Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast - Al Roker

Episode Date: May 17, 2021

Emmy-winning TV host, author and producer (and native New Yorker) Al Roker joins Gilbert and Frank for a trip down memory lane and a fun, freewheeling conversation about local kiddie show hosts, the lost art of ventriloquism, the complicated genius of Charles M. Schulz and Al's new book "You Look So Much Better in Person." Also, Fred Flintstone enjoys a smoke, Red Buttons leads a double life, Willard Scott becomes the original Ronald McDonald and Gilbert and Al co-star in "Sharknado 5: Global Swarming." PLUS: Willie Tyler & Lester! "The Dick Tracy Show"! "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"! Saluting Yaphet Kotto! Frank shares his favorite roast joke! And Al and Gilbert cover the hits of Soupy Sales! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by FX's The Bear on Disney+. In Season 3, Carmi and his crew are aiming for the ultimate restaurant accolade, a Michelin star. With Golden Globe and Emmy wins, the show starring Jeremy Allen White, Io Debrey, and Maddie Matheson is ready to heat up screens once again. All new episodes of FX's The Bear are streaming June 27, only on Disney+. What happens when 20 extremely athletic Canadians who thrive on competition and won't settle for less than number one find themselves on a team? Taking on jaw-dropping obstacles all across Canada is one thing. Working together on a team with some pretty big personalities is another.

It's a new season of Canada's Ultimate Challenge. And sparks are going to fly. New episode Sundays. Watch free on CBC Gem. Hi, this is Gilbert Gottfried. This is Gilbert Gottfried's amazing, colossal podcast with our co-host, Frank Santopadre. with our co-host Frank Santopadre. And our guest this week is a weather forecaster, TV host, sometimes actor, producer, writer, occasional cartoonist,

author of over a dozen books, a New York Times best-selling author, in fact, and a pop culture fixture who seems to have been on tv since i was 11 years old you've seen him in feature films like cloudy with a chance of meatballs the sharknado series Robots, Zombieland, Double Tap And on the hit TV shows like Seinfeld, Will & Grace, 30 Rock The Simpsons and The Blacklist just to name a few He also holds the record for guest appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. And he's now in his 43rd year at NBC. And on December 14th, 2018 episode of Today, he was honored for 40 years at the network when the Today Plaza was officially named Rocafella Plaza

in his honor. He's also the winner of 10 Emmy Awards for his decades of television work, as well as his terrific interviews of icons and legends like Carl Reiner, Stan Lee, Betty White, William Shatner, and his hero, Charles M. Schultz. His new memoir is called You Look So Much Better in Person, True Stories of Abs absurdity and success. And we're excited to have him here with us. Please welcome to the show an individual of many talents and a man who says he plays the theme from the TV show The A-Team every morning. The pride of St. Alben's New York, the one,

the only, Al Roker. Well, thank you, guys. It's awfully nice. Hello, Al. My gosh, it's, uh, I'm ready to just lay down and just have people put dirt on me now. It's pretty much, it's all over. Yeah, yeah, the

only thing missing was found dead in his New York apartment. That's right. My wife is waiting to read that in the Times. Hey, we've co-starred in, I guess, a few movies now. Well, I don't think you guys shared the screen at any point. No, no. In the Sharknado series? No, no.

Nobody shared the screen with anybody in Sharknado. They shot it all. I mean, you're being so generous calling those movies. I mean, come on. Really? Not really. And it was funny because with each success of Sharknado, they cut the budget a little bit more. Yes.

A little bit more to the point where literally I think if we do one more, it'll be on Zoom. And that that's that's actually insulting Zoom. You know, I remember when I was doing them, they'd say, okay, do you have like a suit you can wear? And it's like pretty much with those sharknadoes, it's like next they'd say, do you have a movie camera? Could you bring a microphone? Do you have a shark? You don't go around with your own makeup woman, do you, by any chance? Al, how many are you in, Al?

You're in two, which I watched the other night. No, I'm in every. You're in Sharknado, too, I mean. Yes, yeah. From two on, I've been in every Sharknado, which is something I don't put on my resume. We had to mention it here early. I've got everything else on my resume except. I've always said if you watch Sharknado and you listen closely,

you can hear your IQ drop. It was great. But you know what? After the second one, the first one, of course, was nobody had any idea how big that was going to be. Because it was one of those that falls into the category, it's so bad, it's good. You know? Yeah. And the other one, the second one, was almost as bad, so it was good.

And that's what, by the, I don't know, I think it was six. You know, by the sixth when nobody said anything. The director didn't even say I saw you in Sharknado. That's hilarious. Gilbert, who do you play? Al plays himself. Oh, I'm Ron McDonald. That's right. Reporter. Yeah. And like a woman's Scott homage. Yes. And I remember we were filming it. My first one I filmed in Central Park because it was supposed to be Texas.

And everyone who's been to Central Park goes, hey, am I in Texas right now? And I have to, at the end, start yelling like I'm being attacked by all of the sharks. And then when I saw the movie, I'm alive at the end, and I asked them, and they said, well, on the TV version, when it shows on TV, you're alive, but if you rent that Sharknado, then you die at the end. And how many people really were

going to rent that? Come on. Well, because the lines were too big. In full disclosure, we had the director, Anthony Ferrante, here with us, Al. A couple of years ago. He was a very nice man. Very nice man. I didn't make it to

installment number six. Do you meet with a fate, a certain fate, or do you make it through the whole series? I make it through the whole series, which is crazy, because I was killed. I see. I'm pretty sure it was like one of these things where the shark comes out of the ceiling or something and

attacks us. So when I got the call for, I think it was five, I thought, well, wait, I'm dead. Well, we never saw you die. Okay. Okay. Okay. Installment two is particularly memorable for listeners of this show. We've had the actor Richard Kind here a bunch of times.

And he plays a, I was telling Gilbert before, he plays a faded baseball star, retired baseball star, who gets to swat a Sharknado out of Citi Field. And I remember after the first one that was filmed on location in Central Park, Filmed on location in Central Park. The next one, I just filmed on a balcony. And there, I was supposed to be in Africa. Al, on the subject of movies, tell us about, we mentioned St. Albans, where you're from, and I watched a great piece on the Today Show where you went home again.

Yes, St. Albans, Queens. Back to the old hood. I'm from Ozone Park myself. Okay. So I remember the Lowe's Valencia, which I've heard you talk about. My theaters were the Haven in Woodhaven and the Cross Bay in Ozone Park. I don't know if you remember those. Oh, sure. You talked about, and Gilbert and I love to talk about our childhood theaters on this show.

He grew up in Coney Island. Yeah, well, I was born in Coney Island, grew up in Crown Heights. Grew up in Crown Heights. What was your theater, Gil? What was the local movie? Our theater was the Cameo Theater on Eastern Parkway. Wow. And I heard Al talking about seeing a lot of films there. You also talked about the Sunrise Drive-In, but specifically. Wow. And I heard Al talking about seeing

a lot of films there. You also talked about The Sunrise Drive-In, but specifically, I want to mention you seeing Poitier films. Yes, yes. Coming to Dinner. And Lilies of the Field. And Lilies of the Field. One of our favorite actors, too. And at the Lowe's Valencia

Theater, I saw one of the, to me, one of the seminal comedies that to this day, I still think is one of the greatest comedies of all time. It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world. Oh, yes. We talked about that several times. I mean, and my wife, who I'm being kind when I say we really do not share the same sense of humor but I said just

humor me and watch this and she thought it was one of the funniest things she'd seen and it's when you're 10 years old and without saying or they just pan that the airfield and you see the fire truck and then it's the three stooges.

Yep. You know, granted it was Curly Joe Dorita, but it's okay. It's okay. You'll make an allowance. It's okay. It's Curly Joe Dorita. It's okay. It's all right. It's not Joe Besser. Curly Joe Dorita

always seemed like, well, we have to have a third stooge. Yeah. There's a guy walking down the street who's fat and he's bald. He's a fat guy. Good enough. Let's get him. That's close.

It's close. What were you saying, Gil, that Curly Joe got stooge money because he was the surviving stooge? Yeah. There were all these lawsuits and the money went to Curly Joe, the most hated of the Stooges. I mean, it was like, you know, I always remember Channel 11 here in New York growing up ran the three Stooges. And, you know, they were off the air for a while. And in the 70s or the 80s, they brought them back and they were like new prints and so and the promo was brand new prints and not a shemp in the bunch and i thought you know if you're shemp howard you're kind of like yeah seriously oh you know

i'm dead but i you know i'm still dissed shemp is chaplain next to Curly Joe DeRio. I know. Yeah. I know. Slicks. Yeah, and I remember it was Officer Joe Bolt. Yes. You bet. You know, back in the day, I mean, and that's, okay, you're from New York, so you get this. My first television appearance was on Wonderama with Sonny Fox. Great. On remote from Freedomland in the Bronx.

Wow. And we had him on the show. Sonny was here. Oh, wow. Yeah. And he was, I was expecting cute little kids say the darndest things stories. Expecting cute little kids say the darndest things stories. And he was telling me about how him and his troop in World War II were held prisoner by the Nazis.

Wow. Yeah, he was a POW. We'll send that one to you, Al. It's great. Yeah. He was a POW. And the stories he told, he teared up on the show telling them stories. Oh, my gosh. I had no idea.

We just lost Sonny about two months ago. Yeah. And then I remember he called me, and he was saying, you know, he was asking us when the episode with him is going to air. And my wife was on the phone with him, and she said, it's going to air in like a month or two. And he said, could you put it on sooner? I'm in my 90s. Oh, gosh.

What was Freedomland? Freedomland, in fact, it's where Co-op City is now in the Bronx. Okay, sure. Freedomland was a developer, I don't know, whoever, but it was their answer to Disneyland in the Northeast. Wow. And it was like a

Wild West fort and some other Americana with some rides and stuff. And it's like nobody really told them that, you know, it's the Northeast. And guess what? The weather's not really that great for an outdoor park year-round.

Wow. And so it lasted like five or six years and then went under. And, yeah, they sold the land and they built Co-op City. I assume the Valencia Theater is also no longer standing. Yeah, you know, it know, I think it was. The cross baby came a motel. They turned it into a church, and I don't even know if it's still standing. I haven't been back there in a while.

But it was – go ahead. No, I was going to say, in addition to Sonny Fox, we also had another childhood hero of yours here on this podcast, and that's Chuck McCann. Oh. The great Chuck McCann. Mona? Hi, guys.

And what's that other actor who was in that with him? Bill Fiore. Yes. Bill Fiore. Terrific character actor. The late Bill Fiore. Yeah, and I got to tell you. You always have that sad sound.

This is the only podcast in the world discussing Bill Fiore right now. Well, everybody's got a hobby, you know. That's it. And I used to, I mean, that was the thing growing up in New York City back in the 60s. It was really like the heyday of kids' television hosts. Yeah. I mean, you had, you know, Sonny Fox, you had Bob McAllister,

you had Chuck McCann, who on Channel 11 did Let's Have Fun. That's right. Which on Sundays, they just, you know, opened up the vault and for four hours ran Popeye cartoons, Abbott and Costello, the Keystone Cops, Laurel and Hardy. And Chuck McCann would dress up as,

because it was, at the time time the Daily News owned them, and they owned the rights to Little Orphan Annie and Dick Tracy. So he'd dress up as Little Orphan Annie. A 6'3 guy wearing a red wig and a red dress as Little Orphan Annie. He put little cardboard cutouts on his eyes. I remember. He was Dick Tracy. He played L'Oreal and Hardy in a split screen.

And they had the Paul McCann puppets. You know, it was the Paul wasn't Paul McCann. Was it Paul Winchell? No, no. The Paul Winchell was... I can't remember the name of the... Paul Ashley puppets. Paul Ashley. Paul Ashley puppets. I remember

he would put on... He would dress up as Dick Tracy. Yes. And they'd put on an artificial chin. Yep. And I remember the music was, Dick Tracy, he's got a bulldog jaw. Dick Tracy, he's got a bulldog jaw. Dick Tracy, better do what he say.

Crime doesn't never pay. Da, da, da, da, da, yeah. Oh, yeah. Dick Tracy better do what he say. Crime doesn't never pay. Da, da, da, da, da. And the great thing about the Dick Tracy show, so basically Dick Tracy, and they ran the same open for every cartoon, and he goes, thanks, Chief. I'll get on it right away. Dick Tracy calling, and then they come.

And every character was racist, you know? Yes. Oh, yes. You had Joe Jitsu. Joe Jitsu. You had Go-Go Gomez. That's right. And then you had the racist trope of stereotype of the lazy Irish cop, Heap O'Callery.

Heap O'Callery. You know, it's like, wow! The only guy who wasn't a racist trope was Hemlock Bones, who was a dog. That's right. Who sounded like Cary Grant. It was just crazy.

The Dick Tracy Show. Okay, Chief. I'll get on it right away. Deck Tracy calling Hemlock Holmes. I read you, Tracy. Hemlock, we have a report that the Brough and Oodles are smuggling stolen diamonds into the city. We don't know exactly how they're doing it or where. Your best bet is to take the retouchables and keep an eye on the waterfront. Try Pier 22 first. Right, Al.

6-2 and even. Over and out. Bless your heart for remembering Hippo Gallery. Do you remember, because I always would call this drink the racist Kool-Aid. Oh, Hawaiian Punch. No, no, it wasn't Hawaiian Punch.

Nothing that famous. It was the powdered fruit drinks, and they had one that was a Chinese guy. You're thinking of Funny Face, Gilbert. Funny Face. Oh, my gosh. Funny Face. The answer to Kool-Aid.

That's right. Also, like a Spanish guy, a Chinese guy. What was the names of those again? You can still find those. You can find those on eBay. They've been long since discontinued. Yeah, thankfully. Crazy

Goofy Grape. Oh, that's right. Yes. Jolly Ollie Orange. Yes. And what was the cherry one? Cherry Cherry. Chinese Cherry. Chinese Cherry. That was the racist one.

Which was also, as I recall, was an exotic dancer. That's correct. She dated jujitsu. That's right. Also, you were into Soupy and Sandy Becker and all the other people we love to talk about here. I mean, you know, look, I won the 1964 New York City Parks Department talent show. Well, I came in second. I had a Paul Winchell ventriloquist dummy. I had a Jerry Mahoney dummy.

Jerry Mahoney. I called Stephen Stickyfingers. And I sang The Mouse by Soupy Sales. I was beaten by four girls lip syncing I Want to Hold Your Hand. It was held at the bandstand, the band shell in Central Park. My grandmother made me a Soupy Sales. I had a black sweater, white Chino pants, the bow tie, and my dummy had the same thing. And it was, you know, soupy sales my gosh and he's the one who put

me up for uh uh membership in the friars club you know i'm just gonna ask you that because soupy used to hang around there a lot yes oh yes yeah and i don't know if they can record the two of us at the same time but i well we'll well our aristotle will mix it together. Yes. You know the words to the mouse. Oh, sure. Hey. Hey. Do the mouse, yeah.

Hey. Hey. You can do it in your house, yeah. On the rug or on the wall. If your folks get mad Do it in the hall Don't do the mouse Yeah, let's do the mouse

Come on, let's do the mouse with me Come on and do the mouse with me And then his other hit Your Brains Will Fall Out Oh, Papalafaka Papalafaka It sounds so romantic and jerky. Papalafaka, papalafaka, it sounds so romantic and jerky.

Oh, I know that phrase will make me thrill always, because it reminds me of you, my sweet. Just the mention of that tender word of love gives my heart a Turkish beat. You guys got to go on the road. My wife is mortified right now. Hi, Debra. And do you remember... When the pandemic ends, you guys got to go on the road.

And do you remember the theme to Winchell Mahoney? Oh. Was that the Scotty Waddy Doo Doo show? Yeah. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. It's Winchell Mahoney time.

It's Winchell Mahoney time. Let's have some fun. It's lots of fun. Oh my gosh. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray.

Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray.

Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray.

Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray.

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Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray.

Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Hooray. Let us give a cheer for everyone. I'm doing Gilbert Gottfried's amazing Colossal podcast. Happy faces. Hooray.

Hurrah. Shish. Boom. Bah. Scotty. Waddy. Doo-doo. Scotty.

Waddy. Doo-doo. Scotty. Waddy. Doo-doo. Dah. Oh. Let's see, am I Jerry Mahoney or are you Knucklehead Smith?

That's hilarious. Oh, and what he used to do there, too, was he would paint a face on his chin. Yep, and then they'd reverse the camera or turn it upside down, and he had, like, a little body on it. Yes. And then also, remember on, who was the other ventriloquist? Danny O'Day in Farfel.

Oh, in Farfel. Yes, yes. N-E-S-T-L-E-S. Nestle's makes the very best chocolate. And then clomp his mouth. We're all dating ourselves. That's because nobody else will date us. We will return to Gilbert Gottfried's amazing, colossal podcast after this.

You know, when we were researching this and when we booked you and I called Gilbert and I said, this is music to our ears. The guy's into Officer Joe Bolton, Captain Jack McCarthy, Three Bells and All as well. Zachary Lee. Oh, and then he would end the show with well, time and tide wait for no man.

Good stuff. I remember Captain Jack hosting the St. Pat's Parade. On Channel 11. And you're right, Al. It was a renaissance time. You know, especially kiddie show hosts, which is sort of a thing of the past a little bit. Local kiddie show hosts.

I bring it up, too, because a kiddie show host played a pivotal role in the beginning of your career. Yes. And you know what I'm referring to. My department chairman of my college. Mr. Trolley. Mr. Trolley. I went to SUNY Oswego, and Dr. Louis B. O'Donnell was the head of the communications department. Back then, we called it radio and TV.

But he also was, at the same time, for over 25 years, he played Mr. Trolley on the Magic Toy Shop. He wore a trolley-like head and had a cow catcher on his beard. And we would joke with him about it. And he goes, you can laugh, but that freaking trolley paid for my kid's college. And he's the guy who put me up for my first television job in Syracuse, New York, when I was coming up on the end of my sophomore year in college. They decided to start a full-blown weekend newscast.

And I had just taken one class in meteorology just for a science requirement. I had no, no plans of being on TV. True story, I write about it in the book. Yes. You look so much better in person. He said, Roker, this was after my first television performance class. He said, you have the perfect face for radio.

And also in that class was a guy, I don't know if you've heard of him, a guy named Jerry Seinfeld. Oh, interesting. Yes. Jerry went to SUNY Oswego, freshman and sophomore year, then left and came down to Queens College. And I haven't heard about what happened to him. The rest is history. Was that show The Magic Toy Shop with Mr. Trolley?

Yes. I just find it interesting, too, the way things work out in life. Here you are, a kid growing up, kind of obsessed with TV hosts, kiddie show hosts. Two kiddie show hosts, Mr. Trolley and later Bozo, your pal Willard Scott, would play pivotal roles in your early career. Yeah. I mean, Willard, for folks who don't realize, Larry Harmon was the original Bozo out of Chicago. And he syndicated, franchised Bozo to different TV stations. And so and they'd run cartoons and stuff.

And so Willard was the local Bozo, if you will, in Washington, D.C. And a lot of people don't realize he's the guy who created Ronald McDonald. McDonald's was a sponsor. They were looking. They wanted to create a character. He came up with Ronald McDonald. He got screwed by McDonald's. But he was the original Ronald McDonald.

You know, with Willard Scottott he he always introduced you know who's turning a hundred yep and so my grandmother she uh she calls me up and she says that everyone's telling her uh they announce you if you're 100 and she she was turning 100. And she said, I would like to be on TV. And I got in touch with Willard Scott. And they said, say what her, you know, hobbies and everything. And I said, well, I asked my mother. And she goes, well, she likes to cook and she likes going outside. Well, she likes to cook and she likes going outside.

And so Willitscott announces it like, and happy 100th birthday to Minnie Zimmerman, who likes cooking and the great outdoors. And it made her sound like she does mountain climbing. She was Jeremiah Johnson. She's rappelling off the sides of mountains. It's kind of touching in the book, Al, which we'll say the title as often as we can. You look so much better in person.

It's touching how nice Willard was in those D.C. days to you. You were a total stranger. I mean, look, I was on WTTG, Channel 5. Nobody watched it. I mean, nobody under the age of 80. The only time somebody young watched it was when they went in and found their grandparent dead.

The TV was still tuned to that channel? The TV was still on. That was it. They're putting the sheet over, and they may look over and see you. But he literally, I mean, before everybody was using the phrase, the word, oh, he's my mentor, he's my mentor.

He literally called me up out of the blue. I mean, I pick up my phone and it's, hey, is this Al Roker? I said, come on outside, let's go to dinner. It's Willard. And I'm like, wait, what? So I go outside. A station is on Wisconsin Avenue.

He is parked outside in a, like a fire engine red Cadillac convertible. You know, he had one of the first cell phones, mobile phones. It was like a suitcase mounted inside the car. And so I go, he goes, let's go to dinner. Here we go.

I'm going to one of my favorite Italian places. He makes a U-turn and parks literally across the street from the station. I mean, it's like a sitcom. And pulls up and we go to Alfredo's La Trattoria restaurant

on Wisconsin Avenue. And he just takes me, you know, and takes care of me. And two best bits of advice, both professionally and personally, he gave me. The first one was never give up your day job. You know, you can do all these different things, but, you know, the weather is your gig. He, at the time, was the local weather guy at WRC. I mean, he was the biggest, other than the Washington Monument, Willard Scott was the biggest thing in Washington, D.C.

And he said, the other thing is, be yourself. You know, they can take whatever they want from you, but they can't take you away from you. And I've tried to live that, both professionally and personally. That's advice you've taken to heart all these years. I really have. Was it DC where they tried to turn you into a movie critic? Yes.

Yeah. I've been at the station maybe a year or so and the news director said, look, I think you're a good talent, but I just don't know that you're cut out to do the weather. So I was like, well, see, that's kind of what I do. Well, what I really like is, you know,

I think you'd be fun as kind of, there was a guy here in New York on Channel 5, and we were owned by Metro Media at the time, which is now Fox, a guy named Stuart Klein, who was the movie critic. He was a curmudgeon. Yes. On Channel 5.

Yes, exactly. So our news director said, I want you to be our Stuart Klein. And I said, I don't know that I can do that. Oh, sure you can. Listen, tell you what, you think about it over the weekend and let me know when you come in on Monday. And I'm thinking, oh, my God, you know, this is, my career could be over here.

But I decided, and this is what I kind of, you got to be true to yourself. I thought, you know what, I'm going to tell, I don't want to do it. And if he's going to fire me, then I guess I'm going to have to start looking for a new job. And, of course, this was really before everybody had cell phones and things like that. Anyway, I got into it, and we only did one newscast, the 10 o'clock news. And I got into the station about 3 o'clock, and I'm thinking, I'm just dreading it.

And as I'm walking in, did you hear about the news track? I said, what? He goes, he got let go. I said, what? He's gone. I'm thinking, yes! Yes! So you never reviewed one movie? So I never reviewed a movie. I mean, never, never, never did a play, nothing. And then six months later, I got the job in Cleveland and kept going. Was meant to be. I just remembered another of those things that would show all the time on TV,

and that was the Bowery Boys. Oh, Hunt's Hall, Leo Gorsi. Yes. Pop's Chocolate Shop. Yeah, with Leo Gorsi's father. Yes. Bernard Gorski. Yeah, I mean, I think those were on Channel 11, too.

You know, you just, I mean, where else could you watch this stuff, you know? I mean, it was before cable, you know. But in New York, you were lucky because you had three network affiliates, owned stations. But you had three independent stations, which this was before you had the CW and My9 and Fox. All they could do is run old movies and kid shows.

Lassie and all that stuff. One time, there was a contest between Milton Berle and Hunts Hall. Do you see where this is headed? I have a feeling. I have a feeling.

Who had the biggest dick? We didn't say the show was clean, Al. No, I've heard the show. Oh, Milton, I didn't know you were bringing your son with you. That's hilarious. That's hilarious. That's hilarious. Well, Jeffrey Ross had the great line about Milton Schlange. He said it was so long it had an elbow.

Oh, that Jeff Ross. What a guy. A funny man. What else did you watch? We obsess about the Million Dollar Movie on this show. Oh, my gosh. You could see the same movie five times a week. Yeah, exactly.

Because they would just trot out Mighty Joe Young five times. That's it. I mean, it's kind of like that was the early version of streaming. No, look, I mean, I watched everything. I wasn't much into westerns, you know. But sitcoms, I was, I mean, and, you know, I wasn't much into Westerns, you know, I mean, but, but any, but sitcoms, I was, I mean, I, and, and, you know, back in the sixties, mid sixties, when the superhero craze, you know, Batman, Captain Nice, you know, all those shows, you know, the reruns of Superman, which I, you know, those, the ones with George Reeve.

Sure. And, you know, you'd read the comic and he's, Superman is fighting, you know, all these intergalactic bad guys and stuff. But on the TV show, he's fighting like Muggsy, you know, and he's bad. These B level, you know, gangsters. He's fighting bank robbers. Yeah. Does that come down? Bank robbers who are trying to get their hands on Professor Periwinkle.

Exactly. Professor Pepperwinkle's anti-gravity machine. Don't call me chief. I mean, you know, there was just, there was only one where Superman kind of killed a guy. Yes, the one on the mountain. On the mountain. He knows they're going to try to climb to you stay here. I'll be back.

I'm going to, because he discovers who Superman is. That's right. And he's with the girlfriend, you know, and he goes, come on, we're going to climb down.

And like, I don't know. And like the, like two feet down. And you can see Superman going, that worked out well. Everybody who remembers the Superman series remembers that. And then not only were they on a cliff that you could easily fall off of,

but I think it was like there was snow all around. Oh, yeah. They were like, he flew them to Alaska or the Arctic. Where he said, you know, don't climb down, whatever you do. Don't climb down. I'll be back with some warm clothes. And you know Superman's thinking, I'm not really going anywhere because I know within five minutes they're off.

He left them somewhere where you couldn't survive for three seconds. No, he kept saying, I'll be back. Don't climb down. Wink. And bless you for bringing up Captain Nice, Al, but I warn you that it may lead to Gilbert

singing the theme song. Okay, okay. Look, it's the man who flies around like an eagle. Look, it's the man who hates all that's illegal. Who is this man with arms built just like hammers?

It's just some nut who flies around in pajamas. That's no nut, son. That's Captain Nice. You got it. Okay, here's why my parents were worried. And now your wife is worried. Yeah, because as a kid, so I was 11 years old.

There was a place in Queens called Lafayette Radio. It was a, like, for people who were audio enthusiasts and hobbyists and so on, you could buy, you could build radios and, you know, get stuff there. And I remember my dad was a bus

driver, and he would always come back from the depot with stuff that had fallen off the back of a truck, you know? And he'd always call me and say, hey, for a Yashica TL35 35mm

camera, 25 bucks, is that a good price? Yes, Dad, could you get two? You know, some guy's got a 3M Woollen Sack reel-to-reel tape recorder for $15. Should I get, yes, Dad. So he'd bring, because I was an audio-video nut, and he brings it home.

And I discovered if I pull off the back of our TV and run wire from the speaker leads to the line in of the recorder, I can record the audio of whatever's on the TV. You mentioned that in the book. Yeah. Yeah. And so I'm like recording Batman and then the Adventures of Superman. I come upstairs to my mother and go, listen to this. I spliced these two things together.

And I didn't even notice the look of concern and worry on her face. My oldest child is spending way too much time in that basement. And he's going to be living with us until he's 60. And I remember, too, well, it's so funny that they used to say, don't touch that dial. Right. We'll be right back. And you said something in an interview that really struck me,

because I always think of this, that how, like, you know, when we all had records and you try to put it and it would scrape. And that how to this day in movies and TV shows, they still have the scraping needle sound effect. Yep. Especially in movie trailers. Yeah. Yes.

And everything stops. And it's been years, although vinyl is making a comeback. But, you know, most of these kids have no idea. You know, it's the same as, like, 1010 Wynn still has the teletype sound. Yeah, I love that. On the old news radio station. I love that. There hasn't been a teletype in a newsroom in 50 years, you know.

I saw your interview with the TV Academy, Alan. Again, bless your heart. You're bringing up old shows like The Phyllis Diller Show and The Double Life of Henry Fife. Henry Fife. Who, me? Henry Fife. Red Buttons.

Never had a dinner. Never got a dinner. Yeah. And ho, ho, he, he, he. Strange things are happening. Was that Phyllis Diller show the Phyllis Diller show, or was it the Pruits of Southampton? The Phyllis Diller show.

John Astin. Yes. They changed the title. John Astin. Oh, man. We had him here. I'm Dickens. He's Finster.

You bet, buddy. Yes. Here's an early question from a listener since you brought up superheroes. Kurt Nichols would like to know if Al we're going to go back into the Wayback Machine if Al had appeared in a guest spot on the Batman 66 show which villain would he have liked to have played?

Oh, gosh. The Penguin. Oh. You got competition from Gilbert. Ha, ha, ha. We had Adam West on this show, and Adam West said to me that he goes, you would have made a good penguin. Huh?

There you go. Boy, that was the biggest. Oh, here, you said in one interview that you wanted to integrate the Flintstones. Yes, I did. I mean, you know, I love cartoons. Deborah has said that I would probably give up anything, everything, if I could find the portal to Toontown. You know, it's like, and the Flintstones, I mean, look,

you got to remember, that was, to me, the ultimate, you know? I mean, every, you know, that rib comes out and it tips the car over. You know, I wanted to be Fred's next-door neighbor, like on the other side of where Barney is. I mean, so you got Barney, you got Fred, you got the Roakstones, you know? And you know, the funny thing, just recently, someone sent to me, and it was like a poster.

I don't think they ever filmed one, but Hanna-Barbera, they saw how well, like, the Jeffersons and Good Times and Sanford and Son were doing, and they figured, Hanna-Barbera figured, well, black is in now. And they were actually planning on doing a series called The Blackstones. Oh, wow. That it would be the Black Flintstones. Oh, my gosh. Which I wish, if someone out there has a copy of that,

dear God, send it to me. It sounds frightening. In fact, what was the original title of the Flintstones? No, no, seriously. Oh, God, he's going to stump us. In the pilot, it was a seven-minute black-and-white pilot. They were called Meet the Flagstones. You are right, sir.

Very good. Very good. And you know what I remember, too, with the Flintstones was that before there was a famous theme song. Yes. They used to play da-da-da. Yeah, it was called Rise and Shine. That was the original title. They didn't add the words until they syndicated it.

And that's when we got the, although I remember as a kid watching it live, one of their sponsors, well, not live, you know, when it first aired, their sponsor, one of their sponsors was Salem Cigarettes. Yep, you can see those on YouTube. There was a big billboard.

Yeah, you can see them smoking. There's a commercial, there's actually a commercial, I've seen it on the internet, of Fred Flintstone and Bonnie Rubble smoking cigarettes. Yeah, oh yeah. Here's the thing I never, I can accept that men and dinosaurs were actually living together at the same time. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Here's the thing I never get. I can accept that men and

dinosaurs were actually living together at the same time. Yeah. That they had cars. That you used an elephant to wash the dishes. I get all that. I'll buy that. But at the end, that cat

will stay out for the night. The cat jumps back in the window, opens the door, and puts Fred out, slams the door. Fred, literally two feet from the window that has no glass in it, keeps banging on the door. Wilma! on the door. Wilma! He's that stupid that he can't walk over two feet and climb through the same window that the cat

had just gone through ten seconds earlier. Hilarious. And it was a cartoon with a laugh track. I know. That's another weird thing. Where was the audience? It was brilliant. Because it was on in prime time. And so it was brilliant because because it was on in prime time and so it was it was a sitcom but it was just animated well it was the honey motors

three done but exactly hannah barbara ripped off everybody yes everybody i mean let's face it you know top cat was was was phil silvers was bilko yeah i mean, come on. And then another... Oh, this one wasn't Hanna-Barbera, but another Bilko rip-off. Yeah. Oh, that was Hanna-Barbera? Top Cat? Top Cat, yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, you know, let's face it. Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy.

Augie Doggie was Jimmy Durante, for God's sake. And Huckleberry Hound was Andy Griffith. Was Andy Griffith. But I read it bothered you too that Yogi Bear wore a tie without a shirt. He had a tie and a collar and a hat. Okay. Alright.

I guess. I guess. Where did he get the collar? You know? And Boo Boo had just a bow tie. I'm guessing it's a clip on, you know, because there was nothing else around. Just there. Quick draw McGraw. He's a horse. Okay, he talks. I get it. How does he get

the hoof around the trigger? I don't know. These are imponderables. Sorry. I remember it was like Arnold Stang was doing a Phil Silvers imitation. Very good, Gil. Very good.

And Kaplan, who we've had on this show. Yeah, we had Marvin Kaplan. Oh, gosh. Benny and Chooch. I think he was Choochoo. Yeah. But, you know, Al, your interest in animation wasn't just as a fan. I mean, you actually, it was actually an early dream.

Yes. Was that specifically Disney? You want to be a Disney animator? I wanted to be a Disney animator? I wanted to be a Disney animator. I mean, I just loved, you know, the idea of creating characters and the motion and all the, you know, the thing I loved about my dad,

and I learned so much about, you know, life from him, and he was a New York City bus driver, ended up, you know, in labor relations at the Transit Authority. But he knew I was not athletic. Oh, what a surprise. But hard to believe. But he found what I was interested in and fed that.

And he knew I loved animation and movies and television. And so everything that he could do to nurture that, he did. And so we would watch Top Cat and The Flintstones and Yogi Bear and all that.

And he would find books for me at the library about that stuff and bought me my first animation book, How to Draw Animated Cartoons by Preston Blair. You know, and it was and that's. I know that name. Yeah. Well, tell us about your strip, Salt and Pepper. Salt and Pepper.

And it was it was in the Syracuse New Times. And I was in college and it was Jeremy Salt. and I can't remember the, Peppa's the first name now. But it was, it ran like maybe 12 weeks or so. It was a weekly free paper. And, you know, we did kind of, you know, local politics and stuff like that. But it was kind of a dream come true. I mean, look, in getting to interview Charles Schultz twice, which I write about in the book, was one of the most special moments.

I got to interview him for the 50th anniversary of Peanuts. And then sadly, six months later, he was diagnosed with colon cancer. It was stage four and inoperable. And he asked me to come back out and do his last interview. And it was like, in a way, you know, sometimes people just retire and the strip ends or somebody else takes it over and that's that. But, you know, this way he got to find out how beloved that strip and he, as the creator, by extension, was. And look, it's still running today. I mean, there are repeats, reprints.

But when you think about the impact that that strip has had from a sociological standpoint, a theological standpoint. And the humorous that it influenced. Yeah. I remember telling himous that it influenced. Yeah. I mean, I remember telling him how important it was. 1969, he introduced Franklin, you know,

the first black character. Yes. And, you know, what an impact that had. It was, it was, it really made,

and it goes to how important it is for people to be able to see people that represent them and who they are in popular media. It makes a huge difference. When you met Sparky finally, I mean, we all know that sometimes meeting your heroes can be treacherous. It was everything. Wasn't everything you expected it to be? You know what? In a way, it was more. In that, look, the man had an ego.

There's no question about that. But it was something that you would expect, but yet the humility was still more than I expected. And the quiet confidence, yet he still, even at 74, still questioned things. Yes. Knew he didn't have all the answers. And, you know, it was a real, it was one of those things where I went back to my hotel room in Santa Rosa, California, after the first interview. And just was kind of like trying to process everything I had just taken part in. You know, that's like, this guy was, you know, I'm talking to Charles Schultz.

It's still, you know, one of those amazing moments. We had his son, Craig Schultz, here. We did a Christmas episode for Charlie Brown Christmas. And when I asked him what his favorite strip of his dad's was, he got choked up. It was the one where Charlie goes to the barbershop and waits for his dad to finish cutting

hair so they can ride the bus home together. And you know, it's funny because that's one of the things I mentioned to him. Because I, you know, one of my fondest memories of time with my father was I would, when I was off from school, I would ride the bus with him. You know, he'd do his shift for eight hours back and forth on Flatbush Avenue. And, you know, I'd see these people and he'd introduce me to them.

And, you know, this is my son. And I was eight years old, to the point where when I got my first job in Syracuse, they gave us business cards. I'm a college dude. What do I do with these business cards? Like a couple of weeks after I'd gotten the cards, I went home to visit my folks in Queens, and I'd forgotten the business cards. Anyway, four or five weeks later, I start getting phone calls from people. I say, hey,

hi, how are you? This is so-and-so. I said, how did you get my number? He goes, oh, your dad's handing out your business cards on the bus route. What a good dad. You know? Listen, if you're in Syracuse, look my son up. Watch him on TV.

You know, it's so funny when you said Flatbush, I got an immediate also nostalgia again because there were a few theaters on Flatbush Avenue. I remember seeing Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid on Flatbush Avenue, one of the theaters. Yeah, you know, and the things I, you know, like he would, on the way home from the depot, he'd stop at Ettinger's and get the pound cake, or sometimes he'd go to Ebbinger's, get the blackout cake, you know.

I mean, it was, there was a theme. There's a reason why I was not athletic, you know. There's a reason why I was not athletic, you know? What do you refer to yourself as in the book? You would say today it would be an IT person, but back then you call yourself an AV dork? We were the AV nerds. AV nerds. I mean, we literally, I was in high school, and back then, you know, AV was, you know, the 16-millimeter projector, you know.

So we had to come in with, we had the cart and the 16-millimeter projector, and you had to keep the loop to thread it so that the sound stayed in sync or run the film strips. We thought we were so cool, and we had no idea everybody was laughing at us. Everybody was. We even thought, we had our own gang sign. AV. You know, I mean, it was just

sad and pathetic, you know. Gilbert was neither athletic or on the AV squad. I don't know what he was doing. By the way, you're both cartoonists. You both dabble in cartooning. We'll send you Gilbert's stuff.

Oh, I'd love to see it. It's like Basil Wolverton Gilbert's stuff. Oh. You know that? Yes. Are you keeping your hand and drawing a little bit, Al? You know, when I sign my autograph, like when I'm at book signings or when I sign for You Look So Much Better in Person, I've got a little sun character and a little cloud character, so I'll do those. But otherwise, it's kind of fallen by the wayside. I've got a little sun character and a little cloud character. I'll do those. But otherwise,

it's just been, it's kind of fallen by the wayside. I do miss it. Maybe when I retire, I'll pick that up. I'd like to see your strip one day. My dad was a painter. My dad was an artist. I thought you said you'd like to see me strip. I thought, wow.

Wow. This took a turn. Wow. I thought, wow. Wow. This took a turn. Wow. I would watch that like porn. Yeah. The only thing that would make it better is if it had been written by Larry David. We'd like to see Salt and Pepper.

It's online. I'll see if I can find that for you. Here's another one from a listener. Charlie Bruce. We know that Al is a huge Ghostbusters fan. What does he remember of his experience filming Zombieland with the great Bill Murray? Oh, my gosh. It was a real hoot in that, you know, I had seen my daughter, my middle girl, and said, Dad, you've got to watch this movie Zombieland. And I did, and it was bust a gut funny.

Of course, Bill Murray gets killed in it. And so since it's out, I don't think it's giving anything away. What I felt, it was in the credits, and it is day zero of when the zombie apocalypse started. They don't explain how it starts, but that's how it starts. And I'm interviewing Bill Murray for Garfield 3, Flabby Tabby. And while I'm interviewing him,

I become a zombie. And he kills me and then goes out and fights his way through all the zombies to get away. It's in the closing credits. It's funny. I get invited to the premiere. I'm watching it and I'm thinking oh, they must have cut my scene.

Alright, well there you go. I'm getting ready to leave as the credits are rolling and then it pops up. But it was a lot. They filmed it in Atlanta and Woody Arrelson, you know, was there. We didn't share a scene, but he goes, listen, I don't know what's going on and when you're leaving. Having some people to the house.

It's going to be good. Did you go to the house? I did not go to the house. I Did you go to the house? I did not go to the house. I thought, do I go to the house or do I get on that flight back to New York? I think I'm going to go back home. We will return to Gilbert Gottfried's amazing, colossal podcast. But first, a word from our sponsor. Now, your assistant, he said, we know you're a friar.

He said you wanted to talk to us, too, about some classic comedians, including Mr. Gottfried. Yes, well, I mean, look, I've had the pleasure of being at more than one roast with Gilbert. Can we actually talk about anything that happened at those roasts? I don't think so. I was there, too. I don't think we can.

I don't think so. I don't think so. I don't think it would be prudent. No. I will tell you my favorite Roche joke, which was Belzer following Freddie Roman to the mic. Gilbert knows this one. He said, ladies and gentlemen, Freddie Roman, give it up. Jack Ruby had a longer TV career. Wow. Wow. Wow.

Wow. You know, and that's the thing. It's an interesting time because I don't know. Do those ever come back? I don't know. I don't know. Comedy Central is still trying to do their version of it. I mean, they pulled Alec Baldwin out a couple of, what, last year? Yeah.

And Bruce Willis a few years ago. I mean, they're still attempting to keep the brand going. Yeah, but I don't— And you acquitted yourself quite well, might I add. I was a writer on a couple of those. And you were—you know, we don't have to go into detail. Thanks. Thank you.

But you were quite good. Well, you know, look, it's—again, I'm one of those people, like some people, oh, you should do stand-up. I said, no, I'm good for two or three minutes. And then it's a very steep drop-off. It's literally like my sex life with Debra, you know. I'm good for two or three minutes. And then it's a very steep drop-off. I'm good for two or three minutes.

Then it's a very steep drop-off. So, you know, those moments are good because you're only on for a little bit. People are very forgiving, in a sense, and then you get out. Well, you know how to tell a joke. I mean, when you consider some of the people that get up at those roasts that don't have any business being up there, I mean, you know how to get up and do a bit and tell a joke. Well, listen, I've watched enough mean, you know how to get up and do a bit and tell a joke. Well, listen, I've watched enough people, you know.

Gilbert Gottfried, Soupy Sales, you know, Jerry Seinfeld. You know, you go through, I mean, even somebody, here's a okay, here's one for you. I got a call the other day through a mutual acquaintance and it was like

one of the most amazing moments ever from Willie Tyler of Willie Tyler and Lester the only time I had seen a black ventriloquist who you know back in the day

was on Sullivan was on Merv Griffin was on Johnny Carson I mean, everywhere. Everywhere. And still as sharp as a tack, funny as hell. You know, and that's the... Today, I don't know that there's that... Yeah, that ability for young comics.

You know, it's either... They tell a couple of jokes, and all of a sudden they've got a Comedy Central special. Willie Tyler, who was here, by the way, on this on this podcast. Oh, my gosh. Great guy. You know, that's something that Gilbert and I love to talk about. It's part of the reason we started this show is you don't have ventriloquism like impressions is considered quaint.

Yeah. These days it's considered a part of show business that, unfortunately, is passé. Yeah. It used to be like there were a million ventriloquists. Well, there was Sherry Lewis. Sure. Of course. Ricky Lane and Velvel.

Yes. I'll never forget it. We had Sherry Lewis on the Today Show. And Lamb Chop comes up with Lamb. And it's done. And, you know, it's Lamb Chop. I mean, this is your childhood. It's Lamb Chop.

I'm not talking Charlie Horse. I'm talking Lamb Chop. Yes. And she takes Lamb Chop off of her hand. And she basically puts them in a Tupperware container. I'm thinking, where's the burled wood, you know, with the velvet lining, you know, because this is an American icon. No, she just stuffs him in a Rubbermaid container and walks away.

That's so funny because I was once on a TV show and Willie Tyler was on the TV show and we started talking and I said to him where's Lester? And he points to the corner of the room where there's a little suitcase. Yeah! And I also felt like, you know, he's suffocating in there.

There's a great Paul Winchell story. He's on, I think it's the Kate Smith Hour. And he's doing his bit. And the director comes in. We're having trouble hearing the dummy. He goes, what are you talking about? We can't.

So he goes, let's run the sketch again. And he's watching the audio guy, and the audio guy keeps pointing the boom mic to Jerry Mahoney when he's talking, which Paul Winchell in his book said it was the highest praise indeed. This guy thinks the voice is coming from the dummy. Did you ever hear of a ventriloquist act named Otto and George?

No. They were very raunchy. Oh, we'll send you. We'll send you stuff. You'll appreciate it. See, to me... There's a story of a guy, a heckler, attacking the dummy on stage.

Oh, my gosh. Being so drunk. Yeah. What I was always amazed at was the guy who's got to be the greatest ventriloquist of all time has got to be Edgar Bergen. This guy made millions of dollars doing ventriloquism on the radio. Absolutely.

I mean, he can move his lips. He can do whatever he wants. And the funny thing is, whenever I saw him on TV, he was moving his lips. Whenever I saw him on TV, he was moving his lips like Frank Gorshin. It is funny what Frank was saying because we talk about that a lot. They used to be the, you know, Rich Little, George Kirby. They've all been on this podcast. Well, not George Kirby. No, George Kirby would be dead.

Frank Gorshin, probably a problem, too. Yeah. We did have Will Jordan, who did the best Sullivan in the business. Yes. We had Rich Little. We had Marilyn Michaels. We do our best to keep this alive. Remember Vaughn Meter?

Of course. The whole Kennedy thing? Of course. And then, you know, the, yeah. David Fry? Best Nixon in the business. He invented the Nixon. Yeah. David Fry? Best Nixon in the business. He invented the Nixon. Yeah.

I had a David. That was back when I was a kid. I would buy. Most of my friends are buying Marvin Gaye and the Supremes. I'm buying Vaughn Meter albums. First family. David Frye. You know?

I mean. Right. What are you going to do? And I remember I saw an interview with Vaughn Meter because he had, you know, he cornered the market on doing all these Kennedy impersonation. And he was once out of town getting ready to work some show. And the cab driver said, hey, did you hear about Kennedy today? And he thought, oh, he knows who I am.

He's going to make a joke. And he goes, yeah, Kennedy was shot. And that, I think that night when that news came out, Lenny Bruce went on stage and he says, boy, Vaughn Meter's really fucked. That was his opening line. Yeah. That night. What was it like, Al, for a guy who's a lifelong fan of animation to see himself drawn and animated on The Simpsons? You know, it was, I mean, look, first of all, here's a show.

What is it now, 33 seasons? Something like that. Longest running show. Since 89, I think. Yeah, longest running show. For a while, it was the longest running one. Now it's the longest running show. Other than Meet the Press, it's the longest running show in television history.

than meet the press, it's the longest running show in television history. And probably, if not the, one of the smartest, most smartly written shows and pointed comedy and observation. And so to be part

of that and to go in to record those lines and you're being directed by Al Jean and you're being directed, you know, by Al Jean and you're coming out and Julie Kavner's going, hi Al, how you doing? It's like, oh my God, you know? And they sent me a cell of my scene with Bart

and they sent an autographed script, you know? And it's just, it's like, wow. Those are the things where it's still, I can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe I get to do this stuff. Yeah, we ask a lot of people that on this show, you know, how often do you have the pinch me moments? And you seem to be a guy, and it's all over the book, you know, you're keenly aware of where you've come from and the surprises of this journey along the way. You have a lot of gratitude. I was number two to Frank Field, who at the time arguably was the most popular or most well-known weatherman in America.

I mean, Johnny Carson used to make fun of NBC's crack meteorologist, Dr. Frank Field. And my parents could turn on the TV and see me, and I thought, this is it. Maybe 10 years down the line. Maybe Dr. Field will retire and I'll get the Monday through Friday. But I thought this, I have made it. I am walking in to 30 Rockefeller Plaza. A place where I

took the NBC tour and saw them taping The Doctors and doing all the... I think before Alec Baldwin was on that show. You know, and it was, and seeing Studio 8H and, you know, Toscanini and all. And I'm working here.

I still, I mean, I'm a kid from Queens. And I remember coming and taking the F train from Queens because I was staying with my parents that first night when I flew in from Cleveland, and taking the F train and coming up at 47th Street, 50th Street, Rockefeller Center Station on the F train, and I'm walking up to 30 Rock in my job. It was, it's still, and you still, you walk in that building,

and it is awe-inspiring even you look at the frescoes you look at the floor you look at the sculptures the it's it's unbelievable there's no other building that houses a broadcast facility like it in the world you know the closest you would come was bbc house in london they've torn that down. So this is the last standing building that throws back to the beginnings of broadcasting. I still, you know, like sometimes when I drive in, you know, like, you know, not to be maudlin, but, you know, I'll visit my folks out at Pine Lawn, and then I come back in. And, you know, you come over that Midtown Tunnel Bridge before you get to the tunnel, and then I come back in. And, you know, you come over that Midtown Tunnel Bridge

before you get to the tunnel, and you see all of Manhattan from, you know, your field of vision is Manhattan. And I think, I live here. I work here. It's more than I could. I don't know what I was going to do, but it still boggles the mind that I do this. You also said in the book you get emotional when you fly in to the city

when the cityscape first appears. You're coming in and there's nothing like this. There's no other city like it to fly into. I think one of my favorite anecdotes in the book is you telling your mother that you're on Channel 5, not being able to get the hang of the fact that it's a different Channel 5. Yeah. So I get this job. I get this job. channel five not being able to get the hang of the fact that it's a different channel five yeah so i i get this job i get this job uh it's channel five in syracuse when so i'm excited you know you

call you gotta call your mother i call her up and said mom guess what i just got a job doing doing tv weather here in syracuse oh what channel is it on it on? I said, well, Mom, you can't pick it up. It doesn't reach it. Well, what channel? I said, well, it's Channel 5. She goes, oh, I can see you. I said, no, Mom, it doesn't reach to New York City. It's just for Syracuse.

No, you're wrong. We have Channel 5 here. I said, Mom, that's WNEW in New York. I'm working on WHEN in New York. Well'm working on W-H-E-N in New York. Well, all I know is a five's a five. I said, yeah, but mom, it doesn't reach. Wait a minute, I'm going to turn the TV on

right now and show you. I said, mom, and I hear the TV come on. He goes, see, you can't see it, but here, it's channel five. It's on right now. I said, but mom, it's a different station. It's like a bad Abbott and Costello routine. Finally, I said, she goes, what time are you on?

I said, I'm on at 6 o'clock. And then sure enough, about 7 o'clock she calls, I didn't see you. That's great. That's a great story. Here's one from a rabbi, Al. This is our friend Rabbi David Komarowski. I loved Al when he was on locally in Cleveland. He was a regular at my father-in-law's restaurant, Bliss on Coventry. Oh my gosh. And I want to know if the empanadas and cheese soup are the reason he left Ohio for New York.

No, no, no. Listen, you know what? It's funny. A lot of people knock Cleveland. I had a great, I lived and worked in Cleveland for five years. And it was, you know, you have that moment where you find your legs professionally, where kind of like it clicks in as to who you're going to be. And I don't care who you are, whether you're a police officer, firefighter, garbage, whatever you do.

And Cleveland was that for me. And so I loved Cleveland. And the only reason I left was to come home to New York City. But no, I, in fact, my sister lives in Shaker Heights. And in fact, we're going to be going to Cleveland in May as part of a series, Reopening America Today. And I'm going to be at my old stomping grounds. I love Cleveland. It's fun to read about in the book, and we should point out too that the book isn't just anecdotes. It's also you're generously sharing

career advice and life advice, like get up earlier and call people, don't send emails, and there's a lot of practical advice for the way you get things done, which you've generously shared with younger people or aspiring broadcasters. Yeah. Well, it's not so generous because you've got to pay $28.

So, you know, it's a small price to pay. A small price. So how do you feel about the Internet and Twitter and all those things? Look, I like it. I think it's fine, you know, for stuff like this. But, you know, when it comes to one-on-one, I still, one of the greatest gifts my wife Debra gave me was a stationary wardrobe.

It came in a beautiful box, you know, eight by 10 sheets of very nice paper, my name, you know, small cards to write on, envelopes that matched. And I love, and I write with a fountain pen, and I love the feel of it. I love the sound of it. I love the way it looks. And I like sending people notes. It's, and I've instilled that in my kids. That's cool. And they've heard from people how much it means to them to get a handwritten note. When it's time to write a thank you, yeah, you can send an email.

But no, you're not doing that. You're writing a note. You're going to physically write a note, write the address, put a stamp on it, take it to the mailbox, and mail it. Because it means something to people. They took the time to think about you and get you something. You can give them something back. That's nice. That is good advice.

And you're also a fan. It's interesting. It's in the book. Pick up the phone and call people. Don't rely on email, especially if you're trying to advance your career. Be persistent. Keep calling. and call people. Don't rely on email, especially if you're trying to advance your career. You know, be persistent. Keep calling. You know, you were a nudge, which is how you got that job. What was his name? Andy Brigham? Andy Brigham. In the first place. He was a great, great journalist, news director, and mentor. But it was one of those things. Again, it was before email and texting, but even before

there were answering machines, you know, you couldn't leave a voicemail. You know, so I kept calling and kept calling. I was waiting to find out about the job and to got to the point where I knew the station switchboard operator, Rose. And she'd say, oh dear, he's not here right now. And I keep calling. Finally, one time she put me through and it was like, you know, the dog that chases the car. You know, all of a sudden he catches the car. What do you do? And I kind of stammered. And he said, oh, he had this voice, this gruff voice. You know, the only way I'm going to get you off my ass is to give you this job. So you got the job. All right. All right. We'll see you next week. Click. And I'm like, wait, what, what, how much am I making? What am I doing? How do I, but it was, but that's, and I tell the young

people, you know, I said, first you call, then you call again and then you call again and then you leave an email, but then you call again. I thought that was one of the most interesting pieces of advice in the book, as well as don't quit your day job. Willard's advice. I thought that was one of the most interesting pieces of advice in the book, as well as don't quit your day job, Willard's advice. Yes. Yeah. You know, because, you know, persistence means something to people. You know, leaving a text or an email is kind of passive aggressive.

If you really want it, be aggressive. The other thing that struck me was Willard's advice to you, remember that your fans, your viewers are the customer. Yeah. And the customer is always right. So even if you're not in the mood and a fan wants a selfie with you in a grocery store, you find a way to turn it into a positive, or at least you make every effort to. Look, here's the deal. The only time, and I learned this from my, quote, baby brother, who is now the CEO of Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx. But I overheard him talking to my kids when they were much smaller. And he said the only thing he resented was that when people came up, when he was, again, like, you know, 7, 8 years old, 10 years old,

he resented when people came up and kind of infringed on his time with his big brother because he didn't have that much of it. And so it got in his way. And I never thought about that. And so when I'm with my kids, even now, I say, you know what? I'm with my family. I hope you'll understand, but I owe them this. So, you know, if I owe, and 99% of the folks say, yeah, I get it. Of course, you get you'll get one or two. What a jerk. OK, whatever. How do you deal with that, Gilbert? When when when when you're recognized and you're not for whatever reason, you're not feeling particularly energetic or you're not in the mood.

And somebody wants a selfie. I mean, you're you're gracious to fans. Yeah. But when I'm not in the mood, it's every second of my life. Do you take the high road like Al does? Yeah, I do pose and stuff. But you know what gets me whenever

they do that with their phones? You know, they used to be regular cameras yeah and with a regular camera you held it up click and the picture was taken and now with advanced cell phones it's like okay okay wait wait wait are you in the shot yeah yeah oh wait wait did i did i press the right thing and it takes an hour. It's like, okay, you asked to take the picture. The least you can do is know how to take the picture.

What about those people who insist on blaming you for the weather? Well, look, it's human nature. You know, listen, even in my own house, Deborah will literally say, you know, they say it's supposed to be sunny in 62. I said, I'm they. What are you talking about? What are you telling me about, you know? I'm they.

You know, my son will go, well, Maria LaRosa on channel this morning said it's going to, well, you know what? Why don't you go live with Maria LaRosa? Let her morning said it's going to. Well, you know what? Why don't you go live with Maria LaRosa? Let her pay for those $150 sneakers. But you say in the book it's important to have a good comeback line at the ready. Oh, yeah. For people who are aggressive about it. Yeah. I have stolen.

It was one of my favorite lines from Seinfeld. And Elaine and George Costanza. Not George Costanza. Oh, Frank Costanza. Frank Costanza., played by the late great classic Jerry Stiller. You know, he goes, you want a piece of me? You want a piece of me? Bring it, old man. I will drop you like a bag of dirt.

I got two quick ones here. Favorite fictional weather forecaster. Rick Tamlin from Anchorman, Phil Connors from Groundhog Day, or Gordy Howard, our friend John Amos from the Mary Tyler Moore Show. I have to go with Gordy Howard. Look at that. Yeah, absolutely. Because we were both bald, even though he was wearing a tube.

That's a good man, John. We had John here. Did you see Coming to America 2? Not yet. He's in it, you know, McDowell's, and he looks fantastic. Why did you, my other question, why did you, before we get you out of here,

why do you compare yourself to, and this is in the book, that you're comfortable with second banana status, and you go so far as to compare yourself to a and this is in the book, that you're comfortable with second banana status, and you go so far as to compare yourself to a classic sitcom character. If I had a choice, if I had a chance to play any character in a sitcom, it would have been Norm,

played by the great George Wendt, because he always had a great entrance, had a great line, and they always had these great entrance, had a great line, and they always had these great reaction shots of him during the show. And he'd still have one or two. One of my all-time favorites, he would come in and he goes, Norm, and they'd go, Norman! Norm?

He goes, how's life treating you, Norm? Like it's a dog-eat-dog world and I'm wearing milk bone underwear. You know? Yeah. Norm, what's up? My nipples, it's a dog-eat-dog world and I'm wearing milk bone underwear, you know? Norm, what's up? My nipples, it's freezing outside, you know? I mean, it's just, so, but I love, you know, the idea

you don't have to be the star to have a great career. Willard taught me that. Again, everything I seem to learn I learned from Willard. And I remember interviewing Ed McMahon. Same thing, you know. He was next to Johnny.

He knew where he was. He knew what his role was. Had a great life. Had a great career. Good career, yes. You know. So I find that, you know, being the second banana, like on the Today Show, I'm not the host, the co-host, the weather guy, but I still get to do amazing things.

I get to go incredible places. I get to meet people that I would never get to meet. So, you know, and I've had a, you know, I second banana thing is I think, you know, people waste a lot of energy wanting to be the top dog, you know. And there's nothing wrong with that. I think that's great if that's what you want. But, you know, you can have a good life without getting that, too. I think we're both comfortable with our second tier showbiz status, aren't we, Gilbert? I haven't hit second tier yet.

But here's what I, for you, Gilbert, you are, and not to be macabre, but long after you're gone, be macabre, but long after you're gone, Iago will still be part of our culture. That's true. That is mind-boggling that there was this character

that, you know, next to Robin Williams, is probably, and the genie, is probably the greatest character in that movie. And that's my, I mean, he's not the star, but boy, do you remember Iago. Oh, thank you, Al.

See, Gilbert, you have a legacy. Yeah. Well, I'd rather the parrot died than I lived on. And what was great, it was the literally, in that one scene, you know, like every cartoon,

when an animal gets singed or whatever, they're like either all their feathers, or they're wearing underwear or something like that. Iago's got everything, anything you would want in a character, Iago has in Aladdin. It's the second greatest character in that movie.

And that's going some. I remember somebody told me in the writer's room when they were making Aladdin, they had a sign that said, when in doubt, hurt the parrot. Oh, that hurt. A little help. A little help.

A little help. It's just... Al, one of the pieces of advice in the book is find mentors. Yes. And you found several along the way. But Willard, are you still in touch with Willard? I am.

Willard's 87. Do I have that right? Yeah. Yeah. And it's funny. I do consider him my second dad. My dad was still alive. They would be the same age.

And, you know, he's physically slowed down. But mentally, humor-wise, it's still Willard. I still come back. When I hang up the phone, I'm still laughing. And he's just a treasure. I just adore him. I can't say enough. He's one of the most generous human beings I've ever met.

That's nice. I'm glad that you got He's one of the most generous human beings I've ever met. That's nice. I'm glad that you got to meet mentors along the way who reached out to you. Yeah, you know, I mean, that's the thing. Usually they reach out to your mentor. Might be something about you, though. Not everybody attracts that kind of generosity. Well, you know, look, who knows? But I'm just grateful

that he walked in. Because I can honestly say I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Willard. Because he's the one who decided, you know, it's time to step back and semi-retire. And he said, you know, it's your turn. And that's something you don't

always see. Rarely see. Here you are, a guy who had no designs on being in television, you know, 42 years with the same network, a house full of Emmys. What a strange series of occurrences. Life is strange. You were in your basement doing cartoons. Yes. With a goal of being a Disney animator,

and you're the most famous weather forecaster in America and known the world over. And you didn't even plan this career. And that's the beauty. I always tell people, never say no. Are you still yakking? I am still yakking. Al's wife is shutting it down. Taking it out.

All right. So you won't get in any further You can fight with your wife On your own time This has been Gilbert Gottfried Amazing Colossal Podcast That's my life baby Gilbert Gottfried's

Amazing Colossal Podcast With my co-host Frank Santopadre and we're watching the divorce of Al Burke in real time we want to thank John Burke associate social media director we want to thank our friend

Krista Rose who helped us out too with this episode Al it's a wonderful journey the book you look so much better in person to Rose, who helped us out, too, with this episode. Al, it's a wonderful journey, the book. You look so much better in person. True stories of absurdity and success. Hey, you forgot to shout out Aristotle Acevedo.

We never forget Aristotle. Aristotle Acevedo. How about that? Aristotle. Al Roker just shouted you out. How do you feel about that? He's overwhelmed. He's overwhelmed. Oh, and your wife is standing behind you with a frying pan.

Hey, Al, next time you join us, we'll also talk about Yafit Koto and Bill Duke. Oh, my gosh. Some of those great actors you were talking about. Oh, we just lost Yafit Koto. I know. That's one of Gilbert's favorites. my gosh. Some of those great actors you were talking about. Oh, we just lost Yafit Kota. I know. That's one of Gilbert's favorites. My gosh. There's still, you know, I mean, the show Homicide, Life on the Street, is still one of my all-time favorites.

And he was Al Giordano, a black guy adopted by Italian parents. What a wonderful actor. Yafit Kota was a Jew. There you go. Yeah. E-I-E-I-O, Yafit Kota was a Jew. There you go. Yeah. E-I-E-I-O. Yafit Kota was a Jew. E-I-E-I-O.

I want John to know, too, that we tried to talk about the Friars Club, and I quickly realized there was nothing repeatable. Yeah, thankfully. Well, we gave it a shot. Al, good luck with the book. Thank you for being a part of this crazy show. Thanks, guys. You were a wonderful guest.

Thank you. We'll see you soon. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Hey, do the mouse, yeah. Hey, you can do it in your house, yeah. You can do it in your house, yeah. Fuck on the rug or on the wall.

If you folks get fucked, do it in the hall. Do the mouse, yeah. Let's do the mouse. Come on and do the mouse with me. Hey, do the mouse, yeah. Hey, do it all around your house, yeah. Don't be afraid that you can't do it. There is really nothing to it.

Shake with your hands, wiggle from your ears. Make like a mouse, push your feet down and steer. from your ears make like a mouse push your teeth out and steer hey do the mouse yeah hey you can do it in your house yeah be the first one on your block

every cat will be in shock Do the mouse, yeah Let's do the mouse Come on and do the mouse with me Hey Do the mouse, yeah Hey Do the mouse, yeah

Hey Hey, you're the monster Hey, you're the monster Don't be afraid that you can't do it There is really nothing to it Just follow me and I'll get you through it Have no fear when Supe's here. Hey, do the mouse, yeah. Hey, do it all around your house, yeah. Hey, do the mouse, yeah.

Hey, do it all around your house, yeah