Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast - GGACP Rewind: Episode# 49: Lee Meriwether and Julie Newmar

Episode Date: July 16, 2026

In a rare two-part episode, Gilbert and Frank are joined by not one, but TWO of the actresses to play Catwoman during the run of the classic 1966 “Batman” series, Lee Meriwether and Julie Newmar. First, Lee looks back on her reign as Miss America, impersonates Ed Wynn and threatens (promises?) to discipline Gilbert. Next up, Julie reminisces about working with everyone from Michael Rennie to Chad & Jeremy and favors us with her favorite Catwoman catchphrase. Also, Julie feuds with Jim Belushi, Lee hops a flight with J. Fred Muggs and Buddy Ebsen runs afoul of Shirley Temple. PLUS: “The Eddie Cantor Story”! The return of Billy Barty! Gilbert channels Sydney Greenstreet! And the strange mystery of Cesar Romero and the orange wedges! (Website link: https://www.gilbertpodcast.com/49-49-lee-meriwether-julie-newmar/) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For the month of May, the producer of the month is Dave Craig. Thanks for your support, Dave. Go to patreon.com slash Gilbert Gottfried and support the podcast for the love of all that is holy. This is Gilbert Gottfried, and this is Gilbert Gottfried's amazing colossal podcast. I'm here with my co-horpe. Frank Santopadre. And, you know, a little while ago, we interviewed Adam West, who was the original TV Batman, and our favorite Batman.

And we figured, what about cat women? And so we decided to interview two cat women. Two, for the price of one. Two sexy cat women. Julie Numar and Lee Meriwether, who, to our way of thinking, are still the two hottest, sexiest catwomen. There's been other catwomen, but to them we say, fuck you, Earth the kid. Fuck you, Michelle Piper. Fuck you, Anne Hathaway, and especially fuck you, Hallie Berry.

Hence any of you personally, you're all very attractive. Hallie Berry, I would especially like to fuck, but we say fuck you that we like these cat women better. So we say, fuck you. and Michelle Biper and Earth a kid, all of whom we'd like to fuck, but we're not saying we'd like to fuck you here. We'd like to fuck you in a cheap hotel room by the airport,

or any place, for that matter. But we're choosing as our favorite sexiest catwomen, Lee Merry Weather, and Julie Numar. So, let me say, In conclusion, fuck you Earth the kid, fuck you Michelle Piper, fuck you Ann Hathaway, and especially fuck you, Hallie Berry. And we'd like to fuck you, but we're just saying fuck you, we like these other cat women better. Thank you.

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Dot com slash Gilbert right now. go to dashlane.com slash Gilbert and never forget another password. That's dashlane.com slash Gilbert. D-A-S-H-L-A-N-E dot com slash Gilbert. That name Gilbert sounds familiar. Hi, I'm Gilbert Gottfried. and this is Gilbert Godfried's amazing colossal podcast. I'm here with my co-host, Frank Santopatra,

and we're here at the Chila Theater Expo, and our guest this week is an actress and former model who's been working for an impressive seven decades in movies, TV, and the stage. Our dozens of credits include Dragnet, Route 66, the man from Uncle, Star Trek, Mission Impossible, Murder She Wrote, Space Coast, coast to coast, and desperate housewives. But she's perhaps best known as Buddy Epson Secretary on the long-running drama Barnaby Jones.

And as Catwoman in the 1966 Batman movie, she's worked with Jack Benny, John Wayne, Phil Silvers, Rock Hudson, and Andy Griffith, and even Jay Fred Mugs, and Namu, the killer whale. Please welcome to the show, Miss America of 1955, the beautiful and talented Lee Meriwether. Oh, good grief. Welcome, Lee.

Did I really do all that? I believe you did. Are you sure? Kind of sounds like an obituary. Thanks, thanks, sweetheart. Thank you very much. I really do appreciate all that. Oh, and I'm not getting paid for this, am I?

Well, well, Oh, well. Should we have said actress, former beauty queen? It would be more accurate. Which, whichever, yes. And actually, Miss America, well, we don't count ourselves as beauty queens. It's sort of a misnomer, really. Interesting.

Because you're never judged on beauty, per se. It's more of your ability to handle yourself in difficult situations, like being interviewed and bar-and-a. with questions. And in handling in the best possible lady-like way that you can. And, you know, if you're able to answer questions on the spur of the moment with people looking at you from all over the world, knowing that. And they're about like, what, was it, 50,000 people in the convention hall alone. Wow.

That kind of situation. So I guess when you, after Miss America, that's when you started getting into acting? Yes, actually during the year, I was so fortunate because Philco was then a scholarship sponsor of the pageant. And they had the Philco Television Playhouse. And as I was, my monologue was an Irish mother of 70 lamenting the loss of her. last son to the sea. They knew I could handle certain amount of... Do you remember any of that?

Oh. Maybe. It isn't that I haven't prayed for you, Bartley. It isn't that I haven't said prayers in the dark night to you wouldn't know what I'd be saying. But it's a great rest I'll have now and long sleeping in the dark nights after salmon. If it's only a bit of wet flour we don't have to eat,

or maybe a fish that would be stinking. Wow. Incredible. That's part of it. I don't know where that gave, that, you know, what your mind will store.

An Irish author, right? Wasn't it? John Millington's Inge. Yes. Yeah. Great stuff. And then, so what was the first acting

you did after that? Well, the two shows on the Philcoe Television Playhouse, one with Mary Aster playing my mother. And that was That was very exciting.

Oh, Mary Esther. From the Maltese Falcon. Yes, sure. We talk about her. And what a lovely, charming woman she was. And the other one was the Miss America story. And it was a story about a Miss America who runs away from the pageant. And on that show was the first airing of the song, There She Is Miss America.

Really? by anybody know. I want to say Burke Parks, but I'd be wrong. He didn't write it. He sang it. He sang it. He sang it a lot. But the first one to sing it on the show was a man who, a singer, known for singing,

had a little white strip of hair right here. Oh, boy. Good, close. Oh, heavens. Handsome, handsome man. And a good actor. Not Rudy Valley. No, later, later.

Much later. Fifties. Think about 50s. In the 50s. Frankie Lane? No. I'm just grasping at straws here. Okay, initials. J.D.

J.D.? I wasn't James Darren. James Darren is here this weekend. Jimmy Durante. No? I would love that. I would love if that were true. We're stumped.

Okay, Johnny Desmond. Oh, Johnny Desmond. Yes, Johnny Desmond was the first one to sing. There she is. I did not know that. Miss America. And it was written by Bernie Wayne. And he's famous for not only that, but blue velvet.

Oh, sure. And housemaid, no, no, wait, man. Oh, dear. It was the coffee. Chalk full of nuts is the heavenly coffee. Yes, he wrote that. That's great. We have never had this kind of trivia on this show.

I just remembered another piece of Hollywood trivia because she said Mary Aster. There was a big scandalous trial because Mary Aster's maid, I think she fired her or something, and she got a hold of Mary Aster's diary. Oh, good news to me. It was supposed to be some wild stuff. A little bit of hanky-panky going on. Yeah. That she wrote about?

Yeah. And so that became... She was best known for the Maltese Falcon, probably. And Gilbert does a little bit of Peter Lorry for that movie, don't you, Gil? Is it favorly? It's you who handled it. You it are stupid attempt to buy it. Kevin DeFound out how valuable it was.

What do you think? Fabulous. Oh, that's wonderful. Right on the money. Oh, yeah, that's... Heaven. That's heaven. I love that. I sure hope they don't hang you by that sweet neck of yours, precious. But if they do, I'll always remember you.

Really good. I don't know. Maybe I just haven't seen you enough on television to see all of this. He's a mimic. He's a good mimic. I've never seen this. That's how great you are. You should see as Johnny Desmond. I enjoy talking to a man who likes to talk. I just close, I just close the mouth men.

They usually watch the role movies. That's great. You are a character, sir. Good. Sydney Green Street. Yes. Who else does Sydney Green Street? She got it.

I hope. I hope. I thought, oh, Lord. as I said it. Maybe it was Charles Lawton. Give me the chrono. Oh, he's off again. He's off again.

He's off again. One of my favorite lines that I think could have been the advertisement for that movie is he goes, Wilma, you're always like a son to me. But if you lose his son,

it's possible to have another. But there's only one, Maltese, Oh, that's great. Yeah, that's great. He was talking to Alicia Cook. Yes. Now, give me the chronology of this.

Oh, I'm sorry, we have a guest. Did you go to the... No wonder your show was... I heard that your show is very, very popular. It is. Oh, that's so good. Well, we told you we had Adam on the show, and Julie was on with us. Did you get to... did you get a word in and edgewise?

Adam's great. We did. It was over the telly. So it was... But he paid Gilbert a tremendous compliment. Oh, I love... He said I would have made a great penguin. Oh, yes, you would have.

Of course you would have. You would have. Oh, yes, absolutely. It's never too late, Gilber. Hey, listen, they might be looking for a voice I've heard because I heard that they're doing a cartoon. That's right. Yes, Adam and Bird are going to do a cartoon.

Yeah, that's what I'm so worried about because I haven't heard anything, so I guess probably Julie's first in line. Oh, well. I did the first movie. That's true. She was the first one on television. That's okay.

Can I go suck my thumb now? Now, you work with Jack Benny. Yes. Oh, yes. I did two of his shows. Oh, tell us about Barry. Oh, what a dear man. He, the one thing that I love to,

to tell. Actually, I haven't told many people at all, but my mother came to see the show, tape ones, because she was, you know, a big fan of Jack Benny for years and radio and all that. And so I brought her. And he came and said, would you like to come to my dressing room? And I said, well, I have my mother here, and she'd just bring her, bring him. So I said, well, we have, I think they want me to do some makeup. I said, oh, come come whenever you can. So, Jed, I finished, and I brought my mother. And he was sitting there in his robe, bathrobe.

And my mother just, I mean, she, well, I don't know what she expected, but I think she expected him in a suit and tie somehow, you know. And she went, oh, well, I started to head for the door. And I said, Mommy, it's, no, yeah. This is Jack Benny and this is my mother, Ethel Mary with her. And so she sat down and we talked. He was so dear, so dear with her. And considering her more than paying attention to me, you know.

It was really very nice and very polite of him and all. And I just thought that, well, he just went up in my estimation. Well, he was always known for being a very generous performer. Oh, yes. Yes, and he was fun to work with, fun to work with. And it was a cute script. We had a good time. And the second one was as fun.

Do you remember any of the sketches you did with him? It was, I know I had to come in into, it said principal, Benny. So it was his school rule. I mean, it was his office. I'm laughing already. And I walk over to the phone. The phone is ringing. And I said, oh, darn, what was it?

He was a famous spy. No, no. I mean, way back in the early American history. Benedict Arnold. Benedict Arnold High School. That's what I answered. Benedict Arnold High School. It was something like that.

I'm pretty sure that was it. I was fortunate to work with somebody so generous and so welcoming at that early. And yes. And to watch him work, watch him. And rehearse. Did you learn from watching him? I learned from everyone. You should have seen me.

I was mentored magnificently on a set of Batman because I had masters working. And just I watched them. I just was a master class in acting. Burgess working on just this stick kind of thing where he's in the submarine. We're in the submarine. This is like the second day of shooting.

And he's like this and he has... He's looking through a periscope. Periscope. Oh, yes. I'm sorry. That's right. Like I'm not televised. We're not visuals. You can tell, but I'm working a periscope here.

You're talking to a nerd who's seen the movie a hundred times. Oh, that helps. Anyway, but his long cigarette holder and the cigarette at the end, and he's going, run silent, run deep, and let's do it again. Run silent. Run deep. Okay. And I'm watching this, and I'm, the, the, the, the,

intense and I mean just working on just this minutia of of work but it's one of the biggest laughs in the movie is he he does work it so that the

cigarette holder and the cigarette go run silent run deep and it drops that's great and it just it was just heaven he seemed like a cross between a penguin and President Roosevelt.

A little bit. Well, he would do this thing and do it in the series whenever somebody said something that was deflating to him. Oh, yeah, would drop. The cigarette lighter would just droop and he would go,

yeah, yes, yeah. Yeah, he played the stick of that character. And Frank, Gorson, would be, he worked physically. All his, his whole body was his character. And he, he, he, I watched him

and Caesar Romero same thing he had the two little sparkly things that go and give people shots Oh the joy buzzer Yes and he was working like this And it was like Trying trying

Which would be better this way So that they don't see him coming Right He's trying all different things Was fantastic Three legends three legendary actors And I was at school I was at school

And I would be remiss to all my listeners if I didn't repeat the Caesar Romero story. Lee, be careful of this one. Oh, okay. All right, go ahead. According to rumor. We can always cut it out. Yeah. According to rumor.

What? La, la, la, la. Caesar. Caesar was gay. What? Yes. Oh, come on. Please, don't interrupt my story. Cesar O'Meara was gay. And what he was into was he would hire a group of young boys, well, I mean, legal age boys, I think.

You're making this up. And no, no. And this is what I heard. And then he would drop his pants and instruct these guys to throw orange wedges at his. ass and this was my heavens oh he's making this he's making it up no this is what I heard

and damn it I swear to it what you heard okay well then I don't have to believe it I don't have to believe it at all he's asked Adam the same question and he asked Julie the same question and Frankie Avalon who worked with Caesar Romero he asked him the same question

did you ever see them delivering cartons of our age No, no, no, no, I did not. Good grief. Oh, my gosh. Did you ever see guys leave his dressing room and go, No. Where's there a sink?

My hands are covered with citrus acid. Good heavens. You're so bad. Moving past it. How can you really move past that? Poor Lee has agreed to do this, not knowing what she was. getting herself into. Quickly, since you brought up Catwoman, let's talk about how you got the part.

Julie Newmar was doing a movie. She was doing a film. I think McKenna's Gold, is that right? It could be, could have been. Could have been around the same time. I really, I really didn't know why she was, I knew that she had been cast in something, and I think that's what my agent told me, and that they were auditioning actresses for the role. And I said, oh, oh, I'll never get it.

you just go and audition. And so I did, I walked into this room. And this, I swear to you, the room was filled with beautiful women, Zoftic, gorgeous. I mean, you said, they just opened it up. It was a big cattle call. It was twice as large as this room. Twice as large.

And this is a big room. Once again. Big room, I know. Yeah, you say twice as large. We could be in a closet. right now. We're in a small ballroom. I'm rather proud of myself.

I thought of that before he said it. That's right. I was going to say, well, I guess we got to end in the closet. Good for you. I'm pretty good. Okay. Every once in a while, every once in a while, I come up with things. But anyway, I thought, well, how in the world are they going to even remember anyone?

Right. So I thought, what can I do? So I was reading the script and I was looking. I was thinking, well, luckily I have had cats all my life and I love them and I know what they do. So a lot of it has got to be my movement and the whole thing. But I thought to stand out, how do you, you know, I'm not particularly well built. I never think of myself as being good looking. that's when you grow up with, you know, from a gawky kid.

Sure. And you're made fun of at school. And then when you're a teenager and you say, oh, no, she's too flat-chested, blah, blah, blah, and all that. You know, you grow up that way and you think, I'm not pretty at all. So that never entered my mind. But anyway, I thought, to worry about it. And when I walked in, they all looked up. and I

they ushered me into the room and I said this is one of them said no this is Lee Maryweather hello

it's nice to meet you pleasure thank you I talked in this voice and I just talked like this and answered a couple of questions what have you been doing and blah blah

and I did and I did and I got and then when they said would you read for us please And then I started my boys And I brought my voice down to

And now, of course, from being raucous here in this studio My voice is a little harried But anyway, I brought it down To a level that made sense And played And they wanted me to try a Russian accent Because you were Miss Kitka also, right?

And so I tried that scene and oh, I did a lot of kneading of my knees, you know, like a cat. Like a cat would. And I licked my hand. That was hilarious. I was like this and rubbed my face and did that and did all sorts of cat maneuvers. And then they said, well, thank you. Thank you very much.

And as I walked out, I heard, and I thought it might have been the director. Leslie Martinson. Yes, Les Martin. Bless his heart. And I think it was, but I'm not sure who it was, but I didn't tell her to do that. That's what I heard. And I thought, oh, golly, maybe that's good. Maybe that's good.

Or maybe it's not. You know, back and forth and back and forth. Well, I went home the next day. I got a call, come in, and they wanted to see me again. and I didn't have to read. They just told me that I had the job and then I would be going into wardrobe. It just doesn't happen like that.

It really doesn't happen like that, but it does. At least this once anyway. And didn't you have to go back and loop cat sounds? Oh, yes. Oh, that was hysterical. At that time, I had never really done any looping.

so I but I knew what it was because I didn't see movies where took place in a movie theater or movie, I mean, you know, movie studio

and they were doing, making their own language up there, whatever. Okay. So I get the paper in front of me and it's meow. Meow, meow, meow. Meow, meow.

Spelled out, M in and drawn. out and onto the side of the page me ow wow all the way to the end and i said wow does anybody know where this comes right right in the film and they'll say we'll show you a film cliply i said oh thank heavens i had no idea how how how it would fit you know i mean that's one thing to read it and to do it okay is a meow but it should match whatever i was doing And so it was the riding on the penguins' umbrellas and heading to Kitka's apartment. Right.

You're sliding down those wires. Yes. Right. And with this wonderful music behind us. But it was a series of... Luckily, having been raised in Phoenix, Arizona, we had a back fence. And there were cats in the neighborhood. And those, my mother told me one day and she said, oh, they're mating again.

And I didn't know what that meant at the time. I wasn't until years later, I said, oh, her gentle way of, you know. But I didn't ever put it together. But anyway, those were the sounds that I made. Do those sounds one more time. He's a naughty boy. He really is. He really is.

He is a naughty boy. Why didn't you? I had no idea. I thought, yes, comedian, he'll be very, very funny. He'll be very, very witty, but he is a naughty boy. And I may have to spank you. Well, that undoubtedly. You're up for that.

Yeah, I'm into that. Oh, Lord. I usually pay extra for that. Oh, Lordy. Oh, Lee, you're such a sport. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done. And thank God we're in a hotel. Tisk, tisk, tisk.

We jumped ahead to Batman, but tell us you were... No, I want to talk about how she's going to spank me later. The hell with Batman. Oh, oh, dear Lord. Tell us about working with the chimp on the Today Show, which is fascinating. And we talked about it before we turned the mics on that as of 2012, J. Fred Mugs, the famous chip is still living. They're still with us. Yes, yes.

The first time that I really saw what he was really like and that it was amazing, we took a flight to, I think it was Oklahoma. It was some Western thing that we were all covering. Everybody was in the plane, Frank Blair, Jack Luskely, Dave. J. Fred Mugs and myself. And I sat in front of J. Frid. And he's at the window in the seat behind me. And so I was in the aisle seat, and so I could see him through the crack in the seat.

And I'm watching him. And the plane takes off. He's looking out the window. He's just sitting there and was a little suit. He really is. And he's looking out the window. and they put the seatbelt on him, and he's looking out the window. And then we take off, and then he's looking out the window some more, and look out.

And then the plain banks, and the sun comes into the window. And he looks up, and he squints, he reaches up, and he pulls the shade down, I swear to you. Wow. Pulled the shade down. They didn't tell him. They didn't show him. He hadn't because I was seated on the aisle, you know. And so I was able to watch all of this.

And I thought, oh, he's amazing. I mean, that's really real. It's just, woo-hoo. We've never had a guest who's flown with a chimp. This is a first. We like to brag about it. Okay, well, you can. I've heard chimps are really vicious animals.

Well, the only time that he ever did anything to me, and it was my fault. It was my fault. It was in San Francisco. were covering the, oh dear, I think it was the Republican convention. And they wanted me to take a picture with J. Fred Mugs, but outside. And on the balustrade, and there was a flag, a lamppost. And they had him all dressed up in a tuxedo. And for a while, he had a bottle of champagne. And that was the picture one of them took. Now, I had put on a cloche hat, so my hair was covered. I was wearing gloves and a new suit. The wardrobe had given me a new suit. And I didn't say anything. Stupid,

stupidly, stupid. But I didn't. I just watched and watched. I didn't smile. I was just watching what they were doing. And then they said, come on over. We want to take a picture. Now, they didn't say Lee. They just said, over. So I walked over, didn't say anything. I put my hand out. He grabbed my hand and bit me. Well, I was a stranger and coming at him. Sure, sure, sure. And I went, Mugs, it's me. And he pulled his mouth away and looked at me and went, oh, this moan, oh, and reached out his hand. I said, it's all right. It's okay.

It's okay. And then he put his arms around me. Wow. That was really something. That was just amazing. Yeah. Goosebums. Goosebush time.

Gilbert and I met in a similar way. He put his hand out to shake my hand, and I bid it. You bid him. Oh, that's it. Well, I can see you doing it. Yes. What are we? want to ask you about

there's so much. There's so many shows, Dr. Kildare, and leave it to Beaver in Route 66, and a favorite of Gilberts in mine, I'm Dickens, he's Fenster.

Oh, yes. And Dragnet. And this I loved, on Dr. Kildare, you played five different nurses. That's right. Nurse Johnson, Nurse Adams,

Nurse Harper, Nurse Tines, and Nurse Springer. Why couldn't you play one nurse? Well, because that would be a running character. Oh. I mean, I figured it out finally.

Oh, interesting. Oh, they hire you for one show, and that's it. And then the rate pay scale goes here. But if you're running character, of course, the pay scale goes, whoop, whip, up, and, you know, that's so I. Sneaky. Oh, very. And Lee, would you be willing to dress up in a nurse's outfit for me?

For you? Yes. Really, give it. Do you think I'm going to dress up in a nurse's outfit for me? nurse's uniform for you. You're sweet, darling. I adore you. I really do.

I do just about anything. But somehow, yes, and I've heard about your wife being very indulgent and I understand. Wives do this. And I, you know, I know she's beautiful and all that. But no. I know. I just, I'm thinking about it. I'm thinking.

I'm thinking. I'm thinking. I don't know where I'd get one, so probably not. And you worked with Dean Martin. Oh, yes. There's a great picture of the two of you on your website. I loved it. And I didn't know what it was from.

It's from the show. From the Dean Martin show. Oh, the one of the Gold Diggers. Yes, the Gold Diggers were guests. It was not one done in the studio. We did it out at, And, oh, the producers, oh, Lordy, my name, my brain is not working. His ranch.

Uh-huh. And I did a dance routine. And blazing sun, and I'm dancing in pants and a shirt and the other thing. Oh, dear. But we did sing a, you wouldn't really call it a duet. it was the two of us together singing children's songs. And it was just charming.

But it was like we were in love and singing these children's songs, you know. A tisket, a tasket, you know, and all of that. It was just very sweet, very gentle. And I just, oh. But in love with Tim Martinus. And I heard that with me. Dean Martin, he wouldn't come in to rehearse.

They would just call them and they were filming the show. Supposedly hated rehearsing. I don't know if that's heard that about him and Gleason. He was one of those spontaneous performers. Didn't want to leave it the best of it. Leave it on the dressing room floor or the rehearsal hall. Yeah, I have the feeling that repeating something was not in his ilk. He really loved.

the immediacy. And that's a stand-up comedian's for the, that's the, the nightclub singing, Jimmy Darren, same thing. I mean, he's on. James Darren, who's here this weekend, we should say. Yes, yes. And I've seen that instantaneous. Something happens to them.

rehearsal, well, like Ed Wynn. I had the good fortune to work with Ed Wynne on a show, a very small role. I had a tiny role, but I watched him work, and he rehearsed and rehearsed, but never with anyone around. I mean, I had to hide behind a wall, and I could see him working, and somebody would come in and walk a crew member doing something, and he'd stop, wait till they're gone, and start up again. Never showing what he was going to do or what he was working on. But he built a couple of wonderful kind of moments, and I was able to, I was just, I literally, he couldn't see me. And I was just watching him up to the side.

And I'm going to put you on the spot again. Can you do an Edwin imitation? Oh, no fair. Oh, just try. Do you know how many years ago this war? Weber, why don't you do your Edwin for late? It's not even that good. Oh, well, no, I'm...

Oh, goodness gracious. Oh, that is good. Oh, I couldn't. Oh, I couldn't. As I'm going, And then I'm coming down. I can't believe I got you to do Edwin invitation. It's a first.

In all your career, have you ever been asked to do Edwin? Never. Never. Let's ask you about Buddy, you know, when Barnaby Jones came into your life. And we've talked about Buddy on the show. We've talked about the Wizard of Oz. And, you know, that terrible story of how he had that reaction to the makeup. And you worked with him for eight years. Seven and a half.

Seven and a half. Yes. second and a half years. And you were friends, of course. Oh, absolutely. I love that man. I miss him a lot. We used to talk on the phone when we weren't working, you know, and just a dear sweet soul. I've been so lucky with the people that I've worked with. I really, really have. Except for today. Well, everyone's luck runs out eventually, Lee. I'm sorry, I couldn't help. I don't do that. I don't do that.

don't think those things and all of a sudden I don't, oh, yeah. Yeah. Oh, that was funny. Thank you. Buddy Epson almost died during the making of Wizard of Oz. Yes. They had like spray painted in it. Well, it was a, no, it was a salve that had aluminum something.

It was aluminum dust in the makeup. Right. And he ingested it. after switching roles with Bulger because he was originally the scarecrow and they switched parts. Yeah. And I think it was a

I think he was how long was he in the hospital? I remember him telling me this story but I thought it was just so awful. I just blanked out. Well, if what I read was to be believed, I mean, MGM didn't even believe he was sick. They ordered him back to the set.

Yeah. That's what I read about it. Yeah. He had a great career and he did so much. Oh, he did. You know. He was a dear, dear man. Just, do you know, he wrote thank you notes to everybody who was on his show?

Are you serious? That's great. Wow. And a show that ran for eight seasons and several hundred episodes is a lot of thank you notes. A lot of thank you notes. Oh, yeah, I'd see him in his dressing room and he'd be writing out notes, you know, thanking him for their performance. Yeah. He was 95 when he passed.

He had such a wonderful long run. And I remember him dancing, you know, you can go back and see him dancing with Shirley Temple. Mm-hmm. You know, he had just great career. Oh, he told me a story about that. That was so wild. He was, uh, he was, he said that Shirley would work and watch. She would watch, a Megalind Kitty, learn the dance steps from the choreographer.

And she would sit and watch. and that she would say the choreographer would say you want to try it Shirley and she said is it set yet and the choreographer said well we've got you know we have to change some

heights on this you're going to be dancing on piling and barrel heads and and the wharf you know and we're changing around a little bit when it's set and she'd leave come back and say there. I'm just watch.

Is it set yet? Yes, it's set. Son of a gun, he was there for that, because he had heard that this is what she was doing and he wanted to watch her and see what she was doing. And she watched.

And then she got up. Now, she's watching them from the front. And you figured the dancers are facing her. It's hard to describe on radio, but the Dancers are phasing her so that I know when I've had to learn a dance, I've had to be behind the dancers who were performing

so that I can learn which way is right. She was able, in her mind, to somehow see it and switch it. And that's what amazed buddy about it. And so she got up and walked around and stood there, and they started the music, and she did the whole dance. and they said, oh, this is wonderful. Now Buddy is nervous about the dance because he's got to pick her up, put her on a barrelhead,

got to move her down the rickety rock and the wharf. And all of a sudden, two guys in suits comes up. Now this is Buddy telling me this story. So two guys came up, and then he put his finger to his nose and pushed it aside like the gangster look, you know. And, hey, pst, you, hey, over here. So, buddy went over. And they were dressed in suits, so he thought maybe we're, you know,

somebody from higher up in the MGM or whatever, or 20th century of wherever it was. And the guy said, you, yes, sir. But he said, you drop her, you're dead. Incredible. That's incredible. Shirley Temple had muscle. That's like a Frank Sinatra.

I said, buddy. It's hilarious. What did you? He said, I didn't drop her. I said, well, of course you didn't because she's still alive for now. Wow. Incredible. Shirley Temple.

Yeah. I'll never look at her the same way again. Especially in Captain January. Yeah. And what do you remember about John Wayne? Oh, John Wayne was just amazing. He had, I found out years later that what he claimed to be a broken rib from falling off a bar stool, which he told us that's how he broke. his rib was actually part of the operation on his lung, which we didn't know anything about when we were down in Durango.

Making a film called The Undefeated. Yes. Yeah. And, but he, he, what, one of the best memories that I have about the undefeated is John Wayne and Rock Hudson together. And they came to a party. at the house where I was staying with Mary McCargo Moses, who was playing Rock's sister, or a widowed sister-in-law, I think,

or something like that. But anyway, and I was playing Rock's wife. But they were all at the party, and we just had such a great time. I danced with Rock almost all the night long. He loved to dance. He loved to improvise dance. you know, just go and you don't have to hold on. You just really, you know, we had such a good time.

And Duke and his buddies were in the kitchen and they were playing cards. So the place dwindled out finally. Everybody from the company went home. All that was left was, and helping to clean up was Rock and John Wayne. I couldn't. You can call me Duke. I said, I just can't. Please forgive me. I just can't.

I just couldn't. I couldn't do it. So, anyway, I'm to Mr. Wayne. And so they finished some of the cleaning up. And I said, you fellas, go, Mary and I can finish up. I looked around, Marion's not here, not anywhere. But I said, go, go, go, go, out to the door. And I watched them.

And if I had only had any kind of a camera, or anything the best. John Wayne stumbled just a touch, and Rock caught him and held him. And then he had his arm around, John Wayne, and they walked all the way down this dirt road and then turned left to where the motel was. And I just thought, oh, camera,

oh, my life for a camera to take that picture. Sure. But I have it here in my head. That's great. You know, just such a wonderful moment. You had pinch me moments, too, where, you know, you were entered into a beauty pageant. And here you are. A couple of years later, you're working with Jack Benny.

You're working with John Wayne. He's telling you to call him Duke. If you ever have those moments where you say, I can't imagine. How did I get here? I am so lucky. I mean, luck has so much to do with it. Of course, sure. And the great Phil Silvers.

Oh, yes. Yes, yes, I did. Oh, he was dear. He was very funny. I mean, he could just look at you and you'd laugh. You know, he had that something. Then you have it. You have that, you have that talent.

You have that gift. He goes, you can do something and people will laugh. That's a nice compliment. Yes, it is. And I mean it. You know, you're gifted. And Phil Silvers was, was, was, gifted as well.

He just, he made everything easy on the set. And Kay Medford was on that. That was the first time I worked with Kay. Remember Kay Medford from the Dean Martin show? Yeah. She was funny. Yeah.

And Kay, Kay, uh, played my aunt, or was it my, or wasn't my mother? Oh, Lord. In the movie I made with Andy Griffith. Angel in my pocket. I love that movie.

Oh, it's a good movie. It's a sweet movie. Yeah. I got to do my whistle. Not many people know that I could whistle. Okay. Okay. Now, what I have to do is I have to go across the room.

Oh, no, I'll just turn away from the microphone because it's not pretty. It's not pretty. Thank you. I wish we were on film. That was incredible. Thank you, thank you. Wow. Even better than the Ed Wynn.

We should wrap Lee and her daughter have to get to dinner. Oh, thank you. But gosh. That's as good an excuse as any. Julia, just before you go, can you tell us what movie you went to see with Burgess Meredith? Oh, Viva Maria Maria. What the heck is that? It was the only thing playing.

We were on location in Santa Barbara. Right. And I thought, well, there were no TVs in the rooms. We were in a motel someplace. Buzz Meredith, they used to call him. me. No, I never did it. You never called him Buzz. No, Burgess. Only Burgess. And, or Mr. Meredith.

And I came down and I said, I don't even have anything to read and just sit in the line in bed and so I went down. And they, and Burgess was looking at the paper and I said, there isn't a movie theater anywhere around. And the woman behind the desk said, oh, yes, within walking distance. Within walking distance, there's our movie theater. And I said, Burgess, you want to go to the movies? He says, oh, yes, yes, let's go, let's go, let's go now. I said, well, we don't know what's flat. She said, it doesn't matter, doesn't matter, doesn't matter.

Okay, so we hot footed it down to them. And it was about, oh, maybe a 10-minute walk. And here's, and it was, it was a foreign film festival. Isn't that funny? And there's Viva Maria Maria. So we walked in, there's no one there. There's no one there. There's a kid who's taking the tickets.

He's making popcorn. And he opens the door to let us in. And we pay. Burgess took me to the movies. He paid for it. I said, Burgess, no, no, no, no. I pay. Okay, all right.

So we sit there. and we've got popcorn and we're watching the beginning of Maria Maria. Cat woman and the penguin go to the movie. And he puts his feet up on the seat in front of us. And the guy, the kid,

came down with a flashlight. And flashlight, like this. Uh-uh, no, no, no feet on that thing. And he's... And he put his feet down. Doesn't he know who we are? Oh, that's great. I said, oh, bird.

jazz. And he said, well, come on. And so he put his feet back up again. It was hysterical. Gilbert loves, we talk about Mice and Men. Oh, yes. What a brilliant performance that was. It's a funny thing people think, oh, the penguin and Rocky is really what they know him from. But he had this great, but he directed a great picture called The Man on the Eiffel Tower. Oh, that's, yes, yes. Oh, my gosh, I forgot about that. He was a director, too. He just had all kinds of talent. And Gilbert and I talk about Mice and Men all the time. Oh, yeah. A penguin and the wolfman together.

That's right. Oh. I never even thought it that way. Yes, of course. Penguin and the Wolfman, which was Lon Cheney. And you're the only person to ever play Catwoman and Lily Munster. That's a yes. Well, I guess I'd have that.

That's true. With the Munsters Today with John Shuck, but we also love. Oh, John is dear. We've had such fun with that series. just and because we filmed that in front of a live audience a little different than anybody else sure sure no you really had to you know be there every second

there's so much you've done there's so much we could cover and god we didn't talk about Star Trek and we hardly talked about I'll come back again we'll do another one we want to ask you about Victor Blono next time oh don't okay we won't ask you about Victor Bono. Oh, no, it's all right. Victor, oh, he was so sweet.

And, well, he's gone. Yeah, he was... I was telling Gil and I were talking about him once, and he used to come on the Tonight Show and read original poetry. Do you remember this? Oh, yes. He was funny. Yes.

I mean, he was funny like stand-up comedy funny. He could be. Yeah. He could very well be. Well, to play King Tut the way he did. Yes. He had to have had comedic talents. He had real chops.

He had real chops. out of every poor. He would come on the Carson show. They would set up a lectern for him and he'd come out and he would read and I remember one line was a little kid teasing him saying there's the fat man from Batman. He would write his own. They were sort of Ogden Nash

kind of poems but crazy. Very clever. I remember him doing an entire poem about eating on cruise ships. Yeah. Yeah. And he said something like... He was brilliant. And the rocking seas and salty air and

butter, butter everywhere. We'll ask you next time. I was on that ship once. Oh, yeah. I really was. I mean, in the middle of the Mediterranean, my mother and I, she was taking me to Greece. She was going to see Greece, and we were going to get there,

and so all of a sudden, oh, wow, the whole thing. I mean, literally tables going like this, down, like that. Oh, yeah. I thought, well, at least I'm with my mother. We'll go down together. It was a little like this interview, wasn't it? That's the way of fail. I'm with my daughter here in this room, and we'll go down together.

We don't want you to miss dinner. Well, I'm Gilbert Gottfried, and this is Gilbert Gottfried's amazing colossal. Oh, is that who you are? Oh, gosh. I really thought I was somebody else. I really did. Most people think it's Alex Guinness when I talk.

Oh, heavens. And I would like to continue this interview, but Catwoman herself, William Meriwether, promised to spank me. We haven't recorded.

She said she'd spank me. And we're in a hotel. An opportunity. Come and follow. We're going to have a lot of fun tuna. Lee, we'll do it again and we'll ask you more stuff. Talk about Lee Strasberg and not Victor Bono and all kinds of things. Oh, and she did clarify that she swore she walked into the dressing room when Caesar

America. Oh, cut that out. Oh, I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen. gentlemen, I just, I really apologize. I apologize every week. I know you were expecting something classical when you tuned in, but it's been fun. Thank you for doing it. We had a blast.

I did too. Amazing colossal podcast with my co-host, Frank Santo Padre. Our guest today is a dancer, choreographer. author and Tony winning actress who appeared in classic musicals like The Bandwagon and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and hit TV shows like Star Trek, Bewitched, Love American Style, and Route 66 and The Twilight Zone. But she's best known for her iconic portrayal of Catwoman on the Batman series and for my money the only catwoman the very sexy miss Julie Newmar well hello what can I say after that how are you Gilbert

some introduction now before we start to anything else on your career can I just hear you say your famous word on Batman, uh, perfect. Perfect. I love it. I don't know how I did. I was just around his ankles or something.

Isn't that what you're supposed to do? I think it's a vibration more than anything. Was a great little catchphrase for you. You know that every guy right now is, uh, is, uh, breaking in to a sweat. Oh, my goodness. It's not that hot in New York, is it? Oh, my.

Julie, didn't you say that I saw you say somewhere that men come up to you and tell you all the time that you were their first crush or their first turn on? Yes, they do do that. They do that, and it's becoming a book. Oh, really? I skipped a few steps there. Yes, they come up and they tell me that, and, of course, I would look surprised at them, And I would say, well, how old were you?

And the answer was four, three, four, five. I love that. That's so nice. But you'll see. So at four and five, they were already getting turned on. Well, that crash is a little bit better. Or maybe it's an eye opening or it's a self-awareness. I won't get too methodical about this.

I just remember you in the cat suit and what I was thinking. Well, I won't ask what you were thinking. What were you feeling? Let's go and play. Let's roam the neighborhood. It's getting trouble. Now, your mother, and this would explain where you got your legs from, your favorite. Your famous legs.

Your mother was in the Ziegfield Follies. She was. In 19, well, it was actually 1919, she was in the Ziegfield Follies. And Eddie Cantor said that my mother had the most beautiful legs in the follies. Now, your mother, well, you said that Eddie Cantor said she had the greatest legs. And now it's funny that years later, you would be in the... Eddie Cantor story. Oh, I think that was a walkthrough or a faint through or how did anyone even notice?

It's almost embarrassing to have that on my biography. But it's true. I think I was there. Isn't the one with Eddie Canter makes an appearance, but he's not Eddie Canter? Well, no, Eddie Cantor is a very weird movie that they used to show a lot on TV. when I was a kid. And Keith Brousel, famous entertainer at the time,

played Eddie Cantor. And at the very end of the movie, when the movie ends, the real Eddie Cantor is watching the Eddie Cantor story with his wife. And he goes, I never felt better in my life. And he puts his coat on and walks out.

She was very, Yeah, his wife asked him, how are you feeling, Eddie? And I never felt better in my life. Just because he's watching the Eddie Cantor story. Without heels, how tall are you? Oh, you would ask, you know, I think. I never measured myself, but I think I'm 5-11. Wow.

That's why they put you in the back. You worked with Joe Bessa. Yeah, the comic, right? Yeah, the three-street. Right? Yes. He was in the rookie with you. Right.

Tell me more about him. He's long gone. Every time I tell the two people laugh, I just don't get it. You're funny. Well, tell me to tell me. Well, it's... Learn me. Actually, if you have nothing to say about me.

He, I remember him as being one of the three stooges. Yeah, Joe's long. gone now. And he played stinky with Avinan Costello. Yeah, he did a lot of stuff. Oh, the great boy, we were so lucky when we worked with all those great comics.

You start out as a dancer and you're on Broadway and Lil Abner and it's a non-speaking part and suddenly you're getting comedy roles all over the place. Well, a great piece of luck was marriage around. I was 24 years old.

And I have a starring part of it. And off it took with my speaking career. Really in truth, really in truth, my real career is, was a dancer. That's what I love most doing. But act always makes you, your popularity is more widespread. You just, more people notice you. So I'm much more remembered for the acting roles than dancing. Now, getting to your most famous part,

and how did you get the role on Batman? Oh, that I can only guess at. They have to make quick decisions in television. They called me up. I was in New York on a Friday, and my brother was there visiting from Harvard with some of his friends, and I get this phone call, and I say to my brother, gee, somebody in Hollywood wants me to do something or other role on Batman,

and his eyes light up. He almost leaps off the couch. He says, Batman, that's our favorite show at Harvard. We all stop and watch that show. And I said, well, I don't know. Should I? He said, it practically pushed me. out the door.

Anyway, I got on the plane weekend, and they gave me the script on Monday, and Tuesday we were fitting, and Wednesday we were shooting. It just all happened in a blur. Yeah, everything. Television happens. It's funny. On this podcast, we just interviewed Adam West. Oh.

And... Yes. No, go ahead. Tell us a little. Oh, is he wonderful. Wonderful. Go ahead. You tell me.

It was a great episode. No, no. It's your job to tell me. Well, I loved working with him. He was perfect in that part. And yes, and so was Bert Ward. I mean, when they came to casting the Batman show, oh, my goodness, it really roared.

And the show was brilliantly produced. Frank and I were just talking about that Adam West used to say that you gave him some rumbling. Certain stirrings below his utility belt. Yes. Yes. He dined out on that line for a long time. I know.

That's one of his favorite lines. Yes. Because it was written by these great writers, Stanley Ralph Ross. Oh, I wish you could interview him. He's not among us now. But anyway, that's why his show is so good because of the writers. Oh, my goodness. Now, I heard you talk once that.

You, Batman would get in a lot of trouble with the censors. Yeah. He did. Go on. Go on. Well, yeah, I saw you in an interview. You said that Batman would get in trouble with the censors. And a lot of times, the writers would sneak dirty words on the air in Yiddish.

In Yiddish, exactly. Clever. Yes. Yes. Or, here's another. the way to do it. If you say the word fast enough, it kind of slides over their heads. Funny. Did they give you any indication, did Bill Dozier, the producer, Julie, of how the series was supposed to go? I mean, you did an early episode in 66. You were in the first season.

They say play at camp, play it straight. Did they let you do what you wanted to do? Oh, you had to play it straight. If you didn't play it straight, you'd muck up the gears. you had to because it's so over the top. So that means the straighter, the even more straighter that you play it, the funnier it is. If you play it funny, then it takes it off key or it kind of, you know, it doesn't work. The timing isn't right. It doesn't, it has to emotionally hit a certain part, a certain reality point. you have to say, oh, yes, that's true, corny, or exaggerated as it is.

But there's a certain art in playing high comedy. Now, do you remember the other villains on this show that you... No, because I didn't work with them. Well, you work with Michael Rennie when he played The Sandman, the reactor from the day the arts took still. Oh, yes, you'll write about that, yes. Yes, he had a very big, heavy collie gillegiate. raccoon coat.

That's right. He complained about rather a lot. He was the sandman. Yes, yes. He was someone who put people to sleep. I never quite understood his character, but you guys had some fun chemistry.

Yeah, yes. And you also work with Leslie Gore, the pop singer. Well, he was the niece of the assistant director. Oh, she was Howie Horowitz's niece. Right, exactly.

And a star on her own in those days and became an even bigger star and writing her music and recording and all that. Yes. It's funny because you were, I remember even as a kid thinking that you were a villainous and you were scary in a way, but you always found the comic beats.

You always found the comedy moments. Well, when you have henchmen written into the script that have an IQ of about 99 and they mess up everything that cat woman wants to get done, you know it has to be a lot of fun to do and to play. And, yeah, I just have just total glee and happiness from remembering this show. One of your henchmen was Jock Mahoney, who was, I think, Sally Field's father-in-law, stepfather.

Oh. Something like that. I'll have to do my, do a little bit more research on it. He didn't tell me about it. And you did an episode with Chad and Jeremy, speaking of singers. Yes. And they're touring now these days. They're still around.

I saw them. Mm-hmm. Now, I think Chad and Jeremy are the ones who a lot of people think Mike Myers got his Austin Powers look. Interesting. Well, they turned up in a Dick Van Dyke episode, too. Oh, yes. Chad and Jeremy. Kind of like the Beatles.

Yes. And they have to hide out at the Petri House. Yes, on the Batman episode, Catwoman steals their voices, which you must remember, Julie. Oh, yes, of course. Yes. Yes. She did a good job, yes. And they were always killing you off on that show. They would, oh, they can't.

So many Catwoman episodes ended with your death. Oh, it's impossible. Yes, I just fell into a pit with all that go. The first one, you were in a bottomless pit in the perfect crime. But cats have nine lives. So they have to bring me back, right? They did six times. I did six one-hour shows.

And why did Earth the Kit replace you? I don't think I ever knew. Were you doing something? Were you doing a film? You know, I don't recall, but I think it was a good idea to bring a new look on the show. And that was in the third year. Yes. They were half hour. She did a half hour-hour show.

I did an hour-long shows. So it was much more difficult then because, When you have to like for so many characters, within 22, 26 minutes, it's much trickier, much more difficult. You were on with another guest we've had on the podcast. Barbara Felden on Get Smart. Oh, that's right. You were the housemaid who turned out to be a spy for chaos. Yeah.

Did I have a French accent or a Swedish accent? I think you were Swedish again. I was always tired from my accents. And what was it like working with Don Adams? Divine, divine, wonderful. Comics, comics are very serious people. They are the most serious people. You did a lot of 60s TV, Julian.

You did Star Trek. You did the monkeys. We just talked to Mickey Dolans last week. The monkeys was so much fun. That was probably the most fun I ever had. You played a girl who each one of the monkeys sees and is immediately hypnotized by the goddess of the laundromat. Yes, April. April Conquest or something.

April Conquist. And you said you had kind of a crush on Davy Jones. Well, who didn't? He was the shortest. He was serious and tweeted. He was a foot and a half taller than him. I love that short men. I like short men.

I'm pretty sure. Gilbert's very short, James. I can tell. Yes. I'm practically Billy Barty. She can tell her. Oh, my. Speaking of funniness.

Oh, my goodness. You know that Billy Barty used to play on my father's football team at Los Angeles City. Are you serious? He was serious? The people who don't know, Billy Barty was a midget. Now, my father's six feet four, okay? And they're having this big game, you know. So I don't know whether it was during the halftime or what.

But they brought Billy Barty in, and he would take the place of my father. My father was a coach, and my father was also tight end. And he would catch the ball and run around. And, well, the audience was just wildly entertained. So, oh, yeah, Billy Barty, we love him. Well, your father was a play. in the old American football league. Do I have that right?

The AFL? Oh, yes. They didn't bulge so much. You've seen all that and all that goes back. Yeah. I guess Billy Barty was part of the halftime show. What other famous midgets have you known? I beg your pardon.

I told you I'm not short men. Did Billy Barty ever make a pass at you? That's what he, that's his profession. Yes. Oh, he's Mr. Did he ever pinch you on the ankle? That's hilarious. No, no, but unlike Bill, Ben Blue, he didn't try to pick me up.

Who tried to pick you up? Ben Blue, the silent comedian. Yes, in one of the comedy sequences I did with him, and he broke two of my ribs. And I didn't laugh for three days. Wow. Oh, my. Now, I remember.

When I was a boy in elementary school, another boy snuck in. He smuggled in an issue of his father's playboy. And he was like a pictorial of you and Zero Mustel. Zero Mustel had his clothes on, of course. Yes. And I still remember that pictorial. Well, they didn't tell me that they hid a photographer on the set of the film that I was doing in London with Zero Mostel, who's such a genius old. So much fun working with Zero Mostel.

He never does the same thing twice. He's just a crazy man. And for the first two weeks of shooting this film, which incidentally was called Monsieur Monsieur lecoque, how's my French, Monsieur lecoque, C-O-Q, you can,

we spent that in a bathtub. Why, don't ask me why, but it was in the bathtub. And the bathtub, oddly enough, was this black marble, but it was painted black marble

and bits of the paint would sort of come off in the water. But all the time, what I mostly remember, is this Brit, this fellow, this,

man coming around with a hose, a tiny hose which he would put into the bath water, and there was a machine which would blow bubbles. It was to keep the bubbles so that it was sufficiently high to make everything presentable. You can imagine? Yes, can you? Are you still there? Yeah, Gilber is just, he's excited. Yes. So you...

So you... Yes. See, because a lot of actresses wear like kind of a bathing suit. Oh, no, you can't do that. Well, you can. But I didn't. So you never posed, Julie. These were pictures that were taken without your knowledge.

No, no, no, no, no. I just, there were a lot of bubbles. Right. I felt quite presentable until I had to get out of the bathtub. And then this seemed rather awkward and strange to me, the AD, the assistant director said, gentlemen, would you please kindly turn your backs?

Ms. Numa was going to get out of the bathroom, and they all did. They did? Well, they all dead, of course. Fools. What a bunch of assholes. Wait a minute. These guys had Julie Numerne naked

in front of them, and they turned their backs. Well, they were English. They were told to. No sex, please, but British. They were. They made my life comfortable. We had tea at 4 in the morning, 10 in the morning, it's 4 in the afternoon, no matter what happened.

I would have been staring 24 hours. No, you weren't allowed to do that. Turning back to Batman a moment, Julie. Thank you. No, I want to think about her naked more. Now, you have to go buy the magazine. It's online, by the way, the picture, the view of the tub. You have a story about playing on Batman.

with a very young James Brolin. Oh, what a dear. What a sweetheart. Do you know he married one of the, I think it was the, one of the producers' secretaries, that was his first wife. I didn't know that.

He's now married to Barbara Strasd's son. Everyone knows that James Brolin is married now to Barbara Strassand. Well, he was in one of the sequences of Catwoman, and he plays this, well, he's a truck driver, and he's driving this truck, and he is quite attractive, quite fun to work with. But I'm an 80-year-old woman disguised. I'm a catwoman disguised an 80-year-old woman I look growing up.

So I put my hand on his knee, you see. Now, I couldn't do that as too lenient you. I'd have to be a disadvantaged woman. see, but things got a little bit warm under the color. Yes. I'm not telling you any more about that. I remember that episode. You're trying to steal a rare violin.

Yes, yes, the tragedy. That's right. Yes. And you're dressed as an old lady, and you're... Again, there's the producers putting you in a place where you can play comedy. Oh, that's so much fun. It's so much fun being anything other than yourself. By the way, when Adam was on the show with us,

played, he paid Gilbert a wonderful compliment. Really? Yeah, he said I would have made a great penguin. Really? Yes. He doesn't have the tummy for it. Well, Gilbert loves Burgess Meredith, so he was flattered by the comparison. Well, and Burgess had to learn to smoke, and he was really upset about that because

he even told the producer, you know, it took me, took him months to quit smoking. And he says, if I become a smoker again, I'm going to whatever you, you know. You remember he, just like FDR, like Franklin Delano Roosevelt had the... Yeah, yeah, with the holder. Yeah, yeah, he cooped that in his mouth. Like, yeah, you like that part, huh? Oh, yes. Talk like the penguin. Go on.

Yeah, no, I just thought that was the greatest compliment. Yeah. You sounded like that at the top of the show. That's his normal. voice. Now, now, here's someone, I don't know if you've ever worked with, and I don't know if I've ever discussed on the show. Another villain on the show was The Joker. Have you ever worked with Caesar Romero? Caesar, we all loved him. Such, oh, he was such a good guy to be around. and just a gentleman and funny and dear and warm and kind.

And you remember him as a great dancer in his earlier days? Glad and lover, sure. And a lover and so outstanding, so great looking. He was everything. Now, I heard a story. I don't know if you can confirm it. It's true. I know what you're going to tell it.

Which one? About the mustache. No, no, no. No. Go ahead. Tell me the mustache, and I'll tell you. Tell me your story first. Be careful, Julie.

Watch it. Okay. I'm all yours. Okay. Tell us all right. I heard, you know, in real life he was gay. And I heard a rumor that he used to gather these boys around him. And he would pull down his pants and underwear and have them fling orange wedges at his ass.

Orange what? Orange wedges. Witches, were they peeled or un-phewed? That matters. Julia is such a good sport. Yeah. Now, if they were unpeeled, I would have objected. They're not.

So, in all your years. You know the story of the mustache? Well, that he refused to shave the mustache. Let me tell you the story of the mustache. I heard he got orange juice in his mustache. Well, we told that story. Okay. So he had a mustache, but you know, it was always covered up with makeup.

He would not shave it off. Oh, yeah, that's famous. Okay, it's famous, but why? Because in his early 20s, he had been smitten with or fallen in love with a woman who was about 10 or 12 years older than he. And he was very taken with her. And this woman evidently felt he was. The Latin Charmer, who had a great deal of it, had to do with his mustache. So from that day onward, he never removed it.

Interesting. It was always part of his aura, part of his, who he was. Yeah, he made them put the white grease paint over the stash. Yeah, well, I works in television, maybe. I don't know. Have you seen the new DVDs that Warner Brothers have put out? We haven't yet. Have you seen them?

These are the DVD and the Blu-ray of Batman's 66. Sure. I hope they were kind enough to send you a complimentary copy. No, they've not. Bastards. They were supposed to, and I've not received it, should be my gift. It should be. Yeah, well, I did one of those after-talks for them.

Anyway, the film is just gorgeous. Because they've been restored for the first time in many, many years. They've restored, yes, and the color is out of the same. world and all the it looks incredible better than when it was first shown which was on smaller screen

so now you can see it on the big screen and all its colors colors it's really gorgeous you were having a famous feud with a neighbor of yours I can't have who is that in Brentwood oh really

did you know he moved oh finally he moved Jim Belushi. Oh, Mr. Balushi. Everybody, the world according to Jim. Everybody loves Jim. Yeah, according to Jim. According to Jim.

Well, he changed the title. Okay. Well, we should set this up for people. You and Jim Belushi were next door neighbors in Brentwood. Yes, I'm still here. Mm-hmm. Yes. And there were some conflicts.

Well, Mr. Belushi wanted to build. the three-story house where you can only have your garage. And I brought that to the attention of the authorities and made him out of that. Yes. Anyways, we had a skirmish, this, that, and the other, and eggs flew over the pouch or whatever it was. Oh, did you egg his house at one point, Julie? Was that? Did you egg his house at one point?

I might have done so I mean listen That's happened to other people Performances and stuff I don't like a cat woman Throw eggs at his house Must have seemed surreal to him Oh dear

Oh my But you finally settled it by doing an episode of his sitcom Settle settle settle settle You always settle Settle settle settle Good for you Do not go to court Good for you

Yeah I've had fun We have been talking to the more sexy than ever, Julie Newmar, catwoman herself, who to this day still gives Frank and myself and all our male listeners

some stirrings under the utility belt. Curious stirrings, yes, to quote Adam. Yeah, curious stirrings under our utility belts. You just let me get away with it. Most importantly, Julie Newmar came on my podcast today and confirmed that when she was on the Batman set,

she accidentally walked into Caesar O'Mero's dressing room and saw him standing there with his pants around his ankles and boys throwing orange wedges at his naked ass. Unpeeled ones. I didn't hurt him. I thought about his well-being. So you think he was so sophisticated.

Oh, yes. That he needed it, peeled first. Statisticated and yes, and he laughed. Oh, yes, yes. It made everything just a pleasure to do to perform. He was wonderful. God bless you, thank you. Julie, you were wonderful.

Thanks for doing this for us today. I enjoyed it. It was a treat. Julie Newmar, huh? Julie Newman. Thank you. Thank you. This has been Gilbert Gottfried's amazing colossal podcast

with my co-host, Frank Santo, and the woman who confirmed the Caesar O'Mara story, Julie Noemar. Thanks again, Julie. Thank you, Gilbert. Thank you, thanks. Never forget another password on your computer or iPhone with Dash Lane. And it's free. That's right, free.

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