WTF with Marc Maron Podcast - Episode 624 - Sinbad

Episode Date: July 29, 2015

Sometimes people ask Sinbad if he’s “still got it.” But as he proves to Marc, you can’t lose funny. And Sinbad’s been funny for a long time, from his time as a cutup in the military through his career as an actor and standup comedian. Sinbad tells Marc how it all went down. They also discuss how difficult it is for Sinbad to deal with the revelations about Bill Cosby after regarding him as a friend and mentor for decades. 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.

It's a night for the whole family. Be a part of Kids Night when the Toronto Rock take on the Colorado Mammoth at a special 5 p.m. start time on Saturday, March 9th at First Ontario Centre in Hamilton. The first 5,000 fans in attendance will get a Dan Dawson bobblehead courtesy of Backley Construction. Punch your ticket to Kids Night on Saturday, March 9th at 5 p.m. in Rock City at torontorock.com. 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 talked 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 gate! all right let's do this how are you what the fuckers what the fuck buddies what the fucksters

what the fuckadelics how's it going i'm mark marion this is my show. This is WTF, the podcast. Today on the show, Sinbad. Don't dismiss the Sinbad. I ran into him at the airport a while back, and we talked about him being on the show. And it's interesting how you identify Sinbad in your mind or what you think of Sinbad. You know, my associations were a guy that will definitely wear some outfits. And he'll move around the stage a bit and always seemed somewhat

off the cuff. He's a fucking comedy monster, man. The real deal. And it was an amazing chat. It was amazing to get to know him and get to talk to him. Solid dude.

And if you want to see him live, he'll be in New York City at the Resorts World Casino in Queens this Saturday, August 1st. The next weekend, he's at the Florida Theater in Jacksonville on Friday, August 7th. And the Capitol Theater in Clearwater, Florida on Saturday, August 8th. He's still out there, man. And he's in good form we talked about him doing some music doing uh just this whole process yeah it's weird that i can do this show for as long as i've done it but actually meet comedians that that have a very specific journey that may be similar to others but uh is uniquely theirs and i I've been having a lot of conversations,

a lot of great conversations lately that I'll share with you, obviously, on the show. A lot of great people coming up, a lot of emotional conversations. I think I've cried more in the last two days for reasons that are beyond me. I don't know if something's giving way. I've heard of this male menopause idea.

I don't know really what that means. I know that I've been very emotionally close to the surface, but I was talking to a woman in here and she was just telling me her story. It wasn't even necessarily that, that, that emotional, maybe it was emotional, but I was listening to it and I'm just squirting out tears.

And to the point where we, we, she had to stop and take notice of it what is going on these are not sadness tears i i don't know how to explain it but i think it's a good thing i i'm not afraid of squirting out a few tears appropriately an emotional response to a visceral stimuli in the form of a story that someone is sharing with me. I feel it. I feel these transitions. I feel the emotion of it. I guess I'm sort of I don't know if I'm starved for it or if it's just because I'm connected or empathetic in that moment. But, man, it overwhelms me it overwhelms me it's just like weird moments i'm finding extremely touching uh you know some dude just an hour ago some homeless dude eating a slice of pizza outdoors sitting there i'm putting a quarter of my meter he goes hey you got a cigarette i go i don't smoke

he goes yeah not not many of them do anymore and i don't know how he was separating us you know i don't know how i became a them and i'm not sure where he thought he was from but not many of them me being one of them smoke and i said uh yeah i gave it up man i used to he goes good for you save you five dollars a day not the health thing but the money thing and i understood that but i and i laughed in that weird laugh that you laugh when you acknowledge you're having a moment with somebody that that is kind of awkward but nonetheless a human moment but you want to somehow close that moment up in a nice way. So you're like, yeah, man. And you walk off. And I felt a little bit of emotion. My brother's here. My real brother is here. Boy, that's something, isn't it? Isn't it weird? Isn't it weird, people? I'm a 51-year-old man, 52 in September. My brother is 49,

people i'm a 51 year old man 52 in september my brother is 49 almost 50 years old we're a couple of middle-aged men sitting who the fuck ever thought that would happen and it's weird when you don't see your brother much which i don't and he shows up it's like it's it's i it's i can barely identify the dynamic sometimes but it's the exact same dynamic there's that you know at any moment it can just crumble into a competitive nightmare of misunderstanding and defensiveness. And then we have to, you know, work through it. And one of us will cry a little bit and be like, I'm just happy you're here. And, you know, it's good to see you. It's like, oh, God, such an intense family I come from.

Just emotions right on the surface at all times, except for my mother, who is perpetually, I think, 14 years old emotionally. That's what I'm living with. Before I forget, I have a few dates coming up in the UK and in Ireland. Wednesday, September 2nd, Vicar Street, Dublin, Ireland. Thursday, September 3rd at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, England. And Friday, September 4th, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, England. You can go to wtfpod.com slash calendar for those links to those tickets. Come on, I haven't been there in years. I don't think I've ever been to Dublin ever. Very exciting.

Also, I don't want to forget this because I haven't really mentioned it, but I'll be at Podcast Movement. Yes, I will be at Podcast Movement in Fort Worth, Texas with Aisha Taylor, Roman Mars. So yeah, so if you know what that is,

you can go to podcastmovement.com. It is in Fort Worth, Texas. And I will be there. I will be speaking on the 2nd, on August 2nd. I believe I'm filling in for Glenn Beck. So yeah, that's going to surprise some of his fans if they don't know I'm coming. What are you going to do?

Huh? What are you going to do? I didn't know that was filling in. 10 o'clock on Sunday, August 2nd, I am in conversation with Adam Sachs of Midroll Media at Podcast Movement you can go to podcastmovement.com for tickets if you're in that area, if you're in Texas or you want to come to Texas on short notice alright, so that's what's going on, here's a couple of things happening

I'm going to New York, I'm going to appear on the Charlie Rose show Charlie Rose is going to interview me and I'm very excited about it, I'm going to appear on the Charlie Rose show. Charlie Rose is going to interview me and I'm very excited about it. I'm a little nervous. He's like the real deal. I'll be taking mental notes while he's talking to me. And I don't know if you've listened to me carefully when I'm interviewed by people who interview.

Generally, I tend to try to shift it onto them at some point during the interview. I'm not saying that's a tactic or it's my plan, but I find it interesting to do that in the middle of an interview of me. I wonder if I'll do that with charlie i don't know when it's going to air i will let you know deal deal so i think i'm just going to go to now to my conversation with sinbad is that okay because i'm feeling vulnerable feeling choked up okay I'm feeling, oh boy. The struggle continues. All right, let's now enjoy a very fun and engaging conversation with Cindy. 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. that an epic saga based on the global best-selling novel by james clavelle to show your true heart

just to risk your life when i die here you'll never leave japan alive fx's shogun a new original series streaming february 27th exclusively on disney plus 18 plus subscription required I had to. put everything in the backpack because I'm a tech freak. Yeah. Sell the equipment so let's do some test runs. So she really, man, she was good at it, man. Doing interviews and keeping them flow and all that shit she talked works for her on the podcast. So what does she talk about?

You know what she talks about? Pop culture, music. What's her name? Paige Bryan. It's called Keeping It PC. I was impressed, man. Yeah? You didn't know

she had it in her or what? I knew she had it but I didn't know she would do it. How old is she? She's 29 Keeping It PC. I was impressed, man. Yeah? You didn't know she had it in her or what? I knew she had it, but I didn't know she would do it. How old is she? She's 29 now. Okay. And she just took to, like, Dr. Water. I was like, damn, girl. How many kids you got?

Three. Yeah? Is she the oldest? She is the, yeah, she's the oldest one. My son is 26. My other daughter's 20. And are they all in show business? My son just finished film school.

He's a hell of a filmmaker. Really? But he's a renaissance man. He went to school for audio engineering. He can rap. Uh-huh. He can play piano. Uh-huh.

He can produce music. Dude, he's just... And they all grew up in it. They all grew up with you. I grew up with the thing, man. They weren't going to work nine to five. I knew that. Do you come from a big family?

Six of us. Wow. Six kids? Six kids. Where'd you grow up? Michigan, man. Where in Michigan? Benton Harbor, Michigan.

So on the west side, closer to Chicago. I was on the Chicago-South Bend border. Uh-huh. And what was it? What kind of world was that when you grew up in there? Crazy world.

You know, it's funny, man. It's a small town, but my town ain't no joke, brother. Yeah? Yeah, so I think everything that I am, everything I became as far as comedy-wise, is from being there. Yeah.

From being a kid in the Midwest, man. I can't pay for that enough. Well, in what way? Everybody was working. My dad worked. We worked factories. We had big dreams. Did he?

My dad was working in factories. My dad was a preacher. He worked two or three jobs. Did he come to preaching later? As a kid, man, he was kind of tossed away by his mother. She gave away all the boys and girls. reason my dad was a preacher he worked two or three jobs did he come to preaching later as a kid man he was kind of tossed away by his mother she gave away all the boys and girls gave him away she got remarried we are like puppies because the new man didn't want them oh how the hell so my dad do my dad like puppies dude like it was like it was nothing and then my dad to relatives

though no to anybody anybody here's a kid in the neighborhood. Yeah. And then, so I can probably just, down the street maybe. And woman said, I'll take him. Really? Yeah. Did you know that woman? Yeah. She was not a nice woman.

I think she thought my dad was going to work for her ass. Do her old age. Right, right. Take care of her. Yeah. Didn't work out. No. So your grandmother just gave him away. Yeah.

And then he, when did he start preaching? That was like in his 20s. He's ready to become a wrestler. My dad did all this kind of stuff. That's hilarious. He was ready to wrestle. And then he said, God called him to preach. And he became this dude.

He wanted to play to bigger audiences. He was ready to wrestle. This is the Elkhart, Indiana area, brother. This is the home of the Bruiser, the Crusher. Yeah, yeah. Prince Pullen, all that stuff. Thomas. Indiana area, brother. This is the home of the bruiser, the crusher. Yeah, yeah. You know, Prince Pullen, all that stuff. Uh-huh. Thomas.

So when he became that man, I don't know how he became this man with no skills. He was a great father, a great man, was one of the most respected cats, but he never judged anyone. Yeah. Now, I see pimps, hustlers, doctors, lawyers. I saw everything in my house. So I didn't see the difference because I found everybody had problems. I didn't see the difference in people because they had money. Yeah didn't see the difference in people because they had money or not money. Right.

Because they all were jacked up. Right. And my dad was probably the most honest man and one of the hardest working men, but he didn't take no mess. He was that breed between he didn't take no mess, but he'd give you a chance to straighten your stuff out. Yeah, a reasonable deal. Yeah, give you. But practical. Yeah, a reasonable deal. Yeah, give you...

But practical, but not... Yeah, but I ain't playing with you, man. Yeah, you got a little time. Yeah. To figure it out. A little time to figure this out. You figure this out. I'll be back in 15 minutes.

You figure this out. So you saw pimps and all kinds of people? Yeah, because I came to my dad constantly. I came to my dad when they needed to constantly, when they needed to get some help or somebody was in trouble or somebody had a kid in jail or somebody was sick.

He was the man. Oh, yeah? He was the cat that could make things happen. Did he have a church? Yeah. Uh-huh. How big the congregation, you remember? Good-sized church.

It wasn't like these mega churches. Yeah. I don't think my dad- No, that didn't exist then. I look at him, I don't think he wanted a mega church. I think when he got older, he saw these mega churches,

like maybe I could have done more. I said, more so no man because everybody in your church knew you his church everybody knew him he was he was the cat he was the dude that would come to your house he was the one that if your kid was in trouble he goes his his word was strong so if my dad spoke up for somebody it meant something uh-huh you know right so he was a respected community leader yeah and uh did any of your siblings go into the uh into the church no huh after seeing that i said i'm doing this really you didn't think it didn't look like no you know i was like this because man people people are hard to deal with yeah man we are man yeah people are congregations and especially that guy you gotta take that yeah i know man are you awake and i'm crazy i'll leave you're that guy, you gotta take that. Yeah, I know, man. Are you awake? And I'm crazy. I'll leave you in jail.

Yeah, yeah. But I think all of us were influenced by what he was as a man, him and my mother. So we're all influenced by that. Did you see him preach? Oh, yeah, all the time.

So is he a good performer? He was the best. Yeah. Best, man. Funny. Yeah. He sang, did everything. Yeah?

Like, was he- Played basketball until he was 60. Really? Dude, he was a renaissance. They don't- You know what I call that? That's that dinosaur man they don't make no more.

We are not that guy. We are not. No, we were just talking about not fixing our roof. We're like the 70s hippies dropout. Yeah. Black Panthers. We became that next generation.

Yeah. You know what's different? Because we still all hustle kids younger than us. Because we look at- I look at young comics. I said, I don't said i'm not a hustle they think they're hustling the whole i like everybody goes man i'm grinding dude that's just a word yeah don't mean nothing man i'm on the grind i'm on the grind not really you don't know what it's like to be

going to comedy clubs with five guys in the car that's right and just rolling yeah no car no plane no in a hotel yeah comedy condo right there i said y'all don't grind well that that i think that idea of what you came up with in in me of maybe just a little later was this idea of uh you know there's a job the job is comic not i do comedy to get something this is my career this is the job right no because no this is because i don't want a job right i did this because i don't want it i don't i don't even think i know would know how to do it i always get saying what man did you have any jobs oh yeah i had many jobs i worked like real jobs like before comedy worked in factories work nothing that was career like

like i worked in the office right i'm walking away for comedy right now i get once like i kicked out the military i was done with jobs right well yeah i uh you know like i did restaurant shit i did stuff yeah job but nothing was like hey man i was done with jobs. Right. Well, yeah. You know, like I did restaurant shit. I did stuff. Yeah. But nothing was like, hey man, I was working at IBM and I decided to walk away.

Yeah. I knew that wasn't going to work out for me. I knew that was not my life. You were just waiting for something to reveal itself. I can't be that guy like, Simba,

can we talk, can we talk to you? I can have a boss. Can I talk to you? No, I quit. Yeah. I quit. I don't want to talk to you.

I don't have a better attitude. Can I talk to you? No. I don't want to work harder. I don't want to work harder. No. I hate this place. I hate you. Yeah. I'm just pretending. Yes. I'm trying talk to you. I don't have a better attitude. Can I talk to you? No. I don't want to work harder. I don't want to work harder. I hate this place. I hate you. Yeah.

I'm just pretending. Yes. I'm trying to get by. I know. I can't stand it. I knew. I wanted to play football. I wanted to play basketball.

I was in bands growing up. I played drums. I said, it was always going to be. I mean, I wanted to be that, you know, that thing that was different. Yeah. I wanted to be that thing that people that work are like, oh, I wish I was him. Right. I wanted to be that guy.

It's funny, though, because you weren't sure what it was going to be yeah but you knew it was going to be about you like yeah it's gonna be you're probably on the drums about me i'm gonna be and i'm gonna be i said and i'm gonna be the best right so there was but when you were drumming when you're like like they can't see me no i said man i should play guitar yeah yeah i gotta be up front the guy with the guitar guitar five years ago man, I should play guitar. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I got to be up front. That's why I picked up guitar five years ago. So now I play guitar. I was at guitar camp with my kids.

Oh, really? So I went to guitar camp. So I learned how to play bass. I said, man, and I'm playing trombone and trumpet now. I'm talk boxing, keyboard. I said, plus I have ADD, so I can't play one instrument. Right. I got to play nine. Sure.

But you do pretty good with them? Yeah, man. It just, music comes to me so well that's a gift like music I love music I love playing guitar more important than comedy

I think music is more important it's magic my thing is comedy and music are cousins I always wanted to open for bands

I didn't even want to work with other comics I wanted to work with bands did you do some of that yeah you did a lot that's how my

dude I would show up at venues that had a band, I would show up at venues that had a band and I would wait outside and say, look, man, if you need somebody to kill time, I'm a comedian. Really?

And they would lead me outside and then they'd go, comedian, come in here. Go get the guy. Get the band's there. So they'd go get him, put him on the mic. Dude, I lived for that.

All right, so let's track it. Where do you figure into the six kids? In the middle? Second. You're second. Yeah. So you're almost the oldest yeah is everybody still around everybody's still around that's nice i think my older brother he's not too far from here oh really like eagle rock man that's right there he's not too far from here what's his racket you know my brother was classical pianist really

summa cum laude straight a student my brother was like so when I went to school they go oh you're Michael's little brother I said oh no it's not that kind of part I'm the one that I'm the one that makes the parents real yeah yeah yeah

so he was a he was a musician so now he does business and finance stuff but you know what my brother should be playing piano so I said man

why don't you he should be playing isn't that weird he should be teaching piano he should be working piano music therapy he's just he's the best heart in the world he's the most patient dude that ever lived does he lose the love Isn't that weird when that's- He should be teaching piano. He should be working piano music therapy.

He's the best heart in the world. He's the most patient dude that ever lived. Does he lose the love for the music or what? No, I just think you have to go do this job. Again, with the job. Yeah, you think you have to get a job. I said, man, come back and do music, man. But maybe he's making some money with the job.

Well, you know what? No, because you're not making crazy money. This is California. Yeah. Man, unless you do. Dude, this is the weirdest place. Either you're making a little bit of money or a lot of money. Yeah. There's no in-between money.

No, no, no, no, no. There's no room for that. No. All right. So you're the second oldest. How many? What's the breakdown? It's four boys.

Oh. So me, my brother, older brother, me, my two other brothers, and my sisters. When did you start entertaining? When did you? 83. That's when you started doing comedy. Yeah. But before that,

what were you doing? You were in the service. Playing basketball. I played college basketball. You did? Yep. And then I went to the service. Were you good?

I was good, man. I had problems in, University of Denver was, probably was the worst four years of my life. Fucking Denver. Yeah, it was the worst. Why? Why was it so bad?

I picked the wrong school. You know what? But it was all part of the education. I call it the education, I call it the voyage of Sinbad. Places I was at, I was not supposed to be at. Think about it.

I got recruited to the Air Force Academy. Popovich was at the Air Force Academy. I turned down the Air Force Academy because I didn't want to cut my afro off.

So then, I joined the military. So you got your afro. So this was a black power thing. Dude, this was like- I'm not going to the Air Force again. No, I ain't, dude.

I can't cut the fro. I can't spend this. This is the hottest time of the 70s, and I'm going to have a no fro? No fro. Oh, come on. You had your priorities. I can't be that dude. Oh, I had an Afro pick.

Stayed in my hair. Yeah. Stayed in my hair. So you had an issue with Denver. What was the problem in Denver? It was, you know what? A lot of us came out there. Who's us? The guys I play with. And it was just a bad experience. Denver and what was the problem in Denver? It was, you know what? We, a lot of us came out there and.

Who's us? The guys I play with. And it was just a bad experience. It was, I mean, racism was still hard. White, it's a little white Colorado. It's still hard now, isn't it? It's hard. We know it's not near what it was before, but we see it.

Look, you watch the news, you read the papers, you see what's happening. That's an old vanguard that has to die. I always said, I like to see what this, I wish I could see what this world's going to be like when the generation before me dies and my generation dies. Right. Because even when we talk to our kids about racism, you can be as mild as you want. They're like, Dad, the world's changed.

I said, they have no concept. Of what you went through. That's why racism throws them off. Like, wow, you see what happened? I said, it's not dead. It's not as big as it was, but they have no clue. They read about civil rights. They read about things, but they didn't go through it.

Well, I think that's sort of the complaint of the generation for a lot of reasons. Yeah. Not just sort of like with the internet. They don't know that we had answering machines. Before that, there was no answering machines. Somebody had to call you. Yo, man, Bob's's trying to find you yeah that was it i'm here okay that's it yeah well i think well i'm it's a it's i don't want to trivialize anything but i think that they their their experience is limited to just pictures instant gratification instant text

message i said look man if we had it we've done the same thing but i thank god we didn't we'd never had the music we had or we wouldn't spend time with people the way we do oh what happens is we call it social media now no dude we were social

that's right we were social y'all are the least social I don't even know why they call it social media no one talks to each other

you dog each other I hate you I saw you she fell on stage dude they can't wait they go in I call them keyboard gangsters they can't wait to Yeah. They go in. I call them keyboard gangsters. Yeah.

They can't wait to go in, you little gutless cowards behind a keyboard. Yeah. It's all right. So you go to Denver and it's still racist. It's bad. It was a college. School was a, you know what? It just was what it was.

Me and my guys, I played ball. We talked about it. Some of the guys that really affected, I was lucky because I got this. But what, you didn't get out, you were benched or what? Remember that time, back in 1974.

That's when you were in college. Not just my college. Yeah. At any given time, you didn't have three black players on the floor. Right. If there was two players,

black players on the floor and a third one was coming in and one of us was coming out. Yeah. So we would do, we'd both run to the bench. Why was that? Because they didn't want to be outshined? No, the world wasn't ready to see do, we'd both run to the bench. Why was that? Because they didn't want

to be outshined? No, the world wasn't ready to see. They just weren't ready to see it. The blackening of college basketball. Remember, these were sports that were still kind of white sports. We were in there,

but being a black point guard, we weren't supposed to be quarterbacks. Right. We weren't supposed to be point guards because we're not smart enough to bring the ball up court.

So it was stupid stuff when you look at it. Yeah. And what did you experience there? And the kids, oh, God, the rich kids, it was called

the Harvard of the West, the way rich kids would talk. Yeah. And, dude, you just want to like, man, I'm about to slap you, I think. You can't say that to me.

They touch your braids, my hair was braided. What does that feel like? Post-fro, you were braided? Yeah, dude. What's wrong with you you just want to touch your head yeah and then also i was going through my thing

trying to find myself and who i was so that was so you're playing ball and now how'd you end up in the military was that the next thing i was um i was at home i came home you quit college quit college last year with like six, seven months left. Out of anger or what? I'm out. I said, I don't want nothing from the man. I don't want this school

to ever say I went here. So I threw my books in the air and made this big statement and then I realized, oh, I ain't got nowhere to go. And no one gives a shit about your story.

And then I saw it. And I can't pick the books back up. So I was drama back then already. So, but I said, I'm going to be famous. It's okay. I said,

they'll discover me somewhere. Yeah, somehow. Yeah, you're the guy that threw the books up in then already. So, but I said, I'm going to be famous. It's okay. I said, they'll discover me somewhere. Yeah, somehow. So I come home. Yeah, you're the guy that threw the books up in the air. Yeah, dude, I threw the books in the air, man. They had to sit at the bus stop and go, man, I should have thought that move out. I should have really. I need to pull up an audience.

I need to go like, so people can talk about, I remember the time that dude threw the books in the air. So when I got famous, I mean, he threw his books in the air. Yeah, that was a statement. Yeah, he made a there that was a state yeah no one was looking man no but you can't stay in my room so bad yeah I appreciate what you did yeah I found out his bow as you do stuff is bold yeah people look hey man it was cool yeah yeah but you can't stay yeah yeah yeah but you gotta get off my yard yeah it makes you stronger yeah sure so I go go home. I'm in the basement.

My dad's house. My mom's in the basement. My dad comes down. And I think we're going to go at it. But this is how my dad is. My dad goes, look here, man. Let's blame everything on that coach. Let's blame everything on everybody else.

Yeah. He said, what you do from this moment on, it's your fault. Right. Wow. And I didn't want the responsibility speech. I already have the anger speech. And I said it like this. Man, I wasn't ready for this. And I started't want the responsibility speech. I already have the anger speech. And I said it like this. Man, I wasn't ready for this.

Yeah. Yes. And I started reading all these books on positive thinking, the power of positive thinking. Yeah. Norman Vincent Peale. Old stuff. Magic of Believing. Yeah, yeah.

Stuff that's still. Right. The whole philosophy has not changed. Right. About what the mind can do. No, what the mind can do. Okay. To me, it's never been bullshit because we can be anything we want to be.

And once you decide to make a turn, how many people have you said, man, well, look at you, I'm tired of this, I'm doing something else. Sometimes all the anger would make a turn. We even know we're making a turn. You just did something. You know where that becomes a problem?

When? With comedy. Like if you get far enough down the road, you're like, fuck this, I'm gonna, no, I can't do anything else. No, but you know what you can do? What? You can say, I'm gonna do it a different way. Sure. So you don't quit doing it. That's right. So you don't quit doing it, you go like fuck this I'm gonna no I don't no I can't do anything else no but you know what you can do you can say I'm gonna do it a different way sure

so you don't quit doing it that's right so you don't quit doing it you go like this you know what gonna grow like Richard Pryor on stage in Vegas

he was a clean comic he said he did Cosby better than Cosby and he's standing on stage in Vegas and he's looking at the audience he goes he says

what the fuck fuck y'all and everyone whoa everyone went nuts and he said he had to sneak off to the wrong side of the stage

cause the dudes were waiting for him so he had to go through this pipe and he tore his jacket off and he said he had to sneak off to the wrong side of the stage because the dudes were waiting for him so he had to go through this pipe and it tore his jacket off and he made that statement and he paid and they went to Oakland

he paid a price which I love about it I look at cats now when cats are being vulgar or whatever stage you ain't paying no price you get rewarded for it Cosby

George Carlin Lenny Bruce paid a price Cosby didn't well Cosby Cosby did Cosby came out man his, paid a price. Cosby didn't. Well, Cosby did. It was always Cosby. Cosby came out, man.

His first review that's about Cosby, he was this angry black man. He said- Really? His first review, he said, dude, I was just talking. So he went, he said, okay, I got something for you. I got something for you. Yeah. He started doing stuff.

They couldn't touch him. It couldn't touch what he was doing. Yeah. And I look at what he did. This is funny. Cats act like he was not as deep as richard right i said please man cause was one of the most militant cats ever met he he was one of the smartest guys ever met but you didn't he didn't he was he was not what people thought because of the way he did comedy well he was well because he he knew the game and he worked within it So how are you feeling about yesterday with that news?

Man, you know what? I can't even comprehend. My, because I know him. You know, when you know somebody, even if, when you know somebody and not just know somebody, but all the stuff he did, colleges, giving $20 million to college and- I know. Dude, all the things he did. I can't throw that.

Dude, I can't negate that. I can't. It's hard, right? What he did for me, that. Dude, I can't negate that. I can't. It's hard, right? What he did for me, I can't. I can't negate that. I talked to a guy, because I have, like my experience with Bill Cosby's work is relatively new. Like I knew of him, but I was a Richard guy, and I didn't grow up black. You have the familiarity.

Besides both of them. Right. But I had that experience five, six years ago where I watched Cosby himself, and I'm like. That dude was real. Yeah, right. and then I go back and I listen you know I knew he was great but I didn't know why and the reason is like he decided what was funny yeah he's gonna sit down thank you I'm gonna sit that's right I'm gonna sit and you're gonna wait and you're gonna wait for me to get to the punchline Bill said don't be scared of silence right he could go for seven minutes yeah with no laughter all of a sudden boom boom boom boom i said who does that there's not a person's not right so yeah

so the challenge becomes you know as somebody who you know grew up with him and respects him like you got to separate now you got bill cosby the comic you love and bill cosby the guy who raped women and you're like man whoa it just dude i can't even say i can't even say it i can't i can't say it i don't even and it i can't i can't say it i don't even and the thing is but all these young comics oswald patton said something once he said we all knew it liar yeah i'm just saying he's right liar tell me it was a joke among comics bull bullshit man that's a lie yeah i didn't know it that's a lie i didn't know he said well we we knew it you didn't even hang with bill man. Now, what's your relationship with him?

What was it like with Bill? Yeah, he started you up? My mentor, this is the cat that put me on a different world. This is a guy I got to hang out with and talk with. He's still my guy, man. He was, I watched how he worked. He showed me how the game worked. See, Bill showed me, when I just found out how militant he was,

the stuff he had put up with, the stuff that he had to do. I said, man, y'all don't know. I told Cat. It's like, there's a movie called The Spook Who Sat By The Door. This movie came out in the 60s about a black cat they thought was an Uncle Tom, but he was the most militant, crazy cat and started blowing up buildings and stuff. Because people just decide what a black man, this is the funny part. Oh, if a black man wears a suit, he ain't black. If he wears a dashiki, he's black.

I said, well, a lot of cats who infiltrated the Black Panthers were police officers who wore dashikis. So you can't always go by what a cat's wearing or how a guy talks because some guys talk the most trash, do the least. Bill gave a college $20 million. I tell brothers, how much more blacker can that be than give Spelman College $20 million? How do you frame what's happening now in your mind i can't see what this one got me know what the party got me how quickly people turned on it before there was no

before they knew anything people just turned it's like they wanted it to be true but now that we kind of know it is how do you frame it like i haven't framed it yet i'll never turn my back on it never i won't i i know what it is is wrong but i won't because i saw so much right you know it's like it's hard to explain what i'm saying no it's not i understand it's got to be a horrendous conflict because i think everybody had the same experience even people who you know are are are outspoken about it is that they have to deal with the same thing you are. They didn't know him, but they're like, I love that guy.

Now he's a monster. What do I do? And I look more at, I see, damn, I hope it's like, does his legacy mean nothing? Does everything he did,

positive, the TV shows, different world, does it all mean nothing now? Like OJ. I think that's what's happened and that's the part that makes me cry inside yeah you know that that's how you'll be perceived man he fucked it up especially by the ones who don't know him you know well that well you knew him but there was

obviously something you didn't know do this somebody look what no i know this thing's about me people don't know i know i know i've killed but we've been talking about it for years yeah comics no simbad yeah yeah we all knew we all knew he killed a couple people but that was the road yeah man but you can kill people in the road back in the 70s so all right so what was the military experience so you decided when your father laid it down you're like i'm gonna join the service it service? It was, I was going to, I'm at my high school, I was thinking about finishing school,

becoming a coach. Mm-hmm. And I'm eating cereal. Doing the last semester. Yeah, yeah. Maybe back home. I'm eating cereal, man. I see a helicopter.

I said, I think I want to fly a helicopter. It was a Coast Guard ad on a box of cereal. Oh, really? I was inspired by cereal. Right. So I'm eating cereal.

We all were. So I'm eating cereal, man. I said, but you know what? I'm going by cereal. Right. So I'm eating cereal. We all were. We all were. So I'm eating the cereal, man. I said, but you know what? I'm going to go to Coast Guard. I'm going to have to fly. Yeah. But when I get out, I'm going to start my own service.

No questions asked. I'll fly you anywhere. I will deliver anything. So once again, I still went to my crazy world. Right. Right. I'm going to be this midnight. I'm going to call it Midnight Flyers.

You call us. We ask no questions. We'll get you. Because I had the adventure. If you got a body. It was that movie in my mind. Right. Body, drugs, whatever. Yeah questions we'll get you because i had the adventure if you got a body it was that movie in my mind right body drugs whatever yeah i'll get you there yeah just don't tell me what you got right that was the plan helicopter it's called no helicopters jets i'm gonna do all this okay so now but i go to the aphes where all the military stuff is that aphes

is for marines army coast guard and guy goes, Air Force, dude. I was like, man, you want to fly in the Coast Guard? If you want to fly, you should be with the Flyers. I said, yeah. I said, man, but I can't be a pilot until I finish college. No, man, we'll send you to college. The lie. We'll send you to college.

Really, man? Yeah. Finish basic training. We'll send you to college to fly. Basic training. That's the deal. Yeah, man. I'm joining the Air Force. Yeah. So I joined college. Really, man? Yeah. Finish basic training. We'll send you to college to fly. Basic training. That's the deal. Yeah, man. I'm joining the Air Force.

Yeah. So I joined the Air Force, man. I go to Air Force, man. I realize, oh, God, I am so messed up. I have jacked up. I'm the first week of basic training. I got to get thrown out now. That quickly?

That quickly. What happened? First day, we got up by the screen. God bless. Everybody shout out. Everybody shout out. All this hollering. All this hollering. out now that quickly that quickly what happened first day we got about screaming everybody shout out everybody shows all this hollering all this hollering yeah i know but no one messed me up it wasn't the hollering yeah it was the younger cats because remember i was like 21 she got kids 18 19. yeah dude they were like they were crying are you crying are you crying all they're doing is hollering to get off the bus this ain't real this ain't real man we just look look man i'm like i'm out i was gonna walk off the base i was

gonna walk off the base but then i figured it's only been a day here right and let it go yeah that's my mind right so i found that you gotta you have to dumb it down for the dumbest person so you go in the first day pick up your pencils do not pick up the pencils till we say pick up the pencils. Pick them up with your right or left hand. Already, Casper, pick up the pencils. Messing up. I said,

so he gets mad at us. I said, I can't get jacked up because of dumb cats. I can't get out. So now, when basic training, you're in your squadron.

I said, I'm going to be that guy. I'm going to be everybody's friend. I'm going to be the funny dude. Yeah. I want no responsibility. I'm going to be everybody's friend. I'm going to be the funny dude. I want no responsibility. I don't know how Tech Sergeant Parks knew.

He called me in his office. He said, you're a little older than the rest of the cats. I need you to be my dorm chief. No, sir. No, sir. No, sir. Don't put me in charge, sir. He said, I'm not asking you.

I said, I can't be in charge of these people because they're going to hate me now. I want to have fun. I want to be the fun dude. I'm the fun dude. So he knew that I was going to be the one. He's taking you down. So, dude, he put me in charge. He was inside.

He was punching you from the inside. So I had to be in charge of my guys, man. But I got some of the guys through. I got some of the guys through. But when the six weeks are over, you kind of hang out. You got a couple days downtime. Now they find out how crazy I am. They're like, oh, man, I wish you wasn't a dorm chief.

Man, you're so damn cool. I said, I know. I know. But y'all were crying. I can't think of my bed. I said, man, I had to deal with all that crap. Yeah. And then how did you get kicked out?

So, I mean, I'm a boom operator. I would feel airplanes in the air. From the moment was in you were flying yeah i know i was a boom i flew you were in the plane but you had to run this i was in the back of the plane flying the boom down but i learned to fly i was in wichita kansas what the not you you flew the thing to the hole in the other plane yeah the nozzle yeah man that was your thing Up in the air? Yep. I was good at it. And I had coordination basketball, bro. Did you do it, but you didn't see any action, right? Oh, no, no.

I came in after I had to get down. So what happens is I'm like, I'm crazy, man. I'm growing an afro. I use a stocking cap to keep it small. Yeah. I'm not saluting officers. I'm wearing the wrong outfits. I'm perfect.

I impersonated officers I had captain's bars I just wanted to see what it felt like to be a captain and you got in trouble for that shit I got busted

I had no strike it took everything dude but no one got me kicked out what there was an Air Force talent show that's how I became a comedian that's why I always

will thank the military tops and blue look it up they performed at Super Bowls it was the Oscars of the military and i was like i saw the comedian i said i'm winning that next year yeah i'm winning i'm

winning i ran out with epiphany i told my friends i'm winning that they go man you funny you ain't that damn funny right i said no i'm funny and then it was at the recreation center i would hang around the recreation center and they did plays. And I started doing plays. I did One Flew Over Google's Nest. I got the bug, the acting bug. Who'd you play in that? I played Chief Brompton.

You did? Yeah. I wanted to be the main character. Murph? I wanted to be Murph so bad. She said, no. You got to learn how to be quiet and silent and strong. I said, I won't be the ending.

So you started crying. I was crying. She said, well, if you don don't you won't be in the play yeah but she knew like i say sometimes people know how to do oh we killed it man we killed i did i got down bro so what this is like 75 yeah this night no this is 78 after college four years of college okay so this is 78 um so so now you gotta wait 79 you gotta wait a year before you're going to do the contest? Oh, yeah. So a year goes by. I'm doing plays and stuff.

Contest comes. Dude. Not only do I. Okay. There's two categories. MC and comedian. I wrote all these jokes. I did this Devo thing for the comedy category.

I was the only one in the comedy category. What do you mean Devo thing? Devo. Remember Devo? The band. I did this whole little react. Because I didn't know this was the comedy category what do you mean Devo thing Devo remember Devo the band I did this whole little because I didn't know

I didn't know this was comedy but I do I thought you had to write a sketch so I was doing a sketch so I did the Devo thing and I had silver paint on my face and everything

I committed I didn't get enough points to beat me I lost in the comedy competition and I was the only one in it but the MC category came up and John Salem who was doing the music from Nashville and I always hang out one in it. But the MC category came up and John Salem, who was doing the music

from Nashville and I always hang out and talk crazy. He said, man, let me see your jokes. He balled them up through the trash. That's what he's doing.

He goes, man, that ain't funny. You're funny. I said, what? That ain't funny. You're funny. And then the curtains opened and I said,

oh no! And I just started talking trash. Yeah. And the base commander's falling out. Everybody's falling out. So I won. So now you go command level. So we drive, all of us.

We go to command level. I drive the whole way because I'm talking. I got ADD, so I don't need to sleep. Yeah. So we get there. I won. I set a record. What do you mean?

So for points. Score. Yeah. So now. You killed it. The rest of my crew has to go home because none of them made it. Yeah. So I go to worldwide competition.

In the Air Force. Yep. Worldwide competition, Boxdale, Louisiana. So man, that's how life works out. I didn't even know

this world existed. Oh God, man. The entertainment world of the Air Force. Yes. It's real, baby. Yeah. So luckily,

I'm the last, I think how fate works out, I'm the last MC of the week. Well,, I'm the last emcee of the week. Well, there's a guy there who's done it. He's won three years in a row. When they all got there, they, what's up? They're all hugging each other because they hadn't seen each other in years. So I hug people too.

Girl, I ain't seen you. And they're pulling back. Girl, I ain't seen you. Who's this crazy dude? And I'm like. But that's psyching him out, right? Yeah, I'm a singer. Not to mention I was a singer.

So you have rehearsal time. Man, I'm in there singing terrible. And I'm telling the piano player, you are not following my key changes. He goes, I can't. You follow. You want me to fail. So they're going like, dang, guy's a jerk. He's a nut.

And then Etlene Bailey, a filibetti sister from Earth and Fire, says, you can't possibly be a singer. She said, what do you do? I said, I'm a comic. I'm just messing with people because I don't like how they hug each other like they were special. She says, I'm watching your show. So, man, Willie the Wiz, Willie the Wiz is the MC. Man, you got to have a gimmick, man. You got to have a gimmick.

So Willie the Wiz, he would wear wigs and stuff. He goes, man, sit back. You got to have a gimmick. I said, okay. We go to a costume shop in in new orleans to get get the he got the willie willie man you gotta wear this cape i said no i think i'm wearing that playboy costume yeah no no man no no that's what i'm saying man like a bunny yeah i bought i got a bunny costume yeah i'm wearing a bunny costume me can't man dude you can't forget don't

get a costume no you told me I need a costume. I'm wearing the bunny costume. So Bobby was a dancer. Bobby was a six-tooth cut-up. Bobby was gay. So nobody wanted to room with Bobby. So all the guys, I said, I room with Bobby. Man, you gay?

I said, y'all so stupid. Did you see the girls he danced with? He's gay. He don't want none of them. They all belong to me. So now they go, oh, I said, no, no, too late, because y'all don't think it out. Yeah, right. So Bobby, man, is showing me some dance moves.

But I put on the Playboy Bunny costume. I said, Bobby, man, my butt's out, because I got some tights. So he gave me some white tights to wear. So I got these white tights. So I'm the last one up. I walk out there to get ready to go out. I got this Playboy Bunny costume on.

Tom Edwards is still in charge. Tom's going to go like this. What are you doing? I said this Playboy Bunny costume on. Tom Edwards is still in charge. Tom's like, what are you doing? I said, this is my gimmick. Willie the Wiz told me I needed a gimmick. Willie said, I didn't tell him that.

He said, you can't wear that. I said, then I have to be naked because I have nothing else to wear. So I just wore it for the intro. I went out and wore it for the intro. Man,

and I did a whole thing about being a male Playboy Bunny, how we're sexually exploited. Yeah. Dude dude they fell out but the guy in charge when I saw that show the year before he was sitting in a bar

at the NCO club I ran in I said man how do you win the MC category he goes how do you win he said

he wrote it on a piece of paper say the name of the act say what category you're in tell us a couple jokes say the name of the act say what category it in tell us a couple jokes say the name of the act and get the F off the stage yeah I wrote it down

yeah so I came back the next day I showed it to him I said this is what you wrote for me he said but you're the first kid so dude

I went out there and did exactly what he did he said do you have a routine I said no liar I said give me anything to talk about

so right before I walk on stage they would give me a word or two words I would go out and do a routine on that yeah and they're like this Tom Edwards goes I don't care if you win or lose. I'm taking you so dude They scored everybody so high I had a perfect score, but they said they scored everybody so high

They said they had to we look at it without without looking at me Oh, they rent the tape back, but they wouldn't look at me bringing intros just so they could see the act. Oh, too funny. Yeah, so I was like this. But I didn't pay any attention, man. They got Bob Hope's manager. He's one of the judges. All these people do it. I'm just doing what I do.

It's funny, because years ago, Norm MacDonald was in here. Wow. And he's great. And he told a story about you two working together, I think,

in Vegas or somewhere. I don't know. It might have been a double bill. He might have been opening for you. And he said, before the show, in Vegas or somewhere. I don't know. It might have been a double bill. He might have been opening for you. And he said, before the show, you guys went and you need to buy socks or something. You do? Socks, dude.

Socks. He said he went up there and just ate shit. Got nothing. And you went out there and you said, you know how hard it is to buy socks? And just killed. That was always the thing, then. out there and you said you know how hard it is to buy socks and just killed for like that was always the thing then my whole life has always been i see stories you know what i read up but it happens impulsively it's reactive like you know pictures man i see i actually see it but

you're but when you get on stage like the difference between having an actor wearing a silver face yeah is that you know when you on stage with nothing but your wits, your natural reaction when you're cornered like that, it's almost like you're cornering yourself. Yeah, you're cornered. And you've got to be funny. And I relive, I relive. I'll write on a piece of paper,

talk about riding my bike. That's not a rap routine. Talk about riding my bike. But you remember what's funny about it. I remember what's funny, and then I remember other people riding, and then you tweak it. The whole writing my life. But you remember what's funny about it. I remember writing it. I remember other people writing it. And then you tweak it.

The whole thing is I lied well. All those things that got me in trouble growing up made me a great comic. Well, how did you get kicked out of the service? Oh, last and final straw. I come back. I win. I'm at Worldwide. I'm going to.

You're going back? No, no. I'm coming back to the base. No. I was going to travel with them. If I travel with them, my time would have been up in the military. I was going to travel. So I called my base. He said, call your commander up.

I said, look, man. I said, I won. I said, I'm the best. He said, what? I said, I'm the best. He let me go because he thought I was going to make a fool of myself. I said, I'm the best. I said, it's good for the base.

It looks good for the base and the command. He says to me, well, you know, sometimes we know we're supposed to win the award and we have to suck it up inside, know what we're worth. I said, why don't you suck up then if somebody says you can be a general and they don't let you be a general? Why don't you suck that up? He said that. He said, I'll see you. I said, maybe.

And I went AWOL. I left. I went to Atlanta, Georgia, enrolled at Georgia Tech. I said, I'm going to grow a beard. I'm a black man with a beard. They'll never find me. And my mother and my father called me. What have you done?

I said, I'm in college. So he dropped out of college. He was in college. He joined the Air Force. He said, have you joined the Air Force now? He said, son, have you seen the pattern? My dad said, have you seen the pattern? Yeah, I'm just a little behind.

I said, but I'm going to do computer science. He's like this. I need you. I've, but I'm going to do computer science. He's like this. I need you. I've never asked you to do. Would you please go back for your mother? I was back to the military. I said, man, I got it figured out this time. He said, just please, please, no more schemes.

So I go back to the base. Man, I got his beard. How many months later? I was gone three months, man. So I go back to the base man I got his beard how many months later I was gone three months and so I go back to the base dude and all the SPs the security police and my friends like this dude man we're supposed to arrest you then arrest me do you want to change clothes no so I get back this is a new base commander yeah I get the Eagles man he goes like do you know this tell you don't military's after you you better blah blah blah blah blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

I'm like, yes, sir. Yes, sir. And all the guys are watching. Damn, he broke somebody down. Yes, sir. I said, now, that was a good speech. And see, I was like, I did my part like it affected me. And you did your part.

Then I did my part like it affected me. I said, now, can I go get some sleep? Yeah. He goes, what? I said, that was good. You did your thing. And I said, oh, God, this is hurting me. Yeah, I did my role.

I said, can I go sleep now? So they locked me up. Yeah. So I said, cool. They put me't hurt me. Yeah, I did my role. I said, can I go to sleep now? So they locked me up. Yeah. So I said, cool, they put me in the stockade. That's sleep for me. Yeah.

So they got me locked up. So the next morning, you first get up early, go clean the base. Well, they ain't gonna kill me. So I'm like, I'm not going.

They go, what? I'm not going. They go, come on, don't make me be the one. I'm not going. We're not going.

Sinbad's not going. No, we're not going. They said, get him out, get him out, get him out. So all the other guys in the stockade said they're not going they said they weren't going to prison revolt yeah yes so they took me out of the thing and put me back and they

said you will sit here and you will do duties and they started initiate kicked me out the military right but but but fortunately you know what you did was just belligerent it wasn't criminal no i was always short of criminal right so you and i wanted to get a section eight because i always like mash yeah i thought it'd be cool to get a section crazy and um then i can give colonel brooks brother man yeah saved my life he was you want section eight he put me where the mental people were at. And mental people know when you're not mental because they all gathered around me. I said, I got to get out. I said, okay.

Okay. Okay. Are you in? I want a Section 8. Really? He put you in the hospital? Yeah, he said, okay, you want to be Section 8? I'll show you how that works.

Yeah. They're all like this. Hey, who are you? I was like, oh, my God. I'm going to lose my mind in here. Then you really need a Section 8. So he said, I need you to shave. It's called 3510.

Yeah. Everything's, I said, get some new pants, everything's, and me and you are going to talk every day. Now,

you're not going to get an honorable, you're going to get a general under honorable conditions because I can't get you an honorable discharge. But not dishonorable.

No, so I got general under honorable conditions. Which means you're just a smart ass. It just means you got issues. A smart ass.

Yeah. So, you know, when I got kicked out, I said, they threw me out. I'm sitting across the street. I got my beduff bag, everything. And I said, you know what? This is the lowest I can go.

So I can't go nowhere but up. I said, this is the lowest I can be. You had to work. You had to literally put your mind to getting kicked out of the military. Yeah. When you were doing fine, you just didn't want to deal with it anymore. No, I got kicked out. He said, my boy, there's another cat there. Man, you want to get kicked out?

Quick? Yeah. Say you want to stay. That's the military. In the middle of it. So I went to my commanding officer. I just seen the error in my ways. I like to stay and go to school, become an officer.

My paperwork was through in three days. They kicked me out in my ways. I'd like to stay and go to school and become an officer. My paperwork was through in three days. Yeah. They kicked me out in three days. Because you could have made us think about it in a way.

No. They were like this. They thought I wanted to stay so they thought they could hurt me by kicking me out. Right. Oh, really?

I said, I really want to be an officer. They what? I said, I've seen the error in my ways. I said, I just realized. Oh, so you think

you acted that up so you thought like we're going to really crush this guy. I said, I think I could be an officer like you guys. Yeah. He said, what? And I want to fly. I said, I've seen the error of my ways. I said, I just realized. Oh, so you think you acted that up. So you thought like we're going to really crush this guy. I said, I think I could be an officer like you guys. Yeah. He said, what? And I want to fly.

I said, so I'd like to, we could work this out. I could work harder. Man, my paperwork was through in three days. That's hilarious. So then, okay, so then you do that. And what did your father say after all that bullshit? Oh, I just couldn't go home. I was like.

Oh, really? I said, I'll be home when I can buy your house. I said, I'm a comedian. I can buy your house. I said, I'm a comedian. He goes, you're what? I'm a comedian. He said,

so is this a hobby? Right. Because I would call home, I'm a comedian. Could you send me $25? My parents just stopped saying that like last year. They don't know.

They're scared. They're worried. Look, to be an entertainer, especially talking about in the 70s and 80s when there was no hbo how do you make it how do you make out a small time it was i said dad well bill cosby was somebody

something goes yeah but you're not bill cosby i said and that's what his mother probably said to him when he said it was somebody else yeah so um i ended up going out i would just show up the place it's a comic i would show up at the rock music clubs no i would show up at places. It's a comic. I would show up. At the rock club? At the music clubs? No, I would show up. Comedy clubs? I would show up. I would call first and say I had a name for a guy who was my manager. So I would call like I was my manager, and they said we can't book him. Then I would show up and say my manager said I was booked here.

And they go like, no, we told your manager no. I'm like, oh, man, it's the third time this week. And they go, well, look, man, you can go up and do three minutes. But I knew if i did three minutes and i killed i get a place to stay maybe some food really so what were these clubs this is before the everywhere john cocker's club giggles comedy clubs national everywhere i was just showing up where were you living nowhere i had a ride the bus really yeah with just had a bag of shit i had baggage And you get on pay phones

at bus stations and do this manager scheme? Yeah. The hustle? Yeah. Huh. And that's how it started. I had a little list

of where comedy clubs were at. And this was before the boom, right before or right at the same, right about? I went to Kansas City. Oh, I got kicked out of the military in Wichita and I saw this comedy club

in Kansas City. My brothers live in Kansas City. But these aren't black clubs. No. There were no black clubs. There were no black clubs then. No? No.

The first black club I ever saw was Maurice Gold Coast in St. Louis. But this is after I became a comic. Right. It was only one night a week. There were no black clubs. So this was like just the 80s clubs. Yeah.

Remember, they were everywhere. Yeah. All over the South. The clubs were... Dude, if a club didn't work as a club, they made a comedy club. Right. They always had a night for comedy

because comedy was booming. Right. So Kansas City? I get to Kansas City. But before I get there, though, I'm just showing up at places. Now, what I did do earlier, I showed up at nightclubs. Yeah. And one guy said, man, I can get you in.

I can manage you. Dude, we can sit at the club, the nightclub. Hey, look, they didn't even know him. I said, dude, stop. Stop. No, no. This dude is funny. He needs to be on stage.

I said, man, stop. Just stop. They go, OK, man, he can do some no. This dude is funny. He needs to be on stage. I said, man, stop. Just stop. They go, okay, man. He can do some time. I want to do time. I want to do time. I said, dude, you're fired. You weren't even hired, and you're fired.

So the DJ, DJ Starchild, man, he's DJing. He got the headphones on. There's a microphone with a cord about this long. And all of a sudden, the guy whispers to him. Cutie pie. Number one song in the country. Yuck. Yo, the dude think he's funny. Y'all want to hear him? Hell no. I him, he, cutie pie, number one song in the country, yo,

the dude think he's funny. Y'all want to hear him? Hell no. I said, oh, Jesus Christ. Here comes Sebastian. I said,

my name is Sinbad. Sebastian. So I get up on the mic. Hey, how y'all doing? We're doing good till you got here. Yeah. And then the girl said,

get off the mic. I said, don't worry, anybody dancing with you anyway some said duck and kvassia bottle flew by by my head i said thank you very much and i left the dj booth yeah but i went out the wrong door i thought it was the door to get out yeah it was the door to where the alcohol was yeah i just sat down the alcohol said i'm not coming out this door again i'm staying here i sat there from midnight to three in the morning and the waitress come in

do you want anything? No, I'll just sit here. Mr. Comedian, we know you're in there, man. Come on out, Mr. Comedian, man. I was like, I'm not coming out. So, dude, those are the kind of plays I played. When I saw a comedy club, people were sitting down and listening. I said, people sit down and listen to comedy?

Yeah. Dude, that was such a foreign concept to me. So I get to this comedy club. My car broke down three times. Three times. Were you booked? No. I found where Open Mic Night was.

Right. So I get there finally. I catch the bus. I said, forget my car. I catch my... No. I got to Empire, Kansas. The car broke down. I jumped on the bus.

I ain't turning around. What kind of car was that? It was a... Dude, I got a Saab. I had just bought a... Should have made it. Saab. Saab that? It was a, I bought, dude, I got a Saab. I had just bought a Saab. Should have made it. Saab. Right?

No good? No, the guy showed me a piece of crap Saab. Yeah. That the glue on the headliner, so it would fall on my face while I was driving. So I put pins up to hold it up. Yeah. I thought I was cool. Yeah.

I thought I had this cool Saab. No, you didn't. No. You did? It stayed in. I never went back to get it. He just left it. I left it there, man.

So you get to Kansas City. Get to Kansas City. I get to the comedy club. Yeah. And all the It stayed at Empire. I never went back to get it. He just left it. I left it there, man. So you get to Kansas City. Get to Kansas City. I get to the comedy club, and all the comics are there. And I remember I get my man John Penny, and they were like, look, dude, well, you do three minutes, or if you can't do three minutes, I go. And my girlfriend was my wife now. I said, three minutes. I didn't know what I was doing.

What a set was or what? I didn't know that was special. I'd been doing it for like two weeks. Yeah. And I was like, man, three minutes. I'd go forever. Yeah. So I'm like this.

They let me get on stage. I took a newspaper. I remember Mort Sahl used to do it. Yeah. I threw it to the audience, pick anything. And I did a routine on it. Yeah. And the club owner did this.

Keep going. Yeah yeah so i went from three minutes to half an hour yeah he goes now i came off stage he booked me for that weekend the comics didn't tell me till like four weeks later we hated you of course so we can't get we've been here for a year if a year he might david naster might give you time i didn't realize what i was doing was different. I didn't realize that. All the other guys were doing jokes. Comics were like this. Man, we don't get you.

Because I would show up anywhere. And then, dude, the test was at Half Moon Bay. Right, up there, yeah. Robin Williams wants to do 15 minutes. And I'm like, this is an idol. This is a moment. And then- 85?

What is it, 89? Yeah, 85. 85, all right. So, man, all the other comics. Oh, man, he's going to steal our material. He's going to take our material. I'll be like this. Y'all don't want to work with Robin Williams?

They're like this. No, man, he's like, he's a sponge. If he hears something, it becomes his. I'm like this. He can take my stuff. So, they're like this. Man. So, Robin, he won't do 15 minutes.

And he didn't. He did 45 minutes and then who wants to go next I said me they go why oh you think you're funny I said dude y'all were never my competition he is him Bill Cosby Richard Pryor said why do we compete

with dudes nobody knows I said nobody knows you guys I said and they didn't get where I was coming from I said if I can't stand on stage with these dudes, I'm not a comic. So Robin Williams comes on stage.

I said, man, just, and I'm like, gosh, I love you, man. He goes, cool. He's leaving.

I started doing my thing. He stayed. Within three minutes, I had to stand ovation. And after he goes, man, why aren't you in LA? I said,

Robin Williams said I should go to LA. I said, I'm going to be all right. I was like this. I don't care if I win this competition. Robin Williams said I should go to LA. was like this I don't care if I win this competition Robin Williams said

I should go to LA yeah and did you huh right after the competition yeah that's when you moved down here yeah

85 yep I went to improv yeah Bud still had it or no no

I still had it yeah and then I went to the comedy store I couldn't get on I couldn't get in man somebody has to we'll get somebody it, man. Somebody has to, she had to get, we'll get somebody to sit with her.

Somebody has to sit with her. Yeah. So I think it was Louie Anderson that did it. I think Louie sat with her. Yeah. So Louie did it for me. Louie said, go, somebody has to sit with her.

And tell her this guy's good. Yeah. Oh, the system was crazy. So dude, I remember I was on the road. Dude, I already had made, I was headlining and people were planning vacations around me

with no TV, nothing. In 80 by 85, 86. Yes, yes. In one year. Yeah. So I got to L.A. I'm like, I ain't here to prove nothing. I'm funny.

Right. That's why I didn't come here right away. Right. But the comedy store is its own world. So I got through the comedy store. You know, I ain't understand your style. I said, don't worry, I'll never be back. And Bud Freeman offered me a deal.

He goes, look, if you don't go back to the Comedy Store, you can come here, you can showcase whenever you want. No kidding. He said. Kevin Dillon said, man, that's crazy. I remember Kevin Dillon, man, that's crazy. That doesn't happen. Well, it did happen.

Happened with Jimmy Walker. Yep. Because Jimmy Walker fucked him in his mind. Like, you know jimmy walker betrayed him this still exists between those two guys what like i had jimmy walker in here and we're talking about a comic store and everything else and that back in the 70s there was a real tension dude it was tens of 80s right couldn't work both right exactly but like but like jimmy was bud's one of bud's first guys from new york like he knew Jimmy. And Jimmy started working at both, and they're still fucked up about it.

What? Yeah. Bud Freeman said the only thing that pisses him off is that one thing. Fucking Jimmy Walker betrayed him. From the 70s. He couldn't let it go? He hasn't let it go. And Jimmy knew it. It's kind of trippy, man. Wow. Because who't let it go? He hasn't let it go. And Jimmy knew it.

It's kind of trippy, man. Wow. Because who gives a shit now? No, man. Right? Nobody remembers the address of the place anymore. It's crazy, man. But Bud said to you, like, don't work for her. No, he wouldn't do it like that. He said, dude, Bud said, I'll let you show

Bud let me and Kevin Nealon was like, man, that doesn't happen, man. Well, I think we've got to make people understand that at that time, before it became just a world of bringer shows. Yeah, I wouldn't be a comic now that bringer. You got to pay to bring. That's so stupid.

The reason I come to the comedy store, the reason you come to a comedy club is because you're supposed to have an audience. Well, they do, but there's also the bringer thing. But the point being is that at that time it was one night and he's a showcase he saw 20 guys yes so he basically said i'll give you a spot anytime you want to showcase which could be every night of the week yeah and just just stay exclusive yeah right and that's how it started but the thing is i didn't really i didn't really need how they do

that because that's what i found ho Hollywood was never going to get me. I would showcase for stuff. Right. And kill. And these young, and don't forget, these young agents, these young agents were like, whoa. They went back to the agency. This guy's sin bad. And I'll never forget what she told me.

They said, anybody but him. And I thought I was going to be, look, I thought I was going to be the next Richard. I'm going to be the next Bill. In my mind, I'm going to be the next Robin Williams Bill Murray I'm like and they said anybody but him and that's my mind what is it about me they couldn't figure out what I was

they were so busy trying is he nervous is he a goody is he militant what is he they couldn't figure out what he was and plus you know what I didn't take much junk well that's it it was. Couldn't box you in. And plus, you know what? I didn't take much junk. Well, that's it. It was the same thing that Superior Officer did.

Yeah. I was honest. Dude, you can't say stupid stuff to me. Right, honest, and also it's sort of like you knew. See, there's a weird thing. If you're just fundamentally incapable of of playing by of taking any sort of like authority but not even authority if something sounds stupid you said dude let me do this i can do this i didn't realize even saying hey man i was talking about cameras that's my editing stuff

we can do it this way they were like this i had a point of view they really just want you to somebody go man you're funny oh thank you i know i'm funny right but it's not about tripping. If you play ball, I got to know I can score. I got to know you put the rock in my hand. I want the ball at the end of the game. Don't hobble me. Yeah, yeah, don't hobble me. Give me the ball. Yeah.

So it was almost like a double-edged sword. I couldn't figure out. And then because I was clean. Oh, dude, this is what happened. I got to Hollywood. They said he's clean. Then they say he's clean. He's All-American clean.

He's a father. I said y'all just kept my career like there was no funk about me like there was nothing controversial these people never even saw me they were clean threw them off

like I said I hate when somebody says I'm a clean comic no I'm a comedian man because I put my stuff against anybody I don't care who you are I don't care who gets

in front of me behind me I don't care what you do I can do your dirty material dirtier than you I can do your dirty material clean I said dude you don't get it and then I thought they'll get dirty material dirtier than you. I can do your dirty material clean. I said, dude, you don't get it.

And then I thought, they'll get it because I'm doing movies. I'm going to play everything. It's not going to be no limits. So they'll say there's more than one side to Sinbad. Then the movies, they wouldn't even want me for the movie because they're like, well, I don't think he'll do that. So you thought I was- So they were projecting. They were like, no, he's his own thing.

He ain't going to- And I made a mistake. I should have kept writing my own movies. I should have. I should have. I got mad movies. Yeah. I should have. I should have. I got mad instead of just doing what I do. So what was the first big opportunity? Well, you know what it was?

I can't remember. It was, I'm trying. Well, you know, the first movie was Joe Rothman gave me a chance to do Houseguest. Mm-hmm. And I got a chance to help punch the script up and make it funny and stuff. But I think what happened is the director, his girlfriend wrote it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And I told the crew, look, I'm not going to be doing anything that's in here. Yeah, right. So the first day, I went with Phil Hartman. I said, Phil, look at me. Just go with me, my brother. He goes, what? I said, Phil, go with me, my brother.

And I could see over there she was mouthing the words you know her she had a script yeah and i wasn't doing that way she come on those aren't the words i said i know i know but i'm being i said but you'll get all the credit for it yeah she goes but you're not so you you think it's funny what you're doing i said oh i know mine's funny yeah but no happens it became kind of a fight so I really I was sitting and watching the dailies and I was worried about the dailies and I was tired as hell

because I'd be back the next morning to go shoot one Sunday we're off, we're in Pittsburgh shooting it Eric Sears was the editor his daughter's like hey and she sees me my dad's the editor I said why don't you come over here so I come in the building and watch the edit he's like this the editor. I said, why don't you come over here? So I come in the building,

I watch the edit. He's like this. He said, I see what you're doing. You don't have to come anymore, Daly. I got you. Oh, yeah.

I was like this. He said, it's funny. It's funny. He goes, dude, it's funny. I'm only sending

the funny stuff. Right. I said, it's always guys like that. It was always the other cats that got me the girl who

who answered the phone the girl when I go to go for audition right and the guy he's like and the girl's like this like oh my god

you're so funny but you're going like you know I understand you're funny I could have played the game I could have been like you know my thing is this

I can't I can't hide from what I am I am what I am that was like that was way way after you did TV and shit. Oh yeah. First TV.

Oh, first TV was, well, first TV, since I got here, I did a thing called, um, uh,

club med. Yeah. First we got here. Bob Girardi is directing who did, you know, beat it video. And all of us are sitting there, you know,

it's the same, the same five black people for every movie. You see our senior horse. He, um, it was Robert Townsend. Yeah. It was me, Mario Van Peebles.

Bill Maher's in the movie with me, too. So, man, when we were auditioning, though, what made me know, I said, God, I wonder if I, you know, you always wonder if you can act. I said, the kiss of death when a comic can't act. So, dude, I went in, I read, and Giraldi says this, because the part is for the part of this guy. He's a comedian also. Yeah. So, he says to me after I read, the problem is not your acting. He said, if you're funny, you got this.

I said, wait a minute. So, all this determines if I'm funny? I said, dude, Sam Bell's home. Yeah. So, I just did my thing. He said, oh, so when we get to the club, man, dude, I wasn't supposed to be in certain scenes, but dude, I'm clowning. What is it, a TV show?

It was a TV show, Movie of the Week. A Movie of the Week. With my man, Linda Hamilton from Terminator. She was in it. Miami Sound Machine was in it doing the music. Yeah. And Bill Maher was in it. Jack Scalia was the, so Bill Maher played the bartender.

Yeah. So while we're down there doing this movie, he says, look, man, I know you're not supposed to be on set today. You just keep everybody laughing so hard. So dude, he's putting me in scenes. We're doing funny stuff. And then the assistant sits me down three days later and says, I want to show you something. It was a letter from Lorimar.

Lorimar was a production company back in the day. They said, this is not a Sinbad movie because they say he was putting me in there too much. Right. He says, man, you get a kid,

I don't know, I didn't even tell you. He said, I've never gotten in like this. He calls, this kid is killing. He goes, this is not a Sinbad movie.

Uh-uh. He said, you have one of those personalities, people want to take you down a notch. He said, will you still come hang out? I said, I'll come every day.

Yeah. Just in clowns. Isn't that weird though that they're like, we got to take him down a notch. It is. No, it wasn't. And I told my dad, I was so frustrated. He said, dude, you walk in the room, you're 6'5". He said, you know what you're talking about.

You don't back down. And they're like this. Most comics aren't like that. We'll do, we'll get a job. You know, comics. We'll get a job. I'll do it. I'll do it. Right. They try to out-fun each other. I said, I'm not here to out-fun, comics. We'll get a job. I'll do it. I'll do it.

They try to out-fun each other. I said, I'm not here to out-fun you. I'm here to be me. I'm not here to out-fun another comic. And I'm not here hoping you find me funny. Yeah. Because I've gone into meetings. I said, dude, I'm not here.

Like, oh, even now, my age, I go and play. Well, somebody had a week. Do you still have it? Okay, who you know lost it? Who lost it? Yeah. That wasn't doing drugs or alcohol or something. What comic, did Milton you still have it? Okay, who do you know lost it? Who lost it? Yeah. That wasn't doing drugs or alcohol or something.

What comic, did Milton Berle lose it? Did George Burns lose it? Who lost it? Right. Don Rickles, did somebody lose it? Right.

But they don't realize you're on the road every week. I don't know if y'all realize this, I work every weekend. Yeah, I saw you at the airport. They don't get it. I saw you at the airport with your guitar case.

I got my guitar case in my home. I said, I work every weekend I'm having a ball being a comedian and playing music I'm probably having more fun playing music

because I run to a club to play music right after oh yeah yeah you work with Redd Foxx yes first show first TV show

I play Redd Foxx on god damn it so I got a chance with Redd Foxx I got a chance with Bill Cosby but wait tell me about Redd because Redd is like because I've talked to so many guys and I think about comedy a lot and the history of it that's like a chance with red fox chance with bill cosby wait tell me about red because red red is like because i've talked to so many guys and i think about comedy a lot and the history

of it is like like like i think i don't think that like he's like the the black rodney like they don't get the respect that he deserves he was the funniest cbs yeah dude cosby saved nbc philip wilson saved abc yeah and and red fox saved c saved CBS. But you know those guys that don't get the historical respect they deserve? Because it was too far back. See, Redd came from a time that's too far back that people understand. He owned a club on La Cienega. Not just owned a club, dude. He had boxers.

Redd was a beast, man. You know all Redd wanted you to do was hang out with you. We watched boxing films, watched movies. Redd liked hanging with people. Yeah. And that thing about his mother making him break out in hives was real. Really? His mother showed up one time.

She said, man, is Red in there? I said, yes. And so I led her on to the lot. I said, your mother's outside. Boy! Dude, he broke out. I said, oh, my God. This ain't no routine.

He broke out. I said, man, just give her this money. He loved his mom to death. She drove him crazy. Give it his money. And you had to pay Red in cash. Yeah. You had to pay him his weekly salary in cash.

But he's one of those guys that was so like, you know, they're those guys. And you're funny, obviously. But he was one of those guys that like, you you know he couldn't help but be funny if he was just eating no he was because they're brutally honest red was red taught me how to do tv when they put me when they made me his son they revamped the show he had his adopted daughter it wasn't working so they brought me as his son byron who was playing pro football came back home yeah so dude red my first day dude i, I'm doing my thing. I'm doing my lines. I remember I was like,

that's good. I like how you did that. But you know, you're all over the place. They got tape down here so you can stand the tape. Now you know, you're damn near white. I can get a white boy to play your part. I laughed so hard. And he became my friend. He told me how to do stuff.

And then the guys that produced him you make him come alive I said man how about this we'll try this we did a scene

where the oven was supposed to blow up and I was supposed to jump over the counter blown up dude the oven was supposed to blow up

Red pushed me down and jumped over the counter for the laugh I said I love that he said I couldn't let you have that one pushed me down and jumped over the counter for the laugh. I said, I love that. He said,

I couldn't let you have that one. Okay. I was like this. It was just so cool that he showed me that, you know, he was excited and he held me down. I got ready to jump up.

He held me down. He jumped over the counter blowing up. He did his thing. He said, yo, man, you made it look fun. In rehearsal,

you made that look fun. Yeah. That was something, huh? So I loved it, man. I loved Redd Foxx. One of the greats. Yeah, I love Redd Foxx. So I got to cut my teeth.

And then there became an argument. One of the Smother Brothers, not the one with the mustache, Tommy Smothers was directing. And dude, it was... The Redd Foxx show? Yeah. He's directing the episode. I'm like, oh, God, it's one of Smothers brothers, not the one with the mustache, Tommy Smothers was directing. And dude, it was- The Red Fox show? Yeah.

He's directing the episode. I'm like, oh God, it's one of the Smothers brothers. So I was doing some little stuff, improv thing. He goes, that's not funny. And I didn't know how to say it. I said, oh, no, no. The cast and crew, I mean, the crew, if you let the camera people laugh. Yeah, that's it.

That's where everybody's kind of laughing. He says, I said, that's not funny and it won't be in the show. And he stopped being Tommy Smothers to me at that point. Yeah. And I did this. I said, then maybe you don't know what funny is. And I said, Ray, you're probably going to fire me.

And the whole room just got quiet. He said, you know who I am? I said, if you forgot who you are, I can write it down for you. I even get directions to your house for you. So you really pushed it.

I said, plus I never saw you do nothing without your brother. So I truly don't know how funny you are. You're saying this shit? I'm saying this shit. Because now I'm going in. Now I'm going in. Now the other side of me comes out.

Boom, boom, boom. I'm throwing my, I'm slinging. I said, how was that? Was that funny? And Red comes over. All right, all right. He said, Tommy, we're going to keep what he did. Because you're about to get knocked out, I think, by this young man.

And Red Fox says to me don't ever change and don't ever back up he says because it was funny he said I just want to see how far you would go to stand up for yourself

and then Leon Leon my board stage manager said don't don't end your career this week right he learned he said man

it's going to get worse than this sometimes I said but dude why would why would somebody fight you about being funny yeah I didn't get I didn't get it yet I didn't understand the egos and what happened man, it's going to get worse than this sometimes. I said, but dude, why would somebody fight you about being funny? Yeah. I didn't get it yet.

I didn't understand the egos. And what happened? What was the outcome of? Oh, it was in the show. It was funny as hell. And he only directed one episode? He only directed one episode. Oh, so it wasn't like he wasn't there every day.

This is my shot. Yeah. This guy's just a day player. I'm going to take him down. I don't care who he is. He look at me, man. I mean, it's the way he said it to me. It's the way he said to me.

Sure. I said, it's not funny. It'll get cut out. I said, well, cut it out. Yeah. You think that scares me? You cut me out? The show didn't last.

No, the show made it through a whole season. Did you remain friends with Red? Yes. Till he died? Till they died. God damn it. He would do a show, tape on Friday, catch a flight do he would do a show tape on Friday

catch a flight and go do a show midnight show in Vegas he did a midnight show he did in Vegas and if his mother showed up he wouldn't cuss

his mother never saw him cuss on stage and that's what he will if someone told him his mother was in the audience he would not curse that's incredible she never saw him

do a dirty show because I got some of those party records that shows you that he can work I tell guys who are dirty if you can't work dirty and clean you're really not funny right sure yeah i said dirty and clean it's the same thing it's just choice of words but was red funny

or dirty that was no he was funny both ways yeah that's what i'm saying i said oh man i said man he was just as funny the other way well Well, this is interesting, though, because when you started doing comedy, who were your main guys? It was Cosby and Pryor? Cosby, Pryor, Robin Williams. Because we didn't see Red doing stand-up. Jonathan Winters. That was way before us.

I had all of his albums. Oh, you had the records. And I watched. I had old footage of Red. Yeah. You could see stuff. His timing, man. His timing was incredible, man. And I watched. I had old, you see old footage of Red. Yeah. You could see stuff. His timing, man. His timing was incredible, man.

God damn it. Right? He was the cat. So. Flip Wilson was one of my idols. So after Red Fox Show, that's when the relationship with Cosby starts? Well, then after Red Fox Show, they're auditioning for this show for a different world. And to get the show, now I wouldn't for this show for a different world. Yeah.

And to get the show, now I wouldn't remember, I couldn't audition for the show. It was a spinoff show from the Cosby show. Right. They already had the cast. Oh, but he's producing it.

Yep. They were looking for a comic to warm up the audience. No shit. Now remember, those jobs are hard jobs to get because

it's a very closed, very closed job. Right. And the comic that gets it never gives it to anybody else because you don't have to be that dang very closed, very closed job. Right. And the comment it gets, it never gives to anybody else. Cause you don't have to be that dang funny. You make good money. Right. And you get the union coverage.

So I had to come. I had to audition. Right. So I had to lie. So I go in. Carsey Warner, all of them. I was like, man, I have a. Carsey Warner.

I started, man, talking about all these shows I've done. And I warmed up the audience for this show and that show. And I couldn't just stop. But the lie couldn't stop. I couldn't stop the lie. And I said, I also warmed up the audience for this show and that show and I could just stop but the lie couldn't stop I couldn't stop the lie and I said I also warmed up for Magnum PI and they said wasn't on location I said yes and I said but let me ask you this up to this point how good was I doing so I get up I said why can't you stop lying? Dude, you didn't need to last.

And so I'm walking out, and George Crosby, he's a guy about 6'7", 6'8", worked with Cosby. He said, man, come here, man. Magnum PI, man. Dude, you was in there. He said, look, either you're very talented or, dude, you're mental. I'm going to err on the side of a mixture of both, and I'm going to go in there and tell them to give you this job. Man, don't make me look stupid.

I said, what? Don't make me. Because I figured if I warmed up at the show, Cosby would put me on the show. See, it was never to warm up. I didn't come to be a warm-up comic. They didn't know that. So now, first day, the day of taping coming, I'm going to be Bill Cosby. Man right they didn't know that right so now first day the day of taping coming i'm gonna be bill cosby man i can't talk i boom the social producer comes up to me what are you doing what are you doing standing here i said well i'm waiting for cosby you don't wait for cosby

you get out there you get out there and get ready i said no my name is simba and i'm a comedian i don't think you understand what's going on right now she said what I don't think you understand what's going on I need you to get out of my face well I'm getting someone

to replace you go ahead and get him here comes Cosby now I just want to say hello so Cosby comes up I got this go on I couldn't speak to him

I was like this he said are you mute I'll never forget then I shook his hand he goes you must be left handed because you don't have any strength in your him. I was like this. He said, are you mute? I'll never forget. Then I shook his hand. He goes, you must be left-handed because you don't have any strength in your right. Dude, I'm like, I can't say. Are you left-handed? No.

I couldn't shake his hand. He was shaking my hand. I couldn't grip it. And I said, man, I just want to say, no, we're going to do all that. About liking, don't do that. We're going to do this, man. You go out there. You just, you don't try to be friendly

you do your thing and you do it you be cool and you do your thing and I'm like this oh he don't realize I'm going to show off every

so dude I'm out there for warm up yeah so I'm warming up the audience and I'm doing my thing but there's a woman sitting in the aisle

I said it might be easier if I sit in the aisle and she goes like this I'm 6'3 she stood up Kimber Ricker Ball who ended up producing my first stand up special she said I'm going to sit in the aisle. And she goes like this, I'm 6'3". She stood up. Kimber Rickerball, who ended up producing my first stand-up special. She said, I'm going to sit in the aisle because I'm a tall woman. Kimber Ricker.

Yeah, I know her. Yeah, Kimber, man. So Kimber, that's how we met. And I got another gig because of that night. So I'm one of the audience for two days. Cosby takes the mic and said, this man should be on TV. As he goes, and I don't play. He hands me the mic back.

Dude, Kimber Rickard Ball goes to Dick Clark and there's a show called Keep On Cruisin' and said, I know you weren't looking for a black host,

but I found the guy who should host the show. So, I'm like this. If nothing comes out of this, Cosby said I should be on TV. Well, two weeks later, man,

I get a... How did he find my address? I got a ticket and an invite. I'm doing the Cosby show. I'm like this. How did he find my house? It was a ticket, hotel information, come to the Cosby show.

And I did the Cosby show. It was the highest rated episode in TV history since the Beverly Hillbillies. The one you were on. I was blessed. With Gilbert Gottfried. I played a car salesman selling him a car. So I get there.

He goes, huh? What'd you think? I said, man, I just appreciate this opportunity. He goes, now you ain't gonna act like this the whole time, right? You're gonna be funny, right? So, dude, I'm doing the scene with him and i'm trying to be respectful you don't want to be out funny during the break me and him start clowning see that's what a boy that's what i want give me that he goes jay we're gonna reshoot that yeah

he said go loose because you know what bill's thing is and i learned from him you can't be outfunding me you can't outfunding me give me all you got because you don't intimidate me so he has a challenge i started from him i want the comic in front of me do i want you maybe like oh i want you to make me leave my dressing room so i can be in my a game i saw that from Cosby. So he said, go loose. Go loose. And then he did one for the audience. He told Gilbert Godfrey, for the audience, give me Gilbert.

He let Gilbert go ballistic. So from that, you got a different world. And he put me on a different world. And that was big for you. Yeah. That was a lot of episodes. You were working. Yeah, man.

Had a job. And I was doing a different world.. You were working. Yeah, man. Had a job. And I was doing Different World, and I was hosting Showtime at Apollo, and I was doing the Luther Vandross tour all at the same time. Opening for Luther. Yes. And this is how I used to think as a comic. I said, I did the first year for Almost No Money.

I said, look, it's like $500 a gig. I said, I will go back into them same cities into smaller theaters. And that's how I did my first tour. Yeah, you knew you were building an audience. You were building an audience. It was the highest rated stand-up on HBO. The brain damage.

Yeah, everyone knows who you are. It's funny. People know who I am, but they don't. I'm six years old next year. I remember you wearing an orange jumpsuit. Oh, yeah, brother. I wore colors. I wore colors.

I wore colors. No, I no i did i used to my mother oh they're not gonna say i think that's simbad yeah if i'm walking down the street it's not gonna be i think i saw simbad that can't be nobody but simbad right yeah so uh yeah so you were you were huge but what were you saying that people don't remember people it's it's still i don't think people really even know who I am. I mean, there's so much more that I got to do. Movie-wise and stuff I wanted to do, it was such a box. Everybody kept so busy talking about the clean, clean comedy.

Why'd you pick the name Sinbad? That was my nickname. That was the nickname I had from college. So it just worked. For movies and TV, dude was perfect. So what do you, the Sinbad show, what what do you the Sinbad show how that what happened with that Sinbad show 13 episodes I pitched something okay this I have I won't post do a TV show Joe Ross let's do some more movies but

Disney gave me a deal I had to pitch a TV show I made up as I was going in the pitch mm-hmm and Joe Roth call me said you can't fake a suck pitch, can you? I said, what do you mean? They bought the show. I said, the show's not real. It's not, what? He said, they bought the show. Now you're stuck doing a TV show.

I said, man, I should have flubbed that pitch. So now, but the bad thing that happened is, I had to go get produced, but I was on the road doing a tour. So wait, so they reach out to you, they say you got anything? No, I had a deal. The deal was with Disney to do movies, but I had to pitch a TV show. One on the road doing a tour. So wait, so they reach out to you. They say, you got anything? No, I had a deal. The deal was with Disney to do movies, but I had to pitch a TV show.

One TV show. That's part of the deal. And you had to get picked up. And Roth said, throw the fight. He said, throw the fight, man. Right. Just let's go make movies. Yeah, right.

And man, I pitched it. I ain't going to buy this. I bought a guy. He adopts two kids, a black man. And he does the internet. This is the internet. Dude, I'm talking about 1994. I'm telling you this is about the internet.

They go, what? He does video games. He programs video games. Because I'm a tech freak, man. So like this. What? I said, trust me, six months, it'll be hot. So they ain't going to buy this.

They call. Well, great, congratulations. You messed up. Yeah. You got the TV show. I'm like what so now because we're on the road

they started developing this show without me so when I get there I'm like this wait a minute hold up you know so already

I'm like oh god you didn't want to do it in the first place I'm gonna be the guy I'm hard to work with now I'm gonna be the guy that's labeled

the hard to work with I think every comic's first show is the one you think you're hard to work with because you fight because you thought writers were funny

and they would hang out with you you don't realize writers are some of the most anti-social people in the world. But they're good writers. They could be good comedy writers, but they have no life. So I didn't know that.

I thought it was going to be cool. And the writers were told not to talk to me. And I was like, what? Don't talk to him. I wasn't supposed to come off the plantation. I wasn't supposed to come up to the main house. I wasn't supposed to come up to the master house where all the producers were at.

But that was the thing then. Yeah. They were like, we know his point of view. Let us just fucking write the show. Don't get him involved. Wait, don't look at this. We don't know his point of view.

Some of them have never seen me do stand-up. They don't even know your point of view. They're writing from their point of view. Yeah. They go, oh, I have a sister kind of like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, man.

Except for one writer would sneak to the window at my dressing room and say, what else you got? I said, do this and that. So he would sneak and the window at my dressing room and say what else you got I said do this and that so he would sneak and get my ideas really

yeah and he'd take credit for it but that's what take it no I said take it but you weren't on as a creator

you weren't on as a yeah I was okay but they they hate giving that credit right because now they're scared you'll abuse it

then I did this hey guys I said now we can really just faster right I said we can set up an editing bay right here on the set. They said, that's not possible. I said, oh, no.

So I showed them the technology. I didn't realize they knew it was possible. They didn't want me in the editing room. Right. So, dude, they. And this is your worst nightmare. So I'm not figuring out what's going on. We got this funny stuff.

They won't do it. Right. I'm a guy who adopts two kids who are brothers and sisters. I didn't want to adopt them. I used them for for i would let them test my video games and the woman goes like well you like you don't mind using these kids why don't you adopt them i'm a playboy he's a single dude he can't adopt these kids yeah he ends up adopting these kids and it now i said this is how it should work the first year he's a fish out of water with these kids. Second year he has to get with some friends and stuff.

The third year he starts looking at a woman. Guess who the girl was on the show with me that they let go? Who? Summer Hayek. We have Summer Hayek here and they let her go. I said dude I need y'all to write her name down because y'all is the dumbest move I've ever seen in my life.

I said she's Aladdin Halle Berry. Are y'all to write her name down. Because y'all is the dumbest move I've ever seen in my life. I said, she's Aladdin Halle Berry. Are y'all crazy? Yeah. I don't think so. So you feel in that process of that show that you didn't really want to do, that you lost control of it and fucked it up? Well, it got so crazy. It could have been so funny.

And you know what they ended up writing in the Hollywood Reporter? Yeah. He knew what he wanted. We should have been so funny. And you know what they ended up writing in the Hollywood Reporter? Yeah. He knew what he wanted. We should have left him alone. They just didn't want you to have control. Just saying something like this, hey guys, I got an idea. It's not that you're not hard to work with.

You're like this. I'm bouncing ideas. They didn't want your ideas. They said, man, why don't we try this? Because it's so scary, you're going to take control. Remember Roseanne Barr? Yeah.

Started giving her writers numbers. Yeah. Look what it took. They called her crazy. But remember, they wanted her to be a rich woman. Roseanne Barr started giving her writers numbers look what it took they called her crazy but remember they wanted her to be a rich woman Roseanne used to

ride with me on the road Roseanne said no I lived in a trailer park can't we show a person who don't have money to buy good clothes and stuff that's where that show

worked she stayed true to herself she stayed true to who she was and remember they tried to fire her and they told John Goodman it could happen.

John Goodman was smart for real life. This don't work without her. Some people would have jumped at the chance to make it their show. Yeah. You spent a lot of time with her? Oh, God. I met Rosie when I was in Colorado. I came through there, and she was even talking about quitting.

And I said, you know why these comics hate you? Because when you get done, women don't let them say stupid stuff i said you're killing it when she came to la man she's like i'm out of la i said so she went to do the johnny carson show killed he called her over bam bam she was at the store she was yeah man yeah she only been there two days yeah dude she only been there two days amazing time then. Amazing time. So you had a lot of friends over at the store anyway, right? Yeah, you know, I know everybody.

You know, I just, I think I just worked so much. I never really hung. Right. So you did a lot of TV. You do big parts still. You do some big parts. You're here and there, but you're working your ass off because you want to.

Yeah. I like, you know what though? I don't like doing some, I'm doing some things I did back in the to. Yeah. I like, you know what though? I don't like doing some, I'm doing some things I did back in the day. I don't like, like I said, I don't like,

I've been doing more comedy clubs I've ever done which is good and bad. You got to do more days but it also gives me a chance to rest and be somewhere and kind of bond with people.

It's nice sometimes to stay for a few days. So I do. So I'll do it every couple, three months I do a comic club is it humbling are you okay i'm okay all right but it was what's humbling is when other comics think

they're the same look i ain't trying to trip yeah but they think because you did the same clubs yeah hey man maybe i'll do something together now you really don't know who i am i mean it's like it's like you want to play with alan iverson. Maybe because we played in the summer league together. No, that's Allen Iverson. But you don't think, like sometimes when I hear what young comics do, that's sort of like, well, who the fuck do they think? Yeah. Wouldn't we have done that?

No, because I respected cats. I knew who was funny. But I mean, maybe it was easier for us to know who was who. No, I knew who was funny. I knew who was funny. I knew who was funny. I knew that guy. I knew Jay Leno. Jay Leno was a legend.

Jay was doing, remember just before Jay got the show. Jay was this legend at comedy clubs. Jay was getting the door. Jay was a legend. Right. And I got a chance to work with Jay at Zany's in Nashville. That little place. That's a great place.

I'm going there, dude. I'm going to Zany's. It's great. I love Zany's. I'm going to Zany's in three months. I love Zany's, man. Yeah. Sometimes I do the theater in Nashville and sometimes I do Zany's. Zany's a great place. I'm going there. Dude, I'm going to Zany's. It's great. I love Zany's. I'm going to Zany's in three months. I love Zany's, man. Yeah. Nashville. Sometimes I do the theater in Nashville, and sometimes I do Zany's.

Zany's is great. I have one last. You know that last run? I got one last run. What do you mean? Before I go out and play blues. You look like you're 40. Before I go.

No, I'm 60, man, but I'm going off to play blues. Yeah. I'm going to just, whatever instrument they don't have in the band, I'm going to play. Yeah. I got a band called- I love it gonna play yeah I'm having I got a band I love it I have a band I have a band

called the Stank Nasty Band yeah dude we do funk but I never played with people I was sitting here and played with people but then like when I start playing with people

I'm like your life changed didn't it oh yeah I tell people you gotta get out your room and go play with people yeah it's like it's great

cause you realize not all about me how guitar will travel right but like it's also the how they stay off them top two strings cause the bass player

you gotta realize I don't need to hit all this the piano players got swords you gotta find space but see for people like me and you

for fucking egotistical fucking comics I don't need nobody and we are the worst leader of bands I tell you what

the key the key to my band was I'm the worst one in my band I got guys playing with Rick James I got these guys are so good they make me oh yeah because I'm not the one in my band. I got guys play with Rick James. These guys are so good,

they make me good because I'm not the man. That's right. That's the best thing to realize. I'm not the man. I can just do what I do. I got such good guys behind me. I look like a fucking genius.

I get away with murder. I'm playing stuff. I'm talking trash. Dude, I get away with murder. I jump on percussion for a second. Dude, my daughter sings with us. Dude, I'm having a ball. Now, did your folks live to see your success yeah my mom's alive oh my dad too i took my dad

with me away i took my my dad dude when i finally when i did star search my dad was sitting next to miles davis man oh my god and miles davis said to me i Star Search. He set in motion what was going to happen in my life. He said, and I watch you on stage. Do you play music? I said, yeah, because that's jazz. You know all the notes, but you play them the way you want to play them. They ain't going to like you. Really?

He said, you're going to have to keep moving forward. What year was that? That was 1985, doing our first guy here. The first day of the the stars, back then. Yeah. He said, they're not going to like you, but you got to do it anyway. He said, because you ain't paying attention to no rules. Yeah.

And I didn't know, dude. I said, what? Not too loud, though, Miles Davis. No, I was like this. He says, you got what I'm saying? I said, wow. He says, you got what I'm saying? I said, wow. He says, you make this look like you ain't doing nothing. He said, you make it look like it's easy because you're just flown with it,

but then realize your backstory, even though you're a new comic, your backstory big, your life. He's right, because when I became a comic, I've been through, by the time I became a comic, I just wasn't some kid 18 who wanted to be funny. I was a kid being kicked out of the military, dropped out of college, been through jobs, went through all this. By the time I became a comic, you couldn't wound me. You can't hurt me.

That's what guys understand. I didn't need to go up on stage at the comedy store or improv to work out jokes. Work out a joke. I'm working. If I'm on stage, I'm working. I ain't working a routine. I'm bringing a legal pad up so you know, hey, if this sucks, hey, I got this legal pad. So it sucks. I ain't working a routine. I'm bringing a legal pad up so you know, hey, if this sucks, hey, I got this legal pad.

Yeah. So it sucks because I got it on this pad. Yeah. Yeah. Man, have some heart, man. Yeah. Do the joke. If it sucks, don't bring a legal pad up, man.

That's like saying, oh, see, there's a reason it sucks. My legal pad. I've done some legal pad work. Yeah. But man, you know what? If you do it, you do it. But don't. I've seen guys like this.

Oh, no, no, no. I just put it up there because it reminded me I thought of shit. I know. That's funny. I knew I had that shit. I thought of it. Most of it was on napkins. I have a napkin. Yeah, yeah, right.

Talk about running. Yeah, no, I do that. That's what mine looks like, too. But I got millions of fucking pieces of paper. I went through a box of shit. I'm like, do I need to save this napkin? I do, I do. I take typewriter paper.

I cut it in half. Yeah, me. Dude, that's it. Dude, that's my sheets. Yeah, that's it. Dude, that's my sheets, man. That's my sheets. That's it.

And then I go, where'd I put that sheet at? Yeah, that's it. You know what I do now? I take pictures of it. Oh, that's good. With my phone. That way, if I ever lose the sheet,'d I put that sheet at? Yeah, that's it. So what I do now, I take pictures of it. Oh, that's good. With my phone. That way, if I ever lose the sheet, I always have it. Oh, shit, that's a good idea.

Take a picture with your phone. That way, if you ever lose it, you got it. Oh, that's a good idea. Yeah, man. Why can't we write on paper? We write, but we lose it. I don't know. There's always this part.

It goes to the book bag. It goes to the book bag and goes like this. Oh, no. I put it in the book bag. Then I the book bag go like this oh no i put it in the book bag and then i put it inside this book then i got on the plane yeah it's gone i don't know where the sheet of paper is right but but what for my entire life i've been like i should get more organized with this shit did you ever get to if we were ever organized with it we would be we'd lose the i know that sounds like a cop out yeah every one of us has adhd all comics yeah i

read a book for the first time ever said it it's not a disease, it's a gift. They've been telling people that ADHD, it doesn't mean you can't focus. It means you won't focus on nothing you don't like. And that's what makes comics special. Don't like it, ain't dealing with it. Don't like it, ain't dealing with it. It is a gift to be able to know I don't want to do this. It's a gift.

Yeah, no, I agree. Did you ever do that thing where it's like, I'm going to sit i don't want to do this did you ever it's a gift yeah no i i agree did you ever do that thing though it's like i'm gonna sit down with this stack of shitty napkins and i'm just gonna put it all in one place like i've gone period i did i moved it i moved it then i tried to type it out but i thought about something else as i was typing it up a tv show came on man yeah i was typing it up yeah and i said wait a minute oh i was gonna type it up before no now it's nine o'clock at night and I typed up one yeah

right but the thing is it's like even if you type it out it's like okay but I'm never gonna look at that shit again when am I gonna go get it I typed it up yeah I'm done

like you know the napkins it's like I save them and they're around but once you do the bit it's done you're done it's in the best thing about

the napkin thing is I tell people this is how organized as organized should be you got a box full of napkins if you walk into a comic club just grab some napkins don't know which one you grab

yeah yeah yeah and that's what I do tonight I actually stand on stage every time before I perform I said I have no problem talking about I walk as I'm walking on stage

my first joke is coming yeah I like that I've walked on stage like this oh my god got nothing got nothing so I know I've done I'm honest I've walked in and said like this oh my god got nothing got nothing so I know I've done I'm honest

I tell my audience I have nothing yeah what do you want me to start yeah and say something boom boom boom boom

there it goes there it goes they love it I said tonight you are my writers I'm not paying y'all yeah but they like it

yeah they love it tell me where to go now the audience loves it it's always comic I tell comics don't ever listen to comics about your bits. And look at their little comic face.

Yeah, like with sort of like, that's what you got. I'm not impressed. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But, you know, I love comics, though. I like comics when they're not on stage with me. I like comics when we're eating breakfast. I like comics when we're in the car going somewhere. I like comics when somebody tries to lock us out of a club we can't get in.

Oh, we coming here. I like the boldness of comics when we ain't doing stand-up. That's right. We living life. But that's the funny thing about it. It's like, you know, we get this privilege. Yeah. You hang around with all these brilliant motherfuckers.

Yeah. And just go eat. Yes. You go to the movie with some brilliant motherfuckers. And talk about everybody we hate. They're all trying to work in it. And talk about everything we hate. Sure, sure.

And the people who brought our food that we hate. Yeah. We get to talk about everything. Everything. That's why we shouldn't have to get therapy. We are therapy, man.

That's right. That's right. For everybody. We are therapy, bro. Yeah. That's our job for the culture. Yes.

That's what we do. We're the court jester. That means we can get killed at any moment. At any moment, the king, off with his head. So we got to go like,

man, we're almost like this, man, I hope he don't call me up today. He's having a bad day. So we got to go like, we're almost like this, man, I hope he don't call me up today. He's having a bad day. Oh, let me go do my thing. Because only comedy, comedy is the only art form that the act of doing it

is the act of learning it. This is the only art form. You can't go to Berkeley School of Comedy. There's no Berkeley School. And if people take comedy classes, all right, dude, okay. Good luck with that but my thing is this

this is the only art form I think I'm funny really okay get up on stage Monday for three minutes yeah okay what dude it's like saying

I think you can drive look man I'm gonna give you the keys for three minutes drive as good as you can and then tomorrow we'll do some more driving yeah yeah

learn to play an instrument I can practice before I jump on stage with my guitar comedy dude I think I'm funny really hey guys there's a guy who thinks he's funny no no and play an instrument. I can practice before I jump on stage with my guitar. Comedy? Dude, I think I'm funny. Really?

Hey guys, there's a guy who thinks he's funny? No, no! And they put you on stage. It's the act of doing. It's a boldness that nobody,

no other art form has our boldness. Great talking to you. Right on, man. That's it. That's our show. What a great story and what a good dude. It was interesting to hear him wrestle with images of Cosby. It's something that will come up in other interviews soon.

It's hard to acknowledge what a horrible person he is and contrast that with somebody you may have respected your entire life. It's an interesting struggle for some people. But I was glad I talked to him and I really had a nice time with Sinbad. Go see him if you can. Go to WTFpod.com for all your WTF pod needs.

Get on that mailing list. I do put a little energy into writing that email for you. And also, justcoffee.coop. I haven't done that one in a while. Get the WTF blend. Get a little, you know,

I get a little bit of something, something with that and I get coffee. I'm out of my mind right now. Out of my mind. That's it. I will let you know on Monday when Charlie Rose is going to be on

and how it went before it's on maybe. I'll give you a little teaser. What? Guitar? Sure, I can do that. Thank you. Boomer lives! 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 an ice rink on Uber Eats. But iced tea, ice cream, or just plain old ice? Yes, we deliver those.

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