00:00:07
this is a continuation with even more special guests and uh we had a lot of
00:00:13
people who wanted to talk to Phil that um either couldn't get to the Groundlings we couldn't fit that many
00:00:18
people on the stage so there's some great SNL cast members and people
00:00:23
associated with SNL that talk about Phil Hartman's Brilliance we'll talk about Phil we're going to meander around and
00:00:28
just crack each other up um so overall it's just a it's a lot yeah we go up we let we let it go off on
00:00:35
a lot of different tangents there's some interesting stuff uh around one particular show called The Simpsons
00:00:41
maybe you've heard of that talk about that a lot also okay you guys here you go
00:00:48
William Farrell is our guest today yeah or should it be Willie Willie Willie
00:00:53
Farrell as Lauren Michaels would call him Willie Farrell is always good will
00:01:00
anything this week didn't he say you were in the top two recently he's in the top two I said he
00:01:08
what did he say top three he told me he told me all the time I have to put you
00:01:14
in the top three which order I don't know that's good though
00:01:21
I mean that's still pretty good he goes you're in the top he told me he goes you're in the top three chunks of 30.
00:01:28
yeah you're in the lower 30 30 quadrant uh you know there's Danny there's Eddie
00:01:37
there's there's The Usual Suspects uh Mike you know maybe you would did John died and that sort of pushed him toward
00:01:44
the top oh my God hey talk about well-being in
00:01:49
the top three sorry Phil Phil Hartman is our focus of this
00:01:54
episode and he what was his latest ranking but it was definitely might have been top five I don't know he's up there
00:02:01
for sure yes you know I you guys are so it's so
00:02:07
cool that you're doing this only because my wife and I recently and I think it was I think it was with our kids and a
00:02:13
couple of their buddies were referencing Phil Hartman and
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they had no idea who was and I we were
00:02:23
like wait you guys don't know Phil Hartman and so anyway it just it just dawned on me that he's
00:02:30
he's one of the greatest ever do the show that because of the circumstances of what
00:02:37
happened to him I don't know if the comedy world still knows you know how
00:02:43
impactful he was and and just what a legacy has uh but he's still kind
00:02:50
of unknown that's why we did this and it's because of you and Bill Hader or
00:02:56
sharioteri a lot of people just mentioned their admiration for Phil as
00:03:01
one of the best sketch players in the history of Saturday Night Live Well
00:03:07
that's right because the insanity of what happened and how crazy and out of the blue was overshadowed a little bit
00:03:13
and then it was sort of hard to talk about and then he was just hard to talk about so sort of all uh it was a tough
00:03:20
situation but I think time has gone by where it comes up so much now that it's time to give him some props and just
00:03:27
remind everyone yeah and we did uh because I lived around the corner we were friends with with bran and Phil and
00:03:34
their kids and we reached out to his daughter Bergen and she gave her a blessing she went to the the live show
00:03:41
if people have listened to that episode at the Groundlings which by the way I'd never been on that stage but I've been
00:03:48
in at a show or two what an incredible room to do sketch comedy in but she was
00:03:54
there yeah so it's uh that place is uh pretty pretty special place and uh
00:04:02
just to I mean so many great memories even just doing because you do a lot of your the class
00:04:07
work up on that stage too uh uh and it's just you know what it's 99 seats and it's
00:04:15
just audience is right there and uh um yeah so many great relationships were
00:04:22
made you know at that school for me and and you'd look up on the wall and you see the the photos of of beloveds and
00:04:30
Hartman and Lorraine Newman hello uh Pee Wee Herman and all these people uh but
00:04:35
it's fun I was trying to think of the chronology of of like my exposure to Phil but I remember
00:04:41
I remember kind of taking a break from even watching SNL
00:04:46
and it wasn't until College when my roommate at the time was like you've got
00:04:52
to watch he had done a Wayne's World sketch for his communications class and I and I
00:04:59
was like what what is this what are you doing he's like oh you don't know Wayne's World I'm like no I
00:05:06
haven't watched a show in a while and so I started watching and it was it was really two things that brought me back
00:05:14
to watching the show and it was it was you and Mike Dana doing Wayne's World that was like you know an epiphany in
00:05:21
terms of oh my God the show's back who are these guys and these characters and then the
00:05:26
second thing that brought me back obviously was a very strong cast but then this guy Phil Hartman and
00:05:33
I I just I just was like God this guy is like so
00:05:38
solid and everything he's um he's really funny but then he'll do
00:05:44
something like the anal retentive chef which is so precise and is like
00:05:52
I mean if you read that on paper I don't know maybe that got laughs in the room but it's like it's so
00:05:58
technically done but the fact that he's hung in the pocket with this really quiet premise and the audience just he
00:06:04
just brings them along in such a way and and the other thing I remember watching was was Bill Clinton at the McDonald's
00:06:11
and yeah knowing how hard that is with props and going from I think he uses
00:06:18
like every part of the set and he is having to yeah take a bite take a bite
00:06:25
and you use it as an analogy that he's you know a warlord and you know a to
00:06:32
mogudishu and this at one point starts choking I think
00:06:37
Schneider hands him like his coat and uh to help him and but I I was like God
00:06:43
that he was just so funny but also so technically
00:06:49
gifted but um and I I just remember thinking oh that's
00:06:54
you know if I ever could be on a show like that I'd love to be that guy uh you did very
00:07:00
you did very very well no Phil or you are people like you with
00:07:07
that kind of range it's like what couldn't Phil do yeah I mean you could throw anything
00:07:13
yeah for you guys so when he was was he was he like a was he like a quarterback
00:07:21
of the of the show in like a rah-rah way or was he did he just kind of keep to himself and he was just so good
00:07:27
that the the writers just knew they could always go to him for every type of sketch he he was friendly and accessible
00:07:34
but he also was kind of private and he did had a lot of hobbies that were more important than the sketch comedy I'd
00:07:41
never seen anything like that he was very organized about his bits and he could you know talk to you like about
00:07:48
Evinrude motorboats for a half hour and then say rehearsal go up do some accent
00:07:53
some character some physical piece of Comedy played Super broad or very realistic film yeah feature film type
00:08:00
acting so I he was uh interesting that way had no apparent ego about it he just
00:08:05
was great at it but he'd rather be flying his plane or on a boat I mean he just was Will is like that I think I
00:08:12
don't know will uh uh I I do think that you're because a lot of your character is a little uh out there and crazy are
00:08:19
you asking about my antique coin collection um no do do you actually have one or is
00:08:25
that no yeah no because my brother did I have three older brothers and then my
00:08:30
brother Scott and I went in there one time and ravaged his coin collection oh gosh and bought some jawbreakers
00:08:39
and it made the local paper it was some dimes uh FDR dimes that were rare we
00:08:46
were we were I was nine I I apologize now to Brad that's the guy who Garth is based on dude it's beautiful if you
00:08:53
tried to take a run at my 1916 D Mercury Diamond beautifully uncirculated
00:08:58
condition I'd [ __ ] knock you out that was worth 125 when I was in eighth grade folks
00:09:04
so what was interesting is you and Bill Hader the Coke and Pepsi of snl2 extremely amazingly different cool cats
00:09:14
on SL both referenced Phil Hartman as being like Oh Phil you know Phil's the
00:09:21
man and so that's also another reason we did the show we thought you know he's spanning Generations I think um my
00:09:28
reverence for him affected me I think I think I think I told this story when when we did the
00:09:34
show at Largo uh but I'll tell it again was when he came to host we're all you know there on Tuesday
00:09:42
night and he's going in from office to office and listening to all the pitches and uh
00:09:49
I think I was in the office with a couple a couple other writers and
00:09:55
they were kind of you know doing all the talking and I was I was a part of their pitch but I
00:10:03
didn't really have anything to add they already they pretty much said what the I idea was in addition to be to
00:10:11
being an incredibly intimidated by being in the room with Phil Hartman that
00:10:17
he then just called it out and he's like what's up with the Pharaoh
00:10:23
kid dad got your time Phil Hartman doing an impression of Phil
00:10:29
Hartman yeah yeah it was just of course that
00:10:34
didn't I just went yeah well you know what they said and I was just
00:10:41
like God you just must think I'm an idiot uh but he's he did student you
00:10:46
know he's such a nice guy he had that voice or that Persona he would he would put on sometimes to when he wanted to
00:10:53
lighten up the room hey fellas make sure you read it funny it was a little little
00:10:58
40s like him and Lovitz had that connection could we play something right yeah let's play them Greg this sketch uh
00:11:05
well we're gonna play you we're gonna surprise our guests you were in and I never saw it until a week ago and I
00:11:10
[ __ ] cracked up and put up the volume please this is just a piece of it it's just a piece last week you were told to
00:11:18
set aside at least five hours a day observing human behavior your loss if you did congratulations
00:11:26
Troy talk to me uh yes Bobby I spent uh five and a half hours watching a homeless lady shut up get up what are
00:11:32
you working on um I'm working on my weakness which you said last week was voice addiction so I
00:11:38
thought I could sing A Whole New World from Disney's Aladdin good Alan Menken good friend of mine you got music no
00:11:44
good go I can open your eyes
00:11:51
take you wonder by Wonder stop who are
00:11:56
you I'm Aladdin I don't know are you I am no
00:12:02
you're not you're Troy I'm Troy look at this look at this
00:12:07
this is something this is something this is something
00:12:15
Kelly who is he Aladdin Troy Aladdin shut up you're not listening Brian who is he
00:12:20
Aladdin no Troy good sick oh my God
00:12:27
so there you go that's uh he was that's fill in the pocket and playing it almost like he's in a movie he's so committed
00:12:34
and so real was he um the other interesting thing about Phil was it I don't think he came
00:12:42
to Comedy until a little late because I think he had a whole career as like a graphic
00:12:48
design artist and everything like that between voiceovers and graphic design he actually was one of the first growlings
00:12:55
that had a house yeah and he invited love us to his house and he didn't really want to get famous according to
00:13:01
John he was very conflicted about that he liked his life and it had to be kind of pulled along when I got there Phil
00:13:08
was just going to be a writer and John kept saying to Lauren and everybody no no he's because he was he was a famous
00:13:16
at the Groundlings I mean after 11 years he was just dominant you know
00:13:23
yeah it's interesting how many came aboard after Lorraine Newman the first ground Lane yep and then it was John
00:13:29
Lovitz and then it was Phil in 86 and then it's like so many people you know
00:13:36
sharioteria or Chris catand you I don't know it's just like Lorraine came the other night
00:13:41
yeah was she at the show yeah it's great she left early I heard she left when I
00:13:48
started to talk about it yeah exactly she thought it was a tribute to David Spade and what she found out it was Phil
00:13:54
she quietly went out aside because of how much I was talking she's like what is this actually about I was like
00:14:02
here we go there we go uh well let's let let's let will go but I just we wanted
00:14:08
to thank will for coming on I don't know if there's anything you want to add but uh I had to show you that sketch we [ __ ] cracked up we saw that the other
00:14:15
day this is this is something they had the Rhythm away goes right back
00:14:20
um I don't wanna I don't wanna uh well I don't want to you know tune my
00:14:26
own horn here but I think Molly and Chris and I wrote that schedule whoa
00:14:32
because oh yeah he was a guest host that was when he's hosting right because it was based on different people acting
00:14:38
teachers you met yeah everyone exactly so someone really did that this is something this is nothing this is
00:14:43
something I think that was all Catan yeah you came up with this whole thing
00:14:49
of just just gibberish that of course an acting coach would throw at you right and all
00:14:56
the the ego stuff was so funny get up get up Cadet and also just everyone was
00:15:01
his friend and then there's the next little run on his friends all did uh b-level guest Parts on like Knight Rider
00:15:08
you know he has their credits as if they're a really big deal I just remember any acting coach I ever had in
00:15:15
a group setting could not help themselves from talking about their projects
00:15:21
a Pringles commercial was his showed his range one time I one time it was some
00:15:28
some class where one of the one of the one of the students was like could you please
00:15:35
give us an excerpt from your one-man show I can't I can't please I was like what
00:15:42
are you doing and then sure enough this guy goes on
00:15:47
for five minutes of like from his one-man show about you guys writing that
00:15:53
that makes sense because Phil is a great writer he wrote peewee's big adventure with with yeah but he was in
00:16:01
so many things and when you write something you're kind of the de facto producer of that sketch he just didn't have the time because he was in like
00:16:07
nine things a show even when he was parasailing after read through but you guys must have been thrilled
00:16:14
when he started and started rehearsing that on anything well it was just one of
00:16:19
those things where it was like oh he's doing it exactly the way we pictured he'd do it yeah and he looks ridiculous
00:16:26
he looks ridiculous he's got that little beer but anyway well thanks thanks one of the greats yeah hi guys
00:16:34
here's another all-star cast member and a good friend of mine Mike Myers who was very happy as a Canadian to come and
00:16:42
talk about Phil Hartman here's Mike a fellow Canadian oh [ __ ]
00:16:47
it's sort of a feeling in that in that building that you might get fired it just washes over you no matter how it's
00:16:53
How well it's going all right watch the show I'm gonna get fired that's what I feel like I feel like if if life is a
00:16:58
boss that I could get fired at any time you know so that's true or sort of
00:17:04
nicked but um anyway we're joined by Mike Myers hello
00:17:09
hold for Applause yes who did a nice run Michael how long was your run with Phil
00:17:16
was it your whole time there it was there for five or this years that I was there
00:17:21
he left in my last year I believe he was in So I Married an Ax Murderer which was
00:17:26
fun and uh just brilliant in it and he did what Phil always did with anything which is make it better than written yes
00:17:33
you know he always brought stuff off the page and and he was also very if you were one of the more experienced
00:17:42
um ivy league writers or if you were a dumb kid from Toronto uh he sold your sketch you know what I
00:17:49
mean and I always made it better than written yeah I never would never walk through no
00:17:55
no he always tried to make something funny and he was always prepared he's the most prepared performer I've ever met in my life
00:18:01
I saw him he had a binder with with color coding like how musicians have
00:18:07
notes he would go a little bit of Charlton Heston plus a little bit of this in the universe it was color-coded
00:18:13
I caught him huh I caught him that's great too is he had the best instrument
00:18:19
of any uh comedic actor I've ever met his voice and his body was
00:18:26
unbelievable and uh Peter Sellers like in my opinion and Alec Guinness like and
00:18:33
uh just one of those um I thought he was a very good writer and
00:18:40
I thought he was one of the best interpreters of things written
00:18:45
and bad cold reader ever in my life yeah
00:18:51
unnatural you know to that to your point about Alec Guinness because we were talking about that the other day little
00:18:56
birdie told me Phil had this move where he could make his eyes kind of go dead and and he would go very he did it in So
00:19:03
I Married an Ax Murderer in the Alcatraz scene and if anybody out there wants to see uh first class film acting comic
00:19:11
acting it's such a brilliant move and Alec Guinness could make his eyes go kind of dead I don't even know it I
00:19:18
don't know what that is but when Phil used it yeah complete control complete
00:19:24
control I think what you were talking about uh Dana before earlier you're talking about how Farley was about
00:19:29
explosion and not having any limits on yourself Phil was almost the inverse and opposite
00:19:37
he was all about control and and uh you know they always talk
00:19:42
about if great comedy acting is is great dramatic acting it's it's just
00:19:49
99.99 how it is in life with .001 commentary that's how I always felt
00:19:56
about Phil just a little like the dead eyes is an example of just a little bit of exaggeration yes that's the the finer
00:20:04
the comedy acting you know what I mean is how small the exaggeration can be it
00:20:10
makes it so funny too because if you're in an absurd sketch like I was doing Church chat with him I'm in the dress
00:20:16
and everything he comes out of Saddam Hussein and uh he's playing it like it's drama
00:20:22
I mean it's there's no winking no nodding no no it's just flat real and
00:20:27
cut and intimidating and scary and so that just makes the whole sketch lifts
00:20:32
up the sketch to have someone play that and an Ax Murderer I didn't have a blow to his little speech of you know uh he
00:20:39
scooped at his eyes and pissed in his ocular cavities and I didn't have a blow
00:20:45
to it you know what I mean and then Phil on camera during the take goes this way to the cafeteria
00:20:51
right after that yeah pudding yes I think when when you're a
00:21:00
newer comic or a new uh comic actor a an easy way to do is go you take the
00:21:06
lines and you put a big spin on them put a lot of English to make it funny in quotes and the more you are in it and
00:21:12
you watch people when they do the microscopically tiniest things that's the most fun after a while to see and I
00:21:19
think he was so perfect at that yeah yeah super super small super controlled super tasteful
00:21:27
um and it was also super nice to me I mean that's the other thing too you know yeah because you came in we Phil and I
00:21:33
came in and you were there like maybe a season later or season and a half later right and you were welcomed in in
00:21:39
different ways by different cast members but Phil I'm sure it was because you know everybody the new kids there's a
00:21:45
new kid in town whatever that Eagles song you were fantastic you took me under your wing you told me you
00:21:51
basically gave me the relative real estate of uh this is where you want to be home based that's where the boat you
00:21:56
know what I mean and filled the same Phil was um very generous Conan was super generous yeah it seemed absurd to
00:22:04
me to be upset with the person who's getting their break like they didn't
00:22:10
plan it if he needed to wanted to be upset just talk to Lauren or something
00:22:15
but you were just someone who crushed all the way through your early acting
00:22:21
Second City and then Martin Short said hey there is this guy and then you got on the show
00:22:27
and pretty quickly by the end of the first season you had a bunch of hits I mean a bunch of big big sketches wow
00:22:35
thanks you know and that was a lot of like the crew were very supportive and you were insanely
00:22:41
supportive and um Phil and so you know I got to know
00:22:47
I got to know Phil also too he was he didn't he he towards the end when I was there he didn't write so much and I was
00:22:55
always struggling for material I was like I'm dry I'm dry I'm dry and like I I said this a lot of times but then I'd
00:23:02
go into his room and he was doing a different hobby you know right I'm looking at Yachts building a model or
00:23:08
something yeah yeah then it was diamonds and he had like a Jeweler's Loop and he
00:23:13
goes the three C's or whatever it is cut and then the last time I saw him he was
00:23:20
putting a ship in a bottle oh funny just hold on Mike and it was the last thing
00:23:25
of pulling the Mast up but he had these long scissors
00:23:31
How do you have such time I'm sitting here I'm pulling my hair out I think I'm
00:23:36
being fired I've got no material and then at read through because he's such a great comedy actor he had a stack a
00:23:44
a huge stack of scenes that he was in and I had the three that I had written you know what I mean right and people
00:23:50
put him in 42 of the 44 sketches yes so he's always got something to do and I
00:23:56
was like I got all the time in the world yeah he was uh was he a a hobbyist uh
00:24:04
scuba scuba diving uh sailboat and this just Tropical Islands that was the other
00:24:10
one Mike you ever think about buying a tropical island no I can I can safely
00:24:15
say I've never thought about buying a tropical island yeah yeah everyone's sweating over there over
00:24:21
their yellow notepad riding when I walk my heads he's like Spade come in sit down yeah hey and like everything's
00:24:27
relaxed I'm like sorry I'm freaking out the show's in two days for you know one
00:24:33
character he did I think he did in his audition but he really like could look like John Wayne he had just a kind of he
00:24:40
had like he had a handsome man face and he could leverage it when he wanted to when he played
00:24:46
um I don't know Hanson franzi played a Sad Sack uh cameraman brilliantly but when he wanted to be the handsome guy he
00:24:53
could really go for that and as John Wayne was he really looked like he just looked like he was Charlton Heston oh
00:24:59
intestine yeah but he was child and has didn't you know just the chin up and the wide mouth and kind of gapping for air
00:25:06
well I can't do it but it was so perfect yeah I mean
00:25:12
him is Ed McMahon is a great memory too just just and this German guy the fake
00:25:18
uh sitzis or German you know the yeah but then he'd do John Wayne German which
00:25:24
is ich have a flunk in my depth perception and I'd be like that's two things that
00:25:31
you can't just pull out of your bag like that I know it's it's amazing how effortless it was for him or it seemed
00:25:38
to be but he was a hard worker too I mean he prepared yeah he did was the
00:25:43
first one of the read through table and uh he would make his little notes you know and I I had the the joy of sitting
00:25:50
next to him and I and I I had the option of moving closer to the host as I was there longer but I just I I stayed right
00:25:58
next to Phil because I learned almost everything about cold reading and about
00:26:03
preparing I never had nearly what he had to prepare but um you know I just he was so generous to
00:26:11
me and so um it was all about the work for Phil you
00:26:17
know what I mean and then when it wasn't about the work he literally had no time for Show Business whatsoever it was
00:26:22
literally like hobbies and monkey being on a catamaran there's always like a
00:26:28
news Mike have you ever made a bean bag yes I'm having a parasaled my uh no I
00:26:37
can't think yeah it was on the skin of a dead person the other realm and
00:26:42
understand what's happening on the other side were you there Mike were you there for Reagan Mastermind no do you know
00:26:50
that one Dana that was the first season yeah I was in it as Jimmy Stewart that was like Reagan being the bumbling
00:26:55
daughter marine sweet old man and then the guest leaves and then there's a switch and then he's This brilliant he's
00:27:02
speaking foreign languages it was yeah it closed the doors the smartest guy in the world for uh Phil that was her that
00:27:08
was the first season yeah on Frozen caveman lawyer is is a prime example of
00:27:14
like you know so his caveman takes no nods whatsoever to grunting and you know
00:27:22
me like fire you know whatever yeah speaks perfectly articulate bourgeois
00:27:30
some of those lines are like you know I'm a caveman you know he goes back to that and then he goes okay I'm a simple
00:27:37
I was chipped out of the ice and he goes but I do feel my clients deserve 20 million impunative damages and also
00:27:44
another 5 million for that it goes right back into being a lawyer Flames frighten me these are that's right
00:27:50
[Laughter] Jack candy the writer it was yeah yeah
00:27:55
if you don't you know shovel the snow off the front of your porch
00:28:01
you know a lot of 25 points States you know anyways yeah yeah just play with
00:28:07
that that was you know pretty stout makeup for SNL a complete prosthetic and he played it oh yeah obviously flat real
00:28:14
again played it dramatically actually and also you felt a lot of empathy for the character it it it the more people
00:28:22
are around and think about that sketch it's kind of become shinier and brighter
00:28:27
you know it has been anything quite like it you know well and then there was a series of uh of course
00:28:34
somebody has a can you hear the plane somebody next to me has a uh what do you
00:28:40
call it yeah oh a green Cox chat oh oh a drum okay the uh can you hear it you
00:28:47
must be able to hear it I don't do you hear it yeah yes Kim Jong-un is his
00:28:53
neighbor he has a lot of toys he must be lighting up his Rockets I pissed off the
00:28:58
wrong man yeah um the uh Phil's
00:29:05
the breadth of his work the the the variety of things that he could do
00:29:11
um he was just you know it is damning with faint praise and not correct to say he
00:29:17
was a utility player um he was the most versatile comedy
00:29:22
performer I've ever seen and um I put like I said I put his versatility
00:29:28
up there with uh Peter Sellers and and uh God
00:29:33
Christopher Guest uh you know what I mean I could you know that family of uh detailed
00:29:45
controlled restrained but sharpest attack performers yeah you could go up
00:29:51
to him and before read through can you do a Russian accent he's like what part of Russia yes exactly
00:30:07
yeah that's nice good Lord and he could be explosive too for you know somewhat
00:30:13
reserved uh you know uh a scientist really off stage in many ways or just an Explorer of life but when he wanted to
00:30:20
do a character that just went out when he needed that gear he could do that too which was how about taking over
00:30:26
in the Sinatra group how he just would do it yeah exactly but it's either one day's Eggman
00:30:33
thank you cutting grass out there oh one day he's Eggman and the other day he's walrus
00:30:40
explosives uh from the Sinatra group yeah yeah he ran that whole sketch and then
00:30:45
uh that that you immediately after the snatcher group you're like oh well that's gonna be one for the best of yeah
00:30:51
definitely yeah and I felt that way about the McLaughlin group too which is brilliant yeah the first one and then it
00:30:59
accelerated with putting Frank Sinatra was in there was this inspired and then having Phil play Frank Sinatra and Jan
00:31:07
playing Sinead O'Connor because we all know sineaden apology
00:31:13
that's one thing to you know I don't know they were a bit of a Duo uh
00:31:19
in those first five years Jan and Phil did a lot of things together because it was male female stuff it was restaurant
00:31:25
dating it was game show host for Phil or father so just given some uh sugar to
00:31:31
the great Jan Hooks right Jan what a home run hitter she was another those two together so in my very first sketch
00:31:38
in the cold opening game show psychic he fills the game show host and Jan was this kind of daughtering character
00:31:45
Midwestern person so yeah can you imagine like you're with those two pros and your very first sketch so it was
00:31:52
like oh this is really cooking everybody's on point you know and that's
00:31:58
what I felt like for the first two years I felt like I'd I'd been brought into an All-Star cast and
00:32:05
um you know I felt like a somebody who played for Saskatoon all of a sudden
00:32:11
playing for the New York Rangers or something yeah but truth
00:32:17
you were like this star well basketball or whatever the star you know it's an All-Star Universal and not yeah foreign
00:32:26
influence and you had your stuff was really fresh it really brought a whole new vibe to the show and it you've
00:32:33
melded completely with all of us I thought you know uh lothar of the Hill
00:32:38
People sprockets uh I don't know middle-aged men I think
00:32:46
I may have mentioned lothar I got nothing from anybody on the street for lothar ever except for people nothing
00:32:53
ever except Hill People except for the people that worked in Central Park so really we're going for a walk on
00:33:00
Sunday after the show on Saturday through Central Park and it'd be oh my God it's loathwa and I thought
00:33:07
I love Lo-Fi I was like like am I being pumped right now yeah what is that yeah thank you and
00:33:16
for people who want to look it up lothar was a a middle earthian person and it
00:33:24
was the character I would do when I played Dungeons and Dragons as a kid and now my kid is Thoroughly into Dungeons
00:33:30
and Dragons and does he do lothar as he plays it no they don't they don't do
00:33:36
voices which I was like well why why do Dungeons and Dragons if you're not gonna have to act do a character yeah but
00:33:42
lothar was I remember he was trying to understand uh modern psychology centuries ago and
00:33:49
he would do it in a rudimentary kind of language about men and women's relationships yes it does found it very
00:33:55
funny thank you I do not know what this woman
00:34:03
I always love like whenever I eat barbecue anything that has bones I always go come let us talk of the hunch
00:34:10
yeah that's right you can tell it's a noble creature yeah
00:34:19
they must have talked like that in 15th century wherever ultimately without
00:34:25
contractions I gave yourself up for us very articulate
00:34:31
oh boy well um I mean I don't know I think you've we've
00:34:37
covered I love them and um we love them we miss them we miss him I saw him as a
00:34:45
as a hero and a mentor and a very good friend and uh very
00:34:52
he raised the bar for everybody and what was possible and uh yeah I
00:35:00
I would have loved to see what he'd be working on now you know I
00:35:05
sometimes think when live streaming came in especially the amount of
00:35:11
work he would have gotten if he wanted to take it because yeah because of his range you could have put him in any of
00:35:18
these shows Plug and Play non-stop yeah non-stop if he chose to he could be in
00:35:23
the crown you know of course you could too if you wanted to but um I I feel that he could have also directed because
00:35:30
he yeah he had such a um was an artist I mean yeah yeah
00:35:36
and because he came from drawing as well you know he thought in pictures you know
00:35:42
what I mean yeah which is you know that's one of my
00:35:47
favorite you know people always you know who was a big influence on on me and
00:35:52
let's go you know Buster Keaton as much as chaplain as much as Peter Sellers you
00:35:58
know what I mean because I love picture comedy too you know what I mean and so did Phil and you can see it in peewee's
00:36:05
big adventure as well which Phil wrote yeah yeah uh you know it is always magical when
00:36:13
you especially when there was no sound with Buster Keaton but when there is sound but the bit of scene chooses just
00:36:19
to go to a maybe the some music or whatever and then everything plays out non-verbally it's uh never underestimate
00:36:25
that as a cinema not told you know that was a great quote that Lauren Michaels always had which is you always want the
00:36:32
movie uh to still work as a story and as a comedy even if you didn't buy the
00:36:38
headset on the plane and you're looking over somebody's shoulder to what they're watching you know what I mean yeah I
00:36:44
mean my phrase for it was funny with the sound off yeah exactly and I and I think
00:36:50
um Phil would have been a great director you know of Comedy
00:36:55
oh yeah I I think I'm just watching you know uh the whole family are one of the
00:37:01
great things of having three kids under the age of 12 is I'm able to show them movies that my
00:37:09
wife Kelly and I love when we showed them so much fun you showed them breakfast breakfast club okay we just
00:37:15
saw a breakfast club on Saturday Molly Ringwald Judd is that Emilio yeah uh
00:37:22
Anthony Michael Hall yeah yes and Ali shidy it's
00:37:28
spectacular but the framing you know you know she steals stuff and it's just how
00:37:34
they had a locked up friend and then she just sort of entered in the back it's still something like just to know
00:37:41
good framing you know what I mean but not know it then when you're watching and then now you look at it with different eyes and you go and then you
00:37:48
go this was designed this wasn't smart yeah this is somebody who knew that there was an extra laugh in there just
00:37:53
in how it was shot and I think Phil had that kind of brain you know what I mean yeah you could see it in Pee-wee's Big
00:38:00
Adventure which is a masterpiece of comedy staging you know how
00:38:05
when Peewee is the the guy in the you know uh Paul Rubens is the playing himself this is the Bellboy
00:38:14
yes yes and and generally kind of keeping it wider and moving Masters and
00:38:21
letting stuff happen in the frame a lot of what they called um uh Fred astaires
00:38:26
for the stairs yeah yeah head to toe and just follow it and let let Fred dance right yeah let it all happen in his
00:38:33
rhythm yeah and Kubrick did a lot of that with Peter Sellers the supposedly Kubrick got a Fernie pad and went to the
00:38:41
base of the camera and we just uh lie on it and just kind of let Peter Sellers do
00:38:47
his thing and all his job was to make sure that he had some kind of coverage
00:38:53
and yeah exactly with a big smile on his face you know I watched you know
00:38:58
sometimes at night you go to sleep so it's like okay YouTube comes up and it's the the scene from uh doctor Strangelove
00:39:07
yeah Peter Sellers almost better than Dr Strangelove is his vacuous almost a
00:39:13
feminate president yeah American yeah and then George C Scott who apparently
00:39:20
um Kubrick said gave him carbox okay go way too big because he's you know yeah and then it ended up you know being you
00:39:27
know just startlingly brilliant to watch that yeah and I think Phil could have done the president or that yeah yeah
00:39:35
Phil could have totally he could have played five parts in something each of them brilliant you know yeah yeah
00:39:43
good Lord good Lord you know what else did drawings Simon
00:39:49
here we are still loving him so yeah Simon likes drawings Phil could have done Simon he could have done Church
00:39:55
please yes but
00:40:00
yeah we were just so lucky to all find each other at that time in our lives and
00:40:06
uh there was a lot of great chemistry and uh during those years with Phil as
00:40:11
sort of again we'll probably bring this up a lot nickname the glue it was the glue glue they're not saying boo they're
00:40:19
saying glue they're saying that's what the announcer says yeah in the arena yeah it's like who you get Who you gonna
00:40:25
call Phil Hartman if you need that that and that but uh he meshed beautifully with us uh in different ways you and I
00:40:32
and and Kevin Nealon and Kevin was brilliant yeah so we had a lot of uh we're all just a little bit different
00:40:38
yeah I always say that Kevin was the George Harrison of our cast she didn't
00:40:44
write that he didn't write a ton of songs when the songs he did do were you know Here Comes the Sun and yeah something
00:40:51
you know what I mean yeah the sketches he did right were just awesome so well
00:40:57
the the one that someone is going to be on this show uh honoring Phil Hartman
00:41:02
and his Brilliance I mentioned um Kevin Nealon's waiter without a pad that
00:41:08
I think went to dress yeah waiter without a pad but I don't
00:41:13
know if it went to air but it was one of those things oh it did okay it did yeah that's one of my I love it waited
00:41:20
without a pad is is a is a I use it in my life when I'm trying to explain to
00:41:25
somebody please write it down yeah and Phil kept going
00:41:31
yeah you know yeah guy please come on he's like okay spaghetti for the lady
00:41:37
and uh cream to cause he's like hey fella uh that's not even close to what we heard if you could just maybe grab a
00:41:44
pen and and he goes no no I got it and he goes it's a and he goes Kevin's trying to guess what they're so
00:41:51
good this next young man went to the same Community College as I did Bill Hader
00:41:58
um in Scottsdale and he was a big admirer of Phil along with many others
00:42:04
and I don't think he ever got to meet Phil but he had a lot to say about it I have to apologize to bill because Bill
00:42:11
when I saw you uh you don't remember I saw you at this dinner the other night
00:42:16
you would never remember I was at the dinner I was sitting a couple down for you but um anyway I I had hurt my hand a
00:42:24
couple days before and so I went to shake hands and I forgot and so when I shook hands with people I go like this and it hurt every time and Bill was
00:42:32
really nice because I think he could sense my weakness just for in the air so he didn't totally crunch me with his
00:42:37
strong hand because I felt so weird not shaking hands and I knew it was gonna hurt so I'd go hey and then I go all
00:42:43
right because it's hard to give that Lefty one it looks a little weird Lefty fist bump I know it turned in a fist
00:42:49
bump but everyone gets a little Jarred so and then here comes mullaney that [ __ ] he saw me weak and he came
00:42:56
and he crunched all the bones as hard as he could and he didn't know what he was doing but of course he he gave me that
00:43:02
Kung Fu grip and then and that's when I went to the dock the next day and I go something's definitely wrong and then he
00:43:08
x-rayed it he goes yeah you broke you have a broken bone in your hand that's why it hurts so much you broke a bone I don't know
00:43:20
I think it was broken when I got there well I remember that bill used to call
00:43:26
him baby Hercules as like a little side reference you know and so I guess he has
00:43:31
superhuman grip strength he doesn't know about John yeah really strong comes off like a
00:43:37
square ball I remember about that dinner was showing up and it was a birthday dinner that John was having and we me
00:43:44
and Dave looked at each other and we both were like we saw there's like 20
00:43:49
people there and we both had the same thought which was like are we paying for this like
00:43:55
because of course you can't pay for your own
00:44:01
dinner I don't think we can't let him pay for his own dinner there's a lot of people here like are we all pitching in
00:44:08
and then and then of course Nick crawl was like I'll ask him John we're not paying for this right
00:44:14
John's like I'll pay for it don't worry yeah before he did that I saw Sarah
00:44:19
Silverman scooping extra potatoes I go relax over there until we figure this out
00:44:25
comedians are Starving Artists I'm surprised Lauren didn't pick it up I
00:44:30
know oh yeah Lauren Bill and we'll get to this a second I thought the Lauren name tag was a joke I thought it was
00:44:37
like oh look it's Lauren he's not here but we used to always save a place for him and then Lauren Michael showed up
00:44:43
and we were all like I got it was like Warden
00:44:48
oh my inmates straighten up yeah yeah everyone got quiet for a little bit
00:44:55
right I feel everybody did get quiet and it was you know is there part of us that is still trying to impress Lauren on are
00:45:02
we still kind of yeah on him we were funnier than David David was funnier
00:45:08
than Marin yeah and yeah well he it was a thing where you go over and sit with
00:45:14
him and it is like I picked up the comp last conversation I had you know five years you know two years there's like I
00:45:21
sit down he's like and Charlie Chaplin's house in Sweden [Laughter]
00:45:30
I don't think your update it it it it it played but it didn't last
00:45:38
it got air but it didn't stick it is he's the best summer upper of activities
00:45:44
God just gets it down to five or six words did he have anything postberry you'll go that Kubrick route
00:45:51
now he never mentions that he's usually very sweet he's just like how are your kids what was that yeah everything okay
00:45:59
I saw him scribbling and it said uh Patton Oswald two quips and he circled
00:46:06
them and he said I can Nick crawls blanking and
00:46:12
then I put glad I didn't hire him this dinner proved it I made the right call
00:46:20
audition question mark this is his second audition and it's
00:46:26
going just as well yeah is very sweet very quiet he was seated
00:46:32
next to Warren I saw him turn to Lauren he was trying to think of something to say and he picked up his name tag and I
00:46:37
heard him just say I believe we get to take these home
00:46:47
who was that I didn't get that damn man he's very funny he's a voice on uh Bob's
00:46:52
Burgers
00:47:04
yeah you know but Warren was fine but yeah I think initially I was like wait he's actually coming and he came in it
00:47:10
was great yeah he is always fun and he brought his kid yeah and Eddie who's the nicest guy in the world yeah
00:47:18
really smart guy I like Eddie I was diametrically the furthest person
00:47:23
from Lauren so there's really nothing I could do except trudge down there there's no
00:47:29
chair next to him so I gotta lean over hey Lauren did anyone do bits about the name tag he goes one guy did yeah okay
00:47:36
well then I'll go back yeah it's like the table read I was I don't know where you guys sat at the table read but where
00:47:41
I was at the table read was where you were at it's like you were right across from him oh so when you were doing your
00:47:48
sketch and it was dying you could see him out of focus Beyond losing patience
00:47:56
sad dad being sad or looking over his glasses like out of your [ __ ] mind
00:48:03
you know why why are you putting me through any bails on the exposition oh
00:48:08
yeah that's a word
00:48:13
[Laughter] room with a tear in his eye all right
00:48:23
[Music]
00:48:30
it walks Bill and you're like well [ __ ] wait where am I doing this thing called Mr Poopy Dana
00:48:37
funny little poopy head just so Lauren would have to say that Exposition he about to say funny little poop he had
00:48:43
literally 20 times funny little poopy head sits down a funny little poopy head is sad he is sad funny little poop head
00:48:51
I had that catchphrase uh I got that got that got to go and Jan the great Jan Hooks was um fun Mrs funny little poopy
00:48:58
head and imma go on with him and Lauren I don't know if he ever know maybe he'll know now if he hears this I'm trying to
00:49:05
pull a fast one I mean did you ever do a gag one did you ever do one just for fun and read through a bill where you knew
00:49:11
it was just just to make it silly it was always just fun when you know you would
00:49:18
get uh you know there was just you would turn the page and it was just tons of dialogue we would all just kind of start
00:49:24
I would just start laughing because I could feel Lauren's impatience and right but he really plows the head he doesn't
00:49:30
skip around especially if someone brought in a film piece that was a former writer like Smigel or someone
00:49:36
writing a thing or you know and it would be like a big tape that was mostly like
00:49:42
visual you know just hearing him do that but me and Keenan Thompson used to do that it
00:49:49
was always Lauren like in a shower and he couldn't get out and the shower was filling up with water and he starts to
00:49:55
drown but it was him and that voice being like you know starting the shower and he's washing himself
00:50:06
and then like the water is racing drowned and one was him with a hang
00:50:12
glider and a hang glider talking like that but like that was our impression of Warren it wasn't like him speaking words it was his read through voice his read
00:50:19
through and it was just gibberish that's hysterical yeah
00:50:25
oh I do like when he gets excited after a bomb what you just did wear a sketch
00:50:30
bombs and then it's a pause and people are turning their pages and he goes uh Hanukkah Song and we go to add update
00:50:36
desk Adam Sandler with a guitar trying to get the energy back yeah he
00:50:41
gets it back he goes maybe this one will work did you guys ever have a host say what
00:50:47
is this I'm not into this
00:51:06
these people are friends you know
00:51:20
this is the funny stuff and then now we'll talk about Phil because you when
00:51:26
you were on I think you did mention that uh Phil was uh one of the people you probably looked at you and also Will
00:51:33
Ferrell specifically mentioned Phil in our various interviews so that was kind
00:51:38
of uh interesting that's why we decided to do this because Phil you know this is sort of well it
00:51:45
was very low key individual whatever but his record on that show was so brilliant and people like to talk about it so
00:51:51
yeah it was he was definitely when I got the show and you know you you you look
00:51:58
at you know you know it is kind of like an A-Team thing and especially when I came
00:52:04
out we had a huge cast and so it was kind of like where you know it's The A
00:52:10
Team like what do we not have here do we not have like a dynamite person you know
00:52:15
or a guy who can you know uh build a bridge I don't know it's like you needed
00:52:21
like your own species yeah you're a short stop your catcher exactly what are you gonna play you're the dad what are
00:52:28
you the game show host and then I and then yeah and then you sit and you look at Phil Hartman and I just thought well
00:52:34
I could you know I've always really had a I was always very much attracted to his
00:52:40
kind of that he could do it all you know that he
00:52:45
really could do the game show host and he was so committed as the game show host he wasn't trying there was no um
00:52:53
there's no winking or anything it was all so committed you know and I was like oh
00:52:59
the reason this other stuff is so funny is because he's so committed to being straight
00:53:06
and that makes everybody fun you know what I mean so he I always just
00:53:11
appreciated that about him and it was like oh if I do that then I'll maybe
00:53:17
maybe it'll be that guy you know just whatever you put me in I'll just commit like that the way Hartman did yeah you
00:53:24
know even in motivational speaker which is like the most bananas character he plays the Dad and he react he's the
00:53:31
only one not laughing he's the only one just staring Straight Ahead going you know we hired a motivational speaker he's
00:53:37
been down in the basement eating coffee beans for the last three hours yeah this is so straight yeah he's like we've
00:53:43
always encouraged uh that's right oh yeah we've always encouraged him to
00:53:51
write you know like doesn't notice the craziness around him yeah yeah it
00:53:56
doesn't work if he's you know he's the base you know yeah he's like
00:54:01
but then when he was funny then when you see something like unfrozen caveman lawyer was the one that kind of blew my
00:54:07
mind because I was like he really and truly just does not give a [ __ ] if anybody else finds this funny
00:54:13
yeah I felt as a kid because it was so and
00:54:19
Jack Handy wrote that right yeah oh yeah and it was like this is so
00:54:24
uh strange and I found it so insanely funny but that was my favorite kind of Comedy where it was like this is just
00:54:30
for us I find this funny if either on board or you're not and that he was so committed to it yeah
00:54:37
now there was no like you know breaking or anything you know
00:54:43
which I was no we uh you know guilty of but it was like he was just so solid you
00:54:51
know you know Bill to be on shows with when I was newer and Dana was there Dana and Phil were closer but uh Phil was so
00:54:58
nice and then if you're in a sketch of them or something you wouldn't dare think about breaking in front of such a pro you know what I mean you know that
00:55:04
was looked down upon you're like don't you come in and [ __ ] this SketchUp that's really the professionalism around
00:55:09
there where we were like that's why no one wanted to break because Lauren was against it and then you knew the cast
00:55:15
was like no we take this here we want these things to work as is yeah or or not and like unfrozen was he had a lot
00:55:22
of dialogue and [ __ ] but I think he loved that so much I like that it was one of those that was so weird Anna Jack
00:55:28
Handy and it sort of crossed over to the mainstream where they liked it too yeah it really was I don't did was
00:55:35
he always incredibly prepared yes can you prepare for things because
00:55:42
he what you Dana you too you guys had a lot of heavy lifting I go I would sit and watch the SNL when I was there we
00:55:49
got the server we could go back and watch old sketches oh whoa and we could watch old dress rehearsals and things
00:55:56
like that wow so I was cool yeah they can go through all that stuff and I would go
00:56:02
Dana and no Hartman had so much heavy lifting in those shelves man especially the cold
00:56:08
opens and everything and I'm just like what was the preparation like for that
00:56:13
well Phil was very meticulous he had a beautiful binder he would be in a lot of sketches because he was so versatile
00:56:21
and great and so and he was always super prepared and I think that a theme that's
00:56:27
come up is that he was just a great actor and he would play that bass line and play it so real whether it's anger
00:56:34
or whatever um I just want to say one thing just personally about unfrozen caveman lawyer
00:56:40
when I was on the Sound Stage when that started and I remember thinking to myself this is so funny I'm kind of numb
00:56:48
I can't laugh now but I'll laugh later because just the whole idea of it and
00:56:55
Phil being so serious you know some things are so funny you just go you go quiet I can't this is taking it all in
00:57:02
you're like wow what is this thing is this what I think it is are they really doing this yeah and we do ways confuse
00:57:08
me in fact I am but a simple okay yeah the way that this caveman was using it
00:57:15
the caveman the curry favor from a jury but that he was full of [ __ ] he goes I
00:57:21
want to jump out of my BMW and run out wood whatever like what is this I like
00:57:28
Gringos or whatever yeah sometimes uh at toward the end of the sketch she goes
00:57:33
because again I'm a caveman the world friends and confusing
00:57:40
sure sure yeah goddamn and then monsters in
00:57:45
my house like 20 million yeah
00:57:53
in punitive damages he knows those words dead bill was Jack
00:57:59
Handy ever sending in sketches when you were there
00:58:04
Jack Handy was a you know a legend obviously for deep thoughts and everything but uh
00:58:11
he was the guy that like when Downey or or um Al Franken or someone would come
00:58:17
to the show they would say oh God Jack Handy did the sketch the one they always
00:58:23
talked about was giant businessman let's talk about where where Phil was a giant
00:58:29
remember this [Music]
00:58:36
he's in like a little doll house like in an apartment and people next door it's like a punk band or something
00:58:42
they're playing and he goes down the hallway and he's huge and he knocks on
00:58:48
the door with his finger and he's like excuse me could you keep your the noise
00:58:53
down and it's you know punk guy whoever it was and it was like No And if you knock on a door again I'll kick your ass
00:58:58
[ __ ] him and then he goes back to his apartment he picks up a tiny telephone and he goes
00:59:05
Action Program and that was the sketch that was it
00:59:10
so him being a giant and being a businessman had nothing to do with any
00:59:16
yeah that's that's like Downy and yeah that was like like Al Frankenstein I'd
00:59:21
be like oh my God he would do these things that were just like we never thought that you could do that you know
00:59:28
oh how about this this guy this writer Matt Piedmont just out of the blue he's texting me yesterday and he just says uh
00:59:34
because he listened to the podcast and he goes hey have you done Jack Handy yet and I said no we're trying to find him
00:59:39
in the woods or whatever and he goes do you remember Harvey keitel's Show when he did an insane idiot and his
00:59:45
collection of descending sized deer heads one of the greatest sketches ever deer heads yes
00:59:55
it's one of the best sketches of all and he sent a clip from it I'm like yes
01:00:02
or he's like this I shot this dear this is an idea it was like a deer then like a smaller deer
01:00:09
in a Tim was like a tumbler of scotch and he's like here's a deer I killed and here's a smaller teacher there's another
01:00:15
Dairy kill it's not as big as that deer and here's the point where it's like
01:00:22
like a hamster that cut its head off when I put antlers [Laughter]
01:00:29
this is this is a toy deer that I just cut the head off and then the ending is
01:00:34
like a microscope and of course Downey's favorite line sketches he goes now can you can you get
01:00:40
your camera in there you see that little it's like a petri dish and it's like you see a little dot
01:00:46
over in the corner that's a deer and I think with the right technology I could cut its head off
01:00:55
well I need it fresh enough and he goes over to the bar and then yeah big crumbly been her letters and parto's
01:01:02
voice this has been an insane idiot and his descending collection of deer head this is
01:01:11
I'm gonna have to look at that after we finish this fight that whole Harvey Keitel episode is pretty amazing it's
01:01:18
like very funny that's the uh Kevin Nealon is the bathroom attendant is that that one I think that one and then
01:01:24
there's the one where there's Subway announcers and they're just like
01:01:31
foreign
01:01:36
[Laughter] God damn great New York dramatic actors
01:01:43
can kick ass on that show but yeah but Hartman was Phil Hartman
01:01:49
was always the guy that I just I don't know I was just always so um yeah it was just like kind of talking
01:01:55
about just after the professionalism and the the ease in which he did everything he just seemed so confident
01:02:02
you know and so yeah kind of like it was okay to be
01:02:07
you know those thankless Parts where you're you're the game show host which I played a ton of
01:02:14
those where you're having to kind of you're facilitating everybody and you're
01:02:20
your rhythm is kind of driving the sketch like if you're slowing down then
01:02:25
everything's gonna start to slow down so you have to kind of keep it at a certain pace and it's hard and you're
01:02:31
facilitating everybody else that that can be fun you know and that you can actually make that funny by having like
01:02:37
the right attitude and still service it you know what I mean it just taught me
01:02:42
it was like oh that's how a sketch is supposed to work everybody can't be at a
01:02:49
10 you know and everybody can't be insane you know and then once after and
01:02:55
then there's things like as people get to know you then like I would have writers like John Mulaney and Simon Rich and America
01:03:01
Sawyer and these people start writing for me the game show host but he had like a weird
01:03:07
personality you know but you couldn't do that out of the gate I Lauren would tell
01:03:12
me that he's like they gotta get to know you first mm-hmm then no it's something different then
01:03:18
you can start messing with the thing but you gotta like come in in
01:03:23
a way where they they like you and they come to you and then you can start messing with it and I feel like Phil
01:03:29
Hartman kind of did that because to me he was always you know the the straight guy and then
01:03:36
so that's why when like unfrozen Cayman lawyer or annually pretended Chef or you
01:03:42
know or uh when he played peer Graves you know and he goes oh right you know
01:03:47
that stuff like that was it was unbelievable played Andy Griffith we found out yesterday I forgot about Andy
01:03:54
Griffith during his Ritz cracker phase or something that's was what Smiggle
01:04:00
said it's Ritz cracker like um yeah I'm good I don't know what it is
01:04:07
like yeah yeah I don't know deadly Squad about Lauren
01:04:21
you know SNL there were people last thoughts the office was insane like
01:04:27
smiggle's office the amount of chaos and then Phil's office was meticulous with
01:04:33
different stations of uh flag colors equipment color coding oil painting and
01:04:39
he liked everything amazing painter too yeah he was like uh did all these albums Poco and uh he uh he was a pilot he had
01:04:49
boats he had he had scuba diving equipment I mean he was completely he's a blues player you know he was an album
01:04:54
fisherman so all that stuff like the comedy was just one aspect of it and was
01:05:00
he because remember Tom Hanks telling me that he remembered The Fill at table reads and like under the table would
01:05:07
have like a fly fishing uh magazine yes it's so easy for him looking down so
01:05:14
non-stressed about it being an 80s sketches yeah that's wild they calmed me
01:05:19
down I mean I would come out to 8h with nerves and when I saw Phil in his costume you finally we're going
01:05:26
for this it would definitely be a calming effect which was he you ever see
01:05:31
him get nervous or was he always just cool as a cucumber I never never saw him I never saw him got nervous
01:05:38
um you I was like you like which is very well you know but but I was more like like I was very nervous and you'd see
01:05:45
those people for me it was always like Amy Poehler or uh Fred Armisen could literally be
01:05:53
sitting there having a chat with somebody and then go oh hold on and then do kill on a sketch and I go right back and
01:06:00
go yes anyway whatever I was saying and you know like I don't know I need to do that
01:06:05
losing my mind was Phil uh did was he like ever
01:06:12
um how is he I don't know if you can do this on the show but I'm just curious how was he with a weak post
01:06:23
wow that's a good question do you know what I mean or what was you know what I mean you know like I don't want to name
01:06:28
names but I remember you have a host and it's like not working you you can get frustrated and pull back or you could go
01:06:34
all right we gotta like yeah I don't think that was in Phil's Phil was a just an immensely likable
01:06:42
person and generous I don't think that we would have that gear I think I would see him just wanting to give the host
01:06:48
confidence during rehearsal and that's great and you know the other person don't worry if you drop a line and you
01:06:54
know I I think that's the way I would see him not getting frustrated yeah because his his interests were so vast
01:07:02
and he also was doing his Stars Saturday Night Live okay he was a fisherman or no
01:07:07
pilot I mean we would go to Van Nuys airport and put headphones on and just listen to the tower wow really yeah just
01:07:15
listen to the traffic because I said I'd look I'm too I can't go fly with you in the single engine plane he got it but
01:07:27
um yeah in in certain situations yeah he would he would definitely get it get we once I
01:07:34
said this before but we once at dinner you know because Saturday Night Live weird things happen me and him with Neil
01:07:39
Young and a few other people so I said let's make Neil Young let's make him laugh his ass off let's go crazy and
01:07:46
Phil was doing it was it was the early 90s or something and Phil's doing a Japanese pilot and stuff like that
01:07:53
and we got we got Neil Young just helpless so Phil would have that that gear sometimes I watched his audition
01:08:02
too I found his audition before I auditioned oh at the Groundlings and it
01:08:07
was awesome I haven't seen that his audition is pretty he says I can do any accent any accident
01:08:13
at all just tell me they go and I could I forget what it was but he says I can
01:08:18
do uh he does German he goes like any accent and then someone says up French
01:08:24
and he goes I don't do a friend did
01:08:30
well he'd been at Groundlings 11 years and he he had turned down the show and said he didn't want to be famous and he
01:08:35
had a pretty good life as a visual artist and doing some voice over work he owned a house you know we just found
01:08:42
this out he was like did you feel like when you started the show and he came on he was like like an adult
01:08:49
yeah you know what I mean like oh [ __ ] we have an adult on the cast yeah I came on with him and my very
01:08:56
first sketch was with him and Jan Hooks so it was uh right away exactly no it
01:09:04
was we were doing a game show Psyche it was a game show and I was a psychic so I
01:09:10
would answer before he asked the question you know and Phil oh you know I'd say uh red balloon well let me let
01:09:16
me get to the question first sir and then a red balloon would appear and so that was I'd never done sketch comedy so
01:09:24
being with Phil and Jan they just lifted me up because I was just crazy nervous you know yeah but Phil never Phil was
01:09:31
just I don't know that's he's unique in that way his calmness and then he could just score play the elevator man do
01:09:38
whatever yeah no ego no really overt ego or competitiveness anywhere lurking in
01:09:46
his nature how is he when you guys showed up like when the new day like when you and Sandler and barley
01:09:56
yeah it was friendly and supportive it was more Dana was like an older brother and uh Phil was like a dad oh really
01:10:02
like it was more fun you know Phil I gave him his room because he also wasn't
01:10:08
in the writing room you know like mostly I would see the smigels and Conan's and
01:10:13
Greg Daniels those guys around because everyone's writing all the time so there's drifting around Phil was like it was a job you'd go home
01:10:21
come back you didn't he didn't stay up and right was did he at all if he did
01:10:26
write like if he wrote mace or maybe he helped on um he did write sometimes but most of the time I didn't see him until
01:10:33
you know read-throughs then at a rehearsal but he couldn't have been friendlier he was very light you know
01:10:39
and it was good to go to him because he wasn't so stressed about like we were also tight energy and he was like hey
01:10:45
fellas he put that Persona on sometimes for fun I'm sure you'll come up with something
01:10:51
terrific fellas this is Phil Hoffman saying good night you know but he uh he also did all his business
01:11:00
when you know we first started making a little extra money he had it in a briefcase and he was incorporated he did
01:11:05
all his taxes and stuff it's all in here you don't even open it up yes and he was
01:11:11
just extremely organized and and hard-working about you know memorizing things and knowing where he was going
01:11:18
it's like maybe that calmed him down a lot I mean he's probably the first guy knew that had a house yeah yeah I mean
01:11:24
Dana said that it's so true it's like I knew guys that owned cars but I didn't
01:11:29
don't think any of my friends own a house yeah he was kind of my friend that's that's like a rich thing that I didn't
01:11:36
have yet no one had that yeah yeah I it's funny hearing that he didn't
01:11:42
um he just must have been like the perfect guy to like all you guys but it was just like oh I could bring him in
01:11:48
there like when you're writing it's like oh we just have this this guy who it will can do anything and
01:11:54
be totally fine playing the you know the straight guy the the dad he's walking by
01:11:59
you by the piano in the writer's room at read through day and he's breezing and you're like hey Phil you're rushing in
01:12:04
mine okay yeah
01:12:10
yeah yeah I got that one I mean he was he was famous he was a rock star according to
01:12:16
John Lovitz and I'm sure it's true at the Groundlings yeah you know um just just Infamous just as the guy
01:12:23
the go-to guy um but just a generous nice person you
01:12:29
know just a sweet sweet person that's all I heard from everybody he was like
01:12:34
when I first got there that was you know he's like you're just you're going to SNL and you see all your guys pictures
01:12:40
up in the wall up on 17 it's like everybody who's been on the show and you're like Jesus it's like that is
01:12:47
weird it's so uh terrifying you know it's like and I feel like it's so
01:12:53
perfectly put on the wall as you walk to the table read and or you work to your
01:12:58
offices so it's like just so you know constantly reminded
01:13:04
because of my this is on your this is the lineage you got to keep going I'm seeing you guys and still and
01:13:12
you know Bill Murray and John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd and Ryan Newman and Kurt
01:13:18
and all these you know Jan Hooks and everybody and you're just like oh my God yeah how do you do this and so I
01:13:26
um but yeah I am I just think that's so cool that he you know was so chill you
01:13:33
know I would try to I would ask everybody I was like oh well that was like kind of the first you know I'm
01:13:38
talking Mike Shoemaker and being like oh when did you start here and when I do the math I'm like well what was so hard in my you know yeah love it came and did
01:13:46
a bit on your show Dana and I asked you know talked to him about him and yeah yeah yeah we we miss him and he's he's
01:13:53
uh just a brilliant brilliant guy and it's fun to be around someone who just loves Hobbies
01:14:00
is passion it's very healthy you're never bored if you have a hobby you know and you'd go
01:14:07
go out to his boat he had a sailboat and and a Boston Whaler motorboat and
01:14:13
you're just driving down there with them and then once he got on his boat he didn't really you didn't really interact
01:14:19
with him he's just looking at the tie knots and I haven't said this but it was just
01:14:24
sort of a weird thing we went on a sailboat in first time I'm on a sailboat so he's
01:14:30
showing me how we're doing it it's like I don't know if maybe a 15-footer it's just the two of us and it was stunning
01:14:36
stunning day in L.A just crystal blue skies and we went around this buoy and the seals are there
01:14:42
and it's it's like The Great Gatsby or something and then we look and there's these plumes of smoke rising from LA
01:14:50
what the hell is this so we come in it was the Rodney King verdict oh my God so
01:14:56
then we it was just one of those strange things that we shared you know trying to get back to the valley get home you know
01:15:03
but anyway yeah I had no Hobbies when he said he goes so we got a week off coming
01:15:08
up uh what are you gonna be doing I go grinding my teeth I don't know freaking
01:15:14
the [ __ ] out because we're coming back yeah crossing my fingers I can make
01:15:19
mouthpieces for you I've got a little workshop in my garage
01:15:26
I bet a simple sketch player what are you a medium
01:15:32
balsa wood I forgot mace mace was the Batman amazing
01:15:38
batman Apple rotten to the Core [Laughter]
01:15:43
okay all right thanks thanks Bill thanks for coming on Bill hater everybody nice
01:15:49
to see you buddy thank you guys
01:15:54
next up is Shari Oteri who's also an All-Star growling and she was excited to
01:16:00
come on and talk about her admiration for the great Phil Hartman here she is
01:16:06
I'm sure people have told you that you're the one you're of we've done like a hundred of them as far as the reaction
01:16:13
yeah that's called number one no no no did not know that till Greg said to me
01:16:20
you know you were in the top three I'm just saying from My Wife and other people when we bring up oh what was your
01:16:27
and oh shario Terry I mean yo yeah I I would say number one I don't know there's no pressure on you today it's a
01:16:33
little you know it's you don't have to do it but it's kind of nice to be number one I mean I'm Blown Away by that
01:16:42
was so hesitant I said I I was really hesitant and um it ended
01:16:50
up being so fun and so for us too and I'm like
01:16:56
where we went with it I would have never guessed in a million years I was all you
01:17:01
it's just you put out all that fun energy so it just it makes it easy you know wow it really pays to be alone lot
01:17:09
you remember David David Spade look at his hair it's perfect today I love her I
01:17:15
know my face is still beat up but the hair looks good the hair looks good the hair never lets you down you
01:17:22
know you know what Dane I was thinking if you looked it we just we're talking to Mike Myers and if you look at all our backdrops you couldn't tell anyone has
01:17:28
any money [Laughter] all white boring I know I gotta Spruce
01:17:36
Goose it up we used to tease a guy in high school who had really young hair I can't explain it but he had like 10 year
01:17:42
old boy hair so he did a song Young hair get out of my head you you belong in a
01:17:49
cradle bed you better run there you're much too young hair sorry I'm not a
01:17:55
singer sharer you can sing oh yeah what uh yeah it's like some classic
01:18:01
um yeah that's it
01:18:06
you're much too young girl you're much too young girl oh that's all you're in
01:18:12
Stevens no Sherry a lot of those old songs were
01:18:17
like you're 16. you're kind of a little young for me
01:18:26
and you know what I mean what do you mean it's just 17 you know what I mean he goes no in the song I'm 17 you're
01:18:33
like I know but you're an adult singing it we don't like no he his original lyric was she was just 17 a real beauty
01:18:40
queen and then Lennon was the one said you know what I mean so that's how they work together just like Sherry worked
01:18:46
together with all her bandmates Sherry or Terry remember you did the cheerleaders with will do you remember
01:18:53
that Sherry do you remember the cheerleaders oh my gosh if I could tell you every
01:18:58
time I was in the gynecologist's office and they said to me ask me to do a it was like um I'm gonna need my legs uh
01:19:06
to hit the floor for this and he goes I'm gonna operate you like a puppet
01:19:15
disgusting disgusting I don't know where this podcast is off the rails right now
01:19:20
we are so outside the lanes ladies and gentlemen this is the f-95 live we're
01:19:26
gonna try to get Sherry out of her shell today uh Sherry oh Terry was that was
01:19:33
that intentional whoever named you it was always pronounced Sherry otiri
01:19:39
mine I pronounce it oh I've been saying oh Terry for yeah
01:19:45
everyone does it's too late yeah as soon as I move to La you know people said oh
01:19:52
Jerry because why wouldn't it be pronounced that way if Sherry is ERI
01:19:57
yeah but you know but I never said oh
01:20:02
Terry but then when I was got SNL and I remember I first when I first got there
01:20:08
Don Pardo walked down the hallway and I couldn't believe how tall he was and he
01:20:14
came up to me I love that he introduced himself with that voice as if you wouldn't know and he said Jerry
01:20:20
um Don Pardo and I go yes you are and he goes how would you like me to pronounce
01:20:26
your name I like the rhyme it rolls up the tongue and did he did he do it did he say it
01:20:33
yes yes you know my dad was a little
01:20:40
disappointed I think you know but you know it wasn't that much of a difference for me to correct anybody I you know
01:20:47
what I mean yeah but yeah the rhyme was uh nice but that didn't happen until I moved to LA I like it Sherry you were so
01:20:56
wonderful on the show but we we're calling you again because Phil Hartman who I don't uh we don't even think you
01:21:03
knew well because it was a different time but you were someone I think was probably either influenced or oh my gosh
01:21:11
he to me was like a dramatic that did comedy
01:21:18
[Laughter] Bob Barker over there
01:21:25
um I've got uh but I remembered when I first walked into the Groundlings ever in the early 90s and everybody's head
01:21:32
shots were on the wall and the first two headshots I saw were Phil Hartman and
01:21:38
Paul Rubens oh and what's so funny is that we're doing this for Phil because
01:21:44
I've been inundated on my Facebook of pictures of Paul and Phil because I'm
01:21:51
going to Paul's Funeral on Sunday but there's been so many photos of
01:21:58
them when they first started the Groundlings and it's there's a lot of them with Phil and Paul and I'm telling
01:22:06
you they're just so young and it just looking at it like they're all laying
01:22:13
all over the floor and and and in someone's dingy apartment like broke but
01:22:19
having the time of their lives you know and I just remember myself being in that
01:22:25
position when you just went to people's houses or houses like you know studio apartments yeah and you're just [ __ ]
01:22:34
around and writing and being creative and the pictures of them being so young
01:22:39
where it just made my eyes cheer up it was just like it was just beautiful and
01:22:46
those two were the first ones that I saw and I just and then I became friends with Paul when we did Ally McBeal
01:22:52
together and I just you know talked to him about Phil being you know Captain Carl Captain Carl I remember that yeah
01:23:00
and how it went from uh Groundlings to people's playhouse and then at that time they were both you
01:23:08
know at like the height of their success I would say [Music] um but like Phil's film Noir love for I
01:23:16
feel like he was born in the wrong time era you know oh yeah him and John love
01:23:22
it's the two of them yes yes they could go they could go 40s so so easily you
01:23:29
know yes and he was just don't solid in every way I mean it was I think
01:23:36
it was Jan Hooks who just said that he was the blue to the to the cast at that time sure yeah and Jan was the other
01:23:43
clue my God Jan was another yeah I mean she's a song Hero I'm not gonna say unsung because everyone knows I love Jan
01:23:51
it's unreal it's just oh yeah uh yeah I would say um Jen and
01:23:57
Nora I mean they both had care I mean of course the Sweden sisters Sweeney sisters
01:24:03
it's uh Pat you know she had the talk show that cracked me up oh yeah um but
01:24:09
oh God I got to meet Jan and that was really exciting but um and then I just was thinking about
01:24:16
between all the voices they did on The Simpsons you had
01:24:21
news radio you I mean and then what he did on SNL between like Frankenstein and
01:24:29
like Ed McMahon and um but the funniest thing that I love
01:24:34
that he did was uh oh two things was um uh the the caveman unfrozen Cake Man
01:24:42
lawyer um how you who thought Howie thought I'm gonna put a pair a lawyer with a
01:24:48
neanderthal and it just Jack Jack Handy Jack Handy
01:24:53
really we haven't done this yet on on our our special show but would you like to hear a clip from unfrozen caveman
01:25:00
lawyer yeah that's like 30 seconds all right Greg cue that up and we'll that'll be fun to hear
01:25:06
could you give me another drink [Applause]
01:25:12
[Music] [Applause] I'm mad and I'm frightened by your
01:25:17
strange flying machine so get me another deuce and water printer we got a lot of
01:25:24
Clips but yeah I I hadn't seen that one him playing the the lawyer wasted on an
01:25:30
airplane I mean he was so like um
01:25:35
uh what's the word um it just was so like sarcastic and it
01:25:42
just cracked me but and I love the Zed big man um that stupid laugh that he he did as
01:25:48
Ed McMahon he was so condescending as the caveman and like a condescending
01:25:53
caveman he's just like what in the world to me perfectly and played perfectly
01:25:59
written perfectly and um but my favorite was how we did Frank Sinatra as such a
01:26:05
dick
01:26:13
it made me laugh so hard like I wanted more sketches with him being so I
01:26:18
expected so when he hosted the show as you know when I was on I was so excited
01:26:26
and um so I was a little shy because I was I was pretty excited and um I just
01:26:32
thought he was such a pro and so Molly and I were doing leg up with Ann Miller
01:26:39
and Debbie Reynolds yeah and it was like oh my gosh we got to do this with him
01:26:44
and Frank Sinatra it was so funny he was
01:26:50
just like that like just such a dick um that's Frank and um it's just talking
01:26:56
down to you as Dames or something yeah and Broad days and everything but like I
01:27:02
mean we held our own we held our own but it was um uh you know
01:27:09
um but one of it was just so funny and I remember when we first wrote
01:27:14
leg up Lauren called me in his office and he goes Sherry
01:27:21
uh what demographic are you going for because it was for people who don't know
01:27:27
it was too song and dance people obviously famous famous people from
01:27:32
musicals in the 40s and 50s and I truly didn't like I'm just starting television
01:27:38
I'm not even thinking of what's my demo of this sketch yes and I
01:27:45
and I uh when he said and he was serious and he waited for me to respond I went I I don't know I didn't think about that
01:27:52
yeah well no one knows who Ann Miller and Debbie Reynolds is
01:27:57
and then I go uh and I said well maybe
01:28:02
it I think even if they don't know who they are they they still might think
01:28:07
it's funny and then he was just crying he just was like um and then we did it
01:28:12
and it was like it was great oh I think I even told you guys this before but I
01:28:18
think the second time we did it it was Phil coming on and I'm like oh my God we
01:28:23
can have him do Frank Sinatra and it was he was so awesome
01:28:29
I mean just nice polite where'd you see him so you had to pitch it to him is it is it tricky
01:28:36
because you know you look up to the guy and he where did you meet him in that Monday meeting or where do you meet him yeah yeah yeah yeah
01:28:42
um you know a lot of times I I think I would I was never great in the pitch meetings
01:28:49
I would I would never try to get a laugh in the pitch meeting it was oh you'd save it no it was just too intimidating
01:28:56
it was scary you know I just did what it was going to do and next you know I see yeah I never tried to
01:29:03
make it funny I think I might have just said uh we're thinking of doing a leg up with uh
01:29:10
um Phyllis Frank that's Frank Sinatra okay all right Chris Parnell
01:29:16
oh right because Lauren goes around the room and he goes That's it Sherry okay Chris Parnell maybe a leg up
01:29:25
Molly I guess you're in on leg up anything else yeah
01:29:31
yeah it was like please next next get off me yeah get off me oh because the
01:29:37
host is staring at you Lauren's staring you and every [ __ ] person that remembers 30 people going that's it uh I
01:29:43
didn't even care truly I didn't care I just I just wanted to be done with me
01:29:49
but um and then he did whatever else did I love it he did the anal retentive Chef right you know
01:29:57
I mean uh I mean and all the sentencing characters it's
01:30:02
like I would have loved his career you know because there was just fun there
01:30:07
was just so many things that he could do and he was doing you know animated
01:30:13
voiceovers um he had that amazing voice like Chris Parnell has that kind of voice that
01:30:19
radio voice and that owns her yeah and of course and then he goes does news radio yeah you know I mean what a varied
01:30:29
you know a career that he had he just there wasn't anything that he could do
01:30:35
and yet he was kind of like low-key yeah very low-key he was brilliant but
01:30:42
low-key and then he would suddenly just that you'd see him on on 8h and I think
01:30:48
he played Barbara Bush or something you see even this was ridiculous outfit you know and then he would just crush it and
01:30:54
then kind of go back to his you know magazines about motorboats so yeah somebody said to me
01:31:01
It Was Daryl Daryl maybe not that Daryl copies anybody
01:31:07
Daryl has his own you know but he copied you know Clinton maybe a little bit from
01:31:15
Phil and I go yeah just like I copied Ross Perot from Dana
01:31:21
and you know you know where I got Ross bro from Ross Perot yes I know you did I
01:31:27
can't claim it I mean I I just lifted it from you you did all the work can I finish one time that's all I have left
01:31:34
30 years later that's it it's James Brown as Ross Brown can I finish one time but uh you did it
01:31:41
great I thought you know I never had any sort of they can't do it because I did I don't even think even with George Bush Senior I mean anybody's available for to
01:31:48
do an impression of you can't well I know but like to me sometimes it's what
01:31:54
I liked about what you did you always did a take on somebody you didn't worry
01:31:59
so much about doing them exactly and when someone does a take on somebody their own unique take on them it's
01:32:06
funnier to me Sherry you're probably a kindred spirit that at some point I am trying to amuse myself within reason so
01:32:12
when I would extenuate some of these people it just would make me laugh inside that the audience is hearing and
01:32:18
accepting that this is what this person is so you know I totally I with that's what I did with Barbara
01:32:25
Walters I was just kind of like how can I have a different take on her uh
01:32:31
um you know and just studying studying studying her and then once you the
01:32:37
audience accepts it then you can go off from there once the audience buys it you know yeah I mean I think Gilda who is
01:32:44
adorable and Brilliant she had her own take blah but yours yours is kind of extraordinary because you recently did
01:32:51
it on one of those New Year's Eve shows and it was so out of the blue I was just clicking around and there you were could
01:32:57
you could you just do 10 seconds of it just just for me you just do one hour could you do a one-woman show right now
01:33:03
we're recording no no can I tell you a story the the um I was all ready to do Barbara this
01:33:12
past New Year's Eve um promoting her own podcast from stature to the streets brought to you by
01:33:18
Dulcolax odd interview saw stool
01:33:24
see that take of those rhythms there's something about them teased out from her
01:33:29
you know you kind of sound like her though you do sound like oh yeah and I'll tell you and I'll tell you I um I
01:33:36
wrote the whole thing and we had pictures in the back because what she
01:33:41
was doing is she was going to have you know people from rappers and and all
01:33:47
that stuff she was going to have her podcast and then she was going to compare the rappers to who they were
01:33:53
like in her day you know like Takashi six nine
01:33:58
um oh and I say something about a um Spanish Rebel was you know increasing
01:34:07
Trinity Lopez okay truly I was you know we'll go from
01:34:12
Lizard Eliza from uh I've had them all paired up yeah like
01:34:19
who would be um the older equivalent I think it worked too it was yeah and like I did
01:34:26
from from Styles Harry Styles and sadaka um yeah I mean so I did this whole thing
01:34:35
and I had um the pictures up and uh of the both of
01:34:41
them next to whoever I was pairing up with each other and um so I rehearsed it
01:34:46
the night before New Year's Eve I was at CNN and then I went downstairs to meet my friend for dinner and I had the wig
01:34:54
the outfit the whole look and they said Sherry it was really loud in the restaurant
01:35:01
she just passed and I went oh what uh-huh and I said wow
01:35:07
what who Sherry I I'm telling you it was five
01:35:13
minutes later I go down to meet my friend and Barbara just passed hmm and
01:35:24
I just weld up it didn't feel real
01:35:29
mm-hmm and I'm like I I was in such
01:35:35
shock you know that the timing and everything
01:35:42
um and I thought I knew that you know she was up there and everything but I just loved being able to because if she
01:35:48
was younger there wasn't any news medium that she would not have thrown her ad into and so I could see
01:35:56
her doing a podcast yeah of course you know what I mean absolutely um yeah she was driven driven driven oh yeah I mean
01:36:03
she kept up with you know um
01:36:11
hotel and I couldn't sleep you know and I thought
01:36:16
and I just from a stream of Consciousness I just started writing and they called me like
01:36:24
one in the morning and said we want you to say something and and I said it's funny because I've
01:36:31
just been writing and so I go why don't you just take what you want from what I wrote and then you know and
01:36:38
so I sent what I wrote to them and they go uh Sherry we're gonna I want you to say
01:36:45
exactly what you wrote and I go yeah but this is just more personal it's got no
01:36:51
background information she goes everybody's gonna have her background information it's the personal thing that
01:36:58
not everybody is gonna have and you have a personal connection you know to her
01:37:03
and um so I did and I thought to myself
01:37:10
um I'm so lucky like in a way that I have this platform to at least say what
01:37:15
she meant to me you know and then my social media was like
01:37:21
everybody was reaching out to me saying that I was the first person they thought of
01:37:26
and I thought to myself me you know like I guess that's the reference or whatever
01:37:33
because of SNL mostly you know I mean no completely because it was SNL but like
01:37:39
it made me feel like her daughter in a way you know people were worried about me and saying they're sorry to me to
01:37:46
express their own greed yeah you know interesting yeah five minutes after I
01:37:52
rehearsed it and oh my God I'm so sad that I never got the chance to do it but
01:37:58
um I should have just done the whole thing on your show yeah we just saw a
01:38:03
little snippet and a one and a two and a three no
01:38:08
pressure Terry with Snippets that's a great story wow I mean I mean a poignant
01:38:13
story um it's interesting how you get connected to sometimes when you do
01:38:19
impressions of people and then they pass and you know people want to talk yeah and so many people you know they're
01:38:25
grieving it's and it was their think of you yeah I mean I grew up you know she was in my my whole
01:38:34
television watching from ever since I was a kid and be doing her as an adult
01:38:40
like that it's crazy and um being able to interview her as her on
01:38:46
her last view show was one of the highlights of my career wow
01:38:51
Sherry She interviewed me did I tell you that I have a picture of me and her because
01:38:58
she did a spin-off show called uh the nine most uninteresting people of
01:39:03
2006. no I was it was one of those interesting shows I made some cut She interviewed
01:39:10
like seven people you know what I mean and uh because I remember I was out of town they made me fly in for it and I have a picture and then she wrote I told
01:39:16
her that my mom loved her blah blah and then she wrote my mom a note just she
01:39:22
just stopped what she was doing and wrote my mom a note about me because she just interviewed me and then she said give this to your mother oh my God
01:39:28
that's sweet that is so sweet like the teacher David did good yeah that was
01:39:34
what she was this you got a sticker you got a Barbara this guy's gonna make it my mom's like he already made it she's
01:39:40
like oh I'm sorry I don't know who he is really I don't know what he does um but I see potential
01:39:45
um anyway Sherry we will jump off all right but is there anything else you want to add Dana anything you
01:39:52
me personally no I just I couldn't agree more with everything Sherry said about I
01:39:57
love that you saw Phil you got to work with them yeah oh it was like show with them yeah from the first day walking in
01:40:04
for the first time ever at the Groundlings and seeing his picture and then seeing a muscle and then
01:40:11
doing a sketch with him on us now it was like wow this has come full circle yeah
01:40:17
you know my journey uh with Phil he really was inspiring
01:40:23
up next is Conan O'Brien we all know and love and uh Conan who worked to sell on the show and he also worked with them a
01:40:28
lot on The Simpsons which we get into Conan Europe party resume writer for two
01:40:35
years on The Simpsons and so since we're doing this tribute to the great Phil Hartman he also did a lot of voices yep
01:40:42
do you interact with him uh yeah we we uh I wrote an episode uh the monorail
01:40:49
episode and I wrote a part for this smooth talking kind of Music Man salesman and I called him Lyle Langley
01:40:57
and it was just always written kind of as a fill role because Phil did a lot of
01:41:02
great voices on The Simpsons and uh so it was fun because I went to The
01:41:09
Simpsons after I was at SNL so I worked for a bunch of years with Phil and you
01:41:15
guys at SNL then I move on to the Simpsons and I write this episode but there was a chance to kind of reconnect
01:41:22
uh professionally with Phil which was a really cool thing and one of the things
01:41:28
I like about that episode is Phil is obviously great he's fantastic uh and he
01:41:33
he played a character also called Troy McClure on The Simpsons he's just yes he played a few great characters but
01:41:40
uh I was very fortunate because I wrote this part for him and he could do it and uh he of course was amazing as he always
01:41:48
was and what's nice about that episode is it just bounces around in the
01:41:53
universe those Simpsons episodes uh just rock it around the world so it doesn't
01:41:58
matter where I go there's all these people that have they're like oh yeah I guess you did
01:42:04
some stuff in late night but man Simpsons dude you know and so it resonates uh it really resonates with
01:42:10
them I'm not familiar with that episode so when you said music man was Phil kind of talk singing as well or yes yes
01:42:17
there's a part where basically as the music man tried to sell uh the episode starts out as kind of a music man parody
01:42:24
and then uh the the second half of it is a um Erwin Allen Disaster Movie parody
01:42:30
uh and um but the first part is Lila Langley shows up in town and he's a guy
01:42:36
who's the town is coming to some money and they're trying to figure out how to spend it and of course Marge wants to
01:42:42
spend it sensibly and then uh uh you know this guy stands up who's
01:42:48
wearing a straw boater and it's it's Phil and it's Phil doing his you know Phil was so good it's smooth characters
01:42:54
yeah so good at kind of saying hey I can help you out here I'm Lyle Langley and
01:43:00
you know uh and then he basically he tells them what you guys want is a monorail which and I I loved monorails
01:43:08
were just always felt so stupid and silly to me like this fake promise of the future that doesn't really accomplish much it's just a a trolley in
01:43:15
the sky and uh so anyway he sings A talks sings a song about the uh about
01:43:21
the monorail and You Know It uh you know and it's uh and of course Phil did it
01:43:29
beautifully and it was really fun and it's just nice that it's out there and then a nice come about uh all these
01:43:35
years later was The Simpsons did a big reunion show I don't know if it was their 30th
01:43:41
or must have been their 30th and they uh had a Big Show at the Hollywood Bowl
01:43:47
and Matt Groening and James L Brooks asked me and and The Simpsons writer
01:43:53
said hey Conan would you come back and sing the monorail song at the Hollywood Bowl with the Hollywood Game Men's Choir
01:43:59
and the answer to that is yes oh and I remember that event yeah I
01:44:06
didn't go to I remember that it was huge that was really fun it was really fun and it was one of those uh moments where
01:44:14
you just you get to take your long thin spoon and pick the the whipped cream and
01:44:19
the Cherry off the top of the sundae it's just perfect because not a lot of work just come in we did it twice we did
01:44:26
two shows you get a nice score and it's just it's the [ __ ] Hollywood Bowl and it was it was very nice to just because
01:44:33
obviously I did it was just a channel fill as best I could uh did you did you
01:44:38
dress up like the his character yeah they got me the uh the the suit the
01:44:44
white Langley suit and the hat and I have a great photo they sent me of me holding my hat in the
01:44:50
air full song and dance you know Jimmy Cagney and Yankee Doodle Dandy with the Hollywood Gay Men's Choir behind me and
01:44:57
it's a it's a prized possession because it looks like wow Conan had a very successful career in Vaudeville uh so
01:45:05
that makes me happy but um yeah it's yeah I have to say I you
01:45:10
know I'm happy you guys are talking about Phil but he is one of those people that uh all these years later it's still
01:45:18
surreal to me that he's not with us because he's he's such an indelible character you
01:45:24
know such an indelible person and it's yeah and so he's one of those people that I I think like no no Phil's still
01:45:31
here he's still here he's you know that's you haven't seen him for a while yeah I just haven't seen him for a while
01:45:37
but he's here uh because I I do think if you're talking about util a utility
01:45:43
player a guy who could do everything I think we'd all agree that Phil Hartman was kind of the ultimate utility player
01:45:50
for SNL he could just be everything do you know what I mean he could be uh you know he could be
01:45:58
it's crazy I'm trying to think of who else in that cast could be the father the grandfather the punk kid
01:46:08
Frankenstein the boyfriend uh you know the jealous weirdo I mean the caveman
01:46:14
yeah like you cannot and he used to game show himself the game show host uh the
01:46:20
Upper Crust CAD the Upper Crust cat I mean it's just you can't name anything he couldn't be and within different
01:46:27
sketches he would you know in one episode it'd be like I'm
01:46:33
the father greeting the young punk at the door come on in son and I'm gonna talk to you and then he's the young punk
01:46:39
at the door in a leather jacket in in the next sketch that's that's you know that's three minutes later it's I'm
01:46:46
hard-pressed to think of anyone else who could do that you know Kona when you do this The Simpsons going back to that for one
01:46:52
second if if you write it I don't know how it works there but do you say can we reach out to Phil for this that's
01:46:58
important to me or is that out of your hands you know I think it was so obvious that it was Phil
01:47:04
uh and I probably you know there's a good chance I wrote Lyle Langley you
01:47:10
know think Phil Hartman but Phil Hartman they had him on speed dial so that wasn't a big issue the thing that
01:47:18
was uh funny about that episode is I wrote a
01:47:23
cameo in it for George Takei and uh George Takei because at the second
01:47:31
half all these celebrities get invited on the monorail which has been cheaply made and it's bound to uh self-destruct
01:47:38
and go haywire and uh yeah and so I wanted George Takei who I was obsessed with and George Takei said no and it's
01:47:46
The Simpsons and it's The Simpsons uh let me point out it's the citizens in in like 1991 and he said no and we said I'm
01:47:55
sorry I don't understand he said it makes fun of public transportation
01:48:01
I'm on the oh I'm on the I'm on the transportation I'm on the transportation board here in San Francisco and we can't
01:48:08
be mocking the concept of mass transport and so I thought what the hell and so then uh algene uh told the Bookers to
01:48:16
reach out to someone else so they came back and they said Leonard Nimoy will do it and I said what yeah that's fantastic
01:48:24
he outranks he outranks
01:48:32
yeah so I got to go to a recording studio and there was Leonard Nimoy and he uh
01:48:37
he did it and said one of my favorite exchanges which is at the end when after there's all this Carnage and everything
01:48:44
uh there's just a close-up of Leonard Des Moines he says well my work here is
01:48:50
done and Barney the drunk goes you didn't do anything because and and
01:48:56
Leonard Nimoy says didn't I and then beams out and uh it's just so stupid and
01:49:03
sounds like love it yeah that's where dead money would talk to him like that yeah
01:49:09
didn't I Barney should look up to him you're right well Barney was intoxicated that's right I forgot we all do things
01:49:16
and we're drunk that we regret yeah I'm sure you regretted that one and uh we
01:49:22
were talking to Alec Baldwin about you were there for remember green hilly that was a funny one I always talk about oh
01:49:28
yeah remind me about green Hillary Alex first show and he the music would swell up and
01:49:36
he he kissed someone and then someone else comes in and Barge is in his wife
01:49:42
comes in and and says what are you doing then he kisses her the music comes up and then Phil Phil comes in and breaks
01:49:48
him up Gatsby yeah yeah put up your dukes
01:49:53
was this a Jack Handy do you think or like a gym Downey it sounds like that I don't think it was quite enough to be a
01:49:59
Jack Handy but then he kisses uh I think Nora and then Phil says that's my wife sir and then they turn on
01:50:05
they go to fisticuffs and then they gaze into the eyes then they kiss yeah nice
01:50:10
and then a dog is outside and everyone goes oh boy and he kisses
01:50:19
the dog but uh really goes for it no that's uh that's actually Alec but Phil and Alec Alec remembered that one and um
01:50:26
it is funny there was one do you remember I don't think I was there I don't think you were Conan
01:50:32
and Dana you had left 30 years it was um what it was when he played an acting
01:50:39
coach and he goes this is something this is nothing this is something this is nothing he was an acting coach but I
01:50:45
wasn't there yeah it was Will Ferrell when he hosted yes oh it was oh yeah when he went back I just saw that this
01:50:52
weekend and I was like God damn almost everything he says in that whole thing is a joke it's all funny I don't know if
01:50:57
you had this experience but my thing was people ask me about Phil and I always say if you saw him on the show that's
01:51:04
who he was because he didn't at least I never penetrated
01:51:09
The Fill exterior and what I my memory my biggest memory of Phil was uh I'd be
01:51:16
with Odin Kirk and Smigel and you know uh Greg Daniels and we'd be working on
01:51:22
something and Phil would come rushing in he didn't see us and he'd go keep them flying boys keep them flying
01:51:29
and you'll like a big thumbs up and I think if I had said to Phil I think I'm
01:51:35
having a nervous breakdown and I'm really worried about my my health I need
01:51:40
someone to talk to he'd have said well you just keep him flying there kid I don't know I could never crack through
01:51:48
yeah that guy but uh he was uh I think it just made him laugh you know yeah
01:51:55
hey it is hey fellas you're walking that writer's room and there's no one there and he
01:52:02
goes he's reading uh you know fisherman weekly in the nighttime goes David Spade letting everyone know who's boss
01:52:09
and then he goes back to his magazine I go I remember I went skiing once it was
01:52:14
one of those weird occasions where I forget what why this happened but I'm with a couple of other writers and
01:52:21
we decide to go skiing in some small hill like outside New York City like
01:52:27
tiny Hill but we're desperate to go skiing and uh I forget what happened but I think one of the writers wiped out and
01:52:34
we were standing around the writer uh trying to saying like hey are you okay and he's like yeah yeah I'm all right I just got to find my other ski and just
01:52:40
then this guy comes down the mountain with perfect form perfect form and skis right up to us and
01:52:47
he's just like hey fellas what's happening and it was Phil and of course
01:52:52
he was an amazing skier and an amazing I mean he was one of those guys that you touched on David who
01:52:59
fly fishing boating parasailing I don't think you could name anything that he hadn't done you know
01:53:06
those weird yeah those weird things were like a propeller is pushing you along and there's like a kite pulling you and
01:53:11
yeah exactly I think oh I've got one of the I've got four of those fantastic well keep
01:53:18
them and then take off do you want a Hydra plane on the dinner break yeah exactly so did he have a ski
01:53:25
suit on that was very looked very of course together like one color or something yeah it was he was Immaculate
01:53:31
of course we were all you know I grew up in Massachusetts so I was skiing in my jeans probably with long underwear
01:53:37
underneath it yeah and uh you know wearing a t-shirt that I probably had in high school and he's he's just I had
01:53:45
never seen anyone look because people don't look like that in New England maybe they do now but but I had never
01:53:51
seen it growing up everyone just looked like [ __ ] when they were skiing and there was a rope pull and then Here
01:53:57
Comes this guy who looks like he's in the Olympics and uh fellas all right you know when I think
01:54:04
if we had said well it's Robert Smigel he wiped out and we think he's dead no that sounds rough keep them flying boy
01:54:12
he's got a broken femur I'm gonna I'm gonna use that 2023. keep
01:54:18
him flying boys it really means nothing it's funniest part it's very positive
01:54:23
keep on keep it on yeah so Troy McClure was basic that was the one I think most
01:54:29
people know and I know the monorail was was I guess a one-off of just a one of
01:54:34
the most memorable ones um it was a it was you know Troy McClure was great and what was he what was Troy McClure
01:54:40
McClure was always doing the weatherman yeah no Troy McClure was always a
01:54:45
spokesperson so whenever they showed any kind of right right film or whenever there was a commercial it would be like
01:54:52
hi I'm Troy McClure if you want to learn how to you know and then he would always he would list his acting credits you
01:54:59
know you probably know me from and then three jokes or maybe you've seen me in two jokes and uh
01:55:07
he was fantastic it was great it was a great running character and then um you know they did the right thing when Phil
01:55:13
died they they retired Troy McClure because obviously it's it's animation they could have tried to get someone
01:55:19
else to do it because it was such a great go-to but uh of course that wasn't didn't it
01:55:24
wouldn't have sat right with anybody so uh you know when I just said it was he a weatherman a Simpsons guy shot me like a
01:55:31
sniper a fan yeah yeah oh my God I mean my son my son who is 17
01:55:38
knows every Simpsons episode uh by heart and
01:55:44
um but it's funny because when he started watching them as a much younger kid he had no idea I had anything to do with it and then uh he was working his
01:55:51
way through the episodes and then he got to mine and I saw Just For the First Time a half glimmer of respect
01:55:59
from my son which which quickly disappeared anyway the important thing is that he uh
01:56:07
he knows all the episodes and loves Troy McClure and knows all of those he's not the kind of
01:56:14
guy that memorizes but he just absolutely loves Troy McClure and is very happy when he shows up in a
01:56:20
Simpsons episode and loves that joke Rhythm because it was always hi I'm trying Troy McClure you probably know me
01:56:27
from and then it was just hilarious joke bucket it's always fun to say hi
01:56:32
and then your name yes yeah exactly the table immediately and get to the jokes yeah yeah no it's it's also great
01:56:40
especially if you've said something else first like this looks like a real you know this looks like a real problem then
01:56:45
see the camera hi you know uh wow that was nasty hey I'm
01:56:51
exactly we just don't do that Curiosity I mean I don't I just probably know the
01:56:57
answer but to work with Phil or just work on SNL and then go to The Simpsons
01:57:02
was it like a lot easier more difficult or what was the uh it's different I
01:57:09
would say less was funny because um eventually I found it to be less
01:57:15
stressful I mean I loved SNL it was like you know just really the defining
01:57:20
time of my youth but I as you guys know it's also terrifying uh and
01:57:29
um and it can there's a lot of pressure and one of the things that I appreciated
01:57:34
about The Simpsons was everybody's working together uh we were
01:57:40
all we were all you know at SNL everyone's writing different sketches and trying to get them onto limited real
01:57:46
estate and um and then suddenly at um and what was nice is later in the week people would
01:57:52
all come together and help to improve all the sketches but early in the week you really there was no way around it
01:57:58
you're you're fighting for a square inch of uh of land in a very small country uh
01:58:04
I'm taking that too far but like say Israel and uh and so uh and so it's it's
01:58:11
keep going and let's just say you want to be near the sea but that's the that's the West
01:58:16
Bank um no but so what what gets tricky is that you know that can get there
01:58:23
sometimes you can feel other people's elbows and I'm sure I threw a few elbows too and what happens when you go to a
01:58:30
show that's putting out 20 episodes a year uh and everybody's working together on the
01:58:37
scripts I mean I wrote the monorail episode and then all the writers came together and just did all this punch-up
01:58:44
on it to make it so much better and I and I thought and and it felt like all
01:58:50
the oars are going everyone's pulling the ores in the same direction because if somebody cracks it if somebody comes
01:58:55
up with the answer we all get to go home early so uh so in that way uh initially
01:59:01
The Simpsons terrified me because it was such a crazily powerful writing room but
01:59:07
uh eventually I started to see the advantages of that kind of work which is individually you don't feel as much uh
01:59:15
personal uh fear you know if I was there I'd be crazy Dana and I'd
01:59:22
walk by his office and go you know I was thinking about a monorail thing I was working on like a couple weeks ago
01:59:28
just to get in your head and be like well I didn't steal it I'm like no no I'm just saying yeah you might have
01:59:34
heard something just similar in lines yeah Mind Games yeah gamesmanship but
01:59:41
yeah also if you crack an episode like if you and this is the last we'll bug you about this but if you crack an
01:59:47
episode of The Simpsons and everybody likes it then it's such a great Victory because then everyone's
01:59:52
like oh I get what you're doing I get that idea we all agree it's funny and now let's Pile in and fix it I mean it's
01:59:59
great right that's yeah well I think what yeah it you know you pitch the ideas uh and if the idea gets chosen
02:00:06
then eventually you get to write up a first draft Yeah and then everybody jumps in but uh man when everybody jumps
02:00:14
in and you have um all that horsepower behind you making the show just better and better and
02:00:20
better uh it's it's a delight it's a real Delight all right let's let him go Dana he did a good job all right I love
02:00:27
you guys and uh let's let's hang out soon at one of those meals where we just make fun of each other let's go to our
02:00:33
our favorite you know kind of Japanese style Place let's do it I'll see you on the text chain hang out all right peace
02:00:41
out thank you up next is Alec Baldwin who spoke about
02:00:48
Phil Hartman when he was our guest on fly on the wall and so we invited him to be on here he is
02:00:55
so we're going to do this like every six weeks what are we gonna do yeah okay my consultant my am I a featured guest you
02:01:03
are really you're the uh I guess well yeah I mean it's so now I just keep coming back we have to have you
02:01:08
underneath it's flying the wall with us and then you're just underneath
02:01:14
did you just say Lamb Chop what'd you say yeah
02:01:21
the fake eyelashes I'm like is this [ __ ] lamb shop again what's happening Lamb Chop Sherry Lewis 1965. I love that
02:01:28
show uh old old reference lost on younger viewers I did a TV movie once
02:01:34
and I come to work the second day and everybody's huddled up the producer the director of their all upset you know
02:01:40
they all seem pretty Grim in a circle and I walk up and I go what's going on fellas and and the star was this veteran
02:01:47
veteran actor who wore a lot of makeup he wore a lot you know three four pounds of makeup every day he had like a lot of
02:01:53
makeup and I said uh tell us what's the matter because well we looked into the dailies the director
02:02:00
said he says Jim's got on more Jim's got on more makeup than Dorothy Malone
02:02:07
even I don't remember speaking speaking of not wearing makeup I've always felt that Hartman
02:02:14
and jerk the wheel this way now Hartman drink it back it's Johnny Segway ladies
02:02:19
and gentlemen Hartman uh uh I always this isn't true
02:02:25
but you always got the sense that he was like I'm not going to wear any makeup I'll just conjure a cave man I'll just make myself look like a cape
02:02:34
like Altered States you go into a deprivation tank and come out looking like a kid that's like when he did
02:02:40
Charlton Heston he just completely the cave Charlie guys fellas had we've been
02:02:47
here for that I can't do it but he became he became Chuck Heston that was
02:02:53
part of his bag of tricks the chameleon the Everyman the glue and
02:02:59
uh you mentioned him uh a few weeks ago you brought him up spontaneously when we
02:03:05
were we did our he was uh he was you know the better uh I wouldn't say that better but a distinctive group of people
02:03:12
not just SNL veterans and alums but other people in the comedy world they're
02:03:19
they're they're good actors as well you know they they're not just stand-up talent and improv talent and sketch
02:03:25
comedy Talent where easy easy yeah I was gonna say because those people are [ __ ] [ __ ] they're [ __ ] god
02:03:31
awful you got to cut around them it's like you don't know what there's the Emmy for
02:03:38
editing right there when you have those people on board but um but but no Harmon was a good actor he would because like
02:03:45
he would play off of you he'd let what you say affect him or as I worked with
02:03:50
some comedy people where they're just staring at you winding up they're waiting they're ready they're it's like
02:03:56
they're winding up a pitch to deliver their next line they're like a glaze in their eyes they're just like are you done with your
02:04:03
line are you done with your life note to self do not have a glaze look in your eyes when doing Saturday Night Live
02:04:09
um but yeah I mean I'm just thinking the other day but since you hosted many
02:04:14
times with Phil because Phil was could do anything you must have done many many
02:04:20
sketches with Phil Hartman right I mean I did a bunch I did a bunch
02:04:25
yeah he was uh and he he was it was like weird guys who they
02:04:31
would go moment to moment with you uh Meadows would do that Meadows was really good moment to moment like he was
02:04:37
waiting like he left things you say affect him whereas uh not just this has
02:04:42
nothing to do with SNL or comedy performers but this actress I've worked with where
02:04:48
you know whatever your line is they just immunized themselves against whatever you're going
02:04:54
to say they don't really let it affect them you know they're like they're super tough yeah right yeah
02:05:01
thank you would you would you ever considering uh is the Actors Studio
02:05:06
still around I mean because you'd be a good host of that I am uh um the
02:05:11
co-president of the Actors Studio with Ellen bursten and Pacino I knew something was going on with them
02:05:17
somebody in your research gave you that UT that was teed up a little too so I don't know that was no research that was
02:05:23
just intuiting the way you talked about acting just now but basically to go full circle uh the thing about Phil is that
02:05:31
he was a great actor and and a brilliant sketch player he could do both
02:05:36
and um we can play a clip do if I mentioned something yeah they're just kind of
02:05:42
these sketches Frank Sinatra Frankenstein
02:05:49
um you and he played lovers in a sketch I don't know if it's just more videos
02:05:54
oh is that green hilly that's where I kissed the dog in there I stick my tongue in the dog's mouth Alec you got
02:06:01
didn't you get an Emmy for that show I got an Emmy for green for that sketch on my I'm exactly it
02:06:08
says for green hilly no well I remember I would use green hilly as a reference because that was my third show I think
02:06:15
I've told you this but I was new and you came in and just [ __ ] cleaned the clock you were every sketch was pretty
02:06:22
funny in that show and I didn't know how good I had it because some hosts come in and you know shows
02:06:28
are uneven but that one it was green hilly was and the music comes up and then you kiss them yeah somebody then
02:06:34
you get and the music comes up and then you kiss someone else you also did the um the soap opera That Couldn't guy they
02:06:41
couldn't say the words right yes you have canker of the Ace of Faith exactly we've said canker for three years
02:06:47
should we look at green hilly I think we have let's do you have the clip from Green hilly just because I talked
02:06:58
to defend yourself Mr cherry wood if that's your real name oh oh
02:07:23
[Music] [Applause]
02:07:33
[Laughter]
02:07:38
my favorite though is when he's in the courtroom when he's in the courtroom yeah he says so and he says you know I
02:07:44
was I fell into a crew that your ways are strange
02:07:55
I say that line to this day like a waitress will come up and say can I have some ice and she doesn't bring the ice
02:08:00
and I'm like no way is this strange the um now when you worked with him
02:08:07
were you like Pals with him and you got to hang out with him or was he one of these people that like went home and you
02:08:13
know he was Private uh did he hang yeah he hung out a lot him yeah we were all
02:08:18
friends him and uh his wife Bren and love it my wife and love it and we live
02:08:24
close to each other after the show and Encino we bought houses like two blocks away and I came in with Phil my first
02:08:32
show is with Phil and Jan Hooks can you imagine and I never done sketch comedy
02:08:37
and suddenly I'm in this sketch with them so um but Phil was Private he had so many other hobbies and interests he
02:08:43
was not interested in Celebrity or Show Business per se but just when you look back on it
02:08:50
because he was so sort of quiet about it and then you look back on it that's why we want to do this show like and you
02:08:56
look at these sketches and the range of him and also we have talked about how he
02:09:01
would play things so so real and if you were kind of that it would carry the
02:09:07
sketch you know and I don't think we had a better actor on the on the show than he was as a as a just playing the
02:09:13
straight man when he wanted to you know he was just also like a really warm guy
02:09:19
there's people I worked with who um I mean this is they're very rare but
02:09:24
they're they have certain kind of insecurities so when you're around them the whole dynamic is what I call log
02:09:30
rolling I mean I'm like you're gonna go in the water you know they're just more clever than you ever could imagine and
02:09:35
and they're very kind of uh shy or awkward and or
02:09:41
they're just not uh uh they just not programmed that way I went to go to that remember that old card game I'm
02:09:48
wondering I'm assuming either one of you but Norby Walters card game and West Hollywood yeah did you play in Orbeez I
02:09:54
think George Siegel used to play in that yeah exactly he was there and I got invited to Norby's and for people who
02:10:00
don't know Norby Walters was in the music business and he had an apartment uh like a penthouse on top of a building
02:10:06
near like Holloway like near Barney's Beanery in that area right in the that
02:10:12
Ridge on uh off of uh Sunset and he and his wife you come in and they literally it was like you could only buy a hundred
02:10:19
dollars worth of chips once you were out of the hundred you were out it was over this was not about spending money also
02:10:24
he had no alcohol he had like Velveeta cheese Coca-Cola and he had like Jujubes he had
02:10:32
like uh you know like he had like candy yeah exactly it was it was like
02:10:38
Eminem's it was like flight attendants walking around like you're on Southwest Airlines
02:10:43
and he had nothing I mean and the famous people that would come to this game it was unbelievable
02:10:51
you know uh Harvey Corman would come and Tim Conway and all these amazing people but one time I go
02:10:57
and Don Adams comes Don Adams and I'm completely freaked out
02:11:03
because here's Don Adams who I've never in a million years but thought I would ever run into he's in a white jumpsuit I
02:11:08
mean a China White not a cream it's like his white as Spades walls his jumpsuit
02:11:15
is white and like he's in some like he's in some FBI forensic teams come into detox uh
02:11:22
the crime scene and he's sitting there and he doesn't say anything the entire time he doesn't say anything he takes
02:11:29
his cards and he gestures for his cards so I'm assuming that at some point someone's gonna go for it I mean and
02:11:35
it's got to be done well and I'm not that funny quite frankly but I I just went for it and I it was my turn to turn
02:11:43
over my cards and I was like you know I I have three of a kind
02:11:49
and he looked at me with this look in his eyes like okay okay that's okay I I
02:11:55
knew it was coming that's okay I wasn't sure I wasn't sure it was going to be you but okay that's that's okay and uh
02:12:02
Maxwell Smart for our younger audience Maxwell Smart and it's like there's guys you meet who are
02:12:09
people in the comedy world who are just dead serious do you feel do you see that have you seen that sure oh yeah or even
02:12:15
extract the comedy out I would say that Phil had I I don't know no ego in a
02:12:21
sense and like he was happy to maybe there was no sense of competition even
02:12:27
even in a friendly way it was just he was just Phil I mean very secure about
02:12:32
what he was doing is that how you found it with Phil yeah no he was just he was he
02:12:38
was I always find that I'm I'm thrilled when somebody is that talented and
02:12:45
they're that uh gregarious and they're warm and they're fun you know what I mean because a lot of people who I've
02:12:50
met with who this is an inverse proportion that the more talented and witty and and good writers they are and
02:12:56
clever they are not just doing uh you know bits and stuff but they're really very bright and talented they're very
02:13:03
shy and they're very awkward and they're not very social you know and yeah Phil was this amazing he was Charming he was
02:13:09
really charming and he you know because when I would when you meet people on a
02:13:15
movie set or a TV show uh meet the crew the first day so your brain is taking in all this stuff and you're meeting 20
02:13:22
people at once and so you hate having to go hey you and how are you guys you know Phil knew
02:13:28
every crew member hey Bob hey Steve you know even when they were changing in and out just just another gear that he had
02:13:35
you know it's like and treating everyone exactly the same complete completely
02:13:40
just no you know what was sweet is when I was newer Dana um that first first year to I knew a little bit about
02:13:47
stand-up because I was a stand-up that's where I got hired but to write a sketch is a whole different muscle and a whole new ball game that is so complicated and
02:13:55
I would have to go up to Someone Like You know even Alec if he came nerve-wracking to go up to a big star or
02:14:00
to go to the other cast members and and I remember Phil was always very gracious like I'd go and I wrote this
02:14:06
thing and you would play this guy and he goes sounds great and he goes tell me about it then he goes all right we'll go
02:14:11
get him so I'll I'll give it my best he was never condescending never like just staring at you going yeah yeah all right
02:14:17
what do I got to do in this he was upbeat and made me feel like it had a shot whether it was good or bad you know
02:14:23
and that I always remembered that it was very sweet of him I did I wrote him one one of these receptionist sketches
02:14:30
and he actually got a big lap and then afterwards he goes hey thanks for that you know like it was all me it was a
02:14:37
very very sweet and just like pat on the back and kept you going knowing you were
02:14:42
all the new people probably freaking out he was um he was just sweetie I remember I'm obviously everybody knows that he
02:14:49
had this horrible ending but it's like kind of when I heard that I was really just so sick and I thought that doesn't
02:14:55
make that doesn't make sense but um he was really um listen I'm not saying this to butter you
02:15:01
up I mean both of you are people who are like incredibly funny you've had great careers in television and films I mean
02:15:08
my son Spain is going to throw up and I say this but my kids wanted to watch
02:15:13
Tommy Boy the other day no they're they're spayed it's a great
02:15:19
movie Spades playing a straight man there and I thought yep oh look at Spain he could have had a real serious acting if you're playing lawyers and bankers
02:15:26
and judges and doctors a good [ __ ] serious Spade no serious
02:15:34
fate the thing about Tommy Boy which I love which is only one person could could play Farley's part but a couple
02:15:40
people could have played my part you just really had to feed the guy and uh so I was lucky to be in that one but I
02:15:45
love that your kids have seen it because you always wonder how these things hold up you know you just go well it's still
02:15:50
pretty funny because it's still goofy lovable Farley and uh there was something pretty magnetic there oh
02:15:57
definitely gotta still hold up anyway I gotta run and go take I gotta go run and get no no you gave us plans
02:16:03
thank you okay thank you Alec thanks for doing this
02:16:08
up next Robert smigiel one of the uh All-Star great writers from Saturday
02:16:13
Night Live and many other things who wrote for Phil who worked on the Sinatra
02:16:18
group The Million other sketches with Phil and here he is chirping in
02:16:25
we're here with the great Robert smile a friend of the podcast whose greatest show
02:16:31
that's the a friend of the podcast so means when we ask for favors he comes
02:16:37
home and so to remind our our fans that might be listening Robert
02:16:43
extraordinary writer wrote on the show from 86 till just last fall and
02:16:50
um no he wrote 86 years fingers crossed the strike ends get you to get back
02:16:55
Robert told me something a while back because we actually talk not on the podcast we're not recorded but it was an
02:17:02
observation just about and it may sound self-congratulatory but when Phil Hartman came to the show I happen to be
02:17:09
tagging along I got there too and so did Jan Hooks and we were in the cold opening
02:17:16
um it's my first sketch well actually the first sketch the cold opening was Madonna
02:17:21
previous year was all a dream that's right she was the cold opening it
02:17:27
was coming off that very Rocky year with uh all these brilliant uh actors who
02:17:33
weren't necessarily sketch comics so so Robert so you this first time you'd seen Phil Hartman perform right
02:17:40
you knew he came from ground Lanes but well I mean I saw his audition in your audition and I think they're probably
02:17:46
the two most confident auditions in the history I must have faked it I don't know wow Dana David have you seen their
02:17:54
auditions no I just like that I forgot you had a hand in hiring so you got to no I didn't have a hand in hiring I
02:17:59
barely got back on that year that was the year I was almost fired that was after my first year oh okay and yes if
02:18:06
not for like Dennis Miller and Lovitz and Whitney uh pushing for me Robert was
02:18:12
not Robert Smiggle yet he was just Robert and he wanted me to he wanted to
02:18:17
do an eragami sketch with Robin Leach that was their first [ __ ] to me I think
02:18:22
is that right it was a really funny I don't remember but um so I'm just interested so it's your second season
02:18:29
you see Phil Phil second season and I and well Phil and Dana and Anne and
02:18:36
Kevin and Victoria but you and Phil and Jan were like the three sketch comedy
02:18:42
Pros that we never had before even though I'd never done sketch comedy
02:18:48
even though you'd never done it and neither and Jan had was not a grounded she came from from the deep south
02:18:55
from from yeah from the Bonnie but but you guys were just so
02:19:02
expert at yeah like you did the first sketch of the show after the monologue
02:19:07
which was called game show psychic and it was as if we were suddenly in a
02:19:14
different show Jim Downey said the audience feels safe was the way he
02:19:19
put it like he they just know that the sketches are in the hands of people who know exactly
02:19:25
what they're doing and it was your first show for being nervous yeah it's kind of yeah
02:19:31
I I'm sure you were faking it on some level Dana and I know God knows Jan was you know barely wanted to get out of
02:19:39
life but when we were out there with those two which I happened to after that with church chat they came out and did
02:19:45
these brilliant things and filled it Jimmy Swaggart yes but I think I was probably coming off them like jam was a
02:19:51
laugh button with her character and Phil was just so in the pocket as the game show host so you sort of ride the wave
02:19:58
of the people you're with but you know yeah yeah so film was always in the pocket I mean
02:20:05
that was the thing about him is that he just became the characters like you know he just had that approach where he he
02:20:11
just approached everything as like almost the way a serious actor would approach the role you know and um
02:20:20
and and so like you know you came from stand up and you brought this entirely
02:20:25
different amazing thing to the show where like the audience kind of
02:20:31
with you like they're they they can feel you underneath every impression you do having a good time and and including
02:20:38
them and Phil was more like you know just um they just thought he was that
02:20:44
guy he was just that guy you know and it's so funny the way he
02:20:51
you know he had this incredible range as a as uh in in you know I mean like you
02:20:58
could do a million voices and but you you were always kind of light you know what I mean Dana
02:21:04
I have no idea what you're talking about Darius left I do think that for me
02:21:09
there's still I have a stand-up thing where you had to kill to keep the job
02:21:14
Spade would come in he'd Crush I have to top him and so then there was always like the
02:21:21
playful light energy yeah because I knew and stand up in these Rowdy bars at midnight that you had to right win them
02:21:28
over and make them really happy and so yeah at least the way I did it but uh yeah yeah and Phil and I were a great
02:21:35
combo uh along with Kevin everyone had a different we we did have a a nice assortment pack when we came in with
02:21:42
Phil yes but Phil would like just throw himself into every role and he would play
02:21:48
incredibly uh cheerful superficial hello guys like you know like Peter Graves is
02:21:56
one of my favorite sketches in in all those years uh at SNL that I was at that's still one what was the take on
02:22:03
that and Phil yeah the Discover sketch where he
02:22:08
remember Phil remember that yeah uh he was for anybody who's over 60 like
02:22:15
Peter Graves hosted a show called oh yeah and then Phil did it and uh and
02:22:21
Phil played this cheerful kind of uh robotically uh you know
02:22:27
uh clueless Peter Graves and and he wrote them himself and it was very
02:22:33
deadpan and it was but then then he could turn on a diamond play like the mace character right you know the the
02:22:39
I'm a bad apple rotten to the core uh the crazy convict running from the police yeah yeah yeah like he could be
02:22:47
really scary you know if he had if he had if he had been able to have a long
02:22:53
movie career I'm sure he would have played Just dark heavy role just as well
02:22:58
as as he would have played funny roles yeah Alec Baldwin observed that too that he was like just a really good actor
02:23:06
um and and then I'm just gonna jump ahead for a second because probably the the sketch where he was the most overtly
02:23:13
besides helmet where he played the pathetic Hansen France punch bag
02:23:18
um which was so great and overtly funny but he played it flat real almost almost it was almost sad even even in the
02:23:26
context yes just sort of resigned to doing whatever Hans and Franz will say
02:23:31
about him or you know and another one um and this this one of course you uh
02:23:37
wrote on a tremendous amount uh was him doing Ed McMahon was like the most overt
02:23:44
overt Comic character even though he was playing it real it was just such a great take on it so talk to Ed his Ed
02:23:51
yeah his dad that was actually closer to a caricature than almost anything that's what I thought it was most overtly funny
02:23:58
thing he's ever did because he only had like three words to say in the whole set
02:24:05
yes yes you are correct sir I mean he just so so I think he had so little to
02:24:13
work with on one level that he he led himself he permitted himself to play a little bit a little funny yeah yeah yeah
02:24:20
and it was it was actually a funny role reversal because your Johnny Carson was
02:24:25
probably as in the pocket as you've ever been in terms of like a straight man in terms of sticking to the you know
02:24:32
Integrity of yeah Johnny Carson's delivery that I couldn't agree more that was the first time I was in a character
02:24:38
I wasn't trying to get laughs and I knew it was so funny how sincere and Earnest Johnny was in that role when he was a
02:24:44
talk show those who don't know where you're listening to and then I would set it up kind of real and straight and
02:24:51
maybe the Nerds at home would be laughing at that and then he would yeah he would release all the comic tension
02:24:57
in the sketch yeah yeah any energy he
02:25:02
was like in Spades famous one of my favorite Spade sketches was the the receptionist where he came in as
02:25:08
Jesus Christ and he couldn't get past the receptionist and and you are and Phil was just so perfectly Placid and
02:25:16
yeah you know sincere calm sincere and calm and then like I said on a dime he
02:25:23
could be incredibly dark one of the most uh successful sketches I ever wrote for
02:25:29
Phil and I had by I wrote I mean like other writers helped me Downy Frank and
02:25:35
Meyer so it was the Reagan sketch where he was the uh Reagan Mastermind behind
02:25:41
the scenes yeah which was a parody of the way everybody else was playing Reagan as you know the senile
02:25:48
daughtering thing it just ain't felt so easy that I thought it'd be funny to and it was just a perfect use of Phil it
02:25:54
turned out because he had that range where he's just he played Charming daughtering Reagan at
02:26:01
the beginning of the sketch and then he gets really dark and serious running the show speaking foreign speaking foreign
02:26:08
languages and all that stuff he could do dialects yeah yeah just just rattling
02:26:13
off Jimmy's yeah you were Jimmy Stewart and then he had to play a different energy
02:26:18
where he's trying to like get you out of the room yeah right yeah he's like and Jimmy was a perfect foil for that
02:26:25
because he was so so slow and so you know yeah
02:26:31
and completely clueless yeah and Reagan's just like yes well Jimmy I I
02:26:36
think we I just have some things to do and that kind of thing and then then he
02:26:42
finally snaps on you and then Stewart gets mad at him doesn't he yeah why I
02:26:47
think so yeah don't make me f me have to kill you yeah he says yeah don't make me have to kill
02:26:53
you you've changed God you've changed I'm leaving here so yeah God makes me
02:26:58
miss Phil so much Michael in one of those when you said the receptionist sketch I just remember I think there was
02:27:05
a line where Jesus is not getting mad that he can't get in but he's a little frustrated so
02:27:11
for Phil who's playing at almost nothing he gets a laugh off of Just quietly going listen friend
02:27:19
yeah you can tell he's really his boiling point yeah yes it's like as
02:27:25
angry as Jesus can prevent himself to be yeah that was that's like fantastic aggressive tiny not a huge laugh you
02:27:32
gotta yeah yeah yeah that's how you can tell you're like you're giving him something and he gets every ounce out of it every yeah possible laugh it could
02:27:39
get that was amazing that was an amazing moment yeah yeah the thing about Phil too is like you know I tend to get
02:27:46
enfranchised probably luckily in some of yours McLaughlin group I guess we did a couple times and then he I'm leading to
02:27:52
Phil which uh really was is the McLaughlin group because the turn of
02:27:58
Sinatra oh the Sinatra group I always yeah I mean we had done the McLaughlin
02:28:04
group just a few months earlier I think think and it was like one of my favorite things I've ever seen it still is no it
02:28:10
was it was it was fast again it means that Conan or Bob helped me with it but
02:28:16
but but then yeah I just thought it would be funny like the Turners had written for
02:28:22
uh Frank or Phil as Frank Sinatra they wrote a really funny thing between you
02:28:27
as George Michael I believe yes it was inspired remember Frank Sinatra wrote an
02:28:32
editorial in the LA Times or something lecturing George Michael about how he's
02:28:37
blowing it um look at my butt yeah and then it turned into the Turners wrote a really
02:28:44
funny back and forth between the two of you oh okay and then I wrote this I had the idea for
02:28:50
the Sinatra group and I I wrote it with Terry Turner and and Downey and uh yeah
02:28:55
again and that was interesting about that is that Phil the Sinatra family didn't like it I
02:29:03
guess oh well what was the the classic line I got chunks of guys bigger I got
02:29:09
chunks of guys like you and my stool yeah yeah when he was threatening uh Billy Idol everyone was funny Stingers
02:29:15
Billy Idol was Jan Hooks and Sinead yeah yeah and who was the other one uh Steve
02:29:21
and Edie were Mike Myers and Victoria and Chris Rock was Luther Campbell and
02:29:26
oh that's Frank Sinatra just kept saying I can't understand the word cops and whistles yeah it's all pops and buzzes
02:29:33
from here clicking sound yeah yeah but but my God
02:29:40
yeah he just uh he he was just a like a freight train in
02:29:46
that scene oh my God yeah then yeah he could just go from that to and have you had on like Jack Handy because he wrote
02:29:54
so many great things well we've talked a lot about unfrozen caveman lawyer um which is fun to talk about and of course
02:30:00
that's quintessential Jack Handy it's quintessential Phil too it's that super
02:30:06
silliest kind of um but a kid yeah yeah oh my God no one else could
02:30:15
have played that part honestly like in the whole world I don't think anyone else could have been as long no that
02:30:21
that is kind of one of his frequencies that kind of guy that that tone yeah
02:30:27
it's not quite Charleston yeah like
02:30:34
fake uh fake friendly phony guy he did it you know where he was really funny
02:30:39
and uh which is one of the funniest insanely stupid movies ever is uh jingle
02:30:45
all the way the Schwarzenegger Sinbad have you seen yeah I don't know have you seen Phil Phil is so funny in that he's
02:30:52
like he just plays sort of a creepy phony neighbor uh and uh but yeah unfreezing caveman
02:31:00
lawyer also The Simpsons he plays that a lot oh Troy McClure yeah this that was
02:31:05
like one of his when he auditioned or when he did his he did a comedy album before he was on Saturday Night Live uh
02:31:13
what was it called flat TV and he played he had a few kind of uh characters like that there
02:31:20
too like spokesman he he loved playing the uh the phony kind of spokesman you know he did he had fake commercials in
02:31:27
there his brother once approached me we were going to try to animate his um
02:31:33
you know his uh his comedy album but never got that done we were gonna
02:31:38
another thing I'm never gonna do the two sammies oh boy don't get me started we
02:31:44
didn't know what we were but enough about that but enough about uh but yeah yeah he um yeah and then he could step
02:31:50
in and just grab an impression and make it work like Andy Griffith I was just thinking about
02:31:56
if you remember that one Dana where it's like Corbin Burns in with oh Corbin show I remember that one yeah I remember
02:32:02
Conan I think they must have had the idea it was about
02:32:08
people who play lawyers on TV um all representing some guy but they're
02:32:14
just actors and they're incapable of doing anything but carrying the you know the gravitas of being a lawyer without
02:32:21
knowing anything and then then Phil had like a cameo as Andy Griffith and it's
02:32:27
just it's just unbelievably funny uh for like literally 15 seconds just it was the uh
02:32:34
Andy Griffith of the um Ritz cracker era
02:32:40
a good cracker yeah yeah good crackers but yeah oh my God uh he
02:32:47
did I remember what Clinton won remember the Clinton one where he was blocking he's walking around he's kind of fat and
02:32:52
he's in McDonald's and it's me yes McDonald's everybody it was maybe that's the classic Clinton sketch where he
02:32:58
keeps taking food from everybody as he's interviewing as he's as he's glad handing everybody that was Franken and
02:33:04
Dave Mandel wrote that but it was um yeah that was that was the peak of his Clinton but I remember the first time he
02:33:11
did Clinton the audience went insane it was like he was he was again because he
02:33:17
could capture that kind of fake um you know
02:33:22
quality yeah yeah like you just don't remember like yeah he was like the last
02:33:28
guy in a in a debate sketch and he came on as Clinton and the audience just lit up right away he had he had the you know
02:33:35
uh the smile going and yeah almost before he spoke he had captured the essence of
02:33:42
how people perceived Clinton at that time he also played Donald Trump people
02:33:48
forget he was he was like the first guy who played Donald Trump he did it on your church chat I remember he did it
02:33:54
numerous times um his Jimmy Swaggart was really funny because it was the story of the leap and
02:34:01
Jimmy Swan played a lot yeah go ahead no no he played a lot of evangelists well the Europe Church chat it's just a
02:34:08
character I had whatever Rosie Schuster and I she came up with let's put it in a talk show but we and then all these uh
02:34:15
religious scandals Jim Baker yeah and Jim Baker and Jimmy swag and Jimmy Swaggart
02:34:21
um yeah he played Saddam Hussein on there which was John Goodman dressed as the church lady so there are
02:34:28
two of us and then we beat the hell out of him it was like a five minute fight scene with like but he played it so real
02:34:35
and so straight yeah that was this during this was this during the Iraq war must have been like or even the
02:34:42
beginning of it yeah I think so yeah wow and we talked about how he could make his eyes go dead when he was playing
02:34:49
sort of a Villain Like Alec Guinness is that the actor oh yeah just if Phil could make his eyes
02:34:56
go dead which was fascinating to watch but um yeah there's so many one-off sketches because you tend to remember franchises
02:35:02
you know like coffee talk or whatever Wayne's World and then Phil had so many
02:35:07
one-off sketches with one what he was hosting I don't know uh and it was um an
02:35:14
acting teacher this is something this is nothing well this is when he hosted yes and that was
02:35:20
his own character that was a character he created and I understand that it's according to John Lovitz it's literally
02:35:26
exactly based on some acting you know we're dropping all these third-rate
02:35:32
um credits yeah about this guy yes yes was on Maddox for two seasons and you
02:35:38
know what I remember that yeah it totally totally killed I was like where was this character all these years
02:35:44
now because Phil always wanted to have like he he he had this kind of
02:35:50
I remember he took a lot of pride in the fact that he had a lot of one-offs and that he could step into anything and
02:35:56
then he approached the show as an actor but there was I remember like the rare times where he had a hit recurring
02:36:02
character like the anal retentive Chef yes another thing Bonnie and Tara created
02:36:07
he would get really excited like yeah and maybe he put mace through read through a couple times right mace and
02:36:14
then and then when frozen caveman lawyer became like but that's huge what about
02:36:19
remember sassy magazine sassy yeah Mandel again created that toward the end
02:36:25
uh because we were always in those because it was always young guys and Sassy exactly yeah that was a great one
02:36:32
I wrote one that um that he absolutely killed in and then I never brought it
02:36:37
back which was the Matthew Modine drill sergeant remember that guy oh yeah I saw that yeah who couldn't remember he
02:36:44
didn't he didn't know how to give mean nicknames to people like yeah it was like a parody of Full Metal Jacket and
02:36:51
uh yeah you're uh you're called uh you know Mr smiling laughing joking around
02:36:58
talking after that guy guy you know he's got more awkward and ridiculous yeah he
02:37:04
just he just played it so brilliant played it scary yeah because he could play it scary but then he understood
02:37:10
exactly how to be awkward with it as he was yeah stumbling and what about this
02:37:17
one yeah there's the caller there what Phil Donahue oh my God yeah I fell down
02:37:24
boy did he murder with that one murder yeah right away like that was another
02:37:29
one that was uh was that even in his audition or did he just learn that when he I don't remember it in his audition
02:37:34
but yeah I don't think it was I think he just learned it Like It's the funniest
02:37:39
impression to exaggerate it and just get the oh yeah oh my God you're right yeah
02:37:47
yeah thinking that you know what you're doing all the time you know it's that yeah you
02:37:55
come home from work and you put your stuff down and you're thinking I'm the greatest guy everything he said was
02:38:02
funny no matter what unbelievable and yet he would never
02:38:07
then I remember that the one time did he ever break more than once more than
02:38:13
Frankenstein Frankenstein that's the only time I remember anyone breaking we were terrified of breaking that's true
02:38:18
so they weren't allowed to break back then no we weren't that the fear of being fired but Phil did bring it it
02:38:25
wasn't the ending like it is on something yeah it's insurance now it's an
02:38:30
insurance policy now then we break and uh go to commercial
02:38:35
imagine Lauren reading that in the stage directions
02:38:41
Horatio breaks uh time for a break right to GE Smith
02:38:47
Rachel suppresses her life
02:38:52
Jimmy can't stop giggling go to camera two
02:38:58
oh man we're just like calling out these hits but yeah it's fun
02:39:04
um totally fade how did you did you ever feel like did you ever have moments with Phil where you got to know him that well you
02:39:11
know such a different generation yeah he was super friendly uh yeah yeah it's
02:39:16
funny because people say SNL is so tough which it is but no one's not really friendly you know everyone's sort of
02:39:23
just in their own world surviving so right it's taken as everyone's so icy
02:39:28
and cold but no Phil was just you know Phil wasn't always writing and so a lot of the
02:39:34
problem with most people wrote so they're locked in the room stressed trying to write them out and so that's
02:39:39
taken as like you guys nobody wants to play kickball so so with Phil you walk
02:39:44
by and he's reading something yeah what's going on in Spades world so and
02:39:49
his office was fastidious it was beautifully I'll admit it this week it
02:39:55
was one of the most fun relaxed people in the stat on the staff writer or performer or because he
02:40:02
partly because he never was I mean the show always needed him he was always in
02:40:08
like seven sketches he was almost like a host every week you know that's why I don't know if I came up with it or you
02:40:15
or Jan Hooks but some at some point he was nicknamed the glue for this very reason because he was so oh yeah
02:40:22
essential to the clue every show why I'm thinking it was it wasn't Farley Farley
02:40:27
just said it the most I think you're the glue
02:40:34
sounds good all right glue I don't know who came up with it but Jan
02:40:40
had her own language with Phil they were like you know like Lovitz was like his little brother probably is love is going
02:40:47
to be at the yeah that was him that just called he's coming over yeah he's got to be there and the other person who I wish
02:40:53
could be there is Jan because nobody right had that she had such a connection with him they were like they were almost
02:41:00
like comedy twins you know like who had their own language you know they had Nick yeah I think of it because they had
02:41:06
their own nicknames for each other she would like cinnamon and uh Sandy he he
02:41:12
would hello Sandy hello cinnamon it was that yeah Jan comes up on on this
02:41:18
particular podcast you know we love to throw her some light too because she was such a brilliant
02:41:24
um yeah yes oh without a doubt and um yeah but the two of them were really
02:41:30
like uh they they just partnered up and so ninja Rogers and Fred Astaire might I
02:41:36
say might you you might they weren't saying well and think about think about saying that think about saying that you
02:41:42
might it feels good when I say it and I think of them in a sketch together riding a wave together in sync both
02:41:49
giving and taking they were like Nancy Reagan and Phil and uh she played Nancy and uh they were
02:41:57
Hillary and Bill and uh yeah they did but they did so many other things and like on Church chat she was always like
02:42:04
the woman that he was that the the Evangelist was uh was screwing over it never got louder
02:42:11
than when she did the Tammy Faye Baker that week oh my God bigger laughs that
02:42:17
I'd ever heard yeah that was that was amazing two of them oh you know what
02:42:22
they called themselves Clydesdales that's what I remember yeah because they were opponents or maybe that was
02:42:28
probably it sounds like a Jan nickname because she was like they're the show ponies and
02:42:35
then me and Phil are the Clydesdales who like are are like carrying the load kind
02:42:40
of thing when I say that to women they get offended at that compliment hey by the way Dana Lovitz is here I
02:42:48
gotta jump off and left all right yeah yeah stall him I'll be there in a few minutes thanks for talking you got it bud
02:42:59
this next guest is not our favorite um he begged to be on we didn't have any
02:43:04
room but we said all right that's a lie no it's John Lovitz of course and who is
02:43:10
probably the closest with Phil he John felt he couldn't come to the live show
02:43:15
because he would get too emotional and so he came on with us and we let it
02:43:21
bounce all over the place it we have a lot of fill but it goes a lot of different places here's John
02:43:28
Our Guest today is actor comedian extraordinaire Singh John Levitz and a
02:43:33
great singer probably the best singer of a cast member on Saturday
02:43:38
Night Live is anyone else seeing like you John Jan Hooks
02:43:43
Jenkins well the women yeah I was going for the men though a professional singer oh Anna yeah she
02:43:51
goes on Broadway Alexander's a great singer yeah oh he did Opera man with you so maybe
02:43:57
yeah but he can he can belt it he's got a great voice yeah he's a rocker you so
02:44:04
all I have is chopping broccoli
02:44:11
so Phil was in that sketch I watched it the other night because I I look at my sketches late at
02:44:18
night yeah show your wife yeah that sketch if he he did that move a lot
02:44:23
where he's listening to music and he's just trying his movies very funny so it was the most absurd it
02:44:30
was a good shot by I guess Paul Miller the director anyway
02:44:35
Paul my first year was Paul my first year well I was on the year before you in 85 it was uh Dave now
02:44:43
oh Dave uh Davey Wilson Dave Wilson yeah but my that first year I think Davey came back called him Davey but I think
02:44:51
it was Paul he was here two years and then Paul was there I think the next yeah yeah but anyway Phil had this incredibly funny take and that was the
02:44:59
end of the first show that I did with Phil we came in together you know
02:45:04
I remember when Phil and I met you for the first time
02:45:09
at uh and you already knew Justin Gray's offices yeah the and you were very nice
02:45:15
and then we didn't know I didn't know you at all now that it fell but we met you and then you left and then Phil
02:45:21
Knight said or maybe we live but we say oh I hope that guy gets the show he's so nice you're welcome did I do any characters I
02:45:30
thought you were just so nice and Phil and I just liked you right away well the way I remember it and then you know the three of us became great friends we
02:45:36
really were the Three Musketeers and with Dennis of quartet of Musketeers Kevin but Phil just uh just for our
02:45:44
listeners so John is um an alumni of illustrious alumni from
02:45:50
the Groundlings along with a lot of people and you knew Phil from the Groundlings and you knew how brilliant
02:45:57
he was yeah when I when I got to the Groundlings there was four people in the company
02:46:02
that were like the stars that we you know we thought of them as stars it was Phil and Tim stack and then the women
02:46:08
were Tres McNeil does a lot of voices on Simpsons forever and um Lynn Stewart who
02:46:14
is in peewee's Playhouse Miss Yvonne Paul Rock Paul Rubens was uh Pee-wee Herman he invented
02:46:21
Pee-wee Herman at the Groundlings and I saw him there in 80 1 and then I went back five years later
02:46:26
so but when I got back in peewee's already big in movies and Phil was like
02:46:32
the king of the Groundlings and everybody looked up to him he was the only guy in the group he had a house he
02:46:38
had a new car he had a job the rest of us were dead was he doing voiceovers he
02:46:44
was a graphic artist his brother John uh was a music manager of like um the group
02:46:51
America you know horse with no name and I asked John how did you know Phil do this he said well I
02:46:58
just went to him and said I need a album cover for America's greatest hits and Phil Drew this
02:47:04
something else you mean something like this and John looked at it and said something like this this
02:47:10
and that's the cover he was a graphic designer I don't know what his training he was a I'm gonna bring those they're Online
02:47:16
logo that's Phil yeah he got it all for his brother was managing all these groups Poco um
02:47:23
Falco so he could but he was just I didn't do voice over stuff too commercial someone sent me something
02:47:28
recently where he was doing commercials for somebody doing voices yeah he could just do it he he was um he got in the
02:47:36
growlings he was at a a birthday party there and there was an intermission in
02:47:41
the show and other um actors backstage and they hear all
02:47:46
this laughter coming from the theater doing intermission and they they go what's going on they walk out and Phil's
02:47:52
on stage entertaining everybody they just said you want to be in the group he's like sure
02:47:58
I mean he was you know he was like that he was um one time at s and I was walked to his
02:48:04
office I go what are you doing he was I'm reading the magazine about fly fishing yeah oh then three weeks later I walked
02:48:11
in his office like what are you doing he is I'm making flies three weeks later he's got a full kit
02:48:18
making flies that you fish with oh yeah that making them perfect and I go and he
02:48:24
would just immerse himself in something yeah you know I walked by once move on to the next I'm gutting a lunker bass
02:48:30
wanna help I know Phil we have a show in an hour folks look up lunker bags making
02:48:36
Antelope jerky I forgot you were here grab a machete he would skin a beer at the egg would skin
02:48:43
a bear in the mountains and make coats out of it uh with little kind of yeah mediums
02:48:53
I flew with him a lot to uh then he bought a plane then I flew with him to Catalina a couple of times and uh well
02:49:00
one time I did one time I flew that I forget where but anyway he became whatever he was doing so when we got in
02:49:08
his plane he starts talking to the Tower and the radio and he sounded like a pilot from United Airlines yeah his
02:49:13
whole Demeter changed it wasn't just yeah it wasn't Phil talking to you it was a pilot this is Niners yeah just
02:49:20
like he's American too and we got on his boat he was like uh Mr it just disappeared he got a nepheiculous into
02:49:26
his boat stuff he would he was surfing in his 20s if he talked about surveys oh yeah man that's good all right he just
02:49:33
he became the character Tom Maxwell is the director of the growling said one time Phil drove up to the growlings and
02:49:39
he was wearing a in a truck in a cowboy outfit and it was just like a complete Cowboy just because he has a truck he
02:49:45
just got it just started talking like a cowboy when she fell is fixing I used to
02:49:51
go to his house and he would play he played guitar right so one time he was imitating a uh a black blues player but
02:49:57
a guy that was like in his 80s and and just it was just hysterical you know and he's just playing and what do you want
02:50:04
him funny boys can we go back to that origin thing we can go back to whatever you want because it leads to a clip I
02:50:11
have a method of my madness but uh I think an audio clip of goes back to
02:50:17
the origin of coming to Saturday live and meeting Phil and Jan and yourself and everybody in those weeks before me
02:50:24
weeks weeks before we would go downtown we go what was the club the bottom line we went down there and saw Buster
02:50:30
Poindexter so it was very otherworldly and then you and Phil had this connection where Dynamite our
02:50:38
producer you guys would go back and forth with the gangster 40s voices hey what are you doing here yeah well what
02:50:44
yeah that like forever you guys would go for hours I was like 18 and I remember I'd watch these old movies and I'd say
02:50:49
to my mom I go why do they talk like that so if I was like hi Charlie how you doing good to see you what's going on nothing and you and then or the
02:50:57
following ring I'm pretty good how are you hang on the phone's ringing oh hello and I thought it was so funny well it is
02:51:04
and then in the Groundlings in 1984 the Olympics was in Los Angeles
02:51:09
so they had an Olympic Art Festival and and they funded gave money to nine
02:51:16
Equity waiver theaters meaning there's 99 seats or less so if you're in the actors Union you could perform in a
02:51:22
theater that had 99 seats or less so anyway they gave money to nine of these and the growlings has won and they
02:51:28
picked um and oh and they gave money to do a show but it had to have the theme of the
02:51:33
Olympics in it so they picked uh Phil he did a character chick Hazard which was a that's right satire like Humphrey Bogart
02:51:41
you know Sam Spade and Phillip those legs he went up like a monkey boy looking for a coconuts right is that so
02:51:48
they picked that and I got to understudy it and that's how I got he had recommended me so I was so grateful I
02:51:54
was like I remember the first time I met him he's walking down the hallway with like looking like Humphrey bugger with the trench coat and hat
02:52:00
and he goes hi John I go I go no no I saw him I go I'll go hey Phil I'm John
02:52:05
Legend yeah John I know who you are like oh you do oh yeah I go well thanks for recommending me to understudy this party
02:52:11
goes oh yeah I think it'll be fantastic and he was such a big star there in my
02:52:17
head I'm remember thinking oh my God Phil Hartman spoke to me like I didn't
02:52:23
know him at all he was like a legend there you know what I mean just it would be like you know like Keenan Thompson and SNL he's been there 20 years you get
02:52:30
the show oh my God there's Keenan he was like a host it was like that when nose talked to you yes huge did you see that
02:52:38
he's in the house I go I want to see your house and he had me over the Little House in the valley
02:52:44
and he said you know you're the first person from the growlings I've ever had over to my house I'm like what you're
02:52:51
kidding you've never had anyone over because no why he goes I'm very private you know oh this is a good thing when he
02:52:58
got SNL uh he turned it down
02:53:04
because I don't want to be famous I like my life I kept wanting to recommend him and Phil and Lauren said my second year
02:53:11
he said we want who we want to know people you work well with or Dynamite it's a that's producer so I recommended
02:53:17
Phil and Tim and Lynn and tres and um and Lauren said well John how
02:53:22
long has Phil been in the Groundlings and I said 10 years ago and he still hasn't made it there must be a reason why I said yeah I guess because I was
02:53:29
saying I said to Lauren look at if you think I'm good I go You Love Phil he's a genius you know I looked he was nine
02:53:34
years older and he became like my big brother and I looked up to him and kind of how you Dana looked up to me
02:53:40
when you got the show I'm nervous right now yeah me too I know you both do you mind if I call you Dad no I just want to
02:53:47
say to both of you I don't blame you for being nervous you're only human you know
02:53:53
but I'm sitting on John's lap I'm just a person yeah you are there's no camera
02:53:59
right now but I'm doing a handstand enjoy that John's here on the table David yeah but when I say I'm just a
02:54:06
person I'm joking of course I'm not just a person yeah so so
02:54:12
um anyway so that so the Phil was always doing that for these things and I loved old movies and I'd done an improv so we
02:54:18
would always do it back and forth we loved old movies and I didn't realize when he auditioned he had his audition I
02:54:26
think the same day as you and Jim Carrey right yeah so so um yeah and the some
02:54:32
guy the siren went off in the middle of your audition Jim Carrey some guy was jumping off a building at NBC in Burbank
02:54:37
and but anyway if you watch our audition at one point Lauren goes John go up
02:54:43
there and Phil and I started doing those lines and I didn't realize how much of them ended up
02:54:48
in the sketch so about three years later so I said Phil we're always doing the 40s things let's write a sketch so I had
02:54:55
the idea that I was the head of a studio and he was a you know movie star World
02:55:02
War II pilot yeah and now the war is over but he's just gone crazy he actually he's gotten carried away with
02:55:09
his part and I have to fire him but then we we wrote the sketch together and so let's let's hear that now because
02:55:16
that was you guys did it on one oh yeah her show or maybe the first few shows I
02:55:22
don't know we did we've been there about three years or four years by the time you did this yeah I said I go we're
02:55:28
always doing it let's write a sketch of it so we wrote it okay and it felt by the way Phil I'm just he said to me this
02:55:33
was his favorite sketch of any sketch that he did well you guys were in such think let's listen
02:55:39
we learned our lines we have made too many of these war movies maybe I should take a rest hurry well I'm glad you
02:55:46
brought that up Johnny I think you should take a rest too a permanent one what do you mean I'm letting you go you
02:55:53
mean yes your contract isn't being renewed but hurry I finished Johnny don't miss words I think you're stinks
02:55:58
listen Harry if you're unhappy with my work tell me now you're through you hear me through you'll never work in this
02:56:04
town again don't leave me hanging by a thread let me know where I stand I think you're the worst actor I've ever
02:56:10
seen and I get 500 letters a day telling me the same what's the word on the street
02:56:15
[Laughter] the funniest part is when he goes he
02:56:23
goes I'm uh don't leave me hanging I'm sorry Harry he goes is it the pills no the booze no
02:56:30
the Sheep the goats no no your wife no what huh what stop it get out the funny
02:56:38
just the Sheep the goats no no what about the one where Dana I think you're
02:56:44
robbing here what I'm sorry oh Davis I'm here too I know
02:56:50
I'm sorry you're important too I was in the middle of a sentence um
02:56:57
off my lap yeah what do you want to add now hang on let me crawl back to my chair uh when he
02:57:04
goes I think Dana was a uh robbing like a 50s Malt Shop and he goes yeah the man
02:57:10
Johnny No One's Gonna Hurt You and Dana's like okay I'll blow her head off he's like you're the man Johnny
02:57:16
No One's Gonna use like a cop talking you down do you remember this um is that that's not the one there was
02:57:22
one where I had a catchphrase that was Steve Gutenberg show I tried to land this catchphrase why I ought to pound
02:57:28
you yeah we did a spoof of the movie the front page yeah but that was my catchphrase and Lauren thought I think
02:57:34
it could catch wrong why why I had a pound you holding up a fist no
02:57:41
it was great though they talk like that and and that sketch one more Mission I feel humor
02:57:48
I'm I didn't think it was that funny but because sorry Harry I let you down you've always been like a father to me
02:57:53
and I went oh Johnny Johnny oh Johnny Johnny he thought that was the
02:58:00
funniest thing I'm like that that is funny by the way your dog's
02:58:06
biting everyone but he could do uh I remember in his audition you can see it online he uh
02:58:13
he would you know could do Impressions so he did it at the Groundlings he did uh he did it too as a a talk show a
02:58:20
German talk show host Gunter something and and he's of gibberish German and then he would impersonate Jack Benny in
02:58:27
German and John Wayne and German and Jack Nicholson and German and I mean he could do everything he did that on his
02:58:33
audition I believe yeah and and the weird thing though when he was on the show
02:58:38
he never did he really didn't do any of his characters that he he did in the Groundlings and I
02:58:46
kept saying why don't you do it he only did chick Hazard once and that was in the sketch that I had done was the the
02:58:54
Eddie spamosa the gangster he only did it once he wouldn't do his characters I go why didn't you do him he goes no I'm
02:59:00
saving it for my own show and he was supposed to do his own show after SNL he had a deal SketchUp yeah
02:59:07
the purple that would be I forget what it's called the purple something and it is like a
02:59:14
prime time and he was very disappointed like a different network or no at NBC but his own show prime time then because
02:59:20
I heard when I was leaving or he was he still was there when you guys left and all right and then he said uh oh yeah
02:59:26
they got a three-year maybe like 10 million dollar deal to stay and I was like what Jesus
02:59:34
10 million you think I remember I asked him once hey that I said uh
02:59:39
who who do you think is funnier between Dana and David and I and he said
02:59:45
well John you know I think you know
02:59:50
who'd you asked Phil or Lauren Phil I think you know and it was me
02:59:56
it was me I think Johnny are you saying I just made that
03:00:02
up just now you're the man hey fellas how you doing so Phil had this sort of this Persona he would put on sometimes
03:00:09
just to kind of lighten things up that sort of high pitch what's up what's going on like a Simpsons guy is that the
03:00:15
uh a character from The Simpsons that's kind of that Rhythm he does right John the answer is yes well The
03:00:21
Simpsons they hired him a lot he did a I don't know how many characters and and and they
03:00:27
decided you know after he passed away they're they're gonna like not do those characters anymore because he just did
03:00:33
him so right Tory McClure and a lot of them and um but the funny thing is I
03:00:38
when I started doing the Simpsons uh after SNL and a lot of the writers
03:00:44
there were all from had been on Saturday Night Live who is it Conan well Conan
03:00:50
was there Michael Daniels the guys that were there at first John Schwartz welder I don't think he was there when you guys
03:00:56
were there John schwaltzwelder George Meyer George Meyer yeah and John VD and
03:01:03
they'd all been on SNL and and the reason is they're all those Harvard you
03:01:09
know Lampoons right they're all on Simpsons they're all on SNL you know Al
03:01:14
Gina Mike Reese were in Simpsons for years and there they went to Harvard Lampoon so they knew Conan
03:01:19
Conan was like younger than the four years younger Mel jeans you're born so it so that's one reason I think they
03:01:26
hired it they knew us you know and they go uh yeah but they Love Field there he was
03:01:32
like you know practically a cast member on The Simpsons John do you think you
03:01:38
should get paid before we talk about The Simpsons too [Music]
03:01:45
[Laughter] John and I did like the really microscopic one indeed
03:01:51
do this and tease each other and sound right live and so we wrote A Sketch doing that with
03:01:57
Robert Wagner Ryan Robert Wagner like it looks like someone's sketch got
03:02:04
on the show it's an emphasis
03:02:10
Karen still does that every time I see him first thing he says doesn't say hello anything
03:02:17
anyway uh so John Lewis um but sorry going back for just a
03:02:22
second because it I remember that yeah Phil was going to come in as a writer
03:02:28
and he always had a briefcase and he was hired as a writer yeah and I remember you saying to me you don't
03:02:33
understand he's the greatest you were really pushing him to then become a customer so was he a
03:02:39
feature player or I think he was a feature player Oh but I was telling you so when he got the show
03:02:45
he goes I got offered I go and he goes and he goes I turned it down I go why he goes I I don't want to be famous I like
03:02:51
my life I don't want to do it and then you go I'm the office
03:02:56
yeah on the opposite he changed his mind yeah I was the opposite I'm looking pretty good on you Johnny well I yeah I
03:03:03
wanted to be a performer and wanted to be famous so um well I didn't want to
03:03:09
just be famous for them to be you know as a comedian Dana there's a difference anyway the
03:03:16
point is thank you John he he then said he would yes to the show yes so I called
03:03:22
him up because I wanted the credit and said so Phil you've changed your mind
03:03:27
you're going to do the show I said so did you change your mind because of me because I I convinced you to believe in
03:03:33
yourself and that's why you changed your mind and he said no I'm like oh I really wanted that credit
03:03:41
I go oh all right well why did you change your mind and he said Joel Silver well Joel Silver is a big producer of
03:03:48
like Lethal Weapon and we we've done a movie that Penny Marshall cast Us in the Jumbo Jack Flash and Joel was producing
03:03:55
it so I remember I kept saying to Joel you got to be he liked I would do the old movie stuff I go you gotta meet my
03:04:00
friend Phil you're gonna love him we do this thing so he did it and Joel loved it because he loved old movies you know
03:04:05
so he's I said what change what made you change your mind he goes Joe silver I go what did he say he said he called me and
03:04:11
said you're crazy to turn this down you've got to do it but and that's true he said no
03:04:18
everyone's dying to be on the show dying it's like the biggest career break of your life and and he turned it down
03:04:26
down yes and he turned it down and he turned it down and he turned it down
03:04:33
speaking all right you know it's interesting to me what's interesting to know this is why you guys look up to me
03:04:39
immediately because you're imitating me it's just how I talk I'm not trying to
03:04:44
talk like that but when I emphasize something it comes off like that Balderdash Alder Dash jealous jealous
03:04:52
hey John I like your glasses then you put the glass down and go jealous jealous one time we were doing a show
03:04:58
William Shatner was the host and Dana Dana can't believe they hosted go ahead danik came up to me goes John what I'm
03:05:06
in go ahead tell me well there was a sketch I think I was playing Ricardo Montalban from Wrath of Khan of course I
03:05:12
had a chest plate in there I was like Kirk but then I think I went off stage and did an off stage thing or I changed
03:05:19
something you had three sketches Oh I thought I did three characters
03:05:26
him for a week about that John you remember how many I was in
03:05:32
but we were just laughing so overtly a competition a friendly
03:05:38
competition we just made fun of the whole concept well we now you said we got to talk about it because it's it's
03:05:44
two no that makes it so we did and then one time we almost got diddly do we got enough we almost got
03:05:50
but we didn't get a fist fight but we were really remember I asked you could I do it you go go ahead and then I go I'm
03:05:57
gonna be mad and then I did it and you go I can't believe you did it I go I asked you and you go well I was tired and and then we got in a car big
03:06:03
argument and I mean really big like we almost started punching I mean that stuff happens and then an hour later
03:06:09
Dana said I'm sorry I did yes
03:06:14
syndrome I go well that's why I asked you so I wanted to not have this happen
03:06:19
but did you say so Jim Downey wrote it I didn't write it I said sorry in the Hans and Franz
03:06:25
character I said that I'm sorry now I shouldn't do some sketch Jim Downey wrote and Jim I said you gotta ask Dana
03:06:33
that's his bed
03:06:39
little thing and they go I'm going to turn into a sketch and then if someone else took it
03:06:45
you'd you know it's like comedians stealing your jokes your business you go nuts I remember um
03:06:51
get to know me I wanna Danny DeVito is hosting and uh
03:06:57
and I said uh I go hey Danny you want to get a and oh it was hosting and he just done twins it opened 100 million and go
03:07:03
Dan you want to get ahead in this business get to know me because I was nobody right and he goes hmm cute
03:07:09
because that was the joke like you get to know yeah yeah nobody and then I
03:07:14
decided to write it up like oh that'll be something to write up and I go what am I going to name the character well they said once you're on the show any
03:07:21
anything you want you made up before that you own but anything after that we own and they wouldn't pay us
03:07:28
as writers they go you're not a writer I go but you put my stuff on every week it was ridiculous so so I said when am I
03:07:34
going to name the character and I go oh I'll name it John Levitz I'll name it me
03:07:40
and then they can't say if they say anything I go to you so if you get a movie get to know
03:07:47
me movie then you get so I named it that is smart can you give us a little bit for people
03:07:53
a couple bars what it would have sounded like all those years ago in 8h you are
03:07:58
I'm Phil Donahue and you are something else let me tell you everybody's talking
03:08:03
about the liar and here you are and you got a sketch called get get to know me
03:08:09
so go ahead give us a couple lines please please uh hello I'm John Levitz
03:08:15
hello I'm John lovers do you want to get ahead in life then I have one piece of advice for you get to know me get to
03:08:22
know my likes my dislikes what makes me tick what makes me me where's my secret Freckle have I always had this much hair
03:08:28
why do women call me the anchor get to know me now here's a letter I recently
03:08:35
received Dear John before I got to know you guys nothing nowhere nobody
03:08:40
I was trying to be a performer couldn't get hired at all then I got to know you and today they call me Dana Carvey get
03:08:49
to know me did you use my name in that sketch no just made that up
03:08:55
John before I got to know you I was nothing nowhere nobody I was short with black hair looked like everybody else
03:09:01
then I got to know you well I'm still short and my hair is still black but today they call me Japan
03:09:15
they're gonna say Al Pacino Dear John before I got to know you I was nothing no or nobody I had crooked teeth and
03:09:21
there's no others oh my hair is still my teeth I got my teeth fixed and my hair
03:09:27
is straight and today they call me Queen Elizabeth Saturn now do you do the you
03:09:32
got to do that in your stand-up John is a great day that plays all over the country you should do that I've seen her
03:09:38
cut out all the rest and do that yeah he's son of a [ __ ]
03:09:47
you son of a [ __ ] best now with that stuff you know then you
03:09:53
can have a you have a solid four minutes if you do that twice if you do that and John can you do just for for because
03:09:58
it's fun to wind people up Master thessman remember when we were playing Vegas and someone mentioned it
03:10:05
and you did this little Soliloquy you did a little yes can you can you do that or is that hard yeah I messed up
03:10:13
I'll do it I got now from the Diaries is the greatest act of all time Master
03:10:18
thespian there was the time and I had the Keen
03:10:24
insight to realize [ __ ] should be played as a Dane and Hamlet as a Hebrew
03:10:29
the theatrical community of London was so dumbfounded by what is now a
03:10:35
well-known fact They begged me to perform my version of The Melancholy Jew
03:10:41
before the queen herself to be or not to be oi what a question well you can
03:10:48
imagine the response but for those of you who can't hear tis Master thespian this is Lawrence Olivier teach me to act
03:10:54
this is John gilgood teach me to act this is Prince Philip go [ __ ] yourself and so I did I talked them all Olivier
03:11:03
gilgood Guinness so tall Schwarzenegger oh yes all those muscles
03:11:09
he has acting by God the man's a stick
03:11:15
so no no you got two bits for your stand-up you should do get to know I tried doing that stuff when I started
03:11:21
doing stand-up and it didn't work it will work now John because it's so much more no but I do I do uh no you do it
03:11:26
like these are from Saturday Night Live you said it good but what I've done made me laugh really works
03:11:32
and I think you would agree I said okay hi I'm John Levitz you know I just saw my friend David Spade the other day and
03:11:37
I saw a stand-up Act and I think it went something like this
03:11:43
this whole act and then I did the same thing with you Dana
03:11:52
he was really good and I think it went something like this
03:11:57
you didn't just do your act saves lives you used to know me you used to know me
03:12:05
and not Neymar I'm denigani you used to know me is it too close to get to know
03:12:11
me I used to have a character Temple woman Temple woman that that's is that kind of like church I don't see it
03:12:18
special or church she's in Temple you're a ladies this is the one what's her catcher
03:12:23
well
03:12:29
laughs what an idiot my stomach hurts special I
03:12:35
think Jerry farted then didn't you do you did something I thought it was like the liar but the Fibber the Fibber yeah
03:12:41
the Fibber Fibber McGee I uh I had a dog fought in my face yeah
03:12:47
that's that's that's the platform oh then you David I remember I did a sketch
03:12:52
the richest Mr Camby the richest man in the world but he was an idiot I go well I'm off to Safari goodbye everybody
03:12:58
goodbye and I was like you can't just say goodbye everybody goodbye it was a whole character yeah I saw a Conan if
03:13:04
you're listening he's just saying a catchphrase he was desperate for a catchphrase no Conan there's a whole
03:13:09
character behind it it was the richest man in the world and he's an idiot there was a character and I had a line when I
03:13:15
they go I go oh Phil was in that sketch they go they go what do we do while you're gone I go um and I had a KitKat
03:13:21
but I go buy KitKat so then Phil and Whitney Brown can you believe we work for this no Phil
03:13:28
gets on the phone first she goes yeah buy a buy Kit Kat and then when he goes can you believe we work for this it is
03:13:34
such a [ __ ] and the phone ring still goes I know he's some idiot what hello what
03:13:40
oh you're kidding Whitney goes what and Phil goes Kit Kat just went up 300
03:13:46
million then I come back in well everybody I forgot my wallet
03:13:52
right and then and then they go KitKat just went up 300 million ago oh you see buy what you love and you can't
03:13:58
go wrong well Lauren thought that was the funniest thing he died died laughing yeah he goes you can't just say goodbye
03:14:03
everybody goodbye the next year a man named David Spade oh boy I know it's
03:14:09
called does this catch where he's on it and says bye-bye bye-bye well wait a minute goodbye everybody
03:14:17
from the airplane phone and I go bye Almond Joy 300 million no I'm not saying
03:14:23
you took it for me I'm not saying that at all I'm saying they let you do that but he Lauren he wouldn't let me do good
03:14:29
Lauren goes you're my savior everything about that is great John did this week
03:14:36
of all the sketches with the goodbye word in it it's in the top five so then
03:14:42
when I did Evelyn Quinn and bye-bye at the end of it the character Tales of revelry with John Bowman who sadly
03:14:49
passed away Road and Christine Zander they wrote a great schedule
03:14:59
yeah same guy as Mr camby's yeah Eric Bloor this actor no it was a higher pitch he was in a lot
03:15:07
yeah like Fred Astaire movies hello we'll be back next week with another you know Tales of Rebel Jay goodbye
03:15:14
everybody goodbye and they said the whole control Booth was cheering because I finally got it in
03:15:20
because you got it it was so mad I go I'll get it on there he's a jolly it
03:15:25
didn't help me uh with the show you know remember I'd always say I'd always talk back to Lauren we would say everyone
03:15:32
would say their ideas on a Monday and I go wait wait wait before he goes what I go what are your ideas and Danny would
03:15:39
look at me like I couldn't believe it you would give her I know Jesus Christ
03:15:45
what about you Lauren what do you got you know um right let's do a good show because
03:15:51
they wouldn't give us credit as writers I could just put my name on there at all
03:15:56
no I got a credit only one time nope when when I was voted
03:16:02
the most racist comedian of 1986 because of Ching change right and they said Saturday Night Live released a statement
03:16:08
Dana carveys nominated the only thing he wrote all of
03:16:15
a sudden yeah it's a real guy that you met that had a
03:16:22
pet store yeah and he was Asian and that's how there was no no stereotypical no thing in it
03:16:28
well that's the thing now acting is considered races if you play a character that you're not so I could I could you'd
03:16:35
have one I could play one part once yeah all the time you know and then anything
03:16:41
else is you know you're not that right right you just have to play yourself you'll go you're not really this you're not really that I
03:16:48
go well I'm not I'm not really any of the people you can't just play a buffoon the rest of your life you have to mix it
03:16:53
up right I have to wait what what what how dare you you know this has been a
03:16:59
great time rap well I'm sorry dude David's paid that you're upset that I'm so much better at
03:17:07
golf than you oh yeah what do people like David Hartman that you know what
03:17:12
would you like people to know about yourself in your final moments what would you say he had a huge heart
03:17:20
that they don't know I'm well answered it as he was he was equally
03:17:28
modest and you know he was he loved to laugh you and I made him
03:17:35
laugh like cry laughs he loved that and he was a fan of people he was not
03:17:40
competitive at all no I had no but he was the best you know he was just he uh
03:17:46
I would say well they never saw him do improv when he was in the Groundlings uh and then I remember I I've gotten the
03:17:55
company so the first half of the show was sketches and then the second half was all improv so Tom Maxwell
03:18:02
was the artistic director so he'd like to say John you and so-and-so get on stage you and so so then there'd be uh
03:18:08
he'd go okay uh Phil Phil and someone else and someone else
03:18:13
on stage and the rest of us were sitting you sit on the floor at the on the on at
03:18:19
the base of the stage you know waiting to be called up and um so whenever he
03:18:24
would call Phil we was it was real improv Second City I was there once they get it they'd get suggestions and they
03:18:30
go backstage for 45 minutes and write it out oh I go that's not improv you're
03:18:36
gonna just go so they'd say what where are they they're in a department store this and this Lights Out come up you go
03:18:41
yeah and everybody would be talking and Phil wouldn't say anything but but we
03:18:47
were all waiting we knew he was going to say something and that you would never imagine and it would be hysterical so
03:18:53
we're all waiting and you just see Phil he's just thinking and you could see he's getting like
03:18:59
I don't know why just angry and angrier and then all of a sudden you go yeah well I think
03:19:04
and he would just explode in anger and like the point where his face was beat
03:19:10
red you can see the vein in his forehead and just screaming and it was just hysterical and it was it was just and
03:19:18
we'd all be on the floor dying laughing we'd go like what's he gonna say what's he gonna say because it's the Improv was
03:19:24
starting he's not saying anything and we're all just going man he's he he's coming any second now and then just like
03:19:31
something like you'd never imagine were you there the night he was just the best improviser and Tim stack was in the
03:19:36
company was great the best guy besides Phil and I said but Tim I go wasn't Phil
03:19:42
like amazing he was he goes oh he was on another level there's a dog yeah the dogs we all decided to make
03:19:50
Neil Young laugh was it Phil I know that Phil and I remember we were at dinner with Neil Young for some reason and I
03:19:56
said let's make let's like oh I was Neil Young I remember being at uh Phil was doing like a Japanese pilot he was doing
03:20:03
you know could do all these voices and characters and we got Neil Young just helpless come on fellas was he laughing
03:20:09
yeah laughing his ass off I'm helpless helpless we couldn't invite everyone it
03:20:14
was just 100 people I the animal that was in our studio we
03:20:20
apologize for the behavior and the audience Jared is chewed Heather's leg off Jerry wasn't getting enough
03:20:26
attention and decided to take revenge he's now outside in a plastic punishment David and Dana are two human beings with
03:20:33
their own podcast and yet they're jealous of my 12 year old 15 pound dog Cherry here's John's Jerry Brooks wild
03:20:42
together this is my imitation of you two go ahead
03:20:48
we're interviewing John Lovitz you remember my impression of you I
03:20:55
would do all the time when we were teasing each other at SNL I got a quick impression of you what's going on what are we doing I don't know what's I'm
03:21:01
scared what's going on what a burn
03:21:09
yeah I'd say it's my best to bring me right back to the show I think we can use all that Greg all right John I gotta
03:21:15
go she'll see yourself out yes and I will see myself to your John
03:21:21
Lovitz coming to uh let's just say it he's at the Tropicana he's uh in a
03:21:26
residency there watch for him in Las Vegas Factory at the uh in the Tropicana
03:21:31
Hotel Las Vegas Nevada once a month oh and I'm on a game show now with the
03:21:37
Byron Allen Company yes funny you should ask is that just tell
03:21:43
jokes that's not the name of it it's like Hollywood Squares but it's just there's no tic-tac-toe
03:21:49
I've already told you this no that's the name of the show aren't those on in the middle of the
03:21:55
night like yeah like three in the afternoon and two in the morning two in the morning for insomniacs it's a funny
03:22:02
show though it's fun comics of Whitney Cummings on there Tiffany haddish Howie Mandel Louis
03:22:09
Anderson God bless him was on it Scott and satin who sadly passed away created the show Byron Allen and green to me
03:22:15
produces it oh yeah yeah everybody but you too from Molly and
03:22:22
Mike you turn it down all right I'm Gonna Leave sir everyone give me about it all right John Lovitz has been our thanks for coming on John John thank you
03:22:29
so much pleasure you two have fun making love after the show like you always do
03:22:35
[Music] this has been a podcast presentation of cadence 13. please listen then rate
03:22:42
review and follow all episodes available now for free wherever you get your
03:22:47
podcast no joke folks fly on the wall has been a presentation
03:22:52
of cadence 13. executive produced by Dana Carvey and David Spade Chris Corcoran of cadence 13 and Charlie finan
03:22:59
of brillstein entertainment the show's lead producer is Greg Holtzman with production and Engineering support from Serena Regan and Chris Basil of cadence
03:23:06
13.
