack Black, Adam Sandler, and Lou Reed

00:57:54

played it perfectly like this is the

00:57:56

all-star band. And and then they did

00:57:59

this incredibly

00:58:01

funny, somewhat disrespectful,

00:58:04

but affectionate

00:58:07

>> version of Walk on the Wild Side.

00:58:09

>> Oh, I love it.

00:58:09

>> And it's on it's it's on YouTube and and

00:58:12

Sandler literally like is right in his

00:58:14

face going

00:58:24

Lou Reed got mad at me. It was very

00:58:26

awkward. I still remember it.

00:58:29

>> Yeah. After the rehearsal, I didn't

00:58:30

really have a monitor. I could hear it.

00:58:32

He used to go and take a walk on the

00:58:33

wild side. So, he very seriously as

00:58:35

everyone scattered just walked over to

00:58:37

me and just was intense Lou Reed and

00:58:39

goes, don't do that. Don't do that.

00:58:41

>> Don't do what?

00:58:42

>> Whatever he thought I was doing on the

00:58:43

drums. I go, I'm a comedian and I can't

00:58:45

air myself. Don't play like that. You

00:58:47

know, he just got very serious. Maybe it

00:58:49

was nerves. But then we came out later,

00:58:50

he was totally affable. He was probably

00:58:53

just that that was the only thing he

00:58:55

probably cared about was that it sounded

00:58:56

good.

00:58:57

>> Right. And I wanted I wanted to I wanted

00:58:59

to play well. I just that my monitor

00:59:01

drummer and and and you did you did it

00:59:03

sounds amazing.

00:59:04

>> Oh, that's good. I guess I got it on the

00:59:06

air show. We just had a brief rehearsal.

00:59:08

>> Absolutely. It was kind of an incredible

00:59:12

>> Adam's a great guitarist and Conan's a

00:59:14

good guitarist and and Jack Black's I

00:59:17

mean these are like all the most

00:59:18

musical. They just happened to all be

00:59:20

there

00:59:21

>> and that song is brilliant but it is

00:59:22

very very austere and very simple which

00:59:25

is you know take you know it's like

00:59:29

>> it was perfect and everybody got a turn.

00:59:31

>> Mhm.

00:59:31

>> Uh you didn't cuz you were the drummer

00:59:33

but every all these other guys did solos

00:59:36

in their different ways

00:59:37

>> right you know

00:59:38

>> and um

00:59:39

>> I learned a few things from Smiggle

00:59:40

today. I learned that Franken and Davis

00:59:42

hired him.

00:59:44

>> Franken and Davis hired me. That is

00:59:46

correct. His dad invented crest white

00:59:48

strips.

00:59:49

>> No, that's not true.

00:59:50

>> Okay. I invented I I heard that he

00:59:53

>> tooth bonding. He he was the he

00:59:55

developed the whole tooth bonding

00:59:57

technique.

00:59:58

>> Right. And I and Lou Reed hates Dana

01:00:00

Carvey. These are the only things I

01:00:01

picked up. Another one of my impressions

01:00:03

has gone to the stars. I have insight

01:00:05

insight onto this involves you. Someone

01:00:09

told me today. So Michael Gordon wants

01:00:11

to go right for the the Conan show. He

01:00:15

talks to Bob Bob Odenkirk

01:00:18

and Bob Odenkirk said, "Wait, wait till

01:00:21

we get Smiggle as the headwriter."

01:00:24

And then somehow you got you became the

01:00:27

head writer and then

01:00:28

>> Oh, you're talking about the original

01:00:30

Conan Show. I thought you meant Michael

01:00:31

Gordon wants to write for the new Conan.

01:00:33

>> Oh, sorry. This is always back in time

01:00:35

when they But he said

01:00:37

>> Michael Gordon knew Bob Odenkirk.

01:00:39

>> I think so. Or at least casually. Hey.

01:00:42

A, that's so funny.

01:00:44

>> Dana, so good. SO FUNNY.

01:00:46

>> OH MY GOD, that's so funny. Oh my god.

01:00:51

No, you're not doing that, are you? No.

01:00:53

Was he mad about Chipos? Cuz there's a

01:00:55

rumor down said I was really mad about

01:00:57

it and I wasn't.

01:00:58

>> Yeah, that was something Downey read

01:01:00

online. He read online that you It was

01:01:02

the most ridiculous lie imaginable that

01:01:04

you like marched into Lauren's office.

01:01:06

>> I just like you people.

01:01:10

You you you were like you'd been there

01:01:12

for like four weeks.

01:01:13

>> Yeah. I go, you know what, Marcy would

01:01:15

have

01:01:15

>> talked to the last per you could have

01:01:17

been there for 5 years. You never would

01:01:18

have pounded on Lauren's door.

01:01:21

>> That was clearly made up. But there's a

01:01:23

comfortity around

01:01:24

>> was that exploitive of Chris or not?

01:01:27

People have their difference opinions.

01:01:29

when he did the Chip and Dale sketch

01:01:30

with his shirt on.

01:01:31

>> I thought that I thought the opposite

01:01:34

which was I mean I just have an inherent

01:01:38

I thought the people were not laughing

01:01:40

at Chris. I didn't see it that way. I

01:01:42

thought cuz there have been a million

01:01:44

fat comedians who you know exploit their

01:01:48

bodies in some way or another play off

01:01:50

being sure

01:01:51

>> heavy

01:01:52

>> Jackie. The thing that

01:01:54

>> I saw that night was an audience fall in

01:01:57

love with Chris

01:01:58

>> because he was so committed and he was

01:02:00

such a good dancer

01:02:01

>> and he wasn't he acted like he wasn't

01:02:04

remotely ashamed

01:02:05

>> of his body. You know that whether

01:02:07

that's you know obviously not

01:02:09

necessarily the truth but that's what he

01:02:11

projected. Mhm.

01:02:13

>> And to me it was like if anything they

01:02:16

didn't use the word empowering back then

01:02:18

but to me that's how it felt to me like

01:02:21

you know the way somebody like Bridget

01:02:24

Everett where the person is

01:02:27

>> you know completely unself-conscious

01:02:29

about

01:02:31

their body. At least it played that way

01:02:33

to me. But, you know,

01:02:34

>> I would say this. I would say if you saw

01:02:38

that in Chris, if you felt that that

01:02:41

that was happening to Chris, then maybe

01:02:43

you should have talked to Chris about it

01:02:45

and made sure it was cool with Chris

01:02:47

instead of just saying tutt.

01:02:50

This is

01:02:51

>> I didn't know a thing. I just saw a

01:02:52

young cast member.

01:02:54

>> Yeah, I barely knew.

01:02:55

>> I did not. Look, there's different

01:02:57

levels. This was young Chris. I saw a

01:02:59

guy very athletic. I think anyone ne

01:03:01

next to Patrick sees would look kind of

01:03:04

chubby. And so Chris was moving really

01:03:07

like a chubby guy. Not like a next

01:03:10

level.

01:03:10

>> He was not even that big back then.

01:03:12

>> No. And I saw a guy killing with

01:03:15

physical comedy. But if he was sad about

01:03:18

it inside, I I was clueless to it.

01:03:20

>> I was clueless too if he was. But I mean

01:03:23

he when I saw him at Second City that

01:03:25

summer, he was another person I had the

01:03:27

privilege of seeing audition back then.

01:03:29

And he what struck me about him at

01:03:33

Second City was how graceful he was.

01:03:35

Like he was the opposite of how he falls

01:03:37

down

01:03:37

>> who got who gained some weight. He's

01:03:39

he's a he was an athlete.

01:03:40

>> Yeah.

01:03:41

>> Yeah. and he was incredibly graceful and

01:03:43

that's what separated him

01:03:45

>> besides you know his incredible

01:03:47

characterizations like

01:03:49

>> but you know so to me that's um the

01:03:53

sketch was the only thing it was

01:03:56

exploiting was his incredible was what

01:03:58

made him special

01:04:00

>> I would go by David's athleticism

01:04:02

>> only because David was probably the

01:04:04

closest to I don't remember any

01:04:06

>> I don't think David was the closest back

01:04:08

then though

01:04:09

>> maybe not back then but after they did

01:04:11

their movies and stuff. Well, right up

01:04:12

there. Right there.

01:04:13

>> That's different. By then, Chris started

01:04:15

to get like like, you know, in the

01:04:18

motivational speaker sketch, I remember

01:04:20

adding I had one contribution to that

01:04:22

sketch because Bob was no longer there,

01:04:24

oddly enough.

01:04:24

>> Yes.

01:04:25

>> Bob wrote the entire sketch and Spade,

01:04:27

you know, I I added just that little

01:04:29

part at the end where he's like, "Matt's

01:04:32

going to shade you. You're here. Matt's

01:04:34

here. You're You know that thing." And

01:04:36

then he knocks Yeah. That's great.

01:04:38

>> And he knocks over the coffee table.

01:04:40

Yeah.

01:04:41

>> And that was like I just felt it needed

01:04:43

like a physical topper at the end.

01:04:45

>> Yeah. A good

01:04:46

>> So we put it in and it worked.

01:04:48

>> And then I feel though that it did lead

01:04:50

to like the slippery slope of Farley

01:04:52

knocking things down.

01:04:53

>> Oh, he's going through walls to the

01:04:55

ceiling.

01:04:56

>> Yeah, it started it started something

01:04:58

that I did not intend to h to happen.

01:05:01

>> Well, they're kind of waiting for it

01:05:03

after that. Every sketch they're like,

01:05:04

"What's he going to hit? What's he going

01:05:05

to fall through?"

01:05:06

>> Well, certainly with the Matt Foley

01:05:07

ones. Yeah. But it started happening in

01:05:09

other sketches too.

01:05:10

>> He just walks in

01:05:11

>> fatty falls down falls down. That's all

01:05:14

you got. Far

01:05:15

>> I would call then then we started

01:05:17

getting cynical about like Chris you

01:05:19

know we would just come up with

01:05:20

different names for

01:05:22

>> but that Nancy Carrian sketch he was a

01:05:24

great ice skater too. That's true. There

01:05:27

you go.

01:05:28

>> Yeah he could ice skate as well. Yeah.

01:05:31

So that canceled out Chippendale. So

01:05:33

were you

01:05:34

>> I just you know when people say it's

01:05:36

just very glib to like you know that

01:05:38

sketch

01:05:40

>> set him off that it's just so I just

01:05:43

find that irresponsible to

01:05:45

>> well I never heard him complain about it

01:05:47

in the years to come. So I I I think he

01:05:49

was just like if you're a young cast

01:05:51

member

01:05:52

>> and that and you get a sketch that's a

01:05:54

10 out of 10 and he took it and it blew

01:05:57

him up. I don't think he ever looked

01:05:58

back and said, but I felt like

01:06:00

>> no, so many other things got

01:06:03

>> Did he ever take his shirt off again on

01:06:05

the show? I mean, he he fell around and

01:06:07

stuff and walk through walls, but I

01:06:09

don't remember. I'm

01:06:10

>> sure he did.

01:06:10

>> It didn't become a thing. Let's get

01:06:12

Chris's shirt off.

01:06:13

>> So, that's good, too.

01:06:16

>> I mean, there was a lot of restraint

01:06:17

until

01:06:18

>> like the later I think it was wasn't

01:06:20

until his like third or fourth year. It

01:06:22

was like people were running out of what

01:06:24

to do with him and

01:06:25

>> and it became like a shorthand kind of

01:06:27

cheap move to

01:06:29

>> have Farley break something, you know,

01:06:32

but he was like, "Oh my god, Spade." Do

01:06:35

you remember his acting in that uh Tom

01:06:38

Schiller?

01:06:39

>> Oh, the coffee one.

01:06:41

>> Yeah. Just the way his face changes when

01:06:43

he

01:06:44

>> when he hears that they've switched

01:06:46

folders.

01:06:48

>> Great idea. That was a great idea. How

01:06:50

many takes does he get to trash the

01:06:51

whole set?

01:06:52

>> I know that was all Tom Schiller.

01:06:54

>> The Schiller vision of the Folders

01:06:57

commercial was a real hit that is kind

01:06:58

of a and a gem that not everyone saw.

01:07:02

>> I put it in the best of because of that.

01:07:04

>> Yeah. Great one.

01:07:05

>> So that people would see it cuz it was

01:07:07

it was one of his greatest acting jobs

01:07:10

ever.

01:07:12

>> Yeah. They could look it up.

01:07:18

All right, let's wrap. What? Anything

01:07:20

else for this guy, Dana?

01:07:22

>> Let's see. Um, anything else for this

01:07:24

guy? Your social security number? Just

01:07:26

for this is just uh housekeeping basics

01:07:29

number.

01:07:30

>> Stay on and do the paperwork. We're

01:07:31

going to jump off, but

01:07:33

>> um um

01:07:34

>> No, that's we covered literally

01:07:37

everything you've ever done.

01:07:38

>> Well, we did a lot of SNL, but obviously

01:07:40

Robert and I did the Dana Carvey show

01:07:41

and he go and biggestly gay. Funny that

01:07:45

we didn't talk about the Dana Carvey

01:07:46

show.

01:07:47

>> It's all right. It's a really We're

01:07:48

Sarah at Life Focus, but that was uh

01:07:52

>> You'll do a whole podcast about that

01:07:53

some,

01:07:54

>> right? We have a Hotel Transennsylvania

01:07:55

podcast after this if you want to stay

01:07:56

on.

01:07:56

>> That's right. That's what I'm waiting

01:07:58

for.

01:07:58

>> You want to stay on? You you were Zohan.

01:08:00

>> Just a Hotel Transennylvania 2 podcast.

01:08:05

>> He did the Clutch Cargo characters on

01:08:07

Conan, which I loved. You know, the

01:08:10

Arnold just the lips and the arag.

01:08:13

Oh my god, we didn't talk about the Hans

01:08:15

and Fron movie. That was

01:08:16

>> a Hans and Fr.

01:08:18

>> This is the part of the show where we

01:08:19

just talk about how much better the show

01:08:21

could have been.

01:08:23

>> Well, we Hans and Fron movie. Oh,

01:08:26

>> we have to have you back. That's

01:08:28

>> We saw I wrote all your stuff out today

01:08:30

and I I knew there was no way this was

01:08:32

going to fit into an hour and so

01:08:34

>> I know. I just more than anything I wish

01:08:37

I talked about that.

01:08:38

>> Which one? the Hans and Fron movie

01:08:40

>> because

01:08:42

>> because it's so funny and it's

01:08:44

hysterical movie talked about it on here

01:08:46

because it was the whole way it got put

01:08:49

together and then it didn't work out but

01:08:51

there was so many

01:08:53

>> Hans and France the girly man dilemma

01:08:55

but it was not it's not homophobic it

01:08:58

was just girly men are not are just men

01:09:01

without big muscles like them

01:09:03

>> you know

01:09:04

>> do you remember the part okay well this

01:09:06

is gonna we can't I was going going to

01:09:09

talk about the Cisco and Eert part was

01:09:11

one of my favorite.

01:09:12

>> Yeah, that whole story. You have 12

01:09:14

seconds. Go ahead.

01:09:14

>> Hans and Fron were doing their movie and

01:09:16

they're running around somewhere and

01:09:18

they go into a room and Cisco and Eert

01:09:20

are watching.

01:09:20

>> It's a movie with I mean they're they're

01:09:22

not they're just doing the movie.

01:09:23

They're in the movie and they're doing a

01:09:25

cross-country trip to Los Angeles

01:09:27

because they want to be in the movies

01:09:29

and be with Arnold.

01:09:30

>> Yeah.

01:09:30

>> And then they're riding a bicycle across

01:09:33

country. And then at one point they

01:09:35

happen upon a big a big uh edifice and

01:09:39

they just walk in and Cisco and Eert the

01:09:43

most famous critics at the time Cisco

01:09:45

and Roger Eert are sitting in the

01:09:46

theater and it's just like

01:09:48

>> how's the movie? You like it? It's

01:09:50

pretty good so far. They're watching the

01:09:54

movie.

01:09:55

>> Lots of action and collapse.

01:09:57

>> They're in this in this dark room

01:09:59

watching the exact movie that's taking

01:10:01

place. So on the screen is them us

01:10:04

talking to them.

01:10:06

>> Yeah. It's you talking to them. They're

01:10:07

like in their movie seats and then

01:10:09

>> watching on the screen is us talking.

01:10:11

>> You see them watching

01:10:13

>> the movie,

01:10:14

>> right?

01:10:15

>> And it's like like 4 seconds behind

01:10:17

>> 4 seconds behind. Got it.

01:10:18

>> Yeah. That kind of thing.

01:10:20

>> Yeah.

01:10:21

>> And then eventually they get kidnapped

01:10:24

because they're girly men,

01:10:26

>> right? Like you go to check in on them

01:10:27

later and they're gone

01:10:30

>> because the the the evil villain has

01:10:32

kidnapped he's like remember Sunny Bono

01:10:34

disappears and

01:10:35

>> right

01:10:36

>> uh I can't remember who who famous girly

01:10:39

man of the day

01:10:40

>> the bad the bad guy had a big button

01:10:41

that said hurt the weather and then we

01:10:44

cut the window look out his window go

01:10:47

hey the weather seems hood somehow you

01:10:48

know

01:10:49

>> yeah it was uh it was going to be Dolph

01:10:51

Lungren

01:10:52

>> Mhm. And he had like this kind of like

01:10:54

final solution villain kind of thing

01:10:57

where I am going to eliminate all the

01:10:59

girly men of the earth

01:11:03

>> and then he'd turn to the camera and say

01:11:05

and I'm going to hurt the environment.

01:11:08

>> Oh, that's had the button that said hurt

01:11:11

the environment. That's right. Yeah,

01:11:12

>> cuz we were obsessed. My I I desperately

01:11:14

wanted to do like Mike Myers was my hero

01:11:18

later because he with Dr. evil created a

01:11:21

character that

01:11:22

>> remember all these 80s comedies the

01:11:25

villain you always had to like take it

01:11:26

seriously for like

01:11:28

>> right rather than

01:11:29

>> you know whether it was Max Fido or in

01:11:31

Strange Brew or like

01:11:33

>> there you always had to have these

01:11:35

obligatory villains

01:11:37

>> and so we were trying to

01:11:39

>> make fun of that and have the villain be

01:11:41

as funny as the and Mike and then Mike

01:11:43

ended up doing it perfect.

01:11:46

>> Good for Mike.

01:11:48

Good for Mike.

01:11:50

All right, I go my show.

01:11:52

>> This has been Robert Smeiggel, one of I

01:11:55

would say he's the greatest sketch

01:11:57

writer of his generation. You you he's

01:12:01

in the he's in the discussion. I put him

01:12:03

at the top, but everyone can have their

01:12:05

opinion.

01:12:06

>> Jack Andy was the guy that I

01:12:09

>> Different different lane though. I put

01:12:11

him in a different lane. But yeah,

01:12:12

>> it's a different lane. But here's what

01:12:13

I'll say about Jack. That was why all

01:12:15

the writers I would say if he pulled at

01:12:17

least the writers of that era

01:12:19

>> they would have gone with Jack and it's

01:12:20

because

01:12:22

>> someone like me wrote a lot of I'm very

01:12:24

proud of a lot of things I wrote but I

01:12:26

feel like you know there are ideas that

01:12:28

only I could have thought of but there

01:12:29

are other ones that I think other people

01:12:32

>> could have and where Jack

01:12:35

>> like nobody else could have thought of

01:12:37

almost any of the sketches Jack

01:12:39

>> Handy

01:12:41

any read through you'd be like oh my god

01:12:43

this is Jack handy within three lines.

01:12:44

You're like, "Everyone looks

01:12:46

>> exactly over there smiling." People act

01:12:48

like he was just the act seven guy, like

01:12:51

the 5 to 11 guy was huge.

01:12:54

>> Was the biggest character on the show

01:12:56

for a couple like literally the biggest

01:12:58

character on the show was a cat pup.

01:13:00

>> Yeah. Yeah.

01:13:04

>> Look out. And we frozen caveman lawyer.

01:13:08

>> Yeah. would always they would get no

01:13:10

laughs practically, but everybody from

01:13:13

Lauren on down was in awe of that

01:13:16

brilliant sketch. And so it was always

01:13:19

it always made the show. It was never at

01:13:21

the end of the show because we were all

01:13:23

collectively just so proud to

01:13:26

>> put it on.

01:13:27

>> I am a simple unfrozen caveman or

01:13:29

something.

01:13:30

>> Yeah. No. That was just the perfect use

01:13:32

of

01:13:34

>> you did that perfect. I don't know

01:13:36

what's going on. Yeah, it's almost like

01:13:40

I'm a cave. Simple cave, man. I think a

01:13:44

simple cave.

01:13:45

>> I think 60 million punitive damages

01:13:47

feels about right.

01:13:51

>> So, we all love Jack.

01:13:53

>> Yes. Okay. Thanks, Robert. Thanks,

01:13:55

Robert.

01:13:56

>> Thanks, guys.

01:13:57

>> Loved it.

01:14:02

>> Hey, guys. If you're loving this

01:14:04

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01:14:19

>> Fly on the Wall is presented by Odyssey,

01:14:21

an executive produced by Dana Carvey and

01:14:23

David Spade, Heather Santoro, and Greg

01:14:25

Holtzman, Mattie Sprung Kaiser, and Leah

01:14:28

Reese Dennis of Odyssey. Our senior

01:14:30

producer is Greg Holtzman and the show

01:14:32

is produced and edited by Phil Sweet

01:14:35

Tech. Booking by Cultivated

01:14:37

Entertainment.

01:14:37

>> Special thanks to Patrick Fogerty, Evan

01:14:40

Cox, Mora Curran, Melissa Wester,

01:14:45

Hillary Shuff, Eric Donnelly, Colin

01:14:48

Gainner, Sean Cherry, Kurt Courtourtney,

01:14:51

and Lauren Vieiraa. Reach out with us

01:14:53

any questions to be asked and answered

01:14:55

on the show. You can email us at

01:14:57

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01:15:00

That's audacy.com.