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Danny DeVito | Full Episode | Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade

February 07, 202453:32
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so we just want to let you know that Danny DeVito who directed the movie Matilda the great Smash Hit from in the
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1990s is going to be in concert with the New Jersey Symphony March 22nd at the
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State Theater in New Brunswick and it's a beautiful theater I've played there before there's be a live Orchestra the
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movie with a beautiful print and you'll see it live and then Danny will narrate like he did in the movie live he'll be
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there so March 22nd in new brinswick the State Theater Danny deito and Matilda
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if you want tickets go to njs symphony.org Matilda or just call 1800
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algro which is also 1 800 255
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3476 Dana this one has one of our old favorites who we both had worked with
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Danny DeVito he was on SNL uh with you with me he did my very first I'm pretty
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sure Gap girls that one only had me and Sandler in it uh but he played our boss
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and I know he did a Hans and frons with you Hans and frons and church lady and
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he's a five-time host so he's he's part of that club L satday Night Live he's
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about as likable a person as you could ever spend time with there's something about him that is so sweet and fun we go
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over his penguin character Batman um that was so brilliant and hilarious the
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Tim Bur movie um Batman Returns I believe and um oh yeah we talk about uh
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his early days one flow of the Cuckoo's Nest uh Romancing the Stone he had so
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many big big things and then of course we get into twins
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taxi uh Always Sunny Always Sunny in Philadelphia yeah quite a career dude
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has done a lot and he produces and he directs we just talk about a lot of stuff with him and the guy is a good
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talker and he knows a lot about New York and and when he started and then uh he gets into all those crazy stories about
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Jim Carrey Andy Kaufman yeah going to see Andy Kaufman do stand up yeah a lot of fun stuff so this is a fun one and uh
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have a good time with [Music]
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them but I was just thinking doing this in the 1960s we might have waited for y
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brener to come on that would have been fun you Bren would be the first yeah
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guest podcast guest in 1965 we'd follow him up with Steve McQueen yeah you put
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him on he does a little dance does the accent he talks about the
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doing the jump but he didn't really do it and the Great Escape didn't really yeah all the all the stuff that he does
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you know like I had an apartment in New York once n in the 60s I got on the
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bulletin board of U of uh
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the American Academy of dramatic arts where I went to school and uh you I was
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looking for apartment so everybody was always you know scaming for like no money but we had no money so they had
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this bulletin board anywh I went to an address and it was in the weirdest place was on Madison Avenue in the in like
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57th or 8 Street 645 was the address I remember and yeah wow and um I walk in
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the door it's a really shitty building now it's all you know totally to turned
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into what New York is you know and I I go in the building and the first thing I
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saw was a giant picture a Buel
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printer oh man it was a little shitty yeah a little shitty hallway like kind
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of thing and um anyway it worked out because I I got
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the apartment it was like the second flight up it had an elevator actually in the building but very very very very old
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school and uh of course 60 it was 64 or
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something like that so what was your rent do you remember your rent yes $50 a month $50 a month and it was a one
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bedroom apartment and the back and the bedroom was was a living room bedroom kind of situation
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it had a nice bathroom in a kitchen and and and a MH uh yeah and the bedroom had
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windows that looked out over the tops of um of buildings New York so it was like
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one of those it was like if you were uh doing a play or a movie about New York
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and you said like build me a a a outside
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like what the Cyclorama would look like or today with what you would put in in in the you know the background of your
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movie it was all the stove you know the exhaust pipes and the tops of buildings
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and railings and all that like it looked like that you could do you could do uh
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Westside Story on the roofs well did did people hang out of out out of their out
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of their Windows going hey what's with the [ __ ] noise over here no no they weren't doing that it was like more like
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it wasn't like enclosed like like if there were buildings that went up in
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that area you know at that time it was just the top so you had a great Panorama
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of looking East uh but no you didn't see a river or
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anything I was on Madison Avenue and U but to actually have that address at at
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that time was like amazing [ __ ] crazy because I put these other glasses I see better
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far away that's great right in the heart of Midtown right yes right in the heart of and the thing about it is that at
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that time a lot of people don't know this Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue
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were two-way streets I mean good guys weren't even
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born uh I I go back I remember y brener look
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I mean you know David doesn't know you is yes so you remember him but yeah oh oh yeah I remember the King and I was a
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poster but if you imagine Madison Avenue being a two-way street and you know you
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know New York very well and Fifth Avenue also I used to walk up from 30th and and
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go to 57th or eth where I lived and uh it was a two-way street it was really
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there weren't any horses and carts though you'd be happy to hear you weren't that far back it wasn't that oh
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good all right we're in the mo were you walking around with casting call
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magazine I was doing uh what we used to
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get was Show Business and uh and what what they go backstage you remember
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backstage remember that you guys did it a whole other way it was just buy I
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would you know I was never in the magazine I we'd buy these magazine these papers that came out once a week Show
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Business and and uh backstage and in there there would be all the casting
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that was going on and we would you know we would go to
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uh uh on the corner of I think it was 47th and uh seventh was uh Howard
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Johnson's and uh everybody would meet in there it was like you without you going in you know take up space and have
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coffee and read the to see what the latest thing yeah yeah to see what was
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going on and and uh Danny did you ever find when you auditioned for these things at the beginning I found this
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that you would audition and then you would hear through the gra Bine they
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already have offers out to stars but they're just looking for backups or oh no it's it's always the same case so
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it's been that since the beginning of time and the other thing about like I I'm talking about auditioning for off
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off Broadway Off Broadway uh regional theater anything that you
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could get and you know sometimes you get lucky and get an audition at the public
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you know uh and uh you know get get a a tiny part in h Shakespeare in the park
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you know like it's not L literally a spear carrier but you might have a few
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lines like I played once I got I played the doctor in h the marry wiv of w the
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doctor's servant so sorry in the marry wise of Windsor you know and uh the best
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those were the best show uh to get because they literally paid man oh that
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was like you would wind up with1 190 something dollars a week in in those uh
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in in at Joe paps you $200 it was a different contract that you know no
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strike needed there yeah four months of rentway Off Broadway was great man off
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Broadway was $68 a week $70 a week damn that's what I made on SNL and SNL didn't
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exist then did it did Lauren tell existed well Lauren Michael Z always
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existed he was in he was a teenager and he still exists there is no
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one when did SNL start when did ednel start it's a good question 75 it's like
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70 something 75 7 75 the 50th is next year yeah anniversary yeah so I yeah
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that's so 75 I was already in California
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by then I came I'd gone through Off Broadway and all those things um
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earlier and and and you know uh did Children's Theater in Massachusetts I've
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done you know did all that kind of stuff and then I I got lucky in the in the in
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1971 is or two around there and I got a a part off
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Broadway and played martini and cuckoo nest oh so that there should be [ __ ]
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Applause then then uh I stayed in that play for almost a year it ran at the
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Mercer Arts Center and that was cool and then uh uh then Milos saw it and everybody
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saw it and I got lucky and got a you know mil and then I got the movie and then
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after the movie opened I moved out wa Danny sunny California my my question
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was when you do a play You're Not Guaranteed a part in the movie are you no you're not guaranteed anything in
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this our business is you must know this it's not there's no there are no
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guarantees there's no anything no yeah I mean once in a while like for instance I
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you could imagine like Brando giving a performance like he did in street car
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and then yeah you know there you got to be a you know you have to have your head
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head in the sand to not cast him in uh in the movie so right uh same thing with
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the you know Vivian they're not gonna get someone from The Bachelor and they're not going to like
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yeah he's GNA be uh the First Choice yeah I I starred in Hans and frons the
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musical sorry go ahead I want to hear more about Hans and fron the musical
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Hans and fron the musical what I was going to ask you Danny is a philosophical question usually when
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people have their struggling years struggling years and then have hyper
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Superstar success which I'm going to put you in that category they look back at those early years and go those were some
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of the best days of my life do you feel that or did it suck when you look back on the struggle years well I never I
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don't first of all I don't I unless I'm doing something like talking to you guys
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like or something you you don't think about that as much but you you you do
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think like you know those days were struggles but not you know not the best
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they were not those were the days uh uh I I think the toughest part about that
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getting started was you know like you guys got started like when you you know
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you you you hit television or I don't know what your history is but how how
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much you did before before I met you at the when I did the church lady or
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something like but uh you were there you were you were there yeah I
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remember well you you hosted a couple times just so funny and when I did that
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drum solo in the dress you were egging me on you know and that was my best drum
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solo on television there you go you see you have to a coach you were good I had 10 10 years of
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of uh anonymity before I got SNL David had David got a movie right out of high
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school but um I know then I but then I Danny thank you for asking I did a
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police academy movie Police Academy 4 the good one and I and then I came back
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and turned something down I thought I was kind of a big deal and then I lost
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all my heat for three years and had to grind it back and it's so [ __ ]
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sickening to even think about but you know it all worked out but but like you were saying at the beginning when you
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were struggling I think like all of us you don't really know any better and you
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you know you're taking a risk by going into this world of movies and TV and theater so you can only really look back
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and think godamn how did I get through that but at the time $100 is a lot you
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get a little part it's 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
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it you look back you go God that was tough but at the time it's tough but you don't I didn't really notice how tough
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it was yeah you don't notice it no you just well you're you're focused on like you're you're focused on getting a job
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Yeah so basically that was what what was going on with me I was like I would um
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uh I would read those papers that you you know and at the time excuse me in the
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60s I I didn't have an equity card so I just got out of school and like the way
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they did it was you they you would read in say you read in the in in backstage that
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such and such was casting something and you go okay and and they're casting over
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on 57th Street you know by Carnegie Hall somewhere near one of those buildings
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down the block whatever it was and casting was you know say Tuesday okay
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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
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they would they because everybody's looking for the right person to play the part hopefully uh if and especially if
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they're not yes the I mean maybe they already had the lead cast or that's the
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way they raise the money or that those things but you would you would wait up
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in the I you go go at like 3 o'clock four o'clock in the afternoon and maybe
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the line was less and you could uh you know you could you waited and then in
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the end the very end uh they would let the non-equity
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people get in to uh to audition and then
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they'd see everybody and as a matter of fact the first play that I ever got did
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I did at uh in I think it was
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1968 or so seven the first off Broadway show
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because I had done regional theater well uh I did toured with a play once that
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came out of school that was like kind of casting the we went to two theaters went
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to the Eugene O'Neal Foundation where they the playwrights thing in 60
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something 64 and and then like in
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68 I I actually did that I went to the to one of those
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auditions and where they make you wait until the very end and I Peak my head into the you know it was this big big
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door in one of those big old pre-war buildings and the like was on I think it might have been on like near 57th Street
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and I I walk up and it's giant door and it was nobody there cuz I had gone and come back the line was really long and
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he anyway long story short I stuck my head in and there were there was an actor a
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director and a writer and a producer sitting at a table really far away in
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this big empty room looked like rehearsal room and I just popped my head in like and
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and you know you still uh you know seeing people kind of thing and the
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actor uh a guy named Allan Garfield you remember you know Alan James Garfield's
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son no no I don't know who who his dad was his name was Alan Garfield but he
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was you know him Dave no I know Garfield the cat Okay anyway the guy literally at
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the table like across the room turns around and said that's the guy who
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should play the part whoa they were trying to talk him into yeah he didn't want to do this part it was
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wasn't a huge part but it was a good part and I stuck my head in the door and
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the guy and the actor not the director and the producers and the writer or whatever he said there's the guy who
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should play this part and I I just backed out of the room
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or something and they came and got me and I went in and I read the lines did the thing I didn't I didn't I had never
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seen the script before just you know like those things where they give you the
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yeah yeah and I got a part in a in a in a play called shoot anything with hair
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that moves of course a huge
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[Music] success I just think of the 70s and the films of the 70s and Cuckoo's Nest and
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of course that play yeah don't shoot anything that has hair and the the
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friends that you that you made Jack Nicholson and Michael Douglas and your your class those 70s
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guys that all became and they're lifelong friends what what's the deal with those guys are they fun or do you
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like them or jackon and yeah they're good to work with yeah Jack's the coolest guy out there Jack Jack was like
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a a guy from Jersey he he actually lived like he was born in this we were born in
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the same Hospital figure that I'll be Dam and well hey I'll be damned
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how about that that's what Jack would say I'll be damn born in the same
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Hospital yeah how do you like that me and the born in the same hospital um I
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don't do a good accent uh let's see and then Michael I met I met actually in the 60s
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at the Eugene O'Neal um playr conference up there where we where that play that I was
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going through town with uh we we opened the festival that
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year and um that's where we met so and there and not only good guys but really
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uh fun to work with and and you and once we got going we had a couple shots to
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work together which was like really good you know it's when people are
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looking out for you because uh the business is like very difficult uh and
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when people are looking out for you as well as you know your your buddies and
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know what the scoop is then you you know you be fortunate to have those guys as
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friends 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
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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
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that you would work together because you keep bringing bringing it which is hard to do it's all about work the work right
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yeah just keep working yeah yeah keep having having and having a good time doing it our theme Here ve uh casually
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SNL and uh you hosted five times it's very rare o' to host five times five
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o'clock you and John Goodman and a couple others when you host that show as you know you got a pretty much cold read
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55 scripts over four hours basically and I remember thinking the time when you
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came in in 86 or 87 damn this guy can cold read was it were you known for that
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but you were like nailing it you know over and over again I don't you know pretty cool to to to watch as a young
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performer well it a lot of fun to sit in that room with all you crazy people and
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uh and and have that pile of scripts in front of you and just go through them
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and I mean that that's like uh you know the opportunity to have everybody there
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pitching what they thought was best best and what you felt comfortable with that's the main thing I think that's key
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right for would you say like for the hosts to be comfortable with all that
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material want you know pick the ones that are the ones that suit you best
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it's a lucky thing like to have that um pack of you know troubadors all
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sitting around the table you know it's like old school Showbiz kind of yeah old
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school you know it's like yeah I could imagine what it was like you know when the Marx brothers were running around
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all the theaters trying out material you know that that would be the same kind of uh thing they they they just go do they
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suffer people through two hours or three hours of material and then pick the ones that
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they like best yeah Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin uh did some TV shows in there Don Paro show me they said to me and they
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would just go up to the director and cut his tie off with a scissor they you know this is Jerry Lewis in the 50s and they
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would both just push the piano over like destroy the piano they were the anarchist then the crazy people but one
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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
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over-the-top Austrian guy who was out of his mind and you kept we would berate the audience the imagin and you would
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start braiding them and then you start attacking the camera and we had to keep holding you back that was one of the
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funniest moments I had on that show with you in that sketch yeah hysterical
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because you committed so [ __ ] hard I think sometimes the task of the
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director for me is hold you know sitting on me holding me back get me away from
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the just try to turn the burners down a little bit you know once I get going I
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guess that's what happen burners down all happens that way well that's what
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Arnold Arnold told me about you he said you know you you got to keep Danny on his feet keep Danny on his feet because
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his energy goes on a short leash a short leash otherwise he gets going he gets away at the leash and you have to you
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have to follow him and get him and bring him back into the scene because the emotions get so high with Danny it's
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funny about about with Arnold Arnold and I thrust together by Ivan wman who just
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passed away Soul he he uh he called me and said how
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would you like to be Arnold Schwarzenegger's brother I said let me I jump at the chance I thought that was a
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great idea once we got together it was like we had a great chemistry we breaking balls constant it was like a
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kind of like you know know uh you know he's he's so formidable you know and
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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
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crazy ass [ __ ] and he always had a pack of guys around him like Franco and
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and Franco colbo yeah and all these guys and these other bodybuilders and so it
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was like a pack of it was like a pack of bros it was similar you know going into
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like that with the you know as a host of Saturday Night Live going into this pack
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of like crazy people that were always you know that had a secondhand a
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shorthand and and uh and got along the way you guys did I don't you know at
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least when when I was around you we were always you know [ __ ] around having a good time and so it was a similar kind
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of thing with uh with Arnold I go in and and there would all be these guys seriously pumping iron and doing [ __ ]
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and you know talking about nut you know and I just like you know when you get
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protein all of a sudden a kind of a wrecking ball comes in and starts
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banging into you know yeah it was fun it was a lot of fun were they goingon to do a
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triplets yeah we were GNA do it and then uh two this is
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the I always go by the Super Bowl because it was I was in Atlanta uh doing a movie and uh and it
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was Super Bowl Sunday and I was just get getting over covid I was stuck in a room for two
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weeks and and uh the news came that Ivan passed away on that day and so this is
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going to be three this is three years now that he's gone two yeah three years two years yeah
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okay brilliant director yeah it was a drag um he was uh you know he's a lot of
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fun and uh and uh made made a big difference in my
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life well yeah I was told but we were gonna do triplets oh we were going to do
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triplets we had a we had a script going everything was going and then when he
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passed uh his family didn't want to continue with doing it so we're Arnold and I are working on other things
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together oh good and you know that's awesome we love Arnold the way yeah he's he's a
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cool guy a good
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[Music] guy Tracy Morgan was going to come in
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I'll put a baby in there you know he's so funny I had we
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had a we had a great together and he was just off the charts bananas
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I mean that energy in there don't get any EAS that's that you
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know that's the way you know the way things things things go you know like
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um they you know you have to always adjust as like we we do so did you have
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the role that Got Away Danny uh uh or maybe a conflict he had he had
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to do another movie in that I couldn't
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do I hadn't had one of those that that was uh really substantial that you know
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you could look back and say you know no I'm I've had roles that I desperately
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wanted and got which I got I had to work hard to
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get if you can't imagine you know how everybody holds out
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you know you get a part somebody says the last minute you get a part and and
00:29:32
it's the one you wanted and that that's really the ones I think about ones that
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got away I don't know I can't you know were you going to be castanza oh no no I think like you mean
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like in Seinfeld yeah no I I wasn't I
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they they they just uh yeah
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when yeah I was still I don't know what I was doing at the time I I when when
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mid but I did a movie I did a movie called the ratings
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game which is uh was done for Showtime it was the first movie that I
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directed and and I cast in that
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movie as a it was his one of his first things on camera Jerry
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Seinfeld I don't know if he had done anything before this but I cast him as a
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an agent and coincidentally the there were a couple
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of like character really wild characters in the movie I cast Michael Richards in
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the same movie oh weird really yeah wow I didn't know that they would later be teamed up in the Seinfeld but this was
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like in um it was in 83 when did Seinfeld go on like 90
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93 2 three four I'm sorry something like that so so 10 years earlier I did a
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movie called the ratings game and um both Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Richards
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were in it did Jerry ask you questions how to direct he go how do you want me
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how do you want me to play this scene did he ever say that to you no I don't
00:31:35
yeah he's pretty kind of serious in real life I think by the way which Batman did you work with I can't remember Batman
00:31:43
Returns who was the Batman again oh no that
00:31:49
oh I love Michael I do I'm not just because you're on our show right now I love your penguin I loved it your you're
00:31:57
Oswald penguin I thought didn't you have fun doing that I me your your get up was so
00:32:03
crazy yeah yeah I had I had fun doing that that was a u that was one of the
00:32:09
ones that I really wanted and I I you know
00:32:14
and I met Tim and uh we had a great you
00:32:20
know conversation about it and I knew he had done a lot of drawings and we sat in
00:32:27
his office and uh looked at and I really really wanted to play that and he the
00:32:34
makeup was the first makeup was I was in the chair for almost five hours and then
00:32:40
that we got it down to three but we stayed around three three and three three in change and it was amazing and
00:32:47
it was the thing about I liked about that was you know I like I said I like to go
00:32:53
big and and boy oh boy o wal was written like an opera he could go you could take
00:33:01
this guy you know I mean he just was he was slapping his flippers off the walls
00:33:07
baby you know I mean your bird canot
00:33:12
fly he was the Wicked Witch he was all of it all in one Crazy Character it's OD yeah and
00:33:22
that was after okay that was after so I'd work with I did the you know we did
00:33:27
Romancing the Stone jul of the Nile great and then War of the Roses with Michael and Kath and I I was just about
00:33:35
thinking about what we were going to do again because I was trying to uh pull a Fritz Lang you know where you as a
00:33:43
director you cast you know the same people in in the in all of your movies
00:33:48
but they play different parts and and then Batman came along and it's odd the
00:33:55
way things you know merge most of the movies that I've done um you know C came out of the blue
00:34:02
and I was very you're very fortunate you know I was I was going to direct a pilot in I was sitting in the in the
00:34:10
commissary a Paramount and and U I was just about to make the deal like with I
00:34:16
was talking to the writer and I was talking to the producer and it was at Paramount and I was going to be the I I
00:34:22
was directing this pilot and and uh I had a a yellow P pad full of notes you
00:34:30
know about the pilot script and I knew I was getting really Steely daggers from
00:34:36
the writer who was also the producer and a
00:34:42
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
00:34:49
commissary 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
00:34:56
call it was like the old Hollywood day she didn't bring it to the table but I I
00:35:02
got up and went over to where the phone was and I and I it was it was Michael
00:35:07
Douglas and and and uh he rescued me from doing that
00:35:13
pilot because we had shot Romancing the Stone
00:35:19
already no yes Romancing the Stone and he said what are you doing I heard
00:35:26
you're going to do a pilot I said yeah man I'm struggling through this meeting right now he said well you can't do that
00:35:32
we got to we got to go on the road man we're going all over the world to promote the movie and I said I love you
00:35:40
baby yeah get me out of here I love you you rescued my ass all
00:35:47
right I got a question go did you ever go see you were on a show called taxi
00:35:52
you might not remember but did you ever see uh Andy coffin go do standup just
00:35:57
like at The Comedy Store yeah and how was that that was that was bizarre yeah
00:36:03
bizarre yeah but I went to see him do that and I saw him and I went out to eat
00:36:09
at the restaurant he waited he bus boyed out in the valley uh it was uh after he
00:36:15
was on Taxi yeah while he was on the
00:36:21
show he bust boyed out in uh I love it on uh I I think it I'm not sure the name
00:36:27
of the deli yeah it was a good uh might have been cats's no no what the hell in
00:36:34
in the valley it wasn't Ary it was the other one it's closed now but
00:36:41
Jerry's out in it was on San is it on ventur Boulevard Jerry's is yeah Jerry
00:36:46
yeah that was that that might have been it Jerry yeah and
00:36:52
uh and you know we went out we had like couple of us from the show I think
00:36:59
Tony might have been with me and Jud might have come uh we just one night
00:37:05
went out and uh we knew he was working and so we we went and ate and uh you
00:37:12
know had conversations with it like you would have with the bus boy not Andy Andy's nowhere
00:37:20
around all right he's the bus boy now he was the bus boy it was like really great
00:37:27
I mean that that that was that guy was like uh yeah we had some fun his
00:37:33
dressing was right next to mine we would um he was a he he was hysterical one day
00:37:41
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
00:37:49
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 she's
00:37:56
got a unifor form on she's delivering a package to somebody and he tells her that she should be home you know she's
00:38:02
taking a man's job and he BR her into a wrestling match I was there for that one right in
00:38:10
the hallway both them turning red you know what I mean like choke holes we had a break AP a
00:38:19
couple of times was so that you could do that crazy about that I don't think you
00:38:26
could actually I mean you could do that you could do yeah I don't know there was no like you know again if that was a it
00:38:35
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
00:38:41
comment about it and they would say you know but I'll tell you the woman that he was fighting was as big as he was and
00:38:49
and she did a good job man he had his ass down big time you know it was it was
00:38:58
uh I don't know if Tony I always wondered if Tony always had a little camera with him Danza and I was
00:39:04
wondering if he you had one of those little always had a 8
00:39:11
MIM did were you cast before Andy were you cast first or did you have any hand in the no I think Andy might have been
00:39:18
cast I was I was the last I think I might have been one of the last members
00:39:23
to be cast uh and the the uh the the story was that I was
00:39:31
told later was that my part was actually written as a like a voice that came over
00:39:39
the loudspeaker like kind of like Carlton the doorman involed in that guy and uh and
00:39:49
then uh ultimately you know I came in and and did my famous audition where I I
00:39:56
I said uh I said to them before I they just introduced me and I said to Brooks
00:40:05
and Weinberger and D Stan Dan D Davis was there all the guys sitting around I
00:40:12
said one thing I want to know before I start who wrote this [ __ ] and I threw it on the
00:40:17
table and it was like a split second of like am I gonna get not even you know a
00:40:23
nanc they then they just [ __ ] pisss right and then it was one of those
00:40:29
auditions where you you couldn't say anything you couldn't do anything wrong I'd say and and I'd get a
00:40:37
laugh love it it wasn't yeah it was a that was the the casting director was Joel
00:40:45
thurm he he said you gotta come and do this you got you know and I I said yeah
00:40:50
man okay cool what a [ __ ] score that was score that was yeah yeah what was
00:40:55
weirder working with Andy Kaufman on taxi or then doing the man on the moon with Jim Carrey doing Andy Kaufman I
00:41:03
think work with Jim was it was like really off the chart that was the most
00:41:09
fun like I've had fun like on sure I'm really fortunate I had fun on a lot of
00:41:16
the M you know never had one of those oh [ __ ] that was awful movies I always had
00:41:21
these like really quirky kind of things and being on the set with Jim Carrey [Music]
00:41:27
sorry about that car was oh oh it is Jim no I'm only
00:41:35
kid he was like in so far in you know all the St we saw the documentary I was
00:41:42
producing that movie and so my I been also playing God Rest his soul George
00:41:48
Shapiro uh anyway he was busting my balls constantly and you know and Milos is
00:41:55
then see and it's infectious because then what would happen if we were having fun but Milo should go to me you got to
00:42:03
go to m trailer I'm losing time my I gota get you know I the studio is going
00:42:10
to be on my ass yeah and I'm going uh Andy uh Jim
00:42:15
uh Tony Tony come on out and he's gone you know but it was fun it was even
00:42:23
though it was like you know and I've got a lot of friends who work on that movie and we still talk about that experience
00:42:31
because Pam Abdi was my assistant at the time uh she was there and knowing that I
00:42:38
was going through what was going on I mean he did things like L he okay we're
00:42:44
acting in the movie but I'm also the producer one of the producers of the movie and so he he would get mad at the
00:42:52
and he like he he pulled his car up to my trailer and when went up you know there's got the little metal steps he
00:42:59
jammed his the car up put it in gear or something locked it took the keys I
00:43:05
couldn't get out of my trail Teamsters had to come with a crane to get the car you know it was like one
00:43:12
of those it was a crazy crazy time I Jim Carrey Jim Carrey is [ __ ] great just
00:43:18
just the fact that he committed that did he get nominated for best actor for that or I don't know I don't know we had a
00:43:25
really uh it was a he was brilliant in that part and uh you
00:43:33
know and and seriously um uh would turn it on and off when he
00:43:41
wanted so that was like one of those things where whenever he came to the set he was always in character but if you
00:43:49
see him like you know you know off like I went to his
00:43:54
house or something like that for a you know some he was like cool he wasn't
00:44:02
you know he wasn't like a serial killer off the yeah off the he's very he's sort
00:44:09
of a quiet sweet guy yeah quiet sweet guy but then turned into like Tony
00:44:14
Clifton I love it which was Tony Clifton is a whole other that was [ __ ] up yeah
00:44:20
we we we shot at a place called chason's down on I remember that that place
00:44:26
okay he spread there was some kind of I don't know union strike or something
00:44:32
there was something going on he wrote like big letters like you know in red
00:44:38
ink I mean red spray paint uh all over the building I had I have to re to paint
00:44:45
I had to repaint the entire building it's like a Farley it's like
00:44:52
having a crazy person on the side like like like Chris I I can't imagine what
00:44:57
it was I I I always loved Chris and uh uh because he would take it to that you
00:45:04
know oh yeah he was always the one my God same kind of thing just a lot of
00:45:09
attention a lot of craziness and uh Chris lovable sweet guy like Jim I mean
00:45:14
just but they really liven things up there's always a story after the fact there's always a
00:45:24
story Dana I got to asked Danny about uh always an an Always Sunny question
00:45:30
because we can't let you go without talking about Always Sunny uh one question of mine is I don't see all the
00:45:36
episodes but I see a lot of it on Instagram which I don't know if you know this but when they show Tik Tok and
00:45:41
Instagram Clips they're always so [ __ ] filthy I'm like are these from the real show are they getting away with
00:45:47
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 and I thought yeah
00:45:54
the show I mean people love that [ __ ] show they love it yeah the show is a little uh you know I don't know what
00:46:01
you're talking about but we have had some um innuendo I guess yeah yeah
00:46:08
there's some inuendos for sure I'm not sure if they're even
00:46:14
inuendos they're just uh straight ahead but yeah they're it's so funny and uh it's it's such a long run so it sounds
00:46:22
like a gift I'm sure just like being with f they all fun as [ __ ] I don't know everybody that well but no they were all
00:46:29
they're all you know uh uh when I got the show uh that you know lra was my
00:46:38
buddy and he showed me right F FX uh and
00:46:44
then I met them and they were you know just the way they are and uh the same C you know the three
00:46:51
yeah oddballs and then I met Caitlyn and she's she's like hysterical hilarious
00:46:59
but um yeah they're they're a lot of fun to go to work with you know yeah it's
00:47:04
good it's a good job it's been on there forever keeps giving keeps giving and
00:47:10
now Matilda we have to talk about yeah Matilda came to me yeah which you
00:47:16
directed the movie I did I directed the movie and and I you know I I saw Mara
00:47:23
Wilson in in uh in uh the uh uh movie uh
00:47:28
Mrs dfire and she was a little bit older when I met her perfect for Matilda and
00:47:35
we Shot the movie and it it it was great we had a great time that was like that was fun that was aund hundreds of kids
00:47:44
there was no CG we we added kids and all that stuff yeah this was all real kids
00:47:50
was really great me on the stage with a bullhorn yeah do this do that you know like and uh get your finger out of your
00:47:57
nose we're shooting okay wrangling cats wrangling yeah and so now we're doing it
00:48:02
on on WE we've taken the sound out you know you've seen these things uh everybody's does it with ET and does it
00:48:10
with Star Wars and does it with Back to the Future I took the soundtrack out and
00:48:17
David Newman is going to conduct the the philarmonic it's a symphony or New
00:48:23
Jersey Symphony Orchestra M and we're doing that um on March 22nd in New
00:48:31
Jersey the at the State Theater in New Brunswick and it's really exciting to do
00:48:37
because here's the thing you take the sound out okay the not just the music
00:48:42
out but I I narrate the movie as well as play a part in it so when I when I'm
00:48:49
narrating I'm on stage actually with the symphony orchestra it's really intimidating but but it's really a lot
00:48:56
fun yeah and and you're watching the you know the streamer go by on I got a monitor with the movie he's conducting
00:49:04
the score the people are watching the the movie I've got a brand new print and
00:49:09
it's just beautiful the print is like gorgeous and um and then when the stream
00:49:17
when when it's my turn to narrate talk you know you have he conducts it's like being conduct over it
00:49:24
you talk over it yeah well in the movie I play the part of wormwood Mr wormwood and I also
00:49:31
narrate the movie so I tried to find somebody to narrate the movie but I being the egotist I am I
00:49:39
couldn't anybody else that's myself
00:49:44
and H and it's kind of a trip to see you know you play the part you're narrated
00:49:50
the movie and I've got uh Ria of course plays Mrs wormwood she's going to come
00:49:55
on the 22nd great and uh and I've got Pam Ferris coming over from England she
00:50:02
played the trench bow it's really astounding how many kids love the Miss trunch bow Miss trunch she was
00:50:11
really really tough and Mar by the way I don't hear about a lot of these things Danny you don't hear about the the
00:50:19
symphony maybe with a Star Wars or something but this is a really interesting thing to do yeah yeah yeah
00:50:25
fun F challenging situation yeah it's um and I'm David Newman who wrote The Score
00:50:33
we've we've done this once be we did it once before uh we did it a few years
00:50:39
ago uh with a Orchestra of the East Coast not not New Jersey and it worked
00:50:47
out really great it's fun it's uh it's a it's a fun night because you get you
00:50:53
know but but you're right usually it's done with the more like back to the
00:50:58
futury kind of ET Blockbuster crazy movies this one is um it's got a lot of
00:51:06
music in it so it's fun who who wrote The Score David Newman he one of the
00:51:12
Newman yeah the Newman uh pack there's as soon as the newans were born the
00:51:19
father was uh the head of 20th Century Fox music did all the the scores of all
00:51:26
the old movies that we love and his brother they have the whole you always see the Newman name on and then David
00:51:34
David scores Thomas Newman Randy Newman they're all related these guys they were
00:51:39
all like as soon as they're born they give him a violin or a put or stick him little babies the first thing the newans
00:51:47
do yeah even even uh Eric Newman is his son Randy's son produces Naros lot of
00:51:55
movies so there you go everyone's In The Biz yeah everybody's In The Biz uh so this should be a really good night
00:52:02
sounds great yeah if you are you guys in the East Coast or you are you here
00:52:07
sometimes we are in California but if I was out there I'd crash that party yeah crash that party because we're gonna
00:52:14
have uh yeah uh I've never the State Theater in New Brunswick is uh new for
00:52:21
me I've never been there but fil the symphony orra you did I believe so how
00:52:28
many seat is that about 2, 250000 okay I think I played yeah yeah
00:52:37
great great theater this is would be really fun I love live music and live Symphony Orchestra it's just and then to
00:52:44
have you there narrating and seeing the film yeah that sounds fun yeah I would go see it everybody package deal are you
00:52:51
on the East Coast right now Danny yeah I'm on the west coast we're probably right around the corner from me West
00:52:56
Coast okay I don't know yeah yeah I'll wave anyway it's been a pleasure Danny
00:53:02
good luck with this thanks this has been a presentation of Odyssey please follow subscribe leave a
00:53:10
like or review all the stuff smash that button whatever it is wherever you get your podcast fly on the wall is
00:53:16
executive produced by Dana Carvey and David Spade Jenna Weiss Burman of Odyssey Charlie finan of brillstein
00:53:21
entertainment and Heather Santoro the show's lead producer is Greg Holtzman

Podspun Insights

In this episode, Danny DeVito takes center stage, sharing delightful anecdotes from his illustrious career. From his iconic role as the Penguin in Batman Returns to his directorial triumph with Matilda, DeVito's charm and humor shine through as he reminisces about his early days in New York and his time on Saturday Night Live. The conversation flows effortlessly, touching on his collaborations with legends like Jim Carrey and Andy Kaufman, and the wild stories that come with them. DeVito's passion for storytelling is palpable, especially as he gears up for a special concert event with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, where he will narrate Matilda live. This episode is a treasure trove of laughter, nostalgia, and insight into the world of entertainment, showcasing the warmth and wit of one of Hollywood's most beloved figures.

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 95
    Best performance
  • 90
    Funniest
  • 90
    Best overall
  • 90
    Most iconic moment

Episode Highlights

  • Danny DeVito's Concert Announcement
    Danny DeVito will narrate a live concert of Matilda with the New Jersey Symphony on March 22nd.
    “Danny DeVito is going to be in concert with the New Jersey Symphony!”
    @ 00m 05s
    February 07, 2024
  • A Career Retrospective
    Danny DeVito reflects on his extensive career, from Cuckoo's Nest to Always Sunny.
    “He's done a lot and he produces and he directs.”
    @ 01m 53s
    February 07, 2024
  • Remembering Ivan
    Reflecting on the loss of a friend on Super Bowl Sunday.
    “This is three years now that he's gone.”
    @ 27m 08s
    February 07, 2024
  • The Batman Experience
    Discussing the transformative makeup process for the role of Penguin in Batman.
    “I was in the chair for almost five hours.”
    @ 32m 34s
    February 07, 2024
  • Directing Matilda
    Sharing the experience of directing the beloved film Matilda with real kids.
    “We added kids and all that stuff, yeah this was all real kids.”
    @ 47m 44s
    February 07, 2024
  • Live Symphony Experience
    Narrating Matilda live with a symphony orchestra is both intimidating and fun.
    “It's really intimidating but it's really a lot of fun.”
    @ 48m 56s
    February 07, 2024

Episode Quotes

Key Moments

  • Concert Announcement00:05
  • Career Reflection01:53
  • Early Struggles12:26
  • Loss and Reflection27:08
  • Creative Collaborations27:57
  • Memorable Roles29:15
  • Jim Carrey's Dedication43:18
  • Live Performance48:56

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown