Whiskey Ginger with Andrew Santino - Alfonso Ribeiro

Episode Date: December 24, 2021

Santino sits down with Alfonso Ribeiro to chat shedding the Carlton label from Fresh Prince of Bel Air, the history of great characters on TV, , having a Dad manage his career going up in Los Angeles and he schools us about residuals in TV and wild and wonderful world of Hollywood. COME SEE ME ON TOUR!!! https://www.andrewsantino.com ORDER SOME MERCH!!! https://www.andrewsantinostore.com Join our Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/whiskeygingerpodcast SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! DRAFT KINGS Bet like a king http://www.draftkings.com Promo code WHISKEY WARBY PARKER Get high quality eyewear at an affordable price Try 5 pairs of glasses for Free http://warbyparker.com/whiskey BETTERHELP Its not a crisis line or self help, it's professional counseling done securly online https://betterhelp.com/whiskey GET 10% OFF your fist month MANSCAPED Clean up your body, face and balls Get 20% OFF plus free shipping!! https://www.manscaped.com code WHISKEY20 AMAZON MUSIC Stream unlimited music, podcasts and much more offline too!!! 3 MONTHS FREE!!! https://www.amazon.com/wg Follow Santino on Insta and Twitter: https://www.instagram.com/cheetosantino/ https://twitter.com/CheetoSantino Whiskey Ginger Insta and Twitter: https://www.instagram.com/whiskeygingerpodcast/ & https://twitter.com/whiskeyginger_ Whiskey Ginger Clips: http://www.youtube.com/c/WhiskeyGingerPodcastClips Produced and edited by Joe Faria Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What up, Whiskey Ginger fans? Welcome back to the show. Merry, Merry Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas Eve, you guys. We got a good one for you today. My man, Alfonso Ribeiro, is on the show. You might know him as Carlton from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, or you might know him as Alfonso, the host of AFV now. I love this dude. He's incredible. A good buddy.

A great golf partner. Incredible. The guy's a stick. He's a stick. He can hit it. Some say better than anybody. He's awesome. A great dude. He's a stick. He can hit it. Some say better than anybody. He's awesome. A great dude. I'm happy to have him on the show. I am so excited that for New Year's Eve, I'm going to be coming to Phoenix.

Phoenix, I'm going to be there. I'm doing five shows. I'm doing the night before New Year's Eve, Eve, Eve, and New Year's Day. Go to andresantino.com for those tickets. andresantino.com for the tickets andrewsantino.com for the tickets and then in the new year i'm everywhere kansas city st louis chicago baby chicago theater albany uh washington dc atlanta portland seattle vancouver foxwoods we're just adding dates as we go and vegas ends the tour i think or we might add some more day to knows but andrewsantino.com is where you get those tickets. andrewsantino.com.

Enough rambling from the old ginger freak. Let's go to the episode. In here, we pour whiskey, whiskey, whiskey, whiskey, whiskey. You're that creature in the ginger beard. Sturdy and ginger. Like vampires, the ginger gene is a curse. Gingers are beautiful. You owe me $5 for the whiskey and $75 for the horse.

Gingers are hell no. This whiskey is excellent. Ginger. I like gingers. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Whiskey Ginger. My guest today is one of my favorite people on earth. I say that for all my guests, but I mean it once again today. It's my man, Alfonso Ribeiro.

How are you doing? I have to say it with that accent, don't I? You do sometimes. You do. Alfonso Ribeiro. How are you doing? I have to say it with that accent, don't I? You do sometimes. You do. Alfonso Ribeiro. Ribeiro. Right? It works.

How often do people say it incorrectly? Every other day. Every other day. Most of the time, actually, people get it wrong. They just can't get the... The last name really gets them. Because the E and the I after the B and the... What do they say?

It's the Ribeiro, Roberto. They'll add like letters that aren't even in there, right? And you're like, wait a minute, there's no T. And it just, it's like, I think it's one of those things where people are so used to just having to just be able to see a name and know it, right, in America that they don't actually look at the name. Correct.

And then they don't recognize that there are other cultures. Right. That have like, it isn't E before I after C. Right. Or I before E after C, no matter what. Right.

It's, it's, it's the, the, the, the, the Latin and the Spanish. Well,

they, they mix it up a little bit. Right. So there's the, you know, the E I R is air. it up a little bit. Right. So there's the E-I-R is air. Ribeiro. Ribeiro.

Ribeiro. But you can add, you know, if you get a little funky with it, you can add a little roll of the R, ribeiro. Ribeiro. Now, it's actually a very popular name in Brazil. Oh, really? Right? Because you're not Brazilian. I'm not, but it's Portuguese.

So I'm Portuguese. name in brazil oh really right so because you're not brazilian i'm not but it's but it's portuguese so i'm portuguese um so the in in in in brazil it's hebedo because r is actually right the the h sound so it's you know all over the world people you know whatever what listen just call me alfonso it's real easy but like when i was a kid, they would always say Santiago or Santini because you know the great Santini. Yes, right. But it's, oh, Santino. It's unmistakably easy to pronounce. It's the letters is the words. Exactly.

It's that S-A-N-T-I-N-O. Right. But still teachers would be like, Santiago? And I'm like, impossible. It's impossible to mess this up. How do you get that? Right there. It's right in front of you.

My agent's name is actually Santini. Santini. Yes. Yeah. See, what's funny is, and I've talked about this i think on the show before but santino was my great-grandfather's first name it's a common first name in italy sunny right you know sunny and godfather santino corleone right i don't we don't know our last name now whether that was because we we'd gotten trouble and we had to leave because i'm like that happens i was like why did we lose the last name but nobody nobody knows and my grandpa both my great-grandfather my grandpa are both gone so we don't really know and my dad doesn't really know unless unless he does he knows and he's like we're just gonna we're we don't talk about it yeah we're we don't talk about it

well i think i think what it was the mistake, you know, when you fill out papers, when you immigrate, it says surname. And how many of these guys didn't speak English? Right. But they see name or nombre or name or something close to the word name of Spanish, Latin. And they just write down. And they think first name. Right.

That's probably what I think happened. And then it got down the numbers line and da, da, da, da, da, whatever. How are we going to change it after that? I know. And he probably killed somebody. Listen, how about we just go with, I like the other story. The first one's good. Where you don't come from a line of murderers.

Well, let me say this. I do come from, my grandfather's crew of friends were, you know, and he did run numbers for the mob when he was young. That was like a story I've told before. Right. But his crew of friends was guys with nicknames.ames and once i learned like joe the hat right and and and uh nicky knuckle like all this all these jokey names i thought as a kid were like fantasy it's like tv right but it was real right that was their names that was everybody knew them as that right they were never

going to be known as anything other than that right Right. So then I got older and I was like, oh, right. They were obviously affiliated. Well, growing up in New York, most of my friends were Italian. Yeah. You're the Bronx too, right? In the Bronx, right. And then later in life, once I became an adult, really all of my guys are from Rhode Island. are from Rhode Island.

So, you know, Federal Hill in Rhode Island and the whole world I became very, very accustomed to and like lived in that. A lot of sanitation and construction? A lot of construction, some car dealerships, you know,

but it was really that whole world I spent a lot of time in in my younger years. So I know it very well. I know a lot of those guys. I younger years. So I know it very well. I know a lot of those guys. I know guys that you were like, hey, if I need something, I could call. And then you go, yeah, but I'm never going to need anything. I'm never going to need that.

Because once you're in, you're in. I'm never going to need that. Yeah, you don't need. Tony Pickles will get you all. Whatever you need. Whatever you need. Al, you need it. Tony Pickles has got you.

There was a guy here, even in L.A., did i did a couple favors for yeah right and it was one of those realities where it was like hey listen you've taken care of the family you need anything we're gonna make sure you're okay no matter what happens we got you and i would be like cool thank you never calling him yeah i'm never i'm never Delete that number now. Block that number. No, we're not doing this. Babe, we have to move. Babe, we're moving. Now we're moving.

We moved to Granada Hills. Yeah, we're moving now as far away as we can. Yeah, we're no longer in LA. We're going to go north. How long were you in the Bronx as a kid? I was really only in the Bronx for 12 years, right? So actually less than 12 because I was born in Harlem. So lived in Manhattan and Harlem.

Moved to the Bronx when I was five, four or five right there. And then lived there until 12 when I moved to California to work. Right. So I was doing a Broadway show, Tap Dance Kid in New York at the time. And so I ended up getting Silver Spoons and that brought me out here. To California. And then you never went back. And then never.

Like the house was there for a while and then my dad was still there and my dad was actually a correctional officer so he was at sing sing um so like he stayed back for a year while my mom and my brothers and i came out here and lived and worked and then eventually he was like all right i'll let go of the force and come out here and he became a manager but but like it's that thing where even though my formative years were not actually in new york it's still it's home it's home it's always gonna be like i i will get in a car if i go to new york every once in a while i'll get in a car and i'll drive up to riverdale and i'll go hey that's that's my house is where i grew up i remember playing we used to do this thing in the living room where we took a sock

and took two socks and we would tie it into a knot and then put the top over it and that became a ball. And we played handball in the living room. But it was with a sock so you couldn't break anything. That's really smart. Right? We definitely broke stuff in my house. Well, it came out of necessity because we broke so many things.

You break some shit again. Break it out of us. You some shit again listen you are you were sleeping outside tonight yeah um so we came up with that and we would play handball in the living room and it's like i just remember those days of growing up and being in that house and it's just it's always it's like i guess it's it's like how you when you look at it you think it's just great memories it's fond how you, when you look at it, you think it's just great memories. It's fond memories. You just have that connection that never goes. And then it's like, how do I claim being from California? Well, because what you said before was interesting. People say my formative years, you know, like I grew up in downtown Chicago with me and my mother.

And then when she met my stepfather and she remarried and she had my sister, we moved to the Burbs. Right. But kids are always like, oh, you never lived in the city. Your formative years weren't in the city. But half of my life in Chicago was in the city. Right. And the other half was in the suburbs. I was only there for 17 years. Right. So it wasn't that many years. There's only one way to look at it. Right. So when people are like, oh, you're from the Burbs, like, yes, we're in a high school for sure. Right. But as a kid, I have this really strong, you know, my wife always says, my connection and nostalgia is, do you have a strong connection and nostalgia? Absolutely, yes. Mine's creepy. Like when I go by my old building, when I go by like 2310 North LaSalle or 1111 Dearborn, when I walk by them, when I go back to Chicago, it feels so deep.

Yes. And when I go back to my house, my high school house, it's not the same. Right. So it's odd that people call it, you know, you're like, oh, well, you're formative years later. For some reason, the most deep and vivid and probably like burned in memories for me were the sock in the living room. Absolutely. By far, right? Absolutely.

Like 448, 258th Street. My production company is 258th Street Productions. Because of it. Like that's because that is like, that's where it began. Right. Right. And so I look at even my career, right? I started at eight.

So I became famous at 12, right? So that was when it began for me. Right. So my production company is about where it began for me, not Gardner in Melrose, right off of Melrose. That ain't the address, right? It wasn't the Oakwood over here off of Woodman that used to be before you even moved here. It's that kind of thing where literally those years for me were everything. moved here it's that kind of thing where like literally those years for me were everything it just it created the the the path that i that my life took was all based right in that house

and so it'll always be yeah real home for me did you live in oakwood i did you did yes for people that don't know this is very this is a great moment it's been spoken about on tv shows and film before loved love judd put it in love, but he called it something else. But there is an apartment complex right off the freeway on the way down into the valley. What was it called? Well, there's Ava now. Ava, that's what it's called. And that's the one off of on Barham.

Barham, yeah. So there was several Oakwoods. Oh, really? Yeah, so there was an Oakwood there. But that was the main Oakwood. So that's the one where most of the people who came to California, who was trying to be in entertainment,

they stayed at that Oakwood. Right. There was another one off of Woodman. Oh, right, right, right. I do know this. Just south of the freeway. So between there and Ventura. That's the Oakwood that I lived at. I lived there for for almost a year did you get to pick was it kind of like one of those things where when see i was i never understood this because kid acting was never in my world um but i'd always heard about it but did the families move there because the studios say

hey you should go live here it's it's cheaper they gave you the they they had a discount ah right so the studios like a marriott like a like. Yeah. So it was like, hey, you know what? We have a hookup here at the Oakwoods. You should probably go stay there. For us, the other Oakwood was way bigger. Oh, right. So I didn't understand why anybody would choose that one. Because it's huge. It was like way bigger.

Yeah. Like the apartment size, the two bedrooms were like a solid old school apartment, whatever. A real apartment. Yes. Not this like, hey, hi, how are you? I know we're in two separate rooms, but- But we're not. But we're really here.

But I see you right now. I see everything that you're doing. Yeah. And then when you got out of there, what was your first apartment in LA? Well, then we moved out of there. We bought a house. Okay. And my family bought a house in Northridge.

So we went further away. And then essentially when I turned 18 and I started Fresh Prince. So I was like- Never heard of it. Is it a popular show? Yeah. It was a little thing that like- The tiny show?

You know, big ears. And then he had a show. Smythe? Yeah. Bill Smythe? Smith. Smith. Bill Smith.

Yeah. I think it's Smith. Smith. Yeah. Smith. it's pinkett now um it's pinkett smith now it is um mr pinkett but uh i i moved out when i did the show because i it was like you're grown yeah i was a grown-up i was working on a show i was like it's time for me to you know go and have my own space and you know the reality was like the cast would go out at night and I'd be like um I need two hours they'd be like why you need two

hours I gotta drive home and then I gotta change my clothes and come back to go to dinner and it'd be like why am I driving all the way to Northridge to go to dinner when I'm literally here already so then at one point I started just bringing clothes. Right? And just having an extra set of clothes in my dressing room.

And then it'd be like, oh, we can go have dinner. And then I went, you know what, dude? Yeah. You grown. Yeah. You're making some pretty good money. Right? Kind of hard to bring girls back to your parents' house as an adult.

I went, yeah, guys. So I moved right over here in Toluca Lake. Oh, you did? Okay. So that's what kind of brought me to this area. Right. And then a year later, I bought my first house, which was up off of Borum. Right.

So I overlooked the back lot of Universal Studios. Oh, wow. Is that where you guys shot? Where did you guys shoot the show? We shot three different spots. Not Universal. We shot at KTLA. Right.

Which is now like the Netflix- Correct, yeah. Studio. Yeah. We were at Sunset Gower. Been there. And then we went to NBC Studios. Okay.

Which is now the Burbank Studios. Yeah, Burbank, yeah. Which is weird because the Burbank Studios is now Warner Brothers. Yeah, that's such a trip. So it all changed through the years. CBS Radford might be the only one that never was touched. That's the only one that's still kind of the same.

The original. Yeah. That was Seinfeld, right? Seinfeld was CBS Radford? Seinfeld did Radford. That was there. A Different World was there. Right.

I mean, everything has been there. Look, I know this is a long time out of your past, but do you ever, is there ever a moment when you go back past a stage that you shot at that hits you a little bit? Do you ever feel it anymore or no? A little bit. Sometimes.

A little bit, yeah. The special ones, right? So when i did silver spoons i did silver spoons at uh universal and stage 44 was that stage right that if i go to the lot and i get to go in the back lot and i drive if i'm in my car i'll make a little detour if i'm going to a meeting or something yeah to drive past 44 because um like we played football in in there's a there's like a big driveway runway uh there that we you throw the football around and we we it was um i just did this thing um for you know live in front

of a studio audience with the norman lear with jimmel did. And I did commercials for it and it was different strokes. Who's the boss on one stage. It was facts of life and silver spoons on the other side. And they would flip the audience. So they literally, the audience would, it was three sections and they would just turn it around and it would be set up for the other show.

Right. So we would shoot on Thursday, Friday and Facts of Life shot on Monday, Tuesday. And the same thing was for Different Strokes. So it was really kind of, that's kind of the only stages that really like bring that memory back. Sure. Right. That was such powerful television. That's insane to think of how huge those shows were.

I mean, they were, that was that. I think the, the, the prime of sitcom television television. Yeah. Right.

Like, I mean, you could go all the way back to, you know, the Jeffersons and, and all in the family and all of that, but it, but it grew into the eighties.

I think in the eighties and the nineties, that, that, that 15 to 20 year chunk of when television became must-see tv must-watch appointment viewing literally what i you know like what i grew up with it was so big there wasn't one person on earth that didn't know about it and now there's people that tell me about shows and i'm like i've never heard of that and they're like they're on their eighth season yes like what i have no idea of that. And they're like, they're on their eighth season. I'm like,

what? I have no idea what that is. But that's also because how television has changed, right? Totally. Like television now is, um, 150,000 stations. Yeah.

Right. It's never ending. When I was doing Silver Spoons, there was three. ABC, NBC, CBS. That's it.

Yeah. It's wild. Right. So during Fresh Prince is when Fox came into play. Right. Right? And then you had WB and UPN. CW.

Which turned into the CW, right? That's kind of how it grew. But back then, it was three stations. That was it. So that's it. That's what you got. If you're going to watch TV, those were your stations. And eventually, HBO came in, but that was cable, and you had to pay for that.

The average everyday person, they were just watching those three channels. Yeah. And that was it. I always laugh about the numbers and ratings of shows today. Right. Because Silver Spoons used to get a 27 rating. Dude, explain. For people that don't know what that means,

that's so funny. Like, you get to stay on the air forever. Ever. Right now. If you pull a two, you have won. Yeah, you beat the system. You are going to stay on the air

and make a lot of money if you make a two. 27? 27. That's, I mean, it's not even fathom. That's almost like the way that my dad used to talk about how Carson was like, if somebody was on Carson, there wasn't a human breathing that didn't see or know who that human was the next day. Absolutely. It was day. Absolutely. It was like. Absolutely.

Every human who walked the earth was like, do you see that guy? You seen Carson last night? Everybody. Watch Carson? If you were able to stay up late enough to watch Carson, and I was at the end of his run, I was able to stay up late enough. Like, there was nothing bigger than Carson. Right. Right. But that transition became of late night TV and fandom is what I think led to this love for the sitcom world of characters. And look, building great characters was part of that world. I'm not saying they don't do it now They don't, they, listen. Today's television is not, it's the structure of the way in which they build them. They're not real people.

Right. They're caricatures of people. Right. They're an idea, not a person. Like you don't, like tell me somebody that's on TV right now that you go, yeah, I know that guy in real life. That's tough because I don't really watch a lot of, I mean, I know that sounds corny, but like, I can't name a show that I'm TV right now that you go, yeah, I know that guy in real life. That's tough. Cause I don't really watch a lot of, I mean, I know that sounds corny, but like, I can't name a show that I'm watching right now. Because those people don't really exist.

Yeah. Because they don't connect to you. Yeah. Right. There is, in my opinion, and don't, you know, don't get me wrong. It's still, there's wonderful shows on television, but they're not real life. Back then, it was dealing with real stuff that was going on in the world, but they did it through comedy. Right. Like, today, All in the Family would be a bad show. Oh, yeah.

I mean, they would get clipped. Right? I mean, yeah, they'd be in. Like, it wouldn't exist, but they were dealing with topics that nobody dealt with. Right. Now, when they deal with topics that nobody's dealt with, you can't air them on regular television. Right, they're scared to talk.

Well, I mean, it's funny about All in the Family. People, I love that show. The idea of race and class was, I mean, the Jeffersons did the exact same thing. It was so real and so honest, but done with so much heart and soul. There was never a moment where it felt contrived. And unfortunately, just one dumb orange man's opinion, I just think a lot of times when they do heart on TV about a real issue, it feels contrived.

It feels trite or fake, and you're like, you're not really saying, I think, what you want to say because you're scared someone's going to get pissed off. Absolutely. Well, I mean, as you know, as a comedian, you can't do comedy anymore. You can do comedy, and you have to be present enough with your – you have to be comfortable enough with what you're doing to not care when they get upset about what you're going to do.

Which means you can't do comedy. No, see, I'm telling you. In my opinion, right? Well, here's what it is to me. I'll say this for me because I have to defend this side of it is, you can say whatever you want to say. There's an idea out there that's like, you can't say what you want. You can say anything you want to say. You either have to be famous enough or built strong enough where you're confident in what you're putting out that you don't care that the backlash is going to come.

Because it is going to come. Right. You just have to be strong enough to push through it. And I hear you. But that to me is you can't do it. I know what you mean. So what you're saying is- I backlash is going to come. Because it is going to come. Right. You just have to be strong enough to push through it. And I hear you. But that to me is you can't do it. I know what you mean. So what you're saying is. I know what you're saying.

Right. You're saying that, yes, absolutely, you can do anything you want to do. It's your stage. It's your mic. Right. Go ahead and do it. But you're probably going to deal with some stuff if you deal with a topic that's going to offend somebody. There is consequences for sure.

Well, I remember comedy being we're going to make fun of everybody. All the time. And that's what it is. Right. It's a great, like the idea of comedy to me has always been, and tell me if you think I'm wrong. It's always been, we are going to hold a mirror up to the world. And we're going to make fun of something that people won't normally talk about. Right.

And we're going to do it in a way that we laugh, and at times we might be laughing at them, but we're going to open the idea up for discussion. Yeah. And we're going to do it through comedy. There were so many things that I remember as a young man that people would, I'd watch a ton of comedians, and I'd be like, wow, that is so funny, but it's so true. Now it's like, wow, that is really funny. I can see where they're going.

Yeah. You know what I mean? I know what you're saying. And that's not fair to everybody because not everybody's doing that, right? And I don't go and sit in the stand-up in the comedy clubs and watching everybody do their stage show. You're watching kind of the bigger stuff. But it's like, you shouldn't get in trouble for saying something that is true to someone.

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Get 20% off and free shipping by going to manscaped.com slash whiskey. That's 20% off with free shipping at manscaped.com slash whiskey. Clean up your candy cane this year with Manscaped. Ginger. I like gingers. Well, I always say Words Words

You can't get me for words Right Behavior is a different thing I agree If somebody does behavior That is That is wrong I understand behavior

Because now we're getting more Into the social world Of behavioral mistakes But if you say something And it makes people mad I have no patience for it anymore I mean I never care To be very honest

I think my fans know And like I've always been kind of me And I'm unmistakably me and if you're not aware of my sarcasm that's on you man right clearly i don't mean it if you really think i meant it do you think i'd be shouting it through an amplified microphone right do you really think so if i really had hatred for something or disdain or I really wanted like somebody to like hurt or marginalize a group or a person, do you really think I'd preach it through a microphone? That's nuts. That's insane. Well, here's the thing.

I would say it in a room where they really do it. That's what they do in a small, sad room. You wouldn't say it. Right, right, right. Right? So I get the other side of like there are people who are actually saying what they think. Sure. Right?

But you're not saying that. I know you. I'm a comedian. You're a comedian and you're saying what they think. Sure. Right? But you're not saying that. I know you. I'm a comedian. You're a comedian and you're doing great funny comedy. Right. No, you're saying something that is going to make someone think and then laugh. Right. Right?

That is what good comedians do. There are bad ones who say exactly what they mean. Right. And their essence is of hate. But call those ones out. Yeah, and it's rare. Don't call them out on the joke. Call them on who they are right on their behavior right that's what i'm saying behavior not words behavior it's where it's jokes guys we gotta laugh we gotta let it ride we gotta let it because there are topics that we can't discuss until we can laugh at them we have to make fun well look i mean like

i think when people know your heart it's really easy for an audience to gauge like your real true hearts for some reason they can see right through if it's really who you are or if this is obviously a joke and like last night on stage i said um i said i said you know when is it too soon for me to delete the black square off instagram is that is are people gonna get mad i mean i do think black lives still matter, but I do want to get rid of that square. It's just taken up this weird space on my Instagram.

It's just, it's so dark. And of course people are laughing about a piece of them are like, is that, is this okay? It's like, clearly I'm joking about the idea

of a black square on Instagram. Right. This isn't real. This is all a fantasy. So if they know my heart and they can just feel that like, that's not, it's not a, it's not an attack on Black Lives Matter. It's an attack on the idea of posting a black square.

Right. And you know where I'm coming from. If you can't figure it out, that's a tough, that's, that's on you. That's how I feel about everything. What I always like to say is then take a second, pause. Yeah. Right. Like, don't we all have a pause button in our life?

Not anymore. Right. We need to pause For a second sometimes Yeah And go Wait Hold on Let me do some research

On the guy Right Instead of throwing A throw on a rock Right Immediately How could you say that Black Lives Matter

Is important No no no I didn't talk about Black Lives Matter I talked about the square I was joking about the square The square It's a symbol

On Instagram Right It's different It's like If someone a symbol on instagram right like it's different like it's like if someone got mad that they got the blue check yeah right well that means he hates all celebrities and important people no no i'm saying why do we have to differentiate yeah it's just a thing right it's a thing to joke about it's comedy we gotta laugh we gotta like be able to talk about everything and i feel like if we can start to do that and i'm now taking this to a different a different place but if we could start to do that

then i think we can start to heal as a country yeah probably honestly if we can start to feel a little bit better about how chaotic everything is and we need to start laughing about it and shitting on it because honestly it's just getting old fear fear and sadness is getting old the idea of like not being allowed to do anything not being allowed to say anything and if you say something you're offending somebody yeah you know it's like i've gotten caught where it's like i you know in an interview i say something and people get offended and you're like first let's start by i wasn't talking to you right i don't remember saying your name at blah blah blah blah right like i didn't i didn't say you i wasn't talking to you so why are you commenting like i've hurt your feelings right

when i've said something that is my experience right even if it's real even if i was having a real and i wasn't telling jokes it's like this is my experience why are we offended by someone's experience if they don't like what that person is experiencing? Yeah, that's odd too. Like somebody said to, I think I saw some, some, some article popped up about, uh, you saying something about interracial relationships. Yes. And then, and then people were clapping back saying, uh, you know, they didn't understand you talking about your experiences. Really what it was is people were like, who's not supportive and da-da-da.

But all I kept seeing when I saw that article was like, that's just how he feels about his life. That's how you feel about your life. It's weird for someone to go, you can't feel that way. You're not supposed to feel that way. You're not allowed to feel that way. Why? And if you do feel that way, you're certainly not allowed to speak about it.

Right. That's so strange. I'm like. I didn't understand that. It doesn't make any sense. certainly not allowed to speak about it right that's so strange i'm like i didn't understand that it doesn't make any sense but what was really funny was how many people actually said on my social media exactly what i spoke about right right right exactly yeah yeah that's interesting you're saying what i said right you're giving me what i just said happens to me and you're saying it in a

in a in a demeaning way because you don't like the fact that i said it as you're saying it it is it is wild to think about when people live these lives and and america gets to because look you're you're very famous you've been famous for so long people people get to feel for some reason like they know you better than you know you right they're like i know you i know who you are i know what you are to me right so they then they then they just define who you are in general and you're like like you and i are friends we know each other well it's so funny to think that's it just happens naturally because people on the outside well if somebody says to me oh you you play golf with al your friends al is he at the blah blah blah and you're like gosh i just think people don't they just assume that's

all who you are right even if they get a chance to meet you they still go he's still who i think he is in my mind well and and that is it happens all the time with the idea of people coming up to me calling me call yeah sure that's gotta be it's like it's the that that is the the indicator to me of like oh so you don't really care to know me. No, yeah. You're just a thing for them. This is in there for you. Right. And so I will treat those people differently.

And I don't mean negatively or positively. I just go, okay, you're that category of you don't want to know who a person is. You just want to believe your own lie. Correct. Right? The lie in your head that that who a person is. You just want to believe your own lie. Correct. Right? The lie in your head that that's who he is. Right. Right? It's like they can't.

I've had people literally say to me, you know, hey, Carlton. I'm like, hey, how you doing, man? Hey, my name is Alfonso. Nah, nah, nah. You Carlton. No, man. You're like, okay, so I'm your favorite. I'm your biggest fan, Carlton.

You know that's an oxymoron, right? You can't actually be my biggest fan if you're saying my character's name. Right, right. But now I will say on the other side of that, that look, that means that people loved something so much that they can't even get it out of their head. Yeah. Because that's how into it they are. Right. Right?

But that's why I say I treat them differently because I recognize all right cool man nice to meet you man yeah we're gonna have some fun and be silly and all the rest and i'm not no longer am i offended by it right because i never understood it before i was like dude my name is alfonso i told you my name is alfonso but you don't want to call me alfonso right what the hell is that? Like that's rude. Yeah. What age was it do you think that like, how old were you when Fresh Prince ended? Ended I was 24. Jesus. So, Jesus Christ. As a child.

That's when I first moved to LA. Yeah. And I was done. Oh my God. I was done with that series. I was over with it. But to me it's like, that is such you're out at that age you're out running around everyone's seeing you everybody knows you there is that point when it gets so exhausting to

be called that character's name over and over and over again what's the what was kind of the end game shift mentally where you're like okay i'm gonna handle these people this way now because i can't do it anymore at first you kind of got to be sweet about it. You do the thing and then. Well, it went through many different phases. Sure. Where it was sweet and ha, ha, ha to angry to what are you doing? Why are you doing this?

Why are you offending me? Right? Like where I just didn't get it. I didn't understand it. Right? And I would say the reason why I went through that period was because imagine for a second that you've done a job so well that they tell you you can't be anybody else for the rest of your life. Yeah, that's wild. But you can't do what you love to do anymore because we only see you as that guy.

And then people are coming up to you going, yeah, you're right. You're never going to work again because I only see you as Carlton. You take a personal offense to that. Of course. Right? So it went through that phase. And then eventually, weird story, I went on a bus trip with Joey Fatone and a bunch of hooligans.

I call them hooligans because they're just the greatest, craziest group of guys ever. bunch of hooligans. I call them hooligans because they're just the greatest, craziest group of guys ever. This was maybe 12, 15 years ago. We went on a bus trip

to baseball games. Just to tour the country? Toured for two weeks on a bus and we just drove to baseball games. How fun, man. And we'd go to the baseball game, hang out at the baseball game, go out in the city, get on a bus, drive to another baseball game. That's wild.

Right? And Joey and his manager Joe were the only two people I really knew. Their dads came with, but those were my two friends. Everybody else was just their friends and guys that they knew. And on that trip, I had a brand new perspective that took me out of Hollywood for a second and put me in regular world America. And I got to experience my fame through their eyes. That's wild. And all of a sudden I went, oh, they're not offending.

They're complimenting. Correct, yeah. This is because there's a love. There is a deep affection for that character that made them go, wow, okay, you know what? Made me go, wow, this is nothing but love. So I can't be mad at them. I can't look at them negatively. I have to recognize that they're just giving me love. And from that point forward, my life changed because I no longer harbored that

anger toward blaming every individual for the lack of what was happening in my career because of something that Hollywood did. Right. Right. Right. Hollywood decided that, hey, these people only see him as Carlton, so we're never going to hire him as anything but Carlton. They could have done anything. Yeah. Right.

We could have changed the narrative if people were willing to change the narrative but they were like oh well we're done that wasn't their fault no they just love something that they were given right that's there it is well but also there there is credit to be given on the idea that look man it's impossible to make a character or to build or character or develop and become a character so rich and beloved that it kind of you know overshadows anything you could ever do it's almost like it was so you know it's so strong and so well-known that it's tough to find a way to get away from it again. Right. That you're like, it's so big.

It was so big. Yeah, it was. And it was at a time when people who watched television, there were a lot of people watching. Yeah. Today, that can't happen. It's just different. Yeah, it's different. People will say, I love the show Succession succession and there's characters on the show that they

really love okay that's probably a good example what we said before uh cousin greg uh i've talked about him on the show before uh nick nicholas braun okay a great actor he dude he is a real person he is so good on that show because those other people you're meant to hate you're supposed to loathe that family right he's i just started watching it oh my god he's so good it's just i think he's a brilliant actor but again when you speak about these shows in culture today oftentimes you speak about the show right like they talk about ted lasso right okay this is another example i think he he sudeikis does a great job of making a real guy, but it is a show. It is very much all about the show,

and it's a community. Brett Goldstein, you know, it's just, it's hard nowadays to make a character so iconic and kind of so like culturally memorable. Right. So like Ted Lasso, like Sudeikis did a great job. I think that will kind of remain in the social zeitgeist but but i don't think the actors will remain as those characters of course not no they don't have to anymore it's it's that's no longer going to happen yeah you're

right it's the show will always be a part and when you do something or you pitch a tv show or you're you know oh dude this show is a Ted Lasso mixed with this. Right. Correct. And so it'll always be that show, those people, those characters, but it won't be the actors. Right. Back then, the actors were the show.

Right. It was a different time. Right. Like, you couldn't imagine Gary Coleman notman not being arnold yeah that's yeah i know right like it just that's it was a different time yeah and i mean you could even take someone as famous back then as bill cosby and bill cosby was doing bill cosby yeah but after bill the bill cosby show ended people were like yeah no he can't be anybody else. You're Bill Cosby. He's Bill Cosby.

Right. He's like, yes, I am Bill Cosby. They're like, no, but you're Bill Cosby. You're Dr. Huxtable. You're Dr. Huxtable. Right. You're actually not Bill Cosby. You know what I mean?

So it's a very different. Will was probably one of the last of that time to be able to get out. And transcend. Right. Yeah. And it's because he was able to do it while doing the show and we we had very specific things that we started to do to allow him to be able to break that and he would break the fourth wall in episodes and that changed it for him because he was the only person on that show that wasn't the character right Right. Right? It was, hey, I'm over here with you, but these people are real.

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I think you're right, though. What you just said was wild because I didn't notice it at the time, but he was kind of building this other thing simultaneously at the last half of that show to become this other thing. Right. I remember watching it kind of happen as he exploded into, and then once he gets into films. Then it all changed anyway. Right. Once you're in film, it's different.

Yeah. You're not a character in film. Right. Yeah. You get to transform. Right. You get to do this other thing. Because you're not a character.

You're a movie star. Right. Yeah, that's true. On TV, you're real. And that's where reality television killed a lot of people in television. Yeah. Because, well, TV is real. Movies, that's a magical world i left my house i got in the car i stood in line i went to a room right i went to this big room i

sat there with other people that i don't know it was a show right right it was make-believe fantasy yeah right i'm on my couch i just got done watching the evening news. Right. I saw these murders that happened over on Figueroa and then ha ha ha. You're on. Yeah. Where is the separation? Right. Right. So it's a it's a it was a it's hard to come out of television. Now you can because there's so many channels. Right. Right. But back when there were just a few channels it was like no tv is real that's why all of these reality shows existed and became so popular was because no tv's real tv is

real life yeah not this make-believe right it's not this fantasy tell me this you are you you said something i ran over it fast though your old man was a construction i I mean, a corrections officer. Did you think, was he super disciplined to you guys? Was it like that? We were mostly disciplined, right? Tough dad? Like a tough dad? A real dad. Yeah.

Right? Like, we're not going to, he's not going to tell you fake things. Yeah. And, you know, soft lies to make you feel good about yourself right you were going to be who you were right right and you were going to do the things the way you're going to do them and we were it was either going to be the right way the wrong way was he a military guy or no he wasn't a military also yeah though he was in the air force and uh but you, growing up for me, he was he was everything I needed. And I say that like lovingly. Right. Like he was everything I needed to have, you know.

You know, construction. Right. I needed to be just this is my structure. This is what I'm able to do. This is right and wrong. this is what I'm able to do. This is right and wrong. And knowing it allowed me in a time when you also got to remember that, you know, yes, there's still craziness today, but if you go into the eighties,

right? Like Todd Bridges was, was also on the next stage, right? I mean, here's a guy who ended up, you know, going to trial for murder, right? And as an actor. Right. So having my dad recognizing like, yes, this is make believe world, but the real world is still here. Those lines being very hard in pavement, not in the sand.

It was a real line. Yeah. You knew what not to cross. Right. You knew that you might experience stuff, but you weren't going to ever go across that line. And you knew what that line was, and it wasn't going to happen. And he became my manager. It wasn't going to happen.

And he became my manager. So he also, you know, it was like about how we worked through our career and worked through, you know, business. And for me, going to work and being responsible and all of those things that you get out of the military and out of being a police officer, all those things. My grandmother was a police officer. Seriously? Yes. Wow. She was a police officer at Rikers Island in New York and so damn grandma was rude was tough like like no games yeah no

games right and so Rikers Island is like unequivocally one of the toughest prisons in the world and your grandma's just out there kicking it I would say I would say Sing Sing where my dad was was way tougher tougher right Tougher, right. But people know Rikers because it's right there. The reputation of Rikers. The reputation of Rikers, right? And maybe at the time when she was there, it was probably extremely tough, right? Because we're talking the 50s, right? So my dad was a very important part of my childhood and my growth and my work ethic.

I don't think I'm where i'm at without him just just i wouldn't i wouldn't even be close what when you say that what always fascinated me again because i never grew up in chicago and i was always wanting to be in the business was a secret of mine i mean my parents knew but i was so embarrassed for other people to know and my parents have zero connection to the industry they you know ignorance like a rude word but like their ignorance is strong right they don't understand it but they're proud they're happy about it of course but it was always wild to me when i knew kids like i have a good friend michael angarano who's a phenomenal actor um his family moved out here from new york right his dad is like a brooklyn guy and like they moved out here from New York. Right. His dad is like a Brooklyn guy and like they moved out here for Michael's career.

And I was always fascinated by the families that kind of did this thing that you're doing and then became a part of the business side of it. Is there any muddy water to that? Like when your dad is your manager, when you were an adult by the time he was your manager or were you still a kid? I was a kid.

Okay. When he was my manager and then took me into through Fresh Prince and, you know, many years after that. Was that ever tough then of like, this is my business partner, also my father, also my. Not at all. Really?

Not at all for me. Wow. And it wasn't because our relationship lines were very clear. Right? Like we, I knew who I was talking to when I was talking to that person. So I knew when I was talking to my manager. I knew when I was talking to my dad. And I knew when I was talking to one of my friends.

Right? Because he was like a friend also. I feel like you're lucky to have that. No, no, no. That sounds incredibly unique. Amazing. Right. Very lucky and so appreciative of it.

Right? Like, it would be times when it was like, no, no, no, dad, you're wrong. Amazing. Incredibly unique. Amazing. Right. Very lucky and so appreciative of it, right? Like, it would be times when it was like, no, no, no, no, Dad, you're wrong. We're talking about, and we're talking about business, right? And I think it's this, and I think it's that. And no, I think we should do this, and I think it should be that, and I think that's a mistake. And I'm like, Dad, you're wrong. You're out of your mind on that one, right? Okay, no, no, no.

And that conversation would end. It was like, all right, now go clean your room. Okay, Dad. Clean up, pick up all that crap in your room. Okay, dad. Got it. Yep. And his father, your dad, so you said you're Portuguese, but you're Trinidad.

Trinidad, yeah. So my family, both my mom and dad's side both came through Trinidad, right? So if you go through the name and the heritage and all of that, I always like to say, black people didn't get off the continent of Africa by themselves. Really? Yeah. It's strange. I got to look it up.

I got to look it up. You might find what I'm saying true. So sometimes those names became their names. Sure. And sometimes there was a mixing of the people. So that's really what happened for me. There was a mixing of my African side is Nigerian. And then I have absolute Portuguese from Portugal connection.

But I'm a mutt. I've got actually Irish and British. My people. Right? I've got, I mean, it's, I'm, when I did the, you know, 23andMe, I'm 22%, you know, from the isles of Great Britain. Really? Yeah.

Wow. So there's, you know, which is why my kids could have blue eyes. Right? Because I was, my kids came out with blue eyes. I was like, you know, which is why my kids could have blue eyes. Right? Because I was, my kids came out with blue eyes. I was like, I got to look through this. Okay? They're saying there's something wrong with your wife. What's going on?

What's happening here? What's going on? But yeah, I mean, but I'm just ultimately a mutt, right? So, I mean, I've got, you know, a large percentage of obviously Nigerian, but a large percentage of uh south european which is the portuguese side of it and then i've got you know actually a larger percentage from from the british right and so bastards you know they they they move some people around the world right yeah between between the brits and um and you know and the spaniards and the Portuguese, that's kind of where a lot of people moved around. And so there's always a percentage somewhere in that, unless obviously there were people who stayed straight African all the way.

But I happen to be a big old mutt, right? And so my family was from Trinidad. My mom, she's the first of her side of the family to come to the u.s my dad was born in the u.s but my grandparents on my dad's side um both came from trinidad um so yeah so your grandfather was famous right wasn't your granddad famous yeah well he was famous in in that world and he was a calypso singer yeah you told me that one time i said i thought you yeah you mentioned something that you're that because i said something you were singing on the uh when we were playing one day and i was like oh al's voice isn't bad and you had said something that your

granddad was a yeah his uh he was the lord hummingbird and he was a calypso singer and traveled the west indies and and the eastern coast That's nuts. East Coast of America. By himself or he was either- It was him. He was his own thing. Wow. He had a band and all that, but yeah. Yeah, but it was just his group.

It was his thing. To be honest with you, the voice doesn't come from that side. The voice comes from my mom. Really? My mom has the most beautiful voice I've ever heard. She does? She is the most shy person. She doesn't want to show you.

She would never, she wouldn't, I've never actually heard my mom sing while looking at her. Right, oh dude, she sings in the other room and you always heard her. I would, so the greatest stories, once we moved out here, we would wake up on Sunday mornings and my mom would make this thing called bake,

which is a Trinidadian dish um, dish that is basically bread, but it's like the most amazing bread patty that you could, you could eat. And so every Sunday morning she would make it before we all woke up, but she'd be in the kitchen singing and my bedroom was right on the other side of the wall. So I would wake up to my mom, just, just the most angelic voice ever Would she be singing Trinidadian songs? All kinds of stuff She would sing some Calypso

She'd sing some, you know, Barbra Streisand I mean, everything, right? And I would get up But I wouldn't get them out of the room Because she didn't see you Because I wanted to just keep listening No, that's kind of beautiful, Al You're making my heart hum

Because you'd sit in bed and want to hear. I would sit in bed and just want to hear her sing. Because it's comforting. Because obviously, like, there was a piece of me that connected to it, right? Because I sang. Right. Right? So there was this, like, wow, that's where it's coming from.

That's where that voice is. Wow. That's where the music is really there. Now, the music and the rhythms and the beats and all of that are part of my, you know, my dad's side with my grandfather. But the voice aspect is just pure mom. Wow. Just, you know, I mean.

The feeling you gave me just now when you said that is wildly warm. I can almost imagine you sitting in bed not wanting to get up. Also, because when you're a kid and you're so, the quickness to get out of bed doesn't exist unless it's a holiday or when you get older. And then you get older, you're like, I got to get up. I got to move. But when you're a kid and you do that thing where you're lazily half in and out of sleep, and if the sun's coming in the window and the smell of bake and your mom singing, I wish I could transport to that feeling.

Yeah. Right? That like moment yeah because i know what you mean when you say that of like my mom used to um i mean i love getting scratched that was it's big in our family we're weirdos i love getting my back scratches my favorite my grandmother loves scratching backs my my wife loves it oh it's my favorite man i got plenty of the baby can you all right yeah i love it and my mom would scratch my back sometimes in the morning if I couldn't get up, get up, get up. And I would just keep faking like I didn't want to get up because I wanted to keep getting my back scratched because the blankets are so warm.

It's that perfect moment when you're like the bed is at its peak. You know what I mean? Yes. Perfect. It's perfect. The blankets are tucked so perfectly. Yep. But I remember those moments and

those can move your foot to the cold spot when you needed it oh just a little bit to the left those etch into my mind those kind of things but those are the moments that i believe like create the rest of your life your journey right like that plays a role somewhere in a lot of the things you probably do every day oh yeah i believe that yeah like you get out of bed but every morning when you get out of bed you're probably going oh i wish i can get a back scrap oh 100 yeah don't don't ask my wife she'll be pissed off because i'm always like come on right she's like get out of here with that but that's that's the thing that like is it stays with you right it stays with you and and that hearing like i i am a a bigger fan of love songs than i am of up tempo like what's your like what's your what's your kind of ultimate playlist and like what do you

love like what's your go-to's anything r&b soul with with with like you know ballads that's's my, like, if I'm going to listen to something, that's what I'm putting on. Do you like Percy Sledge? Is this something that you like? No, but obviously my generation, I'm going to go Johnny Gill. I'm going to go Jeffrey Osborne. I'm going to go Luther Vandross. Yeah, Vandross is great.

I'm going to do that, right? But part of that is there's also some of the female singers that I would listen to, right? I mean, obviously Whitney Houston was one, but because of that connection, my mom would always be singing slow songs. So that just feels right. Right, right, the soul of it.

Right. Like Ann Peebles, you know, stuff like that where it's very like, there's so much, she has a song called, I don't know, oh my god yes you do um you do know and people she heard this song is called i have to look it up right now because it's going to drive me absolutely it's going to actually piss me off um so you do know and people's her most famous song was i can't stand the rain which of of course Missy Elliott did sample. But I'm Gonna Tear

Your Playhouse Down. Oh my God. I can't play it because we'll get licensed. But you gotta listen to this. And Trouble, Heartache, and Sadness is a great song by her too. Yeah, Missy Elliott owes her. I'm a hip-hop freak. When I was a kid it consumed my life.

So what I did when I became a teenager, I started to get into the depths of music and learning where the samples came from. It like consumed my life Right So what I did when I became You know A teenager I started to get into The depths of music And learning Where the samples came from I became obsessed with that Wow

That's why That's where I learned about The most My dad It's a weird connection My dad never really liked hip hop Because when I was a kid Hip hop was

Well very different It was just Well it was also like The gangster rap Was becoming so prevalent Right And my dad never liked it Right Neither did I But oddly enough My dad liked very different it was just well it was also like the gangster rap was becoming so prevalent right and my dad never liked it right neither did i but oddly enough my dad liked if i showed him hip-hop that nas something that had more that had obvious soul elements yes because my dad

loves carolina beach music and soul and that kind of vibe right so when the music turned r&b rap right he probably enjoyed it. Well, he just connected with it a little bit more. Right. He just understood it was like, because he would say something like, I recognize that background of that song. Like, I Can't Stand the Rain, Missy Elliott.

It's People's a song. It's once you start to pick up on those cues, you're like, hey man, we like the same thing a little bit. It's just a little bit different. It's a newer version. It's our way of doing it. Right.

It's our youthful way. It's our way. See, but I got into rap before it was it was gangster rap sure yeah yeah because i'm you know older than you but like it's it it to me it was you know africa bambada oh right it was still love it was all of that that old school old school rap that went into the LL Cool J's and then eventually Will and all the rest. But once it turned into gangster rap, I was like, eh. You were out. Yeah.

Yeah. For me as a kid, it was wild because- You're not telling me anything. Well, to me, what it was was here was this experience that was being spoken about culturally but not really not really from a genuine perspective and when nwa came out with fuck the police and that gave breath to tupac and biggie and this west coast east coast i think what it was doing was informing the white world that loved hip-hop like hey this is real like it is real it was just kind of saying

like we talk about this but i'm telling you this is real like this is real real right and the riots kind of gave a real window into as a chicago kid cabrini green was down the street from where we lived and it was so wild that was like the projects are there but they were never what looked like out here in terms of what happened in South Central. Well, it was, you know, that East Coast, West Coast thing, you know, weirdly enough was weird for me because I was like, I'm both. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're both.

Yeah, you're both. Right? Like I live out here, but I'm from New York. Like, and I, you know, I also came from a time when it was like, wait a minute, guys, you're getting this all wrong. We can't fight each other. That's what they want us to do. Right.

Yeah. That's a problem. Right. Like if you're going to keep us down, if they're going to keep us down, like fighting each other is the way to do that. Yeah, sadly. We're getting it wrong. Right. Right.

We're getting it wrong. So the idea of where I was coming from in terms of where I grew up about coming together and figuring out a way together to help get out and to make changes. And you needed different types of people. I remember one time Ice-T called me a fake brother and he shouldn't be on TV. And he came hard at me. And I was like, I speak. That's really, your name is ice tea, bro.

You're really, you're really going to come at me hard. I see is hard though. Make no mistake. He is not, but it was like, dude, your name is ice tea.

Right. Should I have some lemonade with it? Call you on a Palmer. Like, you know, it just was like, wait a minute. Why are you even going that direction of coming at me?

And it was like, no, you need me too. Yeah. You need me too. Right. Like your, your, your mission, your goal, your, what you're, your, what you're all about doesn't happen without me also. You're there and they need there and you need that voice. Right.

Right? But it's the, I did a play when I was in college, right? And I went for like one year before I started Fresh Prince. And I did a play called The Meeting. It was The Meeting between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. It's a hypothetical meeting put in this play. Wow. And what you really get out of the play was that that movement doesn't work

if you don't have both. Mm-hmm. Right? If you don't have Martin, then it's just a military action. It's just Malcolm. Right? And it's Malcolm.

But if you have just Martin, then we don't need to actually deal with you. Mm. Because Malcolm is actually, and his crew they they might shoot you up right so it's a it was it was a balance right and i'm going hey guys all right rap world like i get it that my character isn't this but i'm from the bronx i was born in harlem like that's my character and yes i've learned to play golf and i've learned to right because you assimilate into the world that you're living in somewhat sure but at the end of the day the movement needs us both yeah why are you tearing

me down it's interesting you say that i think that the the the the the truth really is what's unfortunate about culture, Hollywood too, you know, Hollywood says they want diversity, but they tend to want the version that they want most and they don't want other versions. So what bothers me is always saying like, as if there's one flavor of person, right? Right. There's one kind of black guy. Right. There's one kind of Asian female. The idea of all that is inherently flawed so what bothers me is when these things take place when you're like you want everyone to be the same which is

ironically about the whole thing i'm talking about when somebody says you disagree with something people think and say you're like do you want everyone to be just like you right that's fucking insane well that's not normal by the way every horrible person in history was a narcissist right right okay right what does social media do it builds narcissists so what's happening is yeah they do yeah they they we have algorithms on our phones that make sure that the stories that come up first on our phones are the stories that we want to read about. It's not about the stuff that we don't want to see. It's not the other side of the street.

We're creating a bunch of narcissists all over the world that don't want to see the other side. There is balance. You have to create balance. And what we're doing constantly and what we've been doing forever is constantly separating. Separate, separate, separate. That's how you can control them. That's how you can deal with them. That's how you can manage them.

Get everybody together in a room and come up with a consensus. Wow. Isn't that power? Yeah, that to me, that's what, what, what I'm blessed and lucky to do for sure for a living.

What opens my mind up the most and why I think I'm the most open-minded is because I get to travel and meet cultures that are not like my own. I'm lucky, right? Not everyone can do that for a living. And I will say, if you have the ability to go see people that aren't like you in other places, do it. It really does show you who you really are, and it opens your brain up to ways that you never thought. It's easy for coastal people to just think the way we think absolutely but when you meet people from when i go to you know when i go to the south or i go to the pacific northwest or or i go back to

the midwest the beauty is i get to feel people who think and and live differently than me no question it's great it makes you more rounded the idea that you're just gonna carve away at your little your little grouping and thinking and like I don't need to even fuck everyone else's thoughts and feelings and I this is who I am it's so unhealthy that you're like you're never gonna feel how other people live you're never gonna get what we talked about before, your perspective, how Al feels about his journey in his life. You're only going to go, this is how I feel about what Al does in his life. Right. You don't know. You didn't even talk to him. You didn't even want to know him. My in-laws are from Iowa. Oh, that's right. My wife grew up on a farm. Right. Right. 2,000 acre farm in Iowa. Went to Northwestern in Chicago. Right? I'm looking at buying a house in Texas.

Right? That's right. I get in my RV and I go to Montana and I go to Florida and I go to Ohio and I go to West Virginia and I go to Idaho and I go to Oregon. And I go all over the country. Right? I drive all around and I meet people. There is something wonderful about the United States of America. And what's happening is our media and what we put out to the world is only coastal.

Yeah. And so why does Fox News own the center of this country? Because they're tired of hearing the two sides speak for everyone. You have to speak for everyone. And there is something wonderful about hearing other people's ideas. Sometimes you're like, I don't like it. Right, right, right. There's a lot of stuff that I hear when I'm in the middle of the country

that I'm like, I don't like it. I don't agree. But I now understand. Yeah, you have to be open to it you have to understand people you have to understand what they're thinking where they're going you know everything about a person and their experience part of their experience part of where they're from because look at look you're on you know you doing uh afv after you know bergeron did it for what did he do it for 15 years yeah 15 yeah golly felt like a thousand i felt like he you know syndication it always it always right because it runs forever

but that show touches the most common denominator of americans regardless of social socioeconomic status and race and gender. It's funny. Right. Right. So this is the beauty about the idea of that show is it's the thing you care about the most on that show

is making people laugh at the things that that happen to all of us. Everyone has experienced something on every episode. Of course. Everyone has tripped over the dog. Everyone's seen grandma

run into the glass window on the patio. yep the moment everybody has been kicked or has seen someone kicked in the groin right right things happen i would love to take it over under there should be a vegas bet on how much how many hours of of uh getting hit in the penis footage afv has i mean i'd love to know what the over-under is. I would bet it was a lot more early. Yeah, yeah, right, right. Right? Like, a lot of it was early

in the early seasons. We don't play too many of them anymore. No, but you got it on there. Well, we get them in there every once in a while. Yeah. But when we do, we literally make a note of it.

Yeah, you're like... And here's one... Here's one for a great memory. Bow, right in the nuts. Right. And then you move on. And I know how TV works. I'm not deaf to it.

I know who you are and I know how TV works. But what's interesting is I know you're at a place professionally and they're not going to let you watch some of those submittals that come in. Right. But if you wanted to, you could really sit down and go through those those some of those cases because i because i told you this early on i had a offer to work with vin de bona right the production company and they were trying they were getting in the digital space and they had said that they had like a hundred thousand hours of footage that they haven't even reviewed it was it wasn't even stuff they haven't even seen yet right i couldn't wrap my head around how much time has been submitted by americans that no one's even touched and and that

it's a sad part but it's true it's just there right like when the pandemic started yeah i think something like 10,000 submissions in the first week. That's nuts. It's nuts. It's nuts. You're like, to the point where they were like, we have to create a second show. We did a special called AFV at Home, where I shot it in my living room and in my backyard

and did it all myself. But they got the videos and they were all slightly different. But it was people dealing with the pandemic and what they were doing. And the funny videos they were sending in. Because there were so many that were like, we can't show these on AFV. They're very different in nature. So we have to figure out a way to show these. And so they created that.

It was a one-off special. But it was because there were so many videos. There were so many people sending videos day after day because, and that's the beauty of this show, and it makes me very proud to be a part of it, is that we've all grown up. Like, tell me a person in America that doesn't know America's Funniest Home Videos.

No, yeah. They're all under four. Right, right. Yeah, Videos. No. Yeah. They're all under four. Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. That's right. Yeah.

They're being born. They're born right now. Right. They're just being born. They don't know. They haven't learned of it yet. Right. But everybody in this country knows of the show.

And one, whether it's Bob Saget, whether it's Tom, myself, to be part of that kind of legacy is pretty awesome. No, it's incredible. Right. To be part of that kind of legacy is pretty awesome. No, it's incredible. Right? Because like I've, and I said this to someone the other day, I'm like, I just surpassed Fresh Prince.

I've been on AFV longer. Than you're on Prince. Than I was on Fresh Prince. Wait, what year is this now for you? This is seven. I did six on Fresh Prince. It is remarkable that Fresh was only six because it felt like 15. I felt like my whole life. felt like 15 i felt like my whole life when i know it felt like my whole life it was on tv but that's also what changed

in the business you can't sell a show to syndication as easily anymore right because there are 100 channels why am i watching that old show when i can watch a thousand other shows that are on networks that are new i like the old episodes if they're good enough i'm watching them again me too i just i just started sopranos again from scratch wow yeah i'm going through it all over again just because i felt like it's a fun undertaking because i've forgotten so much of it right which was i and i loved the show but you know sitting on airplanes for a living i was like well hbo lets you download to the ipad now i was over. I was like, great. Yep. Because I was like, let me download the whole first and second season, watch them, and then I'll keep going from there.

But then every time you get to a place where you have real Wi-Fi, you download some more. I know. It's great. Just keep going. Honestly, that's the one thing I do love about the internet entertainment is now I can kind of get back to some of the old stuff I used to love. I can't see anymore. Right.

You can't see it. Well, if they're not playing somewhere on television, if someone hasn't bought it, you can at least get it off the internet and you can watch it. You can enjoy it and pay homage to it. It's not my business. And we spoke candidly about it. about it but what i'm curious to know is the the fresh prince still pays after all these years residuals yeah it still does yes i mean it's it's i always like to say i can't stop working because of it right right right right like it's not paying bills but it's still paying but it still pays yeah so it's wild you know like they somebody said Mariah Carey, Billboard said that she makes a million bucks every

December. Just in the month of December. Right. Right. From that song. From the one song. That's nuts. Which is crazy when you think just, but by the way, she makes a million two all year.

Right. Right. Because it's only the month of December. Because if you're playing that song In January We're like Really? Don't want to hear it Yeah Don't want to hear it Put it away

Right Put it away Yeah Imagine that in July Right Tell me this about syndication Because I'm curious to know Americans kind of

Don't know enough about it But when you syndicate Every time it syndicates And does like an international sale Or something like that Right Is it a re-up of a check And a deal to

You know like Do you get a new chunk As it goes overseas? So I'll explain the whole system Yeah As to how an international sale or something like that. Is it a re-up of a check and a deal? Do you get a new chunk as it goes overseas? So I'll explain the whole system as to how it works. I'll do the short version. But it's essentially a show will sell to a station group or individual stations. So that's the thing called NAPTI, which is where it's a place where basically the networks and studios will sell shows to the smaller stations. So you sell it, but they sell it every year, right?

So this group buys it year one. Year two, this group buys it. Year three, this group buys it, right? So what happens is every time you sell it to a new group the numbers go back up because every time they air one of the episodes the second time they air it it's a lower percentage of your salary right so it goes down and then every time they sell it it goes back up and so so now when you get through five years right the first station group has to decide whether they want to buy it again. So it might do that for five years and then go back up and then down again and then back up.

So because you have multiple station groups buying it, it never really dips too far and never goes up too far. So just kind of for the last 20 some odd years, it's just kind of done this. Wow. Right? And just, I think at the high, it was probably double of what it is now. But still, it was, you know, it just kind of rode up and down. So if like, if you sell it to, you know, Spain, right?

Well, Spanish television, ultimately, they still are just one TV group. Right. Right? So you can sell it to a country, but it's just another station. Right. So it doesn't go up huge because now it's in Spain, right? But if those ratings are huge, then it might go up a little bit, right? So you think about it selling to 100 countries, right?

Well, that means it's in a hundred television stations. That's a lot of stations, right? So that's where the beauty of a show that can sell internationally is so huge because like you only in America, you're going to have one, two, maybe three station groups that are going to buy it individual stations, but the station groups where they're going out to multiple cities. You know, I used to always say the worst station group to ever buy your show is WGN. Chicago, baby. Chicago, right?

Yeah. Because Chicago, for some reason, that local station aired on cable. Yeah. So now you didn't need MTV to buy it. You didn't need, you didn't want WGN to buy it. Right. Because nobody else needed to buy it because everybody could still watch it. So, you know, some of the bigger ones you were fine with.

But, like, that was always, I didn't make fun of it because you're from Chicago. Well, no, and also WGN was so big because kids I knew that didn't have sports, professional baseball teams in their state, they had WGN, so they would watch the Cubs. They became Cubs fans

because WGN was everywhere, which I thought was so fascinating because when I'd meet a kid, I'd be like, how do you know WGN? And they're like, what do you mean? We have it.

I'm like, that's ours. You don't get that? No, it's everybody's. It's everybody's, yeah. My wife is from Iowa. They don't have a professional, but she's a Cubs fan. You know what I mean?

She had the opportunity to pick many different cities, but she went to the Cubs because she could watch it on WGN. Because it was forced to her, basically. I mean, you know, it's okay. But, you know. Well, look, Chicago has a history of either forcing or taking away our sports. And LA has done this, too, which actually pisses me off. You know, they would black out local games, which I can never wrap my head around.

Unless you had Comcast or... Right. Is that what it was? Comcast or something? Comcast is one of the ones out here. Yeah. Yeah. So I was a Jets fan growing up in New York.

Poor guy. Exactly. So they never were on TV. Right. Because back then, it was like they would get blacked out. So they never were on TV. Right. Because back then, it was like they would get blacked out, and you'd never get to watch your team. Yeah. I became a Cowboys fan. People were like, how did you become a Cowboys fan?

You grew up in New York. Why didn't you pick the Giants? I was like, because I had already picked the Jets. If you're a Jets fan, you can't go. You can't be a Giants fan. You can't be a Giants fan. No way. Right?

If you're an Islander fan, you can't be a Ranger fan. Right. If you're a Yankee fan, you can't be a Met fan. Right. If you're a Yankee fan, you can't be a Met fan. Right? It's just, that's the way it was. That's the way it goes. And you picked America's team. And the reason why I picked America's team was because they were the other team on TV.

Right. You could always see them. I can watch them. Right. I never understood the blackout for the Dodgers. They do that still today. Comcast doesn't let you. Well, now Spectrum, isn't it?

Spectrum, right. Spectrum does that. And I have the MLB package. Okay. Because I'm upset. We didn't even get into baseball when you talked about touring. I've been to all but seven stadiums in the United States. Wow. So when I would tour for stand-up, I would make it a point to go to a game during the day. Beautiful. And either the feature that was with me or a local guy, I'd always be like, hey, man, I'll buy your ticket if you come to a game with me. Because I knew a lot of guys didn't love baseball the way that I loved it. Right. And they're like, I don't want to go to a game i'm like come on it's a day game and then we can still make the shows at night right and then i started bringing guys with me

that were like absolute like loved it loved it but um but i never understood that that you'd black out a local game for people here to see i never wrapped my head around it's because they want you to go to the stadium i know but you know what the owner of the old blackhawks had the exact same theory and it failed him miserably so much so that they immediately reversed it because he said, if you're at home watching a game, you should be at the stadium watching it live. People don't have those lives. Right.

People have jobs. They have kids. They have families. Right. There's stuff going on. And they don't have the money. Right. It's so expensive to go to a game.

Are you buying me my ticket? Because that TV is free. Yeah, that failed him. I can't remember the guy's name, but he owned the Chicago Blackhawks, and he did that for a game. Are you buying me my ticket? Because that TV is free. Yeah, that failed him. I can't remember the guy's name, but he owned the Chicago Blackhawks and he did that for a while. They thought, okay, well, I'll take it off TV.

It failed so bad for him. It was such a poor choice because the city fought back so hard. Right. He reversed it because he was like, this was a bonehead move. Right.

Something Chicago, a city like Chicago, a city like New York gets done. For some reason, we're such cowards in LA that we can't fight back and make a big enough stink societally because there's so many transplants like us that don't have the gall to support the local teams enough to go, hey man, you got to be able to show that on regular TV to people. We don't do that. I don't like that. Well, it's all business now. It's all about big business. I know. And it's like baseball has surpassed the average American.

The average American can't go to a baseball game. It's so expensive now, man. Right? I mean, if you think about just parking, getting a ticket, two tickets, right? So you and your kid, you want to go take your kid to a baseball game. You can't. I mean, an average guy can't afford that. And maybe once a birthday present or something like that.

Right? And you're paying. You're going to get the Dodger dog or the yankee dog whatever you get right and you and you and you get a beer or soda and the sodas are what 15 bucks i mean that's insane like who can afford that right it's it shouldn't it shouldn't feel like you know you're you're having to to take a loan out to go to go to a baseball game for certain families, right? And what about families that have three and four kids? You've got to pick one, right? Right.

I mean, we have to start re-looking at how we're able to support our teams. I think sports has gotten too far out of whack. I think that, you know, look, Kevin Durant and LeBron James and whoever else in baseball and all these guys that make, you know, a gazillion dollars. You go, listen, what you do is amazing and nobody else can do that. They bring in the revenue. I get it. But shouldn't this still be entertainment for fun? Sure.

For people to be able to see and go to a game every once in a while? I mean, you know, during the Kobe Shaq years, like, you couldn't buy a ticket. You know how expensive it was to get a ticket to go to a Laker game? No, I wish I was around during then. I mean, I happen to know Dr. Buss, so I was able to go. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I called the owner because I wasn't going to pay for a ticket. No, it's too much.

And you were making money. I'm making money. I'm like, I'm not buying a ticket to the game. I want to go to a game. I'm not buying a ticket. That's too much money. We have all these friends at Lakeside that have season tickets. I'm like, really?

Yeah. Sometimes I look at Andy Garcia. I'm like, really, Andy? You're going to pay that much for this? And he got one seat. Yeah. He's like, one and a half. One and to pay that much for this? And he got one seat. Yeah. He's like, one and a half. One and a half.

He split the other one with someone. So depending on which day. I remember one time he wasn't going. He gave me and Grant Show his tickets to the game. I was like, oh, that's great. I was like, I thought you only had one seat. He's like, yeah, but I rent this other one every once in a while. And you go, you know, Andy Garcia goes, I can't really afford two seats.

Yeah, it's wild. I mean, he can afford two seats, but you know what I mean. No, but it's gotten pricey. I mean, I used to go to Clippers games when they were $15 on Sundays, and I thought that was insane. I was like, this is the best. And then now you can't go to a basketball game for under $80. No.

It's crazy. Crazy, crazy. I mean, yeah, these are the times, but also, you know, stop charging so much money, man. Let us go to the games. Let regular folks go and enjoy. Alright, you and I need to go play some golf. We're gonna go play some golf. Because we need to go play some golf.

Yes. Take some money. I end the show the same way. I want you to look into that camera, okay? That camera down there. I know we didn't get to some whiskey. It's early. We didn't even get to any, but you want to have a little just a snifter and say goodbye? Yeah, just a bye drink. Let me say, this is Prideful Goat.

This is from my boy, Whiskey Pete, who's the man. If you're ever out in Houston, my brain isn't working. Whiskey Pete's, isn't that like on the way to Vegas? No, no, no. Yeah. But this is called the Prideful Goat, and he is the man, and if you're ever down there, you gotta send you to his distillery, and he'll take you on a little tour.

You can pull from your own cask and all that stuff. Give me your cup there. We'll take just a little shot, just for good luck. This is so that we go out and have just a great day. Just for good luck. Cheers to you, my friend. My man. Love you. Solange, cheers. Thanks for having me on, brother. I appreciate you coming. Mm-hmm. So you downed it, I'm having a sip I liked it

Alright so look inside that camera And we end the episode the same way You say one word or one phrase To take us out One word or one phrase Doesn't have to be all earth moving and powerful Right, right When you're ready Love y'all one phrase. Doesn't have to be all earth moving and powerful. Right, right, right. Well.

When you're ready. Love y'all. In here, we pour whiskey, whiskey, whiskey, whiskey, whiskey. You're that creature in the ginger beard. Sturdy and ginger. Like vampires, the ginger gene is a curse. Gingers are beautiful. You owe me $5 for the whiskey and $75 for the horse.

Gingers are hell no. This whiskey is excellent. Ginger. I like gingers.