00:00:00
Hey, David. Uh, you remember the show Always Sunny in Philadelphia? Yeah, it's been on since I was born.
00:00:07
It's coming back. I'm sure. Coming back. This will be back. And of course, one of
00:00:13
the stars of Always Sunny in Philadelphia is our good friend Danny Devito, who we interviewed a little
00:00:20
while back. That's right. Danny uh did SNL with us. Um, also everyone on Always Sunny is a star and it's pretty shocking that a show can still be on the air even
00:00:31
though it's really funny. It's just that doesn't really happen as much anymore where you have Bonanza or Gunsmoke.
00:00:37
Yeah. Simpsons. There's there's some that just always come back. And um so I'm glad it's back on. I'm glad it's
00:00:45
still funny. I'm glad it's very edgy. It still gives people what they want. And I I'm glad they get away with all the
00:00:50
stuff they get away with because not many shows will try to do that anymore. it it's a great show and um you know we
00:00:58
thought we had a thought we huddled together with our team and thought that maybe we would uh
00:01:05
show Danny DeVito's interview um this week. Yeah, it's a perfect Yeah, a lot of people they come and go and they and and it kind of goes back in
00:01:16
the library, but we put it at the forefront and say if you watch When Always Sunny, uh don't miss this
00:01:22
episode. But it was very funny and he was just very uh interesting talking about the New York days and blah blah
00:01:27
blah. So here he is. I hope you like him. We do. Mr. Danny DeVito. But I was just thinking doing this in the 1960s. We might have waited for Yel Brener to come on. That would have been
00:01:40
fun. Yel Brener would be the first Yeah. guest. Podcast guest in 1965. We'd follow him
00:01:47
up with Steve McQueen. Yeah. You put him on. He does a little dance. does the accent. He talks about the doing the jump, but he didn't really do it in The Great
00:01:57
Escape. Didn't really. Yeah. All the all the stuff that he does, you know, like I had an apartment in New York once night in
00:02:05
the 60s. I got on the bulletin board of u of uh the American Academy of Dramatic Arts where I went to school. And uh you know, I was looking for apartments.
00:02:18
Everybody was always, you know, scrging for like no money, but we had no money, so they had this bulletin board. Anyway, I went to an address and it was in the
00:02:29
weirdest place was on Madison Avenue in the in like 57th or 8th Street. 645 was the address I remember. And yeah. Wow. And um I walk in the door. It's a really
00:02:43
shitty building now. It's all, you know, totally to turned into what New York is,
00:02:50
you know, and I I go in the building and the first thing I saw was a giant picture from Buer.
00:03:01
Oh man. And it was a little shitty Yeah. A little shitty hallway like kind of thing. And um anyway, it worked out because I I got
00:03:13
the apartment. It was like the second flight up. It had an elevator actually in the building, but very very very very
00:03:21
old school. And uh of course 60 it was 64 or something like that. So what was your rent? Do you remember your rent? Yes. $50 a month.
00:03:33
$50 a month. And it and it was a one-bedroom apartment. And the back and the bedroom was the was a living room,
00:03:38
bedroom kind of situation. It had a nice bathroom and a kitchen and and a and a Mhm. Uh Yeah. And the bedroom had windows that looked out over the tops of um uh
00:03:54
buildings, New York. So, it was like one of those It was like if you were uh doing a play or a movie about New York
00:04:01
and you said like, "Build me uh a a outside like what the cycllorama would look like or today what what you would put in in in the you know the background
00:04:14
of your movie. It was all the stove, you know, the the exhaust pipes and the tops of buildings and railings and all that. Like it looked like the you could
00:04:26
do you could do uh Westside Story on the roof. Well, did did people hang out of the out
00:04:32
out of their out of their windows going, "Hey, what's with the [ __ ] noise over here?"
00:04:37
No. No, they weren't doing that. It was like more like it wasn't like enclosed like like if there were buildings that went up cuz in that area, you know, at that time
00:04:49
it was just a top. So, you had a great panorama of looking east. Uh but no, you didn't see a river or anything. I was on Madison Avenue and u
00:05:02
but to actually have that address at at that time was like amazing [ __ ] crazy because I put these other glasses I see better from far away. That's a great right in the heart of
00:05:16
Midtown, right? Yes, it's right in the heart of And the thing about it is that at that time, a lot of people don't know this, Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue
00:05:28
were two-way streets. I mean, you guys weren't even born. Uh, I was born. I I go back. I remember Yel Brener. I look I mean, you know, David doesn't
00:05:40
know who Yul Brener is. Yeah. So, you remember him? But yeah. Oh. Oh, yeah. I remember the King and I was a poster.
00:05:46
But if you imagine Madison Avenue being a two-way street and you know you know New York very well and Fifth Avenue also I used to walk up from 30th and and go
00:05:58
to 57th or 8th where I lived and uh it was a two-way street. It was really there weren't any horses and carts though. You'll be happy to hear you weren't that far back. It wasn't that far.
00:06:10
Oh good. All right. We're in the modern. Were you walking around with casting call magazine?
00:06:17
I was doing uh what we used to get was show business and uh and what what they call backstage. You remember that? Oh, backstage. Remember that? See, you guys did it a whole other way. It was just we buy I
00:06:33
would you know I was never in the magazine. night, we'd buy these magazine, these papers that came out
00:06:39
once a week, show business and and uh backstage, and in there there would be all the casting that was going on. Mhm. And we would, you know, we would go to
00:06:51
uh uh on the corner of I think it was 47th and uh 7th was Howard Johnson's. And uh everybody would meet in there. It was like you go in, you know, take up
00:07:05
space and have coffee and read the to see what was the latest thing. Yeah. Yeah. To see what was going on. And and uh Danny, did you ever find when you audition for these things at the
00:07:16
beginning, I found this that you would audition and then you would hear through the grapevine they already have offers out to stars, but they're just looking for backups or
00:07:27
No, no, it's it's always the same case. So, it's been that since the beginning of time. And the other thing about like I I'm talking about auditioning for off
00:07:38
off Broadway, off Broadway, uh regional theater, anything that you could get. And, you
00:07:45
know, sometimes you get lucky and get a an audition at the public, you know, uh and uh you know, get get a
00:07:53
a tiny part in Shakespeare in the Park, you know, like it's not You're literally
00:08:00
a spear carrier. But you might have a few lines like I played once I got I played the doctor in uh the Merrywe the doctor's servant sorry in the Mary Wise
00:08:11
of Windsor you know and uh the best those were the best show uh to get because they literally paid man. Oh, that was like you would wind up with
00:08:22
$190 something dollars a week in uh in those uh in in at Joe Paps. Yeah. $200. It was a different contract that you know, no strike needed there.
00:08:36
Yeah. Four months of rent. Off Broadway. Off Broadway was great, man. Off Broadway was $68 a week, $70 a week. Damn. That's what I made on SNL. And SNL
00:08:49
didn't exist then, did it? Did Lauren Michael existed? Well, Lauren Michaels always existed. He was in He was a teenager and he still exists.
00:09:00
There is no one. When did When did SNL start? When did Ed SNL start? It's a good question. 75. It's like 70 something. 75. Yeah. So I Yeah, that's So 75. I was
00:09:14
already in California by then. I came I'd gone through off Broadway and all those things um earlier and and you know uh did children's
00:09:29
theater in Massachusetts. I've done you know did all that kind of stuff and then I I got lucky in uh in the in 1971ish
00:09:38
or two around there and I got a a part off Broadway and played Martini and Cuckoo's Nest. Oh, and so that was like there should be [ __ ] applause.
00:09:50
Then then uh I stayed in that play for almost a year and it ran at the Mercer Arts Center and that was cool. And then uh
00:10:01
uh then Milos saw it and everybody saw it and I got lucky and got a you know Milo
00:10:09
and then I got the movie and then after the movie opened I moved out. Wait, Danny, sunny, California. Yeah. My my question
00:10:16
was when you do a play, you're not guaranteed a part in the movie, are you? No, you're not guaranteed anything in
00:10:23
this. Our business is you must know this. It's not there's no there are no guarantees. There's no anything, you know. Yeah. I mean once in a while like for instance I you can imagine like Brando
00:10:37
uh giving a performance like he did in Street Car and then you know that you got to be a you know you have to have your head in his head in the sand to not cast him in uh in the movie.
00:10:50
So right uh same thing with you know Vivian they're not going to get someone from the Bachelor
00:10:56
and they're not going to like Yeah. He's going to be uh the first choice. Yeah. I I starred in Hans and Fron's the
00:11:04
musical. I'm sorry. Go ahead. I want to hear more about Hans and Fr the musical.
00:11:09
Hans and Fron the Musical. What I was going to ask you, Danny, is a philosophical question. Usually when
00:11:14
people have their struggling years, struggling years, and then have hyper superstar success, which I'm going to put you in that category. They look back at those early years and go, "Those were
00:11:26
some of the best days of my life." Do you feel that or did it suck when you look back on the struggle?
00:11:32
I never I don't first of all I don't I mean unless I'm doing something like talking to you guys like or something you you don't think about that as much
00:11:42
but you you you do think like you know those days were struggles but not you know not
00:11:50
the best. They were not the those were the days. Uh uh I I think the toughest part about that getting started was you know like you guys got started like when
00:12:04
you you know you you you hit television or I don't know what your history is but
00:12:09
how how much you did before before I met you at the when I did the church lady or
00:12:16
something like but uh you were there. You were you were there. Yeah. Oh, I remember intensely. Well, you you hosted a couple times. Just so funny.
00:12:27
And when I did that drum solo in the dress, you were egging me on, you know, and that was my best drum solo on television. There you go. You see, you have to have a coach.
00:12:39
You were good. I had 10 10 years of of uh anonymity before I got SNL. David had David got a movie right out of high school. But um I know then I but then I Danny, thank
00:12:52
you for asking. I did a Police Academy movie, Police Academy 4, the good one. And I and then I came back and turned something down. I thought I was kind of
00:13:04
a big deal. And then I lost all my heat for 3 years and had to grind it back. And it's so [ __ ] sickening to even think about. But, you know, it all worked out. But,
00:13:16
but like you were saying in the beginning when you were struggling, I think like all of us, you don't really
00:13:21
know any better. And you, you know, you're taking a risk by going into this world of movies and TV and theater. So,
00:13:28
you can only really look back and think, god damn, how did I get through that? But at the time, $100 is a lot. You get
00:13:35
a little part is a lot. You know, you're just sitting with your buddies at the coffee shop. It's such a long shot to make it that it's probably once you make
00:13:42
it, you look back and you go, "God, that was tough." But at the time it's tough, but you don't I didn't really notice how
00:13:48
tough it was. You don't notice it. No, you just Well, you're you're focused on like you you're
00:13:53
focused on getting the job. Yeah. So, basically, that was what what was going on with me. I was like I would u
00:14:00
uh I would read those papers that you you know and at the time excuse me in the 60s I I didn't have an equity card so I just got out of school and like the way they
00:14:14
did it was you they you would read in say you read in the in in backstage that such and such was casting something and you go okay and and they're casting over
00:14:26
on 57th street, you know, by Carnegie Hall, somewhere near one of those buildings down the block, whatever it
00:14:33
was, and casting was, you know, say Tuesday, okay, but you didn't get in until the end of the you got at the if you didn't have an equity card, they saw everybody, you know, they would there
00:14:46
because everybody's looking for the right person to play the part hopefully. uh if and especially if they're not yes
00:14:54
the the I mean maybe they already had the lead cast or that's the way they raised the money or
00:15:01
those things but you would you would wait up in the you go go at like 3:00 4:00 in the afternoon and maybe the line was less and you could uh you know you
00:15:15
could you waited and then in the end the very end uh they would let the non non-equity
00:15:21
people get in to uh to audition and then they'd see everybody. And as a matter of fact, the first play that I ever got did
00:15:32
I did at uh in I think it was 1968 or so seven, the first off Broadway show because I had done regional theater. Well, uh, I did toured with a play once that
00:15:51
came out of school that was like kind of cast in we went to two theaters, went to the Eugene O'Neal Foundation where they the
00:16:01
playrights thing in 60s something 64 and and then like in ' 68 I I actually did that. I went to the to one of those auditions and where they make you wait until the
00:16:17
very end and I peaked my head into the you know I it was this big big door in one of those big old pre-war buildings in the like was I think it might have been on like near 57th Street and I I
00:16:30
walk up and it's giant door and it was nobody there because I had gone and come back the line was really long and anyway
00:16:37
long story short I stuck my head in and there There was an actor, a director, and a writer, and a producer sitting at a table up really far away in this big empty room. It looked like a rehearsal
00:16:49
room. And I just popped my head in like and and you know, you still uh you know, seeing people kind of thing. And the actor,
00:17:04
this a guy named Allan Garfield. You remember you know Allan? J James Garfield's son. No, no, I don't know who who his dad was. His name was Alan Garfield, but he
00:17:15
was Do you know him, Dave? No, I know Garfield the cat. Okay. Anyway, the guy literally at the table like across the room turns around
00:17:27
and said, "That's the guy who should play the part." Whoa. They were trying to talk him into Yeah.
00:17:33
He didn't want to do this part. It was wasn't a huge part, but it was a good part.
00:17:39
And I stuck my head in the door and the guy and the actor, not the director and the producers and the writer or whatever, he said, "There's the guy who should play this part
00:17:51
and I I just backed out of the room or something. Then they came and got me." And I went in and I read the lines, did
00:17:58
the thing. I didn't I didn't I had never seen the script before. just you know like those things where they give you
00:18:04
the sides. Yeah. Yeah. And I got a part in a in a in a play called Shoot Anything with Hair
00:18:11
That Moves. Of course. Huge success. [Music] I just think of the 70s and the films of the 70s and Cuckoo's Nest
00:18:28
and of course that play. Yeah. Don't shoot anything that has hair. And the the friends that you that you made, Jack Nicholson and Michael Douglas and your your class, those 70s guys
00:18:41
that all became and they're lifelong friends. What What's the deal with those guys? Are they fun or do you like them
00:18:47
or Jack Nicholson? And yeah, they're good to work with. Yeah, Jack's the coolest guy out there.
00:18:53
Jack Jack was like a a guy from Jersey. He he actually lived like he was born in
00:19:00
this we were born in the same hospital. Figure that. Well, I'll be damned. And well, hey, I'll be damned. How about that? That's what Jack would say. I'll be damned. Born in the same
00:19:14
hospital. Yeah, how do you like that? Me and D born in the same hospital. Um, I don't
00:19:21
do a good accent. Uh, let's see. And then Michael, I met I met actually in the 60s at the Eugene O'Neal um playrs conference up there where we
00:19:35
where that play that I was going through town with uh we we opened the festival that year and um that's where we met. So, and
00:19:47
there were and not only good guys, but really uh fun to work with. And and you and once we got going, we had a couple shots to work together, which was like
00:20:01
really good. But, you know, it's good when people are looking out for you because uh the
00:20:07
business is like very difficult. Uh, and when people are looking out for you as well as you know your your buddies and know
00:20:18
what the scoop is, then you you know you you're fortunate to have those guys as friends.
00:20:24
You're lucky you're all good, too, because it's it's it's hard to help each other out or recommend someone. But if
00:20:29
everybody's good, those, you know, all three of you. So it it's not crazy that you would all be in another movie or
00:20:35
that you would work together because you you keep bringing bringing it, which is hard to do.
00:20:41
It's all about work, the work, right? Yeah. Just keep working. Yeah. Yeah. Keep having and having a good time
00:20:47
doing because our theme here uh casually SNL and uh you hosted five times. It's very
00:20:54
rare to host five times. five o'clock. You and John Goodman and a couple others when you host that show, as you know, you got to pretty much cold read 55
00:21:06
scripts over four hours basically. And I remember thinking the time when you came in in 86 or 87, damn, this guy
00:21:13
can cold read. Was it Were you known for that? But you were like nailing it, you know, over and
00:21:19
over again. I don't you know, it's pretty cool to to to watch as a young performer. Well, it was a lot of fun to
00:21:25
sit in that room with all you crazy people and uh and and have that pile of scripts in front of you and just go through them. And I mean that that's
00:21:36
like uh you know the opportunity to have everybody there pitching what they thought was best best and what you felt comfortable with. That's the main thing I think that's key, right? for would you
00:21:51
say like for the hosts uh to be comfortable with all that material one you know pick the ones that are the ones uh that suit you best. It's a lucky thing like to have that um pack of you
00:22:07
know trouidors all sitting around the table you know it's like old school showbiz kind of yeah old school you know it's like yeah I could imagine what it was like you
00:22:19
know when the Marx brothers were running around all the theaters trying out material you know that that would be the
00:22:26
same kind of uh thing they they they just go do they suffer for people through two hours or three hours of material and then pick the ones that they like
00:22:38
best. Yeah. Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin uh did some TV shows in there. Don Partardo showed me they said to me and they would
00:22:45
just go up to the director and cut his tie off with a scissor. They you know this is Jerry Lewis in the 50s
00:22:51
and they would both just push the piano over like destroy the piano. They were the anarchists then the crazy people.
00:22:58
But one thing about you I have to say so we get to it was on Hans and France when we got you in there as like a pitbull
00:23:05
over-the-top Austrian guy who was out of his mind and you kept we would berate the audience
00:23:11
the imaginary and you would start berating them and then you start attacking the camera and we had to keep holding you back. That was one of the
00:23:18
funniest moments I had on that show with you in that sketch. Yeah. hysterical cuz you committed so
00:23:26
[ __ ] hard. Yeah. I think sometimes the task of the director for me is you know sitting on
00:23:33
me holding me back. Get me away from the just try to turn the burners down a little bit. You know once I get going I guess that's what happened. Burners down.
00:23:45
What happens that way? Well that's what Arnold Arnold told me about you. He said you know you you got
00:23:50
to keep Danny on his feet. keep Danny on his feet because his energy goes up on a short leash.
00:23:57
Otherwise, he gets going, he gets away at the leash and you have to you have to follow him and get him and bring him
00:24:03
back into the scene because the emotions get so high with Danny. It's funny about about with Arnold.
00:24:09
Arnold and I were thrust together by Ivan Wrightman who just passed away his soul. uh he he uh he called me and said, "How would you like to be Arnold
00:24:21
Schwarzenegger's brother?" I said, "Let me I'd jump at the chance." I thought that was a great idea. Once we got
00:24:27
together, it was like we had a great chemistry. We breaking balls constant. It was like a kind of like, you know, uh
00:24:35
you know, he's he's so formidable, you know, and like and he's got a great sense of humor. He does have Oh, yeah. like he's always doing all kinds of like, you know, crazy
00:24:47
ass [ __ ] And he always had a pack of guys around him like Franco and and Franco Columbo. Franco Columbbo. Yeah. And all these guys and these other bodybuilders. And so it was like a pack
00:25:00
of it was like a pack of bros. was kind of similar, you know, going into like that with the, you know, as a host of
00:25:07
Saturday Night Live, going into this pack of like crazy people that were always, you know, that had a second hand, a shorthand, and and uh and got
00:25:19
along the way you guys did. I don't, you know, at least when when I was around you, we're always, you know, [ __ ]
00:25:25
around, having a good time. And so it was a similar kind of thing with uh with Arnold. I go in and there would all be
00:25:32
these guys seriously pumping iron and doing [ __ ] and you know talking about nutri you know and I just like you know when you get protein powder
00:25:43
all of a sudden a kind of a wrecking ball comes in and starts banging into you know Yeah. It was fun. It was a lot of fun. Were they going to do a triplets?
00:25:54
Yeah, we were going to do it and then uh two this is a I always go by the Super Bowl because it was I was in Atlanta uh doing a movie and uh and it was Super
00:26:08
Bowl Sunday and I was just get getting over COVID. Mhm. I was stuck in a room for two weeks and
00:26:16
and uh the news came that Ivan passed away on that day. And so this is going to be three this is three years now that he's gone.
00:26:28
Two Yeah. Three year. Two years. Okay. Brilliant director. Yeah. It was a drag. Um he was uh you
00:26:39
know he's a lot of fun and uh and u made made a big difference in my life. Well, yeah. I was told that. But we were going to do triplets. We were going to do trips. We had a we had
00:26:52
a script going. Everything was going and then when he passed, uh, his family didn't want to continue with doing it. So, we're Arnold and I are working on other things together.
00:27:04
Oh, good. And, you know, that's awesome. We love Arnold. The way Yeah. He's a He's a cool guy. He's a
00:27:11
good guy. [Music] Tracy Morgan was going to come in. I'll put a baby in there. You know, he's so funny. I had a we had a we had a great zoom together and he
00:27:30
was just off the charts. Bananas, hysterical. Yeah. I mean, that energy in there would been
00:27:36
like it easy. That's that, you know, that's the way, you know, the way things swings things go, you know, like um they
00:27:48
you know, you have to always adjust as like we we do. So, did you have the role that got away, Danny? Uh
00:27:59
uh or maybe a conflict he had he had to do another movie instead, you know, choices
00:28:05
that I couldn't do. I hadn't had one of those that that was uh really substantial that you know you could look back and say you know no I'm
00:28:18
I've had the roles that I desperately wanted and got which I got I had to work hard to get if you can't imagine
00:28:31
you know how everybody holds out you know you get a part and somebody says the last in it, you get a part and and
00:28:39
it's the one you wanted and and that that's really uh the ones I think about ones that got away. I don't know. I can't you know. Were you going to be Castanza?
00:28:51
Oh, no. No. I think like you mean like in Seinfeld? Yeah. No, I I wasn't. I I they they just uh
00:29:02
Yeah. Uh when yeah I was still I don't know what I was doing at the time. I I when when I did a movie
00:29:14
I did a movie called The Ratings Game which is uh was done for Showtime. It was the first movie that I directed and and I cast in that movie
00:29:31
as a it was his one of his first things on camera, Jerry Seinfeld. I don't know if he had done anything before this, but I cast him as a an agent.
00:29:47
And coincidentally, the there were a couple of like character really wild characters in the movie. I cast Michael Richards in the
00:30:00
same movie. Oh, weird. Really? Yeah. Wow. I didn't know that they would later be teamed up in Seinfeld, but this was like
00:30:08
in u it was in 83. When did Seinfeld go on? like 90 93 two three four I'm sorry something like that. So so 10 years earlier I did a movie
00:30:24
called the ratings game and um both Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Richards were in it. Did Jerry ask you questions of how to direct? He goes, "How do you
00:30:36
want me how do you want me to play this scene?" Did he ever say that to you? No, I don't. I Yeah,
00:30:42
he's pretty kind of serious in real life, I think. By the way, which Batman did you work with? I can't remember.
00:30:48
Batman Returns. Who was the Batman again? Oh, no. That Oh, I love my I do. I'm not just because you're on our
00:30:59
show right now. I love your penguin. I loved it. Your your Oswald penguin. I thought
00:31:05
Didn't you have fun doing that? I mean, your your get up was so crazy. Yeah. Yeah. I had I had fun doing that. That was a um that was one of the ones
00:31:15
that I really wanted and I I you know and I met Tim and uh we had a great you know uh conversation about it and I knew he
00:31:30
had done a lot of drawings and we sat in his office and uh looked at and I really
00:31:37
really wanted to play that and the makeup was the first makeup was I was in the chair for almost 5 hours and then that we got it down to three but we stayed around three three and a three
00:31:50
three and change. Mhm. And it was amazing and it was the thing about I liked about that was you know I
00:31:57
like I say I like to go big and boy oh boy Oswald was written like an opera. I mean, he could go, you could take this guy, you know? I mean, he just
00:32:10
was he was slapping his flippers off the walls, baby. You know, I mean, your bird could fly.
00:32:19
He was the wicked witch. He was all of it all in one. Yeah. Crazy character. It's odd. It's odd. Yeah. And that was after Okay. That was after see I'd worked with I did the you
00:32:33
know we did romancing the stone jewel of the Nile great and then War of the Roses with Michael
00:32:38
and Kathleen and Iu I was just about thinking about what we were going to do again
00:32:44
because I was trying to uh pull a Fritz Lang you know where you as a director you cast you know the same
00:32:52
people in in the in all of your movies but they play different parts and and then Batman came along song and it's odd the way things you know emerge.
00:33:04
most of the movies that I've done um you know ca came out of the blue and I was very you're very fortunate you know I was I was going to direct a pilot in I
00:33:15
was sitting in the in the commissary of Paramount and and u I was just about to make the deal like with I was talking to the writer and I was talking to the producer and it was at Paramount and I
00:33:28
was going to be the I I was directing this pilot and and uh I had a a yellow p pad full of notes, you know, about the pilot script. And I knew I was getting
00:33:40
really steely daggers from the writer was also the producer and a woman, this was in the days we didn't have cell phones and stuff. A woman from the like the commissary, I was in the commissary
00:33:56
all the time because of taxi. We that's where we shot taxi. She came over to me and she said, "You have a phone call."
00:34:03
It was like the old Hollywood day. She didn't bring it to the table, but I I got up and went over to where the phone
00:34:10
was. And I and I it was it was Michael Douglas and and and uh he rescued me from doing
00:34:18
that pilot because we had shot Romancing the Stone already. No. Yes. Romancing the Stone and he said, "What are you doing? I heard
00:34:32
you're going to do a pilot." And I said, "Yeah, man. I'm struggling through this meeting right now." He said, "Well, you
00:34:37
can't do that. You got to we got to go on the road, man. We're going all over the world to promote the movie." And I
00:34:44
said, "I love you, baby." Yeah. Get me out of here. Any I love you. You rescued my ass. All right. I got a question. Go. Did you ever go see, you were on a
00:34:57
show called Taxi, you might not remember, but did you ever see uh Andy Kaufman go do standup just like at the
00:35:04
comedy store. Yeah. And how was that? That was that was bizarre. Yeah. Bizarre. Yeah. But I went to see him do that and I saw him and I went out to eat at the
00:35:16
restaurant he waited he bus boyed out in the valley. It was uh after he was on tax. Yeah. While he was on the show,
00:35:28
he bus boyed out in uh I love it on uh I I think it I'm not sure the name of the jelly. Yeah, it was a good uh might have been Cats. No, no. What the hell? In in the
00:35:41
valley. It wasn't Arts Deli. It was the other one. It's closed now. But Jerry's out in It was on Santa. Is it on Ventura Boulevard? It was
00:35:51
Jerry's is Yeah, Jerry. Yeah, that was that was probably That might have been it. Jerry's there. Yeah.
00:35:57
And uh and you know, we went out. We had like couple of us from the show. I think Tony might have been with me and Jud might have come. Uh we just one night went out
00:36:12
and uh we knew he was working and so we we went and ate and uh you know had conversations with like you would have with the bus boy, not Andy. Andy's nowhere around.
00:36:27
All right. He's the bus boy now. He was the bus boy. It was like really great. I mean that
00:36:34
that that was that guy was like uh Yeah, we had some fun. His dressing room was right next to mine. We would um he was uh he he was hysterical. One day uh
00:36:48
somebody was delivering a package and it was a woman and he started yelling at her because she she was uh I don't know
00:36:56
UPS or I can't remember what maybe it was the government. I don't know what the [ __ ] it was. But she's walking in.
00:37:02
She's got a uniform on. She's delivering a package to somebody and he tells her that she should be home. you know, take
00:37:08
she's taking a man's job and he booked her into a wrestling match. Yeah, I was there for that one. Right in the hallway. Both of them turning red. You know what
00:37:20
I mean? Like choke holes. We had a break card a couple of times. So about that [ __ ] You could do that. He was like crazy about that.
00:37:31
I don't think you could actually. I mean, you could do that. You could do Yeah. I don't know. There was no like,
00:37:38
you know, again, if that was a it was that was today, somebody would be out with a cell phone and the next thing you know, it would be online and people would comment about it
00:37:49
and they would say, you know, but I'll tell you, the woman that he was fighting was as big as he was and and she did a
00:37:57
good job, man. Really had his ass down big time. You know, it was it was uh I don't know if Tony I always wondered if Tony always had a little camera with him, Dan, and I was wondering if he you
00:38:13
had one of those little Oh, he's had a camera 8 mm. Did Do were you cast before Andy? Were you cast first or did you have any hand in the cast? No, I think Andy might have been cast. I
00:38:25
was I was the last I think I might have been one of the last members to be cast.
00:38:31
Uh, and the the uh the the story was that I was told later was that my part was actually written as a like a
00:38:44
voice that came over the loudspeaker like kind of like Carlton the door man involved in that guy. And uh and then uh
00:38:56
ultimately, you know, I came in and and did my famous audition where I I said uh
00:39:04
there I said to them before I they just introduced me and I said to Brooks and Weinberger and Dan Stan Danny Dave Davis was there all the guys sitting around. I
00:39:18
said, "One thing I want to know before I start. Who wrote this shit?" and I threw it on the table and and it was like a
00:39:25
split second of like am I going to get thrown out not even you know a nanocond where they didn't do it and then they just [ __ ] pissed themselves right and then it was one of those auditions where
00:39:36
you you couldn't say anything you couldn't do anything wrong I'd say and and I'd
00:39:42
get a laugh you know it wasn't yeah it was the that was the the casting director was Joel Thurm He he said, "You got to come and do
00:39:54
this. You gota," you know, and I I said, "Yeah, man." Okay, cool. What a [ __ ] score. That was such a
00:39:59
score that was. Yeah. Yeah. What was weirder, working with Andy Kaufman on Taxi or then doing The Man on
00:40:06
the Moon with Jim Carrey doing Andy Kaufman? I think working with Jim was it was like
00:40:12
really off the charts. That was the most fun. Like I've had fun like on Sure. I'm really fortunate. I had fun on a lot of the mo, you know, I've never had one of those, oh [ __ ] that was
00:40:25
awful movies. I always had these like really quirky kind of things. And being on the set
00:40:31
with Jim Carrey, sorry about that. Being on Carrie was Oh. Oh, it is Jim. No, I'm only kidding. He was like in so far in, you know, the
00:40:46
all the star. We saw the documentary. I was producing that movie and so my but also playing God rest his soul George Shapiro. Uh anyway
00:40:57
he was busting my balls constantly and you know and Milos is then see it's infectious because then what would happen we were having fun but Milo should go to me you got to go to M's
00:41:11
trailer I'm losing time my I got to get you know I the studio is going to be on my ass. Yeah. And I'm going Andy uh Jim uh
00:41:22
Tony Tony come on out. And he's going, you know, but it was fun. It was even though it was like, you know, and I've got a lot of friends who worked on that movie and we still talk about that
00:41:35
experience because Pam Abdi was my assistant at the time. uh she was there and knowing that I was going through what was going on. I mean,
00:41:48
he did things like lot he Okay, we're acting in the movie, but I'm also the producer, one of the producers of the
00:41:54
movie. And so, he he would get mad at the And he like he he pull his car up to my trailer and went up, you know, there's got the little metal steps. Yeah.
00:42:06
He jammed his the car up, put it in gear or something, locked it, took the keys.
00:42:11
I couldn't get out of my trail. Teamsters had to come with a crane to get the car, you know. It was like one of those. It was a crazy crazy time. I
00:42:22
love Jim Carrey. Jim Carrey is [ __ ] great. Just just the fact that he committed that. Did he get nominated for
00:42:28
best actor for that or I don't know. I don't know. We had a really brilliant uh it was a he was brilliant in that part and uh you know
00:42:40
and and seriously um uh would turn it on and off when he wanted. So that was like one of those things where whenever he came to the set he was
00:42:53
always in character. But if you see him like, you know, you know, off like I went to his house
00:43:01
or something like that for a me, you know, some he was like cool. He wasn't, you know, he wasn't like a serial killer off the Yeah.
00:43:13
off the He's very He's sort of a quiet sweet guy. Yeah. Quiet sweet guy, but then turned into
00:43:20
like Tony Clifton. I love it. which was like Tony Clifton is a whole other that was [ __ ] up.
00:43:26
We we we shot at a place called Chason's down on I remember that that place. Okay. He spread there was some kind of I don't know union strike or some there
00:43:38
was something going on. He wrote like big letters like you know in red ink I mean red spray paint uh all over the building. I had I had I had to re to
00:43:51
paint I had to repaint the entire building. [Laughter] It's like a Farley. It's like having a crazy person on the side like like Chris. I I I can't imagine
00:44:03
what it was. I I I always loved Chris and uh uh because he would take it to that, you
00:44:10
know. Oh yeah. He was always the one. Oh my god. Same kind of thing. Just a lot of attention, a lot of craziness. And uh Chris, lovable, sweet guy like Jim. I mean,
00:44:21
just but they really liven things up. There's always a story after the fact. There's always a story.
00:44:29
[Music] Dana, I got to ask Danny about uh always an an always sunny question because we can't let you go without talking about always sunny. Uh, one question of mine
00:44:40
is I don't see all the episodes, but I see a lot of it on Instagram, which I don't know if you know this, but when
00:44:46
they show Tik Tok and Instagram clips, they're always so [ __ ] filthy. I'm like, are these from the real show? Are
00:44:52
they getting away with all this stuff? Are they filthy? I don't know. I don't I don't I mean, like, just they're very R-rated.
00:44:59
And I thought, yeah, the show I mean, people love that [ __ ] show. They love Yeah, the show
00:45:04
is a little uh you know, I don't know what you're talking about, but uh we have had some um innuendos.
00:45:12
Hilarious, I guess. Yeah. Yeah, there's some innuendos for sure. I'm not sure if they're even innuendos. They're just straight ahead. But yeah, there it's so funny and uh it's it's
00:45:26
such a long run. So, it sounds like a gift. I'm sure just like being with fun. They all look fun
00:45:32
as [ __ ] I don't know everybody that well, but No, they were all they're all you know uh uh when I got this show uh that you
00:45:42
know Landraph was my buddy and he showed me FX uh and then I met them and they were you know just the way they are
00:45:55
and uh the same cat, you know, the three oddballs and then I met Caitlyn and she's she's like hysterical. Hilarious. Yeah. But um yeah, they're they're a lot of
00:46:08
fun to go to work with, you know. Yeah, it's good. It's a good job. It's been on there forever.
00:46:14
Keeps giving. Keeps giving. And now Matilda, we have to talk about. Yeah. Matilda came to me. Yeah. Which you directed the movie.
00:46:24
I did. I directed the movie. And Mhm. And I, you know, I I saw Mara Wilson in in uh in the u uh movie uh Mrs.
00:46:35
Doubtfire. And she was a little bit older when I met her. Perfect for Matilda. And we shot the movie and it it it was great. We had a great time. That was
00:46:45
like that was fun. That was a hund hundreds of kids. There was no CG. We you added kids and all that stuff. Yeah. Yeah, this was all real kids. It was really great. Me on the stage with a bullhorn.
00:46:59
Yeah. Do this. Do that. You know, like and get your finger out of your nose. We're shooting. Okay.
00:47:05
Wrangling cats. Wrangling. Yeah. And so now we're doing it on uh we we've taken the sound out. You know, you've seen these things. Uh everybody's does it with ET and does it with Star Wars
00:47:18
and does it with Back to the Future. I I took the soundtrack out and David Newman is gonna conduct the
00:47:25
the Philarmonic uh it's a symphony or New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and we're doing that. Here's the thing. You take the sound out, okay? The not just the music out,
00:47:38
but I I narrate the movie as well as play a part in it. So when I when I'm narrating, I'm on
00:47:46
stage actually with the symphony orchestra. It's really intimidating, but it's really a lot of fun. Yeah. And and
00:47:53
you're watching the, you know, the streamer go by on a little monitor with the movie. He's conducting
00:47:59
the score. The people are watching the the movie. I've got a brand new print and it's just beautiful. The print is like gorgeous. And um and then when the
00:48:12
stream when it's my turn to narrate a talk, you know, you have he conducts. It's like being in Kentucky over it. You talk over it. Me. Yeah. Well, in the movie I play the
00:48:24
part of Wormwood, Mr. Wormwood. And I also narrate the movie. So, because I tried to find somebody to narrate the movie, but I being the egotist I am, I couldn't embarrass
00:48:35
anybody else. Cast myself. And uh and it's kind of a trip to see, you know, you play the part, you're narrating the movie, and I've got uh
00:48:47
Ria, of course, plays Mrs. Wormwood. She's going to come on the 22nd. Great. And uh and I've got Pam Ferris coming over from England. She played the Trunch
00:48:59
Bowl. It's really astounding how many kids love the Miss Trench Bowl. Miss Trunch Bowl. She was like really like stuff
00:49:09
and Mars. By the way, I don't hear about a lot of these things, Danny. You don't hear about the the symphony. Maybe with a
00:49:16
Star Wars or something, but this is a really interesting thing to do. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Fun fun challenging situation.
00:49:23
Yeah. It's um and I David Newman who wrote the score. We've we've done this once be we did it once before. Uh we did it a few years ago
00:49:36
uh with a a orchestra from the east coast, not not New Jersey and it worked out really great. It's fun. It's uh it's a it's a fun night because you get to
00:49:49
you know, but but you're right. Usually it's done with uh more uh like Back to the Futury kind of ET blockbuster crazy
00:49:58
movies. This one is um it's got a lot of music in it, so it's fun. Who who wrote the score?
00:50:04
David Newman. He's he's one of the Yeah. The Newman uh pack. There's As soon as the Newmans were born, the father was uh the head of 20th Century
00:50:18
Fox music did all the lot of the scores of all the old movies that we love. And his brother, they have the whole you always see the Newman name on. And then David
00:50:30
David scores Thomas Newman, Randy Newman. They're all related, these guys. They're all like as soon as they're born, they give them a violin or a or stick them little babies. The first
00:50:42
thing the Newman's do. Yeah. Even Even uh Eric Newman is his son, Ry's son, produces narcos, a lot of movies. So there you go. Everyone's in the biz.
00:50:53
Yeah. Everybody's in the biz. Uh, so this should be a really good night. Sounds great.
00:50:59
Yeah. If you are you guys in the East Coast, are you are you here sometimes? We are in California, but if
00:51:05
I was out there, I'd crash that party. Hey guys, if you're loving this podcast, which you are, be sure to click follow on your favorite podcast app, give us a
00:51:18
review, fivestar rating, and maybe even share an episode that you've loved with a friend. If you're watching this
00:51:24
episode on YouTube, please subscribe. We're on video now. Fly on the Wall is presented by Odyssey,
00:51:29
an executive produced by Dana Carvey and David Spade, Heather Santoro and Greg Holtzman, Mattie Sprung Kaiser, and Leah
00:51:37
Reese Dennis of Odyssey. Our senior producer is Greg Holtzman and the show is produced and edited by Phil Sweet
00:51:44
Tech. Booking by Cultivated Entertainment. Special thanks to Patrick Fogerty, Evan Cox, Mora Curran, Melissa
00:51:53
Wester, Hillary Shuff, Eric Donnelly, Colin Gainner, Shan Cherry, Kurt Courtourtney, and Lauren Vieiraa. Reach out with us any questions to be asked and answered on the show. You can email
00:52:05
us at fly onthealla.com. That's audacy.com.