Joy, a Podcast. Hosted by Craig Ferguson - Richard Kind

Episode Date: November 26, 2024

Meet Richard Kind, an actor and comedian who you've definitely seen in all the movies and television shows. Even if you think you haven’t. You have. From Pixar to Broadway, it's impossible to not have watched and loved something that Richard has been a part of. He’s a hilarious outspoken delicious individual maverick national treasure who doesn’t have much in the way of a filter. I adore him and you will too. EnJOY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey, what's up? This is Ramses Jha. And I go by the name Q Ward. And we'd like you to join us each week for our show Civic Cipher. That's right. We discuss social issues, especially those that affect black and brown people, but in a way that informs and empowers all people. We discuss everything from prejudice to politics to police violence. And we try to give you the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace and social circle. We're going to learn how to become better allies to each other. So join us each Saturday for Civic Cipher on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome to Gracias Come Again, a podcast by Honey German, where we get real and dive straight into todo lo actual y viral. We're talking music, the prizes, the gossip, and all things trending in

my culture. I'm bringing you all the latest happening in our entertainment world and some fun and impactful interviews with your favorite Latin artists, comedians, actors, and influencers. Each week we get deep and raw life stories, combos on the issues that matter to us. And it's all packed with gems, fun, straight up comedia. And that's a song that only nuestra gente can sprinkle. Listen to Gracias Come Again on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

Hey everyone, I'm Madison Packer, a pro hockey veteran going on my 10th season in New York. And I'm Anya Packer, a former pro hockey player and now a full Madison Packer stan. Anya and I met through hockey and now we're married and moms to two awesome toddlers, ages two and four. And we're excited about our new podcast, Moms Who Puck, which talks about everything from pro hockey to professional women's athletes to raising children and all the messiness in between. So listen to Moms Who Puck on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. or wherever you get your podcasts. The Craig Ferguson Pants on Fire tour is on sale now. It's a new show, it's new material,

but I'm afraid it's still only me, Craig Ferguson, on my own, standing on a stage, telling comedy words. Come and see me, buy tickets, bring your loved ones, or don't come and see me. Don't buy tickets and don't bring your loved ones. I'm not your dad. You come or don't come, but you should at least know it's happening. And it is. The tour kicks off late September and goes through the end of the year and beyond.

Tickets are available at thecraigfergussonshow.com.slash.tour. They're available at thecraigfergussonshow.com.slash.tour. Or at your local outlet in your region. My name is Craig Ferguson. The name of this podcast is Joy. I talk to interesting people about what brings them happiness. My guest on the Joy podcast today is a gentleman who holds a very special place in my heart. Not only is he a fabulous actor that's been in all the good things,

but he also has a very significant, small part in my own personal story. And you're about to find out what that is along with a great many other things about the fabulously interesting, very original, lovely, super talented, famous actor, Richard Kind. I'm in New England. Are you in New York? I am. Where in New England are you? Well, I'm not going to tell you. I'll tell you after.

Oh, right. Okay. Yeah, because now we're on the... Yeah, I'm in New England. That's very lovely. Yeah, no, it's very nice. But of course, I live in New York now too. No, I didn't know that. Well, I'm moving back to the city. I'm moving back to the upper East side. Okay.

Um, because you're in the upper West side. Upper West side. Yeah. I think of you as the quintessential New Yorker, which I know that you were born. I wasn't born here. I lived years and years in LA. Uh, yeah, I'm an upper, whenever I lived in New York, I lived Upper West Side. I lived downtown for a while during Spitz City. But yeah, Upper West Side is the best. It's where

I raised my kids. Well, and also I think of you as being the quintessential New Yorker for a very specific moment in time. Go ahead. Because, so do you remember when you were doing the producers on Broadway? Sure. Right. And I came to see you in doing the producers on Broadway? Sure. Right. And I came to see you in that show.

At Broadway? Yeah. I came to see you in that show and I came to see you in that show and very briefly afterwards I came back and I said hi. You probably don't remember that because there was a lot of stuff going on. Well, funnily enough, I came back, I said hi after the show and you were great in the show. Great. And I came back to tell you that.

And then after that, I went uptown because I had to do a thing. And I went to this event uptown called New Yorkers for Children, where I met a woman that very night who I'm still married to. Oh, is that fantastic? Isn't that the story? That is great. Isn't that the story? I know.

That is great. But seriously, how was I? You were great. You were great. I'm kidding. It was the high point of the evening. So you might have been in a good mood. I think I was in, I think you cheered me up.

I think it was, it was a very funny, it is a very funny show. It's a wonderful, was it your first time seeing the show? It was the first time seen alive I'd seen obviously the movie, but I've never seen The musical okay. Yeah, great. Oh, that's a wonderful story I isn't happy for you. Oh great. So in our family Every year on Christmas Eve, we have a photograph of you on our Christmas tree and all the children saying, thank you. That's it.

Richard kind of joke. This is a joke. Okay, good. Thank God. Thank God. But no, but how famous you are. I mean, you're famous anyway. You're the famous actor, Richard Kind, but... Okay, okay.

But you're very, very, very famous in our family because the night I went to see Richard Kind and the producers, I met the mother... I embraced that reality. That is fantastic. Well, it's a very special place in my heart. But I think of you as being a Broadway guy, but I suppose you're not really a Broadway guy really. I mean, when you are, you're a Broadway guy, you're an actor, you do all of those

things, right? I kind of tell you, I was 45 years old when I made my Broadway debut, but I've been going to Broadway plays since I was seven. I go, I see everything and I do plays all I was seven. I go I see everything And I do plays all the time. I do a play a year easily a play a year Uh, but it was very late because I kept wanting to be an actor And I never thought Well, I was in second city

I just thought I had to go I had to do it. I had to make my mark. I had to do TV at the movies. And I always thought that Broadway would take me away from it, even though I loved doing Broadway, but Broadway meant a year of being in that particular show, which I did not want to do. I don't like doing long runs. Broadway is its own ecosystem as well. Like there are people who exist only in Broadway who are like massive stars in Broadway. And then you get to you know Halfway along Pennsylvania and people don't know who they are. I mean it's it's exactly I you know I'm trying to say people think oh, you're really having a moment now and everything like that. No, I'm not

I have been working as much now As I have been my whole career It's just the platforms are larger and are getting attention and they're with bigger stars. But I've been doing this just like this for a long, long time. It's just that now people are seeing it more. Well, it's funny. I feel like maybe I have a different perception of you. I think of you as being a big star since the 1990s and spin your own sense. You're wrong. No, I Am wrong. I am I'm a go-to character actor along with about 15 or 20 others who beat me out for parts regularly

People who I admire I'm somebody who If you see me if the normal guy sees me, they know my face, they can't place it. They certainly don't know my name. But more and more lately, they're knowing my name. But it was always, I used to joke, they would see me, they'd go, but did I go to high school with you? Am I related to you? Do you owe me money?

It's one of those things. They can't place it. Now they are more or less able to place it. And I'll tell you this, you might even know this. Once you're off TV, a year later, they don't know you. No, that's true. Well, they do not know you. That used to be true until Well, that's true. Well, they do not know you. That used to be true until YouTube and the internet created a whole new, like repeat structure for old shows.

Like I stopped doing my late night show 10 years ago. 10 years ago. I stopped 10 years ago and I still get people coming to live shows who clearly never weren't old enough to watch me when I was doing the show, who say, I watch you on YouTube like I'm someone who does a YouTube channel. Yeah, I OK. You do have them. What you had like when I was on Spin City. Yeah. Millions of people watch you.

That's true, yeah. Now thousands watch you on YouTube. We used to have millions. Okay. The glory is because I was doing the Drew Carey show at the same time you were doing Spin City. That's true. Well, Drew Carey was huge.

That was a big show. But no, here's what I'm saying is, after I did, let's say Spin City, I really would get people going, aren't you acting anymore? Yeah. It was, it's silly. Literally, they go, I go, I am, you're just not watching the channels I'm on. And when, and I still get it.

And I just go, am I not acting? I'm on everything. All the time. I'm on everything. All the time. I'm on everything now. Everything. You're on all the good things. Only murders in the building. Curb. You're always on the good things. John Mulaney, that John Mulaney, everybody's in LA.

I'm all over the place. And somebody will really ask me nowadays, aren't Sue acting anymore? And I'm I'm mystified Well, who is this asshole that kind of be many of those I got his name I took his name and I found out and he and I are having lunch and And we're gonna go through my IMDB page

It's a funny thing because people people sometimes will get annoyed. I've noticed this. If they say to you, hey, what do I know you from? And you're like, I don't want to, I don't know. That's the worst. You know, but I now have a thing. I say, you know, I go, what do you do for a living? He goes, I'm a dentist. What was the name of the last person you gave a crown to? That's what I give. That's what I say. Or I'll just say, they literally, me right now, they go, where do I know you're from? And I go, everything.

Just look at my IMDB page. Well, you are kind of in everything. Now I'm in everything. When you turned up in Only Murders in the Building, I thought, oh, really? Really? I mean, how long did that take? Two seasons? Well, here's the thing is that, you know, I thought, oh, really? Really? That, I mean, how long did that take? Two seasons? Well, here's the thing is that, you know, people ask, why aren't you wanting murders in the building? I go, because they haven't asked me. All they gotta do is ask me. So after three

seasons, they asked me. Here I am. Yeah. It's a funny thing though, isn't it? Because I think fame and, particularly proper actors like you, who are like real actors who do it, it's a thing. And it's a funny thing though, isn't it? Because I think fame and it's particularly proper actors like you who are like real actors who do it. It's a thing and it's a craft and a job and an art that you really care about. And fame almost seems like a, like a by-product. Like it's not, I don't think of you as someone who, look, maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think of you

as someone who, who courted being famous. It's more about being famous as a byproduct of what you do. And, and they don't know you, they know who you play. Because who you play, the character, you play a very varied bunch of people. Yeah, I, I like to say that I do. When I was a kid and I lay in bed dreaming of, of fame and I did, I jumped to being an actor. I jumped to being famous. When I got angry at my parents and thought about running away, my, my, my note to my parents, my, I'll show you note was I'm on the movie screen and I'm talking to them going, I show you you didn't let me go out and be with my friends Tonight and I'll show you and I you know, you wanted to run away. This was my my what do you say? What's what's the kind of note you write when you run away? No, I run away

No, my runaway note was a runaway note and so I I did want to be a star when I was younger. And then I started acting, started having a career, and I realized I want to be a good actor. And I'll tell you this, too, as you probably know, because you know a lot of people who have achieved great fame. Fame is a prison. Anybody who goes after fame is a fool. They're a fool.

Absolutely. How do you, how do you convince a young person that fame should not be your goal? Not only that, stay far away from it. You know, if I could redo it, if I could relive my life, I would try and find a profession that had zero visibility. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,

no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no Look, I do like people coming up to me and saying they like me. With my ex-wife, we would be walking down the street and we'd be arguing and somebody would go, oh, I love you. And I go, honey, please, see. It's I do like people coming up and saying and giving me affirmation. It does make me happy.

She used to say, how can you have a bad day? People come up to you like that. What are you out of your mind? But I do happen to like affirmation. I love applause. It's one reason why I like theater. Uh, I like, you know, while you're on stage, forget the applause. You can hear them listening.

You can hear them understanding what you're saying and connecting. And it's not with sound. You just feel it. That's a wonderful feeling. When I do single camera, I can't feel anything. They yell cut and I go, was that any good? I don't know. I want to hear. I go, was that any good? I don't know. I want to hear, I want a symbiotic relationship with the audience.

You do it with your stand up. You certainly did it on your talk. So, uh, yeah, but I wonder if, if that, is that something that you're lacking in? Not you, but is that something that one is lacking in personal relationships that you're looking for an affirmation that a single person can give you? I can't give you, absolutely. There are other ways of finding a satisfaction in the world

and people who, as you just said, if I could sun the public life and find satisfaction, that's the whole thing. But I don't, I don't. My makeup is I like this affirmation. It makes me happy. Applause. All that stuff makes me happy. As I get older, okay, I can leave it all behind. But I still like it. I still, I don't, the amount that bottomless hole of affirmation has been filled up a lot. I'm okay.

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go to au.skylightframe.com slash comedy. That's right, to save up to $80 on your Skylight Frame, just go to au.skylightframe.com slash comedy. That's a-u dot s-k-L-I-G-H-T-F-R-A-M-E dot com slash comedy. Hey, what's up? This is Ramses Job. And I go by the name Q Ward. And we'd like you to join us each week for our show Civic Cipher. That's right. We're going to discuss social issues, especially those that affect black and brown people, but in a way that informs and empowers all people

to hopefully create better allies. Think of it as a black show for non-black people. We discuss everything from prejudice to politics to police violence, and we try to give you the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace, and social circle. Exactly. Whether you're black, Asian, white, Latinx,

indigenous, LGBTQIA+, you name it. If you stand with us, then we stand with you. Let's discuss the stories and conduct the interviews that will help us create a more empathetic, accountable, and equitable America. You are all our brothers and sisters, and we're inviting you to join us for Civic Cipher each and every Saturday with myself,

Ramses Jha, Q Ward, and some of the greatest minds in America. Listen to Civic Cipher every Saturday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, myself, Ramses Jha, Q Ward, and some of the greatest minds in America. Listen to Civic Cipher every Saturday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Jack Pease Thomas, the host of a brand new Black Effect original series, Black Lit, the podcast for diving deep into the rich world of Black literature. I'm Jack Pease Thomas, and I'm inviting you to join me in a vibrant community of literary enthusiasts

dedicated to protecting and celebrating our stories. Black Lit is for the page turners, for those who listen to audiobooks while commuting or running errands, for those who find themselves seeking solace, wisdom, and refuge between the chapters. From thought-provoking novels to powerful poetry, we'll explore the stories that shape our culture.

Together, we'll dissect classics and contemporary works while uncovering the stories of the brilliant writers behind them. Black Lit is here to amplify the voices of Black writers and to bring their words to life. Listen to Black Lit on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I think that's quite interesting because also the idea of, I've talked to quite a few people, very successful people like you, about ambition and what it looks like when you're young. about ambition and what it looks like when you're young. Like, the ambition that I felt when I was young, and I've heard a lot of people say,

had a sort of, and even the runaway note story, it had a kind of anger, a kind of, a kind of fuck you about it. And that's what those, it's famously, the comedians will say, I killed them, I slayed them, I had them in the aisle. That's like, I need you, but I hate you. And I, because I hate needing you.

Yeah. I need them. I do. I need them. You still need them as much as you did, do you think? No, no, no. But when I act, I do. I don't need them off stage as much.

But when I'm acting, yeah, I need somebody to say that's good. I always say I have an enormous ego and no confidence. Yeah, I need to be told you're doing good. I also have a friend who did say, and I do believe this, I may not always be great, but I don't think I can suck anymore. Yeah. You know, I think believe this. I may not always be great, but I don't think I can suck anymore. Yeah. You know, I think I think I got it.

I may not be great and I yearn for great. I really do. Sure. I really do. Uh, and not for the fame or the money or anything. I really want to do a good job. Sure. I feel the same way.

I, I now began each standup show by telling the audience how long I've been doing it, a number of awards and, you know, a rough idea of how much money I've made and, and that's so, so if the show sucks tonight, it's not me. It's just not. Oh, that's funny. Well, that's hilarious. I would never say that. But so, so in other words, I've got it all.

I've had my affirmation. This is on you. It's on you. This is. Yeah. Let's see how you do. You paid your money. I'm going to do my very best for you.

But if you don't like it, that's because you don't like it. It's nothing to do with me. I'll do it. That's hilarious. I think that's great. That's fantastic. Did you? And I mean it too, actually. I mean, it sounds very arrogant. I don't. I do not feel that way. There are nights that you're better than other nights.

Yeah, I suppose. You're just better. But you're not always in charge of how the perception of that, because I've done this probably the night I came to see you in producers, you know that you you you say to an actor backstage or you've been on stage yourself and you tell them how great they were and they'll say oh no you should have been here last night last night was much better and I you got to stop doing that. Oh you do you do well I'll tell you why you have to stop doing that is because then that person feels he's been cheated

Mm-hmm. And so it makes that person feel worse and it and it's it may not be true about me and The degree that you were better or worse is is minuscule utterly minusiscule I could ask for another take a second take and you put them side by side you can't you can't tell the difference right you just you can't a good director can or sometimes you do that but most takes they got it you do have it's kind of or it. Or let me put it this way.

It's sufficient. Another take may be perfect and better. The other one was sufficient. But also, especially if you're talking about a take, if a director's looking at it and going, that book behind Richard there, I don't like that book there. Yeah, but I have no control of that. I have no control of that. I have no control of that. I'm talking about whether or not I hooked in with what is needed emotionally. What I had in my eyes. Yeah, stuff like that.

That nobody's interested in. What doesn't that, isn't that frustrating as an actor if you do a very good take and you have lovely all the things you want in your eyes and stuff and then someone says that was great but we heard a guy sneeze yeah let's do it again kills me yeah that that that kills me because that moment in a bottle you know to to to to capture that that's precious and you got it because there was a hair in the lens, you know, in the lens or whatever it is. Yeah. You go, ah, why?

I don't think that happens anymore. I don't think you get a hair in the lens anymore. I do know that Brando used to give his cinematographers a bottle of champagne on the first day of the shooting and he would go up to him and say if it's not good look at me or if I think it's not good look at me and the cameraman will take the blame for we got into another that's kind of clever and I thought that was very smart. You know, if the actor wants another. I remember watching a couple of very clever women actors,

I've got actresses that I worked with over the years, who on the first day of shooting would go to the DP, it was usually a man, and they would flirt with the DP immediately. They would establish a relationship with the DP and I was like, what the hell? And I figured that the relationship over time, it was a very kind of, I have to look good

and you have to make me look good. Time is very interesting. There's more, the politics of a set are far more complex than I think people understand, especially for doing things like the sound man makes and he says there's a bad noise and you know, we can't get around it or the airplane or the guy sneezes. Do you remember that time Christian Bale got into trouble because there was a, he was doing

a, I think it was a bad movie. I think so. I do remember. And he yelled at someone for screwing up a take. And I remember, because I was doing late night at the time, and I remember sticking up for him. I agree with you. You ask a guy, you ask a guy to go to the edge of what he can do, to take himself to the edge of psychosis and let it be recorded. And then you get upset with him if he's upset while he's doing that.

It seems like a real double standard. I am with you. Now, he got angry. Look, I'm all for getting angry too. And I'm going to tell you something else. The guys who went to work for Scott Rud Rudin and Scott Rudin was horrible to them and blah blah blah yeah I go then don't work for him this is how he operates yeah what you're walking into a blind alley no it's it's like saying I

heard them grenades go off I I saw the bombs I saw saw the soldiers running. I said, you know what? I'm going to go to the other side of the street. Yeah. Don't work for him. Yeah, no, I know. He works a certain way. There's been a quite a lot of that recently. I feel like the pendulum's swinging the other way with that.

Oh, don't worry. We got a president who'll take care of it. Don't you worry. Don't you start with me. Oh, that won't sit. Oh, please. Oh boy. It's all going to be taken care of.

Yes it is. Yes it is. What about the origins of it for you? You don't come from a showbiz family, do you? No, not at all. I think that the origins... Hold on, I gotta sneeze. Sneeze?

Two! Two! I didn't see the third one. So, one's a which, two's a kiss. Oh, so one's a which, two's a kiss, three's a disappointment. That's the rules of sneezing. Oh no! Oh God!

Well, no wonder my life is a disappointment. I sneeze three times. You always sneeze three times? Always. Always sneeze three times. Really? That doesn't seem possible. You can't always sneeze three times. Craig, I'm special. This is what sets me apart. Do you have the specialities at the bottom of your resume? Absolutely. Oh, it's fine. Well, at the bottom of my resume, I always say my specialties at the bottom of your resume. Absolutely. Oh, it's fine.

Well, at the bottom of my resume, I always say my specialties, my biggest talent, friends with George Clooney. That's my biggest talent. Oh, yeah. Are you still friends with George Clooney? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. But I don't like to talk about him. He gets enough fun up.

No, no, no. I don't mean that. Do anything. But yeah, of course I am. What I remember about Clooney is I'll talk about him for a minute because when Clooney was doing ER, I was doing the Drew Carey show. Right. And the way the trailers were set up at Warner Brothers, George would play basketball every

day. Sure. Every day. And he would go over and play basketball. We'd come back and all the women would hang out with the trailers and watch them go play basketball and come back. Oh, that's funny. But he was, and that's when his star was really beginning to, you know, TV Doctor. And he was great. And he was always great.

And he was, and I never... Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. He was not always great. He got better. He was always great to us. He was always great to... Oh, as a person? He was always great. He was always great. Oh, since I knew him, he was a great man. A great thoughtful, moral man. Yeah. Yeah.

And that's why, I mean, that's why I don't judge anybody under act and I'm no judge of that. I don't know. If you judge George Clooney on his, on the man, you'll find no better. Not, not that's what I always thought. He was like a really decent. I've never heard a bad story about him either, which in Hollywood is kind of like him and Henry Winkler, I think that's it. You're right.

And Richard kind. Well, have you heard a bad story about me? No, I actually, I haven't heard about it. It's the real, I don't know bad stories about me. No, I can think I feel bad about things, but I don't think people's have bad stories about me They do no I find myself on it, but I feel guilty when I do do something wrong when when inside I know I've yelled at somebody or I'm Nasty, but they don't know it, but I feel bad.

I do. Well, I think that, I think that you're allowed to be human. I know is when I was doing the late night show, what I know is, cause I met everybody, everybody, like everybody comes through and the mensch to douchebag ratio was exactly the same as any other walk in life. I think that's true. You know, it's just that some people were great. Some people were assholes.

Well, actually, I disagree with that. What? One of the reasons why I think children should not be actors, right, is because you are treated differently by other people. A accountant does a good job, you thank him. You know, every profession you thank them. Thank you for doing a good job. Oh my gosh, you went out of your way, you're fabulous.

As a doctor, I owe you my life, blah, blah, blah. But an actor gets blind adoration. Adoration. blah, blah, but an actor gets blind at a race. At a race. And a child who goes to set, they all, the adults on set open doors for a kid. Can I get you any water? They kowtow to a child, they'll open the door when a child should be opening a door for an adult. I agree and

Children should be beaten up at school or should be You know kept in their place by their friends. Mm-hmm and on set it's the opposite That is true. They feel that they are elevated in the world. I know this because I would come home and My kids would go daddy. Can you get me some water and I'm going no You get me water but they don't I Get my kids water

You know, it's funny. It's funny. I remember that when I was doing late night, my kids were very young. Like at the very beginning, I was still changing diapers. So I would, I'd be talking to these fabulously glamorous people. And then really within three or four minutes, I'd be in my office changing a diaper on a kid, Absolutely. Rattle in the baby seat and going back home.

Oh yeah. My kids make fun of me. My dad, my son, who's 19, literally will put his hands going, dad, why do you talk? He's hilarious. They go, why do you, you have no idea what you're talking about. I go, Hey, I'm a national treasure. National treasure. I'll go like that. No, of course I'm not a national. I know that. And to them, I'm their dad.

Yes. You know, we have to take stock of ourselves. But if you, but an actor keeps getting told, oh, you're wonderful. Oh, I love you. Oh, you bring me such joy. They're going to go around thinking that. So that develops into a just. It can. It can. It can. If you do. Yes. If you do know.

So the ratio is not the same. I think my feeling is it actually was because first of all I didn't talk to a lot of kid actors. What I did do... No I'm talking about adult actors too. Well adult actors... But an adult actor isn't going to be lousy to you. He's about to go on and talk to you for 12 minutes. Why would they be jerked? That is true. Yeah but everybody talks to each other. Like the guy who's like bringing them from the limo into the dressing room. I know this guy.

We talk to each other every day. I say, what was he like? He was a jerk or he was nice. I mean, they kind of, it's a small little ecosystem. So you get to hear if someone's an asshole or not. We're also liberal in our politics and liberality usually means kindness. It means an openness to people. That's the liberal, that's what liberality really means, is an openness.

And I think that actors are usually liberal in their politics and liberal in their personalities and their acceptance of people. But I will tell you this, and who, I'll be damned if I can remember who it was, but I was talking to a director who was an actor first. Oh God, who was it? Boy, I wish I could remember. Oh, I know who it was. It was so close.

Old man, old man. He was on 30 something. It's and I know him well. And he's married to Melissa Gilbert and I know him. Oh, let's Google it. Because he's a great he's a dear, dear friend. But he was talking about he was in on a meeting with like the producers and with the and some of the writers and everything and go, well, they're really nuts.

And he goes, yeah, Tim Busfield, stop it. Stop looking, Tim Busfield. Tim Busfield, I've just got it right now. And he goes, of course they're nuts. You're asking them to bring up emotions in an unnatural situation and to make pretend. We're asking them to go to the edge. We don't ask normal people to do that. And not only that, we're asking them to go to the edge

and then do it again, and then do it again, and then do it again within the same two or three hours. You've got to be nuts. That is nuts. That's not how people are. We're also nuts because, do you remember the scene in Tootsie where Dustin Hoffman is walking down Fifth Avenue for the first time dressed as Tootsie? And you can see him out of the crowd. The crowd is the world. The nut is who we're looking at. That's not right.

The normality is you should be the guy over his left shoulder. That's normal. We're abnormal in front of a camera, two people making out, telling each other is such intimate things while behind the camera are 50 people. Who does that? There's 50 people watching. We don't see it. We the audience, there's 50 to 100 people behind the camera and you're acting like an idiot in front of the camera. Well then, and that says, do you think it's unrealistic? This kind of new thing, because everybody asks that bet you, you get asked this all the time. If you, you mentioned

George Clooney and he is a perfect example of it. Someone will say, is he nice? Like what is it? He's like everybody else. He'll be nice. Sometimes he'll be a jerk at other times. You'll get happy. You'll get sad.

But there's this whole idea. Like if you, if you meet Lemmy from motorhead, people will say, was he nice? You go, I don't need him to be nice. He's Lemmy. I don't need him to be nice. Like Mick Jagger, is he nice? You go, I don't need him to be nice. He's Lemmy. I don't need him to be nice. Like Mick Jagger, is he nice? I don't care. I don't care if he's nice.

But niceness seems to be, you know, the single most valuable commodity. And I think it is because it's amplified now because of the ersatz fame that comes with social media. So that kind of, they're like famous for being exactly who you are. I think it's been that way since all the newspapers, not the National Guard, but you know Hollywood. The Hollywood report? No, the Hollywood confidential and stuff. You know in the 30, when you learned about

the series of stars, this was a way of making, of selling movies and a way of selling movie stars. Hollywood confidential, stuff like that, which have gone on and on and today are, you know, entertainment tonight. We want to get closer to these people. Oh, I used to joke that when people saw George, they wouldn't get, they want to go up and maybe he'll rub off on me.

They get to me, they go, Oh, you know what? Not too close. That, you know, in case it rubs off, but people want to know these people because it's somehow it gives them importance, import. They met this person. They, I mean, that's Steve Martin's card. He gives out cards.

I met Steve Martin. I had an experience or I had a personal experience with Steve Martin. He doesn't sign autographs. This is what he gives away. We do want that. I like it. My kids, I brag about who I saw that day. Today, I was with Fred Armisen, who I adore, who I love. I love him. I admire him. I'm going to be working with him in a month. I love Fred Armisen. I'm going to tell my kids I did. My kids are so tired of hearing me

justify my importance by who I saw that day. They are so tired of it. So you can't, but I was trying to actually get back to the, when you were a kid though, I wanted to get the impulse of what makes the journey from a very, like I. What makes the journey from a very... Okay. That's interesting. I, my grandparents, as I mentioned earlier, I came to New York. My grandparents took me to plays all the time. They, they, they, I was well educated in the arts.

Oh, my daughter is calling in now from Spain. And you know what I'm going to do? You want to take a call? No, I'm talking to Craig Ferguson. I'm going to talk to her. Ah, it's calling from Madrid. I want to come back as my, as Richard Klein's children. They got it great.

Oh yeah. My kids too. She's on a semester abroad and she's having a great time. I, so they took me to Broadway shows. They took me to Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concert. I had a magnificent upbringing as far as culture. I think that's who I am today. And I emulated at the time Robert Preston, Zira Mustell, these were heroes to me.

I loved them. And then during school, I did all the plays and I was the star. You know, I was them. And then during school, I did all the plays and I was the star, you know, I was good. I had a modicum of talent. I became much better within the past 20 years, but I had talent when I was a kid. My mom used to, she didn't read that stuff, but she loved saying who she liked or who she may have met,

stuff like that, or who she went to college with, which at the time were so on high. And I look back and I go, really? You're bragging about him? But so-and-so went on a cruise and they met, believe it or not, Jerry Parris. I'll always remember that. The Alberts were on a cruise and met Jerry Parris and remained friends with him. What? But I was struck by that. Then I

graduated from Northwestern, supposed to be a lawyer, and go to business school and go into my dad's business. And my dad's best friend, I tell the story all the time, where it was Sunday afternoon watching football, and he said, you should try New York and give it a go, because when you're 40, you're gonna resent your wife, you're gonna resent your children, that you did not give it a go that you're still At the jewelry store selling, you know being a businessman. You could have been an actor. So I

Did it and I had talent when you're turned into two and three and by the age of 29 30 You should be going Hey, I don't like this life of suffering, and I should be getting more work, and people aren't appreciating me. That's when I went into Second City. So for four years, I was acting every night, and I became better.

And so I had no chance to leave. That year between 28, 29, and 33, 34, I was taken care of I was making a living In Chicago, I was famous. I was successful. I was downright successful There were six people in the world who made a really good living Acting or doing improv that's and it was as it was at City, and I was one of the six. What a blessing. That is amazing. Unbelievable. especially those that affect black and brown people, but in a way that informs and empowers all people

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at iHeart.com slash podcast awards. But hurry submissions close on December 8th. Hey, you've been doing all that talking. It's time to get rewarded for it. Submit your podcast today at iHeart.com slash podcast awards. That's iHeart.com slash podcast awards. It's very interesting that time period you talk about though, because that's my experience as well.

It was like I had done stand up, I was doing stand up. I didn't feel like I was getting anywhere with it. And round about 29, I was like, actually, that's when I got sober as well. I was like, I don't know about any of this and in a very short space of time between 29 and 32, I went from falling down drunk in the street to a regular cast member on the Drew Carey show in Los Angeles, from Glasgow to Los Angeles in that very short space of time. I can't really tell how it happened. Yeah, I know. But it's at that age.

And if you don't hit it, you could become an agent, a writer, a producer. There's, um, um, uh, what's his name? Uh, um, uh, Danny Jacobson who created, uh, spin city and ran spin city. Uh, no, I'm sorry. Who created a Man About You. He was a handsome stud of a guy. He was in Greece on Broadway. And around that time after Greece, nothing happened.

And that's when he became a comedy writer, went to work. I was there and then became a really great comedy writer. you and I know if you can do anything other than that Do it anything anything other than that? Do it for many reasons number one. You're never gonna give a perfect performance. I'll give a good performance You'll never be perfect. You can always be better, but you'll be a good writer You can be great. So he was lucky. He became a writer producer and made a gazillion dollars. He's much wealthier than me.

He was a producer on a successful TV show. He made millions. I am a thousandaire. Successful actor. But your daughter's calling you from a said master abroad in Spain. Right now. I'm one of the lucky ones. I guess there are 10 movie stars.

What are there 250 really big actors who make a decent decent good. What a good businessman would make. Yeah. 250 maybe there's 400. Yeah, maybe. I don't know. If you're lucky. Also, it's, it's very mercurial.

It's very, it comes and it goes. I mean, there are times in, sometimes like you're talking about recently, you do seem to be everywhere right now. It is interesting, but I've seen, there have been parts of your career. If I was to look at your career, there have been moments in your career where you were everywhere. Like if I think of you late, I think it's maybe late 90s, early 2000s, or maybe it's a bit later than that, you were everywhere then too.

I could, I remember you being everywhere. Craig, I'm the lucky guy. I've worked consistently. You haven't always seen me, but I've been doing shows. You do a TV show, millions watch you. You do a show, 900 to 1200 people are watching you. Or you're doing a show for 90 people or 300. It doesn't matter. I'm always working. I'm not always making a lot of money and not a lot of people are seeing me. And I'm not famous during those years when everybody's going aren't you acting anymore? I'm always acting. I always am acting. I just am. Are your kids drawn to it?

No, I'm a good father. Congratulations. No, no, no, I know. No, but I kid them. I go, my kids were blessed with no talent. So I'm very lucky. They don't like that joke, but it's the truth. That's interesting. That's interesting. It's a funny thing though, cause I remember working with kid actors in Hollywood. I didn't like working with them either. I didn't like being around kid actors.

I remember saying to the, they would always say to the parents, why do you let your kid be an actor in Hollywood? And what did they say? They always say the same thing. They always say they want to do it. Yeah, right. They want to do it. And I'm like, that's not a reason to let a kid do a thing.

Yeah. Because they want to do it. That's the opposite. My kids want to eat Skittles for breakfast. Craig, I say the same thing. You think my kids want to eat vegetables? They'd rather have cotton candy. It's, it's, they don't I say the same thing. You think my kids want to eat vegetables? They'd rather have cotton candy. They don't know what the hell they want. They want to do it. Now, there's a couple of things.

As you bring that in about child actors, I don't like child actors. I don't. I liked Fred Savage. I worked with Fred Savage. He was a wonderful kid. And of course you come across a couple. I instantly don't like the parents. Instantly. That's on me. They may be great people, but I instantly don't like the parents.

And I'll tell you something else. I had a therapist whose daughter said she wanted to be an actress. Hell, go, let her, let her. Don't let her get money. The minute money comes into it, all of a sudden there are consequences and there's competition in ways that are not healthy. Let her do community theater, go do school plays, let her put on plays, pay for them,

do what? Let her act, act, act, act, act. She wants to plays, let her put on plays, pay for them, do what? Let her act, act, act, act, act. She wants to act, let her act. She wants to be famous. She wants to be on TV. That's what she wants. Well, that's what I think, because nowadays I always thought doing stand-up comedy for me was kind of like being a job like a realtor. No one grows up wanting to be a realtor, but it's a pretty good job if other things don't work out. But now you get people who want to be stand-up comedians. I don't think that's healthy. Yeah, eight-year-olds, ten-year-olds, I think they want to be stand-ups.

I think it's crazy. I don't necessarily agree with you. I understand that that's how you felt But I I believe they do I Jeff Garland tells a story that That his parents took him like an age 10 to see Jimmy Durante And The ride home he says does he get paid for that? And they go, yeah. He goes, that's what I want to do.

That's very interesting. Yeah. Yeah. That's very, that's not my experience with it at all. Yeah. I did not want to be Zero Muscle. I loved Zero Muscle. I loved Robert Prescott.

They affected me. But when I got to be 17, 18, I wanted to do what they did You know, I always wanted to be an actor But I always wanted to be look how many kids want to be a baseball player And right how many kids want to be a fireman? You know and I say in my when I used to lie in bed when I was 14 15 16 years old You know kids want to dream of being center fielder for the, uh, for the Yankees. I dreamt of being in a Stanley Kubrick movie

in an original, uh, Stephen Sondheim, Howe Prince musical and a Woody Allen movie. That's what I dreamt about. I want that. That's what I want to do. Have you done any of those things? Okay. Here's what is my joke is, uh, I, um, I was in an original Stephen Sondheim, Howe Prince musical.

I was the lead. The lead me. Who sings the way that I sing? I could sing, but not sing Sondheim, but I did. So I did that. I was never in a Woody Allen movie, and even after Stanley Kubrick died, I thought I'd have a better chance of being in a Stanley Kubrick movie than a Woody Allen movie. And then finally Woody Allen did put me in a movie.

You've never heard of it. Yeah, it's called Rifkin's Festival, and it was, it was fun. It was fun. Nobody saw it. You know, it's now during his, you know, me too, series of movies, but that's what it is. Yeah, that's interesting. Did you grow, did you become friends with him? Is he, is he a friend? I can't say I was friends with him, but whenever I saw him, he knew who I was because I had auditioned for him a few times

and he's very uh shockingly popular culture savvy. He watches a lot of tv, he knows a lot of stuff, and look anybody who saw Serious Man, anybody who's Jewish saw Serious Man, you know that he saw Serious Man and I think he he liked me. And then he cast me. He cast me. Oh, good. Yeah, it was good. I had a great time. And in fact, there was one moment, it was a dinner scene. A lot of the people in the cast, and a very small part, but I remember certain things I remember specifically. So at one point, I was doing my lines and I was doing that. And he says, that's great, Richard, that's great.

Don't hit the joke. I knew exactly what he was saying. Or don't hit the line. I know exactly what he was talking about. Exactly. And he was right. I hit the joke. And then...

Explain hitting the joke to me. What does that mean? If I, like you played it like it was a joke rather than a piece of dialogue? Yeah, I, I, I, I, let, let, let, let's say, um, ah, boy, it was a funny line that should have been conversational and I, I knew it was funny. I hit the funny. Right. Let the, let the funny sit. Yeah. He was right. And I cringe to this day for having made that choice. I know exactly what he was talking about.

Exactly, exactly. In the old days, I wouldn't have been able to know. I knew exactly what he was talking about. The other thing is, I was doing the scene, I was saying the lines, and he came out of the, you know, the video village up from a tent and he was laughing and he was happy he says good job and then he went back and everybody looked at me and he goes he never does that he never comes out and says that was good or laughing said it was good

said it was good see that was good see you're different to me because if he had done that to me i don't think i don't know. I'm going to get fired. If he never does that and he's done it, I'm going to get I'm going to get fired. That's what it is. I have I think I have a great trust. Greg, I was good. I knew I was good. That was good.

No, no, no. You are good at that particular moment. I knew I was good. I knew it was good. Yeah, I know. Yeah. Well, you are good. You are.

I know when stuff is good. Sometimes I still have to hear it. I still have to hear. How was that? Do is that what you want to? Sometimes when I'm really pathetic, really pathetic, I'll say when I know it's good, I'll go to the director and go, is that good? And that's pathetic to me. And I know it. It's horrible. I don't think so. Horrible. I don't think so. I tell you what I think.

I remember once having, there was a bunch of musicians. I was doing, I had been directing a movie and I, there was a score, the London Philharmonic in Abbey Road Studios and they were doing the score for the movie and the conductor was conducting them in the world. I was the director of the movie. It wasn't a big movie, but they got the orchestra cheap. And I went out to the London Feller after they were finished and I stood up with the conductor stands and I said, I know you're all professional musicians. I know that you do this day in and day out and it's not romantic to you, but I have to tell you what you people do is otherworldly.

And I cannot express how much gratitude I feel for your skill and your talent and being here today. I mean, you get paid, but I just can't do it. And I could tell, because I know people, I work with people. I could tell by being honestly enthusiastic and grateful for what they've done, that who doesn't love hearing that? Who doesn't love an attaboy, a pat on the back and say, you were great, thank you.

Yeah. Oh, absolutely. Oh, I think that's, I didn't know where your story was going, but I think, I think that's I didn't know where your story was going but I think I Think I do that a lot. I Think I tell people my gratitude my appreciation for what they do Absolutely all the time Absolutely, I do

I'll do it See and I don't see and what I mean is I don't see anything pathetic about what not for yourself. I think that that's... Oh no, oh I agree. Yeah. I, oh, what was pathetic is that I knew I was good. And still go up to the, I still went fishing. I still went fishing for the compliment.

Oh no, no, no. I go fishing. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Anyway, listen, you are great. You are wonderful. I remain an enormous fan of your work. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Anyway, listen, you are great. You are wonderful. I remain an enormous fan of your work. And many of you, because you were always really kind to me

when I was on your show. I was on your show about three times. And one time I think I did a bit for you. Yeah, and you're always great. Your comedy was great. You are, you're not snarky. I think you know snarky. I think you know the area code of it all. And you can be not sarcastic, but you can poke fun, but never meanly.

I think the world of your comedy. I thought you were great. Well, God bless you. And right back at you. Certainly great. And thanks. And thank you for sort of introducing me to my wife. Sort of? Oh, no, no, no.

I'm taking full responsibility. I deserve to have a Christman ornament on your tray. I deserve a Christman ornament. You know what? It's going to happen. I'm going to have one constructed for this year. Yes. Thank you, Richard. You're a joy. However, it'll be round so don't make my face too fat. I'm kidding. No, it'll be appropriately jolly for Christmas. Fine, okay. Craig, what a pleasure to talk to

you. It's very nice. It's a joy for me. Thank you, Richard. Thank you so much. You bet. Hey, what's up? This is Ramzes Jha. And I go by the name Q Ward. And we'd like you to join us each week for our show, Civic Cipher. That's right. We discuss social issues, especially those that affect black and brown people, but in

a way that informs and empowers all people. We discuss everything from prejudice to politics to police violence, and we try to give you the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace, and social circle. We're going to learn how to become better allies to each other. So join us each Saturday for Civic Cipher on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Hey everyone, I'm Madison Packer, a pro hockey veteran going on my 10th season in New York. And I'm Anya Packer, a former pro hockey player and now a full Madison Packer stan. Anya and I met through hockey and now we're married and moms to two awesome toddlers ages two and four. And we're excited about our new podcast, Moms Who Puck, which talks about everything from

pro hockey to professional women's athletes to raising children and all the messiness in between. So listen to Moms Who Puck on the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The 2025 iHeart Podcast Awards are coming. This is the chance to nominate your podcast for the industry's biggest award. Submit your podcast for nomination now at iHeart.com slash podcast awards. But hurry, submissions close on December 8th.

Hey, you've been doing all that talking. It's time to get rewarded for it. Submit your podcast today at iHeart.com slash podcast awards. That's iHeart.com slash podcast awards.