Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast - GGACP Rewind: Episode #51: Ed Asner

Episode Date: July 30, 2026

Gilbert and Frank ring up one of their favorite character actors, seven-time Emmy winner Ed Asner, to talk 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 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! https://www.gilbertpodcast.com/51-51-ed-asner/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 spin-off, 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.

also hold the distinction of playing the role of Santa Claus more times than any other actor. Please welcome a genuine show business legend Ed Asner. Listen, would you like a lozenges by the way? I'd like to unwrap one for you. You know, I surely think you could use it. How are you, boy,os? We're good, welcome. Thanks for doing the show, Ed.

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, you know, I think we got to stick together and fight for our rights. of waterpois. Because 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 always the immigrants. I mean, the Irish had dominated it had been in the 19th century, I guess. But come they come the 20th century, the Jews, and they'd be. Italians. And you're talking to a Jew and Italian writers. Yeah. 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, you know, and there's, There will be irritations and rough spots. Maybe a little jockage, who knows? What's that?

You've killed Santa Claus for me with the jockage part. I'm saying I'm now heartbroken that Santa Claus has jockage. 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 Jockets cropped up. I don't forgive the expression. I didn't realize Santa Claus's sexuality was even in question.

No, I didn't say a sexuality. Jockets 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 kick 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 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 all right, it's all right. 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, a suspected conspirator. I'm one of those great Americans. Yeah. Yeah. And looking through your list of movies and TV shows, we realized you were in this movie, 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 Jaffey, too. That's right, they were both in it. Yeah, yeah. And Marty Balsam, I figured Diane Baker, I think, played the wife.

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 Jaffe and Martin Balsam. Yeah. I mean, so what, could you have any recollecta? on any of them. Oh, well, sure. Well, I mean, I was odd by the fact that Robinson, I was going to be working with Robinson.

So, Wally Gromman was directing, and what he wanted to do is because he didn't want to have any conflict with Robinson. He staged it also that Robinson would be on one side of the room, and he could photograph him simply there. Robinson came on, saw the setup. up. Why am I stuck over here? I mean, I should be in there mingling. And Gravins threw up his hands. 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.

raise my volume, meaning that Robinson was hard of hearing or death, 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 I'm at death's door, but I can shout out. I can shout out a line that'll make your tookus tremble. Your tookus tremble. Timbing tookus is my motto. It may have been turning me on.

Oh, well, that's not hard to do. It may have been one of Robinson's, I think Soylent Green was his last role. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, but it was one of his last parts. So was he basically easy to work with, or? 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. 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 are obsessed, Ed, about the old ABC movies of the week.

We talk about it all the time. You were in Hance of the Very Rich with your pal, Cloris Leachman, the girl most likely to, written by Joan Rivers, with Stalker 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, 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 there trying to avoid capture apprehension by the government so she can get her baby. And you played the heavy. Yeah. Well, I kind of said it. And Frank just mentioned Cloris Leachman, who I was lucky enough to work.

You start with her? Yes. Yeah, I fucked Chloris Leachman. I'm going to see her in a few days. I'll bring it up to her. I went down on Chlorisleetrim. Oh, yeah, yeah. Well, I guess that's a, yeah. No response. Well, she was Miss Chicago, I think.

She was Miss Chicago. Really? And boy, did I want her. I really want her. her. You wanted to fuck, Clarice Leachman? What?

Yeah, I did. I wanted it so that... You know, we got chummy when we were doing the Maritime and Moorchard It's an old story, but bears repeating. And we got real chummy.

Of course, the two things, Chloris despises in life, smoking and fat. And I don't know what the hell she was doing with you, but I think she ignored it. smoking and fat.

And so we got warmer and cozier and very appreciative of each other. And finally she said, okay, now we will culminate our relationship if you lose 30 pounds. And 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. And I think both of us were very relieved. It just didn't happen. That's great.

Gil, you worked with... Boy, I wanted her. You worked with Cloris on a roast. Yeah. On one of the roast. Tell that 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 are you talking about? No, I just worked with her on a roast. She was terrible. 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 of Moore show, we had two people with the most distinctive asses in the world. Ted and I 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 Chloris has the most unbelievable buns in the world. She has an ass that should go into the, The whole same. So, Clarice Leachman, we've learned today, Gloria 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

Clarice Lechman. Or if you can't get hurt Ted Knight. No, well, yeah, I mean, if you feel that way, I suppose. Now, I'll take course 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, Ted was the funniest man I've ever known. I mean, he was brilliant. He really was. But he was also, um, god damn. You see, the name's, fly out.

Paranoid. He said had certain paranoid. So, so in the beginning when I was

winning awards Emmys and Golden Gloves and and he got very dark and gloomy

from time to time. And he said I was buying the awards. I naturally took it

as an insult. We'd have spats. And then every Friday night, Gavin

McLeod 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. And it was difficult to counter. The best, the most instructive time ever was one time he made some absurd accusation against me. 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 anger, my, my, my, hate and it 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 got to 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 into Alan Burns, one of our creator-producers, and he said he wanted to leave the show. And Alan said, well, I said, I just don't. like people thinking that I'm that kind of person that Ted Baxter is. They can't distinguish between me

and the acting. 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, I don'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. And 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 fell flat. So there was one adjustment made. Grant Ticket told the two producers six. Mary was in tears and all that.

So there's only one adjustment made. our dialogue coach, Marge Mullen, said that because Valerie was so abrasive everything, that Lisa, the daughter of course, in the show, talked about liking her, so they ought to make that more explicit. Well, I like Aunt Roto. or whatever. Right. They put in that line, and that kind of salvaged that relationship

and softened the abrasiveness of Rhoda. Then when we got to Friday night, it was just that we went out there to kill them, and we did. And when I got to, you know what, you got spunk. That was in the first scene. I think it was the first thing. You got spunk. I hate spunk.

And that audience erupted into the biggest laugh I'd ever heard in my life. You play it so beautifully. I watched it today. It's 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. Yeah. 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.

Oh, really? Oh, how perceptive of you to him. They discovered that. My goodness. Oh, my one. I'm going to 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. I shut up. Now, they, I've heard Mary Tyler Moore had a great ass.

She used to wear those pants on the Dick Van Dykes, the Capri pants. She had those long legs that ended in those wonderful curves. Yeah, you kids, you couldn't beat that. I was a hell of a body. That famous story of Rob Ryan. as a boy grabbing her tush on the set of the Dick Van Dyke show. Oh, did he? Yeah, supposedly, and he was chastised.

Yeah, I heard they had, Mary got really angry and told Call Reiner. That's right. And Carl Reiner just started laughing. Right, that's the story. Carl what? Carl Reiner. Yeah. Yeah, Rob Reiner grabbed, when he was a kid, grabbed Mary Tilemore's ass,

and Mary got mad. and told his father, Carl Reiner, and Carl Reiner just started laughing. Well, yes. And we can point at that to say that's where Carl screwed up. Tell us a little bit about working. Rob Reiner was a lost soul. Lacking parental discipline. He then went on.

I don't know how many times he's been accused of rape, the pillage, and molestation, all of them. Because Carl last. Oh, Lord. Better that God should have last. We will return to Gilbert Gott. amazing colossal podcast, but first a word from our sponsor. And tell us a little bit about working with Betty, with Betty White.

I heard you tell a great story about her professionalism, about a scene where Gavin McLeod slams her down on a cake. Well, it was where she somehow gets, Gavin gets assigned to work with her or something, and she finally gets him in this, and we all think he's a schmuckin. And we, you know, stop it. Don't do it. Quit it.

They don't take it. She unloads on them all the time. And finally she's designing a wedding reception or something with a big cake. And because she can't fit the wedding gown, whoever is supposed to be fitted on isn't there. She has Gavin. put it on because 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. And

as we shot it, I could hear her ass hit the board underneath the cake. And I knew that it had to hurt her coxics. But she, like a trooper, acted like nothing had happened.

And right on the first take. And she then had lib, 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, you can say. And Gavin lived from day to day laughing at Ted. Ted Ted just tickled the crap out of Lila Gavin's God

and he he was almost a I channeled Ted through Gavin another time there was a I don't know midseason or maybe late

late series who knows Gavin and I understand 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 the 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 he does it easily and effectively two times. Then he comes over again.

He says, I'm going to try the third way this time. Tell me what you think. 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 listened 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, 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 Vincentilo's him. I'm sure he did it badly, but he had a kid show on.

I didn't know that. That's great. Now, did you work with Boris Karloff? Yeah, I worked in the Phoenician affair. That's right. Could you tell us? The Rome CIA chiefs. And who was it? Robert Vaughn?

I believe so. Who was the agent? Yeah, and I had... Now streaming on Disney Plus, the Hulu original series Furious follows FBI agent Alice Black, played by Emmy Rossum, on the hunt for a mysterious and calculating serial killer. Both walk their own paths toward justice,

and as their lives start to intertwine, The line between right and wrong begins to blur. New episodes week over week. Watch the Hulu original series Furious, now streaming only on Hulu on Disney Plus. We assigned him to do it. And we filmed that the, what is it, Greystoke or Greystone, wonderful Beverly Hills mansion. Was it Robert Fawton? And what was Boris Korn?

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's just very calm and reserved and very, very pleasant. No hysteria.

No hysteria. no histrionics. He just played it as he usually a dog. We're Brad Karloff fans, Ed. We had his daughter on the show, Sarah Karloff. Yeah. Let's talk about a little bit about the early days. Well, did she tell you anything about his history?

Where did he come from? Well, he was British. I know he had a British accent, certainly. He was part India. But the name implies Eastern European Oregon. 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 he had, 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 real thing. 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 did they allow that name in England if there's that goddamn sensitive that's a good question also you worked with another favorite of ours Charles Bronson oh yeah uh what did I

Well, I did, yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus with him. And I think, was it a Route 66 I did? I can't remember. Maybe. Either Route 66, I think I might have done with him. You work 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, you know, all I know is that when I was around him, he was as sweet as he could be. I heard on, Jack Plans had that show, the big show or the big show or the big, tent, something like that, or he was an impresario of a circus.

Do you remember? No, I don't remember that show. Jack Palance? Yeah. So I hear that Bronson. Bronson came on the show, and at one point, there was a fight, I guess, and that he, the, the 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 Palance. There was a famous character, a famous stuntman named Charlie Bucinski or something like that. that was Bronson's actual name yeah I can't

I can't remember this guy's name anyway he had been a killer in World War II and some others 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 he said, don't give me that look you raise it's like raise one finger and you know, 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, yeah. Tell us about working with the Duke and with the great Howard Hawks, Ed, on El Dorado. Now, did, 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.

I, I, um, he wasn't a brilliant man. but um um i mean and he 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 uh no i didn't feel hate i i certainly didn't feel hate but of course gee along with the Ward Bond and the 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 us commies. No, they weren't turning him in. They created Roy Brewer, who is the president of the IACC. They controlled who got to work. The most notable case, and she's about to be honored, is Marsha Hunt.

Now, what's his name? Stanley Kramer and I think it was Sinatra. We're producing a movie. And he had gone to D.C. was the committee for the First Amendment

to complain about UEC. And because she had done that. The House of Un-American Activities Committee, yeah. Because she had done that, Kramer and Sonatra wanted to use her in his film. And got a call from that organization that Duane and Bond

and Brewer controlled, saying that they couldn't, they couldn't use her. Or they would get protest and, you know, picketing and all that. So, oh, come on, I must be. Well, okay, they said, she can work in the film if she apologized.

So then went to Marsha Hunt, and I said that you can have the job if you apologize. Write a letter of apology. deal. And she said, apologize for what? She said,

I won't write it. They couldn't use her. And she went on to do a wonderful, lovely service for people here in L.A. when she couldn't work as an actor. And she

had a good spring off as a young starlet. She had a career ahead of her. And they, Yep, nip that bud. Wow.

Ed, what do you remember about making a movie that Gilbert and I like? We had Danny Iiello on the show recently. You made a movie with him and Paul Newman called Fort Apache, the Bronx. Called what? Fort Apache, the Bronx. With Paul? Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, he was a real, that was probably one of his first big breaks.

Danny, yeah. and he uh he uh throws a kid off of the roof in the in that movie yeah and has a big fight with uh

Paul Newman but he um he was quite something uh did you have some my only contact with him was uh during lineup I'm talking to the

to the lined up officers getting in their morning spiel and uh he's playing sleepy up until that point so in the middle of my speech he drops his uh his uh nightstick and it clatters on the floor

and everybody freezes and it wasn't uh it wasn't in the script and I stand around look at him look look look and I say pick it up that he sheepishly picks it up. And we go on.

And that was my contact with Danny. Is it, do I have it right that you had some ideas for that movie that fell on deaf ears? Yeah. What are you, what do you hear these things? I do a lot of research, Ed. My God. We heard a lot of them from perfect hotels. He does research for us.

You know, there were two cops. who were like the advisors. So supposedly Fort Apache was their story. There were two cops. And at the end of the show, Paul Newman comes in, and he's turning in his badge because he's discussed what's happened. His girlfriend's been killed and riots

and all provoked about by my coming in, and taking over the preaching. 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, you know, and the thin blue line, blah, 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 I'll take 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 going to 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's, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. So they didn't really listen to your ideas. No. And what, 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 he did good things with with his money he sure did

what do you remember about working with Elvis Ed you worked with Elvis on kid Galahad 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 he different?

No problems. Worked hard. First time he had quite an entourage following him around. Good old boys. But, and his hands were all chopped up, knocked up, because he's in the middle of his karate period, breaking boards and all that crap. But by the time we did change of habit,

he was he was not breaking boards anymore I think he was breaking hearts now now change of habit you worked with someone who would be

very important in your career I 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 yeah she never came out of her trailer and rubbed elbows Well, I don't even think she was called of the days I was supposed to work. Interesting.

Yeah. We will return to Gilbert Gottfried's amazing colossal podcast after this. Now, we have to talk about this, Ed. You've done a million voices for animated shows and movies, 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, that 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 the fundraiser, or for the fundraiser. So a little that I know that Pete Doctor, the chief creator, and Bob... Is it Peterson? Bob Peters. 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 Come back here You name 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 what

It's got the strangest beginning Of you're waiting For a cutesy cartoon And Yeah And it breaks your heart Yeah 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 rewax until I saw it three times. First two times was 3D, and I don't like 3D. I don't either. It was too dark. And then I started 2D, and I began to relax and enjoy when I saw before me. But I got to tell you, I did a good voice.

Yes, I did a good voice. But Pete Doctor is the genius of that movie. It's got a lot of things going for it. And I heard before you got the Mary Talomore show, you were looking through the want-dads in the papers. I had two bad years in... L.A. First year was great. I 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 took a tumble and the job was dried up. As my age, I said the time, he said, 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 of them, but they never come around to hire you. And I think, so I had two bad years, and my son talks about this all the time. I'd go out and get the L.A. Times Sunday version with its help one of the ads. I'd somehow buy it as soon as it dropped off the truck. And I'd

bring it home and be pouring over it late Saturday night seeing what kind of jobs that I could possibly take or get. And it was never anything that

was worth pursuing. You were either. 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 started with Will Ferrell and Elf. Yeah. 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. I know, I was in it too. I played Santa Claus in that. So we worked together. 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 Yel. I think the fact that it was released as 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, Andy and Billy, and I played the evil, uh, Demented Santa Claus. Well, I can see how it happening. Well, I, um, you know, the thing about the, uh, the, uh, the, the live action else,

will, sir, was so goddamn good that, uh, he was, he was so funny. and charming that he snapped me into such attention 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 it. Me too.

Me too. And there's nothing funnier than when the The little person I forget his name The wonderful actor Oh Peter Dinklage Huh? Peter Dinklage

Yeah Yeah Decides to beat the crap out of it That's great He's an angry He's an angry An angry dinghage 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 has been Gilbert Gottfried's amazing colossal podcast with my co-host, Frank Santopadre. And Ed Asner has told us that informed us

that Ted Knight had a great ass, and that Carl Reiner was a sexual offender Rob Reiner. Rob Reiner was a sexual offender. I'm sorry, Carl. 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 Buffett, the Pope, and Santa Claus. That's range. Well, you're like Ulysses S. Grant.

Oh, and Ulysses S. Grant. Oh, yeah. I'd throw that in. Did I say Thomas and Guy Bannister? And there's only 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. Yeah, Gilbert does some work. My son is a project director for autism speaks.

My younger son has autism, and my grandson has autism. So I'm quite directly and intensely involved in this phenomenal subject. And is there something you want to plug or is the poker tournament I'm told is in what, September? I believe so, yeah. You want the exact date? Yeah, just give us the information. It's a little early. Okay.

Well, I just have my son, who's the project director for autism. He cons me into doing this poker training, and I bombed out the last time I played. You played Gilbert? No. September 12th is when it's scheduled. September 12th in L.A. 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, me, 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 the character that this child responded to. The father put on a parrot puppet puppet of my character and started. 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? Yeah, all wonderful kinds of musical performers appear.

And one of the other performers at the other night's performance was this girl and I can't remember her name. But she's 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 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. One second. Go ahead. We'll edit it in. Longer. Is there a website to pledge money for Autism Speaks? Is it Autism Speaks.org? It must be.

Take up the phone for contributions to autism speech. Okay. It's, just look up autism speaks. Dot 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 autism speak Don't tell me you heard that Oh my god That's my favorite part Of this whole thing Yeah Oh here wait Let me look up the website

Hey What's the number For autism What? It's a good thing I didn't curse her out while I was doing. That's great. 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. Lots of love, guys. Bye. Thank you.