Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast - Mini #200: Character Actors of Classic Cinema (A thru D)

Episode Date: January 24, 2019

This week: Saluting Fritz Feld! "Duck Soup" turns 85! The Master of the Slow Burn! Frank Capra's favorite heavy! And Gilbert extols the virtues of "Tarantula”! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Secret. Secret deodorant gives you 72 hours of clinically proven odor protection, free of aluminum, parabens, dyes, talc, and baking soda. It's made with pH-balancing minerals and crafted with skin-conditioning oils. So whether you're going for a run or just running late, do what life throws your way and smell like you didn't. Find Secret at your nearest Walmart or Shoppers Drug Mart today. The Scorebet app here with trusted stats and real-time sports news.

Yeah, hey, who should I take in the Boston game? Well, statistically speaking. Nah, no more statistically speaking. I want hot takes. I want knee-jerk reactions. That's not really what I do. Is that because you don't have any knees? Or... The Scorebet.

Trusted sports content. Seamless sports betting. Download today. 19+. Ontario only. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or the gambling of someone close to you, please go to connexontario.ca. 1, 2, 3, 4. This is Gilbert Gottfried. Ha ha ha ha ha ha. And I'm here with my co-host frank santo padre and this is another edition of gilbert and frank's

amazing colossal obsessions and the man who announced he has to get his affairs in order because he's dying of munchausen syndrome by proxy. How dare you accuse me of having affairs. Raybone. Paul Raybone, ladies and gentlemen. The lovely Dara has also joined us.

Hi, Dara. I wanted Dara to join us because a fan, a listener, sent a gift that was specifically for Dara. So this is the first gift. Oh, geez. In what, 250 shows, something like that? It's a gentleman. There you go.

A mic. We'll use that one. It's a gentleman named William Forsh, and we'll get to it. But let's do a little housekeeping. I just recently did the improv in Houston, Texas. Okay. Two guys came over to me in one night. They weren't together, and they said something that just amazed me.

They both were fans of the podcast, and both of them said they really liked the podcast because they're learning they don't know who the actors are they're learning about them and and it gives them something to discuss with their parents oh how nice and it's it's bringing them and their parents closer together discussing the old performers. I love that. And I thought that's above and beyond what we were hoping. Above and beyond. Yeah.

Yeah. I was hoping it would bring you and I closer. Has it done that? Sexually, yes. But that I thought was very touching. You know, I thought, was very touching. You know, I share things like that with Dara from time to time. I send you things from time to time saying people write very emotional things, very sweet things about the show.

I had nothing in common with my dad. I had nothing in common with my mom. We bonded over the show. We had these actors in common or this movie in common or something like that. It's very sweet. Nothing makes me happier. Yeah, my wife says

I should save them, but I really have to go back through, you know, years of emails and compile them, which is a big project. I should start putting them all in one folder.

I mean, when we started this, we didn't think that anyone was even going to listen. I mean... Except for, like, 20 nerds and Gino. We didn't even know Raybone when we started. That's right.

Yeah, but it really... How long ago was that? 2014? Yep. I believe it was the spring of 2014. Correct. Are we going to have a party? We're coming up on...

Are we going to have a party for the four-year anniversary? We're coming up on five years. We're coming up on. Party for the four-year anniversary? We're coming up on five years. Yeah, we were talking about listeners getting closer to their parents. Yeah, we get a lot of stuff like that. Yeah, that's always a surprise. People getting through surgery.

A lot of people write and say they're on long-distance trips or commuting. Or people who work in bakeries or, you know, they have solitary jobs or they're sculptors or they're artists and they'll put the show on and sit there and listen to the show. There was another guy, also Houston, Texas, who told me he was coming out of surgery and it was taking him a long time to convalesce and he was listening to all of the podcasts.

There you go. I think that's how Richard discovered us, Richard Kind. I think he was going through knee surgery. Oh, yeah, that's right. Let me hear what this crazy shit is about. And he got hooked, and then he started listening in the gym on his headphones, and the rest is history. And the next thing you know, he's practically being thrown off a plane

for listening to you and Mario talk about fellatio at 30,000 feet. You remember fellatio at 30,000 feet? Yes. Underrated Twilight Zone. Dana Andrews. Yeah, that's right. That was a good one. I want to do a quick housekeeping thing, too, because we ran the Joel Grey episode,

and I got a lot of mail from people who thought that Joel Grey was angry and was being peevish. He was actually putting us on. Yes. He was doing an elaborate bit, which, unfortunately, you can't really hear in an audio. Well, you can't really pick it up in an audio-only medium because you couldn't see him giggling and making faces at us. Yeah, he was just being a smartass. He was trying to be a smartass. And I think what happens too with this show is that people who know about you and know, or they know about Gilbert's career and they think, oh, I have to be funny. Yeah. I have to kind of raise my game or find

shtick. And they don't realize that the show is really more about them and their career. And so Joel got to the point of the interview where he just decided he wanted to be fun and he wanted to bust balls and do little bits. So he put us on. Yeah. He was giving us false answers and stuff. It was a little like what Einstein did to us.

Yes. Where Einstein's character was just to rip us apart. Yes. And just put us down for an hour and tell us how terrible it was. And nobody was listening to it. But then he was very, very grateful when the mics were off. And so was Joel. Joel invited us to the show.

He gave us hugs. He posed for pictures for a long time. So we just wanted to get that out there for people that got the wrong impression. Maybe he was a little too convincing. But he wasn't ticked off. He was – remember Charles Grodin on talk shows? Oh, yeah. He used to come on and pretend that he was –

That he was angry and didn't want to be there. He'd start a fight. Yeah, a little something like that. Oh, we've got to see the present. This is a gift, and this is from a gentleman named Bill Forsh, William Forsh, who sent us a lot of stuff. But in the interest of time, we'll only get to one of them. But next week when we meet again and we do another mini episode, we'll bring out all the stuff that he sent, which is sitting in my office. There's a gift from Frank, too, for Verterosa.

But he sent this, which I thought was rather appropriate. He even put a little name tag on it. Oh, man. Look at this. So you might want to open that up so that Bill can hear and get the full pleasure. which I thought was rather appropriate. He even put a little name tag on it. Oh, man. To Dara from Bill. So you might want to open that up so that Bill can hear and get the full pleasure. Oh, my God. Can you see that, Gilbert? Those are orange wedges.

They're orange wedge earrings. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Is that great? That's hysterical. Yeah, I'm going to wear those. That is so funny. You look like a weird pirate.

Oh, that's great. Isn't that great? That's amazing. They might be tangerine wedges, Gil, as some people say. How do I look? Terrific. Oh, she put it in her ear. You'll have to take a picture.

Oh, this looks great. I love this. And it smells like Cesar Romero. I believe it's from the Cesar Romero collection. Aren't those great? In the commercials, it says. I think it does smell. I don't know where they came from or where he got them.

It smells like Cesar Romero's asshole. That's amazing. Well, thank you so much. That's another thing. I never, I should write the names down or learn how to work my phone someone sent me a photo of caesar romero i think in the coast guard thank you dara which starts uh i don't even see in world war ii World War II, what you don't realize, the Germans and Japanese were shooting orange wedges. I didn't realize that.

I need to watch more of the History Channel. Did you know, Paul? I did not know. I wondered. I thought maybe they'd be hurling seaweed at him. Bill Forsh, thank you for that lovely gift. Dara is very charmed. She went back into the control room.

That's very funny. I have one other piece I'd like to add before we get going. Yeah, go ahead, and then we're going to go on to another gift we got. So this Thursday, well, it'll be done by the time this airs, but you're going to be in Philadelphia, and my daughter and her husband are coming to see you. So I just wanted to ask you as a favor to me. Yeah.

Could you try to be funny that night? That's asking a lot. He was looking at me when he said it. I got frightened. They were coming to the apartment. Yeah, you don't want to be funny just for Paul's. No. No, that's a lot of extra effort.

Had they seen him before? No. This is a first. No, they're very excited. And where is this going to be? At Helium in Philadelphia. Helium in Philadelphia. You always play that club.

Oh, I've been there a lot. Okay. Yeah. Great. I hope. The question is, will Gilbert's years of waiting for a flood or hoping for a fire, will any of that happen? Yes. Hopefully.

And will your relatives have their tickets refunded in that case? I hope you are funny, Gil. Yes. That night. Here's another gift. Yes. This one, like previous gifts, this one gave me an idea to do an episode around it. This is a book of character actors. Oh, great.

This is called The Versitals, and this was sent to us by, oh, yes. Oh, I forgot. He tucked a little prize in. This is from a listener named Richard Pachter. P-A-C-H-T-E-R. He wanted to make sure that I pronounced his name correctly. He also sent you these. Oh!

Some more Chick tracts. Wow, I love these. Yeah, you must have a collection now in the, what, numbering in the hundreds? How many of these have you gotten? People save these all these years for reasons known only to them and then when we announced on the show that he was obsessed with them they started coming in droves.

I can clean out the goddamn attic. I can get rid of this shit. I like to turn right to the end to see if they've gone to hell or if they turned their life around. The beast. I think the beast. That doesn't end well. No, that can't end well.

So Richard apparently has hung on to these Chick tracts all of these years. Oh, that's great. So thank you for that. They used to hand these out in the street. I had no idea what you were talking about. That goes back to the Gary Gerani episode, and I had no idea what you were talking about when you first brought them up. And they've come in.

Oh, I'm amazed how many people have these. They're out there. They're floating around. But this wonderful book, he said, is supporting character players in the cinema from 1930 to 1955. This book was actually published in 1969. And it's a wonderful old book with black and white photos. And as you go through the book and you find these wonderful character actors, Norman Lloyd, there it is.

Born 1914. I was going to say, this book is so old that some of these people were still alive, like Richard Liu. Oh my God. Who was still alive when the book was... Ah, Krav Kavya. As was Key Luke.

Yeah. Barton McLean. Barton McLean had just died in 1969. Marjorie Mayne was still alive at the publication of this book. George McCready. Mike Mazurky was still hanging around. So this is an old...

Frank McHugh. So this is an old book. And I said to Paul, we should go through here and pick character actors and see how many Gilbert can get. This scares me. There's so many in the damn book that I only got through

A, B, and C. I only got through the first three letters. So we're going to try this. Some of this is visual. People won't be able to see the faces, but you can picture them and you'll know who they are when we actually

reveal them Paul I'm going to jump around because I don't want to go in alphabetical order because he'll start to figure it out he'll see a pattern

but this is just A, B, and C on this book so if this works we'll come back to it but Gilbert do you recognize this great character actor

Claude Akins didn't even hesitate Claude Akins! Didn't even hesitate! Claude Akins! Yeah and he was I remember he was the preacher in uh what the hell was that the um Vincent Price not Vincent Price uh Spencer Tracy and Frederick March. Uh Inherit the Wind. Inherit the Wind he was the mean southern preacher. Very good he's also in that wonderful Twilight episode the Wind. He was the mean southern preacher. Very good.

He's also in that wonderful Twilight episode. The monsters are due on Maple Street. Yes. That's a great one. Is he also in, and this someone else wrote me, talking about, he gave me a whole thing, everything you need to know about oscar beretti right because he came up and i and i think claude akins is in that which one where they sleep and they're frozen and then they wake up in the future and they're like going through the desert in the twilight zone i think so is it a feature i know no it's the twilight Twilight Zone. Okay, I'm going to look that one up.

What do we know about Claude Akins, Paul? What did you find? He was in, I found various westerns that he was in. Yeah. And every one of these gave me an image. There's about six of them. He was always the mean guy. Sheriff of Cochise.

Yeah. Remember that? He played Sheriff Lobo on television. Oh, yes. Wagon Train was another one. The Rifleman he was on as a guest star, I think. Rawhide. A lot of television. Oh, Planet of the Apes. He was another one. The Rifleman, he was on as a guest star, I think. Rawhide. A lot of television.

Oh, Planet of the Apes. He was a person. He was Battle for Planet of the Apes. He's in the Battle for Planet of the Apes. That's the last one. His touch with greatness was a movie called The Killers, and the cast is spectacular. Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, John Cassavetes, Ronald Regan,

and one of my favorite all-time names in show business, Clue Gulliger. Clue Gulliger. Ah, yes. Or Clue Gullager. He's still around. Is he really? Shall we get him here just so we can have fun?

I insulted another live actor. No, I don't know. Yeah, just so I could screw up his name. I don't think it's one of those guys where I've never heard his name said. Yes. But I don't know how to pronounce it, but he's still with us. He's in his 80s or 90s. Wow.

He's just getting into the prime age for the show. Yeah, Claude Akins was usually the mean guy. Yeah, yeah. The bully. The bruiser.

But he was not, I was trying to look this up, he was not in Tremors, was he? Who was in Tremors? There's a character in Tremors. I couldn't tell you.

That looks like him. Anyway. If you want to pick up your phone and be handy on your phone while Gilbert's guessing these. Okay, he'll get back to us in a month. Okay, here's another famous face, Gilbert.

Who's that? Oh, Ed Begley. Very good. Yes. That is Ed Begley Sr. This is a picture of him in The Unsinkable Molly Brown. And he would usually play mean characters. Yep.

And I remember he was in a movie he's in one you just mentioned he's in inherit the wind yeah inherit the wind he's in oh 12 angry men yes he plays the racist character yes like oh you know the way these people are are they all lie uh-huh and um oh god i'm the only person on this list who's whose son was on the podcast yes yes ed bagley jr was on i believe he won an oscar for sweet bird of youth uh that sounds right the oscar that he wouldn't let ed jr hold. Oh. So the one that, this guy reminds me a little bit of Claude Aikens, Fred Ward. Yeah. Oh, okay. He's a different actor.

Much younger. Fred Ward's a little thinner. Much younger. Fred Ward's in Remo Williams with our recent guest, Joel Grey. Yeah, Fred Ward's not as bulky. Right. Okay. This is a comic character actor, Gilbert.

Oh. Number three. You want to put your glasses on because this is a small photo. You got the other two without your glasses. Yes. Let me try it without the glasses. This one you're going to know. Who's that guy in the middle?

Oh, is that? Oh, he was on the George Burns show. Yes. Oh, fuck. It's in the Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Fred. Fred. I think he's in Mad, Mad World.

He may not be. Fred Clark. Fred Clark. Yes. Yes. Very good. Because I remember they had two next door neighbors to the George Burns show. Yes.

And one of them left. And then when the other actor came in, George Burns just introduced him, said, this is going to be our next neighbor. That's it. Fred Clark. I think there were four of them, four of the Harry Morton character. Okay, go ahead.

Well, I don't have the names, but they kept changing over as if nothing, you know, nobody would notice. You know, I'm wrong. I'm thinking of Paul Ford, who's in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World. Oh, okay, yes. Not Fred Clark. They were both tall, goofy character actors. And Fred Clark, I think, would also play a lot of, like, army sergeants and stuff like that.

Yeah, he's in stuff like Solid Gold Cadillac. He's in How to Marry a Millionaire, Place in the Sun. I always love this title because it sounds vaguely sexual. Ride the Pink Horse. Sunset Boulevard. He's in Sunset Boulevard. And he was very funny on Burns and Al. Yeah. Boy, you are three

for three so far. Maybe I should quit now. Somebody described Fred Clark as the master of the slow burn. Well, yeah. Edgar Kennedy was the original master of the slow burn from Duck Soup. Right. Yeah, the lemonade salesman. I love Duck Soup, but the one scene that gets on my fucking nerves.

Harpo and Edgar Kennedy. Yeah, because I feel like he's running a business there. Stop being assholes. Harpo comes and puts his feet in the lemonade. Washes his feet in the lemonade. We will return to Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing

Colossal Podcast after this. That's the sound of fried chicken with a spicy history. Thornton Prince was a ladies' man. To get revenge, his girlfriend hid spices in his fried chicken. He loved it so much, he opened Prince's Hot Chicken.

Hot chicken in the window. This is one of many sounds in Tennessee with a story to tell. To hear them in person, plan your trip at tnvacation.com. Tennessee sounds perfect. This ad was expressly recorded to create a sense of simplicity. Just a few simple sounds. No complexity. Just a few simple sounds.

No complexity. Hmm. Like neutral. Made with just vodka, soda, and natural flavor. Neutral. Refreshingly simple. Okay, here's one, Gil. This guy always played heavies. Who is that actor on the left?

I believe he's the bad guy in A Day at the Races. He's definitely... No, he's not in A Day at the Races. I'm confusing him again with somebody else. He's in Son of Paleface. No, he is in A Day. He is in A Day at the Races, damn it. He's in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. He's in Son of Paleface. Son of Paleface? No, he is in a day. He is in a day

at the races, damn it. He's in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. He's the bad guy. You know the face. Yeah. He's in Son of Paleface, Three Musketeers. He's in the Ten Commandments.

Did a lot of stuff. Douglas Dumbril. Oh, my God. You know that name? Yeah, he did work with the Marx Brothers. Worked with the Marx Brothers. Yep, he's in Lives of a Bengal Lancer, Mr. Deeds. He was on George Burns and Gracie Allen playing different roles.

There you go. There you go. Raybone with that deep research. All right, you're three up and one down. Now, you're going to get this one. Who's that guy on the top right? He's in a lot of costume pictures. Worked with Rathbone and people like that.

Not Raybone. He's in the Seahawk. He's in Philadelphia Story. Jane Eyre. He's in The Seahawk, he's in Philadelphia Story, Jane Eyre, he's in The Great Dictator, he's in Witness for the Prosecution, and a lot of Sherlock Holmes pictures. By now, people like Steve Stoller are screaming at their device.

Suspicion with Cary Grant and John Fontaine? Yes. Rebecca? Yes. I've got a stump. Nope. You know who that is? I think you've got a stump. Nope. You know who that is? I think you jumped to a different actor.

Who are we doing? This is Henry Daniel. Oh, Henry Daniel. I did jump to a different actor. Oh, you're doing the other actor. Oh, shit. Yeah, he's not in Suspicion or Rebecca. That's right.

Yeah, Henry Daniel. Yes. Yeah. Also the man in the gray flannel suit. He died during the filming of My Fair Lady in 63. Wasn't he in the Twilight Zone? Oh, Henry Daniel. Henry Daniel.

Henry Daniel. We got a quiz for Gilbert on this one. Go ahead. Henry Daniel was the Swamp Fox at Disney Show. What's the one? The Swamp Fox. Swamp Fox? Does that mean anything to you?

The question is, can you sing the theme song? Nope. He doesn't even know the show. Swamp Fox. Swamp Fox. That's not it. Everyone likes the Swamp Fox. The Swamp Fox. Say hello to the Swamp Fox.

Incredible. That's it. You got it. Oh, my God. We are a discombobulated bunch. Trying to keep all my paperwork together. Okay, this guest relates to the guest who was just here, the main show guest who was just sitting in the chair. Who's that?

Oh, Leo G. Carroll. Leo G. Carroll. No hesitation. Mr. Waverly. You bet. movie I like, you know, which is a tacky movie, low budget, everything about the old sci-fi, the giant bugs and stuff, but I like it.

It's a rip-off of Them. Everyone respects Them with the giant ants. With Edmund Gwynn. Yeah. I like this one better. The rip-off is Tarantula. Tarantula. Yes. With, you know,

Acromagalia. Yes. Acromagalia. I'm familiar with the Tarantula poster in particular. In that movie, they call it Magalia. It sounds like an Acromagalia party. He's in Waterloo Bridge. He's in Spellbound. Oh, of course the TV show.

He's Waverly on The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Yes. We just had David McCallum sitting in the chair talking about this very man. Did you mention North by Northwest? Leo G. Carroll. Yes, he's in North by Northwest. Wuthering Heights, Tower of London. And I remember at the end of Tarantula, you know, they have guys in a plane trying to shoot down, shoot the tarantula.

And the guy's face is covered up. You just see his eyes. And it's Clint Eastwood. Oh, wow. That's right. Yeah. Very good. I did know that.

Well, I got to put that on my list. I miss Tarantula. Tarantula? Sounds great. Take a hard look at the poster. That's all I'll say. Who is this? Character actress who was in everything.

Oh, Christ. She was in Watch on the Rhine, The Snake Pit, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Oh, Christ. I know her. She always played. Well, she played a lot of moms. Yeah. She played a lot of moms. Yeah. She played a lot of spinsters.

Oh, yeah. Oh, fuck. And she's George Bailey's mother in It's a Wonderful Life. Oh, wow. That's a lie. Yeah. He's been in the insane asylum ever since he lost his business. If you ask me, that's where you belong.

That is Beulah Bondi. Oh. How about that? We stumped him with the chick. Yeah. We stumped him with the woman. Okay, he's going to get this one. He's going to bounce.

Tell us one thing about Beulah Bondi, Paul, before I move on. I've got to find Beulah Bondi, mother of James Stewart, four times. Four times. In four different movies. Yep. Including It's a Wonderful Life, which you mentioned. That's impressive. So, Beulah Bondi,

you know what her real name was? Tell me. Beulah Bondi. Nice work. Beulah Bondi with an I. Nice work. That's her real name, Beulah Bondi. I know she's born in Chicago. I know she's from Chicago. And you know what I have in common with Beulah Bondi? Tell me. I don't know. A double literate name.

There you go. There you go. Yeah, like Alan Arkin. Or Alan Alda. And the literative name. Right. Yes. Yes.

Yeah. Yeah, Gilbert Gottfried. Yeah. Nice work. Goodness gracious, Gilbert Gottfried. And Gary Gilmore. Oh. Fred Flintstone.

Every cartoon guy. Fred Flintstone. Nice work. Okay, you're gonna bounce back to respectability Larry Linville very good

we could do a whole show of alliterative celebrity names Lois Lane what's that? we could work in Lois Lane Adam West

oh wait a minute that's not how that works let's see and did I say Adam West. Oh, wait a minute. That's not how that works. Let's see. And did I say Alan Alda? You said Alan Alda? Alan Arkin? Alan Arkin.

Yeah. B. Benederick? Yeah. B. Benederick. Charles Coburn, as long as we're doing character actors. Yes. Can you do a C-H? Does that work?

C-H. Charles Colburn. Why do you want a C-H? Well. Can you do a C-H? Does that work? C-H. Charles Colburn. Why do you want a C-H? Well, he's got a C-H. No, C is C. It's Gilbert Gottfried. It's double initials. No, Gilbert would... Charles Colburn.

Yeah. Even though the C is pronounced like a C-H. Never mind. It doesn't matter. No, I did notice that. It doesn't matter. It's the letter. I did notice, though, that it doesn't have that, you know, sexy, steamy, like the, you know, the funny, fearless.

What about the screenwriter Sterling Siliphant? Ah, that's good. I don't know why these are leaping into my head. Yeah, I did notice the sound is different. Yeah. It should hit the letter. That's right. Okay.

Does M. Emmett Walsh count? No. But M. Emmett. M. Emmett. E-M-W. William Weldon. Wellman. William Wyler.

William Wyler. And William Wellman. Yes. William Wellman, who directed the first Oscar winner, Wings. Ah. In 1927. But that's neither here nor there. You've got it off topic here.

Let's get back to the character actors. People are screaming at their phones. Who's that gentleman? Oh, boy. He's in everything. Oh, he is. Holy fuck. Always played a villainous character.

Always played a rich man. It's not. Is it Arnold? It's Edward Arnold. Yeah, Edward Arnold. Very, very good. Edward Arnold. Born right very good. Edward Arnold. Born right here in New York City.

He was in a movie called Come and Get It. Yes. With Walter Brennan. And Francis Farmer. That's correct. Very good. Francis Farmer. Francis Farmer.

Very good. Francis Fisher. My God, we should be drinking. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, above Cary Grant's name. Wow. A year later in 1938, a publication in Hollywood called him box office poison. No shit. So that's a long way to fall in one year. Wow. But Edward Arnold, he was always like

a big husky guy. Yeah. And he had like, you know, one of those voices. He was a corrupt politician. Yes. He was a mob boss,

a crime boss. There was a part in... Devil and Daniel Webster part in Come and Get It. Good picture. He's in love with Frances Farmer, but she's in love with his son. And at one point they find out, and he and his son start getting into a fist fight, and Frances Farmer pulls them apart and yells to the son, And he and his son start getting into a fist fight. And Frances Farmer pulls them apart and yells to the son. She goes, no, don't hit him.

He's your father. He's an old man. And then there's a close-up of him, like just devastated. Yeah, that's wild. I'm getting tears. Yeah. Capra used him a lot. You can't take it with you.

He's actually a good guy in that one. I had one other thing to add about Edward Arnold. In Gremlins, there's a scene with a large photo on the wall, and this is after he had died, and it's a photograph of Edward Arnold. And the filmmakers had to get permission to use it from the estate, and the person who got that permission was former podcast joe dante how about that the director that's good trivia isn't that a good one i was once on a plane and i saw a guy sitting across from me and i said that's edward arnold's son and i was thinking oh i gotta go over and tell him that i'm a fan of his father and and but

i didn't and then i'm walking in the terminal and i pass him again and i thought i gotta tell and i didn't and and at first i kicked myself and then it fucking hit me and And I was thanking Jesus that I didn't go over because it was Edward Albert's son. Edward Albert. And I thought, ooh, that would have been. Oh, from Butterflies Are Free. Yeah. That would have been the most uncomfortable flight I was ever on. It was Eddie Albert's son, Edward Albert.

Yes. He was an actor. Yes. And I thought, oh, thank you, Jesus. Your social phobia saved you. Yes. For once. I misspoke. He's the bad guy in You Can't Take It With You.

Lionel Barrymore. He was a terrific actor. Yeah, and in everything. Capra used him in Mr. Smith with Claude Rains. Yeah. And You Can't Take It With You and in Meet John Doe. So he worked a lot. Yeah.

Big career. Okay, now here's a layup. Katharine Hepburn was called box office poison. Is that right? At one point, yeah. Yeah. Also Gilbert Gottfried after fucking Hunkin was released.

Through, but that was through my entire career. Slow acting poison. They just had it once. Oh, all those. With me,

you don't have to pick out one part. It's from beginning. Who's that actor? You know him, you'll get him right away. Oh, Lionel Atwill? Lionel Atwill.

Oh, my God. That's too easy. He's come up here many times. It was too easy. Son of Frankenstein. Yeah. He was the one-armed. I'll give you an easy one every now and then.

I have a question that I saw in the research that I couldn't answer. And Lionel Atwill almost got famous as being like the next fatty arbuckle yes errol flynn because he used to have weird sexual parties yep and a couple of times i they said one time lionel atwill was crying and he said you know they they finally got me thinking this is going to be the end. He'll be in jail. Lionel Atwell. You know, go ahead.

No, you go. Well, he had something I read here. You know, he had this awful end to his life. He had Munchausen syndrome, I promise you. He had this. And then it said after he was convicted and the whole mess broke, he was kept employed on Poverty Row. Do you know this term? Oh, yes. In reference to B-Mty Row. Do you know this term? Sure. Poverty Row Studios.

In reference to B-movies. I thought that's a great concept, B-movie studios, and he just made cameos and occasional things. Columbia was considered a Poverty Row studio. And a great piece of Hollywood thing is Poverty Row. But Capra was borrowed by Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. Oh, God. Oh, God. I got a mental block.

That studio, Monogram. Monogram. Sure. monogram. Monogram. Sure. Monogram. They were really cheap. Sure. We know about Lionel Atwill and we know about

the work of Lionel Atwill so I thought I'd throw you a softball. Now here's another one that might stump you. Who's that? Oh, fuck. Is that

not Lewis Calhoun? Very good. From Duck Soup. Very good. You know, Lewis Calhoun. Trentino. I'll never forget. He was hysterical in that Lewis Calhoun.

Yes. And he also, I remember my mother telling me, I think when she was younger, she once had a job that lasted a short while in a department store, or she was in the department store. And she saw Lewis Calhoun come in, and he carried himself like an old-time actor. He had a cape. That's great. Yeah. Like an ascot that came. Yes, yes.

That's wonderful. And just carried himself like the great old actor. He had quite a career. They describe him here in the book as one of America's most distinguished actors of stage and screen, a wise and witty raconteur dressed like a Wall Street broker with his theater-trained voice. It kept him in demand in films for many years Affairs of Cellini The Count of Monte Cristo

The Life of Emile Zola Juarez Notorious Asphalt Jungle Ah yes Yes and the Blackboard Jungle Julius Caesar

Executive Suite and of course he will forever be Ambassador Trentino Who Groucho Marx slaps. Upstart. It was a seven-letter word.

I'm going to offer my hand and I'm sure he'll accept it, no matter of which it's given. But what if he doesn't accept it? That would be a fine how-do-you-do. You worm. I still like Upstart the best. Okay.

This one is not really even a guess. And Owen, he's hysterical in that scene where he's trying to make sense of what Chico and Harpo. Absolutely. Yes. Hey, Louise, follow him all day. He gets mad because he can't read. Okay, this one is not to stump you, but I came upon the— Oh, we shadow him.

What day was that? Shadow day. It still holds up. That movie, our friend, I think it was Donald Liebenson, there's an article that we'll post on social media. I think Duck Soup is 75 years old. Wow. Or something like that. Is it 75 or 85?

Oh, my God. It's 1930. Paul, do the math. 34. 34 is, let's see, 70 years would be 2004. It's 85 years old. 84, 85. Amazing.

Oh, and I remember he goes, Tuesday he fool us, he no show up. Wednesday we fool him, we no show up. Okay, since you're on the roll, you're on the topic. Who's that woman in the middle? Oh, well, that's too fucking easy. I didn't say,

I said I wasn't going to stump you. Yeah, yeah. Margaret, the great Margaret Dumont. She'll be the last one. Yeah. What do you have? And she was always the rich woman in all the Mock's Brothers picture.

What I got is what everybody knows, and you guys certainly know, but I never get enough of it, that she didn't understand their jokes on the screen, and she didn't understand the jokes off the screen. So they say. So they say. So they say. This is a wonderful book.

And then I heard Groucho had a party. Well, I heard she died badly, too. She died right after appearing with him on that Hollywood Palace show or one of those shows. And Groucho said, you know, she showed up with a bouquet of flowers, and he thinks she bought it for herself to come in and look like she got flowers. Oh, sad. This is a wonderful book. Here, I'll give you a couple of them.

There's Frank phelan from it's a from it's a wonderful life yes ernie the cab driver fritzfeld and they were both alive at the publication of this book in 1969 well i mentioned fritzfeld in the documentary you did you did and fritzfeld he developed that great thing where he'd pop his mouth he'd slap it and make a loud popping sound so he was always like you know the major d sure or a butler or yes yeah and it was always like clerk ah your table is ready and then he'd make a slap his mouth and make a popping that was his trademark and and i mean he built a career. He sure did.

And he was always hysterical. We'll do more. This book, thank you, Richard Pachter. I knew it was going to make a fun mini episode. The book is called The Versitals. I don't know if anybody can even find it. But this is a wonderful old book. Oh, that's a fun book.

Yeah, and we got only through A, B, C, and D, which is as far as we could go. And we'll do more. You know whose name I once learned and I forgot? Who was the guy who played Carlos in The Honeymooners with the mumbo? My God. I'll have to look that up. If I were lucky enough to find a woman like you two gentlemen are are opening a door for them. I got something on Margaret Dumont's death.

Go quick. The Hollywood Palace, you were right, but she was reunited with that week's guest host, which was Groucho. Yeah. Yeah. And they performed Captain Spaulding's scene, including the song, Hooray for Captain Spaulding. According to my, there he is, Charles Corvin.

Oh, okay, yes. Wasn't even Latino. Yes. Who played Carlos Sanchez. Carlos is teaching me to mamba. There you go. Was that fast enough for you? He was Hungarian, and his real name was Geza Corvin Carpati.

Wow. There we go. We'll save some more actors. And you, at your age, should be ashamed of yourself. You guys. Thank you, Mrs. Manicotti. Say goodnight. And I remember like the full version of Hooray for Captain Spaulding that they did on the TV show.

for Captain Spaulding that they did on the TV show. Yeah, it's like, presenting Dr. Hackenbush, the famous medical. You're welcome, Dr. Hackenbush. If that's the case, I'll go. Very good. Very good. All right, sir.

Oh, this was a fun one. We'll do more. We'll do more character acting. Okay, so this is another edition of Gilbert and Frank's Amazing Colossal Obsessions. And post your favorite character actors online. Put them on Facebook. Put them on the Listener Society for us, and we'll talk about them. Bye. Colossal Obsessions Colossal Obsessions