Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (sometimes) - Richard Kind

Episode Date: February 25, 2026

Richard Kind hopes this episode will convince Ted Danson to finally join him for coffee sometime! Richard talks about how he “BS-ed” his way into becoming a great actor, memories of Charles Grodin, the special sauce he brings to his sidekick role on John Mulaney’s Netflix show “Everybody’s Live,” his thoughts on the state of democracy, and how often he gets things wrong.    Like watching your podcasts?  Visit http://youtube.com/teamcoco to see full episodes.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I was here early. I'm never early. That's how much respect I have for you. I didn't shave, but I have a lot of respect. Welcome back to where everybody knows your name. Finally, I get to talk with Richard Kind today. You've probably heard that name several times on this podcast. For a long time, I've been a huge fan of Richard and his vast body of work, including mad about you, Spin City, Bugs Life, a serious man, curb. Inside Out, much more. Most recently, Richard played sidekick to the amazing John Mulaney on their Netflix talk show.

Everybody's Live, and I can't wait to talk to them about that. So let's meet him. Here's Richard Kine. What malady do you have? I was age 25 when I was stepping out in New York and got hired for two soap operas at the same time, which was conflicting and scared me. about to step out in the world and make my way. Soriasis.

And that's nerves too. Yeah. It's a lot of things. It's an autoimmune disease kind of deal. Mine is too. Yeah. Autoimmune did things. Yeah.

I was, I can. Can we pump in closer on our skin? Because I think people love seeing flakes. Oh, here's a weird one. And forgive me. And I say I never am going to say the name, but when I was really good friends with George, when we were really, you know, he had a rabbit.

And his rabbit once scratched me right there. And we saw the pigment go like that. It just disappeared and became pale. Wow. Isn't that weird? Fucking George Clooney. Fucking rabbit of George Clooney. No.

It's terrible. Okay, I'll blame the God. It's the truth. I'm taking my sneakers off. So I have, that's why I'm so pale and that I chose this business is ridiculous. In thinking about coming here today, you remember when David Letterman used to have guests on and you just go to the guest, shut up, let's just let David talk. Yeah. That's how I feel this morning.

And I'm going to get that out of the way and I'll stop slobbering. But there are, they're just, I don't want to say there are few people left in the world who I'm really admire. We had only met once before when I came up to you. I'm setting me up. I know you. I know you. I know you do. Me, man.

You're setting me up. I heard you speak about me with Malaney and who there will go into, oh my God, there's worship. But I used to feel this way when I met Stephen Sondheim because I did an original musical for Stephen Sondheim. And I just said I was afraid to talk to him because the slabber, what would I say? What could I say that he might be interested in? Then I found out he's a human being. I know you're a human being, everything like that. I know Mary because I knew her for years.

Yeah. Clifford. Did you? You did have scenes, right? I'm trying to remember. I don't. Or did you just drop off your son. No.

We did have a scene, but it got cut. It got cut. Yeah, she loves you. Does she? Yeah, she does. Did she love Groden? Yes, hugely. Worked with him two or three times.

Do you know the story of me with Groton? No, tell me. It's hilarious. It calls me up. And he goes, Rich, you know, we did a movie. There's like a court movie now. Yes, Mr. Groden. Chuck, it's Chuck.

Listen, I hear you're a terrific actor, and I want to, I wrote a play, and I want to do it with you. It was a two-hander. The worst thing you've ever read in your life, it was, he was awful. He wrote one decent play and the rest, and he just kept writing and writing. So he goes, well, I want to come over to your house and we'll read it. Okay. He came over eight or nine times, and we would sit at the kitchen table for three hours like this. and we would just talk and he and do you know do you know about his his charity work no now this is really interesting

he used to fight for people on death row who were there incorrectly and he would go and he would visit the governor and he would talk to them and get them off of death row sometimes even out of prison he would fight for them good for him nobody knew but he'd be the first one to talk about it is it like the innocence project yes sort of but a one man yeah oh wow he was really really really a humanitarian. He really, he was like you. I mean, and he had the talk show. If you ever saw his talk show. Yeah, yeah. He was a liberal, liberal, liberal guy and thought, and he would go, yeah, this, she's left a family and they're fighting for it. And he would go and he would, he would walk the walk. But he would be the first one to talk about him. He was, that was the weird thing. He would, he'd brag on himself, but he did it. He walked the walk.

Like you guys, you know, trying to do what you did for ages, decades, for trying to save the planet. Before it was as popular as it got. You know, you know what I'm saying. Anyway, I loved Groden. I loved him. And but so we do the play. We did it a thing.

His best friend, Regis Philbin. Ah, oh, I love Richard. So he would just go, rich. That was terrible. It was awful. It was terrible. And then Andy Rooney was one of his best friends. We're reading the play, and Andy Rooney at his agent.

I mean, walked like one of those slow rockum-sockham robots across the room, walking out and just looking at us, shaking his head, going, no. No, at 15 minutes into the play, just walked out. It was hilarious. Charles Groton, one of the unfortunate things, well, for me, at least, I never knew if he was serious, being ironic, satirical, whatever. He had that delivery that you were never quite sure. I think your cohort, Woody, sort of has that.

He'll be, it's just, I want to, because it's Southern, you go, oh, is he dummy? He is. Oh, no, he's remarkable. Remarkably smart, but everything seems like a plea. It's like, ah, you know, everything, every time he talks, it sounds like he's a plea. It's like, understand what I'm saying. Did you get that at all? Yeah.

He's, he is one, he's, gentle. First off, I love him. So do I. But he's like, somebody called him a redneck hippie. And that's kind of, right. You know, it's kind of him. But he's also, I don't want to say intellectual, but he's smarter. He writes.

It's amazing. Some of his plays are amazing. His poetry's amazing. Right. He can write songs. He did that, and I didn't see it. Don't tell him. I know he's part of this podcast, but he's,

never listens. Well, he's fascinating today. Yeah. He did that live television broadcast film in London. Right. On the streets of a continuous live thing. I mean, he's really bright. He's really bright.

Yeah. But you don't know it. No. Until you think about it. Yeah. Yeah, it's a great guy. Great guy. I got to normal.

He is his drawbacks. But I don't want to know it, but I guess I do. All right, what do you want to know? Why am I here? Okay. First off, because when I try to talk to you at the events like the Emmys or something, you're so surrounded by other actors who want a piece of you. Seriously, because you worked with so many people and they're so happy to see you. It's very hard to do to make contact.

I'll agree with that, but yes, I have worked with so many. And as a character actor yourself described, Spice or whatever, you've worked with so many big stars. I don't think I'm on your radar, to be honest, because if you're going to go spice up something, you're going to pick a big star. That's kind of what you do. That's what it looks like to me. So to get a conversation going with you, because I do find you fascinating. This is the way to do it. We did not have to do this. Just call me for a cup of coffee. But see, that's not me.

I don't know. I don't hang out with guys. Thank you. Oh, I do. It's my favorite thing. Are you having a good time right now? Yes. I live for this. But they're paying me huge sums of money. No, they're not. I take that back.

Yeah, it's a podcast. I don't know what it is, but I've never been that, let's go have a beer together. I find guys relaxing, so relaxing to be around, but beside the point. So this is fun, but you're not my wife, Mary, so you're beside the point. Okay. And I had a wife who was a, she is a great person. And I'm talking to the microphone because she's an echo. wife, but she's great.

Yes. She's therapist now. She helps people for very little money. Thank you, Dana. But she did not like it either. She did not like Hollywood. When she first started out, I think she did. I think she saw all the tinsel and this is great.

And then just had enough. It got to the point where she could not turn entertainment tonight on TV. Just get it away. It's it was horrible. I don't want to say I live for it because I've grown up, but I used to. But I love actors.

I mean, when they say, there's no people like so people, there are no people like so people. We're not always the smartest, but we're fun and we have energy and we're playing. We're playing all the time. So we got kid energy. And I know the joke, the whatever phrase, the cliches, we're not curing cancer. I kind of disagree. I think what we put out in the world. laughter and all of that stuff is

immeasurably healthy and wonderful. All right. First of all, let me talk about my mom. I could be on stage and take a shit and my mother would go, is that the sweetest smelling piece of shit you ever smelled? That's my mom. I could do no wrong. So maybe I had to please her all the time like that

and would get on my nerves. Stop it. stop it because too much love. But come on, sweetheart, come on, give me more. Give me more. You had a daddy like mine that said, I read in the research on you that you once said that

that your dad was always, well, you know, is he any good? He'd ask everybody, is any good? Maybe you should get a degree in something and teach or something. Oh, no, I was pre-law and he wanted me to go to law school and business school to take over his place. Okay.

and he would ask. He wouldn't trust himself. He had to ask others. These were the words. Does he have it? What a father thing to say. Does he got it? Does he have it?

Like that. Not is he any good or anything. And I'm just gone. And the thing is, but at the time, okay, here's something about me is, again, I BSed. As an actor, I BS, I was big. I was, I would, but I became a much better actor.

after 20 years in the business. I deserve the career I have now because I really pulled the wall over people's eyes for about 20, 20, 30 years. Like it's been sitting a man about you? How would you describe what's different now? In a screen, you're giving a small amount of space to move and you've got to tell the truth.

Right. I didn't have to tell the truth. I was so enjoyable. I was just hitting the back of the theater. I was huge. I didn't know what. didn't mean a word of it. It's the true.

I just was big and fun and get it. And I was entertaining and I don't know. I pulled the wall. Now when I say a line, I sort of mean it. I'm better. I'm just better. I'm a decent actor.

I don't know who says maybe it was Sandy Meisder or something that it takes 20, 25 years to become an actor. Did you say that? To be a good actor. Yes. Wow. You start and it takes 20, 25 years. Okay, I'm going to tell you something.

And I did say this. What's the woman? out there? Paula. One thing about Mary, and I believe this in female actors and not necessarily male actors. Mary Steenbergin

cannot lie. When she acts, she tells the truth. There are other actors like, I think Michelle Pfeiffer is like that. I think, oh, Lori Metcalfe is like that. They cannot lie. I don't know how.

I don't think that of many actors. I'm entertained by them. I believe them. You know, Daniel Day... Daniel DeLewis is a whole different story because, you know, I'm Lincoln. I'm Lincoln. I'm Mr. President.

I, you know, my shoes are uncomfortable. I don't buy it. Tom Hardy. What? Tom Hardy's... Is he like that? Yeah, I think so. But he's great.

They're great. Unbelievable. No. He's great. Oh, I'm saying Tom Hardy, I believe. You believe every word. Yeah. But it's, okay.

That's interesting, though, that you don't say... Now, is that because you're a guy and you're overlaying that on guys? Could be. You may be overthinking it. I don't know why. It's just how I am. But Mary Steenberg is one of them. When she did Melvin and Howard.

Oh, that was, you know, when you're surprised when you see a movie, when a movie is that good and people are that good and Paul Lamatt, I did believe. And that, it just, that surprises me. And I remember that from Mary, so that when I worked with her, I was, agag, gag, gag, I I didn't know. I think that it's also writing, you know, I do think when the writing is really, really good. Oh, that's saved me. Oh, sure. If it's not good, part of you knows it and part of you goes, I better juice this up a little

bit. I agree. You know, and you know what the worst thing is is you go in for an audition. I don't know when the last time you had the audition or, but when you go in for an audition, you really don't want it because it's not good. good and you sabotage yourself because you're really not serving the words well and you end up giving a lousy audition. I think that's right. But then sometimes you're blessed. I'm blessed, you know, working for the Cohn brothers or doing what, you know, what I've been blessed to do.

And you get a, you, boy, in the good place, my God. Let me go back with you. Go ahead. Thank you. I agree. I thought the good place was amazing. Amazing. Okay, so we both kind of faked her way through school. We both discovered. I have this whole block of knowledge that I lied about when somebody says, you know, oh, you know, the O'Neill played da-da-da-da. And I go, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, as if I'd been in it or as if I'd read it a hundred times.

But I hadn't, but I knew it was something I should know. So I said, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. And so I had this whole dark hole in my knowledge that I started to believe I knew. but it's actually, I'm totally ignorant. Chicago, Second City is one of those blind spots I have because friends, George went. Sure. Lots of people you went there and I kind of understand it, but I really don't.

So can you walk, do you mind talking about? I'll explain Second City. Because wasn't that your entree into the world? It was my Harvard. It was my Harvard of acting. Fantastic. And you could say Harvard of comedy acting, but it wasn't. Okay. Second City formed in 1959 by real intellectuals at University of Chicago. And you just said the word Eisenhower and you were being inflammatory and incendiary. Oh my gosh. Like that. That's how political these guys were. They were. But they were really smart. The smartest of smarts. And wore their intelligence on their sleeves and sort of bragged about it through Second City. After a while, and there was a lot of Jewish intelligency. After a while. the Midwestern Goyasha, you know, Bill Murray and Belushi and other people got in there and then came Animal House and all of those.

And then came Saturday Night Live. Right. So you go on stage every night, not knowing what you're going to say for an hour. How did you get into it first? I mean, this is hard to get into, isn't it? How I got in? Yeah. is the lucky we all know and is timing and right place and stuff like that.

So I'll tell you, went to Northwestern with Julie Lui Dreyfus, Brad Hall, her husband, and they formed a company, Gary Kroger and Paul Barras, they formed a company called the Practical Theater Company. They got hired for Saturday Night Live. I lived in New York. I saw them. And they said, oh, you should go out and do a play in our theater. Yeah, I'll go on out.

we took three months and we wrote a small show called Mega Fun. It was great. We were supposed to go from March until June. We went until the following November. It was a huge hit. In Chicago. In Chicago. In a small space right next to Second City.

Okay. In order to get in Second City, you took classes, then you went on the road in the touring company. Then maybe they had that small space. So at 9 o'clock, some people who were in the club, classes, they got to do a show. Practical theater came in. They were the hit. They got sent to SNL. I went and did the show. Okay, getting back to it, the owner of Second City came opening night. Comes to me at the party and says, I want to meet you in my office tomorrow morning. Okay. Next morning, I go in there. He says, we want to make you part of Second City. I go, I don't improvise.

and he just said, you'll learn. A year and a half of being on stage every night. Now, we did sketches because, okay, here's what I say as an actor. In order to be a good actor, you don't need to improvise. But in order to be a good improviser, you must be a good actor. Yes. Okay? I was, I say a good actor.

I was entertaining. So I could make everything entertaining and real. He hires me a year and a half. half into improvising every night. Not going out there. I'm terrible. I'm terrible. And I just improvised in front of an audience.

Well, you got to become good. You're doing enough. And I was there four and a half years. And you go out every night and the audience tells you, you can do this. And we'll buy this. And I got better and better. Frank Golati, when I was at Northwestern, I said, I should go. This is pre?

Way, way, way, way. 10 years easily. He said, I said, I don't know whether to go into acting. Why don't you be a producer? Because your dad wants you to go into business and you want to be an actor. So be a producer. I go, no. Either want to be a star or I want to be rich and go into my dad's business.

So you said, well, you're not going to do anything until you're about 34. You're not, nobody's going to look at you until you're 34 because Hollywood doesn't want you. Most people, when they're 27, 28, 29 and they're just waiting tables, they say, this is bullshit. What am I doing? I want a house. I want kids. I want whatever I want. so they'll become a director, a writer, an agent, or a producer.

Okay? They leave the business around 27, 28 when, you know, I've cast off the wings and let me become a human being. I spent those years on stage getting paid. I was a paid actor. All of a sudden I'm out. I can't be a director. I can't be a producer. All I know is this, but I became better.

Then I came out here and I got work. But like I said, I got Vidaligo. I was terrified. Oh, really? I kind of, I was horrified when I got surreiser. So I guess I'm making light of it a little bit. Oh yeah. It became worse.

So you see, now here's, this is what's amazing. Amazing. There's nobody more successful than you and your career. Nobody. M.E. You could hold up your house with the MEs. You are great in every genre that you did that CSI or Law & Order or whatever you did. How you did that, I don't know.

know. Me either. I don't know. But is there anything further from Cheers than what that? You've got it all. And you're still nervous. You're still scratch because of the psoriasis because I'm so fucking nervous about the world and who I am and what I know.

But you have to be. You're supposed to be. Because otherwise you're writing on confidence that came from the last thing you did. And I think that you, I think you do this all. If you lived in this town. But I think you need to start at zero always as a creative soul. And not always, but most of the time you do that and I do that. And that's how you get to be.

Okay, that's self-congratulatory. But I think it is true. I don't say I always do it, but that's what you should be doing. You should be doing. Yes. But I talk about, I know what I can do. I do. In acting class, I tried playing brick.

because I wanted to play brick and cat on a hot tin roof. Why not? I'll never get to do it. Let me do it in acting class. But I might as well be in Porgy and Bess. I mean, it's just ridiculous. There you know what you can do. But being in front of an audience, oh my God, isn't it?

Isn't it wonderful? I mean, I did get my audience jollies a little bit from three camera. I mean, Cheers and Becker. I hate three camera now. I do too now. Terrified. Terrified. What are you talking about? Because that's theater-ish. I know. But you don't.

You don't make mistakes. No, you're right. You don't. And I hear the stories about cheers where you'd come in on Wednesdays and do it. When we used to rehearse Spin City, it took an hour to rehearse, but we only rehearsed for five minutes. We would screw around. That's what we would do. It was fun. Yeah. Oh, sitcoms are hilarious. They're great. They're great. They're great. but that you really have to go and do a play, in my opinion, because I really want to serve,

I really want to be in the moment of giving the laugh. But also you and I are different in our careers because you're the maypole. Things happened around you. The tall guy, yeah. Okay. I am the satellite character, and I could never be the maypole of a sitcom.

I can be the maypole of a drama, of an hour show, like a Columbo or whatever. Would Carol O'Connor have said the same thing that you just said until that wasn't true? I disagree with you about you. Because you got dark in you. You've got

anger in you. You've got all those things that... But not in half hour. Not in half hour. Carol O'Connor was half hour. It was four characters. And they didn't just... He was the lead, but they didn't revolve around him. But that's the best lead.

No, I'm talking about, no. Yes. Shears was about, not about me. It was about a little bit me and Diane, but it was everybody carried this show. Hey, you know what? I'm magnificent. I'm sorry.

I don't know why I'm trying to talk you around. There is a center. You were the bartender. Yes. You're in the center of the room. Yes. Everything revolved around you because you were the center of the bar. That's where you were.

Bob Newhart is more than Carol O'Connor, was shockingly good. But, you know, you get, and Judd Hirsch in the taxi was that guy too. It's shocking that he could be that guy. But he was the center. But in, you know, you get Mary Tyler Moore or even Tim Allen or all of those stuff. They're likable, white, pleasing people that satellite characters are around. And that's who I am.

And it's our job to get a laugh. every three lines so that nobody uses the remote control. That's what I believe. That's the hard part about three cameras. Yes. You must get the joke. Yeah. And I would literally ask on Spent City, I go,

do I have to get a laugh on this or can I say it like a human being? Yeah. I nowadays say I am so sorry. I just can't do jokes anymore. I'm really bad at it. It makes me sweat. Can we find a way to do this some other way? I've never said it like that, but you're right.

I can't do it. A rhythm joke, a reversal joke. Because I'm a better actor. I'm a better actor now. I understand exactly what you're saying. And I hate the four camera still. I do it. Did you see me do mid-century modern?

No, I haven't. Huge. The stage is my salad bar. I just chewed that scenery. I'm not big, enormous. and I sometimes use volume as humor. And there's nobody bigger. I was huge.

And I do it. I do it. And I got directed by Jimmy. That's the first time I was directed by Jim Burroughs, who I knew. He's a magnificent guy. He's my daddy, my show. Yeah, me too.

Show business daddy. Oh, bet. Yeah. You in Murders. I loved you this last season. Yeah. I think it was last season, right? Really, really good.

And that's an example of you, being dark or threatening to be dark or threatening to be dark. There were parts that I chose to actually, yes, be dark. Yeah. But those were specifically, but usually I got an iPad and, hey, come on in. Hey, you know, oh, but there was when I was down, in fact, the people who were directing it, who were great and they directed Little Miss Sunshine is the Ferris, the couple. So we're watching, it's a wonderful life.

and I was crying and everything. And I wanted to be dark. I wanted to not be the silly guy with the eye patch. And they didn't want it. They go through it. Okay, okay. But I really wanted to make it really deeper than it was. It's, you know, it was the thing with Griffin Dunn and us talking and being in class

and talking about who the, what's a wonderful life is. and they asked, they subtly said, we know what you want to do. No, no, not where we're going. And I was fine with that. I did it, but I wanted to take those moments and make it deeper. Do you write?

Never. Do you direct? I wouldn't dare. I'm afraid of giving mine readings. No. You and I have the same. I just love to ask. That's what I do.

Yeah. It's what I do. If not, let me go sell jewelry, which my dad, no, this is all I do. Let me do a podcast. And everybody thinks, everybody thinks I'd be a great writer. And I'm telling you, they think I'm a good poker player. They think I'm a good golfer.

I'm not. This is what I do. I act. That's what I do. I'll give you the great example. You need to have a director, somebody, a writer, write you something where you're like the scarlet pimpernel. You're out of left field and yet you destroy the world.

I beg for it. Um, Malaney, because you had a mom. Yeah. God, he's a rock star. Woof.

Rock star. Go on. Well, we could take another hour talking about, about, about, with the gifts that he has.

People love me on the show. Yes, they do. I don't know what I'm doing. That's golf. That's like, I hear I'm good. Now,

I'm going to tell you what I do best on the show. And you can see how much I talk. I keep my mouth shut because I'm an opinionated man and all my opinions are right and I keep my mouth shut. So I let other people talk. What I can do is if the conversation's going and it's sort of a little too like there's nobody to say, hey, okay, enough about that. I can ask a question that can lead us somewhere else. I can help John. Yes, you can shape. Yes, I can help. That's what I can do. I ask one question per guest. I make sure that I ask one question for guest,

but I'll tell you, there was an episode that Conan was on. And I really wanted to ask this question, because I think it's pretty interesting. But again, I think all my questions are interesting. But I started talking. I said, but can I ask, can I say, and Conan as a comic bit went, who are you? What are you doing talking? Richard, you know you're over there by the podium. What are you doing talking? And although it sounds like it's mean, he was very, very, good because he knows me. He's a friend and he knows that I can take that joke and so he used me as a comic for it was not insulting at all.

But my question was they were talking about dinosaurs and how do these people at the museums know that dinosaurs are real or that they look like that or how many years? And what I want to know is, and John, the two of them sort of doubted these scientists. And I go, at what age do you get the confidence to doubt scientists at a museum. Is that part of what makes you so good at what you do?

Because they're so insightful that they can make these observations. And I'm not that guy. I'm not that insightful. Those guys are. They're brilliant. But what a lot of nerve to say, did you see the episode? No, and I'm wondering what the response was. I didn't get to ask the question because Conan made fun of me and my position and said,

and so I didn't get to ask the question. See, but that's, the things he's missed out on by thinking he needs to. Fuck, Conan, I know. That is. But isn't that a good question? Yes, it is. I wanted to know about them and not about dinosaurs. Yeah, because I thought it was a good question.

But that's a good question because my father was a scientist. We had dinosaurs in the museum, you know. Right. So, and I believe your father. But I'm somebody who blindly believes teachers, doctors, and cops. Yeah, me too. I've grown up, though. to and I don't know if I think it's probably a better way to go in life and science evolves absolutely

exactly what's going on in this world what's going on in this world oh please don't get me started but that's who I am now I have grown up a little bit I see where cops can be bad I see certainly where teachers here's something that was interesting do you know that was that your foot no okay do you know do you know what the number one job of a congressman what okay some people could be lawyers or doctors or whatever and then they run for congress in their in their town or in their district do you know what used to be the number one job of a congressman before he became a congressman what undertaker whof because everybody knew the undertaker in town right so he ran for congress isn't that wild yeah i know now they're lawyers and

everybody and you go out and you become a career politician. Congressmen are not smart. Can be, could be. I've gone to through creative coalition. Okay, maybe they're getting smarter, but I've gone and we've interviewed and we've talked to them about arts and trying to get money for education and the arts and education. They're just downright dumb.

I mean, a guy from, you know, oh, I'm. I'm at Katie Seagal once. Oh, she's a pistol. Do you know who you're talking to? We're coming here to appeal to you for money for the arts. Whoa, you know, my daughters, they all, they're all ballerinas. Their mother wants them so, so they get it. But I can't give money to the arts.

Your children are artists now because you're wealthy, but you can't give money for other people to have arts in their school. Yeah. Those are congressmen. And grades in things they care about, supposedly math and go up. Exactly. Because it teaches a way of thinking. They teach a way. Playing an instrument or reading music, it teaches a way of thinking and a way that your mind can work.

Or playing a sport can do the same thing. I didn't know that. No, it's true. I mean, the sense of being good at something and discipline rubs off. It rubs off on your other. I believe that. They stand taller and. get confidence. I don't think of that in sports because sports always gets money, but the arts do

not. So I fight for the arts. So that's what it is. Yeah. I've done a lot of, in my day, testifying in front of Congress or walking the halls with my Oceania friends talking about oceans. Sure. But I've learned early on that especially senators that were the senators, the senator and I posed for pictures, shoot the shit about nothing, but, you know, we're charming to each other. Meanwhile, though, the staff, his staff, you know, or her staff, and Oceana's staff are in the back room talking real stuff.

So I've kind of learned that the staff can be really smart and advise the senator or a congressperson. So you want your staff to be in connection. That's very interesting. Yeah. That's like they say, nurses really know more than doctors sometimes. That they know how to insert this or do whatever. They know the deal.

You're right about that. The staff is very important. I agree with that. I once sat next to, I sat with a speechwriter, and I said, why do you never run for office? He goes, you can't get anything done that way. There are other ways to impact the country. The minute they're elected, the next day they've got to go out in campaign.

For huge sums of money. Of course, in order to retain their job and, of course, do good work, they hope. But they got to start campaigning. That and I have these little pithy things is when the congressmen or senators could go fly home for the weekend. They used to have to stick around and stay in town and live in Arlington or wherever they lived. And they would have to interact. Republicans and Democrats used to have to go to their little league

and coach their sons. Now their little league is back in, you know, Montpelier or wherever you're going. And can you believe that's the first state capital I could think of as Montpelier? But then they, so now they only see each other at work. They never saw each other as human beings. I believe people want unity.

I do too. I really do. I 100% do. And it still leaves me with the question, so what do I do? You know? Have you read any of Project 2025? No, but I've heard so many people talk about it. But yes, I mean, we're doing it.

This is really an incendiary word, but it is a battle plan, and they're succeeding. faster than we could ever, ever have imagined. See, that was the bad thing, is that, oh, democracy is going to be, you know, when Harris was running, democracy is in peril and everything. They were words. They were the same words you used to read when you were in college that just went by, democracy and power. Today, democracy is in peril.

Oh, my God, look what's going on. Democracy is in peril. All of a sudden, I understand what this book is saying. So that's what we have to realize. and how far do we go and how far are the courts letting us go? And some of the courts don't mind Project 2025. That's the thing is that like when Reagan was in office,

Reagan's, we didn't agree with anything he was saying, but he did. And he worked hard for our country because he thought this was best. I think things are happening now that some people think are best, but the great majority do not think. her best. And that's what's scary for me. You know what I mean? I believe our country. I believe our

country's great. Still great. Well, my, I also think I want to, instead of MAGA, I want to say, Ma, make America America again. Okay. Ma, I need help. Make America America again. Because I think we're going away from, from America, from what we were told to believe, you know, that the tortoise wins the race. George Washington could not tell a lie. no, they, you can tell lies, you can get away with it. The hair, the rabbit's winning. That's not what I was raised to believe. And that's what's going on.

It's weird. It's really weird. He's just something really sad. This is really sad. I don't know whether I entirely believe this. But when I read an obituary about somebody who I know or somebody's father passes away ago, well, at least they don't have to deal with America today. Isn't that a very sad, sad thing?

I don't know whether I truly, but there's a part of me that says, well, look at them. They're lucky right now. They don't have to deal with it. Yeah, it's a very sad thing to say. Yep, but I can't. But there's hope. Yeah, yeah, I mean, I think the press, the news, the internet, da-da-da-da-da, it thrives on conflict. That's how we keep people tuning it.

It's true. And there is genuine, everything you just said is true. There are other things that you know and you can point to where you go, oh, my God, the humanity in that moment. Oh, my God, this is such a creative solution to a big problem. Or look at these people who are caring, loving kind, taking care of others, or inventing something that really is making things better kind of thing. Those things are taking place. Really? Yeah.

I think they could. just don't hope that they're suppressed. I don't know that this is going to change overnight. What's happening? I don't know if that's going to happen. Hey, you know what? What? I'm sure that I miss a lot with my rose tinted glasses. Yeah, you're probably under. Be too. Me too. I do. But that's how I have to live. I don't like my, I don't like being, my body being angry. I can't, I don't do well with that. So I keep looking for. Yeah, but you might be the enemy in a weird way.

Because I'm going, oh, everything will be all right. It will be fine. Do you believe now, they always say the late 60s were the most difficult time for our country. The Civil War was a difficult time for a country. Do you think those eras were worse than they are today? I don't know. I mean, if you're in the middle of World War II, I don't think anything could have seemed. worse than that. Right, sure.

You know? Sure. When this country was conceived, talking to talking to Ken Burns on the show I show, whatever this, talking to Ken Burns, whatever this thing is, he was pointing out how

during the Revolutionary, the Royals were, you know, everyone was killing each other in the middle of our civil, you know, Revolution. Wow. You know, it was, it was horrible and bloody and angry and I mean, it is, I don't know.

This can't, it has to be like, oh, you want to test your humanity and your love of your fellow human being and you want to get things done. You want to see how good you are at this or you want to see when you're challenged, how you survive or do things. What a great time. You have to look at, all right, this sucks. But what am I going to do? What, what, oh good. I have to work harder. Oh, good.

I have to try harder. I have to give up being righteous or I have to do something to make things better. Even if you don't, because at the end of it, my little go-to make myself happy, ironically is, and then you die, Ted. So fucking go for it. That's what I just said about, you know, you look at that person and go, well, they don't have to do it. Let's do it. Let's, let's, and then you die. Yeah.

And then there's the question of what happens then. But, you know, I don't know. That's fun. That'll be fun. Yeah, okay. You think. Wait, wait. Now, hold on.

I've taken you. What did you want to ask me other than what we've been like about? I love, no, I want to know what makes you take and makes you feel good in the morning. I want to know all that stuff is why I'm enjoying talking to you. Okay. Truly.

Good. Okay. It's like. I think you should make calls for calling. I go out with my friends, my Republican friends. friend with two other guys like me and they just say, Richard, shut up. This is what he thinks you're not going to change him. So we go and we talk.

We don't talk politics, but we'll talk about women or we'll talk about the movies or whatever we talk about. And all of a sudden, and especially in New York where you can't go play golf, what do you do? You sit around and you jibber jab over coffee and you talk about things. That's what you're doing here. And you're getting paid for it. And you get to invite people who you wouldn't normally see, especially you who don't ask for coffee. I love this.

If I weren't here, I'd be, I'm staying with my friend Spencer. I would be having a cup of coffee with him talking about this too. I know, I know. There's just another conversation that I want to continue tomorrow. That's what I do. I like this. Hey, if you find that guy, girl, lady, man, whatever, who is that description of somebody you and I should sit down and There's lots of the, oh, listen to.

No, I listen to. Let's agree to come back here and do it. There's another microphone. Oh, over there. How about Arnold? I'd love to. I would too. Arnold's, I would total respect for him, and he doesn't believe, like, everything we do.

No. No, but I think he's a good human being. Yeah, he is. Okay. Okay, you want to hear how opinionated I am? I used to have my finger on. on the pulse of what I used to read the TV guide when I was a kid.

Me too. I read it like a book. I knew everything. I said, this show's going to be. This is good. This is good. I found a couple of ways where I was not just wrong. These are hilarious wrong.

Farrah Fawcett had a poster with the, you remember that? Yeah, famous. Arnold Schwarzenegger, when he was before he was a star, before he was anything, but when he was a bodybuilder said, I will have a post. and my poster will be bigger than Farah Fawcett's. And I just said, you stupid muscle-bound foreigner. You are an idiot. I was wrong.

Yeah. Another one was, I was the first person, in quotes, well, you can see on camera, to win a million dollars on who wants to be a millionaire. Well done. Paul Lasseter on Spin City. Because it was an ABC show, my character went

and I was the first person. Nobody knew that the money came down and the confetti all came. Paul Lasseter was the first person to ever win a million dollars. It's a hilarious episode. I'm really good in it. I'm really funny.

But everybody, people on the crew had husbands or wives who were working on the show on cameras and everything. They go, how is it? I go, it's terrible. It's an hour of questions. Maybe you get six questions

every half hour. Go watch Jeopardy. You get 30 before. the commercial. It's terrible. I was wrong. The third one, and this is, I don't know whether you can really understand this, but there are golfers who will. I was staying at the Hilton in Vegas, and I wanted to play a golf course. So they had a reciprocity with the Vegas golf club. So I go over there, and I'm a single, and they go, do you mind playing with the, you'll know how long ago this was, with the Callaway Representative,

West Coast Callaway Emeritus. He drives up in a Rolls-Royce golf cart. He brings out a golf club. I go, what is that? He goes, this is called a Big Bertha. It's made of titanium. I don't know what Big Bertha was. I certainly didn't know what titanium was.

So this is years ago. And he hits the ball and it makes this sound. And he goes, would you like to try it? And I go, yeah, I hit the ball great. I go, this is fantastic. My father's a golf. This was in January. I go, this is fantastic.

Where do you get these? It goes, well, it's coming out this April. I go, my dad's birthdays in May. Maybe I'll buy one for him. How much will it go for it? This is years ago. He goes $500. I go, Mr.

You're not going to sell one. I was wrong. It changed the golf industry. Everybody had the oversized. I'm so stupid and so confident, don't only I'm right. So we'll talk to Arnold Schwarzenegger and we'll say, we're right.

But we'll listen to you, if you got something. You're so much fun to talk to you. You're a blast. You're a blast. This is the only way we get together. Let's do it regularly. I'm going to, okay, here's the compliment, is that I have such respect for your career,

not your acting, your career. That's something, that's something because people think that they're bad. This is a war. You must outlast the war. You must be alive at the end. In spade you are and you're great at what you do. and your kind and you're good. And I was really nervous to talk to you.

I was here on time. I was here early. I'm never early. That's how much respect I have for you. I didn't shave, but I have a lot of respect. And I just think you're great. I think you're such a wonderful man.

You know, we do edit things. So we'll put this at the head. And the head. So you find out how I've been affected. No, I just, I had such a nice time being here with you. Me too, you. Oh, golly. Yeah.

Yeah. I don't know why I don't just call Richard Kind and have a cup of coffee with them. I don't. That's who I am. So this was a treat for me to hang out with them like that. That's all for our show this week. Special thanks to our friends at Team Coco. If you enjoy this episode, send it to someone you love.

Subscribe on your favorite podcast app and maybe give us a great rating and review on Apple Podcasts if you're in the mood. If you like watching your podcasts, all our full-length episodes, on YouTube, visit YouTube.com slash Team Coco. See you next time, where everybody knows your name. You've been listening to

where everybody knows your name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson sometimes. The show is produced by me, Nick Leow, our executive producers are Adam Sacks, Jeff Ross, and myself. Sarah Federovich is our supervising producer, engineering and mixing by Joanna Samuel with support from Eduardo Perez. Research by Alyssa Graal, talent booking by Paula Davis and Gina Batista.

Our theme music is by Woody Harrelson, Anthony Yen, Mary Steenbergin, and John Osborne.