Inside Late Night with Mark Malkoff - J Ryan

Episode Date: February 11, 2025

J Ryan joins Mark to discuss owning David Letterman's CBS desk, chairs, and microphone, the backstory of obtaining them, working on Saturday Night Live and Late Night with Conan O'Brien, & his show Late Night Playset.   Late Night Playset on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@latenightplayset Late Night Playset Site: https://www.latenightplayset.com/ Late Night Playset IG: https://www.instagram.com/latenightplayset J Ryan on IG: https://www.instagram.com/porschelife111

Hi, I am Mark Malkoff and welcome to Inside Late Night, presented by latenighter.com. Today's guest is J. Ryan, who owns David Letterman's CBS desk, chairs, and microphone. He talks about the backstory of obtaining them, working on Saturday Night Live, late night with Conan O'Brien, and hosting his own show, Late Night Playset. Now, it's time to go inside late night. Jay Ryan, thanks for being with us. Thank you, Mark Malkoff. It's an honor to be here.

So our lives, we've intersected at least twice leading up to, I guess, did you know who I was through the Carson podcast? Was that how you knew who I was? Is that? I'll tell you what. I actually, I don't know that we've ever talked about this. It's very funny. When the story of Late Night came out on CNN. then you were a part of that. And I was, you know, of course, I was consuming that content.

And I go, that guy's familiar. Why do I know that guy? And I can't remember. I think I looked you up and then we were maybe already Facebook friends or something. And I was like, why do I know this guy? Why do I know this guy? He's in my life from something and I just can't remember how or why. Little did I know. It's when I scribbled it down so quickly in my notebook from when I was 20 years old probably when talking to you on the phone it was weird to have to go down the mental the pathways of how the hell do I know you

I feel like it was it was around then I would say the story of late night whenever that came out but obviously I knew you a lot longer than that yes we're gonna get to you in the background I'm looking right now you have Dave Letterman's desk from CBS and you have chairs that they used

on the NBC show. We'll talk about all of that. Okay. And the microphone, how you got all of that, which is incredible and you didn't have to spend six figures. So the first time that our paths cross, and this is amazing,

this is the first time I ever went to see Letterman, and I was like such a, I mean, I was so excited. I know the date. It was Friday. It was October 16th, 1992.

Jeff Goldblum. I remember being in the lobby and him walking by. because it just never occurred to me. Because if you're going to see, like, Carson or whatever, the guests don't cross paths with the audience. It was just so, I still can't believe it. I remember this day as well, because I was in that same lobby, and I have to ask you, I was the first person in line that day, literally number one, because I had a field trip

into the city that day, and that we went and saw Luciano Pavarotti sing at the Met, and then I got my mom to sign a permission slip that let me, let the, had the school leave me in New York City. And then I then, at 14 years old, whatever it was, I was way too young to actually be in the audience. I walked down to NBC and I just started standing at line at like one o'clock or something, maybe even earlier than that. So do you remember, were you like towards the front of the line? Were we shooting the line? Because I was with the other people. I was kind of in the middle of the line. And I went with my friend Chad Carr and our mom's drove us. I don't, was I 16 at the time? I might have been, I think I might have been 16 and they

drove us there and they didn't have, wouldn't have tickets for them. So they just did their thing. So as Chad and I in line, we see Goldblum go by. He was just all in black with a black leather jacket. I totally remember. And it's just like to have these like Wonka type feel like tickets in my hand, NBC. So they take us up to the seventh floor. I remember Lori Diamond going around to every that's Dave's assistant and she would do that at the NBC show a lot and she was Rose that was the Rose that was right

that's right she would identify her name as Rose but that is not her name but I think Dave was calling her that at some some point oh that would make more sense I always thought that was kind of like if anybody ever called she knew how to decide whether they were a fan or somebody in the inside

but you're probably right it was probably a Dave joke she was very outgoing and pleasant to people and she would just go and apologize that Dave feels bad you have to wait in line so then we get seated. I remember exactly where I was seated on

from looking at the stage to the left and just like the excitement I think the only thing that maybe triumphs at that point my life was going to see a couple months earlier to see Saturday Night Live. Oh right upstairs yeah. That was like probably but to be there for Dave

and then the band comes out. Bill Schiff did the warm up. What's stands out about that for you. I remember it's like it was yesterday. There's a couple of things. One, in that hallway before we even got, when Rose is doing the apology, Dave feels terrible that you have to wait so long in line. What I remember was the walls outside the seventh floor hallways rumbling from the screaming trees doing their rehearsal. It was so insanely loud. And then Paul in the band, I think we're rehearsing too. But it was, they, somebody had been to the show before me in my world

and they told me it was going to be loud. They're like, oh, bring ear plugs. I was like, yeah, right, whatever. I'd been in the studio before on the tour, so I knew what it looked like. I had never been there when it was alive with the energy. And holy moly, you just walk in there, and there was a crazy energy

that had been cultivated before. It was cultivated while we were sitting out there in line. I agree. That's what I remember. I agree. And then you walk in, and I remember exactly what I was wearing. I remember just being so excited out of my,

my mind and then they Dave did a warm up and like they told us like when we were waiting on seven if you have any questions for him and like I had like the lamest question but I'm like I want to get Dave's attention and like this is so ridiculous but like my friend Chad Carr and I we wanted to get on TV and they would do these cutaways sometimes during Dave's monologue and then he would comment on them and we had Hershey Kiss hats because we're from Hershey Pennsylvania and we had the aluminum foil they're like not aluminum foil but they're Hershey Kiss hat no and it's not an alien hat. It's like, it looked like a kiss with a little flag on top. Yeah, we went to Hershey High School, so I'm holding it in my hand. And Dave, it says, are there any questions? And he said, and I raised

my hand, I said, the man with the aluminum foil hat. And at this point, I'm 16 years old. He's like, where are you from? I said, Hershey, Pennsylvania. And he's like, he says, Hershey, I do business with them. I know people from Hershey, and I know what they're like. So I'll talk very slowly. He's like, is that for me? What is that? And then I told him and I stand up and I walk to him and he said, thank you for dressing up. And I'm in jeans and a sweatshirt, of course. I'm standard, Dave, and I shook his hand. And then the music kicked in. And it was like, I don't know. It was just like, it was just the most incredible thing to witness to first of all, even like shake the man's hand. And the Letterman meant so much to so many of us. And my first

experience like that to have any interaction with this guy. That's the dream, right? That's the fan's dream. You're going to go. You're going to sit in the audience. Somehow you're going to get Dave's attention. You're going to have an interaction. Totally. And then the music kicks in, which is so loud. And from that point on, viewer mail, I remember everything that the supermarket sweep thing that they did. It's just, um... I remember the thing with Tom Brocaw's eyes. He was frying bacon with his eyes for something. They were, what they would do is because if you worked at NBC, you could go on the different channels and watch like, not rehearsal, but just kind of like, and I think if you had a satellite, you could too sometimes, which is so strange. Yeah. It has satellite dish. And yeah, they did that and then. So you said you were on the left side of the audience working at the stage? Yes, I was on the left. And I was like, yeah. So that's where I was. It was pretty good state. I was on the right. Yeah. It's so interesting that this was both of our first letter. taping. And it's not a big studio.

No, it was itty-bitty. But what I, I had the same thought as you, like, oh, I'll just somehow get Dave the attention. But I got front row, because I was first in line, front row and all the way against the wall, like right by the blue doors, where Rose would stand. Oh, wow. That's a great seat. But yeah, where Dave is standing. Well, it is kind of, but you're almost like backstage over there. You can't, you're not really part of anything. And when Dave went out to go do that warm up, I was so far behind him. There was no, I would have had to be like, hey, Dave, you were right in front of him. I was definitely in his eye line, I'm to the left. And it was, yeah, it was one of those things where I went back to

Hershey. I'm like, no one's going to believe me that I had, but my friend Chad could back me up. And Bill Schiff said also that was, it was an anniversary show. It was like the 1700th show or something like that. No, no, that was absolutely right. And then what did was the pumpkin? Because like, they had the chef, Daniel Ballou. Daniel Bulu. He was, no, but it wasn't him. It was, wasn't it Bobby Fleck? No, that was another team. I don't think it was. Not, I never. You're right. There was, but they did a cooking segment. And then at the end, this one of the screaming trees picked up the pumpkin and crashed it over another screaming tree's head. Yeah, that was the good nice. I don't even know if that got on at the very end, but I thought that that was very. Oh, that didn't even make it to the show. I'm not really sure, but I remember that that well. And I was like, I was right there for everybody walking out with pumpkin in their long hair and everything. It was right in front of me. You teased the audience that we were going to get something to eat and no one got. anything that I'm aware of, but that's, that's okay. It's not the cooking channel, but like, no, but you're right. Even during the more, though, I hope you're hungry tonight, because we also

have celebrity chef, so-and-so, you're right. They had to, like, prime me out of that studio after that tape in the NBC pages immediately. They're not, there's no, like, thank you for coming or anything. It's just immediately, they're just trying to get you out of that place. And I feel so bad for my mom, but I will defend myself. So that was the 16th. And then I was able to get tickets for Tuesday, the 27th, which is like a week later to Letterman. I'm like, why do you have to go again? I'm like, Mom, you don't understand.

How did you do that? How did you get them so? How did you do the postcard system? You could only do one per person. So I would do like me and then all my friends. I would be Mark Malkoff. That's stupidly genius. Yeah.

So I just would do that. So like my friends would get them and just hand them over to me. So I had no idea who he was at the time of the significance, but it was Bill Hicks. It was Kathy Lee Gifford Bill Hicks, and that was October 27th, Tuesday. And that was like some of the most surreal, most excited moments of my life were in the 30 Rock Lobby. And a bunch of stuff happened while I was waiting in line that I just, to this day, I'm just like, you just never know who you're going to see and interact with. Really? Yeah.

I was lucky enough to never spend that much time in the lobby. It was Kobe's kind of always upstairs. It was just that one day I remember where I waited all day, you know, after that field trip for the first day. And I'll never forget it. I'll never forget sitting on that black marble floor. So then we talk on the phone, but we don't know each other. This is like six years later, I guess. It's got to be.

It would have been 98 or 99 because I moved to L.A. and 99. That's when I worked on the show. And so I get this phone call and I would set people up with tickets. We talked on the phone and the only, and we didn't, it didn't even click to me. We knew each other. We met each other than like decades later and stuff, but it didn't click to me. You were the one, but this is what happened. We're talking and you mentioned that you had been a former intern on the show.

You knew the whole layout. Well, I didn't call you though, right? Because that doesn't make sense that I would call you. What happened is, and I'll explain what it happened is we would send out a postcard. People would send a postcard to us. We would send out this thing where you have to call this phone number to get tickets. And they would call us and have to the late show. And then I would say to you, I was like, I would make sure that address was right.

I'm like, we have some, just some questions. How often do you watch the show? And then we'd have to gauge you their enthusiasm level. Like that we wouldn't. Oh, you're qualified. You're seeing if they're doing what you used to do with your friend. We would do the trivia question. I was always, almost always like what hair color is the announcer.

Where is Paul from or something like that. But we would have to put that, enter that data. and they would try to get, you know, for each show, you know, really, really big, rabid fans. And then people that maybe, as Dave would say, late show viewers, you can't call them fans. Right. But people that, yeah, so they would definitely try to, it was like this whole mastermind with the audience department. But that makes sense why I would call back. But the funny thing, I don't even know what that.

Anyway, keep going. We're talking on the phone. I don't even think at that point you told me you were an intern, but I think you did because you were telling me, are you on the floor. I'm like, yeah, and it's like, oh, that's creepy. What are you wearing? You're telling me like where the whole like layout was and stuff and like who the HR person who was the internship coordinator who was like right literally like right next to our office and all those inside stuff. And I'm just like blown away. That all checks out. That's all correct information. But then this is the thing that you told me and I was just like, wait, wait, let's just stop.

And I was just, I'll never forget it. You're like you, Dave Letterman, he lost his microphone. and somebody took his microphone from his studio. And then you told me that you showed up to his place in Connecticut with a replacement mic. You knock on his door on the weekend. You give it to him. And he thanks you and gives you a worldwide pants jacket, which back then was like the, it was like, that was like huge. It was the late show jacket. I still have it, obviously.

Oh, man. To get one of those things back then especially was like, oh, goodness, that was like unheard of. I mean, it was like such a wish. I'm going to grab it while you talk. We talk on the phone, and then after that, I ran into the woman who was the internship coordinator, HR person, and I described you, and she told me that you were an imposter intern that you, and I want to get your version of everything that happened, but how did this happen? I mean, this is incredible to me. And she's like, don't get him tickets. I'm like, I already did. I'm fine. He's nice guy. He seems nice. Oh, my God. That's hilarious. You know, the funny thing is I never went and saw the show again there. So I, I think that those, I've done some serious thinking about this. There's only one person I might have gotten tickets for, and I may have actually not even gone to that taping.

I think that those tickets were for somebody else. But I do remember all of that. And the backstory is that because I didn't have a normal intern jacket, I had the late show jacket that Dave asked me. Everybody constantly were at, how did you get that jacket? Why do you have that jacket? And I would tell them the true story, because I think I probably, as a kid,

probably wanted to be found out. I probably was like, I didn't get in trouble when I took the microphone and gave him mine and mine's on the desk downstairs and now here I am over here. But anyway, so yeah, when that did all happen, you know, Dave gave me one of these suckers. Amazing. And he just answers the door in Connecticut and you're this guy. Well, I mean, that's a long story. There was a lot of crazy coincidences that you couldn't possibly plan. You would just have.

Really? Yes. With New Canaan? because I just, I always knew the guy was like in New Canaan, that's all I knew. Yeah, I don't mind talking about this because he's not lived in that house for a long, long time and it doesn't even look

the same as it used to, but the funny thing is, and I never would have known this because I didn't see the early shows until much, much later, but when they were showing Dave's house on the show, like when they were waiting for the cable man and all that stuff, that's the real house. That was really Dave's house. I've been there.

So you recognized it from the show? No, no, no. I knew it. Everybody in town knew where Dave lived. I mean, without making light of it, the cops were there a lot back then in the next. Yeah, I mean, he had problems with the... Yeah, and plus just everyone in town kind of knew. I mean, it's hard to describe now,

but imagine the woods of New England where everything is pitch, pitch black, there aren't even streetlights. And then you come upon one house on a windy road that is lit up like a football field, the entire thing, from the trees down. It looked like the White House. it was it was obvious that that home was different for a reason the security was insane

I was gonna ask so there aren't how do you get up to like is there a gate or do you just like how do you yeah there was there was I mean how much of this do you want to do so you know I got no I want to know everything this is the whole thing is and then we'll get there's the fact that you have the set right in the background I know I know so I want to I want the details well you know they were redoing the set in 1996 or whatever and my dad had just passed away two weeks prior and i had i was living alone in this house in the woods not far from dave and i had a friend staying with me and we were uh and i was obsessed with all this stuff i used to draw the desk the microphone the set in every way i would call kathleen anchors and i would um you know like for lack of a better

term interviewer i would pester her bother her well how did you do this and how do you do that and where do i find this. Oh dearly. This one's very easy. And she was just, like, lovely. And I could call her. And she would take my call. And so I was obsessed with the new set. And quite frankly, I loved the old NBC set so much that when Dave moved to CBS and they were in the big theater, I never, I just, they didn't capture the magic for me that was in Studio 6A. So I was really curious to see if this new configure, whatever the heck, I was obsessed. And then the night when the new set's going to come out, they air a repeat. And my buddy, and I are sitting there on the couch, like waiting all day.

I'm drawing, picture. I can't, you know, what's it going to be? Making my predictions, you know, because that's what fan, super fans do back then. And it didn't come on. And like I said, my dad had just died and I bought this used BMW for like $5,000. But I said, I'm going to go for a drive. And I did. And I went for a drive.

And I needed gas. So I ended up having to go to the gas station. And that took me into another town because my town was closed. And one thing led to another, and I drove my ass down to New York City the whole time thinking, well, what if? You know, maybe there's still. working on it. Maybe I can get it sneak in there and take a peek, you know? And when I got down to New York City and rounded the corner on the 53rd Street, the dumpsters were there and nothing else. It was

silent. It was silent in New York City. It was so silent that as I got out in my car and I was going to go take a peek and maybe dumpster dive to see if, you know, I can grab a bit of the old set or whatever as a momento. I hear a vacuum switch on. Like, that's how quiet it was. And it was one of the cleaning people inside the Ed Sullivan Theater, and the door it was inside, I know now to be the stage door. They weren't marked back then. There weren't posters and all the different things from the paparazzi line that we know now. Back then, it was just a brick wall and a bunch of unmarked doors. So I knocked on the door and nothing, but I could hear the vacuum right on the other side of the thing. So I just knocked a little bit louder. Door opened. I walked right past the guy and I just

said, ah, running late, huh? And it was a tiny little room with another door. It was the little security vestibule, airlock, they call it, and I went into the next door just to get away from that guy because I didn't know what I would say. And I was on the stage at the Ed Sullivan Theater at like one in the morning. So the door was open or did he open it for you? Did you knock on the door and he opened it? I knocked once, nothing. I knocked a little bit harder and he opened it. And I literally, he opened it enough that I just said, oh, running late, huh? I don't know. I said something like that, but, you know, a wave and I just went like I knew where I was going. Did you have your Letterman jacket on, your late show jacket?

That's it. No, because I didn't have it yet. Oh, you, of course you didn't have it. But I think that I was probably, my little outfit back then was very Dave, like, you know, probably khaki pants with a t-shirt and, you know what I mean? Like, I probably kind of looked like one of the interns or something. I don't remember exactly what I was wearing, and that's, I think it was, Cackie's in a T-shirt. But regardless, so then I'm on the stage

at the Ed Sullivan Theater. And I did not... What year? 1996. This was March, we figured all the dates out. It was like the 25th or something like that. I can't remember the days. But it was whatever the Monday was...

Oh, and it turned out, Nicole had to put this together for me years later. I'm telling her the story 20 years later. And she's like, she looked up her at the... She's like, the Oscars were that night. And I was like, what? She's like, they aired a rerun because the Oscars were that night. It was never going to be a show. You just didn't know that.

I was like, oh, it worked out. Less security. Oh, my God, but it's so hilarious. It's so hilarious. So anyway, you know, they're saying, oh, next week, next week. Remember, they did the show in the lobby the week prior while the set was being deconstructed and they were bringing new stuff in? So, like, they had been pushing this for weeks.

So, like, you know, I'd hit my boiling point. I wasn't going to wait me longer. But anyway, so there I was. I was on the, I was in the Insolvent Theater on the stage, looking at the back of the new desk and chairs, and I was right where the guests walk out. And I'm on the new set with the bridges. This was the night it switched from the buildings

to the bridges that they carried to land. And I saw those bridges and all the little cars and played with them before America saw them the next night. So you see this set, and at this point, when you were driving and you go on said that you just wanted to see the set, in your head you didn't say I might swipe something. No, not.

necessarily, but I knew that I was obsessed with the microphone. I drew it so many times and I did this little high school version of Dave's show at my high school in Dave's town that the school would send tapes to the show and everything and we were on the, you know, the front of the paper and things like that. So I don't think I was totally unknown, but I wanted the show to be exactly like Dave's as possible. So I like found the antique microphone. It took me like a year and I found and it wasn't the right color, so I'd have it chromed, and then the stand wasn't right, so I had to have the little yoke piece made by a welder in Bethel, Connecticut, and so on and so forth. So for my high school show, I already had this version of his microphone at home, and I wanted

to see the real one, and it wasn't on the desk upstairs. In the new studio, in the new set and everything, everything that was there, and the microphone was not. So when I first got in there, there were a couple cleaning people, just like the vestibule guy, and they were just kind of vacuuming in the audience, nobody on the stage. And one by one, those guys just left. So I started exploring the whole theater up in the balcony, behind the balcony, behind, like, in the old Ed Sullivan Theater balcony

that's now exposed, it wasn't for Dave, and down the, you know, the spiral staircase. And I eventually found a staircase that went downstairs underneath the stage, and then I went down there. Then I found some hallways that went to a whole other part of the building, and I eventually found the control room. And keep in mind, I'm not touching or futzing with anything. Like, in my mind, I'm going to work here one day.

I think I was already interning. I was, yeah, I was definitely, I had already interned the previous year at 30 Rock, so working on Conan and S&L and Rosie and stuff. And anyway, one of the rooms off the control room, one of the audio rooms had, I walked into this room, not expect, I was just kind of mapping the areas. Oh, this room's this is, oh, this is the videotape room, this special effects, sound effects. And then in this audio-ish room, on a cabinet, like on a bench underneath a cabinet, was a beat-up old RCA-77, and I got closer to it, thinking like, that's it.

Wait, that's not it. Oh, it was all beat to hell. It was so freaking beat up. I was like, there's no way this could be it, but maybe it's a backup. And I go, but I think it is it. I don't know, very quickly without any of proper thought. the kid in me took the thing apart, put it in my pockets, and I started walking out of the building. So that's, that was how I stole David Letterman's microphone.

I literally, I traced my steps back. I literally went through the hallways, backed the way out the door, I came in, crossed the stage. And I got into my BMW, my used BMW. Where was it parked? Was it parked like right outside the theater? Right in front of the dumpsters. I literally pulled up in front of those doors and I backed it up to the dumpsters because I thought, oh, there's nobody here. maybe if there's something, I'll just throw in the drunk real quick from the dumpster and leave.

But I didn't even know what it would be. I mean, you know what am I going to take a building? Those things are like 12 feet tall. Like I didn't, I don't know what I thought would be there, but I just thought maybe something. So I backed it right up. So I came out the door, I got in my car, and I drove away with the thing still in my pockets. I literally just drove away. And I got around the corner towards the west side highway where I took a right, maybe 12,000, whatever it was.

And I took a right there, and I just parked the car. and I turned the map light on and I put the piece on the the passenger seat and I put them together and now the map light is like lighting up David Letterman's microphone in my car and I just stole it

and I can't even go I realized the grass like it's setting in now what just it was all pure adrenaline when I was walking out of that I was like and when I got in the car and around the corner

this was the moment where I was like Christmas store fudge oh god i get so uncomfortable even thinking about it right now how many days after this is date then because i've seen the episode where he talks about the mic being stolen okay so then i drive home that night with the thing back to connecticut and i wake my friend up who's staying with me and he's like yeah i get it you're obsessed with that thing and i go uh-uh and i ran into the other room and i got mine and now i'm coming back with both and i'm like this and i'm like uh-huh and he didn't know

I just said I was going for a drive. He had no idea I was going to go down to the theater, let alone have this experience. And so then we, he didn't believe anything until I had the two, and I told him the whole story, and I drew a picture what the new set looks like and everything. And then it was a waiting game until 1135 the next night,

and it was the longest day in my freaking life to see what the hell happens. Because I thought about driving back. I didn't really, I was terrified. I was so terrified, dude. I really, really was because I thought, at the very least, I just ruined any chance

I ever had of, like, working there, for sure. They don't know who you are, though, so that night Dave talks about it on the show. The next night, yeah. So I took it on a Monday night, Tuesday night, he talks about it on the show. And it was a big, pomp and circumstance to the new set unveil.

I mean, Martha Stewart was there to drill the final screw, and there was a lot. It was all they talked about. What did they use for a substitute mic? Did they have a substitute mic? They bought another old RCA 77, but it was the same problems I had when I got mine. It wasn't the right stand.

It wasn't right. And Dave was visibly and audibly not happy with it. He is one of those people like creatures of habit needed everything to be the same every night. Even from when he would be up on 12 on the 12th floor coming down, I was told, you know, if it wasn't. art or at the reception or whoever it was, he just needed consistency. And if something wasn't there, it would throw him off. So then, at what point then do you intern at this show? And how do you set that up? Is it a fake letter that you send in to the HR person? No, none of the above. None of the above. I, uh, well, first of all, I got to, I got to fix, I got to finish the microphone

thing because, so he mentions on Tuesday that it's not there. And then throughout the, and he's He's visibly not really happy about it, like you can tell. And then throughout the rest of the week, they are writing comedy bits about it. They have a kid dressed kind of like I was that night come in, and he's the fan club president of the new set, and he's made it out of Popsicle sticks, and then he just kind of won't, he comes in and he won't leave. He's just kind of standing around. They had Dana Carvey.

He had a new show at the time, a famous new show at the time, his variety show. He came in and stole a piece of the new set for his show. There was a lot to it. And then Dave took to not sitting at the desk unless there was a guest there. Like, he would deliver information from either sitting on the front of the desk, which we had never seen before or, like, other places in the theater, just like the cameras have to find him. Oh, he's standing over there now.

And, you know, I didn't know any of this at the time, but I found out later that, you know, he was not, he was at a great loss, is what I was told, when the microphone disappeared. So then it became, we have to do something. What do we do? Obviously, the obvious choice was to return his somehow. We didn't go that route. We hashed the old switcheroo idea where I would return my microphone and just donate it to the show. Not return it, just give it to the show.

I've been sending tapes for years. Here's a microphone. Use it, if you will. But then how do we get it there became the issue? Do you send it in a box? Do you show up? Do I bring it? Do I go to the Ed Sullivan Theater?

If I go to the Ed Sullivan Theater, I should probably bring the real one on and on and on. Couldn't get to a solution. So I ended up driving a day's house on. the Saturday, the following Saturday. Stolen on a Monday, he announced it on Tuesday, visibly uncomfortable all week. Saturday morning, I decide I'm going to drive to Dave. So you ring the buzzer, the doorbell, take me through everything. There's a gate. How does this work? The house is only a couple miles from where I live, so it's not a long drive. And I did some loops to make this drive longer because I got, I got a buzz through to get the gate open. And I'm

thinking, what am I going to say? Like, hey, Dave, I have your microphone. Well, not your microphone. Like, how does it? So I can't, and I don't have anything. So eventually I just decide to drive and wing it like everything else. Like, I can't plan this out. I'll just blather and whatever happens, happens.

When I pull up to the house and pull into the driveway and get to the little thing, I look in front of me and the gate is open. These are the coincidence. I'm talking about the guy vacuuming the carpet in a tiny little room, me getting there on a day when he's, His gate is open, so I drive up the driveway. And back then, his house was set up to be very secure, and the driveway drove behind the house to like a turnaround,

and there was another garage back there, and it was all to avoid what looked like the front of a house and the front garage. It was all moved to the back. So you're driving through this gate, up his yard, behind his house. You're now in the backyard, so I'm between his house and his pool and his tennis courts. like from the GQ article

and I don't know where to go now I've never seen this part from the street I don't know what to do and I then see why the gate was open his pool was being filled I don't know how often that happens but like that's a crazy coincidence in my mind

and I can't tell where to go into his house because there's not like an obvious front door everything's sort of reconfigured but he does have a screen porch and my house had a screen porch so I know that go on the screen porch then there's the house

so I take a couple deep breaths and I take the microphone my microphone from my high school show off of my passenger seat of the same BMW and I'm now walking on his gravel driveway crunch crunch crunch towards this screen door

screen porch there's a couple of steps up to the screen door I knock on it I can see in the screen porch there's no one there so I go into the screen porch now I'm in Dave's screen porch which you've seen on the show again remind you it's a finished room in his house there's furniture and stuff and now i'm at the glass clear door to the house and i can see into his

great room and his dining room and i can see into the kitchen and the staircase and like so i knock on the glass never been more nervous in my life and i see dave come into view and he sees that i'm not the water guy the pool guy and he probably sees what i'm holding because he's And he walks through that room, and he opens the glass door a little bit, and he gives me a little tip of the, what can I do for you? Very discerning. What can I do for you? And I said, Mr. Letterman, I want to donate this microphone to you. My name is, I do a show down to the high school, you know, like total incoherent blabble.

And he doesn't even take it. He's just like, well, I can't take that. But he comes out to the porch at this point. Now we're on the porch, and we're both having a conversation. It's not like between the door. And on and on and on for probably another 30 seconds. And I said, it's not yours, but it's really, really close. I graduated high school so we don't do the show anymore, on and on.

And I said, I had the thing made. So it's really, really similar to what, you know, you had. And that's the problem that's bothering you right now. He takes it in his hands at that point. And like it's between us the whole time. And at that point, he had it. And he turns it around. He's looking at the piece that I had made.

He goes, well, it is close. It's really close, actually. And at this point, I can tell, like, he's figuring out how to accept my gift, or to call the cops. It's 50-50. But he did end up taking it. He said, all right, I'll accept this, but I got to get something for you. You stay right there. Don't go anywhere.

Stay put. He said it like three times. I'm going to go get something for you. Stay right there. Okay. Goes in the house, puts my microphone on his dining room table, goes up the stairs, and out of view. I can't believe this moment's happening. I am convinced he's calling the cops, and I'm a little bit relieved.

And he doesn't do that. He comes back into view, and he's unwrapping this, which was the only thing in the world as a super fan back then. I wanted as much as the microphone. We all did. So, color me confused. I got David Letterman's microphone. He now has mine, and he gave me a late show jacket.

And he unwrapped it, and he said, I wore an Excel. and we're about the same size, so this ought to work for you, and he made me put it on on the porch so that it, he saw that it fit, and he goes, there you go. And he sent me on my way out of his house. I got in my car, and I drove around the thing,

and I went back down the driveway, and I went back to the same friend, and I was like, check this out. And then that was Saturday, and then the next Monday, he never said anything about it, but from that day on, my deal, my thing that I gave him was on his desk,

until like they went to the modern microphone, you know, a decade later. When do you then become an intern imposter? I was, I continued to send letters just like you do, you know, to try to get an internship. And I never got, I would always get the form letter. I wasn't in college, was the problem. I went to like the Connecticut School of Broadcasting and then my dad died. And then my life kind of got on put on hold and I couldn't afford college. Like there was a million things, right?

and so I was, I kept trying, I was send the letter, and I would get the form letter back, and eventually one day, and this is, again, pure coincidence, because it's how my freaking unplanned Forest Gump life goes. I was in the city. I might have been, let me think about this. Why was I there that day? I think I was probably, so I was still freelancing in NBC. Like those guys, Joey Abig and Glenn Arbor from the audio department and Conan ended up getting me into apprentice with their union. And they set me up with the hiring guy upstairs. Shout out to Joe Garofolo on the seventh floor. Anyway, so I was still like, I was in their freelance system. So I would still go down to work sometimes. I'm trying to think of why I was done early enough. What happened was I was in the Hello Deli.

And I was ordering a sandwich, just a guy. Now, I was probably in, I was definitely in my late show jacket. And there was a bunch of people around. And Rupert says, and Rupert doesn't know me. I'm not a pancer. I just took the microphone. And I wasn't one of those guys who hung out around the show. I wasn't like outside the stage door, sign my thing or whatever.

I wasn't one of those guys. So Rupert says, hi, are you the new intern? And all of the heads around went like this. They all, they all, they all, fun, that was all, all eyes on me. And I just said, yes, yes, I'm the new intern. The same way like Dave would have in a bit. And from that moment on, I was the new intern. We were now in, it was like Pee Wee Herman getting into Warner Brothers with Milton Burles joke at the end of the movie.

I went upstairs with them. Oh, you're going upstairs? We're going upstairs now. I was like, yes, let me just sit there my sandwich. And I went upstairs with them. And they intruded. Do you know Willis? This is Willis.

Like, oh, hi, Willis. The security guard at the desk. I remember. And we went up the elevator. And I just, those guys were from the ticket office. I think my first day, I think that's where I was hanging out in where you were on. on that phone call and whatever. And from that day on, I was an intern

for the next two or three weeks. And then how did they find out you didn't belong? Well, so everybody who asked me about this jacket, I would tell them the truth. Like, oh, not that I took the microphone, but oh, I was the guy that gave Dave his microphone, so he gave me this jacket,

and that's how I had the jacket. Oh, that's interesting. Oh, that's how you got the internship. Oh, oh, oh, that's why you're different from the rest of us and we don't know you. You're a must tire is what it probably seemed like now. but it was it was like three weeks in two or three weeks in at least two full weeks and we were walking out between it must have been a third was it Thursday where we would do

two shows and I yeah they did two shows on Thursday eventually yeah so there was a pizza party between the two shows and we had set up for the pizza party and we were going downstairs for something and willis the security guard said hey jay because he knows me by name hey janis wants to talk to you, you know, go see her or whatever. And we were headed out the door. So I just said, oh, yeah, okay. Wouldn't I go back up?

Absolutely. And we all went out to do whatever we were doing. We were on a mission to do something. And I can't even remember what it was now. But I remember the same, because my, my face went white when he said that. And I was like, jay is up. And I got in my car and I drove away. And that was it.

I got scared. Yeah. And he never. And then I never heard about it again. I never heard about it. I was like, they have my info. They'll call me. I'll be in trouble.

None of that ever. Same thing with the microphone. Yeah, she mentioned you to me. And I was just like, wow, I can't believe he pulled that off. I wonder what would have happened if I had the guts. I mean, at this age of my life, you know, I take things head on. But then I was like avoiding stuff and, you know, I wonder what would have happened. I wonder if they would have, you know, like, and again, I was working there.

I wasn't like, like I took the microphone. that night, but I wasn't, I wasn't, I wasn't getting my friends tickets, I wasn't taking things home, I wasn't doing any of that stuff. I was working there, making copies and setting up pizza parties, sending out tickets, stuff in envelopes. Not getting college credit as you're supposed to as an intern, but hey. And not getting credit. What year then do you contact the Museum of Moving Image here in Astoria where I live, because they had the set, they donated the set, and you called originally just because

You wanted to see if you could rent the desk. You're right about all this, but remember I couldn't remember what the thing was for. When we talked about it, I couldn't remember what the event was for. And just last week, a kid from my high school who was like the me 20 years later who ran my department and everything, he was out here and audited our show last week, and he reminded me about it. He was like, how did you get this stuff?

And I was like, well, we were going to rent it to do a thing. And it was a thing at my high school, whatever. We were going to rent it for an event that I was. I now know specifically exactly all the details for it because I remember them. And I contacted, I didn't even know this thing was in existence. And somebody online said it was. And I just started chasing down. They said, send a message.

I think it might have been Chris Albers. Was he a producer on the show? Chris was worked, I think he's just in the very beginning of CPS and then he went to John Stewart show and then he went to Conan. Okay. I think it was him. I think it, yes, then, I think it was him. He said, you should contact the museum, so I did. They were very happy to help. I thought if they wouldn't let us borrow it, maybe we could just get the measurements and kind of recreate or whatever. They seemed happy to help. The thing ended up going away, which is, it never happened, which is why I couldn't remember it. And so I sent them a message saying, like, I'll reach out again if there's like a more solid thing. And I forgot about it. And we started, and Nicole, was sick, and, you know, we were starting this Porsche life and breakfast and, you know, all of these other things, and we started out of podcast.

And then out of nowhere, I get a message from the museum saying, hey, is there still any interest in the letterman assets because we've already decessioned the pieces and we're looking to make, we need to make some room in our warehouse. Like, we need to find a new home for this stuff. Is it you? And I called the lady back immediately,

and I was like, what are we talking about here? Like, I need to make a donation or like, how does it work? What's going on? And she explains how it works, and, you know, it's not like that. And we do need to transfer ownership and paperwork and all that stuff. But at the end of the day, like, you just need to get an accredited mover and send a truck. And I was like, okay, we didn't even know what we would do with it.

We didn't know we would use it on the podcasts. That was obviously a possibility. But it all just kind of came together. And it was right after we decided to do this thing where we wanted to see if we could, you know, get to Dave and see if he wanted to tell him the story, apologize, see if he wanted the microphone back. all that stuff. So it was weird. I was like, remember the movie The Dark Crystal? Once the stolen shard goes back into the kingdom, everything kind of gets righted. And then that hurts. So that was the, you know, the last time the microphone was on a David Letterman desk, it was that one in the lobby. So how do you transport to L.A. from New York, just a moving van? Do you hire movers to get the desk?

We did. We hired a professional company to do it, yeah. A couple of companies. So the movers go to the museum of moving image and they just a couple thousand miles they just drive across country and yeah i think it was two different companies the people who picked it up like packed it to ship you know they they took care of it and then i think a shipping company like shipped it across country because what arrived here is not the guys that picked it up in new york you know what i mean the white glove service just a crate basically is what arrived what was that like when you set it up for the first time like it must have just blown your mind that that is in your, I guess as a

late show, late night viewer, that you have this. It was crazy, man. It was crazy. And none of us had seen it since 1996. So, because it's just sort of been hermetically sealed at the museum. It wasn't on display. I guess

apparently somebody said it was at one point for a short time in the 90s, but since then it had just been like in their warehouse. What year was that then? Did you get that? The set, the desk, and the around what year? It was like six years ago now, so like 19. Okay, so you have all of this, and then you put on this show and you've had an amazing

guest, like you've had Jay Leno, Rain Wilson, late night a play set. You've had Reggie Watts, Steve O'Donnell, former head writer. What is that like when someone like Jay who like, I mean, that made his career to sit down. That's the actual chair from the NBC, right? for him to sit down where that like really got him the Tonight show got him the back in good with Carson and everything

like what is it that people's reactions I mean when they see the set and they see the desk when I was like a little kid when I got to come in I was like oh I can't believe I'm sitting here yeah that's part of it so I mean there is I mean I'm clearly scratching the itch for the little kid by doing all this right

but also I mean it didn't start this way when the desk and chairs are like we were doing a podcast in that room but it was our diner So there was a dining room table and some mid-century modern chairs and it was very light and bright. And then the desk and chairs arrived and we were trying to do some version of the same show in the same space and it looked ridiculous and it couldn't be taken seriously. You know, little by little, I kind of just added a little bit of TV element more and more set design, production design. And then when COVID hit, I just kind of went nuts and leaned into it and started ordering it off Amazon and I go, how 30 rock can I make this? plane. And then it became my own personal challenge. And then I remember when I was a guest in your show,

you had a green room and I'm just like, this is an incredible set and experience. So how did you meet Jay Leno? Because I know that you were just with the garage and you've known him and he's been a guest on your show. And it's the car community, correct? Is that it? Or did you meet him through Nicole? That's how I know him. That's how I know him. I mean, I, when I first moved to L.A., I PA'd on his show a couple times because I was a PA and NBC. Yeah, car stuff is how I know him. I mean, Nicole was a big-time Hollywood publicist, so she used to have people on his show all the time. So she has known him for years and years.

In fact, we just found the first picture of them together from May 2000, which is crazy, 25 years ago, almost. And so she's known him professionally through Tonight Show stuff forever, but I'm both. I'm the car guy and the late-night guy. So we have a lot in common. I just did Mike Chisholm's Letterman podcast. Yeah, Mike's great. And it came up that, you know, I'm very conflicted with my friendship with Jay Leno

because of my lifelong, a fandom, appreciation, viewership, whatever you want to call it, of Letterman's art behind the desk. So I'm conflicted when it comes to my friendship and my show but is what it is. So this car community, it's Spike Ferristin, it's Leno,

it's Reggie Watts, is he part of it as well? I know that you're friends with him. Yeah, he's been, you know, when he was on the late, late show, he had more time to hang out with all of us. He had a full-time job, and, you know, he had to be in town all the time, so he had more free time.

Now that he's back to being a full-time professional comedian and musician, he's touring, he's on the road, he's working late, he's still super, super into cars, but he's not able to do as much stuff right now. I see him being a huge success somehow and being able to, you know, get a little more free time back someday, so I hope he'll be around more. But he definitely hasn't lost any of his interest in cars, that's for sure. And then how often is Seinfeld around? I don't know. He lives in

New York, so I think he comes out every once in a while. It's probably work dependent. You know, I mean, he's got kids in New York now. You would do the Malibu Kitchen and he would he'd be there though with you right i mean he would definitely do that when he was in town yeah i mean i don't know who started going there first i mean he's known the owner there for a long time the old you know the old place that was that that that's all long gone the new the new place that there now is so great it's it's i don't want to say vastly superior but like it's clean and the food's great and the service is wonderful and it's it's a little better set up to serve the amount of people that are there but you're right about it being a small community out here yeah every

Everybody's there. I mean, those two are there, but so are some huge names in the car community that you may or may not know. I don't know. But comedy names too. Like Adam Ferrara, you know, he'll show up and I go there all the time with my comedy friends. I was there with Dan Levy and Chito Santino the other day and with their Porsches. They're both Porsche guys too. Yeah, I don't know. Malibu's fun because it's like a nice place that anybody can go and like celebrities don't get bothered and whatever. Yeah, it's amazing that you have this and your wife, Nicole, everyone loved her so much. I mean, oh my goodness. Thank you for that. Just those photos. Yeah, I'm so sorry. I mean, what a battle. I mean, what brave woman. Thanks.

My wife just died of MS a couple months ago, so that's what you're referring to, obviously. She was a powerhouse man in every way. The love beyond and such a, yeah, strong fixture. And, yeah. And she worked in comedy. She represented incredibly talented, very, very successful people that you all know. Like Chris Rock, right? Is one of them.

I always go to him because he's such a big name, but Jim Gaffigan. And, I mean, the pictures in the room over here have people. Craig Robinson, Demetri Martin. Yeah, I mean, Jonah Hill's in there. Tons of people. She opened super bad. So she worked with all of those kids, Jonah and Michael and Micklevin, his name I can never remember. And then shows movies like Sarah Marshall.

Like, she opened that. She worked with Russell Brand, Jonah Hill, and Jason Siegel on that. And it's, she was a powerhouse. She really, really was. Yeah, I feel blessed I got to meet her and do your show. Getting back to when you were working at 30 Rock, what, were you doing? Legitimately? Yes.

When you were over at Saturday Night Live at Conan, what were you doing and what are some stories that maybe stand out from that time period? I was officially speaking, once I was working on those shows, I think I was on the audio department. I would PA as well, but it was a lot. little less official because they didn't have, there wasn't a box to check in their system for that. I think there eventually became one, probably because of me. But audio stuff. So I would like put microphones on people. I would haul cable. Like if there was a handheld mic or something

like that, you need somebody to, you know, you see a guy with a coil of cable and it's called a lace of cable I learned because I had to learn to do it properly, the NBC way. But I was there. I was there on the floor for all of those things or you know in the room in the studio for for all of those things so many conans the first the first year really and then when i would freelance i'd go back you know i don't know i would say probably until i moved to la probably until 99 i would still go back from time to time and work a day or two here or there so you were conan tapings and then you did saturday night live sometimes as well yeah both so that that that transfers to both yeah but Saturday Night Live was cool because, you know, there's so many things, the first year of Conan was a little rough.

Oh, yes. I was in the audience. I remember looking at the empty seats around me. Yeah, and it was rough energetically for those guys. I said this on a number of occasions, but like, it's worth repeating. I give Conan and Andy, but Conan specifically so much credit for overcoming that time. People outside do not know. You hear the terrible story. about, oh, three-month pickups and stuff like that. I was there on the NBC crew side, and I remember it being weekly pickups. They were picked up by the week, and all of the old guys I was working with

were there from the Letterman days and earlier, and they were all like, this is just a waiting game. They were waiting for it to go away because it was going to. That was the feeling in the building. The fact that Conan and Andy kept coming in and the writers and everybody

and doing solid material and solid work despite the audience and the rejection, take the Leno and the tonight show and everything else that Conan went through is I give him so much credit for overcoming that first year. I would see him because I'd be camping out for tickets and he'd come out on a Friday or I'd see him in the lobby and he just looked like he lost the Super Bowl. Yeah, every night. Yeah, it was definitely tough. And I met Robert that December and we would talk and he just couldn't believe anybody liked the show. I mean, I was like telling him bits I liked. It definitely, I guess Letterman when he came in in February or whatever, I think it was February, whatever it was turned the tide slowly in that summer. I remember going to the show and people, the college

students, definitely, it was like this different energy. I found it. But yeah, it's kind of amazing how all of that kind of came together. So there's the contrast to your question. You asked about Saturday Night Live, but like, Saturday Night Live, I was there for some epic stuff that is like memorable to this day I was in the room for, but the contrast was at Down at Conan, it felt like we were putting out television that wasn't even leaving the building. It felt like we were making a show that was no, not being seen by anybody. What are some memorable things that you were there for Saturday Night Live? Um, well, it was, it was, gosh, would it have been 95? Oh, no, 94. Whatever it was, it was, it was the last year.

of Sandler, Farley, Rock, before the year, and I was there at the transition too, when it became Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon, Sherry O'Terry, Nancy Walls, David Kackner. All, like, what we now know is our generation of Saturday Night Live. I was there for the changeover, which was pretty cool. I was nobody, I was a fly on the wall, forgive the prime.

Did you see anything? Does anything stand out or anything? All of it, all of it. The rehearsals for the stuff that did, did make air, were hilarious. And then some of that, like, I think of the one of the first, Get Off the Shed. I don't remember what the bit was called, but. Nope, that was it, Get Off the Shed.

It was the premiere. Was it Mariel Hemingway was the first show? Correct, Mariel Hemingway. Yep. And none of that stuff played. It all played at rehearsal. It played at the dress, and then it didn't play at the live. And it was very, very strange because we were prepared for it.

We were like, this is it. We got it. this would be the one time the new castle totally knock it out of the park and the bit in the beginning with the French kissing all the girls and whatever because she had just kissed a girl in Rosanne or whatever

I remember that Rosie O'Donnell I got a lot of memories from Rosie O'Donnell because once I was on that show I seemed to be on it for a little bit boy that's interesting I never really thought about that that was an interesting because she was so good on camera and beloved by the viewers

I know that it's a lot of pressure for the host and behind the scenes it could be it was not always pleasant what was your experience I'm quoted it remember did you read the article that came out like a year ago about the Rosie O'Donnell show no no I was quoted I was quoted in it saying that Rosie liked me because she thought I was gay the I was again on the the the hardcore grunty smoking tech side of the old NBC crew guys right the gritty they didn't even watch their hands it was just kind of a

weird and they all had their opinions of the Rosie O'Donnell show and how it was going to go and whatever and I think I said something to the effect out I don't know she's really nice to me or something like that and it's because she thinks you're gay and I didn't think much of it at the time but then later on as life progressed one I realized they may have been right but um I had an incredibly positive experience my my memories of being at the Rosie O'Donnell show were really really good. And then in reading the article, it seemed like a lot of people didn't necessarily feel that way. So I don't know the part that you're talking about. I mean, I'm sure personalities are involved, right? Always. I mean, it's just, it's tough. I mean, it was, the show was doing

so well, but she went through a lot of directors and there were some creative stuff. And it's, it's going to happen to some extent. We're going to have Daniel Kellison on, so I'm looking forward to talking to him about that. Oh, good. Yeah, yeah. Daniel definitely, he was there. I mean, is the producer. So he was there when I was there, and it felt like, oh, this feels like Letterman. Kathleen Anchors did the set. Daniel's standing right over there at the podium. Like, this just kind of feels it had a tone production-wise to the Dave show, the old late-night show from Sixth Floor.

Yeah, and it was in Donahue's old studio, which now is Seth Myers. Is that 8G? I think it's... It is. And I've never seen the Seth Myers version of it, but it was always Donahue when I was a kid, and then it was like sports after. Yes. Yes. And I have a feeling with that SNL, the 50th coming up,

it's all going to be used as overflow again. That's what it was last time. Because that's what I heard on the 40th. They used it as overflow. It was tough. They have cast members and writers and featured players, some of them that could, they didn't have room in the studio and they.

And they said, that's even with no plus ones. Like there are people that should have a seat in the studio in the overflow. Now it's 10 years later. So they're going to have maybe, I don't know. It's going to be a show. I can't. I'm so excited. I'm happy for everybody involved.

Yeah, it's going to be interesting to see how they pulled this off and what they do with it 50 years is absolutely unbelievable. Would you go to the parties at all the SNL after parties? Everyone, yeah. Everyone for years too. Actually, because that's one of those things, you know, you make the right friends and then you can keep going to the parties even after you don't work there. So even after I moved to L.A., in 99, I would come back and we would go to the parties. We would go to the tapings and hang out in the green room, although our tickets were green room, we would usually end up finding your way to the writer's room down the hall. Sure, no, I know exactly where the green room. The green room looks over the studio and then the

writer's room. If you just keep going, you pass Lauren's office on the right and then. Yes, exactly. I've been in the writer's room for the show. So that's like, like, and they have a window in there too. It's the far side of the studio. In the curtain for the live show and for dress, they usually They put the curtain, they close the curtain normally, so you can't. So that people can't see in. Yeah, but during rehearsals and stuff, it's open normally. Yeah, that's amazing that you were able to do all that. So I would go back, even into the 2000s, we would go back.

And the last time I saw a show named Drop, Chris Rock got us tickets. And it was my friend Collie. It was Rosario Dawson. I just found the picture the other day, like 2009 or 10 or something like that. That was the last time I was there for a show. I haven't been to the show and ever. I mean, I just feel probably could push. I just, it's so hard for people to get tickets on that show.

Was that SNL special to you? Was that a special one to you, like late night once? Oh, 100%. That was like more than anything that going to that show and, yeah, be in there. That's another one where the energy in the room is amazing. Yeah, I get to be there. I feel very fortunate I was there for the get to see like Dana Carvey. And then Jan Hooks had come back.

So I got to see her perform twice. And then, you know, and then it was, it was Sandler and Farling, all of them, and Norm. And I was there for. And Norm, too. That was the best part. I was there for Norm. Yeah. And then, um, and then Will Ferrell's first year, which I remember very well.

And Sherry O'Terry and Keckner and Wals and Brewer. So you were there during that same time? I was. I was. Yes. Would we have ever run into each other? It's possible. Like on the floor?

I was not on the floor for those. I was actually, um, for some of the episodes, I was, I was, was down it's not there anymore but it was where don parto and andy murphy would hang out which he was the the token extra and it was like they show it sometimes on the show but it was like where the coffee was back on eight it was like um there's a couch and there was a bench and there was like kind of like craft service and that's where a couple times yeah it was actually right up so there's the regular hallway with the checkered floor and then there's the kind of the crew hallway on the other side, which is sort of leads to the freight elevator. And that's where like the quick

changes are done and everything. And that's where they used to shoot that stuff. The dressers and they have like that, that whole like vanity. Yeah, the mirror, the mirror set up for makeup. Yeah. Yes, that's where I was for the show a couple times. Oh, well, I mean, I would have been zooming past you when, in the days when I was a PA working. And then in the days when we were watching the show, we might have just chatted. There is nothing cooler, I think, than being there and seeing the show I thought I just was, yeah, no one can complete all. You mentioned the after parties. It was actually at a Saturday Night Live After Party that I decided to move to Los Angeles.

It was May 15th, 1999. It was Sarah Michelle Geller and the Backstreet Boys. I'll never forget it because it's not a show that I necessarily would have, you know, not a huge Backstreet Boy fan, but it was at that rap, and it was a season finale rap party, and it was at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and Seinfeld, I mean, freaking everybody, was there. Seinfeld was there. I mean, at our table was Macaulay Culkin and Jimmy Fallon was brand new. He sneezed all over our pizza so he could eat it like he pretended to, you know, kind of spit on it. No exaggeration because the end of the season rap parties, the one where everything's free and it's like, you know, it's...

It's like a wedding. It's basically like a wedding. That's where all the really, I mean, there's famous people normally most weeks and stuff, but that's when like everybody kind of comes out. It's like a huge... Yeah, Seth Green was at our table. It's a huge deal. What was the... the, so what exactly was it that hit you when you were there that you're like, I have to, I'm going to move to L.A. Like that during that party. Talking to Seth Green, a family guy was brand new and it was very funny. He's a really nice guy. He was on my Carson podcast. He was so nice, a cool guy. Yeah, he is a cool guy and very smart. And like, he's a smart business guy, too. He's not just a funny actor guy. And he basically said, come to L.A., you'll get work. And I was like, okay. And he was right.

Yeah, he was. The rest of his history. That makes sense because he's friends with McCulley Culkin. If Culkin was there, that they might have been. Oh, I didn't make the connection. McCulley was, we barely spoke to him because he was planted on his, did he just get married at that time? No, no, at that time, didn't he get married young or there was some kind of relationship? He did.

Her name, my mind sometimes, her name was Rachel Minor, I believe. That actually sounds familiar, but they were hot and heavy at the table. Yeah, I just, sometimes the things get in my head and I can't, like, facts. People that listen to the podcast know that all the time. But, yeah. Shout out to Danbury Tribe, by the way, from the East Coast feed, because he was with me that night at that taping and at that after party. He came with me.

And he was like my best friend. He's like, what do you mean you move in L.A.? And then for the next like month or two, I just became, he just kept calling me a but you're a d-you're a d-moving L.A. He's a hardcore New Yorker. And he didn't think I'd really do it. And then he drove me to the airport two months later. And here you are.

Late Night Playlist. I'm glad it's back. You were nice enough to invite me back on, so that'll be a good time. I can't wait. I can't wait. I wish I was in Los Angeles to be able to be there in person. I did the one time and it was such a thrill to see the set.

Let's create a reason for you to come out here. I would like that. I've been working on a project for the last couple of years, and it's finally coming to, it's happened. And so I have a little bit more time to do things. So I would love that. So I feel like you coming out here would be a logical place to promote it. Come out to the coast. We'll have a few last. We'll see. I would love that. I will love, I will be promoting. I will be everyone that that's listening. I will be very, very politely, but eagerly asking for your support.

That's coming up. That's something, oh, man, it's been such a journey. But we'll talk about that another time. But yeah, thank you so much for being a guest. I'm really glad that we got to talk about this. And it's, for me, it was my embarrassing escapades as a child. Oh, I love it. I mean, the story, hearing your stories and stuff. And I have some, some, I have my own Saturday night live stories, a couple, when I got into some a little trouble here and there. So, I mean, Oh, stay here in the late night play set where we talk about Mark Malkoff and S&L. We'll see. But it was, it was a good time, but yeah, there's definitely adventures and things to talk about. It makes me feel a little better.

But I really, really appreciate this. And, yeah, thanks for being a pal. Thank you for everything, Mark. You've been a supporter of us from the beginning, which is always kind of amazing because, you know, my whole life I've been looking in the window on this world. So to be ancillarily kind of part of it, even a little bit, enough to be like a guest on your podcast. It's a big deal for me still. So it means a lot. So thanks to you and your audience.

Oh, thank you. I know. I really, really appreciate this. This was fun. Thanks for listening. Please subscribe so you never miss an episode. On Apple Podcasts, please rate it and leave a review. Be sure to go to late-nighter.com for all your late-night TV news. And you can find my podcast at late-nighter.com forward slash podcasts. Have a wonderful week, and I'll see you next Tuesday. You know, I'm going to be. I'm going to be the I'm

We're going to be able to be. We're going to be. I'm going to be. I'm going to be. Thank you. Thank you.