The Nick DiPaolo Show - REPEAT: Special Guest Steve Schirripa! | Nick Di Paolo Show #388

Episode Date: September 7, 2021

George Floyd. Flag Frenzy. Steve Schirripa.

Today's episode features body cam footage of the George Floyd arrest, people losing their minds over taking down flags, and my interview with The Sopranos' Steve Scharippa. Yeah. Yeah, oh yeah Welcome to the show, ladies and gentlemen Tuesday, August the 4th, I think Already? My goodness By the way, baseball Who wants to put a bet that season's gonna get canceled? Canceled? It's gonna get canceled

I mean, there's too many thick people out there Who wants to put a bet that season's going to get canceled? Canceled? It's going to get canceled. I mean, there's so many thick people out there. Fucking virus is going through ML baseball. It's like a nursing home in Wuhan. Jesus H. Christ. Let it go. It ain't going to happen. Hey, today on the show, later on, Steve Schirrippa, you know him from, most famously from Sopranos, Bobby Bacala.

And he's been on Blue Bloods for five years. He's a nice guy. He's a great actor. And so that'll be coming up later in the show. Yesterday, pretty interesting. Some more footage, not that it matters, now came out of George Floyd from a different angle the day of the tragedy, which it was.

But he's clearly out of his frigging mind. Okay? And where is this? Can I ask you, where's this footage been? Not that it would make a difference. I'm just saying it would put it into perspective a little bit. Do you know what I'm saying?

Who's been sitting on this? So here it is from another angle. And George Floyd's clearly on drugs or out of his mind. He definitely has mental issues. Again, doesn't mean he should have died, but check it out.

Here it is. Stay in the car. Let Show the fucking other hand, George. Look, he's got one. Pause. He hasn't done a thing yet that the cop asked him why is that you know how many clips I've seen like this or watching the show cops

with young black dudes going I ain't doing anything the cops are giving orders and they were ignoring them I mean what the fuck the cops got his gun out that should be enough to make you shit your pants normally go ahead put your hands on the wheel put your hands on the wheel That should be enough to make you shit your pants Normally go ahead

Okay, well what I say let me see your hands you put your hands up I said he laid his arms before. Okay, well, when I say let me see your hands, you put your hands up. I'm so sorry, bro. You got him? Dang, man. Put your hands on top of your head. Hands on top of your head. Hands on top of your head.

See? Just ignoring. Step out of the vehicle and step away from me, all right? Step out and face away. Step out and face away I'm not gonna shoot you step on Please don't shoot me Step out and face away. Please don't shoot me, Mr. Officer. Please.

Don't shoot me, man. You're not shooting me, man? I'm not shooting you. Step out and face away. Okay, okay, okay. Please. Please, please, man. Please. Please. I didn't know, man. Get out of the car. I didn't know. I didn't know. Stop resisting.

Right now. Stop moving. Stop. Hey, look back. Stay in the car. Stop resisting, man. Still resisting. All right. All right. Can we get to the uh other one let's go let's go. Keep walking. No, let's get to the car.

Let's get to the car, man. Come on. Oh, man. Oh, man. God, don't leave me, man. Please, man, leave me, man. He definitely has mental issues. If he's not on drugs. Oh, something went down. I'm going to watch that car. If he's not on drugs. Stand up.

Stop falling down. Stay on your feet and face the car door. Not doing anything the cops tell you. Move that. Get out of the car, man. I don't want to talk to you, man. Please, we're talking to you. Please.

You ain't listening to nothing we're saying, so we're not going to listen to nothing you're saying. Can you watch that car? Just make sure no one goes in it. I hear you, but you're going to face the door right now. Listen up. Stop. I'm not resisting, because he resists. He's got cops to deal with every day. I'm not the kind of guy. Stop. Stop.

I'm not that kind of guy. Stop. Please. I'm not that kind of guy. Stop. Please. By the way, he was that kind of guy. He's got an arrest record.

I'm just claustrophobic. Now he's claustrophobic. I'm just going in the car. Anything sharp on you? I won't do nothing to hurt y'all, what's all this? No, sir. Nothing. I don't have nothing.

Why y'all doing me like that? What's all this? Please, crack it. Give me money and stuff, man. I am claustrophobic for real, what's all this? You got him? Could you please crack it for me? Please.

Yes, I'll crack it. Stay with me, man. I will. Please stay with me, man. Thank you. God, man. I didn't know all this was gonna happen man. Please man, let it go man.

I don't want none of y'all, man, nothing. You got it. I'm listening. I understand that people do stuff. Alright, here's the guy. This guy is one of them. Okay, okay, okay. Grab a seat. I'll roll the windows down, okay, okay. Grab a seat.

I'll roll the windows down, okay? Take a seat. I'm going in. I'm going in. No, you're not. I got to go in. Take a seat. Grab a seat. I'm not the kind of guy.

I'm not the kind of guy, man. What kind of guy are you? What kind of people are you, Henry? Take a seat right now. And I just hate COVID, man. I don't want to are you, Henry? All right, we get it. I can't watch that. Anyways, and you know what happens at the end. If he gets into the car and does what the cops say, guess what?

He's still alive today. The country's not burning. Statues aren't being pulled down. Wendy's aren't being burned to the ground. People aren't being shot, Wendy's aren't being burned to the ground people aren't being shot beat up by Antifa all that if he complied again doesn't deserve

to die obviously I don't know what the cop was thinking but all these cases Eric Garner all of them Michael what was his name Michael Brown all of them what do they all have in common? Resist.

Resistance. If he got in the car, it would change fucking history. I'm sure something else would have sparked it later on. But that was good footage that people, you know, that's what cops deal with around the clock. Anyways. Mama, son. Speaking of Antifa, this was a great clip. I think it was on Twitter or whatever.

It says, badass patriot. So I click on it, and this kid, this guy wades into a bunch of Antifa guys. Obviously a right winger or whatever, and he doesn't like the shit and he's not having any more of it so watch him wade into these uh to these you know these uh privileged white kids otherwise where you guys go anarchists going skiing you guys going skiing today with them going skiing today? He's fucking with him already. I can ask people questions, bro. None in there. None in there.

Don't put your hand on me. I'm just saying, what's up? Don't put your hand on me. Take care. You put your hand on me again, it's going to be a problem. No, what's going to be a problem is when you walk in there. That's going to be a problem. There ain't no problem.

There ain't no problem. Why? There shouldn't be a problem. This is America. I should be able to talk and walk wherever I want, right? Isn't that what you guys stand for? For the freedom and no government and all that bullshit, right is now what you guys stand for for the freedom and style You know government and all that bullshit, right? We're building a wall

Right, we're building a wall You don't weigh enough little boy you're underage dude Somebody get this child out of my face Anyways, you got your... Hey, hey, hey, don't touch me. Hey, don't touch me. Don't touch me. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. That is one for you, bitch.

See when the rubber hits the road, how afraid they are? You know what I mean? That's why, i don't know it's we all saw how feckless their efforts are when they had chopped and chaz they just you know i mean when it comes face to face to the biggest fucking cowards when there's 20 of them surrounding one person they get some balls. No, no, no, no! Oh, in our Florida segment today. Fucking Florida. Oh, my God. Staying on the tension racially in this country,

the Aryan nation will rule the world. White supremacist goes berserk in Florida restaurant. Is it me or Florida restaurant's most dangerous places? Whether it's a Burger King, a McDonald's everywhere, this food, this fucking violence, excuse me,

a self-declared white supremacist tattooed with swastikas. That's, that doesn't give you away. Does it? Went on a profanity-laced tirade at a Florida restaurant where he struck a female worker and threatened to sexually assault the woman

seated at a table. He's got tattoos all over him. White power, one, two, three, four! The stomach was my country! Catchy little tune. You need about eight fucking bags of meth. Sit down with a pencil. Anyways, the lunatic identified as nicholas arnold shock 36 of what chula was caught on video friday at pop's sunset grill yelling that he is a white supremacist

uh the aryan nation will rule the world people People covered in tattoos will be my closest relatives. So you're going to hang out with Justin Bieber the rest of your fucking life? Fucking Madonna. I promise you he shouted at the eatery in Nokomis, a town along the Gold Coast near Venice. Hey, my brother lives down there somewhere. I wonder if he saw the shit. Here's the video of this fucking lunatic coming into the restaurant and a waitress tries to stop him

you got the video right please somebody call don Trump. Oh, yeah. You got knocked the fuck out, man. Oh, God. My brother's fucking dead. I swear to God. That waitress. I hope you left a good tip after that.

That was uncalled for. Slapping. That's how my dad used to fucking hit me. Only I'd stay on my feet in time to get the belt. I don't mean to laugh, lady, but get the fuck. The guy's got tattoos. He's on drugs. Excuse me, sir.

You got to have a shirt and a mask. Bang. Take that. What kind of people are these, Henry? Two men then accosted Shark as he walked through the outside seating area of the restaurant

with his shorts unbuttoned while making a sexual threat to a guest. Who hasn't done that? I did that at IHOP in high school. I was all fucked up. I was going to bang

a 70-year-old holster. We have children here, one guy yells. Oh, yeah, that's going to slow down white supremacy on fucking drugs. Hey, there's kids over here, watch your language. I don't care, he says, call Donald Trump.

Hello? Oh, Billy, get out of there. I just saw on the news, your pubes are showing you're drunk, you slap a girl, you'd never slap a girl do you know donald trump he says if you don't know donald trump i'm not going anywhere a bunch of people should have raised their hand and said i know him he comes in here all the time uh before he slapped that girl several men rushed to her aid and one put shock at a headlock to restrain him

as he yelled about the Aryan Brotherhood and white supremacy, which looks kind of funny when you're being wrestled down by a waiter. The worker said Shark cursed, screamed, and undressed down to no shirt and his pants undone, exposing his pubic hair. Yummy, yummy. You never want that around food, am I right, Raz? In a statement, Pop's Sunset Grill said a troubled 36-year-old male Yummy, yummy. You never want that around food, am I right, Raz? Right. In a statement, Pop's Sunset Grill said a troubled 36-year-old male entered our premises and immediately began spewing erratic hate dialogue.

We made every effort to remove him within minutes after his arrival while simultaneously speaking with the 911 dispatch police officers. Unfortunately, he violently attacked our staff. He was immediately subdued and held until the sheriff arrived. The eatery said the assaulted staff member is recovering at home on paid medical leave from a slap. Come on, bitch. She's got a permanent fucking handprint on the right side of her face. How do you not see that coming? He could have sent it Western Union quicker. He's like, at least my old man would go from here.

Ping! Shock, who was charged with battery and disturbing the peace, was held at the Sarasota County Jail on $55,000 bail. He apparently told deputies he has psychological issues. You don't say. You're a real crumbum. I'm glad you told us you have psychological issues. Staying on the white supremacist, white power, it's all a reaction to what's going on.

This one sums it up in just how stupid people are and how we have botched the issue of race in this country to the point where people can't even see straight anymore. My goodness. Supposedly the people, the good people in this story

are dumber than the fucking actual white supremacists a michigan bed and breakfast is changing its decor in response to confusion over the norwegian flag raz flag don't wait for me uh greg and kirsten off becker owners of the nordic pineapple say the red and blue banner was frequently mistaken for a Confederate flag. Why is everyone so fucking stupid? Why aren't more people interrogating like me? Yeah, it looks just like the, just like the Confederate flag, except for, you know, it's a cross and not an X and there's no stars on it. You fucking idiots.

You ignorant fucks. You're dumber than the bigots you're trying to fucking shit on. Can you imagine? Last week, the couple decided to remove the flag as they were updating their marketing materials. Offbecker said she was trying to represent her heritage, but it's not worth the frustration, she said. They have received cruel emails and phone calls over the confusion of the flag. Could I be happier? Yeah. Yeah. Who couldn't? What we're getting is so much more

negative now, she said. It's not just, hey, you're flying the Confederate flag. It's you should be ashamed to fly the Confederate flag. You're a bigot because you fly the Confederate flag. It's you should be ashamed to fly the Confederate flag. You're a bigot because you fly the Confederate flag. Fucking believable. Why is everyone so fucking stupid? Why aren't more people interrogating? Like me. That's how fucked up we are about race and

they're literally blind to it. I'm going to put that flag on my pickup truck. See what kind of reaction I get. And I guarantee you none of those calls were from black people. I swear to God. Because they know what the Confederate flag looks like.

These fucking idiots watching Rachel Maddow fucking She's been out of the news lately, huh? Where's she getting a prick change? What? Here's some more symbolism

based in hate slash racism. Me and Raz were talking about this before the show. Again, my producer Raz is black. I mean, blacker than that printer over there. Actually, he's not. I think when I get color, I'm a little darker than Raz.

But we were talking about this one, and we agreed on it. I don't understand what the controversy is here. KFC markets fried chicken leg doing the boy. I can't even say it. The black power cell. That's fucking delicious.

Delicious. Thank you. Happy Emancipation Day. They weren't trying to be sarcastic or racist. Look at that. That's pretty clever, huh? The shadow.

I mean, although this pales in comparison to those clogs we show, those shoes last week, the fried chicken, KFC. I don't understand it. What did you say, Raz? What did you say before the show? Oh, if any company can do that. Yeah, KFC shit. Yeah, without getting...

You know what I mean? God, you people have to relax. These blacks. Who knows what they're going to take the wrong way. Again, I don't know how many black people get upset at it. Could be a bunch of fucking white libs. Probably a Again, I don't know how many black people get upset at it. Could be a bunch of fucking white libs. Probably a combination. I don't get it.

We all love fried chicken. You know what I mean? That's when that's how you know we're not at the point yet as far as race goes. When you can do that and we all have a laugh. Who doesn't like KFC? I think about how many black people KFC employs.

That's why I don't go in there. I don't want to be dealing with black employees. Exactly why I won't eat the food. I don't need somebody spitting in my mashed potatoes who's seen my show. No, exactly. And how many people, black and white, love it? I don't. But like I said, fried chicken thing. Now that's off limits. We can't make any references to fried chicken.

Can't say the word banana. What's fucking left? Rope. You can't say rope. I mean, Jesus Christ, that's a clever marketing thing. They're saying by the black power sign, we're with you. For the love of God. Happy Emancipation Day. Only way I'm going to be happy about that is to make it a federal holiday. We get the fucking day up. What day, Raz, is Happy Emancipation Day? Any idea?

I think it's for Haiti or something like that, right? For Haiti? What do you mean? This was not an American post. It wasn't? Mm-mm. We have a Happy Emancipation Day here. It's the opening of the NBA.

What? Who the fuck? Why would you? You're a real crumbum. Whack, whack, whack. I think there is a plan. We got Juneteenth. I still don't know what that means.

Is that a single day or a month when you put the Juneteenth? Who comes up with this shit? It's my day. What about me? I think it's very clever. I don't understand. Colonel Sanders, if you don't find him racist, it's just the logo.

That guy's a plantation owner. Hi, everybody. Try my nuggets. After you're done plowing them fields. Sorry, it was Trinidad. Trinidad. Oh, that's right. Emancipation Day Trinidad falls on August 3rd.

What was I thinking? Let's stay on race, shall we? Because that's all this country knows. A Black Lives Matter protester Carrying a flamethrower And not working at Burger King That's some funny stuff Look, here's Raz going to a cookout

Where them ribs at? BLM guy, protester Got a flamethrower. Where the fuck do you get that anyways? Led a march on the Arkansas compound of the Ku Klux Klan's Grand Wizard where demonstrators were met by heavily armed militia. The protests, organized by Ozark's hate watch, gathered in Harrison on Sunday before finally arriving in zinc near the compound housing.

KK leader Thomas Robb calling it the motherland of racism in America. Really? And I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever. Can't have segregation now or tomorrow. It's fucking Emancipation Day, stupid. Hold that shit for late February. Photo show march organizes Quinn Foster carrying a flamethrower, which he insists was warranted, given the threat he felt, claiming there had been 140 death threats in the run-up to the march on zinc.

Well, yeah. Yeah. You're going into fucking Klan country. Are you really shocked at that? Jesus H. Christ. Hello, Ease. We have footage around. Was there a clip of this?

No peace. Oh, another hot white chick on the left. Look at her. No peace. Pale, short-haired pig. No peace! Oh, another hot white chick on the left. Look at her. No peace! Pale, short-haired pig. No peace! Hey, that's a Norwegian flag.

That slave's not below you, and if you treat that... Pause. Look it, you got a transgender girl. That's a girl, the pasty white thing. Again, that's why she's angry and joins these type of groups. And then you got the kid from Deliverance who's now 44 years old, replaced his banjo with a Bible. They're having a nice chat, but no violence breaks out. Go ahead. That man will be in his own. He's a free man. There shouldn't be a banjo in the Bible. but no violence breaks out. Go ahead.

Oh no, Gallagher's here. Fucking Gallagher showed up. That's some racism right there. Again, watermelon. We all love it. Should have thrown a chicken racism right there. Again, watermelon. We all love it. Should have thrown a chicken leg out there. All hell would have broke loose. Watermelon.

The protest group posted photos of several so-called militiamen who met them, including one woman who pointed her rifle at the group while her finger was on the trigger. I love you for helping me to construct my life. My type of bitch. We had a militia rally pointing a gun at a guy with a flamethrower. What tension? Remember what I said about Antifa,

that they were going to wander into the wrong, you know what I mean, when you start to get to rural Florida, Alabama, Georgia? You know what I mean? That's when the people who are really fed up with this shit are going to come out. But let's think about the progress we made. That was BLM in Klansman country,

and there was no violence. Unless you call a watermelon bean smash violence, but that's just good fun, according to Gallagher and his brother. Anyways, the black kid with the flamethrower said at the end, today was a historic day for Black Lives Matter, he said. It's so stupid.

It's so stupid, it's a stupid so fucking stupid. Black guy. Make me a sandwich. Make me a fucking sandwich. And I make me a sandwich segment tonight. Oh, this one got my nipples all fucking up in a

you know what. Why are you going out of state i i can see it at the airports ugh watch new mexico governor grisham lecture her constituents like they're little kids like she's a mom oh it's disgusting he's a little whore and a little piece of trash. Yes, she is. Imagine. Wait a minute, Rats. What the fuck? I got some reading to do. What?

He said, here she is. I thought it was like you. Oh, I guess I was talking about the picture. My fault. Grisham is spying on New Mexico residents and believes that the inevitable behavior of a virus can be stopped by her dictatorial powers. What a fucking, another left winger just so filled with, you know. You fucking whore. Yeah, that's it.

Go home, get my dinner ready. Yeah, go ahead, governor, go home. Here she is. Listen to her. She admits she's spying on people from there at the fucking airport. Are you, what is going on? Go ahead.

Americans are traveling out of state. They are not adhering to a 14-day quarantine, and you're not supposed to be going out. Why are you going out of state? Pause. Because, Mom, I have pussy in Tennessee. That's why. Finish your coffee and go to your book club, Karen. Why did you say that, Karen?

Karen! You fucking whore. Yeah, that's it. Go go home get my dinner ready okay play some more of Hitler vacations family gatherings unnecessary unrequired business travel I can see you at the airports I can can see it on Facebook. Excuse me? Our modelers and folks who look at that aggregate data, we know about it, and we can see it now showing up in concept. Pause. She's so... Pause. She's so... Pause. She... Pause. Pause.

She's so ignorant that she's admitting to spying. She doesn't even see what's wrong with that. You know what I mean? She doesn't even see what's wrong. And who's know what I mean? She doesn't even see what's wrong. And who's the broad in the back in the picture giving her the finger? Fran Drescher? Go ahead. Let Karen say some more.

We're taking that virus to other places. You're bringing that virus back. You're being unfair to New Mexico's economy. Worse. You're putting New Mexicans in the hospital and some of them are losing their lives. You're going to lose your life when somebody hits you with a...

Did you say Mexicans, you little white racist? They're losing their lives. How many people have died in New Mexico, lady? I'm watching you. She's like Scarface. She's got 100 monitors in her office. We've got those Bell Tour assault choppers in here. That's 5% of our adjusted gross.

That ain't peanuts. Oh, my God. Another woman. Honest to God, why are we giving the right to vote? Another woman drunk on, ladies, I'm kidding. I know there's a lot on my side, too. Another woman drunk with power. Another woman drunk on, ladies, I'm kidding. I know there's a lot on my side too. Another woman drunk with power. Another lib.

What more do you need to know about these people? How can you vote Democrat? Go ahead, Raz. New Mexico has 655 deaths. 655 deaths in New Mexico. Let's see if we can get it up to 855. Nobody cares about New Mexico. Might be the shittiest state in the union. Let's see if we can get it up to $8.55. Nobody cares about New Mexico.

Might be the shittiest state in the union. Who's been to New Mexico? Raise your fucking hand. What's it known for? Other than breaking bad. Wasn't that New Mexico? Just, it looks like a horrible place to me. I could be wrong could be terrific

there's all those Indian relics and cactuses and shit apparently meth no no no what are you doing Raz I was going to do the morgue wait a minute I'll jump right to it alright we'll jump right to it.

All right, we'll jump to the fucking, in our FLA second one tonight, right? From fucking Lunatic Asylum. Florida, man, this is just, think about how, what a mean, cruel fucking place this country is right now. A Florida man fatally shot an Orlando Burger King worker.

Where else? Florida. Saturday night after his friend's drive-thru order took too long to complete. Calvis Rodriguez-Tormez, 37, is accused of gunning down Desmond Joshua, 22 years old, in the parking lot of the fast food restaurant on East Colonial Drive at 7.30 p.m. You know, look at him on the right. You can't judge a book by its cover. Yeah, you can. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people. The I... Oh, God.

Rodriguez-Thomas had early a storm to the Burger King at the behest of a woman who made a scene over a long wait time at the drive-thru. The unidentified woman was refunded $40 and told to leave after she got out of the car and screamed she was going to get her man to come to the eatery. That's the victim on the left. The guy's just trying to make a living, 22 years old. She drove away but soon returned with Rodriguez-Tormez, who targeted Joshua, demanding the employee fight him.

Rodriguez-Tormez placed Joshua in a headlock before a witness separated the two. But moments later, Rodriguez-Tormez returned from his truck with a gun and shot Joshua like the fucking coward that he is. The employee was taken to an area hospital pronounced dead. Rodriguez-Tormez was charged with murder, destruction of evidence, and weapons possession. Bye-bye, dickhead. Nice going.

How fucking hateful can you be and how about the broad that went home to get him i'm sure she's a piece of work dating this fucking guy unbelievable kid goes to work 22 years old doing the right thing. But the order was, didn't happen quick enough. So let's take somebody's life. I can't even, the ignorance is, even in today's world, this is shocking. Thought we'd end on a light note. Who we are, Sherrippa. Huh?

Oh, yes. He's a great guy. You know him from The Sopranos and Blue Bloods. Very talented guy and a very nice guy. Steve Schirrippa. Please welcome to the show an old friend of mine. Well, marginal friend, I'd say. But you guys know him as Bobby Bacalar from The Sopranos.

He's on Blue Bloods. He's been in movies. You see him a lot, Law & Order. And one of the nicest guys I ever met in the business steve shiripa steve how you doing what's happening about marginal friend what does that mean marginal well we're not like close i didn't want to i wanted to just say friend but i thought you'd go what's he talking about i met this guy five times oh hey you know what a lot of people don't know uh you know you helped me with my books you wrote a lot of that great material with my New York Times bestseller,

The Goomba's Guide to Life. You wrote, you might be a Goomba. One of the best ones was you might be a Goomba if you have more pinky rings than pinkies. Then you wrote something you never hear a Goomba say, Nathan Lane. I adore Nathan Lane. You don't remember that? I do know. I forgot about that. My my god I can add that to my resume that was it was that a bestseller really New York Times bestseller

the Goombas Guide to Life then the second one was the Goombas Book of Love and you wrote a lot of those things yes I remember hilarious yes I remember the love stuff because that is my business. Yeah. It was good. It was good. And then we toured together with Comedy You Can't Refuse. Yes. And Vegas.

Absolutely. That was so, so great. Michael Imperioli was there. You were there. Johnny Sack. Vince Curatullo has been on this show many times. Me and Vince sat there like we knew each other. I up to him and I said you are a monster meaning meaning a compliment as an actor and he kind of fucking looked at me like he didn't know who I was he gave me kind of a he

thought I was like insult him and then we sat down me and him started smoking cigarettes and just making fun of all the assholes and I felt like i'd known him my whole life and imperioli was great and and who sang sinatra who was singing sinatra arty bucco arty bucco the chef could sing like sinatra and and you and imperioli hosted it we hosted it it was 1500 people at the hilton where elvis played you killed you had a set set, and I'm not lying, that was as good. And I think I told you that. No one could have as good a set as that. Yeah, that's when I was doing it every night, and I was sharp and stuff.

And, you know, right after that, Steve, Michael Imperioli called me, and a week or two later, I see my phone. There's a message. I check it. Michael Imperioli, and I'm freaking out. I'm a message. I check it. Michael Imperio. And I'm freaking out. I'm like, what does he want? And he wrote some play about a vaudeville comedian.

It was two comedians, like a duo. And he sends me the material. I couldn't do it anyways because literally I didn't have much money. And I had road stuff coming up. And there was no money involved. And I needed the goddamn money. But it's Imperio calling me. And he sends the shit over it must have been steve i don't know if he thought i was uh acting my whole it must have been i'm not exaggerating 25 pages of dialogue where i talk and

then he does 25 well he had the theater at the time you know he had a theater on 28th street yes a little theater and he put up his own original place but hey if you could have done it that would have been great for you i know i was i was flat this is how much i was flattered i left his voicemail for like a year and a half it was on my phone i didn't want to delete it because i was such a fan of uh yeah yeah yeah no but when we did it then we did uh westbury music fair. That's right. Whatever it was called. We did in the round. That was a great show.

We did a few things. We did one in the city. We did some stuff. Then you won the Sopranos. Yes. And I wanted to say, and Steve, I remember saying,

Steve, I thank you. And you go, that was all you. I don't believe, I still don't believe it. Listen to me. Listen,

this is no bullshit. I remember you calling me. I said don't believe it. Listen to me. Listen. This is no bullshit. I remember you calling me. I said, if you get a call back, then you're going to them. They're not doing me no favors. I'm nobody. Listen, Game Diffini had one of his closest friends, one line. He auditioned for one line. He didn't get it.

He didn't get it. Is that right? I the truth david chase if you're the guy i don't care how much experience a lot a little if you're the guy you're the guy if you're not you're not when you went in that room and you read i assumed for david right he was there i all the i hate auditioning i'm a terrible auditioner everybody who likes that i don't know some people who have no fucking life i guess but i walk in there i was first of all i was i i woke up relaxed i was living in queens it was a two minute uh uh you know train ride to silver cup i felt very relaxed and i went in there and and then i saw i didn't think chase would be there every time i go in it's the the people who get coffee for the fucking.

And there's Chase right there. And I did. Here's what I think. You guys have seen the Columbus episode. I'm breaking up a fight in the park. And I went like this. Hey, something about there's going to be a rest. And I went.

I did a little fucking whistle thing like a cop. There you go. And sometimes, you know, that's what you have to do. Hey, listen. And I'm telling you, when you went in there you had audition i think first then you got the call back and then i called and i said listen and that way if it's half for you know so a lot of times it's like this that guy that guy whichever one you want right and and you know right so you got the job believe me because i'm telling you there was no favors done david you know uh on you got the job. Believe me, because I'm telling you, there was no favors done. David, you know, on the podcast last week that we have, we talked to Terry Winter. What's the name of the podcast, Dave?

Talking Sopranos. It's Talking Sopranos. It's a rewatch. Okay. We've been going back from episode one. It's on YouTube. We're now up to episode 11. It's me and Michael Imperioli rewatching the show for the first time in 20 years.

We go over it. We have guests. We bullshit like this, you know. And every single person had to audition for the show. There's no one that didn't audition. And there was big stars wanting to come in, you know. Guys, you know, Bruce Willis and this guy and that guy. They wanted to part on the show.

Nathan Lane. If you weren't right, you weren't right. Right, right. And I remember you at the read-through. Remember the read-through? We sat next to each other, big, you know, your big square table. The whole cast is there. It's pretty cool, you know.

Well, there was a roast pig. There was a roast pig on the table. Oh, was there? Yes, with a goddamn apple in its mouth. I go, how big a show is this thing for roast pig on the table. Oh, yes. With a goddamn apple in its mouth. I go, how big a show is this? A roast pig. And we're doing the table read.

Do you remember this? It came to me. I was staring at what's her name? That played Adriana. Oh, Trey. Yes. And I,

and somebody went, Nick, here I am. You know, Sopranos reading. And I'm staring at a girl across the way. That was, well,

you know, it is pretty intimidating. You see these guys. I remember my first one. And my first one was the first one I had ever done. Right. Even though I acted, I never went to a read-through. I remember asking Joe Rogan.

I think I asked Bill Kirkenbauer. Yeah. How's it work? Do you do it 100%? You know? And I went in there not knowing a soul. You see these guys on TV. Now you're going around the table.

They're going, hey, I'm Jim Gandolfini, Tony Soprano. I'm David Chase. Unbelievable. That's a little intimidating. Oh, my God. There's 40 people watching. And you frigging nailed it. What was I just going to ask you, God damn it?

That was your first. Didn't David Chase see you at a wedding or something no no no i thought i read that oh no no what happened was this i had been acting here and there okay i did a king of queens i did a chicago hope little bullshit stuff i worked with this white deniro and casino i had a couple lines i got my seg card uh but i had been dabbling and i was the entertainment director at the rib as you know you worked for me yeah a few times and so i i was doing the riviera booking acts i booked the club i also had an agency i used to book clubs uh and i came you think you know you feel yes very funny used to write for SNL. He was getting married.

He was at my wedding 10 years before. I came to New York for the wedding. I flew into Vegas. There was a guy helping me, an agent. I said, listen, see if you could get me to read for that show. Maybe I get a couple lines. That's all I was looking for. Maybe I get a couple lines.

I wasn't pursuing it as a career. It was a hobby. It was fun. I had two kids, a big house in Vegas. I had a couple of lines. I wasn't pursuing it as a career. It was a hobby. Right. You know, it was fun. I had two kids, a big house in Vegas. I had a big job. I did whatever I wanted at the hotel. You saw, right? Yeah, all those broads you had.

You know, and I auditioned for the role of an FBI agent. And then I got a call back and that was it. And I didn't get that. They said, yeah, read this Bacala. No, he didn't see me. I read for him like everybody else. Can you imagine? And, well, you must have was it. And I didn't get that. They said, yeah, read this Bacala. No, he didn't see me. I read for him like everybody else. Can you imagine and, well, you must have nailed it. Auditioning's a horrible experience, folks.

Horrible. It's just horrible. I would, and I've been doing it for 15 years and I would still be nervous every time I went in. But you, I remember the first scene when you come in kind of with your head down, kind of. Yeah. to the victor goes the spoils and and tony goes i stick that quote book up your ass of your fat fucking ass

there was all these fat jokes right so when i read the script and he calls me in the first episode calls me a blimp a cow's own with legs he calls calls me. You should start considering eating salads, you know, all this shit. And I read it and I go, did they cast the wrong guy? Because I'm not that much fatter than Jim. I'm about the same size, a little bigger maybe. And then they said you got to wear a fat suit. So now that makes sense. I wore this enormous fat suit for two seasons.

Then I guess they got fat enough on my own. I didn't need it anymore. Yeah, I remember you getting out of that car. You're trying to get out of the car. But I also did that on purpose. That's acting, man. It made me this fat thing. You know, and I paraded

up and down. They had a fat ass, too. They took that away. But I remember with the costume girl, Juliet, and I paraded up and down. They had a fat ass, too. They took that away. But I remember with the costume girl, Juliet, and I was parading up and down, and David was watching me. And, you know, he's a poker face guy. He don't give you nothing. Of course not. Yeah.

You don't know good or bad, you know. And that was funny. My favorite part of that scene is at the end when fucking Tony drives away and he says out the window you might want to think about fucking salads and then and then he drives away and you stand there and you go yeah something about you insensitive cocksucker yeah and i spit on the floor when i did that cerrico saw me he said you're dead you're dead you're dead you don't spit at the boss you're dead you're fucking dead unbelievable and you were

so i remember talking to steve shirip blue bloods uh the sopranos uh law and order every you see him all over the place uh best-selling author um yeah i remember you telling me you said hey i got a big scene you told me this you said don't tell anybody i was flattered that you trusted me you said i got a big scene i'm gonna have a fight a fist fight with tony yeah and i'm not going that was a big you told me months before at the end you know that was the last batch of episodes yes so when we did that right we were in tarrytown that's where we were staying i lived there i used to live in tarrytown the hotel i don't know if it's Samaria. Big hotel. We were there the whole, for two weeks we were there.

And we, it was supposed to be near Canada, the border. But we really were just, I don't know, 45 minutes from there. Right. It came time to, you know, we're at the lake house. Me, Carmela, Janice, the four of us only. Yeah. And we go to do the fight scene and Jim says I can't I gotta operate on my knees, we can't do it

I mean we're literally ready to do it six months later they built that cabin on the stage at Silver Cup oh no kidding $250,000 okay we do the fight, it takes a day and a half two fat sweaty guys out of shape i'm pulling hair

he's choking me you know he said let's make this as real as we can i actually headbutted him he went down i said oh man he's gonna get up and beat the shit out of me you know because he was a strong big guy big hands you know and uh yeah that's how we shot that so we shot the lake house in july and then we wind up shooting that scene in january the following january and you you shot the fight scene at silver cup silver cup you did i was at silver cup they rebuilt the whole cabin it was unbelievable because when i walked in there i went it was kind of eerie i went this is exactly the same. They built it to the team.

That scene still makes me nervous. I watched it. After it went off the air, I'm not kidding you, I'd get on the treadmill every day. I must have watched all six seasons or whatever at least five times. I'll take anybody on, and if you have a trivia thing on your show, I'll take anybody on. But that fight, that still made me uncomfortable. uncomfortable when you and him are playing they're getting drunk you're playing whatever and you stop mouthing off a little bit see that it still makes me nervous

you guys were such great actors uh it's very uncomfortable he was so good and he was a good guy you met him i didn't meet him you didn't mean that nope he was he wasn't at the raid throw that's why i was staring at adriana um uh but but uh you know he was such a good guy and a lot of fun and you know to work with him it was like you know i mean he was choking you you know he didn't care you know i know he did a scene with arty buko he was slapping him in the face. Like, slapping him. For real. I think I even know which one that was when Artie was in love with Adriana. You know, this is the first time us on the, me and Michael,

first time we watched it in 20 years. I haven't seen it. Oh, my God. You know, it's very bittersweet, you know, seeing Jim. And a lot of people have passed away. You know, I mean, there's a lot of actors from the show. It's 20 years. Johnny Sachs' wife.

A lot of people passed away. Yeah, Ginny. Frank Vincent passed away. Cha-Cha passed away. Oh, my God. Carmella's father, Tom Ulrich, passed away. What a great actor he was. Remember Tony's attorney, Neil Mink?ridge passed away what a great actor he was remember uh tony's attorney neil mink he

passed away really people and the guy when they did the gay uh episode up in new hampshire the johnny cakes remember johnny cakes uh yeah he ran the time he did he died the guy that played the game oh yeah yes uh john costello that yes hello he dies now let me ask you nick hold on all right hang on sure you there you got me yeah beautifully it's working out beautiful i'm uh technically challenged yeah welcome the guy john costello he was a fireman a good guy he passed away i mean a lot of people It's working out a bit. I'm technically challenged. Yeah. Welcome to the club. John Costello, he was a fireman, a good guy. He passed away. I mean, a lot of people.

Yeah. You know what's funny? Carmela's mother, Suzanne Shepard, who was Lorraine Bracco's mother in Goodfellas. Oh, that's right. That's right. She's my mother on Blue Bloods. Oh, she is. She's how old is she?

I mean, she's up there. Yeah, she's up there. And she's she's good. She's done a few episodes. She's she's a lot of fun. You know, she's a real God bless her. You know.

Oh, my God. Yeah, she played. She played the the mother and good Karen's mother. What kind of people are these? What kind of fucking people are these, Henry? She was she was great.

She was great. The poor man hasn't digested a meal in two months. And then you work. When I did the Riff, I had that X rated show. Extreme comedy. Extreme comedy. That was in the that was the mid to late 90s. Yes.

Because I left the Riviera in 2000. But you did that show. You came out, I think, a couple of times. I loved it. You were a bunch of, you could do whatever you want. It was a midnight show. You say, do whatever you want. It was.

I actually questioned myself after I had such a good time cutting loose like that. And I said, why am I doing this all the time? What am I holding back? I actually remember thinking to myself, have I been holding back for the last few years? Because I murdered, and it was just right from the gut, you know, just to a lot of adultery. That was a great gig, man. But, you know, a lot of times the clubs, you know, you got to watch what you say, what you do, you know. And listen, all the years that I screwed around with the clubs,

I never, ever told a comic, like, what to do. You know, hey, don't do that joke. I would just say, listen, the hotel's going to get mad if you get too dirty. Right. But that's why we put that show in. So I brought in all these filthy comics the filthiest i mean i did uh i mean i had you know felicia michaels and yeah this adrian abbott was dirty and all these acts sheila k uh tree do you remember that guy

it was all these filthy joe rogan all these filthy comics. Joe Rogan, all these filthy comics. And it was great. But the regular act, people would complain. It's filthy, it's dirty. You go to a comedy club, I got to think you expect it. Of course. That's what I think. Yeah, well, you think it was bad then.

You have no idea what's going on now. That's why I'm glad I have my own fans. I've been doing this 30 years, so I've cultivated a following. So when they come out, there's no surprises. They're coming out. They know what they're getting. But it took me a long time to get those asses in the seats. And now it's finally happening, and then fucking COVID hits.

Yeah, well, you'll get back. You'll snap back. It'll snap back. People are dying to go out. People are, you know, they want to get back out there. I mean, people have been holed up, man. I think it's going to take a while for the whole thing, but once it does, people will be out in force.

But, you know, I remember, I forget who the comic was. At the RIV, he was was talking he was telling jokes about john f kennedy you know just joke whatever he's saying yeah it wound up one of his daughters was in the uh robert kennedy's daughters was in the audience and she complained to the head of the hotel ah fucking liberal but i, what are you talking about? Then get up and walk out. Right. You know.

Making fun of my uncle. How about real quick? I don't want to take up too much of your time, but you told me a story when you were the entertainment director of the Riviera about Barbra Streisand. Do you remember this? About the rugs? About the what? The rugs. You told me she was such a diva. I remember you telling me this. I never forgot. It's the first time I met you.

This has to be 25 years ago. You said she was such a diva. She had them tear up the rugs. She wanted the rugs in the hallway to her on her floor to match the ones in her room. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you couldn't look her in the eye. And you couldn't look her in the eye. What a horrible person. So if there was like housekeeping or other work, they had to turn towards the wall. You can believe that. Yes, I can believe it.

You can believe this insanity. But you know who played the rib a lot was Sinatra. And I got to do it. You know, I would be upstairs working. This is the late 80s, I would be upstairs working. Yeah. This is the late 80s. Yeah. I would be upstairs working and then I would go down to the main room

and I must have seen him 30 times. No kidding. Incredible. No kidding. And he had a suite upstairs, you know, to his specifications. And then he would have Jilly come in two days before. He had certain ice cubes, round ice cubes, this, that. Jack Daniels.

Certain gum, certain candy. But none of that nonsense. You don't turn away. You can't look at it. Yeah. Listen, you know, you've been doing this a long time. You see guys are assholes. Yeah. And then you see guys who are really good guys you meet both

and then you say some people you go what the fuck is this guy you know like with actors too and then no one wants them anymore and then they say well why not because you broke everybody's fucking balls for 20 years while you could

on your way up. You know what I mean? And you see it over and over and over. And I had a few of those. And you don't use them anymore. Right. You don't remember Freddie Boom Boom Cannon? Remember him?

Palisades Park? No. It's a big hit. A big hit in the 60s. Palisades Park. He was the biggest fucking jackal i mean he's in the jack off hall of fame i almost beat his ass in he was yelling at the maids he really bothered me came into the hotel he bothered every soul so who do they call they call me hey control your guy

control your guy when he saw the side of you comics they can't get work anymore because they go in and they bothered everybody yeah oh yeah absolutely but uh yeah all right stevie i oh one other question tom selleck good guy good guy good guy seems like a good guy i always like them on blue bloods and i'm not just saying this. They're really good guys. I couldn't ask for anything better. You shoot on the streets of New York. Bridget Moynihan's great. Donnie Wahlberg's a great guy. Yeah.

It really is. I mean, you know, I was from The Sopranos where we were all friends. Then I was on another show with Molly Ringwald for five years, and that was a great show. And then to get on this one. I've been on this for five years wow and and i've been very lucky and they're really good really good group everybody's friendly selick's a great guy i've only had one scene with him though oh is that right yeah i heard he didn't

like a really really good guy i see him around good cat all right stevie i'm gonna let you go uh and i i when you guys i know you're doing the uh podcast virtually right now like everybody else is yeah if you ever do it in studio i want to come in absolutely i love uh you and i hung out with mike a little bit in vegas when we and i think huge we're having cast members we've got numerous people we'd love to have you on absolutely you know more than us probably i do do. I was watching an interview about a year ago. NBC, you guys are all there.

It was in a studio. Some guy from NBC, older guy with glasses, was interviewing you guys. And like Carmel is trying to think of the scene, this touching scene, she did sit in the line.

I go, that's when Tony said, I'm sitting home going, that's when Tony said to you, you're not in my life. You are my life. I'm all these, I know all this shit. Yeah,, you're not in my life. You are my life. I know all this shit. Yeah, but you forget. Of course.

I forget. That's why I got to watch the episode twice. Yeah. So we watch it. I take notes. Then I got to watch it again. We have Edie on, not this Monday, the following Monday. Edie's on.

She's a great interview. You know, we've got all people, the casting people from the show who you read for. We've got all kinds of people. It's every Monday. Edie's on. She's a great interview. You know, we've got all people, the casting people from the show who you read for. Yes. We've got all kinds of people. It's every Monday. It's on YouTube and wherever you get to. There you go. I actually worked with Edie Falco when Louis CK did this thing called it was about an Irish

bar. I can never remember the name of it, but Edie Falco, Alan Alda, Steve Bashimi. I went to Louis' house to do the read. Alan Alda, Steve Bashimi. I went to Louie's house to do the read. Alan Alda's in the kitchen. Well, you got a nice group. Yeah, it was crazy.

So and Edie's great. I mean, she talked to us. We could have talked to her forever. We talked for 45 minutes. I mean, yeah, you know, but not specific things. You know, she forgets, you know, it's a long time ago, but just in general, she's fantastic. You know, we said, Edie, we'll send the car.

You come. She said, don't bother. I'll drive my Vespa over. You don't give a fuck, you know? Yes, I heard that. Yeah. I'll drive the Vespa over. You don't have to do anything.

I love her. She was very nice. Good talking to you, man. Same here, Stevie uh i appreciate it and check out his uh talking sopranos with michael imperioli and him on blue bloods too i appreciate it man you'll be well you'll talk to yourself guitar solo Outro Music