Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast - 104. Donny Most

Episode Date: May 23, 2016

Ralph Malph himself, actor and singer Donny Most talks to Gilbert and Frank about his memories of working alongside TV icons Garry Marshall, Henry Winkler and Tom Bosley, his brush with John Lennon, his appreciation of Abbott & Costello (and Sid Fields) and his love of the Great American Songbook. Also, Donny meets Sammy Davis Jr., bends the elbow with Pat Morita, attempts to mount a Bobby Darin movie and sheds light on "jumping the shark." PLUS: Praising Jack Warden! Eli Wallach goes to school! Richie and Ralph play Huck and Tom! Larry Parks meets...Larry Parks! And Gottfried sings again! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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So deposits and withdrawals happen when you're ready. Go all in on fun with DraftKings Casino. Head to the app store to download. Explore a full suite of games and find your favorites today. DraftKings Casino, the crown is yours. Gambling problem? Call Connex Ontario. 1-866-531-2600. 19 and over and physically present in Ontario. Eligibility restrictions apply. See casino.draftkings.com for details. Please play responsibly. Hi, this is Gilbert Gottfried, and this is Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast.

I'm here with my co-host, Frank Santopadre, and we're once again recording at Nutmeg Post with our engineer, Frank Furtarosa. Our guest this week is an actor, director, and singer who's appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows, including Ed TV, The Great Buck Howard, Crazy Mama, Glee, Star Trek, Voyager, Crazy Mama, Glee, Star Trek, Voyager, Family Guy, Murder, She Wrote, Yes, Dear, Mad TV, Fantasy Island, and The Love Boat, just to name a few. He's also directed feature films, including The Last Best Sunday and Moolah, starring Treat Williams and Chalene Woodley. In his five-decade career, he's worked with everyone from Angela Lansbury to Cloris Leachman to John Malkovich to former Amazing Colossal podcast guests Dick Van Dyke, Larry Storch, and Ileana Douglas.

But to generations of TV viewers, he's best known as the girl-chasing practical joker Ralph Mouth on the much-loved situation comedy Happy Days. These days, you could find him dividing his time between acting gigs and leading a seven-piece orchestra in his live musical review, Donnie Moe Sings and Swings, in which he covers the songbooks of Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and his beloved Bobby Darin. Please welcome to the show a man who reportedly memorized the entire script of the Jolson story. the entire script of the Jolson story, the pride of Erasmus High School,

and our fellow Brooklynite, Don Most. Hello. That was quite an introduction. Boy, you had me riveted. It is a little like This Is Your Life, Don. It really is. Now, you'll have to excuse me if at times I'll start calling you Donnie after you've been known as Donnie most all these years. That's true. I've had several identity crises in my life.

Yeah, I mean, you know, when I started in the business, I mean, I started pursuing it when I was about 13, and all my friends called me Donnie. My real name was Donald, but Donnie was what I went by, and everyone said, hey, that's a great stage name, Donnie Most. So that's how I went up until Happy Days and then through Happy Days, of course. But then when I was leaving, I left the show after the seventh season. My contract was up and I felt like, okay, I have to sort of – now I'm an adult and I have to make the break away from that. That as an actor, you want to go on beyond one character. So I thought now I needed to move into Don most. So that's where that where the transition was. Is this like how Debbie Gibson became Deborah Gibson at one point?

I imagine so. I imagine. But the funny thing is that when I decided to do the music that I'm doing and I started to appear, it didn't feel right lifting myself as Don, so I kind of went back to Donnie for the music. It's weird. I don't know why. So for films and stuff, I'd like to go as Don. For music, I want to go alive as Donnie. But although on my CD that I'm working on, I've been talked into by a friend of mine

who's a record guy into going with D-Most. D-Most. D-Most. I like it. It's very hip-hop. Yeah, D-Most. So I think the name of the CD is going to be D-Most, Mostly Swinging.

I like it. It's got a good sound. Frank and I want you to recite some lines of dialogue or whole pieces of dramatic dialogue from the Jolson story. Is that bullshit, Don? Because you do research on somebody and you find things that you don't know if there's any truth to them. But I know you've got a fondness for that movie. Well, at one time I probably didn't know just about the entire script of the film. One time I probably didn't know just about the entire script of the film.

I'd be hard-pressed to repeat any of it right now because it's been so long since I've seen it. But when I was nine years old, New York, well, Gilbert, you would remember, I guess, a million-dollar movie. Yeah. Oh, sure. We talk about that on the show a lot. Yeah, so I remember I went to school. I was in third grade. I was nine years old.

And a friend of mine said, oh, did you see the movie, Million Dollar Movie last night, the Jolson story? And I said, no, you know, I knew nothing about it. And he said, oh, it was really good. So I went home that night. It was probably Tuesday and watched it. And it was like transforming to me because seeing Jolson and for some reason had a major impact on me. So I watched it every night the rest of the week, and then it would be on four times Saturday and four times Sunday,

and I watched all of it. And then when it came on the next year, so I must have seen the movie like, you know, 50 times. So by osmosis, I was able to memorize it. But like I said, I don't know too much right now. I wish I did. I remember me and my sisters growing up would do the same thing. We'd pick out a movie and watch it constantly because it would keep rerunning. Well, there were four channels. Yeah, exactly. Fewer choices. Yeah. So if you like something, why not? You know, we didn't have DVR or, you know, video cassettes.

Now, more importantly than the Jolson story. Yes. A movie I like even more is Jolson Sings Again. Were they both Larry Parks? Yes. Yes, they were. Yes, where they introduce Larry Parks as Jolson to the actor who will play him in the Jolson story. Yeah, yeah.

So Larry Parks as Jolson meets Larry Parks as Larry Parks. Larry Parks. I know. That was a little surreal. It was like a little Twilight Zone episode or something. We're all Brooklyn kids, Don, and you bring up the million-dollar movie. I mean, just briefly, what else did you watch? Oh, gosh.

Well, I watched, I loved a lot of the sitcoms. I was a huge, in comedy, I was a big fan of Abbott and Costello. I loved. Oh, yes. I loved watching them because they had a TV show on. Sure. And, you know, I was a big Dick fan. I used to watch the Dick Van Dyke show.

And I was a huge Twilight Zone fan. I was into that big time. And I loved a lot of the old movies. Old W.C. Fields movies I loved. I was a big fan of his. And I'm trying to think on the comedy side. You know, Jack Benny. And then I watched a lot of the variety shows, too.

I enjoyed – we all watched Ed Sullivan every Sunday night. But shows like the Craft Music Hall and I remember stuff like that where I watched – where I got to – became a huge fan of Darren, Bobby Darren. I saw him on that a bunch of times and that got me hooked on him. I'm trying to remember. Here's what's happened. Costello movies used to be on him. I'm trying to remember. Here's what's happened. Costello movies used to be on Sundays. Yeah. Remember?

Oh, yeah. Yeah. They would run them in rotation. They would have the movies and then the TV show. I love the TV show. Yeah. Sid Fields. Sid Fields.

The landlord. The landlord, right. Would call them boys, boys. And they were like in their 60s. He would also abuse them in various ways. Smack them around. Yeah, he'd smack Costello around. And I remember the music was da-da-da-da-da-da-da.

Oh, right. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. That's right. I forgot that song. Yeah, with Bocce Galoup.. Yeah. With Bocce Galoup. Oh, yes. Bocce Galoup. And I remember, oh, God.

Joe Besser. Joe Besser. Oh, yeah. As Stinky. As Stinky, right. He used to scare me as a kid. Why? I don't know.

A Nance comic, as Orson Bean explained to us. Yes, yes. He scared you, much like some people afraid of clowns, I guess. Oh, yeah. I think so. And there was that great routine, and Sid Fields did that, I think, in the movie. And, you know, the slowly I turn, step by step. Oh, yeah.

That goes back to vaudeville. Yeah, the old vaudeville routine, right? That's where they started. What's the other one, too, where he proves the loaf of bread is the mother of an airplane? Necessity is the mother of invention? Well, and then, of course, the classic who's on first. I mean, that was unbelievable. Somebody told us.

Who did we have on the show? It was Orson Bean or Peter Marshall we had on the show. Somebody told us that Phil Silvers did Who's On First first. Really? Which we didn't know either. Oh, wow. I think there were about a thousand different comedians back then doing a variation on Who's

On First. Oh, I always thought that Alvin Costello created that. That's interesting. They popularized it. Yeah. And they're in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Yeah. Oh, yeah. As a result of that. Yeah. I saw that when I went to the Cooperst. They popularized it. Yeah. And they're in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Yeah. Oh, yeah. As a result of that. Yeah.

I saw that when I went to Cooperstown. I saw them. Yeah. Cool. So you went to Erasmus High. Yeah. Which, according to my research, also was the high school attended by, you'll love this, Gil, not only popularly Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand, but Eli Wallach. Yes, Eli Wallach.

And Moe Howard. Oh, I didn't know Moe Howard went there. Yeah, it's according to what I found. I didn't even think Moe Howard went as far as Heisman. Well, it could be bullshit, as I say. We're trusting the internet. Joe Barbera, also from Hanna-Barbera, according to what I found. And Barbara Stanwyck?

Oh, I didn't know that. I didn't find out. Wow. It's good stuff And Barbara Stanwyck? Oh, I didn't know that. I didn't find that. Wow. It's good stuff. Barbara Stanwyck. Now, Barbara Stanwyck's a lesbian, isn't she? I wouldn't know. I don't have any first-hand knowledge or anything.

She's supposed to be a very nice woman. She's gone. According to Linda Evans. Linda Evans said Barbara Stanwyck a very nice woman. She's gone. According to Linda Evans. Yeah. Linda Evans said Barbara Stanwyck was a wonderful woman, but I say she was a lesbian. Well, okay. I'll take your word for it. But I have an interesting anecdote about Erasmus and Barbara Streisand.

Oh, yeah. Let's hear it. I mean, this was always what I heard. I can't vouch 100% for the accuracy of this. But the story that we always heard was that she was in the school choir and got kicked out. She got kicked off of the choir because her voice wouldn't blend in because it just stood out so much that she got kicked out of the the choir so that was cool i actually was supposed to attend erasmus and i attended it for about maybe two three weeks oh really would you move and then i i dropped out also his voice wouldn't blend in while i was there i tried to ask bar Barbara Stanwyck out on a date. Oh, cut that out.

And instead you went out with Eli Wallach. Yes. And Eli Wallach, I found out, is a lesbian. See what you learn on this show, Don? Yeah, it is very informative. Now, how did you start? Okay, well, what happened, I was always, after the Jolson story, I was so into that, and I would be singing Jolson stuff for my grandparents. And even at my bar mitzvah, I got up and sang with the band.

I did Rock-A-Buy Your Baby with the Dixie Melody, I remember. And so everyone was saying, you should do something. And so I finally admitted to my parents, you know, because I was embarrassed to admit that I wanted to pursue singing and acting. But so they found me a school to go to in Manhattan that was run by an old vaudevillian, a guy named Charlie Lowe. And then I found out years later, Elliot Gould went to the same school. And they taught like singing and dancing and acting. I had to learn tap dancing, which I didn't really want, but I was more interested in the singing.

But Charlie Lowe ran the school and his wife, Kasia, taught the tap dancing. And then he had a professional group that he would handpick from the school to go and perform during the summers up in the Catskill Mountains in the Borscht Belt. So I got picked to be in the group. And the summer of 68, when I was like turning 15, I performed up in the Catskill singing in the nightclubs with all these other kids, about eight of us. And we did every single, you know, toured all the hotels up there, everyone except the Concord.

We couldn't get into the Concord for whatever reason. That was for the big-name talent, you know. And we weren't up there yet. So that's how I kind of got my start. But then after that year, I switched gears and got into a more serious acting class and then met a woman who became my manager. And then I started pursuing the acting side and put music on the back burner for a while for a long time until a couple of years ago. I'm trying to picture you at 15 singing Jolson songs with the Catskills.

I was so into it. And Eddie Cantor, you know, all that kind of, I loved all that stuff. Eddie Cantor, you know, all that kind of, I loved all that stuff. And now jumping ahead, when you got the job on Happy Days, Anson Williams was known as the singer on the show. Yes. And you wanted to sing too. Could you tell us that story? Yeah, there is a great story there.

Well, what happened was, you know, we started doing the show, what, 74, we went on the air. And this was about five years removed from when I was singing up in the Catskills. And what I didn't know, that Anson had gone to, Anson had done musical theater and everything. And he went to Gary Marshall, the creator of Happy Days, pretty early on in that first season and said, hey, look, you're doing a show about the 50s. You got the drive-in restaurant. You got the girls on roller skates, the poodle skirts, the whole ambiance of the 50s. And music was such a big part of it.

You need to have the music in there. Why don't you let us form a band? And I'm a singer. And Gary said to him, Oh, you're a singer? And are you any good? And Anson's saying, Yeah, I think I'm pretty good. So Anson tells a very funny story of how Gary, how Gary introduced Anson singing in the first episode. And it's in his new book called Singing to a Bulldog, in which the one, there's a chapter where he explains the episode. And it's in his new book called Singing to a Bulldog, in which there's a chapter where he explains a story. And basically, I shouldn't spoil it,

but basically Gary says to him, okay, I'm going to let you form a band. And then he walks away and then he turns and says, but you're singing to a bulldog. And then Anson goes, what? He goes, you're singing to a bulldog and then and then and then anson goes what he goes you're singing to a bulldog this way if you're if you're not any good it'll still be funny and if you're good it'll still be funny either way i win so you're singing to a bulldog and that's what he did he had him he had him

singing uh it was a fraternity it was a show where we were singing at a fraternity and as their mascot they had a bulldog there so you'll if you look at that episode there's Anson singing to a bulldog but you then approached Gary yeah I did I did yeah well so what happened was uh you know several episodes go by and I'm seeing Anson doing all the singing and and you know here I had a whole background with singing so I made a I made an appointment with my manager to go and have a meeting with Gary Marshall. So I remember we go in there and Gary's behind his desk. And I'm pleading this whole case about how I was a singer back, you know, when I was 15. And you should let me do some too.

You know, we were a band. I could do some. And he looks at me takes a dramatic pause and he goes if i was putting on an act and i needed a juggler i wouldn't need two jugglers shut you down huh shut me down pretty quick so i, okay. I didn't quite know how to react to that. But that was the end of my case. So I they wound up letting me do. There was like a special Valentine's show where everyone did a musical number and I sang in that and so but I didn't really get to do, you know, what I would have liked. But the truth of the matter is the music that I really love and what I'm doing now as a singer is not really 50s music. It's the great American songbook and swing and big band jazz

and all the jazz standards and stuff like that. Sinatra and Bobby Darin and Dino and Nat King Cole and even some more of the blues, jump, jive and whale kind of stuff. You know, I love all that. jump, jive, and wail kind of stuff. I love all that. So I'm doing that now. And not only with a seven-piece band, I just did it at a club out here in L.A. with a 17-piece band, and it was smoking.

It was so much fun. It was just a hoot. And I'm getting great response, and I'm having a great, great time doing it. Because like I mentioned, I saw Darren Bobby at the Copa when I was 18 years old, back when the Copa was the place to play in New York. And that was an amazing experience. And I actually was trying to get the Bobby Darren movie made way back in 1976. I had Bobby's manager in my camp and the attorney for his estate let me pitch it up at Paramount.

And I went through three different meetings, but ultimately they passed on it. So I had kind of mixed feelings, you know, years later when Kevin Spacey was able to get the movie made. And on one hand, I was like thrilled that they finally were doing something because I wanted Darren to live on, and I was happy that they were doing it. But it was a bummer that it wasn't me getting to do the movie. We were going to ask you about that. That movie's come up on this show. We've talked about the John Goodman scene where he's doing the update. But he was a little old for the – I mean, it's a labor of love, that movie, and his affection for Bobby Darren is moving.

But he was a little old for the part. That was the big problem with that movie. He was too old for that. Mildly. Yeah. I mean, he was, you know, I mean, to play him when he was young, he was older than Bobby was when Bobby died. Right. So, yeah, I understand him wanting, you know, being passionate about it.

And he did some great things, you know. I mean, you've got to give him a lot of credit. But as a movie, I think that kept it from working on the level it could have. Yeah, I brought up that movie a bunch of times on this show because it has – there's always these terrible parts in movies based on real stories, especially where the character has to basically yell to the audience what's going on. In biopics. So John Goodman is Bobby Darin's manager.

Yeah, playing Steve Blauner. Steve Blauner, that's who he's playing. Yes. So Bobby Darin goes, ah, I have no career. I never made anything. At that point, John Goodman, as the manager, has to go, what do you mean, Bobby? You've had

17 hit albums! You've won five Grammy Awards! Right. They're giving the litany of his resume. It takes like about 15 minutes of credit. In the 30s, they would have done it with spinning

headlines. That's right. That would have got it done more efficiently. You met him when you said there's a story online that I found. You met him. He was with his son. Yeah. Yeah. Is his son still around? Yes. Yes, he is. Dodd. Boy, I'm impressed with the homework you've done there. That's very – Well, I tried. That's great. Yeah, what happened was this was before I was on Happy Days. I was pounding the pavement going on auditions in New York City, and I was – I had taken the subway from Brooklyn into the city, and I had an interview, and then I heard on the radio that there was a group that, you know, they had the Schaefer Music Concerts in Central Park during the summer then.

I don't know what they call them now, but back then they were called the Schaefer Music Concerts. Schaefer Beer? Yeah. Sponsor? Yeah. And there was a rock group of some kind that was supposed to be performing that night, and for some reason they had to drop out last minute. And they said replacing them is Bobby. And it seemed like an odd choice because it was a rock group.

But I was excited as hell. So I said, I'm in the city. I'm just staying. And I'm going to go to the concert. So I wound up going over to the amphitheater pretty early because I was I had nothing else to do and I heard music so what happened was they had been finishing a sound check rehearsal so I got as close as I could and I'm waiting around then all of a sudden I see Bobby walking out from behind the the theater with a young boy and I'm pretty sure I was pretty shy I still am I

always kind of shy and I didn't want to I don't know what to do but there was no way I could stop myself from approaching him because I was such a huge fan so I walked over to him and introduced myself and and and I know I must have sounded like a babbling idiot because I was going on and on about I've you know this and and and then I said to whom I think I've sung Mack the Knife more than you have, you know. And he looked at me like I was crazy. But the truth of the matter is I probably sang it as much as he did to hit that 45 record.

I could see it in my turntable over and over again. And, you know, he was very polite. He was very low key, very sort of soft spoken and introduced me to his son. And it was very nice. And that was the extent of it. But, you know, I'll treasure the fact that I did get to to meet him in person. And he had a hard, hard life as it turned out. And he found out that was a weird.

Yes. Yeah. Secret that came out that his mother was. Let's see what the woman that he thought was his mother was... Wait, wait. The woman that he thought was his grandmother was really his mother. Right, that's it.

Yeah, that's what it was. And his mother, the one he thought was his sister, was his mother. Yeah, the one he thought was his sister was... Yeah, I'm just getting all confused now. He thought the one that he grew up thinking was his sister turned out to be his mother. Yes, yeah. And the one who he thought was his mother was his grandmother.

That's it. Which I think the exact same thing happened with Jack Nicholson. Yes, you're right. I read that and I was like, I couldn't believe the, you know, the, what do you call it? The coincidence or the synchronicity of that. That is crazy. It is crazy. Yeah.

And he died very young. He had the bad ticker. Yeah, 37. He died on the operating table. He had rheumatic fever as a kid, which led to a bad heart. And the doctor predicted that he probably wouldn't live past 18 so um he was living with that you know and i think that had a lot to do with maybe his sort of um you know uh people looked at him as being pretty aggressive and and and arrogant and whatever but

i think he felt he was on borrowed time you know know. And he was. Yeah, and he was. Not a bad actor, too, if you see movies. What's the one he made with Poitier? Is it Pressure Point? Pressure Point, he's excellent. Yeah, he's very good. And he was nominated for an Academy Award in the movie with Gregory Peck and Angie Dickinson. Captain Newman, M.D.

Oh, that's the one who gives that whole speech. Yeah, he plays a war. He's from Vietnam, war vet. And he's like kind of losing his mind. And he's great in it. He's really excellent. And Pressure Point, he was excellent, too. Very good actor, underrated.

He was an under, I mean, and to see him live and listen to his music, I think he's one of the more underrated singers of that. I mean, he could swing as good as anybody. I think he could swing better than most of them. I mean, because I saw him, and if you look at some of his stuff on YouTube, boy, he was amazing. Just amazing and incredible. I'll tell you a story, and this will kind of back up my feeling about bobby because like i'm i think he was amazing and he could sing any genre you look at him and that was part of his problem he could sing he could sing rock he could sing folk he could sing

blues he could sing gospel and do it great yeah and and do it great i I had the great privilege of meeting Sammy Davis one time. I went to see him at a show he did in Tahoe. And Happy Days was pretty big at the time, so I was recognized and people found out I was in the audience. So somebody came to me midway through the show and said, Sammy would like you to come to the dressing room afterwards to say hello. And I was like, oh, my God. I was nervous as hell because I was a big fan of Sammy's too.

So I go backstage and we're talking about all his music and music in general. And then I told him how I was also a huge fan of Bobby's. And he looks at me and he doesn't say anything. And I don't know what he's getting at. And he says to me, the only performer I would not follow is Bobby Darin. Who is Bobby Darin? How about that? Now, that tells you something.

There's a lot of other people he could have said, but he said the one performer I wouldn't follow. Because Bobby was amazing. I saw him live, and I'm telling you, he was unbelievable. You just see him in those 70s variety shows. He turns up on Flip Wilson and Tom Jones and all those shows, and he's just electric. And then Darren, though, I think right after Kennedy died, he just totally flipped out.

Yeah, he was a huge supporter of Robert Kennedy and became pretty good friends with him. And he got very involved in the campaign. And I think it was a combination of when Kennedy got killed and then when he found out the truth about his personal life, he kind of became a hermit. And he checked out. He moved up to Big Sur, was living in like a trailer, you know, up there and and was and getting into Bob Dylan's music and wanting played by John Goodman because I got to know Steve when he saw how much I loved Bobby and when we were trying to get the movie made

and he said that Bobby came back because he needed medical care and he didn't want to stand in line and so he came back and became Bobby Darin again. He gave up because for a while he became Bob Darin. I became Don Moe. He was the president. He became Bob Darin again. You know, he gave up. Because for a while he became Bob Darin. Like I became Don Moe. He was a president. He became Bob Darin.

Then he came back as Bobby. And, you know, had sort of a resurgence. Had his own TV show on for a while. And got picked up. And then he died, you know, right when they were going to go into another season. Anyway, I'm sorry to bring up, you know, to bring up... No, it's worth talking about him. We get into people like that on this show, and we haven't talked too much about Bobby Darin.

He's just a great talent. Yeah, and that's why I think he was, as successful as he was, I think he was hugely underrated. And who knows what he would have done if he had a normal life span. But anyway. Don't forget to follow us on our Facebook page,

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Made our way, enjoyed your way. Available right away. And now back to the show. There was a photo. I think it was Anson Williams sent me. Oh, yeah? The photo. And that was a photo, and he said to us, he goes, look at this. Oh, I know the photo you mean. He said, look at the whole cast and crew and see if anything stands out. Oh, I know the photo you made. He said, look at the whole cast and crew and see if anything stands

out. Oh, I know the photo you're talking about. Go ahead. It happened it was in the first season of the show. I remember we were shooting what I call the drag race episode because it was

I get challenged by this guy named Skizzy to a drag race. And I remember. And then, you know, and Fonzie's in the car with me and he realizes that I'm not probably qualified to do this. So he says, I'll race you. And then that becomes the episode. So I remember we were shooting, we were rehearsing a scene in arnold's and and anson

went to get some coffee or something at the craft services and he comes back and he says there's a guy over in the corner that looks and and i won't say who yet he who looks just like so-and-so and we all laugh yeah yeah right so-and-so's really gonna come to our set and and and then all of a sudden the guy walks over with his son and and it was the guy it was who exactly who he said it was john lennon and we were like holy cow i can't we couldn't believe it and with a young julian with julian who was like nine years old and they they he was out on a trip to california taking julian around i think they were going to go to disneyland and do and and i think there's a a book about him where they talk about this trip and um and he i

guess julian loved happy days so he brought him to the set and he hung out for like hours and watched us and and and was talking to the crew. And I think Anson told, I didn't even know this, he was drawing these little doodles on napkins and he was giving them to the crew. And Anson was like saying, we're idiots. Why didn't we get one of those? Why didn't we get some of his? It's a great photograph.

Yeah, it really is. It really is a great little time capsule. Because it is, you have to look It really is a great little time capsule. Because it is. You have to look at that photograph about 20 times. Right. You think it's a cast member. Yeah. Jerry Paris is in the picture, too.

Yeah. Who I love. Jerry was like one of my favorite people in the world. As for people who don't know, Jerry was our director for, you know, Gary was our exec producer and creator. But Jerry directed 90% of the episodes. And he also was the director for most of the episodes of the Dick Van Dyke show. And also the next, the next door neighbor, play Jerry Helper, the next door neighbor. Exactly. Yeah. Tell us a little bit, we'll talk about Jerry and Gary too, but tell us a little

bit about a first auditioning. Did you audition for Potsy's part? Yes. Originally. And I bring this up because it indirectly involves one of Gilbert's favorite actors. If I have my story right. And that's Jack Warden. Oh, oh yeah. Jack, Jack is great. That's, I'll tell you a funny story about that too. And then I want to hear how it indirectly, oh my God, you, this is unbelievable that you brought this up. Jack Warden. Okay, here's the deal with that. I get a call from my agent to go in for a new series about the 50s,

and it was for the role of Patsy. So I met several times, and then I had a reading for Gary and a whole room full of people. And then the next thing I heard is I'm going to be screen testing. And then the next thing I heard is I'm going to be screen testing. So at the same time, I'm up for a TV movie that I, you know, I didn't think of myself as a comedian. I thought of myself as an actor that can do comedy if the material is good, you know. But I was never somebody that would get up and if anything, I was the exact opposite. I was the straight man to all my friends growing up. They were telling jokes and I would be a good audience for them. And,

and I was never the guy telling jokes. I was totally opposite the character I played, but, um, but you know, they, I, if it was a good part, I, you know, I, I would do it at the same time. I was up for this TV movie. that was a dramatic script written by a guy named Herman Rauker, who had written the movie The Summer of 42, which was like one of my favorite movies back then. And it was being directed by a guy named Buzz Kulik, who had directed Brian's Song, which was like the all-time top TV movie. You know, Gale Sayers' story with Brian. I mean, Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers. And James Caan had played Brian Piccolo. So this was a movie written by that guy and directed by those two people.

And it was a really good script, dramatic script. And I was more interested in that. So I went in and read for that. And the director went crazy. He was saying to everybody, did you see what he did in the room? You know, I knew he loved me. I get home, my agent calls me and says, they loved you. And they think you would be perfect because they're, they're, they want to cast Jack Warden as your uncle, as, as the uncle in this thing. So, and they think you look like a young Jack Warden, which is what

later Jerry Paris, who was friends with Jack Gordon, always told me that I reminded him of a young Jack Gordon. So they said, if Jack does the part, you're shoo-in for this role. But Jack is overseas doing a film, a war film, and he's not going to be able to give an answer for them for a little while, so we're going to have to wait. So I go in and screen test for happy days for Patsy. And then they call me on a Friday and said, you didn't get the role, but they want to create this other role for you of Ralph. You know, there's a small part. They're going to build it up. They want you to be a regular.

And I said, yeah, but what about that TV movie with Jack Warden? And they go, well, they don't have an answer yet, you know, whether Jack's going to do it. So, but me and my agent and I decided, let's hold out and pass on happy days. So we passed. We said, okay, we're not going to take the offer because I wanted to do the movie with Jack Warden. So then over the weekend, my agent at the time, a guy named Mark Harris,

plays basketball with Gary Marshall. And Gary said, what's going on? Your boy's turning us down. And he offered my agent a better deal and told him that he thought it had a good chance of going on as a mid-season replacement and talked my agent into coming back to me. So he did. And on Monday, he says, I think we should take it. I goes, yeah, but what about the movie with Jack? And they go, well, we're not going to know on that for like a week. And they need to know today. So that's when we decided, OK, we'll take Happy Days.

And it turns out Jack Warden did do that movie. And I would have gotten to play with it. What was the Jack Warden movie? It was called originally Forced Remember When. It was a TV movie and a pilot. It was called Remember When, and then I think they changed the title to Four Stars in the Window. It was a World War II film. Anyway, so that's my Jack Warden.

Now, how does me not getting Patsy tie into your story about Jack Warden? No, there's no story. It's just that Gilbert worked with Jack Warden and he's come up a lot on the show. So I thought there was an interesting connection there. He was in all the Problem Child movies. Yeah. Unfortunately, I never did a scene with him. Oh, that's too bad.

He was terrific. Oh, I love it. He's a great actor. Great actor. I just saw recently the movie, which I've forgotten just how incredible it is, is All the President's Men. And Jack is in that. He's great. He was in, what was that one with Warren Beatty that he was so great in?

Oh, Heaven Can Wait. He's great in The Verdict with Paul Newman. Oh, The Verdict. He's wonderful. Twelve Angry Men. Oh, forget about it. And Being There. And the list goes on. Oh, The Verdict. He's wonderful. Twelve Angry Men. Oh, forget about it. And Being There, and the list goes on. Oh, yeah.

Wonderful, wonderful character actor. And I got to meet him once at a nightclub, and I think he had had a couple of drinks. He gets like me when I get very red in the face. We had a similar complexion. He gets like me when I get very red in the face. We have a similar complexion. Now, you obviously were on one of those episodes of Happy Days that became a part of the English language now. Yeah.

Yeah. Can you tell us about that episode? Sure. But I'd also, I'd also like to bring up that there's, there's a, my catchphrase that I kind of introduced has become part of the vernacular of, of, of our society, which was, I still got it. I mean, I introduced that and back in 19, whatever, 75. And the reason, and now people, I hear people using in 19-whatever, 75. And the reason, and now people, I hear people using it on TV, going, I still got it. I still, I can't believe that that, because that started with me.

And I borrowed or stole that from Jerry Paris. Because Jerry used to, when he would crack a joke and score with a joke around a bunch of people, he'd go, I still got it. You know, like that. So then one day i decided i was gonna as ralph in the show i without telling anyone i was gonna steal jerry's line and i did it i used it in the show and it went over big and then they started writing it in for me all the time so that was one uh thing that has caught on in part of our culture. The one that I think you're alluding to is jumping the shark. Yes.

Right. That's, I guess, the other side of the spectrum from I Still Got It, right? Yes. Because Fonzie has to jump his motorcycle. No, on skis, on water skis. His water skis. What was it? Like a jet ski. No, no. He was water. Was skis, on water skis. Oh, his skis, his water skis. What was it, like a jet ski? No, no, he was water, they were water skis.

Oh, they were water skis, you're right. And he had to go over, there was an area in the water where they had a shark. Yeah, but the whole, I guess, meaning of somebody determined and used that phrase for when they think a show, a TV show has reached its nadir and it's now starting to go on the decline, so to speak, and it's going downhill. Now, for me, there's two sides of that argument. There will be people who will argue, well, the show ran for four more years after that episode. So did it really jump the shark then? But from my own personal point of view, I left the show this season afterwards, as did Ron Howard.

We left after the seventh season. And it was in my personal opinion that, you know, the episodes, the scripts, I didn't feel they were as good as they had been. And it was, you know, I was getting a little disappointed, frustrated with the way that it was going. So maybe I saw that coming. I don't know. But like I said, some people will argue that, hey, it still was a very successful show for four more years. So I don't know what the verdict is on that. That's for the audience to decide.

Can we ask you about a couple of actors on the show and just quick memories of them? Sure. Someone who passed away recently that we never got to was Al Molinaro. Yeah. What a great guy Al was. A sweet, sweet man. Just a real gentleman and always had this great spirit and smile on his face and just a lovely, lovely guy and a talented comedian. He always made you laugh. Great as Murray the Cop in The Odd Couple. Oh, yes. Were we ticked off that

in his obituary, nobody mentioned Murray the Cop? He was forgotten about on that show. He was hysterical. He was very funny in that. Tell us a little bit about the late, great Pat Morita. Oh, man, Pat. I love Pat, too.

Pat was a funny, you know, he, he was a funny guy, but then he could be really kind of serious and, and low key. And, um, uh, but, but when he was on, you know, when I, when he would get, when the cameras would be rolling, all of a sudden you'd see a transformation take place with him and and it was really interesting to see and i also have a great memory where uh i tell this story um he he he invited me to go to dinner one night before the taping of a show because usually uh they would provide dinner for us in the commissary but sometimes we would opt not to go there and just to go there was a restaurant right outside paramount studios called nicodels and it was a nice restaurant oh sure i remember nicodels yes so that was like a fun place to go and pat said hey do you want to go to dinner

instead of the commissary we'll go to nicodels so we went there and and it was great hanging out with him and and he introduced me to a drink that he would like to have before a show. And so I have to tell everyone because it's a great drink. He would have coffee mixed with Sambuca and vodka. And I tried it. And it was like, whoa. That was a real pick-me-up. That was a real pick-me-up. It was a good pick-me-up.

So that's the drink that I remember Pat introducing me to. And what about Tom Bosley? Oh, and Tom introduced me to single malt scotch. I love how these are the memories of these guys. People are going to think I'm an alcoholic. But Tom – and Tom was – I mean everyone on our show was so – we were so lucky. Tom was a great, great guy who became almost like a father to us. I remember when we – we were pretty young so when the show became somewhat successful and we were making money and we were you know everyone

was saying you should invest and buy a house and so he would be giving us advice on real estate and mortgages and you know so he was like a father to all of us when we were going through that he saw us all getting married and buying our homes. And then I used to love to watch. I remember the very first season. This is a great memory I have of Tom because I remembered his, you know, that he had been a huge star on Broadway and won the Tony for Fiorello on Broadway. And so it was a big kick for me, not only to be working with Ron Howard, and the funny story about that, which I'll get to later is remind me of the story with Ron, but here I was working with some great people that that, you know, their legends preceded them. So I would be done for the day, because in the beginning beginning we didn't shoot in front of an audience. We shot one camera like a movie is.

So my scenes, yeah, I had a small part in the beginning and I'd be done for the day. But I would want to go and watch because I knew Tom was working in the scene with Marion and Ron and Aaron Moran. And so I wanted to watch because I was like soaking all this in and I wanted to watch Tom work because it was it was like, you know, he was such a seasoned pro and his his timing and his delivery and, you know, the voice he had everything about him. It was just, you know, it was just solid as a rock. So I remember day after day to be there watching and turning and finally saying to me, what are you doing? You're done for the day. Go home. You know, I said, I'd rather stay and watch you, Tom.

And that was the truth. I just would stay there for hours watching him work. And that was a great memory. I heard a Tom Bosley story. Okay. That he was hired for some corporate gig. You know, some big corporation. He'll show up, blah, blah, blah, and pose for pictures and sign autographs.

And it went on further and further hours of doing this. And then he was sitting down, finally having something to eat. And someone said, oh, Mr. Bosley, can we have our pictures take with you? And he was tired at that point. He goes, not now. I'm off the fucking clock.

That's heartwarming. He kind of blew their image for what they had of Tom, I guess, for Mr. C. Mr. C. Yeah. I remember people confusing him, I don't know why, with the actor David Doyle. Oh, yeah.

I used to confuse him. Because his character's name was Bosley. Bosley, right. And they had a little bit of a similar kind of a look. They were short and round-faced. And, of course, I remember him in that Night Gallery episode as the guy who donated the pilot that Spielberg directed.

He's the one who donates his eyes to John Crawford. I never saw that episode. I'm going to have to catch that. He's tragic in it. Oh, wow. That's one of the few... I mean, the pilot episode was the only really good Night Gallery. Oh, yeah? Yeah, I never watched that show. I mean, the pilot episode was the only really good night calorie.

Oh, yeah? Yeah. I never watched that show. I guess I was such a purist for the original Twilight Zones that – It was much better. Yeah. I didn't want to watch anything else. But I'll have to catch that episode for sure.

Oh, so I was going to tell you the story with Ron real quickly. Yeah. you the story with Ron real quickly. What was bizarre about me working with Ron ultimately was that when I was, say, five, six, seven years old, I was almost, you know, red hair. I was the same age. I was almost a spitting image of Ron when he was on the Andy Griffith show. So people used to come up to me and call me Opie. And there were people that literally thought I was him. And then it became like my nickname. So you can imagine how surreal it was that now all of a sudden I'm going to be working with him. And when I went up to him, I think he thought I was nuts too because I was going on and on about that.

But we became really good friends. I'm sorry? No, I was going to say, sorry to interrupt. I remember that great gag on Happy Days where they go to the movies and they watch The Music Man. Oh, right. Remember this? And there's a reference to how much the boy in the movie looks like Richie. Yeah. Oh, and I remember there was kind of a reunion of sorts.

You did a guest appearance on Charles in Charge. Yeah, I did. With Scott Baer. I did. That's right. That's great that you know that. And you jump ahead of him online when he wants to buy a lottery ticket. Oh, okay.

I'm not sure I even remember. And then, of course, by you pushing ahead of him, you get the winning lottery ticket. Oh, okay. That's coming back. And you yell out. Do you remember what you yell out then? No. No.

Wow. You yelled out, well, it looks like happy days are here again. Oh, that's right. That's right. That's funny. And I just saw Scott recently. We played golf together. So I'll tell him that we talked about that episode.

Don, we'll move on to the music in a minute. Sure. You've worked with, even before Happy Days, I mean, you had an acting career. You had a long acting career. And Gilbert and I are remarking at some of the people that you worked with. And I'm hoping you have some memories of, because you did a Tom Sawyer movie, a Huck Finn movie with Ron. With Ron, yeah. That was actually about the second or third season into Happy Days. What happened was, it was a friend of Howard's family, Rance being Ron's dad. There was a guy directing that movie called Robert Totten and Bob Totten.

And Rance, I think, he became a bit of a fan of what I was doing. He saw the work I was doing. And he recommended me for the film to Bob Totten. So it was kind of strange because here we were doing Happy Days and then all of a sudden we're playing Tom and Huck together. And the truth of the matter is almost like we're talking about with Kevin Spacey. We were probably we were too old to be playing those characters. But they wanted they didn't want people under 18 because of the hours, the limited hours that. Oh, sure. So they wanted people who actors that would look younger. They didn't want people under 18 because of the hours, the limited hours that you work.

So they wanted people who, actors that would look younger. And we still looked young, but, you know, I was probably 21 at the time. And Ron's almost as old as I am, so we were 21, 22. So we were really too old to play those characters. But it was a great experience. You know, I mean, Ron did a good good job and I had a lot of fun. There were some great character actors on that show. I think Jack Elam.

Jack Elam was the guy we wanted to ask you about. Yeah. I don't think I had, I'm trying to remember if I had a scene with him. I don't think so, but I remember seeing him on the set and, you know, just. Merle Haggard was in it too. Merle Haggard. Yeah. Merle Haggard. And St, too. Merle Haggard, yeah. Merle Haggard.

And Stymie Beard, which Gilbert would appreciate. That? Stymie from The Little Rascals. Oh, my God. Oh, I don't even... I didn't even know that. I didn't even know that. The research is too deep.

Yeah. And Jack Elam, I always remember being in a very short-lived comedy show. The Texas Wheelers? No, no. He plays the Frankenstein monster. Oh, right. We brought that up. Oh, really?

It's a terrible show. Oh, wow. I didn't know about that. He was also in the Texas Wheelers with Gary Busey. Oh, wow. Oh, interesting. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And a young Mark Hamill.

Wow. And now, I've never heard Henry Winkler say a bad word about anybody, it seems like. Now. Yeah, so are you trying to get... So I'm just saying when Scott... No, I'm saying he called you a scumbag.

Oh, really? No. I'm the one exception. Never happened. No, I just can't believe that when Scott Baio got that big on Happy Days as basically the younger Fonzie. Right. That Henry Winkler couldn't have been a little pissed. You know, I couldn't speak to that because I wasn't around. I mean, I was around when he first came on the show. And he did, you know, he did generate a lot of attention and got a big following from the young girls.

But he was pretty young when he first came on the show. He must have been 13 or something like that. But when he became even bigger, it was a little bit later when they had a spinoff of Joni and Chachi and all that. And I wasn't around during that time. But for the time that he was getting a lot of attention and the girls would be yelling in the audience and all that. He was incredibly supportive of that. I didn't see him feeling any sense of, you know, being threatened at all. Because I think it was two totally different kinds of audiences or whatever. You know, he got a little more adult females interested than the teeny boppers maybe. One of the nicest guys I ever met in show business.

Oh, yeah. Henry Winkle, I have to say. Tell us about Henry. Oh, Henry is such a great guy. I remember when I first, the first time I met him, it was like we were in the trailer getting fitted for wardrobe. It was the first day of the show of the pilot of happy days and and i met him and and and i think he was like almost trying to live the character even though you know we were he he wasn't going to be doing it for another hour or two i think

he was already getting into character because there was this intensity about him and he seemed so serious um then as i got to know him later on, I saw what a sweetheart he was. But, you know, he was a very serious actor who had gone to the Yale Drama School, you know, for his master's. And so he took the work very seriously, as we all did, and that was one of the things that made it work. But then as I got to know him, he's just, you know, a very warm, generous guy. And we traveled together when we did a publicity tour. And they sent the four guys out on this tour. And Ron and Anson traveled and Henry and I traveled together.

So we got to be very good friends and really tight. And just a great, really intelligent guy that, you know, continually surprises me with his insight into human nature. And I think that's what made him so good, such a good actor, because he does have such insight into that and a grasp of people. And he's so great with people. And my son and daughter read two of his books. Oh, The Zipper. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He's really into the books and they're doing really well. And he goes all over the country, you know, signing book signings. And I think he even has a series TV series of it in England.

And I'm actually going to have lunch with Henry on Thursday. So it'll be great to catch up. I'm really looking forward to it. Give him our best. We loved having him on here. I sure will. And we talked about the old movies, you know, the one and only, the Carl Reiner movie where he was the wrestler.

The wrestler, yeah. And then Heroes. Yeah, Heroes and the Lords of Flatbush. Oh, yeah. Lords of Flatbush. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I mean, he's versatile.

Which I know the theme song to. What was the theme song? The Lords of Flatbush? Yeah. Hey, hey, what do you say? Looks like it's gonna be a very fine day. My girl is with me today. Looks like some real fine things are coming my way.

Hey, hey, what do you say? Looks like it's going to be a very fine day. Just hanging out with nothing to do. Lucky, lucky me that I bumped into you. Looking so good, Looking so fine. I wonder, wonder, wonder, should I make you mine? Bow, bow, bow, bow, bow. You know every word, every beat.

Yes. The kiss too much. Yes. I think Henry was nonplussed when you sang that to him. But that really was the song? That was the song. Oh, my God. Yeah, and Perry King was in it.

Sylvester Stallone. Sylvester Stallone, yeah. And Susan Blakely. That's right. That's right. And you've made a perfect segue. So now we can ask Donnie about real music. Which surprises me.

I never heard you sing. Right. But we've both been reading these reviews. Yeah, I did. And you've gotten great reviews on your singing. Yeah, I'm really excited about the response. I have been getting great reviews. One just came out from the show I did last week.

It was in Cabaret Scene. And it was, it's so, it's just so, I don't even know what the word is. I'm left speechless. Because I started out saying, I'm going to do this, because I have such passion for this music. And I guess because this music, when I was, you know, in the 70s and 80s, when I was going to high school and then college, and right after that, the music that I loved was not the kind of music that my friends were listening to, or that was commercial on the radio. It was, you know, the rock and the Beatles and all the stuff that was going on that was fabulous because when you think about it that period was a renaissance of music where uh rock was being combined with jazz or blues and folk and and and and everything you know from progressive rock to to uh to um all kinds of music that that was it was a very creative time and i love that but what was in my heart and soul was the great American songbook

and jazz and that kind of stuff. But it was hard to do. So when I saw this music coming back into favor with the resurgence of this with artists, Harry Connick started it, and then when Tony Bennett became hot on MTV, and then people like Diana O'Crawl doing it, and of course Michael Buble and Steve Tyrell. And I realized that, hey, this is the music I love.

It's coming back. If there's ever going to be a time, I better do it now. You know, I'm not getting any younger. So I decided about two years ago to put together an act, and I said, let's see where it goes. And if people are enjoying it and I'm having a good time, I don't know where it's going to go, but I'm doing it for the love of it, and let's see what happens. And from the get-go, people were responding to it in a way that far exceeded my expectations, and it's gotten better and better and better.

I think I've been growing and growing to the point where, like you said, the reviews that are coming out, it's so nice because it validates what you like to think you're doing. But to hear it from people with such enthusiasm, it's just spurring me on to want to get better and better and do it more and more. So it's great, because, you know, as much as, you know, people think, performers like us, we have all this self confidence and whatnot. I don't know, you still need validation sometimes, you know, of course, and, and, and we all have insecurities and, and, um, and so, you know, you'd like to think you don't need that, but it's certainly nice to have it. So you're going to be at Feinstein's. Feinstein's 54 below, um, in New York, New York city. It's on 54th street, uh, right

between seventh and eighth, right where the old studio 54 was. It's down below that. That's where 54 Below comes from. It's a beautiful room. I believe it was several Broadway producers and production designers that kind of put this whole thing together, and they did a fabulous job. It's just a great experience, and it'll be my third time playing there.

I'm not going to have the full 17-piece band there, but I'm going to have like nine pieces, and it'll be swinging third time playing there. I'm not going to have the full 17-piece band there, but I'm going to have like nine pieces, and it's going to be, it'll be swinging. It'll still swing. And I can't wait to come back to New York. And, you know, it's always great to come back and do it. And if Gilbert and I come to see you, of course you'll invite him up for an encore.

I think we should do a duet, yeah. I want to do the song from Lords of Flopfish with you. Oh, yes. A duet. I'm going to have to start boning up on that. And can I say, I like Sinatra, too, but I really prefer Kiki D. Oh, Kiki D. Where did you pull that out of?

I remember. I used to like Kiki D. Didn't she sing with Elton John? Didn't she sing? Sure. She was on his record label. Yeah. On Rocket Records.

Yeah. And she's bigger than ever. I got the music in me. Now, one thing. That was a good song. I like that. One thing we have in common is both of us have popped up on Family Guy. Oh, right.

Yeah. How did you pop up? I would love to hear your story. I was Peter and the Family Guy at West, and he's rescued from being lynched by a horse. And I'm the horse. Oh, you're the horse. Of course you are.

Oh, wow. Oh, cool. I have to see that one. That sounds like an entertaining episode. He thanks the horse. The horse goes, no problem, cool. I have to see that one. That sounds like an entertaining episode. Like he thanks the horse. The horse goes, no problem, Peter. And Peter goes, wow, Gilbert Gottfried. Well, that's great.

Is it on YouTube? I probably could find it. I'm sure. Yeah. I'm going to look for that. And mine was one where they had some fun with what we talked about earlier about my name, my name change. So so there was this episode where I forget the characters names because I but they're walking along in the woods somewhere. And one of them says, oh, you know where this is?

This is the spot where once every I don't know how many, Donnie Most rises from the mist or something like this. So bizarre. And then all of a sudden there's this song that they created, which is really fun with these great harmonies. It's called Donnie Most, Donnie Most. And it goes on. And then you see my character start rising from the mist and then at the very end and they have this big crescendo and then i go it's dawn most now and then and then they go donny most and then i go back down it's sort of a brigadoon yes there's a brigadoon

moment send up yes that's what it is a A Brigadoon send-up. Right. But I can't tell you how many people have written to me about that. But they got a kick out of that. What an honor. Yeah. Yes. Can you sing a song for us now? No, I can't.

I really can't. I wish I could. Even if I did a duet with you? I'll invite you. If you come to 54 Below. Okay. We'll do it then. What is the date? June 2nd.

Let's say it again. June 2nd at Feinstein's 54 Below, the old Studio 54. Yes. Because if we get the words to, like, saying something stupid like I love you, could we sing that together? Yeah. Yeah. If you guys do something stupid. A duet. So I have to. Could we sing that together? Yeah. Yeah. If you guys do something stupid, we'll record it for the show. But you'll have to let me know if you're really coming because I'm going to have to let my band know to be ready for that.

Are you in town on June 2nd? We'll have to check with Dad. We'll have to check his touring schedule. It would be great if you came down. That would be a hoot. And I would definitely have you up. We will do that. Well, I'm Gilbert Gottfried. This has been Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast with my co-host Frank Santopadre. Once again, recorded at Nutmeg Post with our engineer Frank Ferdarosa, and judging on what he's doing at the time,

acting, singing, or just staying at home, we have been talking to either Donald Most, Donnie Most, or Don Most. Or D-Most. Or D-Most. Weren't you Don Most with two N's at some point, too, in the old days? Yeah, there was one film I tried that, too. I tried that.

That was, yeah, I tried the O-N-N. That was Crazy Mama with Cloris Leachman and directed by Jonathan Demme. Jonathan Demme. Before you run away, tell us one little memory because that's got a great cast. Oh, yeah. Stuart Whitman. And Anne Southern. And the great Anne Southern who was the voice of what, Gilbert?

She was the... My mother. My mother. My mother, the car! Yes! There you go. Oh, my God! Anne Southern.

We spoke to Dick Van Dyke about it, because his brother, Jerry, was... Oh, that's right. He was the star of that. And Anne Southern, I think, also, wasn't she in Topper? Remember the show Topper? Oh, right. He was the star of that. And Ann Southern, I think also. Wasn't she in Topper? Remember the show Topper? Oh, wow. I think she might have been. Was she?

She might have been. I'm not sure. Maybe I'm mixing her up. That was a Roger Corman movie, wasn't it? Yeah. Crazy Mama? Yeah, he produced it. Jonathan Demme.

And Jonathan Demme. Yeah, Roger Corman and his wife, Julie Corman, produced that. And Jonathan Demme directed it. Oh, I had a great—that was my introduction. That was Crazy Mama. Was that the one with Shelly Winter? No, that was a different one. That was like Different Mama.

That might have been Bloody Mama. Bloody Mama. Or something like that. I think with Shelly Winters and Robert De Niro. I think – An unknown Robert De Niro. Yeah, maybe Jonathan Capp. They were both Corman pictures.

Yeah, yeah, they were. I'm pretty sure. They were. But that was my introduction to independent films, which I loved because, you know, here I was working for 18 days on a film and we were all – and it was a bit of a road movie, but we were all together. And Jonathan was great in terms of bringing the cast in and getting their contributions. And then having Cloris, who was an amazing talent, she had just won the Academy Award for the last picture show. This was like a year or two after that. And so seeing her at work and working with her on scenes and Anne Southern and Stuart Whitman and watching Jonathan direct, what a great introduction for me to independent filmmaking, which is still my favorite.

You know, I prefer – I like doing indie films for that reason, the collaboration and a little more freedom than you would have in a studio film. Future Oscar winner, Jonathan Demme, for Silence of the Lambs. Yeah, Silence of the Lambs. Yeah, he's amazing. He's done amazing work. And when I worked with him, it was his second film. But anyway, yeah. And I did a – I've done a – recently I've done an independent film called Follow,

which is a psychological thriller. So it was a different kind of role, and I really enjoyed that. And I think that's going to be released in theaters in – gosh, I'm not sure. Maybe in September, something like that, September, October, called Follow. And I'm working on some others as well, hopefully to direct and get going, because I've directed three now, three of my own indie films. Okay. So, Follow. Yes.

And Feinstein's. Yes. 54 Below. A lot of Fs going on there. And once again, we have been talking to four guests on today's show. That's right. We have been speaking to Donald Most, Donnie Most, Don Most, and D Most. And D Most. Yeah.

There we go. You've heard of the three faces of Eve, so this is the end of it. Thanks for being here. Thanks for doing it. Oh, thanks. It was a lot of fun. Thanks for doing it. Oh, thanks. It was a lot of fun. Thanks for having me.

It was a treat for us. We'll see you at Feinstein's. I hope you make it and let me know, and then I'll get the band ready. Okay, buddy. Okay. Bye-bye.