Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast - Ed Asner Encore

Episode Date: November 25, 2024

GGACP celebrates the birthday of Emmy-winning actor Ed Asner (b. November 15, 1929) with this ENCORE presentation of an in-depth interview from 2015. In this episode, Ed talks about his early days in the business, his seven memorable seasons as the irascible Lou Grant on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and his roles in hugely popular films like “Elf” and Pixar’s “Up.” Also, Ed meets Elvis, co-stars with Edward G. Robinson, beats up Jack Lemmon and lusts after Cloris Leachman. PLUS: Sam Jaffe! Michael Cole! “The Duke” names names! The comic genius of Ted Knight! And Ed dishes dirt on Santa Claus! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Melissa and Doug, the play is pretend, the skills are real. Look for Melissa and Doug wherever you shop for toys. Hi, this is Gilbert Gottfried and this is Gilbert Gottfried's amazing colossal podcast. I'm here with my co-host Frank Santopadre. Our guest this week has won seven Emmy Awards, five Golden Globes, and the Screen Actors Guild's Life Achievement Award. He starred in two celebrated TV shows including what many consider the best situation comedy in television history, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, as well as its Emmy-winning spinoff, Lou Grant.

He's had memorable roles in Roots and Rich Man, Poor Man, and has appeared in dozens of movies, including JFK and Pixar's Up and worked with everyone from John Wayne to Elvis Presley. He may also hold a distinction of playing the role of Santa Claus more times than any other actor. Please welcome a genuine show business legend, Ed Asner. Ehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe hehehe he need several. I'd like to unwrap one for you You think you could use it Well, oh you boyos

Welcome. Thanks for doing the show at we appreciate it now with an introduction like that. I'd be a schmuck to miss it. Now what is it with you and Santa Claus? Well he's a chubby fellow and I you know I think we got we got to stick together and and fight for our rights of water poor. just like a Jew playing Santa Claus this many times well you know look what dominated the field of comedy in the early part of the 20th century it was it was always the immigrants I mean the Irish had dominated it been in the 19th century I I guess, but come the 20th century, the Jews and the Italians. And we knew how to make them laugh.

And you're talking about the Jewish and Italian writers. So that's why I do Santa Claus. I know how to make him real. You've played him so many times. I lost count going through IMDB, but of course famously in the movie Elf. Well, I want everybody to be sure and realize that he's a heterosexual. And there will be irritations and rough spots. Maybe a little jock itch, who knows.

What's that? You've killed Santa Claus for me with the jock itch part. What? I'm saying I'm now heartbroken that Santa Claus has jock itch. Oh, yeah. I'm now heartbroken that Santa Claus has jock itch. Oh yeah, I mean, you know, sitting on that goddamn sleigh all day, sweating on those heavy clothes. You've heard of global warming, haven't you? Well, that's from the jock itch cropped up.

You'll forgive the expression. I didn't realize Santa Claus's sexuality was even in question. No, I didn't say his sexuality. Jockitz doesn't question your sexuality. It just says that you've been a little overactive and not showering enough. Oh, God. I don't know, maybe he picked it up from one of his reindeer. Maybe. Now, now you also kicked the shit out of Jack

Lemon. Who? Oh yeah. Oh, well that was, that was easy. That was easy. And you know, that son of a bitch loved it. Did he? He loved it. When I? He loved it. When I hit him the first time, and I felt very sure I missed him, and he came up and I saw the goddamn marks on his face, I felt so horrible. But he was grinning and he said, yeah, it's alright, it's alright. So then I did it again, did the stunt again and I made more marks. So I felt like a real turd.

We should point out to our listeners that was in the movie JFK, you were playing Guy Bannister, are suspected uh... conspirator one of the great americans yeah and and looking through uh... your list of movies and tv shows uh...

we realize you're in this movie are The Old Man Who Cried Wolf. Yeah. Edward G. Robinson's... I don't know if... Yeah, Edward G. Robinson. That was his last one. It was close to his last one. And the great Sam Chaffee, too.

That's right. They were both in it. Yeah. Yeah. And Marty Balsam, I forget, Diane Baker, I think, played the wife. Uh-huh. And I played the phony psychiatrist who tries to tell him that he's imagining things. Now those are three great actors to be with. Robinson Joffe and Martin Balsam.

Yeah. I mean, so what, could you have any recollections on any of them? Oh, well, sure. Well, I mean, I was awed by the fact that Robinson, I was going to be working with Robinson. So Wally Grauman was directing, and what he wanted to do is because he didn't want to have a conflict with Robinson, he stated also that Robinson would be on one side of the room and he could photograph him simply there. Robinson came on, saw the setup, he says, why am I stuck over here? I should be in there mingling. And Robinson threw up his hands and said, all right, all right. So, he then blocked it with Robinson appearing in the midst of the people in the room.

Well, as we started to rehearse, the dialogue director, as I started to do my lines, kept giving me a hands up, meaning, raise my volume, raise my volume, meaning that Robinson was hard of hearing or deaf and that for the rehearsal I should practically shout my lines to him. So I did that. Then comes time to shoot and he lowers his hands, meaning now talk normally. So it was a strain but Robinson was you know he's like me. I'm you know I'm a guest door but I can shout out I can shout out a make your tuchus tremble. Your tuchus tremble. Tremeling tuchus is my motto. It's turning me on. Oh wow, that's not hard to do. It may have been one of Robinson's, I think Soylent Green was his last role. Yeah, yeah. But it was one of his last parts.

So was he basically easy to work with? Yeah, he was no problem. It went very easily. He was a sweet man. And Sam Jaffe, who we all remember from the day the earth stood still. And Dr. Zorba. Yes still. Dr. Zorba. Yes, and Dr. Zorba, most famous of all. Yeah, yeah. It went smoothly. I don't think the movie won any awards, the TV movie, but it was nice to be with him.

You know, Gilbert and I, we're obsessed, Ed, about the old ABC movies of the week. We talk about it all the time. You were in Haunts of the Very Rich with your pal, Cloris Leachman, The Girl Most Likely Too, written by Joan Rivers with Stockard Channing. And when you and I met at The View, we met backstage at The View, and I asked you about a movie called The Last Child with Michael Cole, which I remember very well as a kid. And you had very clear memories of it. Yeah, it was a futuristic novel.

It was like China, where having babies was limited, I think. I don't even know if you could have one without permission. And it talks about this. Yeah, I guess they didn't get permission and she wanted to have this baby. So it's about their trying to avoid capture apprehension by the government so she can get her baby. And you played the heavy.

Yeah. Well, I kind of shit at them. And Frank just mentioned Cloris Leachman, who I was lucky enough to work. You fucked with her? Yes. Yeah, I fucked Cloris Leachman. I'm going to see her in a few days. I'll bring it up to her. I went down on Cloris Leachman. I'm gonna see her in a few days. I'll bring it up to her.

I went down on Cloris Leachman. Oh yeah, yeah. Uh, well, I can't say anything. He's got no response. Well, she was Miss Chicago, I think. She was Miss Chicago? She was Miss Chicago. Really think. She was Miss Chicago. She was Miss Chicago. Really? I didn't know that.

And boy did I want her. I really wanted her. You wanted to fuck Cloris Leachman? What? Yeah, I did. I wanted it so that... You know, we got chummy when we were doing the Mary Talyn Moore Show. It's an old story, but it bears repeating. And we got real

chummy. Of course, the two things, clores, despises in life, smoking and fat. And I don't know what else she was doing with you but I guess she ignored it. Smoking and fat and so we got warmer and cozier and very appreciative of each other and finally she said, ìOkay, now we will culminate our relationship if you lose 30 poundsî and ìOkay, pouch. Okay, I said I will set out to do that. Well, I have to tell you that I lost 29 and I just couldn't hit that 30 mark. I don't know. I think both of us were very relieved. It just didn't happen. That's great. But boy, I wanted her. You worked with Cloris on...

On a roast. Yeah. Tell Ed about it. She was terrific. She was very funny. Was that the Charlie Sheen roast? No, it may have been the Joan Rivers, I think. I'm not sure.

What? What are you talking about? No, I just worked with her on a roast. Oh, I see, I see. Well, she's a wildcat. Now, you also... But I... You know, it's amazing how on the Mary Child and Moore Show, we had two people with the most distinctive asses

in the world. Ted Knight had a duck's ass when he'd button his coat and he'd walk around and you could see that little shelf sticking out there and he was just strutting away. And Cloris has the most unbelievable buns in the world. He has an ass that should go into the Hall of Fame. So Cloris Leachman, we've learned today Cloris Leachman has a great ass. Yes. And Ted Knight.

And Ted Knight. So the two people... You know, Paradise would be the permission to perpetually walk behind Cloris Leachman. Or if you can't get hurt, Ted Knight. Well, yeah, if you feel that way, I suppose. Now, Ted... I'll take chorus first. Ted Knight.

I've heard people say that there was some tension with Ted Knight on the set or... What was he like to work with? Well, Ted was the funniest man I've ever known. I mean, he was brilliant. He really was. Ted was the funniest man I've ever known. He was brilliant. But he was also paranoid. He had a paranoia. So, in the beginning when I was winning awards, Emmys and Golden Globes, he got very dark and gloomy from time to time.

He said I was buying the awards. I naturally took it as an insult. We'd have spats and then every Friday night Gavin McCloud and Ted and I and our wives would all go out and have dinner together at a local restaurant and we'd love each other very much. But then he'd sink into his paranoia from time to time. It was difficult to counter. The best, the most instructive time ever was one time he made some absurd accusation against me. And I hated him. I just hated him.

And I couldn't take it. So we did the show, Friday night, did the show. He got on and he was as funny as ever. I got on there and I flopped like the biggest turd in the world. All I could think of was my was my anger my my hate And I did taught me a lesson When whatever is going on outside when you go on the stage

You leave it all outside And you got to be sweet and round and perfect. Was it true Ed that... So you gotta be like, Cloris Leachman's ass. Yeah. Nice. That dingbat... what?

Nice callback on Gilbert's part. Ed, do I have this right that I read that Ted sometimes felt that people would equate him a little too much with his character? Oh yeah, well there's a great story about that. I don't know, maybe the second year of the season, I don't know. And he came in to Alan Burns, one of our creator producers, and he said he wanted to leave the show. And said, ìI just donít like people thinking that Iím that kind of person that Ted Baxter is. They canít distinguish between me and the acting.î

Alan must have worked for at least a half hour convincing him how people did distinguish how they appreciated his value, his greatness as an actor, his uniqueness as a comedian, honor, and finally convinced him to stay. At that moment Jim Brooks, the other producer, walks in and says, Dad, that doesn't feel to be the biggest schmuck in the world. Nice timing. Yeah, yeah. Oh, it was unbelievable. Hilarious. Just a couple of things about the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Ed, before we move on. I was telling Gilbert about this, that the first taping,

what they called the preliminary taping of the show, was actually a disaster. Oh no, yeah, that was a taping that was on a Tuesday night and we were to shoot on Friday night. And the show kind of just terribly self-slapped. So there was one adjustment made. Grant Hinker told the two producers, ìSix it.î Mary was in tears and all that. So thereís only one adjustment made.

Our dialogue coach, Mark Mullen... said that because of gallery was so of uh... break through everything uh... of that uh... uh... we have the daughter of uh... of course in the in the show uh... uh... talk about liking her

so they are all to make that more explicit well i i like and wrote or whatever right doesn't that put in that line and that kind of salvage that relationship and that's all from the abrasiveness of roda uh... then when we got to writing night uh...

it was just that that uh... then let me go to the writing night it it was just that that uh... we went out there to uh... to kill him and we did and when i got to uh... you know what you got a bunk that was in the first thing sure you know i think we're going you got a problem uh... that audience You got spunked. I hate spunk. That audience erupted into the biggest laugh I've ever heard in my life.

You play it so beautifully. I watched it today. The timing of it, the way you walk up to her and you smile and you draw her in and then she does the false modesty thing. And the turn of it is... and I understand there was a lot of wrestling with that scene and that line reading, that it was difficult for a while. You were doing it too intensely? I don't know. I do a lot of things intensely.

And I may have, but I don't think I could have been any more intense than what I see on the screen. Yeah And it always seemed like on the show that there was kind of like every now and then a sexual chemistry between Mary and Lou Grant My goodness, oh my Oh, how perceptive of you to have discovered that. My goodness. Oh my, I'm gonna give you two lozenges. Yes, sir, boy. That's brilliant.

No shit. Isn't that wonderful? Well, unfortunately I never was able to really reap that crop, but I sure wanted to. They do have you sleeping with a happy homemaker though in the series. Oh shut up. Now, I've heard Mary Tyler Moore had a great ass. She used to wear those pants on the Dick Van Dyke show. The Capri pants. Well, sure. She had those long legs that ended in those wonderful curves.

Yeah, you couldn't beat that. That's a famous story of Rob Reiner as a boy grabbing her tush on the set of the Dick Van Dyke show. Oh, did he? Yeah, supposedly. And he was chastised. I can imagine that. Yeah, I heard they had, uh, Mary got really angry and told Carl Reiner. That's right.

And Carl Reiner just started laughing. Right, that's the story. Carl what? Carl Reiner. Yeah. Yeah, Rob Reiner grabbed grabbed when he was a kid, grab Mary Tyler Moore's ass and Mary got mad and told his father, call her and call Reiner just started laughing.

Well, yes. And that's, and we can point at that to say that's where Carl screwed up tell us a little bit about what i'm rob reiner was a law so uh... lacking parental discipline uh... he then went on uh... uh... i don't know how many times he's been accused of rape, the pillage, and molestation, all of that.

Because Carl laughed. Oh Lord. Better that God should have left. We will return to Gilbert Gottfried's amazing colossal podcast, but first a word from our sponsor. The all new FanDuel Sportsbook in Casino is bringing you more action than ever. Want more ways to follow your faves? Check out our new player prop tracking with real time notifications. Or how about more ways to customize your casino page with our new favorite and recently played

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about a scene where Gavin McLeod slams her down on a cake. Well, I was aware she somehow gets, or Gavin gets assigned to work with her or something, and she finally gets him in this, and we all think he's a schmuck, and we, you know, stop it, don't do it, quit it, don't take it, because she unloads on them all the time. Finally she's designing a wedding reception or something with a big cake because she can't fit the wedding gown, whoever it's supposed to be fitted on isn't there. She has Gavin put it on so she can fit it to him. And he's wearing his wedding gown and she's inflicting on him.

And finally, so as the scene is written, he picks her up and dumps her on the cake. As we shot it, I could hear her ass hit the board underneath the cake and I knew that it had to hurt her coccyx. But she, like a trooper, acted like nothing had happened. And right on the first take, she then had lived, she then took a dab of the cake after he swaps her down on it. She takes a dab of the cake and says, needs a little lemon. Yep. It's great. It's a great moment. Yeah. Now, I just met and sort of worked with recently Gavin McLeod, who seems like one of the nicest people. Yes. Yes, absolutely. He was one of the seven years of sweetness, can say and uh... and uh... gavin

uh... live from day to day laughing at care dead dead tickle the crap out of a lot of them and he uh... he he was almost a... I channeled Ted through Gavin. Another time

there was a mid-season or maybe late series, who knows? Gavin and I are in the stands and Ted's on stage doing the scene. And we laugh our asses off at him. And then he comes over to us and he says, now when I do it again, I'm going to try it a different way. Tell me which way you guys like. So he did it a different way. It was totally different. And it was still as funny. They laughed our asses off again. And here Gavin and I who strained to get it right one time are marveling at this bastard who does it easily and as effectively two times. Then he comes over again and he says, ìI want to try the third way this time. Tell me what you think.î And it was funny, Not as funny as the first two, but it was funny.

And we just couldn't do anything but marvel. Finally when he shot the scene, he used mostly the first method, the first way. And that's what made him memorable. He was brilliant. You know, I listen to Ted Knight. He did a lot of cartoon voiceovers when I was a kid. A lot of superhero shows and you know, you'd see him in things like Psycho. Oh, yes. You'd see him in Bit Parts. You'd never had any idea or inkling that this guy was going to be a great comedian. Yeah.

And he was. All he was doing was playing Germans. Yeah. Yeah. and he was. All he was doing was playing Germans. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And a lot of voiceovers, a lot of cartoon shows in the 60s. Well, and before he came to California, he was in Connecticut doing a, he had a dummy.

And he did ventriloquism. I'm sure he did it badly. but he had a kid show on. I didn't know that. That's great. Yeah. Now, did you work with Boris Karloff? Yeah, I worked him in the Venetian affair. That's right. Could you tell us?

I played the Rome CIA chief. And who was it, Robert Vaughn? I believe so. Who was the agent? Yeah and I had assigned him to do and we filmed it the what is it Greystone wonderful Beverly Hills mansion. Was it Robert Fountain? And what was Boris Karloff like? I'm always been a big fan. Well, he was like a very nice, calm, reserved. I didn't exchange that many pleasantries with him. We didn't have that much together. But he was very calm and reserved and very, very pleasant.

No hysterics, no histrionics. He just played it as he usually does. Where were your Karloff fans, Ed? We had his daughter on the show, Sarah Karloff. Yeah. Yeah. Let's talk a little bit about the early days. Well, did he tell you anything about his history? Where did he come from? Well, he was British. I know he had a British accent, but the name implies Eastern European origin. Oh no, no, no. His real name was William Henry

Pratt. And now in England, he came up with the name Karloff himself. Yeah, his daughter said she had no idea where Karloff came from. Boris Karloff's name was William Henry Pratt. He was English, part Indian. And I heard in England, the reason he came up with the name Boris Karloff as his stage name was I heard in England calling somebody a pratt is like calling someone a cunt. Why would they allow that name in England if they're that goddamn sensitive? That's a good question. Also you worked with another favorite of ours, Charles Bronson. Oh, yeah. What did I? Well, I did. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus with him. And I think was a Route 66 I did? I can't remember.

Maybe. Either Route 66, I think I might have done with him. You worked with Rod Steiger on Route 66, I know that. Yeah, yeah. Now, what can you tell us first about Bronson? Well, he was the sweetest person in the world. Wow! I mean, I heard horror stories about him.

Unbelievable horror stories. And all I know is that when I was around him, he was sweet as he could be. I heard on Jack Palance had that show, the big show with the big tent, something like that, where he was an impresario of a circus. You remember? No, I don't remember that show Jack Palance. Yeah So I hear that That Bronson Bronson came on the show And

At one point There was a fight I guess and that he He nicked Palance and that Palance then went crazy and mopped up the floor with him. Really? Yeah I don't know how true it is. That's good stuff. I heard another story about the land there was a group famous character uh... famous uh... uh... stuntman and charlie buchinsky or something like that uh... that was bronson's actual name

yeah he went with them i kept i can't remember this guy's name anyway he'd been a killer in World War II. And so are that they were in an elevator, a bunch of he-men. And this guy made a remark, and Palance didn't like it and he looked at this guy and the

guy looked back at Palance and said, don't give me that look. It's like raise one finger, it means I'll rip your face off. Balance didn't pursue it. Wow. So there's always a there's always a joker isn't there? Yeah there's always somebody tougher than you are. Yeah. Tell us about working with the Duke and with the great Howard Hawks on El Dorado. Now would you say, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if he did, that John Wayne hated

the Jews? No, I'm not going to say it. I, he wasn't a brilliant man, but I mean, and he was charming in his own way. Whenever I'd see him, I saw him once after that, and he couldn't have been more warm and cordial. And I'm sure that there were Jewish actors or Jewish people in the business that he... No, I didn't feel hate. I certainly didn't feel hate. But of course, he, along with Ward Bond and Roy Brewer, ruined a lot of people's lives. Yeah, I had heard John Wayne and Ward Bond during the Red Scare were turning people in

as commies. No, they weren't turning them in. They created Roy Brewer, who is the president of the IATC. They controlled who got to work. The most notable case and she's about to be honored is Marcia Hunt. What's her name? Stanley Kramer and I think it was Sonata were producing a movie. She had gone to DC with the committee for the First Amendment to complain about EUAC and because she had done that... The House of Un-American Activities Committee, yeah.

Because she had done that, Kramer and Snodger wanted to use her in this film. And got a call from that organization, the Duane and Bond and Brewer controlled saying that they couldn't use her or they would get protests and you know picketing and all that. So they all come on, they must be, well they said, she can work in the film if she apologizes. So then I went to Marsha Hunt, and I said that you can have the job

if you apologize, write a letter of apology. She said, apologize for what? She said, I won't write it. They couldn't use her. And she went on to do wonderful, lovely service for people here in LA when she couldn't work as an actress. And she had a good spring-off as a young starlet. She had a career ahead of her, and they helped nip that bud. Wow.

Ed, what do you remember about making a movie that Gilbert and I like? We had Danny Aiello on the show recently. You made a movie with him and Paul Newman called Fort Apache the Bronx. Called what? Fort Apache the Bronx. Oh yeah yeah yeah he was a real that was probably one of his first big breaks. Danny yeah. And he throws a kid off the roof in that movie and has a big fight with Paul Newman. But he was quite something. My only contact with him was during lineup, I'm talking to the lineup officers, giving them their morning spiel. And he's playing sweepy up until that point.

In the middle of my speech, he drops his nightstick and it clatters on the floor and everybody freezes. It wasn't in the script. And I stand over there and look at him. Look, look, look. And I said, Pick it up. He sheepishly picks it up. And we go on. And that was my contact with Danny Ayo. Do I have it right that you had some ideas for that movie that fell on deaf ears?

Yeah. What do you hear these things? I do a lot of research, Ed. My God! hear these things. I do a lot of research Ed. We heard a lot of it from Perfecto Tellies. He does research for us. You know there were two cops who were like the advisors. So supposedly Florida Apache was their story. There are two cops and at the end of the show, Paul Newman comes in and he's turning in his badge because he discusses what's happened. His girlfriend's been killed, and riots, and all provoked by my coming in and taking over the precinct. You were Chief Connolly.

Yeah. Right. So he's ready to walk out and I give them a big goddamn speech about it. You know, we're the barrier between them and the sin blue line, blah blah blah blah blah. And I went to the director, the writer, everybody, and I said, this guy's done more to create this chaos than anybody else. Why can't you have this last scene written whereby Newman says, okay, I'll keep my badge, but I want you to know I'm going to watch you very closely. And wherever and whenever I can, I'm gonna blow the whistle on you to tell you what you've done to create this kind of chaos. And because I was weak and I wasn't that, I didn't have that much stature to make this kind of change.

Everybody said, yeah, yeah, mm-hmm, yeah, okay. So they didn't really listen to your ideas. No. And what do you remember of Paul Newman? He was a beautiful guy. Very lovely. He was nice to be with. He certainly was cute.

And he did good things with his money and his gallop. Oh, he sure did. Sure did. What do you remember about working with Elvis, Ed? You worked with Elvis on Kid Gala Head and then on Change of Habit. Both times, he was a different person the second time than it was the first. But both times he was a lovely guy how was it no problem worked hard first time you know quite an intro are following him around good old boys but uh... and his hands were all

chopped up knocked up could be in in the middle of his uh karate period, breaking boards and all that crap. But by the time we did Change of Habit, he was not breaking boards anymore, I think he was breaking hearts. Now, Change of Habit, you worked with someone who would be very important in your career. Oh, shut up. Is it true that you and Mary did not really get acquainted? No, we didn't touch each other. I never saw her even.

Really? No. She never came out of her trailer and rubbed elbows. Well, I don't even think she was called in the days I was supposed to work. Interesting. Yeah. We will return to Gilbert Gottfried's amazing colossal podcast after this. As a Fizz member, you can look forward to free data, big savings on plans, and having

your unused data roll over to the following month, every month. At Fizz, you always get more for your money. Terms and conditions for our different programs and policies apply. Details at Fizz.ca. Your teen requested a ride, but this time, not from you. It's through their Uber Teen account. It's an Uber account that allows your teen to request a ride under your supervision with live trip tracking and highly rated drivers. Add your teen to your Uber account today. Now, we have to talk about this, Ed.

You've done a million voices for animated shows and movies, The Simpsons and Duckman and Batman and American Dad, and a show I actually worked on called Angry Beavers. We have to talk about Up, about Pixar's Up. Yeah. I mean, your agent submitted you for that role, did they kind of write it with you in mind? What happened? I don't think they wrote it with me in mind. My agent submitted me for it. I didn't pay attention. And not until later did I find out that I was doing a reading of a one-man show about a Holocaust survivor. The Jewish... It's a Holocaust survivor who's now suffering dementia. Yeah, yeah.

And the Jews were having a fundraiser in Alameda. So I was asked to and I was delighted to do a reading of this one man show, which was a great piece of drama at theiser, or for the fundraiser. So a little did I know that Pete Docter, the chief creator, and Bob... Is it Peterson? Bob Peterson. Thank you, man. Sure. Had come to this fundraiser, saw me do this terribly stark dramatic Holocaust survivor, and that's when they decided to use me as Carl in Up.

Yeah, fascinating. They saw something in you and they knew this is the character. I guess so yeah. I just saw the biggest butterfly float by. That's nice. Gilbert! Gilbert! Come back here! You named the butterfly Gilbert. I'm touched. It's a great it's a great movie I've cried watching it many times. It's got the weirdest beginning. Yeah. It's got the strangest beginning of you waiting for a cutesy cartoon. And it breaks your heart the first ten minutes. It's a double love story, I refer to it as. Ellie, of course, dying and then the battle with the kid until finally you see he loves the kid.

And were you, did I read somewhere that you were anxious when it first came out? You saw it three times, you went to see it three times? Yeah, I didn't relax until I saw it for the third time. First two times it was 3D, and I don't like 3D. I don't either. It was too dark. And then I saw it in 2D, and I began to relax and enjoy when I saw it before me. But I got to tell you, I did a good voice.

Yes, I did a good voice. But Pete Dockers is doctors genius of that movie it's got a lot of things going for it and i heard before you've got the married title more show you will looking through the want dead in the papers i had to bad years in them l a first year was great i'd made more money in the six months or seven months I was here

than I had ever made in the six years I was in New York. So, and then around 68, 69, I I took a tumble and the job is dried up. As my agent said to me, I don't know what it is. I go in and talk to them in the offices and they say, oh yeah, he's great, he's one over here, but they never come around to hire you. So I had two bad years and my son talks about this all the time. I'd go out and get the LA Times Sunday version with its help wanted ads. I'd somehow buy it as soon as it always dropped off the truck. And I'd bring it home and be poring over it late Saturday night, seeing night seeing what kind of jobs that I could possibly take or get and it was never anything that was worth pursuing. I was either too old or I needed a

particular training that I didn't have. Glad you stuck with acting Ed. Yeah thank God. You wound up winning a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. Well yeah I got born. I got born. And you, yeah. You starred with Will Ferrell in Elf. Just tell us a little bit about Elf. Well, I think it's the best Christmas movie there is. It's certainly better than that saccharine miracle on 34th Street. You know, I was in Buddy the Elf. You were? I was in the cartoon version of the movie elf.

They did a cartoon called Buddy the elf. I know, I was in it too. I played Santa Claus in that. So we worked together. You idiot. You didn't even know it. We worked together. I should have canned you.

You and I worked together in a movie or a cartoon. This is amazing. Buddy the elf. I think the fact that it was released is amazing if you were in it. And Gilbert, didn't you play Santa Claus once in something else? I played Santa Claus in a cartoon series, I think, Mandy and Billy. And I played the evil, demented Santa Claus. Well, I can see that happening. You know, the thing about the live action elf, Will Ferrell was so goddamn good that he was so funny and charming that he snapped me into such a tension that I had to steep myself in my Santa Claus to the extent he was steeped into his version of an elf.

Oh, you had to go deeper into the character, huh? Yeah. Yeah. It's a really fun movie. Movie I love. I love it. Me too. I love it. Me too.

There's nothing funnier than when the little person, I forget his name, the wonderful actor. Peter Dinklage. Huh? Peter Dinklage. Yeah. Yeah. Decides to beat the crap out of him. That's great. He's an angry, he's an angry wolf. Oh, an angry Dinklage? Yeah. Decides to beat the crap out of us. That's great. He's an angry, he's an angry.

Oh, an angry Dinklage. That was so funny. Okay, now to wrap things up, we've been talking to my buddy the elf co-star, Ed Asner, and this is Gilbert Gottfried and this is has been Gilbert Gottfried amazing colossal podcast with my co host, Frank Santo Padre. And Ed Asner has told us that Ted Knight had a great ass and uh and uh that Carl Reiner was a sexual offender. Rob Reiner. Rob Reiner was a sexual offender. I'm sorry Carl. Oh yeah.

Yeah. Carl is the reason Rob Reiner is a sexual offender. Yeah. It's all Carl's fault. Ed I just also want to say that you know you play Thomas Edison, Norman Cousins, Huey Long, Warren Buffet, the Pope, and Santa Claus. That's range. Well, you play Ulysses S. Grant.

Oh, and Ulysses S. Grant. Oh, yeah. I'm going to throw that in. Did I say Thomas Edison and Guy Bannister? And there's my one-man show of FDR, don't forget that. And you played FDR, that is range my friend. Yeah. Now our mutual friend Barry Greenberg tells me that you do some work with Autism Speaks

and you have a poker tournament. That's a charity I'm familiar with too. Oh really? Autism Speaks, yes. Yeah, Gilbert does some work for the charity. My son is project director for Autism Speaks. Yeah, Gilbert does some work for the church. My son is project director for Autism Speaks. My younger son has autism and my grandson has autism. So I'm quite directly, intensely involved in this phenomenal subject.

And is there something you can you want to plug or is the poker tournament I'm told is in what September? I believe so yeah. Okay. You want the exact date? Yeah just give us the information. A little early. Okay. But, well, I just have my son who's the project director for Autism Speaks, he cons me into doing his poker treatment and I bombed out the last time I played. You played Gobert? No. It's September 12th is when it's scheduled. September 12th is when it's scheduled. September 12th in LA. Yeah, I got involved with autism because there was an article in the New York Times of a

man who was able to communicate for the first time with his six-year-old son who had autism by imitating my voice from Aladdin. Oh, be goddamn. Yeah. And in my voice he said to him, how do you feel? And he said, I'm sad. I have no friends. Yeah, Ron Susskind.

Ron Susskind? Yeah. Yes. Really? You know Ron? I know that name. I forget how I know it. Well, you know Gilbert played the parrot in the movie Aladdin in the Disney movie and that was that was the character that this child responded to. The father put on a parrot puppet of my

character and started imitating. Oh for god's sake. He started imitating my voice and his son for the first time reacted and that was their first conversation. Well I want to tell you, was that a fundraiser which my son puts on, it's the third time they've done it I think, Light Up The Blue it's called. Light Up The Blue? the blue it's called light up the blue yeah i was all wonderful kind of of uh... musical performers appear and uh... uh... one of the entered performers at the other night

performance or just go back to remember her name uh... but she'd either probably in her early 20s she sang Ave Maria with a fantastic voice and found out afterwards or as they announced afterwards that she had did not speak that not until she started to sing had she ever spoken. Wow. So the number of marvelous stories that occur and tragic stories too in terms of autism,

in terms of many diseases, it's just unbelievable. Is there a website, Ed, or somewhere where people can go and make contributions? Oh, sure, autism speaks, but I don't know the website. If you'll hang on a minute, I'll see if my daughter has it. Yeah. One second. Go ahead, we'll edit it in. My God.

We'll just edit it in. Is there a website to pledge money for Autism Speaks? Is it autismspeaks.org? It must be. Pick up the phone. For contributions to Autism Speaks. Oh, yeah, I just wrote on AutismSpeaks.org. Okay.

It's, uh, just look up AutismSpeaks.org. We got it. AutismSpeaks.org, and your poker tournament is on September 12th in Los Angeles. Right. It sounds like a very up-to-date operation you have going there of, hey, do we have a number for Audition Speaks? Don't tell me you heard that. Oh, how did you? My God. That's my favorite part of this whole thing.

Oh, here, wait, let me look up the website. Hey! What's the number? For Autism Speaks! What? It's a good thing I didn't curse her out while I was doing it. Oh God. Ed, we're so grateful to you for doing this for us today.

Well, you're a lot of fun. You were a lot of fun, buddy. Thank you. We hope to see you. We'll see you at the tournament. Thanks again. If there's any questions I haven't answered, be sure and call back. We will.

We love you, Ed. Thank you. All right. Lots of love, guys. Bye. Thank you.