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David so Al Frank I remember when we interviewed I'm doing Chris Farley Remember when we interviewed Al Franken
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hey I remember when you were on um SNL yes Chris yeah um so Al Franken
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you're gonna like this one if you like Jim Downey You're Gonna Love Al Franken he was a Mainstay writer producer and
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performer on SNL for decades um Stuart Smalley he did he was in he
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was in a lot of sketches as well as writing for years and years and we go into we do a deep dive into the whole
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political stuff we wrote in terms of George Bush Senior especially and Ross
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Perot so there's a lot of um there's a lot of process in this one
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I love that word a lot of process of how you do SNL hey I'm not going to be upstage right now what the [ __ ] you
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forgot oh wait a minute who cares about Al Franken that's we gotta go anyway
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um we don't look the same anymore oh my God
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it's getting Punchy we've done like 50 of these 60. anyway Al Franken uh yeah
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he's a good friend he's the next Senator he always was very politically astute and variant to politics no surprise he
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became a senator now he's out back on the road doing stand up and we have a nice chat with our friend I know Frank I
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knew nothing about politics and I'd go what is that who's that that's someone who's a senator and he goes why don't you know this yeah you said who are the
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Democrats I didn't know anything when I got there I still don't you know it's better to stay out of politics at this
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point just everyone's so angry and sad even our president because people the mag of Republicans we've got more Mega
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in the mega Pockets take over Congress is such a Time huh
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okay Al Franken here we go it's a good listen roll it [Music]
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you blame DocuSign on owl no Al is on the phone to Putin or something yes I
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really thought is that Putin Putin but I wouldn't do it if I were you I just think we can come oh I got a podcast
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okay I got it fly on the wall Putin called Al to say how do I get SNL not to
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make fun of me we were going to call our podcast the Al Franken show but I said but why he's
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only going to be on once and they said okay but me Al Franken uh ladies and gentlemen you're listening to fly on the
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wall with our very special guest SNL Legend and senator
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Al Franken thanks for inviting me of course well there's so many things in
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your career that we are looking at to talk about your new nickname is the Touchstone I did Saturday Night Live you
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know I do know that is a big chunk of it yeah we want to go with a deep dive our other
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name for the podcast is the hot seat love
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we're the we're the worst Two Hosts I think we've been voting but that's okay that's okay we're terrible but we know
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it which is kind of helpful yeah it's the charm of you guys that's
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what people love about you yeah I didn't go to interview school right they say you have no qualifications we're like
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well who you don't need them it's a podcast you don't need anything you have a chemistry between you yeah
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that is that a little Edwin friendship and affection for each other
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and uh very funny thank you and both
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together that's what I'm doing I no I it's not Stuart Smalley but it's some other kind
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of character that's sort of sweet and it's I'm uh on the upper west side of New York right now I think I'm just
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channeling the last person I ran into sweetness there's something you know
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Dana Al's very smart went to Harvard he also got a 800 on the math section of the SAT I don't think that does not get
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a 800 on his math you know uh my my mom
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said that on a re I I I once did a radio interview in Minneapolis and my mom
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uh her apartment had burned down and so she had to come with me I was
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prom promoting a book and so we're doing a radio interview and I said okay Mom
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you're not being interviewed we're like in The Green Room then I have to go to the bathroom and
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then I come back and I go where's my mom and she's being interviewed and she's
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going Allen got an 800 on assessment within 20 seconds she pulled that on 20
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seconds yeah wow but okay so seriously so you're a math whiz or a brainiac of
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me what is that about no I was just good at math and up to a point I mean I I was
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just I peaked at um you know Algebra 2. I mean I was not
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I I took calculus freshman year and I went what I I have no idea what this is useful for and I don't like it and then
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I became a comedian I have to say I was good at math out and when I went one of
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those didn't click with me and I think people that are good at all math is very interesting because it was like algebra
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geometry and then one of them I stopped at and said I don't get it at all and then they go wait then you're dumb and I
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go well that doesn't anyway I was in the Minnesota comedy sketch scene back was
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that a big scene back it says uh that's where you don't know where you got that thing I I there was a thing called deadly Riggs Brave New World Cup which
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was like a third City it was like SC in fact Dale close taught that Tom was in
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their troop Tom was okay and I'll give you an example of you know Tom Davis and
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I uh been high school and we started performing together at this theater and
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we went to like an open what there weren't mics it was a little theater and
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um we were able to get on it and the the owner like this and we were able to do
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shows there and Tom I went off to college and Tom became a member of The
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Troop got the training The Improv training and anyone who's interested in comedy I would do that because I'll give
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you one example of where really came in handy remember Julia Child bleeding to death
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Danny yep okay so uh Tom and I wrote that we're looking for an end and in
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improv you're taught to look for objects because you're out there on the stage with nothing and you're improvising and
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one of the techniques is to find objects and at the end we were looking for a blow for the scene and Tom said the
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phone you know there's there's the kitchen phone and so you know Danny is Julia
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Child is going like um over the phone and uh in an emergency call 9-1-1 and they and and Danny picks
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it up and starts to dial he goes it's a prop phone and throws it down and then
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dies essentially and that was like you know it was really
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you know Tom and I as a team each kind of complimented each other in certain
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ways that was one of the ways he did so people were listening are to your to this broadcast uh podcasts are really
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interested in comedy and and young people ask me all the time should I do improv glasses and go yeah yeah
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and we always say get it get in a kind of a biker bar and try to do five
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minutes that's that's the path you know stand up is a lot rougher Anchor Bar
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so you know wow that was one of the best sketches
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ever that was one of the top top uh most memorable sketches just well that was
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one that peaked on air you know how you know how you knew you had something and
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you were just going like oh please peek on air please and we that was one of the you guys will attest to this
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if something worked in dress it was in there right and that worked in
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dress and it was Walter Matthau was the host but we didn't have the blood quite
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right and we held it because we didn't have
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the blood quite right it's still kind of killed but and here's the thing is that
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that it was an insecticide sprayer underneath the counter and the special
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effects guy was running it and because Tom and I had written it and we went to
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the special effects guy and said Can Tom run this the insects right because it's
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like part of the joke you got to get it right and and the guy you know he it's a union job because of now but but they
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love love Tom and so Tom did it so Tom and Danny time those spurts
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and and that's you know and then you know it was one of those things where you're going like oh please get it all
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on on on air and it does and you go yay yay whoa
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wow so you actually platformed it and then said let's wait until we get the blood spurt thing yeah and that's right
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was really rare right yeah oh yeah if it would work no matter what but
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you know but maybe that just adds to it so much to make those things work
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perfect it's so much part of the joke and then it goes boom boom boom boom and that's he's saying something funny the blood comes out perfectly and it just
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builds bills builds yeah and you know what that feels like uh when it just works on all cylinders
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you know what it feels like when it Peaks at dress too that's a sickness and there was there were years where we
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did not tape dress oh really so you didn't have a Fail-Safe then well first yeah for the repeats yes
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sometimes yeah and now they do of course and so you know Al when we were there
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let's say 91 to 96 was uh I I mean I
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think we did tape just I never really saw them I never really they didn't really do anything with them but maybe they did tape them I don't remember no I
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think I I think certainly in the repeats I don't think they change it for the West Coast unless something
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I think they do that now though they say uh they'll see it in the west coast a better one like yeah yeah and that's a
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luxury I know I know Al can I ask for a second something about you and Tom because uh it's always
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interesting uh origin meetings and how he how's you guys were partners in crime
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for so long like do you remember like it was the eighth grade PE or did you connect with them right away or do you
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have any kind of McCartney lenin-esque things you guys honestly connected 10th
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grade sophomore and I changed schools I uh went to the public school system until 10th grade and then my
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I don't need to go why I went to this all boys private school but it ruined my
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life but anyway involved shoplifting yeah and so and
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then we we would have Chapel in the morning it was like the school uh founded at the turn of the 20th century
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for a school for Protestant boys and they started letting Jews in in the 50s to get the SAT scores up
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and so okay I'll let that just lay there for a second well yes that's actually truer
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than you can possibly match but sure so uh I get there and Tom makes an
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announcement there's so so the reason I said that but the religion was that we had Chapel in the morning
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and they had a big pipe organ you sang you know Chris these hymns and Christian
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songs okay yeah yeah and and when I the first week I got there I just didn't sing them and my math teacher asked me
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to stay after uh after class and he said to me uh Mr Franken you want to go to a
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good college right and I said yeah he said well uh and you're gonna need good math scores for that right I said yeah
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I'd sing the hymns
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you know a mighty fortresses are God you know oh yeah did you ever sing Onward
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Christian Soldiers that did that was kind of catchy on the word Christian songs
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she didn't care yeah but anyway so so after the hymns and some you know uh
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faculty would there'd be announcements and Tom was really funny and he would
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organizations would send him up to do announcements so like the first week of school I went up to him I said you're
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really funny and then we started doing stuff together we started doing announcements for the
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you know meeting of the chess club or something and uh we did all kinds of of
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just we did Karnak we did just you know all and they like they let you do it huh
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they let you kind of screw around they loved us doing that I mean it was fun and we it was where we really started in
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Chapel could you there's been people mentioning uh you know 75 to 80. and specifically
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Jim Belushi and I I just want to get your time John sorry Jim Jim mentions it
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yeah yeah but uh yeah I'm sorry sorry Jim I apologize uh John Belushi uh well
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apparently was uh sort of an intimidated figure or he became one but anyway our friend Jim Downey talked to it and I'd
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like to hear your take on you know season three uh and what was going on with with John
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you know well yeah I heard Downey's interview with you and it was great I'd
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recommend that to anyone and he mentioned the time that I think he was referencing then
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this is my memory of it um one of the Charlie's Angels Kate Jacks with
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um Jacqueline fair or Kate Jackson I think Kate Jackson was the host and
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um I only referenced that was I remember that was it and he was very bad off then
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in terms of drugs and so he was terrible in dress so uh Jim and I had written a
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sketch and I said we gotta just go and talk to him so
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and Jim was intimidated at the time more and I just knew Belushi from the the
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get-go and I just knew that he could be intimidating but he wasn't going to
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do anything so I we knocked out to you not to the State wrestling champ but go ahead we'll talk about that later well
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uh that was partly that but so anyway we go in and I go John
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um you know let's run lines on this sketch because frankly you were pretty
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bad and it didn't know the line and he just goes like get out of here he makes a fist and and down you know and I'm
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going like no no I could I'll tell you what John we'll just read them to you so
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that they'll sound familiar when they're coming out of your mouth and and that's what we did we just read
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in the sketch over and over again and he was marginally better you know this is
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kind of his worst Point um and but I never saw him actually
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do anything other than uh you know physically to intimidating anyone or
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other than his bearing and he well he wasn't you know he wasn't great to the women in terms of
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that showing respect and the women writers and stuff so yeah it but God
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damn he was funny yeah a brilliant comedian I you what I I'm just sort of curious like what were the things he was
00:16:32
taking and how did it affect his performance was he taking cocaine where he speed up or is he drinking so he'd
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slow down or do you think it was mainly cocaine at that time you know it's funny when I first ran for the Senate uh one
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of the first interviews I had I thought SNL was going to really help me
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yeah they did bring up a lot of your sketches didn't they go ahead yeah so my first interview is uh one of my first
00:17:03
interviews and the reporter says uh yeah when you're at Saturday Night Live did you ever do cocaine and I say hmm
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what's that yes yes but and then I say
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but I only did a little so that I could stay awake late enough
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to make sure that Belushi didn't do too much good line a good one and which
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was a joke and most people recognize as a joke
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but the media I've learned crazy a vested interest in not getting jokes so
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the guy kind of wrote it up as Al Franken conceded that he used cocaine while on Saturday Night Live breaking
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news said that he only did a little so that if you stay awake late enough to
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make sure that John Belushi didn't do too much Lucy later died of a drug overdose
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connection dots yeah yeah and so anything I ever did
00:18:06
um oh my God I think of there is one line in a great sketch
00:18:13
comedy Killers I don't were you guys around I think I was it sounds like okay
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comedy Killers with the jeopardy-like game but the premise was and Downey and I wrote this and I'm sure and other
00:18:25
people kicked in you know it was one of those things where people kicked in at the table so it was just the categories were like
00:18:31
cancer the Holocaust yeah identities you know
00:18:37
that kind of thing and so there's one joke and Rosie Schuster wrote this joke so this might have been earlier than why
00:18:44
or maybe Lauren Michael's ex-wife yeah it was yes yes and the it was Jeopardy
00:18:51
like so um this would have been a bad Hanukkah
00:18:56
gift for Anne Frank and then what was a drum set
00:19:02
yeah that was like and so I later told that joke like I'm telling it now and so
00:19:10
that gets like Al Franken told jokes about the Holocaust yeah
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it's mine and he doesn't wow
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yeah so and one of his cocaine frenzies yes the Holocaust Joker cokehead also
00:19:32
said you know apparently I don't know about you I
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don't know if I want this guy running he feels cocaine and the Holocaust are a
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joke what else does it reminds me of those political ads yeah that's what those are the best go ahead yeah so
00:19:49
funny [Music] I I had a uh kind of a gap
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girls all right a story but it's really just
00:20:03
about the Gap girls set and uh Paul McCartney so I love it um I I think I
00:20:10
remember this okay well Paul McCartney okay as well for your listeners one the
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first thing that was rehearsed on Thursdays would be shot promos maybe first but the second thing maybe the
00:20:23
first thing rehearsed was to music because the music set was the music set and was there so you didn't have to
00:20:28
bring a new set so when Paul McCartney came to play everybody at 30 Rock knew
00:20:34
he was the guest and knew when the music rehearsal was so Ada H was was filled
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with with people for the rehearsal and Lauren goes up and uh asked Paul I'm
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there right there you know and he's going up the Paul and he says could you do Hey Jude How would how would Warren
00:20:53
say that um could you uh possibly find your way to Hey Jude
00:21:01
it's just like like a really really really big hit yeah I think find your way to Hey Jude
00:21:09
would be yeah yeah so Paul goes like well we're not really playing at this
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tour so uh we don't I don't know if we really know it and I go Hey Jude
00:21:20
no no no no no and because the lyrics are so like this you know confusing
00:21:26
but I think Paul was actually I think they were doing that tour so he
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goes to the band then he comes back he says yeah so they play Hey Jude in the studio full of people there and
00:21:39
everybody is so blown away and moved and I'm like crying because this was you
00:21:47
know I was like 16 when Hey Jude came out yeah and it was that it just meant so much and that and I'm literally
00:21:54
where's my life gone I remember being sitting in the car not you know if Hey Jude was on I just like arrived at my
00:22:02
place I waited to the end of Hey Jude and I'm just so moved okay they're doing
00:22:08
a gap girls okay now who's gonna enters the story okay great yeah so uh we're
00:22:17
now we're uh on Saturday and during meal break they uh they have the music
00:22:24
rehearsal so I go of course because it's gonna play Hey Jude and I go on the floor and I notice while they're playing
00:22:29
hey you that the Gap there's a guard on the Gap girl sketch guarding the clothes
00:22:35
yeah because they're so the clothes on the gecko the girls kept girls sketch
00:22:40
was so I guess valuable enough to have a guard there so but I see that the guard is so transfixed with Hey Jude that and
00:22:49
I need some jeans and you need some jeans okay I got it and I need some jeans so I watched
00:22:56
during dress he's still during air I took two pair of 36 years
00:23:02
36 30. 36 30. yeah that's what I was at the
00:23:08
time 30s I'm short and well you have gigantic uh legs remember they're not
00:23:14
yeah you and Farley would sometimes in a fun way wrestle at least one night I remember you guys it was like Godzilla
00:23:20
versus King Kong yeah and I didn't really know that I was a wrestler but
00:23:26
your build is very powerful and Farley was you know and it was like Goliath colliding who actually won that
00:23:33
wrestling match in the middle of the night on on 17th well I think it was
00:23:38
just a kind of a man affection thing yeah you guys remember how to play fun
00:23:43
you did it yeah obviously everyone was turned on yeah all the writers also
00:23:48
especially the women yeah right you know actually Dana back to that the gaps that
00:23:56
they donated a corner you know like I want the set all from the Gap and it was all real so they sent their own security
00:24:02
saying we we have to make sure this comes back in one piece oh okay and uh that's what happened so uh I remember
00:24:09
because they told me they go they go don't worry all the Gap stuff all the cable Crews everything's gonna be still there on Saturday No One's Gonna Be able
00:24:16
to pinch and then uh yeah I did I yeah I think maybe you told me that that's a
00:24:21
great story I actually went to the prop master and said I took two jeans just have you guys just threw out any kind of
00:24:28
career uh appearance on a TV show or whatever and then there's wardrobe left over and there's something that you
00:24:35
really like and then you sort of ask casually could I kind of keep this jacket and it's really fun when they say
00:24:42
yes even though it might only be a 20 jacket something about free stuff on a set or a TV show well
00:24:49
um I never acted in a movie and like you guys have Stuart Smalley well I did I
00:24:54
did but why would I keep Stuart Smalley's glove yeah okay Trading Places I got his sweater I was gonna say Josh
00:25:01
Porter I was Stone Porter number one and Tom was down quarter number two did you write Trading Places no no no we were
00:25:09
just giving this little part and was Stone order number one stone Porter number two and we spoke with join it and
00:25:14
they they took that away because because Eddie smokes a joint and remember in the bathroom though we were playing Stone
00:25:21
but we were no one had seen us in the movie smoker joints so we were kind of
00:25:27
dimwitted or yeah did you actually do like a stoner dude voice did you do it
00:25:32
like a character yeah we were kind of like uh yeah and
00:25:38
um okay we thought that was motivated by them having seen us smoke pot but it was
00:25:45
fine it was fine so I'll you kind of have a reputation like you do risky stuff and I just want to start with this
00:25:52
one okay and I don't know if this is true but it's 1980 Lauren's gonna leave
00:25:58
and you were potentially one of the Arab parents to then take over SNL and B the executive producer is that possibly true
00:26:06
but you wrote a sketch about Fred Silverman the then head of NBC or he was yeah that was stupid
00:26:14
is that true in hindsight no it's not biting the hand that feeds did that I
00:26:19
mean what what was that yeah I mean look my life is unfolded the way it's unfolded so okay but that was stupid I
00:26:27
yeah I I what didn't think that necessarily that that was going to
00:26:32
happen anyway and I was kind of up for leaving myself also so I just did limo
00:26:39
for the lameo and it was just about how
00:26:45
um you know like I I didn't get a limo actually even Garrett gets a limo and
00:26:51
right and but I don't get one and but Fred Silverman gets a limo and then I we
00:26:57
were NBC was tanking at the time and I I would a couple like one of the
00:27:03
executives attached to the show begged me to do it and and we had the ethic
00:27:08
that if it's funny we do it right right that was kind of it and uh
00:27:28
but now what about when you I just watched this whole update bit you did about you came back
00:27:34
and I guess it was Gene manian had come and and gone within six months and he did a whole update piece was Chevy the
00:27:40
host is that why he was there oh he must have been I think it was like an interim thing
00:27:46
where who came back with Ebersole I think then yeah you would have ever sort
00:27:51
of making fun of him too and I was kind of making yeah I was ballsy bit Yeah I
00:27:56
was saying kill the show or something like that yeah but then a writer's strike happened right after that and
00:28:03
um but you always did edgy stuff didn't you uh this is jumping ahead for a second but just to you're uh not
00:28:09
censoring yourself didn't you suggest that George Steinbrenner the billionaire owner of the New York Yankees who was
00:28:15
the host that somehow he would be in all fours with a dog collar
00:28:23
I wrote a sketch where he's playing Petey who is kind of stuff like wears a beanie
00:28:31
and shorts yeah and it's just and everyone just say like Petey you're so
00:28:38
stupid Petey and he would just it was all clearly just a pretext to say a
00:28:46
[ __ ] you know say stuff to George's time like that and
00:28:52
he wouldn't do PD he wouldn't is that the one where Odenkirk and Conan were supposed to go try to keep talking him
00:28:58
into doing a sketch or something no this was uh I don't think so I I did PD and I
00:29:04
just thought it'd be very funny he had like a beanie with like a twirling thing on the top
00:29:11
yeah and he was just well I think we made him get on all fours in the sketch I said I remember going kicked him in
00:29:18
the ass that's right I think that I think that's it yeah all fours kicked him in the ass and were you shocked when
00:29:23
he turned down the sketch well yeah I mean he was kind of weird I
00:29:28
don't know if he was the kind of guy a decent job we wrote a sketch for uh him
00:29:34
and neilan and Jan and Victoria where it was just George is kneeland's boss and
00:29:43
the two couples are going out to dinner and Nealon offers to pick up the check
00:29:50
and George says no come on I'm your boss or that no no no you always picked it up
00:29:55
I'm gonna pick it up and no I'm your boss I'm taking the check and I'm not I'm taking the check and he and then he
00:30:02
takes it and goes well that was pretty easy and then
00:30:08
it just escalates yeah yeah it kind of goes you know who's one of those and and
00:30:15
Steinberg was very good in it I just remember him going around uh 8h asking people where they went to college and
00:30:21
like you know Penn State oh good school you know Cambridge oh nice school and then he came to me and goes where'd you
00:30:26
go to college I said San Francisco State his face went blank and he just turned and walked away from me
00:30:33
really why that well San Francisco State I guess it wasn't a sexy college God
00:30:39
that makes me think George Steinbrenner is a dick or a guy who just loves higher
00:30:44
education you know I mean I I just it was just a funny school that I went to that I was gonna stay this is a fine
00:30:50
school there are stories that you always feel like everyone's here but I I don't really know the George Harrison Legend
00:30:58
legendary visit I'll give you a choice either that or talk about the uh the
00:31:04
character the brain tumor comedian okay um I'll do Harrison real quick uh or
00:31:12
both yeah big thing I missed it but he comes to Sno and what you're like 90 whatever I
00:31:19
am probably not 90 I would have been there 95 99 88 something like that Conan
00:31:26
is there because I wasn't discussing and basically George Harrison uh shows
00:31:32
up at on the 17th Floor he and Lauren are going out to dinner okay okay George
00:31:39
Harrison's here George Harrison is here they're going out to dinner you come they come back few hours later and he is just drunk
00:31:48
and so now it's like 10 30 11. I love it and as you know this is Tuesday night
00:31:55
this is Tuesday night and that's right show gets written and this year I was one of the producers or
00:32:01
and uh he starts to play the piano fun yeah and a gift in the read through
00:32:10
room and everyone just is like gathered round and George Harrison's playing the
00:32:16
piano The Beatles playing the piano and it's going on and on and on and I'm
00:32:22
going like the show is not going to get written and so I just go to Phil Hartman
00:32:28
I say Phil uh watch this and you remember my desk my office is
00:32:35
right next right right right across yeah so I go in my office and I just slam my
00:32:41
door as hard as I can I didn't see him because I'm inside but he evidently George like jumped like three feet off
00:32:49
the piano bench came down and then left and everybody was just furious at me and
00:32:55
I just said we got it right we gotta write this show and of course Rue McClanahan was the host no no and
00:33:02
she sat down at the piano and wouldn't stop that piano was a happy story oh and the
00:33:09
brain tumor comedian was uh it's Tom is so funny in this piece it's you know we
00:33:15
would do the Franklin Davis show which was a show within the show and this one is I have a brain tumor and I have this
00:33:21
Terror this bandage with a big lump this colored lump on it and and
00:33:27
Al's always wanted to do a single and he's uh this is you know he's got a
00:33:34
brain tumor so you know you're gonna really enjoy this folks this is Tom and then I start uh you know
00:33:42
you know you hear about the rabbi then give uh uh you know didn't charge for
00:33:48
giving circumcisions he only took tips woof and then the next next joke I tell
00:33:55
I start the space out and every joke I always the punch is always he only took
00:34:01
tips and then Tom behind me would go would like encourage the audience
00:34:09
and uh it was really funny and Tom was really funny and and of course we got a
00:34:15
few letters have you ever watched your um you know wife die of a prince have
00:34:21
you ever thought of a sketch out unless where you thought of it and said ah no
00:34:27
no too much too too far yes of course but I can't remember anything okay yeah yeah I can't
00:34:34
remember I was feeling far between but let's talk about some stuff we did together yeah
00:34:40
um yeah I know you know and and Downy it I think I've told you this Downey had
00:34:45
this Credo for the for the political material we wrote which was Danny it was
00:34:52
a moderate Republican a very thoughtful uh you know
00:34:57
conservative in the best sense Republican and I'm obviously a very Progressive Democrat and we felt that it
00:35:05
wasn't the job of the show that to we just we felt the job was to do uh
00:35:11
satirical political satire that was well observed but not you know uh biased in
00:35:19
one way or another so and and Downey had this motto which was we're going to
00:35:24
reward people for knowing stuff but not punish them for not knowing stuff so the
00:35:30
point was is that you could watch it and not be a political junkie at all not
00:35:35
follow politics very closely and understand it but if you were someone who did there was another layer and that
00:35:42
that's that's pretty sophisticated stuff but uh but Dowdy and I were pretty uh
00:35:49
I'm very proud of the stuff I did with Jim and we did so much with you and Jim didn't say this when we're talking about
00:35:56
you doing uh the bush School openings which we use as a crutch
00:36:01
I mean I would basically we can always do Dana yeah in one on home base and uh
00:36:09
and Danny's right sometimes we wrote him on and and they were long but here's the thing that I tell people a lot which is
00:36:17
in dress and I we those were well written by and large and down a kind of
00:36:23
simple sometimes with three out there with nothing I don't you know yeah but what would happen is we would
00:36:31
send you out there with something actually well the you know well thought through you would get so many laughs at
00:36:40
will because you do the you just do your the hand thing over there doing that it
00:36:45
would spreading God damn that whole area will get last so we had to tell you
00:36:52
between dress and air a number of times which I don't think anybody has ever
00:36:58
told a performer don't get so many laughs because we because you're ruining you're
00:37:05
not following the through line the audience isn't they're losing the through line and you knew exactly what
00:37:13
we were talking about you knew exactly how to dial it down and you did every
00:37:19
[ __ ] time [ __ ] time and which was you knew exactly what we were doing you
00:37:25
had such control and of course you helped write those and added to them and
00:37:32
I also want to tell another story about you which is and I think I've discussed
00:37:38
this with you but um in in uh I guess it was when when did uh
00:37:45
Clinton run 92 uh so Tsongas was running yes yeah and we had a two-week break
00:37:53
which was rare and a two-week break and you said to me you know on does
00:37:58
we're about to go on break so can you work on sanghas for me you know just on
00:38:04
the idea of sanghas and what to do with them and so I started playing around with his voice and I nailed I got it
00:38:13
really great and then I went to I gave a speech at the Kennedy School you know on political satire and I killed wasanga so
00:38:21
I come back and I'm barely embarrassed and I say to Dana ah could I do Tsongas
00:38:27
and you just went yep I'll do Jerry Brown Love Jerry Brown and the thing about you is that you knew
00:38:33
Jerry Brown yeah part of it is that you went to you know a lousy campaign San Francisco State and California
00:38:42
no but Jerry Brown was a great character but your song was hysterical whatever your take was I remember it killing well
00:38:49
it was uh you know snackle plus with a uh Kermit with a boss with a Massachusetts accent yeah and he really
00:38:57
had a voice that odd I mean it wasn't that big a lead yeah very extreme yeah yeah I have a question out when you and
00:39:04
Dana were formulating uh Bush it was it was right before I got there but I just
00:39:10
watched a bush Dukakis uh early on debate which I don't even know if it's a
00:39:16
cold opening it was 14 minutes which is not pretty long it might have been but it was great it was during the campaign
00:39:21
hilarious yeah that was Diane Sawyer everything was Downey the line which was
00:39:27
I can't believe I'm losing this guy yes and yes I wrote that line but the line
00:39:32
only worked because of this long setup right of bush rambling yeah yeah well
00:39:38
and it was it was it was Diane Sawyer Jan Hooks playing a very sultry yeah
00:39:45
so funny saying hilarious and basically
00:39:50
asking him a question and you kind of go well uh say the course
00:39:57
thousand points of light stay the course and then she just went
00:40:02
for the first time in this she just went you still have another minute 45. Mr
00:40:07
Vice President and he just saw him say the course and then bring it down she does that
00:40:14
back and forth with you like three or four times and finally she goes governor
00:40:20
and then I can't believe I'm losing this guy so that John was I wrote that line
00:40:25
but only because of that setup set up that line right oh yeah yeah a
00:40:33
lot of the line off the side and I John the whole Skip and love it's nailed that one by the way though he was great in
00:40:40
that uh sketch Lovitz who's greatest Dukakis and I don't know if I've told you this out but he on Election night
00:40:46
when Bush won Lovitz called me and essentially conceded well you're gonna
00:40:52
be doing the president for four years and he the fake to caucus conceded to
00:40:58
the fake push before the real Dukakis conceded to the real one but then I knew I was was going to be in the hot seat
00:41:04
and I didn't really have the impression at that point you didn't quite have it and we did sit down and you started
00:41:11
developing that well do you remember the exact moment because it was just you and me in a room trying to find it and I
00:41:17
just mean that doing that thing out there with the finger up lazy finger I
00:41:23
was doing that thing and that whole area and we both looked at each other and
00:41:28
laughed and that that was that was the end it's very interesting how one little hook and then it went to not guide that
00:41:34
well I remember I you're one of the first guests on my podcast and you said
00:41:39
to me because I laughed and you said the laughter is the oxygen of Comedy yeah
00:41:45
yeah oh definitely if you have someone laughing and you're riffing then it is the machine keeps going so you left
00:41:52
exactly and I knew I was like okay this is great and then uh we had Jim Downey uh coming in it was like I felt really
00:42:00
blessed to have you and Jim Downey working on it but you seem to be the primary driver instigator of the subject
00:42:07
matter and uh which we talked about but it was interesting that when Bush was riding so
00:42:14
high he was 90 approval after his first two years in the Gulf War all the
00:42:19
schedule before yeah yeah all the sketches were about how he was impenetrable and when I did it at DC for
00:42:25
the Democratic fundraiser everything was about I'm going to get elected and it was just this super happy comedian he
00:42:32
was literally at 89 yeah insane well try to be that's because he let us out of
00:42:38
the you know a Saddam invaded Kuwait and he put this Coalition together put the
00:42:44
Coalition everyone could do it now well it's a guy you're just doing the
00:42:51
guy who figured it out and um and not unlike what Biden is doing
00:42:58
now in a way we got inflation people can't get the baby formula
00:43:05
I love yelling Biden I love I love his yeah it's so funny yeah we gotta find a way to do it
00:43:14
you know one of my favorite hooks that we we started doing this kind of a couple years ago or something we started
00:43:20
trying to work on Biden and yeah you were doing it but one of the hooks I like is uh is uh and that's that's no
00:43:29
hyperbole does that a lot yeah my father lost his job no joke that was the first
00:43:36
one no joke no joke not kidding around here come on yeah number one yeah with
00:43:41
the guys he's killed six million Jews no joke no joke I thought that was a joke
00:43:47
okay that was that was the first hook into him now in fact is a lot and guess
00:43:53
what you know there's a lot you know it went up I know how to create jobs I know
00:43:59
how to create them I don't know how to be a job Creator I go to the whisper and then he goes back to the Yeller but um
00:44:06
there's a lot there for sure [Music]
00:44:12
and then we had Perot was dropped into our lap during to just follow that sequence uh well a member that I you
00:44:21
know I just saw Perot and I got a tape and we went in Lauren's office and
00:44:27
showed you Pro yeah and you said oh there's a three-dimensional
00:44:32
character and then there he is yeah it was like Sarah Palin and and Ross Perot
00:44:38
are sort of bookends of three-dimensional comedically already funny characters that just walked on the
00:44:43
stage Perot was like next level funny as a game he was and then we did a coal
00:44:49
opening and you wrote the very first one and it was a very funny take do you
00:44:55
remember yeah yeah it was yeah basically him saying you don't have to pay me anything yeah yeah but if we GP uh gross
00:45:05
domestic product goes up four percent I get a billion dollars yeah it was like he gets a taste yeah and then he called
00:45:12
the next you know he called on Monday at 9 00 a.m of course and we got in at 2
00:45:19
p.m and uh receptionist the got us on with him and you and I were on
00:45:26
and he was not interested in the writer at all he was interesting you yeah yeah of course of course but he would he at
00:45:32
least he seemed to be a good school he was a good sport about it I mean he he said you know here's an idea I think
00:45:39
most yeah that's a great idea you go out and campaign as me and I campaigned as
00:45:45
me so be two of me campaigning all over the place I mean he just thought that was the
00:45:50
first precisely what he said yes yes exactly you don't have to write you know anything with it I I know and uh uh no
00:45:59
and and well you played both Perot and Bush and uh lucky Spade got the full
00:46:07
circle yeah got to be in in the wide shot
00:46:14
production so David yeah David had to get the hair the nose the ears the suit
00:46:20
everything to look like Pro I'm so stupid I didn't know what was going on I thought am I doing Pro I go against Dana
00:46:26
can't into the magic of TV and bad luck he could and uh I do
00:46:33
remember seeing Perot on something and obviously I wasn't a political guy and I was like Al what you were saying is if
00:46:39
you're just a casual viewer you get you know I understood the cold opening stuff I didn't get the second layer of jokes
00:46:45
but I was just I wasn't political so I didn't even really wasn't about Republican Democrat I was just going is
00:46:52
this funny or not whatever and they were always great um and then when Perot was on something
00:46:57
on the weekend like a Meet the Press I accidentally saw I thought uh oh this look at this little
00:47:03
clown this is hilarious and he was he was like someone gets to go do a stand-ups act you know because he's
00:47:08
already funny and I go so and he was a little pipsqueak and I go oh maybe I could and that's how out of it I was by
00:47:15
the time I called Smiggle and I just said hey is there any way he's like we got it covered I'm like um
00:47:21
probably even more fun than George Bush senior at least this phrase you're not
00:47:27
listening can I finish one time just that to me that's one time you're not
00:47:32
listening can I finish one time are you gonna run again
00:47:42
it's like James Brown or something can I finish one time hit me yeah
00:47:47
that's the thing is that you you know your impressions are musical in in many
00:47:54
ways uh it's all chopped it goes all back to chopping chopping broccoli
00:48:00
once I had them she chop she chopped I know I have no excuse for it except that
00:48:06
I think I'm trying to make myself laugh and then it just makes me laugh someone going okay one time are you gonna run me
00:48:14
one time but he did say something like that well
00:48:21
if it's all making yourself laugh that's all it is what is your favorite
00:48:27
you know what's your favorite moment from Saturday Night Live wow 15 Seasons you did and I say my favorite thing is
00:48:34
Saturday night was three in the morning rolling on the floor laughing with the
00:48:39
writers with the cast members just and part of you know Woody Allen once said that
00:48:46
writing uh comedy is either easy or it's impossible yeah when it's easy and it's
00:48:53
your freaking job is what you're supposed to do yeah so this stuff is
00:48:58
making you laugh and you know and it could be Downing on a riff it could be you'd count up with you know you and
00:49:06
kneeling doing Hans and fronds it can be bye-bye it can be you know and you just
00:49:13
are going like at that moment of creation but someone's doing something and you just it's so funny but it's the
00:49:21
added thing of we just did our job really well yeah yeah so sometimes that rewrite table it could be four in the
00:49:27
afternoon or four in the morning and if someone cracks the code on something and everyone starts laughing and then everyone riffs on it that's the funnest
00:49:34
time because everyone's good at the table so everyone's throwing in something good from right and left and you go wow this
00:49:40
is really jumped this sketch way ahead of where it was David I saw David tell the other day or a couple a couple
00:49:47
months ago actually at the comic Cellar and I just said he was at the table for
00:49:53
a year or something and uh and he wrote do you remember uh the bobbitts you know
00:50:00
she cut off his penis yeah and that thing and I was doing a Stuart with I
00:50:06
guess Myers was the guy and uh Rosie O'Donnell was learning about it and I I
00:50:14
had a line that I didn't have the punch to I go so how how did it feel or how
00:50:19
does it feel now and and a Tails line was it itches
00:50:25
[Laughter] and like it just it when someone does
00:50:32
something like that you know it just it's such a gift to have that table and
00:50:38
then sometimes the table is so deadly no I get three in the morning well I
00:50:43
just remember like a lot of food like guys around the table and some women of course on 17th floor
00:50:51
and I'm thinking it it is kind of like nothing's going on like it seems like
00:50:56
the deadest space in the world and there's Chinese food or pizza everyone's
00:51:02
leaning back in their chair tapping the pencil window is cracked one inch because everyone's dying in there
00:51:14
but you told me once out uh you told me that I peaked it read through you know
00:51:19
and that really helped me going forward I sometimes you try to get it on so hard in your first year that you literally
00:51:26
never get back to it you you've peaked it read through and you definitely don't want to peek at dress unless you're at
00:51:33
War to get it on air you want to leave a little something so that that there's a
00:51:38
lot of inside baseball about if you have an Insider without if Al's riding with you and your address and your read through I
00:51:45
think it's a little easier to pull back because he's going to be in the room saying he's going to bring it up so you
00:51:50
at least have a party there were years ago I was I was in the room and I have this thing here Downey kind of talk
00:51:57
about the most funny hat at the show was when he just was writing and not producing and there was a little it was
00:52:05
a little it was nice to be able to go in there and express your opinion and on
00:52:11
what gets what gets picked for read through and stuff like that but it also yeah it uh there's something nice about
00:52:19
just being a writer too and and also I was performing every once in a while well as a cast member you want to hook
00:52:25
up with someone who has Lauren's ear and Lauren truss you know sure in the in the
00:52:30
room after the read through that's always a nice thing to do for people who are just beginning cast members a little
00:52:35
tidbit oh we can't uh go without talking about Stuart Smalley I remember the the
00:52:40
um Michael Jordan one was probably such a huge home run that one's that one so
00:52:45
that was a peek on our greatest sketches yeah yeah that was that was I mean uh
00:52:51
kill killer well and and he was uh uh I
00:52:56
think he was cracking up or something too much or something in dress
00:53:02
and I just said just dial it you know and he understood it I mean so here's a guy you know he's
00:53:09
a very I oh you know what remember when uh Lauren hosted uh produced the ESPYs
00:53:17
I don't know if you remember maybe you weren't around for that so he uh sponsored produced produced the ESPYs
00:53:25
and so I was a presenter and I did this joke and it died and I thought it was a great joke and this was the year they
00:53:32
they did the second uh a three-peat right and the the balls did so I went up
00:53:38
there and I just said and remember this is a lot of athletes and a lot of people in sports but I just go like you know a
00:53:46
lot of people are saying that Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player who
00:53:52
ever lived well I could say is Michael prove it
00:54:00
just later it's not the right crowd just going he has proven it uh yeah that was
00:54:07
her attitude what the [ __ ] is this guy
00:54:12
I remember that laying an egg so bad and I went oh okay this is not a comedy
00:54:19
crowd uh Jordan Jordan at that show running around was such a big deal that
00:54:24
was so much fun was he kind of the biggest guest in that way Jordan that when we were there I think I
00:54:31
mean I in a way I mean he's uh I remember that was the first time we were
00:54:37
Fielding NBA players in the Olympics and I just said to him so uh how do you
00:54:44
think you're gonna do and it was like him and magic I mean you
00:54:51
know it was like ridiculous and he said oh and he was so
00:54:56
confident and of course they just killed everybody yeah and uh without even
00:55:01
trying really it was but I I just remember the the exuding confidence
00:55:07
and the uh competitive he had a moment with me he goes um do you golf I go well
00:55:15
a little bit here and there I go but I'm lucky to break a hundred you know and he paused he looked at me and he's towering
00:55:21
over him he goes well you're not very good are you [Laughter]
00:55:32
yeah you don't seem very athletic he bets a lot in golf and he bets like each
00:55:37
hole and he bets because I Golf and I uh I'm not very good either but uh it's
00:55:43
it's fun the stories you hear from caddies and these great golf courses where he comes in and sweeps people and
00:55:49
he loves it loves it he's just always looking for some action which is great it's it's a cool thing about him people
00:55:54
love Michael Jordan well I think athletes athletes uh just kind of blow our minds
00:56:00
old movie stars when Robert Mitchum came out in Charlton Heston or Wayne Gretzky Wayne Gretzky showed me how to hold a
00:56:06
hockey stick Wayne Gretzky got on his knees and and laced up my skates and showed me how to do that so there's
00:56:12
moments yeah you're like damn and the musicians as well yeah I I wasn't there
00:56:18
for Peyton Manning but I thought did you see that shot I wasn't but I thought he was hysterical on the show I saw it he
00:56:25
was fabulous yeah there were a number of of uh these guys who were just really
00:56:32
really good and we should get them on some of them were loxes like yeah uh but
00:56:39
they were almost funny being boxes remember a piece Tom and I wrote this
00:56:45
um trying to photograph you who was there which one of you were there hurry it was uh Joe Montana
00:56:51
and he was Walter Payton uh well yeah but on this one Joe Montana who was kind
00:56:58
of a lox um we're just thinking out loud thinking out loud yeah yeah oh yeah it was it was
00:57:05
uh it starts off with uh Phil and Jan and he's trying to get her to stay the
00:57:11
night and and it's that cliche if he says something and then you hear what he's
00:57:17
thinking yeah and then she says something and we played it Tom and I wrote it so that you thought that was
00:57:23
the sketch that that we thought that was the comedy and if you're watching it you're going like this is kind of lame
00:57:30
this is a device that people use a lot and then his roommate comes and Phil's
00:57:35
going oh no and he says this guy you know my roommate is the most honest guy there is and then at one point he goes
00:57:41
you know he says it's nice to meet you and then his thought is it's nice to
00:57:46
meet her and then the last line was I'm gonna go upstairs and masturbate and
00:57:53
then I'm gonna go upstairs and masturbate with his thought right and my
00:57:58
God it was so funny and it was fun remember funny because he was a lox
00:58:04
well and he was competitive with himself I I was told that he wouldn't come out
00:58:09
of his dressing room he had to at the end of the show he thought he didn't do well that kind of thing I know you're a
00:58:16
football player what are you talking about but I got to play catch with him he did fine it was funny no way not to
00:58:21
do well as an athlete Bill Russell did well uh uh did really well I just
00:58:29
I did a I did a roast with Peyton and uh I didn't see his SNL but I thought it
00:58:35
would be fun to have Peyton in there and he crushed it he's crushing you know they wrote him jokes but he he delivered
00:58:41
him he was great he got huge laughs huge Applause he's always he's got a very light funny thing about him and uh
00:58:48
that's why I think he's in all these commercials and does that Manning cast it all works you know what
00:58:54
I've discovered in comedy some people are funny and some people aren't is that really in
00:59:02
all your days that's how you've come on but yeah do you guys think it like you were there 900 of us Dana that was you
00:59:09
know one of Lauren's great things there's only about funny people there's only 900 of us on the planet
00:59:15
and it was kind of like the perfect number right yes since Al you were there in 75 I just
00:59:22
want to ask you this question did was anyone cognizant of the idea of taking a
00:59:28
football player or a a dramatic actor or whatever and forcing them to become a
00:59:34
Live sketch player the reality show aspect of Saturday Night Live that that
00:59:40
sustains it because if you see a football player or a singer trying to do this and they're kind of bad it's still
00:59:46
compelling you know yeah because they're absolutely you know the first one we had
00:59:52
was Fran tarkinson there you go wow and that was Franny's idea that was my
00:59:58
wife's idea because of the namesake a little bit and how was it he he was very good
01:00:06
um and it was Vikings quarterback for the audience yeah yes this is this going back a ways and uh you know he wasn't
01:00:14
the greatest who'd ever done but um he was he was very good and I
01:00:20
remember Belushi for that we did a cold opening where Belushi is like a coach we did a football some a lot of football
01:00:26
team thing and Belushi made me go back to his apartment and read to me uh dick
01:00:32
butkus's autobiography and I had to stay there like all you
01:00:38
know hours while he read this thing and uh he worshiped Dick Butkus who was a
01:00:44
linebacker for everyone for uh uh the Bears I did a TV show with dick buckets
01:00:50
and Bubba Smith called uh it was with James farentino
01:00:56
and it was this helicopter cop show yeah airwolves no no I was an Airwolf I can't
01:01:02
Blue Thunder the cop show the Thunder yeah I played the Daniels would you play on it why I take something about that
01:01:09
just I played the the sidekick in the back of the chopper with the helmet on Clinton Wonder love just another
01:01:16
frustrated Observer like I wanted to be out Clinton Wonder Love fiorentino would
01:01:21
have a styrofoam cup full of vodka and he would smash the pages of the script on the thing and yell at the crew it was
01:01:28
like Scarface what year was this what year was it 84. I I had no confidence that I could
01:01:35
be on Saturday Night Live really so when people said I luckily got cast and things I just did them and they were a
01:01:42
complete waste of time and I got fired uh but I got into the outfit went into the fake Chopper they're going around
01:01:48
blowing steam at us and then they said Dana come down the ladder in front of the whole crew they fired me and I had
01:01:55
to do the poop walk and go just in front of everyone I go to the Wardrobe guy
01:02:00
really nice guy and I go I'm a comedian I'm funny this is like 84. he put his
01:02:06
hand on my shoulder and said shh it's okay it's okay son and then he saw me
01:02:12
like eight years later in 93 he goes you were right what what the [ __ ]
01:02:17
what were you doing in a helicopter I had a very strange route to SNL I mean
01:02:22
you saw me once right out you were in 84. I probably I did and I blew it I
01:02:28
blew it I saw you doing stand up in San Francisco and I probably wasn't that guy is brilliant but you know what you
01:02:34
weren't ready well you're ready a year later I would just say confidence until
01:02:39
you're kind of famous it is a wide range of how you'll be on a given night and if
01:02:44
you lose a little bit of confidence at least for me I don't know about Dave Chappelle you know what I don't know but
01:02:50
yeah go ahead I don't think I was the best judge to do this you know um uh I that year that was the year we
01:02:59
came back from being gone right that Lauren came back to being gone yes 85.
01:03:05
uh you know we picked we picked love it's that year we got uh hello
01:03:12
a few good people but we I think there's some people that we missed that were
01:03:17
really that ended up being real huge it's always easier after the fact to say
01:03:22
oh why didn't you pick that person but you you know when you see them sometimes it's too raw or too rough or they haven't developed and you just it's it's
01:03:29
an easier it's better to wait you know they're they're people sometimes they'll put them on when they're not ready
01:03:34
they're 21 or 22 and not ready but for me to get on with Phil and Jan
01:03:39
frequently do the church chat sketch Rosie Schuster was the one who was helping me form I had the character but
01:03:46
the platform then all these religious scandals happen and you and Al came on and you did
01:03:53
Swagger right so throughout that first year I think I did Panama Pat Robertson
01:03:58
and then filled it Swaggart and then they did so I have this church like lady
01:04:04
character I get fat perfect yeah and then these scandals start happening and so but that that was that was fun you
01:04:10
doing Pat Robertson like laughing or crying I remember but it was a very funny take on Pat Ross my pet Riders was
01:04:17
just very happy yeah that was that was that's good it was just a very joyful there's
01:04:24
there's a woman in Ohio who's just had her diverticulitis cure
01:04:32
or something like that you know but he he was just happy he was a happy Christian and you started laughing
01:04:39
that's my take on him then swear Phil was crying and then we closed in on a close-up or something like that and
01:04:46
you're just like two idiots not talking just anyway and I heard you maybe was on it
01:04:53
was maybe it was with uh with Jim about how they censored Germany and you just
01:04:59
became dirtier yeah and it was fine I couldn't say penis but I could say throbbing uh bulbous organ willingness
01:05:07
yeah naughty parts sweating and grinding yeah so that it was it was became yeah
01:05:14
it was pornographic to me I don't know but that was uh well all they cared about was is someone gonna complain yeah
01:05:20
and they're not they could complain about being us because it's penis right they're not gonna complain about
01:05:26
throbbing throbbing naughty parts
01:05:31
[Music] Andrew Brewer who is our kind of cool sensor guy he wrote us after he wrote
01:05:38
Into the podcast as you see because we've talked about him but we always say positive things he's always in like a tough position and he's always go guys
01:05:45
come on you can't do this when you're not saying [ __ ] like that
01:05:50
what do you mean we always play dumb what are you talking about oh that's right you had that very uh indistinct uh
01:05:59
oh that's right you remember that yeah yeah yeah yeah what was that yeah I still have it between my legs
01:06:05
um no uh it was on Weekend Update and I I sort of mumbled the word [ __ ] and uh
01:06:10
and Dennis was like spudley I wouldn't mess this one up you're gonna be [ __ ] out of here you're already teetering on
01:06:16
a threat I'm like what thanks and then and then and and and so I I said the in
01:06:23
and out list you know I think the atlas was uh going out after the show getting out of Jose oh yeah the end was I don't
01:06:29
know I was saying you're not oh well it is uh not enunciating enough to get caught by the sensors and then the out
01:06:35
was going against his own [ __ ] I walked in the hallway and Andrew's shaking his head walking me going Spade
01:06:41
come here and I go what I know I have no idea what you're gonna
01:06:46
ask me and then he goes come on dude and I go but it did pretty good at dress so he goes come on you can't we got we got
01:06:51
advertisers saying we pull out if he does this and so I do it and then Dennis is right next to me going I don't know
01:06:57
Spud and so I do it and it gets too big of a laugh and Dennis is like it's curtains for you okay
01:07:08
too big a laugh was trouble yeah because it means you said it too everyone understood it yeah well I don't know but
01:07:16
I I got along really well with most of the sensors yeah you know clockworthy
01:07:21
because I know you mentioned him with Jim I really like Bill Clark he was a nice guy yeah he was a lovely guy and
01:07:28
he's a tough job he stood by a couple things I did that um were I did do you remember
01:07:35
um uh first you CR uh for this NBC
01:07:41
reporter wrote a book about her having a mastectomy and it's called first you cry and then I did a sketch when we had
01:07:50
um it was first he cries and it was it was killed uh
01:07:56
unfortunately in retrospect it has a mastectomy and Bill Murray is her
01:08:02
husband and he just um goes you know it starts feeling
01:08:08
really sorry for himself because his wife and the whole point was that it was
01:08:14
satirical which is no yeah he doesn't do that yeah right that is the joke yeah
01:08:19
yeah that was the joke and so and uh Bea Arthur with her like oncologist and
01:08:27
she's basically saying this happens all the time and the fact that he's got a girlfriend now named Bambi has not you
01:08:35
know is to be expected and and cloudworthy's wife had had a
01:08:40
mastectomy and he just said to me I love this sketch wow because he got the
01:08:46
satiric yeah point of it and that was that was when you just went and I was
01:08:52
really good friends with all the sensors because I talked to them all the time yeah because they my stuff was you know
01:09:00
um I had to deal with them all the time they call them edgy all right Dana what else you got for Al this poor guy
01:09:07
I don't know I wanted I'm having fun so I know it is fine Stuart Smalley we got to that there's too much I will have one
01:09:14
last thing you didn't write Reagan Mastermind did you that was a great that was smiggles uh that was Michael's I
01:09:22
kicked in yeah but um uh you know that had a line that
01:09:28
Chippendales had which was this was the part of the job I hate
01:09:33
that was Mike Myers line when they had to choose between uh Swayze and Swayze
01:09:40
and Chris and uh and you know so hard you know they're they're Consulting and
01:09:45
Myers goes this is the part of the job I hate so yeah that was one of my favorite
01:09:51
lines I don't think I wrote that in uh Downey wrote Chippendales I had one I
01:09:58
got my name was on it but it was because I sat with Molly wrote it and that's a
01:10:04
good trick I I had one thing in it which was the name Barney Barney yeah Barney
01:10:12
and Adrian right Barney and Adrian Adrian Barney Barney yeah that was
01:10:17
kneeling who did that great yeah well Kneeland neelan the greatest attitude player
01:10:25
that was what was great it was like you just knew kneeling could play
01:10:31
attitude Downy I wrote a piece which was and then you think about how of the time it was
01:10:38
it was a uh a toothpaste ad uh which had
01:10:44
had Garrett and Victoria and that Garrett uh uh Tim Meadows I guess and uh
01:10:49
Victoria Jackson and they're pitching to for the Country Music Awards and
01:10:56
um and Kevin is the guy who is receiving the pitch and has has to say no we don't
01:11:04
don't want to put and it ends with this big kiss right and
01:11:09
this is I can't remember what year it was but this was not something you would put on the Country Music Awards a a
01:11:17
white woman kissing a black guy on right on the lips and it was kneeling trying
01:11:25
to say no without saying that right
01:11:30
saying all the reasons it wouldn't work but just uh you know just yeah that
01:11:36
sounds very good yeah I can't remember the lines but you give him attitude and
01:11:42
it was just he was a master yeah maybe he is maybe he is maybe you could think
01:11:47
of something else to do here at this beat uh that's uh you know then I ran for the
01:11:54
Senate a little birdie told me that he ran for
01:12:00
the Senate yeah and then uh yeah it uh well look you you guys this this idea of
01:12:08
doing that you you've had you I love that you're having writers on yeah I
01:12:14
kind of go by like people in high school or college that are just interested in this or interested in comedy it's kind
01:12:20
of interesting to hear it just straight from people how it happened and and why and The
01:12:27
Whimsy of it all too just like where does where does your inspiration come from now
01:12:33
you once told me Dana no one should become a comedian unless they have to be
01:12:39
a comedian pretty much I I think show business in general is an emotionally violent sport
01:12:46
um you've said that I I wrote that down I thought that was interesting um well your feelings get hurt a lot
01:12:52
even if you're doing really well and you know my Touchstone as corny as it sounds is like I'm still making money doing
01:13:00
this and that's pretty cool I never lost it yeah well because of the
01:13:06
threat one of 900 people who can yeah um I just got an update there's
01:13:11
911. that's up some bangladeshis were funny and we had uh someone uh for
01:13:18
Madagascar who made some people fall out people fall
01:13:25
well guys thanks Al thanks really really really interesting and fun so thanks for
01:13:31
coming on and uh we'll be talking to you soon well thank you guys all right see you guys Senator Al Franken okay bye-bye
01:13:39
hey what's up flies what's up fleas what's up people that listen we want to hear from you and your dumb questions
01:13:44
questions ask us anything anything you want you can email us at fly on the wall
01:13:50
at cadence13.com hey we got a question here Dana and uh
01:13:56
to wrap it up this is uh we get so many questions that we usually say the listener's name but when somebody asks
01:14:02
the same type of question we're just gonna okay uh they've written about Larry Sanders show and Gary uh any
01:14:08
stories about yeah well very Shanley uh Gary Shanley
01:14:13
um we all knew Gary for a long time in the clubs great stand-up and then when
01:14:18
he did the Larry Sanders show he asked me to come on it they were making episodes but the show was not released
01:14:25
yet so he asked me to come on and be myself Dana Carvey guest hosting for Larry Sanders and we had a scene where
01:14:32
he asked me to do an impression of him to him and go because I used to do this gear where we go what are people doing I
01:14:38
don't know what the cat food on the carpet which which was an exaggeration of one of his rhythms and he's the one
01:14:44
who wanted me to do it here's the interesting part of me guest hosting Larry Sanders Herve villachez who was a
01:14:51
little person was a guest on the show but it had never aired even though he
01:14:57
was told he thought I was a real talk show oh no interviewing him and he never knew that it was a fake talk show so
01:15:04
that that was very funny so I was on one of the very first Larry Sanders David uh well a tidbit I went to the comedy
01:15:10
Museum Heather where was that it was in Jamestown New York and they have a they have the Larry Sanders set there they
01:15:16
have so much this is actually I'll give him a shout out it's a great comedy Museum there's so many things but they have the set which threw me back because
01:15:23
I did do I did the third one again like you I think he was getting people he
01:15:28
knew a little bit he's from Tucson I'm from uh Scottsdale I knew him a little bit and through real Stingray
01:15:35
um I was gonna be in this old Gary Shandling show and I we didn't work it out and this one he said why don't you play yourself he it was sort of like you
01:15:41
where you said why don't you play a comedian had like a goofy comedian name then he goes why don't you just just do it as yourself do you care we
01:15:47
might just do that yeah we want to play themselves Janine Garofalo interviewed me and I was a stand-up it was a funny idea because I was a stand-up and I did
01:15:56
I was doing a show like on a Friday and on Monday I do Atlanta when I do the same set and then he goes yeah he said
01:16:03
here I go well it doesn't matter they go no no you have to do all new stuff I go now and so
01:16:08
uh is a big mess and then they bump me Rip Torn goes Rip Torn you know he goes
01:16:14
let's bump that [ __ ] spade and uh teach him a lesson right show them how Hollywood works and so they bumped me
01:16:21
and then and then two seconds later Janine raffle runs in and goes Joe
01:16:26
Pesci's stuck in Chicago there's a snowstorm and ripped corn looks at Gary
01:16:32
and then you cut the Gary going making his third appearance they would spade and I come out and I open with my same
01:16:38
joke and ripped torn just shrugs his shoulders and that was the episode it was [ __ ] great I thought it was so funny I thought Gary was great I mean
01:16:45
Dana knew him better in real life but he blessed my house I bought a house in
01:16:50
Encino my wife and I and he wanted to come go through it for spirits and stuff so we stood outside and waited and Gary
01:16:57
was in there for like 20 minutes and he came out he goes it's clean that's his side Hustle but I would say
01:17:05
that Gary as funny as they come in the show you know he was a little bit
01:17:10
conflicted for a while he was up for taking over for Johnny which Jay Leno did and then he does this show and I've
01:17:17
had young people young people email me and stuff this Larry standard show is pretty brilliant so it broke everything
01:17:24
it broke the office he really influenced so many people with that whatever you
01:17:30
call that style I'd never been on a show like that they had three 16 millimeter cameras and you're doing a take every
01:17:36
take is done there's the single shots in the two shot and he also in between and go yeah just say something like that and
01:17:43
I'll say something like this and yeah really give it to me this time and then you would do it so it was incredible probably good for comedians because who
01:17:50
wants to repeat the same time like pre-curb you know when I did curb base yeah just just get angry on this thing
01:17:55
it wasn't even about lines just yeah here's your attitude in this and then they go whisper to Larry here's his attitude I don't know what his is going
01:18:02
to be so I think Gary's he started he in the modern era I mean there were other people he did it's the Gary channeling
01:18:07
show the fourth wall but he kind of lit the mats for this modern type comedy so
01:18:13
thank you God Rest his soul and thanks for the question yeah
01:18:18
this has been a podcast presentation of cadence 13. please listen then rate review and follow all episodes available
01:18:25
now for free wherever you get your podcast no joke folks
01:18:31
fly on the wall has been a presentation of cadence 13. executive produced by Dana Carvey and David Spade Chris
01:18:37
Corcoran of cadence 13 and Charlie finan of brillstein entertainment the show's lead producers Greg Holtzman with
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