WTF with Marc Maron Podcast - Episode 1002 - Amy Sedaris

Episode Date: March 18, 2019

Amy Sedaris had no plan of action for her career other than going to Chicago to do sketch comedy and going to New York to do plays with her brother David. And as she tells Marc, she still has no plan except for doing things that she finds fun. Amy and Marc talk about how that lack of planning  led to her early Comedy Central sketch show Exit 57, a collaborative partnership with Paul Dinello and Stephen Colbert that birthed Strangers with Candy, and a public persona that made her an ideal Letterman guest and the perfect driver for a faux-homemaking show like At Home with Amy Sedaris. This episode is sponsored by Comedy Central, Hulu, Capterra and Aspiration. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus material! https://plus.acast.com/s/wtf-with-marc-maron-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can get anything you need with Uber Eats. Well, almost, almost anything. So no, you can't get snowballs on Uber Eats. But meatballs and mozzarella balls, yes, we can deliver that. Uber Eats, get almost, almost anything. Order now. Product availability may vary by region. See app for details.

Hi, it's Terry O'Reilly, host of Under the Influence. Recently, we created an episode on cannabis marketing. With cannabis legalization, it's a brand new challenging marketing category. And I want to let you know we've produced a special bonus podcast episode where I talk to an actual cannabis producer. I wanted to know how a producer becomes licensed, how a cannabis company competes with big corporations, how a cannabis company markets its products in such a highly regulated category,

and what the term dignified consumption actually means. I think you'll find the answers interesting and surprising. Hear it now on Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly. This bonus episode is brought to you by the Ontario Cannabis Store and ACAS Creative. Lock the gates! Alright, let's do this. How are you, what the fuckers? What the fuck buddies? What the fuck

nicks? What's happening? I'm Mark Maron. This is my podcast. Welcome to it. Does it sound different? Are you okay? How's everything with you? I don't know how you're doing, but I had to move all my shit today and yesterday and the day before yesterday. Things are happening. Like right now, I'm talking to you in a completely different room. I've never spent that much time in this room. I had to move everything out of the new garage in order to get some work done on the space. And it has to be empty because it's big work. So given those options, I could go to a studio, rent a studio, do that, drive, meet guests at a studio, or I could just go upstairs in my house and put all the shit in there. So now I'm in a strange room in terms of interviewing or talking to you or talking on the mics. I'm modulating my voice in a weird way.

It feels like I'm surrounded by the panels that that kid julian nicholson made me he uh he actually came over him and his uh buddy and uh one guy's tool guy julian's a sound guy we moved all the panels that he made me for the garage up into this room i got to get some books up here i moved all the books again out of the garage every fucking one of my books. Now, when I moved them over here to this house, I didn't go through them. And there's plenty of books I don't need, but I didn't go through them. So now they're all in stacks underneath my house,

hundreds of books. And now I've got to stack them up in here to make it muffled, to get it cozy. Guests will not walk through my house, out the back door, into the the garage but it's going to be a little more peculiar when i go like yeah we got to go upstairs into one of the bedrooms there's no bed in here was it was designated as an office space and now it's a studio but you do what you got to do so like i knew this had to happen i knew that uh you know if i didn't

start the work on the garage that i I was going to get in trouble. I don't know what that looks like when the city gets mad at you for not doing the work that you're supposed to do because you're in violation of a city ordinance or code. What do they do? Put a lien on you? Do they take your home from you? I know they can do that. I don't think they would do it for that reason i don't think like yeah he didn't uh he didn't fix the garage he didn't get the garage up to code we're taking it back i don't know what the fuck happens i just know that uh one of the reasons i bought

this house is for that fucking garage and now i'm recording my bedroom like an amateur houses for that fucking garage and now i'm recording my bedroom like an amateur pros record in the garage amateurs record in the extra room but it's okay it's okay we're gonna get through this together amy sedaris is on my show today who i love i love amy sedaris who doesn't fucking love amy sedaris that's the big question what kind of monster doesn't love Amy Sedaris? We go back. We go way back. I'll talk to her about it. Man, I'm literally like right down the hall from where I sleep in a room right down the hall. When I bring guests up, they're going to be like, yeah, it's my bedroom. Right down the hall. It's weird. It's going to take some adjusting.

I'm sorry if I sound off. It's just a little weird to be doing it in my house. I like to walk to work, you know, even if it's just to the garage. I enjoy the walk to work. Now I just got to go down the hall, I guess, or upstairs from downstairs. I don't know. Anyways, me and Sedaris, we go way back. My first job in television that I reluctantly took because I was totally broke was around 1989.

Some of you may remember. You're probably in your 40s now if you watched the original probably the second version of comedy central it wasn't the comedy channel i think it might have just been it might have just become comedy central maybe it was the comedy channel i can't remember but i hosted the last incarnation of short attention span theater which took place in a uh the the conceit was i was in the vault of comedy central going through tapes and showing you clips of things that was really just uh put together from promotional material for this or that it was kind of ridiculous and it was shot at hbo downtown productions

on uh down on 23rd street new york back when hbo had a piece of Comedy Central and they also produced Exit 57 a sketch show and that of course was if you remember Paul Dinello, Amy Sedaris, Jody Lennon and Stephen Colbert were the performers so they were all down the hall with their crew from Chicago and other places and doing the cool kid improv thing, smoking cigarettes, writing things. I was down the hall by myself with my guitar in my lonely office reading sad fan mail from people, postcards and whatnot. There wasn't a ton of it, but I didn't have any writing to do. I didn't have anybody to work with. I had a writer, but I just would sit there and kind of like

sit there by myself get myself worked up thinking i compromised everything get myself exhausted take a nap probably masturbated in the office alone alone at work i think that it's probably not the best place to masturbate alone at work, but, uh, and you shouldn't masturbate alone at work, but you can, as long as it doesn't involve other people, especially by surprise. I think that's the unspoken rule. If you're going to tuck away into a place, a bathroom or lock the door of your office, because you got to rub one out or, or get off is any gender, you know, you got to do what you got to rub one out or get off. This is any gender.

You know, you got to do what you got to do. Right? Right. Just, you know, keep it to yourself. And don't look weird when you come out. It's a little work advice. But the point I was making is that that's when I met Amy. So that was like 89, I think. Was that right? 92 ish 93

and i was just so envious of their their the fun they were having and i am now if i think about it i i'm envious of uh people's ability to have fun in general but but i i'm glad that you can so amy sedaris is a a singular force of comedy and humanity i mean you might remember from the sketch show you might remember her from strangers with candy you might remember her from her talk show appearances you might have seen her in off-broadway shows back in the day that her brother david wrote i i know i'm missing things but uh right now uh she's on a show called at home with amy sedaris it's currently in its second season on true tv new episodes tuesday nights at 10 p.m and on the uh the true tv.com there you can get that you can get the show on that thing true tv.com and uh this was a very pleasant reunion.

She's exciting to talk to because you really don't know. You don't know what's going to happen with Amy Sedaris. This is me talking to Amy Sedaris. Did I say Amy Sedaris enough? Here comes Amy Sedaris. It's hockey season, and you can get anything you need delivered with Uber Eats. Well, almost, almost anything. So, no, you can't get anything you need delivered with Uber Eats. Well, almost, almost anything. So, no, you can't get an ice rink on Uber Eats. But iced tea, ice cream, or just plain old ice?

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Product availability varies by region. See app for details. Hi, it's Terry O'Reilly, host of Under the Influence. Recently, we created an episode on cannabis marketing. With cannabis legalization, it's a brand new challenging marketing category. And I want to let you know we've produced a special bonus podcast episode where I talk to an actual cannabis producer. I wanted to know how a producer becomes licensed, how a cannabis company competes with big corporations, how a cannabis company markets its products in such a highly regulated category, and what the term dignified consumption actually means. I think you'll find the answers interesting and surprising. Hear it now on Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly.

This bonus episode is brought to you by the Ontario Cannabis Store and ACAS Creative. What flight did you take? I left New York at 10 o'clock. In the morning? Yeah, but I stayed up late because I'm going to sleep the whole time, and I couldn't sleep. I never sleep. God.

Sometimes I can, and it's... Yeah? I just, my mind wouldn't shut off. Really? I just couldn't do it. Oh, to me, like, I sleep, you know when I sleep, like, right when it takes off for some reason? Uh-huh. Like, because I think of the oxygen change.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because they compress, what do you call it they uh decompress the whatever it is yeah yeah they uh what's the fucking word yeah yeah they they change the air supply in the cabin and i fucking go out but then like 20 minutes later i'm up right in time for it to level off and then that's it done that's it no matter how do you watch movies i do no i i've tried to read but uh i find i sit to given time i will uh i will just sit and think about nothing like whatever it is but you know i'll do it sometimes bad things sometimes good things yeah it's best not to freak yourself out uh about personal matters on an airplane oh no oh no. Oh, my God. No. It's not a good time to be like,

oh, why didn't I do that? God damn it. But I really loved your book. And I think David and I were reading at the same time. Oh, really? It was fun to talk to him about it. But yeah, it was really good. I laughed. Oh, thanks. And then and where David said, you shouldn't be on the cover. It's too good. That one. He was hung up on that cover, man. Because he is way above books. It's celebrity books. He sent me possible covers. That was for Attempting Normal, I think, was the one.

And they had created this cover, and for some reason, I sent it to him. And it was very funny, his response. Yeah, I think he told me. There was a cat on it, and it was just this ridiculous cat cover of just a cat. It had its mouth bubble was saying WTF and there was a blue background and I sent it to David and he goes, too much blue. When you have to do that kind of thing or marketing and then you think someone else is going to be the right person on the other end. And it just very seldom is it. And then you have to get involved and it's a lot of work. And then it never comes out the way you want anyways.

Well, I mean, I'm always jealous of people that seem to have it together. Like, that's a great book cover. And like what I like. And also, do you ever make decisions and then like and you're really confident about it. So there's no one to blame but yourself. But they don't hold up over the years. Yes. Or they were right. it shouldn't be brown like i want brown and then um and then i go you know and then it's look it look better green no it won't i like brown and sure enough they were right they know it sells sure like they always say purple books don't sell because they're healing books you know that's in the healing

section but you go in a bookstore and you're like okay they're right yeah you see what pops and yeah you know it's so interesting with haircuts with pants i wear on television i'm like what was i thinking oh clothes and mail forget it so confident though when i did it i was like this is it yeah and then years later you're like what what i know i have like decades decades of con Conan appearances of me making bad decisions. But it's good when you make a right decision or it comes to you last minute and at the right time and you just can't even believe it. And you're like, you just can't move forward till you find this hook. And then you find it and you're like, wow, everything just comes together. I love that.

Yeah, that's happened maybe once. Oh, I hate missed opportunities. You know, like when editing, when I watch, I'm like, God, if we just had more time to think about it, I could have, it would have been such a good idea. When you're like improvising or something? Oh, or you're just shooting the show, you know, and you can just think of something last minute. Oh, later? Yeah, later. Oh, we kind of tagged that.

Let's go back in. Oh, yeah. Put the set back up. That's hard because it's hard to read. You know, if you can't change it, why watch it or read it? Right. You know, that's my attitude a lot of times. It's like, I don't want to see, you know, if the color's going to be off.

Yeah. Or something that, you know, I'll just go crazy. So you edit all of them of the new show at home with Amy Sedaris? Yeah, I sit through editing. Paul does, you know, Paul and I both. Paul Dinello? Yeah, Paul Dinello. So you guys are the producers and he's writing it with you?

Paul and I, this was our show idea. And he pretty much writes the show. And he chops the wood. And I help decorate it along with a few other people. So the pitch was essentially a home show with you. That's a little skewered with weird elements and weird characters that come together. A little bit. I had two books, a craft book and a cookbook.

That's right. Entertaining book. Yeah. And then I literally slid them across the table. I was like, this is what it looks like. Yeah. Because everyone gets so confused. But those books were pretty earnest in some ways.

Yeah, they're real. Yeah, yeah. And the humor came from Paul making fun of me trying to take something so seriously. I'm like, Paul, this has to be real. I don't like cookbooks. But, you know, he's great. Yeah. You guys have been working together for a long time.

For a really long time. And he has a full-time job at Colbert. Oh, right. So it's always about, and he has kids, and he lives in Maplewood. Where's Maplewood? It's in New Jersey. Oh, he lives in Jersey. I go there a lot.

I don't mind Maplewood. It's just the journey. Yeah. What is it, northern Jersey? Oh, you'll never hear me say, was that British territory? Or was that southern? When people say, was that British territory? Or was that Southern? When people say, is that on the east side of the street? I'm like, come on.

I worked at this restaurant once where they were showing me how to do the tables. And they said, now the salt and pepper goes, you know, east and west. And I go, come on, really? I don't talk like that. I never know where I am. You kind of know, north and south. I do not know. Okay. Well, it's better that we don't need to give out his address on the show like you just tell me the street number

and how many what are his kids names but uh exactly but it's so funny because i i mean i knew you guys you know way back like we have this weird uh secret yeah the secret history but we were both at hbo downtown 23rd Street. That's right. It was not a real studio, but I was shooting there. It was basically a floor of an office building. They built this little studio where I was shooting short attention span theater, and I was miserable. And then at some point, you guys came in, and Exit 57 was there. So I was alone in my office.

Playing your guitar. School of the Blind, like on the second floor. They put the boxes together and all. We had so much going on on that block that was so funny i know and nancy geller was there and nina rosenstein and the other guy uh was it what was that other guy's name that always scared me a little bit he just walked around quietly he was like the executive but it was back when hbo had an interest in comedy central like they owned it yeah and they produced your sketch show right and my silly um clip show and stand-up stand-up

and politically incorrect that's right and that was the first time i saw the dynamic of like a nancy geller and her assistant dawn oh yeah the first time i saw that kind of relationship abusive relationship and then i just saw people in this position typing i thought they were secretaries and they got all mad at me yeah i said happy secretary's day and they all turned on me like we're not. And I was like, I don't know. You look like one on TV. That's what you're supposed to be.

Those were lessons learned in show business. Everybody's an assistant to a producer, an associate producer. Oh, my God. Or you leave the room and they panic. Where are you going? We're just going to go. You know, Jesus. Right.

Because you guys, like it was, I remember that like it was just a bunch of empty desks and there were there were empty offices yep right because we were like the last holdouts there they had and then they had that whole basement full of props from early comedy central like you know because they went and cleaned it out one day that's where i got that guitar and like that's funny oh i don't but you guys were all in your own world and i felt like such a fucking and i've talked talked to you. We loved you. You were like the perfect neighbor. Remember, we would slowly wander into your office, and you and Paul would play guitar. Yeah.

It was great. Looking at fan mail. Yeah. Feeling like I wasn't living up to my comedy potential while you guys were wearing wigs and laughing and smoking, and there's all kinds of exciting young people coming in and out you know writing people with with energy interesting haircuts that's where i met stoli and jody right right right and then there was the other guy that seemed to have some sort of dread situation going on no it was like he was a writer it was you and mitch was it not mitch is

that is m Mitch was there. Colbert and Paul. Steve Colbert, you. Those were the people that were on the show. Yeah. And you guys were just churning it out over there. Oh, yeah. And Joe Forrestal.

Joe Forrestal. That's Joe Forrestal. Oh, that's the one you were. Oh, yeah. That's true. He didn't scare me. But yeah, but he was a nice guy. He was like a clean cut.

Seemed to have a shit together. Like, I don't know about that, but like he looked like professional as opposed to the creatives. Slick. He seemed slick. Smoked cigarettes. He would kill a mouse in a cowboy boot. He came over to my apartment once and there was a mouse and he stomped on it with a cowboy boot. I did that once in my life at a restaurant and I didn't know what else to do.

It was stuck on a sticky trap and everyone would just stand around looking at it. Oh, trap. Oh, yeah. And I felt bad for it and I killed it and I never quite recovered. No, you got to use the traps. I know, but it was the restaurant. I had no idea. Were you working at the restaurant or your customer? I was working there and no one was going to do anything. You're just going to throw it away. Isn't that terrible?

People just throw it out the window. You know, just get it on there and they toss it out a window. Can you imagine that? I don't know. I don't know why I ever use those sticky traps. Oh, awful. They're terrible. And a lot of times you don't know that there's one on there for years. Or you just see the tail.

That's happened to me before. Where they chew off their tail. In a trap, I've seen just the tail. Because it chewed it off and got out? I guess so. Yeah, but even PETA will use a slam trap. It's more humane. Yeah, because it's right away.

Yeah. But that was really the first thing you did, right? The Exit 57 in terms of television? Yeah, I was doing a play with David. And then Nancy Geller came to see the show and then she offered us this sketch show and then we brought Colbert from Chicago and put together the group.

You did a show with who? My brother David and I would do plays. Oh, right, right. And so that's how we were doing a play and i guess and gail was like you guys are wonderful yeah she wanted us to call the show balls balls balls but i was scared of nancy yeah i just didn't know people like nancy well she had i think she was the one that championed she was the producer of Politically Incorrect and was with Bill Maher forever. Bill Maher was her guy.

And she was there since the old days with Michael Fuchs. She was like an original sort of HBO person. But like, where did you come from? I mean, you know,

everyone knows like your brother and you're involved in his stories and you have that other brother that's very funny. Uh-huh. The rooster. The rooster. Is he still funny? Is he still? Paul have that other brother that's very funny. Uh-huh. The rooster.

The rooster. Is he still funny? Paul's still funny. Paul's still funny. And you have two sisters? There are six kids. Four girls and two boys, but then we lost a sister,

so now there's five kids. But I always say that because I'm still not ready to say there are five. Right. So six. And your dad's still around? My dad's 95 and he's still around. Right. David wrote a really funny story about him in New York a couple weeks ago.

It was really good. Because he's a little Trumpy? Yes, he did vote for Trump. He voted for my little brother. Oh, Rooster. The Rooster. The Rooster had to, I think. Yeah.

Yeah, right. The Rooster had to. And you're Southern. If you're Southern and your nickname's the Rooster, you really don't have the options of women. Hey, my hands are tight what do you want and the last time i talked to david he had he'd been uh spending a lot of time picking up trash along the side of the road he still does that yeah it's a full-time job i

mean you can't go anywhere without he's got to get his bag and his claw and you're like oh my god wait wait he does that like here too in new york he well i'm not no he's got a claw he travels with he's got a grabber yeah now he's up because he's picked up some pretty horrible stuff uh-huh but so but that's his thing like no matter where he is he is that an eccentricity or would you say he can't stand litter he can't stand it and he gives him a job yeah you know he's pitching in yeah he's got a truck with a pig on it and his name on it and everything where in england yeah but wasn't he knighted or given a some sort of proclamation yes he was yeah and he went there and he met her

well he's got a truck with a pig on it yeah he's got a truck good luck with a pig on it but but where did so you were born where i was born in upstate new york and then when ibm moved to the south we moved to the south so i moved to north carolina when i was three yeah and then i david was like david went to chicago to the art institute he goes called me and he said oh there's this place in in chicago called second city it's perfect for you you should really move from raleigh right and not be the funniest waitress there. And instead, why don't you think about doing something else? David said that? Yes.

Was he in Chicago? He was in Chicago. So he got me to move from Raleigh to Chicago. And so I started taking classes and then I got in the touring company. Did you ever do stand-up? No, I never did stand-up. And then I got on main stage

and then I was going to New York to do plays with David. Then he moved to New York and then I eventually moved to New York to do plays with David. Then he moved to New York. And then I eventually moved to New York. But when you got to Chicago, because now Chicago is the center of the comedy universe. Right. But when you went, it wasn't really, right? So when you got to Second City, who was there? Are there people we know there?

Well, that's where I met Colbert and Danello, Chris Farley, Tim Meadows. Before SNL. Yes. Right, obviously. Yes. And so... Oh, so what was the fucking... It was fun.

What was Farley like as a young man just working on improv? Man, he was funny. Yeah? He wasn't... I toured with him for a second, and then I got into another touring company, and Paul did. Second City? Second City.

And then with Farley, and then he quickly moved up to main stage. So I worked on a couple industrials with him. And he was really sweet. You know, very nice. Went to church every Sunday. I think he set his girlfriend's house on fire in the past. By accident? No, on purpose.

But he was lovely. His whole family was. They'd sit there on the bench and kind of support him and watch him. Was he always that sort of like, that was his thing? Yeah. See, that's the weird, I've noticed that about improv. It's almost like a commedia della arte. Like there are types, you know, and he seemed to like, you know, people lock in.

The jambaloo sheep are, you know, there's like the types of. Yeah, like there's, you know, the mousy one. There's the roar. And then there's the thinky one, the snarky one. Right. But you don't seem to be confined to that. I mean, when you were doing it, it seems people find their innate caricature of themselves. Mm-hmm.

Right? Right. Is that sort of the goal of it? Well, no. Well, when I was there, too, it's usually, it was like four guys and two girls, too. So it was always a weird, you know. And then when McNapier started directing, he was like, let's have three girls and three boys. Or he would change it up a little bit.

So when you get there, did you like were you working? Did you like what were you what was Chicago like? Did you waitress? I got a job. You know, I had like three waitressing jobs plus two classes. You know, I was like I worked at a grocery store, which I loved. And you move around a lot. But it was nice because David was there.

What was he doing there? I remember him. Art Institute. And then he was teaching at the Art Institute. He graduated and then he started teaching there. So when you get there, you get to Chicago, you go sign up, you audition for the thing? You go to a training program, take classes. And then at the end, it allows you to audition. you go sign up you audition for you go to a training program take classes yeah

and then at the end it allows you to audition yeah and then I got I got picked and I got to tour and that's when I toured with you know Colbert

and Danello so you and Colbert see I don't know how many people know that about Steven about that he was this improvising dude yeah

like he's like because now he's got you know he's the talk show character oh I know he's and he's some days now he's got you know he's the talk show character oh i know he's and he's um some days i think he enjoys it what a grind right no shit what a grind can you imagine no i mean wow every night i mean i remember letterman telling me once uh during a commercial break i was doing a play and he was asking me if i was getting tired of doing the same material

every night and he said he got tired of doing that after six weeks. Six weeks, he was like, I'm done. He said to me once after I did a stand-up set, I sat down and on the break he goes, you can make that stuff work on the road? And we're back. Yeah, he was great for doing that kind of stuff, wasn't he? He'd never do heroin and we're back. He would say the strangest things to me.

I really miss him. Are you still in touch? The last time I talked to him was maybe three years ago. Oh, really? He called me out of the blue. Yeah. My phone rang and he was just calling to say hi. Oh, that's nice.

Yeah, it was great. Yeah. Those are those calls where you're like, are you okay? Yeah. I'm like, oh, yeah. Like, what are you doing? Why are you calling me? Am I part of a list?

Is this a final act? Yeah. So, okay. So you go, how long do you tour on the road? Like, and what does that look like? I toured for two years. I went everywhere but North and South Dakota. See, you do know North and South.

Yeah. Do you know which one? Oh, here you go. I've never been. That's the only place in the United States I've never been. Huh. But for what reason? There was no-

For touring company. We just travel all over. They avoided it? I in the United States I've never been. Huh. But for what reason? There was no- For touring company. We just travel all over. They avoided it? I guess so. The Dakotas are off limits. The Rose Gold. Yeah. It's like no second cities allowed in the Dakotas.

Yeah. Just didn't get that tour. And you did- But did you do the same show? Do you do the same show? How many people- Then Paul and Steve and I started doing our own stuff. I was living over a deaf girl.

She was five years old. And I was- You were living over a deaf girl in New York? Yeah. I was living above her with her mother and i was very inspired by her like because it was everything was so visual with her so she went and she saw that show it's circus how do you pronounce it circus de soleil whatever circus soleil soleil yeah and she day soleil she came back from that and was you know describing it to me so i went out and got tumbling books, how to tumble. And so that was the first time

we put our own material in the show. Because normally when you tour, you do the best of Second City. Steve who? Colbert and Danello. And I got tumbling outfits. We learned a routine and we did it every time on the road.

So it was fun getting our own material. Then slowly we started getting more and more of our own stuff in. So that was new. We kind of started that. Did you do it for the deaf girl? Oh, yeah. That's my test for everything.

If I can turn the volume down and still tell what's happening or if it's entertaining in some way, you know, like Stranger than Candy, I'd go home and watch it without the words. And I'd be like, okay, I see what's happening. Or like when I did the books, I thought if you can't read, if you're illiterate, you can look at the pictures and you'd still be something, you know, might trigger something. Right, right.

You'd still be inspired. So that's always my test is for any project that I do is who else, you know, what other level can we hit? Right. Right. You know.

To make sure that like anybody can enjoy it. Anybody. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. In that face for Strangest in Candy. Oh, Jerry. Yeah. All it's even in that face for strangers oh jerry yeah all my muscles are in my face people like your face your skin i'm like it's from because i mug it's from making faces colbert used to say i'm an idiot savant my savant's making faces

so you're tumbling out on the road yep and then you come back and you like you pitch you put together the sketch show? Well, then it fell into our lap and Geller was like, why don't you do this? So I was doing plays with David and that was ultimately my goal. What were those plays? Because I kind of remember it. They were like- At La Mama.

Oh, right. And then we did one at Lincoln Center. Oh, I saw one. Which one did you see? Oh, probably One Woman's Shoe, maybe. One Woman's Shoe. That was good. Oh my God, because you did it.

One tape exists of that show. But that was one of those things. I think we were still at HBO Downtown. Yeah, probably. And you were doing it. And then I went to see that. I'm like, I should quit. That was good.

They're doing such interesting stuff. That's how David felt when he saw Boogie Nights. Because at one point we were like, let's write a movie. Let's try to. He saw that and he's like, I will never write a movie. That was, you know, he loved it so much.

Like he was doing shows, what was One Woman's Shoe about? I remember there was a big shoe on stage. We were in social services for us to get money from the government or something.

We had to put on a one woman show. Right. But there was a misprint, you know, when they wrote One Woman's Shoe. But this is the idea.

This didn't really happen. No, that's what the play was. Right, right. Yeah, exactly. So we were all like on welfare. Right. We had a big cutout. Hugh Hamrick, David's boyfriend, did the sets.

And there was a big wooden cutout, you know, the shape of a big shoe. Yeah. Sets were beautiful. Yeah. And you lived in the shoe? Yeah, I lived in the shoe. Right. Why not?

A lot of weed. A lot of weed. A lot of weed. That's when Dave and I got high. Yeah. We'd sit there and, oh, my God. What an idea. What an idea. Laughing really hard, and it would change completely the next night.

And he was like, you have to stop. These are the sets. Yeah. And that period in New York, that was like, I don't know. 90s, right? Yeah. And what in that that period in New York, that was like, I don't know. Nineties. Right. Yeah. But like, yeah. But that was sort of the end of like that feeling of experimentation. Am I wrong? Am I getting old? But like, it just seems like La Mama still meant something. Like people were still doing. That was Joe's Pub. Right. Joe's Pub is where you go now. When people come from to New York, where should I go? A theater? I go to Joe's Pub.

You know, they have great people there. Do they do full shows like that? Well, they do like Cabaret. Like Bridget Everett has a show or Cola Scola. Yeah. You know. But like it just felt like it was wide open creatively. And now I don't even know who lives in the East Village.

Do you still live over there? No, I live in the West Village. Oh, that's nice. Yeah. I've always lived in the West Village. You only have? I lived on, I called it Faggot and Cocksucker, but Christopher and Bleeker of all corners.

I lived there for 18 years and then I just moved up the street, basically. So I'm still in the same area, just a different part of 6th Avenue. And you can call it Faggot and Cocksucker because you have such a... Because that was the corner, Christopher and Bleeker? I know, I know. But you have a loving gay following apparently. Oh my God. I guess you're

sort of, you're sistered in to the community. Oh, boy. Yeah, who knows now? I posted something on my Instagram account recently. It was someone defaced the poster of the show that was hanging up. They knocked out my front teeth with a Sharpie. And someone was like, Amy, there are women in shelters who don't have their two front teeth or have dental issues. And I'm like, oh, shut the fuck up.

You know what I mean? I was like, delete, unfollow, click, bye- click bye-bye it's like oh what are you talking about yeah it gets like i someone told me a story about their sister who was teaching uh who got a job teaching theater and and they were doing like checkoff or something and there was issues with some sexual inappropriateness in the play. Oh. And some of the students that she was teaching walked out of the classroom

because it was triggering and she was asked to change checkoff when she was teaching it. It's like, what the fuck? Yeah, where's it going? Look, I can understand certain things, you know, that are like inappropriate and could cause some sort of triggering of trauma. But, you know, it's check off.

Right. Like, look, I've always been sensitive and certainly I've seen things that have made me go like that sort of hurt me. But like, you know, and then I just sort of like, okay, you know, then you move on. Yeah, you move on. I don't know. You move on. Are you. Yeah, you move on. I don't know. You move on. Are you nervous?

I don't know if nervous is the right word. It just seems to be getting a little bit out of hand. Yeah. A little bit. But then I watched this documentary last night called, I might get it wrong, is it Rain Festival? Or Fire Festival? Yeah.

This fake concert that they were going to do. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. The guys who ripped all those people off. Yes. And then some people flew down there and they were like. But I hated everybody in it except the locals. The locals who were doing all the work and everything. But that kind of person.

Yeah. That kind of white person. Yeah. And everything. I was like, wow, it's really interesting to watch something where you really hate everybody in it. Right. Except, you know.

For being horrible. The locals. Yeah. Or just the kind of people. Even watching them go to this island with dragging luggage behind them. in it right except you know for being our locals yeah we're just the kind of people even watching them go to this island with dragging luggage behind them like why would you bring rolling luggage over sand and rocks like just stupid and i just it's weird so mad yeah it's it's very strange how what people prioritize and how they live their lives just that kind of i don't understand it i

don't know but you know it's like we've been in this business long enough. I've seen people I know become monsters. Yeah. And of one kind or another. You know, but I'm not even talking about doing bad things. I'm talking about people whose egos become so large. Oh, yeah. That like you're like, who the fuck are you? Right.

Who treats people like that? What? You know, I don't. I love hearing about that stuff, though. I just I love it when I hear someone arguing or fighting or you know i miss that about working in restaurants when people be like i'd like to see the manager please it's like oh yes i can't get enough of that i love to walk into a store if i know people working there and cause a big scene or how about watching the other server like throw something at the chef what the fuck is this yeah this is what you that the the sort of like the the cook you

know the server dynamic like and then you got to the point where you're like he's he's in one of those places today don't don't fuck with him i don't know if he drank too much or what's going on but don't don't make any but how's the expediter today? Is he okay? The one with the burns all over his arms and hot French fry lights. I miss working in the restaurant because it's just, I love making cash. I love working with the public. I loved side work. And I loved doing it when I didn't have to do it. You like side work?

I didn't mind it. I mean, back in the day, you know. What, refilling ketchup? You just could character study and rolling silverware. Just having a job to bitch about. You know, you always have to have a job to bitch about. And, you know, sometimes I miss that. Sure. You can, you're up on all the drama of everybody.

And because everybody's there, like as much as you are, you can really keep up with like all the fucking stuff that people are going through. Why am I working Saturday night? You know? Oh yeah. Yeah. It's like, what happened with that guy? Oh, you don't want to know.

I do. I'm rolling silverware. Or you, that look of, you know, oh yeah. Yeah, it's like, what happened with that guy? Oh, you don't want to know. I do. I'm rolling silverware. Or that look of, you know, you look at a paycheck. No one's expression is ever the same. You look at anyone who opens an envelope, it's always,

something's always off with the paycheck. What is it? What's FICA? Yeah. It's $2 short are people who really know their paycheck stuff.

Oh man. I was always amazed by that. Oh yeah. I still don't know mine. I don't. Or crafters are like, it cost me blah, blah, blah to make three of these. It's like, I don't know.

I sell it for a dollar. It's just allowance money. I know profit. I don't care. Something to do with my hands at 3 a.m. Do you still craft? Yes. Yeah.

Well, I was really good at, I found my thing that I was really good at, making these potholders, but they stopped selling the loops, the found my thing that I was really good at, making these potholders. Yeah. But they stopped selling the loops, the kind of loops that I like. So I've lost my, you know, now I just make lighters, cover lighters. Covered lighters? Yeah, I take Bic lighters and make my own covers.

Oh, really? To sell. I kind of remember those. They used to make like ones that you could slide them into, like rock bands on them and stuff. What do you make them out of? Different, you know, sometimes I'd make them different characters. It depends who who the audience is who i'm going to sell them to i'll cater to those people other jerry blink fans fine i'll do some jerry blink lighters oh i see so you dumb dumb lighters from the dumb dumb rappers because it says save rap to make stuff so i like

this is a great idea um little things like that i'll craft you know so you pick an audience do you do do you do Do you do contract work? Do people reach out and go like, we really love- Then I don't want to play. Yeah, I'll do it because I want to do it, but don't expect me. A cupcake business, no, no repeat business. Cash only, don't call me. Yeah.

You pick up from my doorman, I don't want to see you. I don't want a thank you letter. How many do you want? 12? I'll give you eight. That's so difficult. Done deal. Done deal.

I always think about the restaurant thing because when my life got bad, I was like, what is my experience? After a certain point, you're in show business 20 years and it's not working out. It's like, well, I could always like, oh, fuck, the last job I had, I was a grill cook. Oh, God. In Brookline, Mass. And then there were times where I used to go, when I'd go meet people, like one time I remember going to a meeting at HBO

and we went to the cafeteria there and I was meeting with my manager and an executive of some kind, but I saw the guys cooking on the grill and I'm like, oh, I wish I could. Your skill. Yeah, like why can't I just be doing that? The victory of a successful egg flip.

Well, when I was doing Strangers, I was still, I was working at Gourmet Garage during Exit 57. And there was a point we had to reshoot the opening. I was like, I can't. I just started this job at Gourmet Garage and there's no way I'm going to call in and say I can't work. So someone else did that part for me. And then when I was doing Strangers, I was working at Mary's Fish Camp. But then it becomes like people just- Where's Mary's Fish Camp? It's in West Village. I'm four.

What is that? It's a fish restaurant. It's really good. You were still working there when you were doing strangers? Yeah. I would still work- Serving? Yes. And I'm allergic to shellfish, but I got the job. But then it became kind of a bit, like people might come by, and then you feel like you're doing it for the wrong,

I just wanted to wait, I just wanted to make cash, and I wanted to wait on people. But then I had to stop, because it just seemed like it was about something else. Oh, because people were like, did you know that Amy Severus is a, Yeah. Or it was taking money from other people,

I didn't want to take someone else's shift, that really needed, I didn't really need the money like that. Like I said, it's fun to act like a waitress when you don't have to be a waitress. Right, but you also

like the engagement. There's something about having real work to do as opposed to sitting around smoking weed. That's a full-time job. Where's me out?

Where's me out? All right, so how long did Exit 57 run? God, that's a good question. I don't know. Do we do maybe two seasons? Do we just do one?

I don't know. How did the idea for Strangers with Candy happen? I had an idea. I wanted to do something about after-school specials. Right. Because I really liked, just everyone did. Yeah. And then I went to Paul and Stephen,

and Stephen had the idea that I'd learned the wrong lesson, and Paul had the idea that I would be this older woman that goes back to college. So we all brought something to it. You just think about her and you laugh. Jerry. I do, yeah. That was a really, and I was very aware that was going to be a good time, that we were all going to look back at this moment. We were in the woods making each other laugh.

No one was in charge. We didn't even know we had an audience until Paul and Stephen wrote a a book called wigfield yeah and we went on a little book tour and when we did that tour we're like who are all these ugly people and then we're like oh my god they're strangers with candy fans this is fantastic and i love the audience for strangers yeah how how many of those did you do we did three seasons and they still haven't canceled the show um but they did strip mall came out so the someone took over yeah you know and then they picked up strip mall and did they ever want you to do a movie we did a movie you did right we did a movie okay now i i remember and what yeah what happened with the movie um it came out letterman for some reason i don't know how we

even got a script but he got a script somehow and then they called and they said Letterman really wants to produce this and make it happen. I was like, you're kidding me. That's amazing. And we shot it. All I think about with a movie, it was in the summer and I had a turtleneck on, a fatty suit, a wig, jeans, boots, and I just, my mind was black. It's hard to work in the heat. That's all I remember from that movie.

It's a horrible time. It's hard to work in without a suit. Yeah. I shot something in Birmingham and it was hot and I was like miserable. Oh, it's terrible. Because if you're shooting on a budget, it's never quite right. There's never a trailer. It's like, you know, there's an air conditioner over there.

Oh, yeah. Oh, no, no, sorry. There wasn't. Sorry. It's unplugged. Oh, my God. Budgets. So, now, there was a period in time where where like you became more of a personality than

somebody who could be seen in a thing you were just sort of like oh there's amy oh wait there's amy like she's in that show there she is on letterman but you were just like you were just doing little random yeah yeah and was that the plan or just the way it unfolded you know to be i think i never had a plan my only plan was going to chicago then going to New York to be with David and do the plays. But after that, I didn't really have a plan of action. Yeah. You know, and then everything just kind of came, you know, landed in my lap. And then I went down that road or this road.

But you had agents that were like, sort of like, do you want to do this one part? Because you did Law and Order and shit. Yeah, I got to do Law and Order. But you wanted to do this one part do you want because you like did you do you did law and order and shit yeah i got to do law and order but you wanted to oh yeah all i want to do is look at someone say have you seen this person show me an id i can do the knitted brow and that that's all i want i don't want any lines i panic when i'm like oh my god there's there's a lot of lines i mean ain't i'm like there's too many lines i just want to let's give me a walk on get a laugh and i'll leave i don't i don't need more than that. You don't want, anyone can do this. I can't, I'm not going to, you're not going to have any moments with me.

I'm blocked emotionally. It's like, you know. But I love to guest star on other people's show. It's a lot of fun, especially after having, doing your own show. And you did a lot of them. Yeah, got to do a lot of them. And people, they would just, you were like a pinch hitter. You're like, bring Amy in.

Maybe she, we don't know where to get a laugh here. This story kind of hit the wall. Bring Sid Harrison. She's with props. I'm always in the prop department or FedEx. I go straight to FedEx. Can you mail? Can you, you know, always.

What do you mean? Just wanting, like, you know, if I bring this in, or you need to order 250 cupcakes from me, I'll charge you a dollar a piece. That'll be $250. I'll bring them, you know, the I bring this in or you need to order 250 cupcakes from me, I'll charge you a dollar a piece. That'll be $250. I'll bring them. You know, the crew would love them. I'm always like, God, this is what you would do on set.

Always. Always. Yeah. Cupcakes. Because I was in a cupcake business. I was selling them out of my apartment and cheese balls. And then I got that mouse problem. And then you got a mouse problem from the cheese balls.

Yeah. Can you? I mean, it was the size Of the moon to a mouse It was like with the nuts On the outside Oh yeah Yeah and that was a business That was a business

Cash only Out of my apartment But did you Were you Did you have a kitchen That you were allowed To do that in Yeah it was alley kitchen

You know a galley kitchen It was really tiny My kitchen's not much bigger now But I mean was it licensed Don't you need to Oh yeah no no no Come on No it's licensed

So people just had to know that you were selling cheese balls word of mouth cheese balls and cupcakes i think we talked about this once before but then everybody was making cupcakes and then magnolia happened and i was like then i didn't want to play anymore i'm around the same time actually but then i didn't want to play anymore and i wanted to sell my cupcakes for a dollar yeah and they were selling theirs for much more yeah for and it's like come on it's a cupcake people used to wait online yeah magnolia and like you know it's like i like cake but i don't know if the cupcake thing was ever my bag i don't even know why i mean i like a nice cake but i was not going to go crazy right was butter right it was all about butter

yeah butter i was when i would travel i would load up my suitcase because it was cheaper you know like it was five dollars a pound in new york and i could go when i traveled outside of new york i could get it for like three dollars a pound right load up my suitcase with butter frozen yeah or come home fill my freezer up i was always obsessed with tracking you know trying to find cheap butter really now did you did you need to find cheap butter or was it just something that you you got into the habit well when i was making i was making a lot you know so saving a couple dollars on a brick of butter was expensive so you would and then dairy went up milk went up i can go on forever but you would but you would go

to minneapolis for something yes and you'd be like yes where's the supermarket there's costcos or walmart or whatever and that's where i was like oh oh, my God, you can get this for $1.99 a pound in New York? It's five. It's ridiculous. Did you ever buy new luggage to bring butter back? No. I don't know. I had decent luggage, I think.

That's a good question. I know. Just buy. Oh, my God. Like I'm at Costco. It's really cheap. And they have luggage over there. Best time to go to Costco is on the 1st or the 15th because people get their government checks. Oh, God. Like I'm at Costco. It's really cheap. And they have luggage over there. Best time to go to Costco is on the 1st or the 15th because people get their government

checks. Oh yeah. And it's packed. They're loaded up. And no one knows how to drive their carts. Nobody. Why is that the best time? Because of that confrontation?

It's just crazy. Yeah. Conflict. Oh, the wheels aren't working. They don't know how to drive it. Like everyone just fucking stay to the right. Yeah. Oh my God.

Or how about the person that's not thinking and just kind of wandering in front of you? Oh, it's the best, right? I guess. I just love, I can't get enough of stupid people. But do you confront them or do you just watch? I just watch. Yeah.

Oh, I watch because they sell those swings, lounge swings. You just sit on that all day and you'll sit there and watch people go by. When did the relationship with, like, when did Letterman start having you on? Because you were on there a lot, right, over time? Four times a year for a long time. I think I was doing a play with Sarah Jessica maybe around 2002. And he was a big fan of David's, my brother.

So he just started having me on. And then he would call me if somebody canceled. And I liked it because I really worked for,, you know, always took notes, kept a notebook and always wrote down stuff that might be a Letterman thing. But I never, I don't, I'm not a joke writer and I'm not a comedian. Like, you know, so I just thought of like, just to have a conversation with him and what he might find interesting. And he allowed me to ask him questions, which was fun because everybody wants to know stuff

about Letterman. Right. So when he would say something like, I was making dinner last night, I'm like, whoa, what were you making? Who for who? Where were you? He'd just give you a little bit. Yeah. You guys were funny together.

Yeah, he was great. Yeah. It was like, for me, I did panel once. Oh. Right, like the last year he was on. I was like, I got in under the wire. It was like one of the greatest things in my life. I don't think people realize how important it was to us for him to have approve of us i know and let

us on there i know then he started going in the wings to say hey to me oh really i'm like oh my god it would freak me out just to see him you know off that stage he uh i i never really just sitting there like if you could make him laugh, it was the best thing in the world. It really was. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that studio was so great. I miss him. You've been doing BoJack Horseman forever, too, right?

That's fun. Yeah, people love the show. But you haven't watched Go, I haven't watched that. Okay. I'm not that animated guy. I wish I was. Yeah. Yeah.

David did an episode where he plays my mom. He did? I haven't watched that episode yet. Yeah. He did an episode where he plays my mom. He did. And I haven't watched that episode yet. Yeah. He plays Princess Carolyn's mother. I was on the episode of The Simpsons. Oh, I wish.

As me. Oh, wow. You lucky dog. I'd love to do that show. How perfect is that show? It's great. And I interviewed Krusty. Wow.

Krusty was on my podcast. that's fun oh that's great yeah you want they won't let you do it i think i haven't asked me to do it i'm not gonna what am i gonna call them yeah i know i wouldn't call them no i mean i don't think so if they if they you know they'll think of me maybe something comes around do you like Do you do commercials? I did one a while ago. And I love, yeah, it was for a laundry detergent. Yeah. But I, you know, and I always wanted to do a commercial. I got shingles a couple of years ago.

And the first thing I did was drag myself to the phone. And I called my agent, like, give me a shingles commercial. I was in so much pain. I'm like, oh, my God. I'm like, yes, I really have it. Are there shingles commercials? Yes yes people are doubled over in pain and it is it is so painful it is so painful it is all over your body fire really all over yeah it's did you have measles i thought if you had measles or something like no and then chicken pox chicken pox right and you can get a you can get a shot

for it now but i mean i didn't i was offered the shot vaccine but i said no i'm never gonna get shingles and i was talking to a woman who talks to dead people and of the phone and i think i was so open to her that that's how i got it really i think so yeah because i wasn't stressed out at the time at all how'd you meet this person i'd heard about her for years. Laura Lynn Jackson, I think her name is. And everyone was talking about the same person. I didn't know it, but my sister had died. And I just thought, you know, I'm going to call this woman and see. And it was fascinating. And then David wrote a story about it called The Spirit World. Oh, okay. Yeah, it's a really good

story. And did she contact your sister? She did. She kind of, you know, she sounded a lot like my sister. She didn't have my mom's voice down so much. But Tiffany was there and Phil Hoffman popped in for a second. But we didn't record the conversation. At your apartment? The conversation. I guess the dead people go through. Her?

What do you call that person? It's not a channel, but it's like. A medium. A medium. A medium. But she's just kind of there and they kind of go through her these voices and she said other dead people might try to get in on that channel and you might not know them at all but whenever you know this is at your apartment

yeah should come over no it was over the telephone really yes and then and it was you just me by myself no no i took notes and And Phil Hoffman just came over? No, no, Phil was one of the dead people that- Oh, that came up? That came up. You guys were friends, right? Yeah, I've got somebody else here. And I was like, oh, it's Phil. She goes, it's funny, someone else asked about him.

And she's like, yeah. But you knew Phil when he was alive. I did. He was a sweet man, right? Yeah, Phil was great. We used to play a lot of fun games. I'd be like, okay, you have to act like you passed out on top of me. And I have to try to get out from underneath you without waking you up. Or we would stage fights because I had peeping Toms across my, you know, from my apartment. And I had all this breakaway

China that I'd gotten from a job. And I would just would just have him break them over my head, and I would break them over his head. So he was really fun at playing games like that. I'd blindfold him, and I'd say, all right, I'm going to do something. Yeah. I'd put high heels on, blindfold him. Be like, I'm going to do something. You have to guess my action. Like, what am I doing?

What am I looking for? Oh, yeah? Yeah. He was fun that way. And you just did it just the two of you? You had game night? Yeah. Just something to do.

Yeah. Did you know he was spiraling? I didn't know. I heard. Yeah. And then I ran into him once, and he was sitting at a bar having a beer. And I thought that was unusual. But, you know, we had a nice conversation.

And I think it was a year later he passed away. Oh, it's so sad. It's sad when people pass away. As we get older, it's just sort of like, what the fuck? I know. Do you get, like, I have these ideas in my head. Like, okay, if you make it through your 20s, then you've got a good shot at making it into your 50s. Oh.

And if you make it through your 50s, then you might make it through the long haul. But the 20 it into your 50s. Oh. And if you make it through your 50s, then you might make it through the long haul. But the 20s and the 50s, Oh, interesting. that's where people go down. I don't know why I've decided that because it's probably not true. Okay, I like that you've thought about it, though.

I always tell people I'm dying. I go, I have six months to live. It's easier that way. Just in case? Just like it, yeah. But your health is good. But I know it's just terrible when people pass away it's awful but i don't i don't have kids oh my god can you imagine no no

no i mean like i you know i'm not married any you know i you know i was married twice i didn't have kids but like i'm not cut out for it and i don't feel bad about it because i was thinking about that today like you know people are like well your pets are like they're your kids and i'm like not really because they're my pets and that's what i can manage emotionally right right right you know, people are like, well, your pets are like your kids. And I'm like, not really, because they're my pets. And that's what I can manage emotionally. Right. Right. You know what I mean?

They're consistent. You know, cats are, you know, I don't have to worry about them getting involved with drugs or disappointing me. You know, they remain. They're there. You know, you have a dynamic with them. And it doesn't really change. They get older. You get older.

But it's, you know, they're consistent. Right. You know, they're going to die. But like, I can handle that. Yeah. I can't handle the wild card of like you know i'm not like you know my cat didn't come home last night with my car i mean maybe it didn't come home last night but that's another issue i don't let him out but you know what i mean yeah got it yeah yeah but you never you've never been married never been married i don't have kids but daniella has two boys i'm the godmother and i'm a good godmother. But you were with Danilo for years, right?

I dated him for eight years. Yeah. Yeah. But I never wanted children. The same thing. I just wouldn't, I mean, I can't even watch a movie

where it's like disappearance or someone gets taken or I'm like, I can't, you know. I'm worried about the kids that I didn't have. Yeah.

Like I literally sort of like, if you let me think about it, like I can go through the whole thing like, is he still breathing in the crib is he still oh yeah like i can't like i can picture it and then there's people they're they're sort of like oh you'll get you'll adjust to it i'm like i don't know i don't know i'm full of panic over nothing right if i adjust to it that kid's gonna be nuts yeah oh yeah stick with cats right Because you have to let them be their own people. Right. Okay, good luck.

Let them free. I know. But you have so many siblings. And get a driver's license at 16, driving these kids. Yeah, yeah. But are you an aunt? Yes. My little Paul.

Rooster? Rooster has a daughter. Uh-huh. Madeline. Yeah. She's great. Yeah. And she's 15.

How's that? Is it good being an adorable yeah and i see her when i go to north carolina good kid she's very shy yeah you know and um good yeah good kid yeah and what's your old man doing um dad yeah he's turning 96 soon he's dad's hanging in there he loves life loves living how's his brain kick. Every time I wake up and I'm alive, I go, Dad, I can't believe it. He's still sharp as a tack. Really? Yeah.

That's great. I mean, he's deteriorating here and there, but he's really, you know, really doing well. I can't imagine what, he just lives by example. And I can't, I would be bitching and complaining. He never complains that he's aching or anything. And I just, I can't imagine what if I lived to be that old. Oh my God. Then I'm going to be like, this is what he was going through.

This is what it's like. Why didn't you say more? You know what I mean? Yeah. But we're getting old. We sure are. And whenever I complain, I'm like, I sound like an old person. You can't even have a landline anymore.

Like, I've just been dealing with trying to get the voicemail on my landline. They're like, my friend looked at me and said, Amy, I have to tell you, you have to let it go. That's not,

that they want, they don't want people to have landlines anymore. They don't. You have to embrace your cellular phone. And if you want people to leave you a message, they're going to have to leave it for you on that. And I'm like, and I heard them and I was like, okay. Like okay yeah i can still have a phone but it's like it's just making things are getting harder yeah and there's joni mitchell someone

he was telling me joni mitchell had said you know technology's a pain in the ass you have to answer three questions just to turn a light on but it's true like why do you i did then you sound like an old person so but the comfort of the landline. For me, like even, like there was something about watching like television where you just turn on and you see what's on and you just watch that. That's how I still do that, yeah. You know, but for years for me, it felt like, you know, like, well, someone's making decisions and putting these shows on for me. Like, I'm not the only one up right now. There's a guy, you know, at the place putting the shows on.

Oh, nice. Oh, boy. And then I had a landline for a long time and then nothing came through there but weird, you know, solicitation calls. Oh, I know. That happens. But what is it about the... I had dead people on my voicemail and all those messages gone.

Gone when I had to switch it. Because it's a long story about this cyber optics thing coming in. So AT&T is like, you can't have a landline anymore. So if there's a storm or a blackout, my phone would still work. And then all those people who had cellular phones would come over and want to use my phone because the chargers went out. But that's not the case anymore. So now there's a blackout. You don't even have an option of a landline?

No. These people told me I don't. You can't really. Huh. Because I feel like with Spectrum, you still can get a landline. Yeah, but you plug it in with your TV. It's all connected. And I never bought into that because if I was late on a bill, everything goes out.

You know what I mean? I could be late on a phone bill. Yeah. Whatever. But I never wanted everything tied together. Right. I'm not into that. I'm going to look into this Fios, though.

Yeah. I've been hearing good things about Fios. And when all this promotional stuff for the show's over, I'm going to- What is Fios? I need a project manager to help me do these things. Yeah. And I want to find out how do I find a young whippersnapper who's going to do all that icky stuff because when people come to my house to do work i say well since my husband died

i don't really know how to operate this remote can you help set it up because it's just they look at me and it all make i got a rabbit hopping around places i'm asking like okay lady wands everywhere like and they'll help me. But that line saves me a lot since my husband died. What else can I do for you? You still have the rabbit? Teen. It's a new one.

I just found out teen after four years is a male. Oh. Sick. Took her to the hospital. They're trying to put a catheter in. They said, Amy, this isn't a female rabbit. It's a male rabbit. So now I live with this big queen in my apartment. pound queen and i'm like wow it's shocking for everybody

yeah everything changed yeah new roll noodles so what so how do you watch television on my tv set right yeah but i mean just cable basic cable or you have cable you don't you don't you don't buy into i don't know i don't, you don't buy into the package. I don't tape stuff. What do you call that? What do you call it? DVR? I don't have a DVR.

I might have it. I just never, I don't DVR anything. If it's on, I watch it at that hour, that time, you know, as far as shows like that go. Well, I think that we, like, I think we grew up at the same time, and I guess we must be sort of nostalgic for what we grew up with. I mean, it feels like the show you're doing now has that feeling. It's sort of a strange, throwback, timeless feeling to when TV was like you had this weird kind of personal relationship with these personalities. I guess people still do, but it's very different.

Like sometimes when I go to the gym, I'll see Hoda and Kathie Lee. And there's some part of me that's comforted by it. You know, the kind of daily presence of somebody making something in their kitchen. Right. You know, but growing up with it, there was like, I missed three channels. Right, I know.

Right? Yeah. And maybe two cable things. And I guess that's old people talk, but it seemed like everybody was a little more connected. Don't you? Yes. Yeah.

And it just annoys me that everybody, you just have these worlds where people live in completely different worlds. People you're right next to on the train, you have nothing in common with them other than you're breathing the same air and they're a human. Right. Everything else, you know, like they're just i don't i don't you know different information different everything it's i don't know what happens now but i guess we are talking like old people i know no rollerblading you can't get rollerblading no rollerblading oh you're gonna

be yelling no it's just like yeah like old people i'm like oh okay tell well fine i'm an old person why can't i still have my you know i still shop from vermont country catalog i still get ll bean catalogs you know i don't even think that's politically right and like i still like think i look through ll bean catalogs i'm like i bet you i could make that look cool and every every time i've ordered anything from them no way the chamois shirt maybe that's it that's it but now they make things longer like even you can't even get t-shirts in a three-pack anymore because they're really long or what about just haynes pocket tees yeah in the in the maroon color or the three the three-pack yeah with just the basic colors 100 cotton haynes with the pocket that you that a younger me put his cigarettes in

and you can't um you can't get that anymore? I kind of looked for it. Okay. I didn't get the feeling there. It's weird blends. Yeah. They feel weird. It's hard to find a good t-shirt. But the pocket tee, I imagine they're still around, but I remember looking recently.

And sometimes you can find things on eBay. Right. But I remember there was a period where I just had to wear a pocket tee and some sort of flannel shirt because of this guy I went to high school with who I thought was cool. I'm like, I got to dress like that guy.

He's got them. Jay, I don't know what happened to that guy. Oh, you don't know? No, I think he went off the deep end. I don't know if he came back.

Tell me about this Vernon Chapman fella. Who? Vernon? Yeah. I love Vernon. Yeah, because you've worked with him. I don't know a lot about him bring him up because i was poking through your stuff and i know that show that i i didn't watch i mean i think i watched one of the uh harshie

holler yeah the harshie holler that's where i met vernon and um and then he produced you know the first season of our show they didn't do the second season, but they did the first. Of this one? Yeah, and I just ran into Vernon. And I think he's funny. And he has a new show out, and I've heard great things about it. I don't know the name of it. It might be on Adult Swim, but I heard it's really good. But he's sort of like this kind of mysterious genius type of character.

Yeah, he is. And what is it about him, though? How do you identify with comedy? Obviously, you're improvisational, and know, be funny in a moment. But he seems structurally funny that he's able to do things, you know, that are, you know, like, insanely unique and push the boundaries. Yeah, he's really, he's just really smart. Oh, yeah? You know, and he can give you really good advice.

Like, I was telling him about the show, it's so ambitious. You know, I play, like you really good advice. Like I was telling him about the show, it's so ambitious. You know, I play like five characters in one scene. He's like, you just make it easier by incorporating other things into your show that you don't have to be in, but it can still. Right. You know, he just has good ideas. He's really smooth, very cool, and very, very funny. And I just really like him. And he's just, he's the kind of guy who walks on the street with nothing in his hands.

You know what I mean? I've never seen him carry anything ever. and his and his arms are a little bit longer so it's like really fun i see my maverick all the time i like that about vernon yeah i i envy people that don't you know pack for the week for the day yeah yeah that's so good. That's so good. If I get in my car, I'm like, do I have enough snacks? Yeah. My nicotine. Am I going to run out of liquid?

I should make a tea. I got to drive over the hill. Like I have to do many things just to drive. What's this neighborhood like? It's a very old neighborhood. It's been around for a long time. This house that I'm in is built in 1908. Oh, wow. This is one of the oldest little corners. And I just came here on a fluke. But it's very interesting because you saw the streets, a nice wide street with a lot of

older houses. But like five minutes away, this is another thing about getting older. I got Whole Foods 10 minutes away. Oh, wow. Not even Trader Joe's five minutes. Walgreens. I love Walgreens right there. And there's a place where I buy fresh fish five minutes away. Oh, wow. Not even. Trader Joe's, five minutes. Walgreens. I love Walgreens. Right there. And there's a place where I buy fresh fish, five minutes away. Do you feel like it's a community? I do, but I haven't got to know them too much, but the people across the street had a little get together when they kind of got settled. Yeah.

And I met some of the neighbors and there's the history fanatic who's managing the historical integrity of the neighborhood, and he's on top of that. There is definitely this movement around me to make the neighborhood a historical neighborhood, which I'm okay with. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you miss, how long have you lived here?

I guess almost, it's coming up on a couple years. Oh, just a couple years. Yeah, yeah. And what do you miss about New York, if anything? And you lived in Astoria, correct? I did for a long time, and I lived down, when I was doing that show way back, I lived at 3rd and 16th for a while,

and I was subletting a weird apartment, I think, in the first season of Short Attention Span Theater. I don't know what I miss. I like that I know how to be there. Okay. You know, like, that's one thing you get from living there is like you get there, you're not intimidated, you take the train, you know the things. But a lot of what, I guess the energy that I used to feel going there like is not the

same. Like I still feel energized being there, but like I don't feel as connected. It's like some younger version of me was thriving on that. I see. As an older person, you know, I go and I notice there's a lot of things that aren't there. But I like to eat and I like to walk around and I like to see a couple people when I'm there. But I don't even mind being on the subway. But after three days, I'm good.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. You know what I mean? But you've been living there forever. And the thing that people, I don't think, realize about New York is that once you kind of lock into your neighborhood, that's your thing. It's not like, how do you handle New York? It's like, well, I go to that guy for, I see him every day because I buy the thing there.

And then I do that over there. And then there's two blocks away, I do the other thing. Right. That's your fucking life. That's your life. And then once in a while, you'll be in Spanish Harlem out of nowhere. You're like, wow, I should really go to other parts of Right. That's your fucking life. That's your life. And then once in a while you'll be in Spanish Harlem out of nowhere and you're like, wow,

I should really go to other parts of New York sometime, you know, and you never do. Up to the, you know, past the Bronx and the nice area.

I didn't know there was a park here. Yeah, yeah. So that happens a lot. What's at the museum? That's where you get people that,

ugh. The gift shop. That's what I know is at the museum. But I'll go, like I find myself going to that stuff more that I don't live there.

Like I'll go to the New Whitney. I'll go see stuff. My girlfriend's a painter, so we do that kind of thing. So I get exposed to things. When I was in New York, it's like I knew it was there, but that was enough. Yeah, right. You just know it's there. You don't need to.

Yeah. One time when I went back, I was staying right near Lincoln Center. And I was like, I'm just going to go over there and see what's on music wise. Oh. Right. And I just went to like some sort of classical concert. I didn't know anything about it,

but it was like 40 bucks. I'm like, fuck it. Good for you. How much for the good seats? Like 50? I'm like, all right. And I was just, I had a free night

and I just sat there and I watched people play woodwinds. Wow. And strings. And then when I go back, sometimes if I'm by myself, I'll go see jazz at Lincoln Center because why the fuck not? Like I said, I don't have kids.

I'm not in debt. What's stopping? Why? It's like if you treat New York like that, like sort of like this is a special thing. It's not like everybody goes to it. You can always get tickets to go see jazz at Lincoln Center, right? What do I know about jazz? Not a lot, but fuck it.

40, 50 bucks. I'll go see the best in Center, right? What do I know about jazz? Not a lot, but fuck it. 40, 50 bucks. I'll go see the best in the world play this stuff. And you just sit there. It's two hours. Yeah. And you walk. And you can do it. You can do anything.

Yeah. Anytime. It's like same with plays. I go see more theater now that I don't live there. Yep. You can just, because like for me, the big obstacle is like,

oh, I got to go. Oh, I know. And I love a cancellation. You're you're like oh we don't have to go now yeah great but what do you do for the entertain yourself other than you know look at your rabbit and cook things uh you know sometimes i'll go to see theater you go out to a movie i. I've got my group of friends. I'll come over or go over there. You friends with Jodi still? Yep, she works on the show. She does? Yep, yep, yep.

Oh, that's great. She works on the show. She's doing well? Yep, she's doing well. We were neighbors for so long. For so long. It's so wild. It feels so far away from me.

But man, they were there for a lot of shit, man. I guess they still live in the same place. Yeah, it got re-bought. Like apparently, I think Leo Allen was living in my old lot of shit, man. I guess they still live in the same place. Yeah, it got re-bought. Like, apparently, I think Leo Allen was living in my old apartment. Oh, right. And I still, I was on the lease for whatever reason. And the guy sold the building, and the new guy goes, are you Mark?

And he's like, no, Mark. He's like, is Mark here? And Leo's like, no, he's not here. He's like, well, you're the new guy. Here's your lease. Wow, that's easy. It was fine. It was fine. astoria was so amazing like it's like it's like where i live now like a lot of people don't know about this neighborhood

in a way but like astoria was like i guess it's come up a little bit but like you could just walk two blocks and you're like where are all these people from what is this food what language is that yeah it's great i could go around the corner and get egyptian pastry right yeah you can't do that here i didn't do it a lot you can do it you can get yeah you can get that kind of stuff but it's sort of nice just that's the one thing about new york is coming upon stuff just like what is this yeah all of a sudden you're in chinatown right it's amazing little italy yeah well god say hi to jody for me. I will. And this is the second season? This is the second season.

And tell me who else is on it, working on it that way. Well, Pasquazy's on it. Cola Scola's got a big part. We have guest stars from Ann Dowd to, I mean, it's Billy Crudup, Juliette Lewis. It's crazy who we got on the show this season. Because they love you. It's really great having them on there. But I'm happy with the show.

It looks great. And Jody writes? No. Jody gave a producing job this season. I'm so happy. How's Stoli doing? I haven't seen Stoli in a while. Last time I saw him, he came by set, and he seemed to be doing well.

The same. Yeah. I used to love going down there back when I smoked weed. I think when I quit doing drugs, I gave him, I had this bong that I had for years, just in case I needed to smoke out of a bong. And at some point, I'd put an ACDC sticker on it, and I think he has it. Probably. I wonder if he still has it.

Yeah, still has it. It was so weird having that relationship being that's I do miss that right that that sort of apartment thing where you're like what's going on in there like I don't know what happened everybody like crazy Mary you would have loved crazy Mary ask Jody about crazy Mary she's like the sweetest woman you know when he'd see her she'd go oh hi how are you little woman but then he'd see her, she'd go, oh, hi, how are you, little woman? But then you'd hear her screaming at nobody in her house. Just going off the fucking rails. Yeah, I would have loved Crazy Mary. She was great. But, like, living in an apartment building, one woman, like, jumped out of the, like,

she always dressed like some kind of nun or something. She jumped out of the window and killed herself. And then the woman next door to me, this little old lady, in there and i didn't know it oh wow for like weeks and like when they came because she didn't have family i felt so fucking bad because it was right next door and you know when they finally came to to get her you know i was like i had no idea and the cops are like you don't smell that and i like, people cook from a lot of different places. That's a good answer, first of all. And did you?

What did that smell like? Well, yeah, well, now that I think about it, well, you know, you smell like a dead rodent. You kind of know that smell, but I didn't know dead person. No, I've never smelled a dead person. You know, and I don't question smells when you live in an apartment in Astoria. No, no, no. You don't want to be judgmental. You don't know what the fuck people are up to and you just kind of let

them live their life but but i remember like when we in that building like there were so many different types of people and like in that fucking building after 9-11 i was there at 9 during 9-11 so was jody and the the the people downstairs from me the the mother worked in the building and she lost her life in in the tower and she had a husband and two daughters and then another guy in the building was one of the emergency workers who was down there right at the beginning you know going through the rubble and like he like like that that day you know when we saw it happening and you know like i remember because like my fucking my um there was a leak they i think they lived upstairs because you know there was a problem with the bathroom and it was that day and everything was crazy and weird but there

was a leak and i went up there and i knocked on the door and i'm like what's going on with the shower you know and then i realized they were all sitting around the tv and she was gone and then and then the guy who was the uh the emergency worker like you know a couple days later i saw him in the hallway and he just started crying and like and that was like so thoroughly a new york you know horror show and just but like the community of new york that tightness of people i do miss that yes like i believe that people like take care of each other there. Yeah. You know your neighbors

and they'll like, if you're in trouble, they'll fucking show up. Yeah. It's true. Right? Yeah. It's true.

You barely talk to them. You know, if you pounded on someone's door, it's me from across the hall. They all come together. Yeah. Emergency team. I miss that.

Yeah. You know, because I like knowing that. Yeah. Like, if shit goes down, like we're all on the same page here. Right. But, you know, it's a good feeling. But like when Jodi moved in, you know, because I was there, I think, when she moved in there.

And the guy who owned our building was Carlos. And he was a Dominican dentist. And he didn't have a license to do dentistry here. Oh, boy. He would have had to go back to school. And he was a bodybuilder. And he was this weird little guy, Carlos. And Jodi, I remember Jodi called him because her oven wasn't working. And he came up and he looked in her oven and he said, if it was a mouth, I could fix it.

That's good. But it's not so I won't, so I can't, so I got to go. Exactly. Well, I'm glad you're doing well. You seem good. Yeah. What are you doing in town? TCA's tomorrow.

Oh, so you got to go out to Pasadena? Yeah, I have to go out to Pasadena. To that hotel? I guess. Oh, yeah. Yeah, so I'm doing that. But I'm staying at the Sunset. Oh, that's nice.

I'm still, I'm like, just still want to stay here. So I'm going to do that tomorrow, and then I go right back. Okay. Yeah. Well, congratulations. Thank you. Nice talking to you. Nice talking to you.

Good times. That was Amy Sedaris. It was so good to see her. She brought me cat toys. So her show, At Home with Amy Sedaris, is currently in its second season on TruTV. New episodes Tuesday nights, 10 p.m. Also at trutv.com. Oh, also, my tour dates.

Go to wtfpod.com slash tour. I've got dates coming up in a lot of places. I've got, coming up, I've got the Wheeler Opera House this, what is it, Saturday, March 23rd. The Wheeler is in Aspen, Colorado. Then Salford, England, April 4th at the Lowry. London, England,

April 6th at Royal Festival Hall. Birmingham, England, April 8th at the Rep Theater. And Dublin, Ireland, at Vicar Street, April 11th. But then there are dates in San Diego coming up, in Raleigh, North Carolina,

in Madison, Wisconsin, in Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, in St. Louis. Yeah, and more will be added in time for the tour. So no guitar today because I've got to figure out how to set it up. Because again, I'm in a new environment. I think I'm going to walk down the hall and take a nap. Boomer lives.

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