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Norm Macdonald Live S03E11 Norm Macdonald with Guest Rich Little DD 2 monkee
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00:00Well, it's a big show for me, Jenny.
00:03Are you excited?
00:04I am excited.
00:05Rich Little, my hero as a child.
00:08Wow.
00:09I saw him at the National Arts Center in Ottawa, Ontario.
00:13But we'll get that when the great man gets here.
00:16Speaking of getting here, where's my trusty sidekick, Adam Egot?
00:20He's always late, late, late.
00:23He's lately late.
00:25He's taking liberties with this program, is what I think.
00:28Tis, tis.
00:29Yes, tisk, tisk is correct.
00:35Oh, it's my phone.
00:38Adam Egot, speak of the devil.
00:42I'm going to put him on speaker so as not to exclude you.
00:48Adam Egot, you're on speaker with Jenny and Norm.
00:53Hi, Adam.
00:54Oh, hi, guys.
00:56How's it going?
00:57Oh, you don't sound good.
00:59I'm not good.
01:01Well, you've got to come in and do the show.
01:05There's no way I can make it.
01:07I'm just incredibly ill.
01:10Oh.
01:11Well, listen.
01:12I'm sorry.
01:12Listen.
01:13That's bad news.
01:14But don't worry, because I have the solution.
01:18I'm going to get a little reballed here.
01:20But what I do whenever I do whenever I get sick, I make love with my wife.
01:29You should try that.
01:34All right, I'll try it.
01:37All right.
01:38All right.
01:39Good, good.
01:39All right.
01:39Bye.
01:42Hope you find somebody.
01:44He doesn't have a significant other.
01:47You know what that means.
01:48Oh, yeah.
01:50We all know what that means.
01:54Well, it's been two hours, Jenny.
01:57How's the left side of my head looking?
02:00Right about done.
02:02Oh, excellent.
02:03I'm still kind of worried, though, because still no sign of Adam Egot.
02:12I'm going to just not put it on speaker, because he might say something.
02:18Adam Egot, how are you?
02:20Are you feeling any better?
02:23Oh.
02:25Oh.
02:27Huh.
02:31He says he's feeling better.
02:33And also, that I have a lovely bedroom.
02:40Hmm.
02:42That Adam Egot.
02:45What an operator this guy is, huh?
02:51My wife's a slatterny woman.
02:56Hmm.
02:57Sorry to hear that.
02:59Is that the word?
03:00It's a word.
03:01Slatternly.
03:05She's a dishwater...
03:08Whatever.
03:10As long as Adam Egot's feeling better.
03:18Tonight, for the full hour...
03:22Rich Little.
03:23And it's going to be a great show for me, because Rich was the first entertainer I ever saw in
03:31my life.
03:32Really?
03:32You don't get around much.
03:34Well, I was only a boy.
03:36Now, my mother, who I talked to this morning, was very excited about the interview, asked me if you would
03:43do an impression, her favorite impression that you do.
03:47Yeah.
03:48Charlotte Whitten.
03:49Oh, my gosh.
03:51She's Canadian?
03:52She's the mayor of Ottawa.
03:53She lives in Ottawa, yeah.
03:55She lives in Ottawa.
03:56Yeah, my hometown.
03:58She loved Charlotte Whitten.
04:02Well, you know, people come up to me from Canada and remember me from years and years ago and asked
04:08me to do Charlotte Whitten, John Diefenbaker, Lester Pearson, and, you know, and it's just such a long time ago.
04:16And, of course, none of the American audience know any of these people.
04:18Of course, but could you do it for my mom?
04:21Charlotte Whitten, I could do it.
04:24Well, Charlotte Whitten talked like this, Richard, you're useless.
04:29I want to chop down this tree.
04:31Grab an axe and we'll chop it down together.
04:34She was the mayor of Ottawa.
04:35There you go, mom.
04:37I've done what you asked like a good Canadian son.
04:40And you know what?
04:41You're a Diefenbaker, I remember.
04:42My friend and I did chop this tree down.
04:44It was at her summer place.
04:46Yeah.
04:46And we did chop this tree down.
04:48And as we're chopping, my friend says, my dad is working for her opponent.
04:53Let's have it fall on the house.
04:56Oh, my gosh.
04:58And we didn't, but we thought about it.
05:01What the hell are you boys doing?
05:04Now, when I was a young boy, this is what we would do.
05:06We all idolized Rich Little.
05:10Oh, gosh.
05:11And so we would run around doing impressions of people we didn't know, you know, that you had done.
05:17And so we would do John Diefenbaker.
05:21And I remember the line you did was, some people say, I look like an owl.
05:25That's right.
05:25But?
05:27But I don't care.
05:30Frankly, I don't give a hoot.
05:37That was my big joke at age 17, you know?
05:43He did look like an owl, didn't he?
05:45Absolutely looked like an owl.
05:47Now, you worked on the Judy Garland Show.
05:50Yes.
05:51At what age?
05:52In my early 20s.
05:54So this must have been incredibly intimidating.
05:57Well, it was a big step for me, you know?
06:00I mean, I've been on television in Canada and done a lot of clubs in Canada.
06:05What television was there in Canada?
06:07Well, there was...
06:08Elwood Glover's Luncheon Days?
06:09No, no.
06:10There was a lot of variety shows in Toronto, you know?
06:12My gosh, Tommy Ambrose and Joan Fairfax and, you know, a lot of shows in Canada.
06:21Don Messer's Jubilee.
06:22Yes, Don Messer's Jubilee.
06:24And gosh, I did a lot of those shows in Canada.
06:28But Mel Torme came to Toronto and...
06:32The Golden Fog.
06:34No, The Velvet Fog.
06:35The Velvet Fog.
06:36And I did a television show with him and he was a huge movie buff.
06:42I mean, he knew everything about movies.
06:44And so he loved me because I was doing impressions of Glenn Ford and, you know, people that had never
06:51been done before, you know?
06:53William Holden and Dana Andrews.
06:55William Holden.
06:56What would he sound like?
06:57William Holden?
06:58One of the greatest voices ever.
07:00William Holden.
07:02We have not missed you and I.
07:04We have not missed that many splendor thing.
07:10Yeah, that's a hard voice.
07:13My word.
07:14Anyway, he loved all these character actors.
07:16And we were talking to you right before the show.
07:18You also are an incredible movie buff yourself.
07:22Well, yeah, I watch a lot of movies in the buff.
07:24But I've always been, I mean, I have a collection of movies at home.
07:31I must have a couple of thousand movies.
07:33Wow.
07:34Wow.
07:35Me and my trusty sidekick, Adam Egot.
07:39We love film noirs.
07:41Oh, yeah.
07:42Oh, I love film noirs.
07:43I watch all the old.
07:44And the Asphalt Jungle is probably our favorite.
07:47Absolutely.
07:48And Sterling Hayden.
07:49Did you ever do Sterling Hayden?
07:50Oh, yeah.
07:51I did Sterling Hayden.
07:51Oh, I'd love to hear Sterling Hayden.
07:54Sterling Hayden.
07:55That kind of a voice that sounded on one plane.
07:59You know, he sounded like this.
08:01He hardly ever got excited.
08:03I'm going to do my impression of Sterling Hayden laughing.
08:07Want to see it again?
08:12But I loved all those character actors.
08:15Yeah, sure.
08:17And Mel knew them all.
08:19And so he put all these voices, I think he put about 30 on a tape, and he played it
08:25for
08:25Judy Garland to get me on the Garland Show.
08:27Well, it wasn't that generous.
08:28Yeah, well, he was going to be doing special musical material for Judy on her show, so he
08:34was going right from the show we did in Toronto to work on the Garland Show, and he took this
08:39tape with him and played Judy this tape of me doing all these impressions, and she was
08:45not impressed.
08:47Really?
08:48No.
08:49She said, I don't like impersonators.
08:51Oh.
08:52And actually, she said it stronger than that, but I won't tell you what she really said.
08:57But she did not like impersonators, and Mel thought, but listen, he's doing Dennis Weaver,
09:03he's doing Alfred Hitchcock, Fred McMurray, my gosh, this guy's different.
09:08And she said, I'm not impressed.
09:10Now, all of a sudden, the tape is still going.
09:12She heard my James Mason, and she went, wow, play that again, and so he did, and she
09:20loved James Mason, because she made that movie A Star is Born with him, and that's how I
09:25got on the Garland Show.
09:26From the Mason impression.
09:28Because of the James Mason impression.
09:33Listen to me, Esther.
09:35A career is a curious thing.
09:38Talent isn't enough, you know.
09:39You always need a sense of timing, and I foreseeing the turning point, or recognizing the big chance
09:45when it comes along, and grabbing it.
09:48Wow.
09:49That was the speech I did from A Star is Born.
09:52And then, a few years after that, I saw James Mason at American Film Institute Tribute in
09:59L.A., and I was invited.
10:00I think they were honoring John Houston, and there was James Mason.
10:05So I went up to James Mason, and I said, Mr. Mason, I'm Rich Little, and I do an impression
10:11of you, and he went, what on earth for, and he walked away.
10:18Anyway, so I just wanted to thank you for getting me on the Judy Garland Show, and he
10:23said, I don't know what you're talking about.
10:25Move away from this idiot.
10:27And that was it.
10:28Did John Houston have anything to say?
10:30John Houston.
10:32You know, I made a film with John Houston and Orson Welles.
10:38Whoa, what?
10:38And back in the 70s, and I got to know John Houston quite well, and Orson was terrific.
10:48Boy, he had a great voice, too.
10:49This movie was never released.
10:50Orson had one of the best voices there was, huh?
10:53Well, it's so funny, because I made this movie called The Other Side of the Wind with
10:57Orson Welles.
10:58It was never finished.
10:59Wow.
11:00And it's still sitting in a can somewhere.
11:02But anyway, we filmed it in Phoenix, and there I was suddenly in my late 20s working with
11:08John Houston and Orson Welles, and I was thrilled.
11:11Who directed this film?
11:13Orson directed it.
11:14Orson directed it.
11:14And John played a part, and I played his assistant.
11:18And anyway, I remember one day we went to Denny's for lunch, you know.
11:24And first of all, Orson said, I don't think we can go to Denny's, because I don't think
11:30I can fit into one of the booths.
11:32And he said, John said, we'll wedge you in.
11:37So anyway, we went to Denny's, and we wedged Orson into this booth.
11:41And we were having lunch at Denny's, and a lady recognized me, because I'd done a lot
11:49of television.
11:49Sure.
11:50And she didn't know who these two guys were.
11:53Oh, my God.
11:53You'd done Carson by that time.
11:54Yeah.
11:55Oh, I'd done a lot of TV.
11:56Well, they were just two elderly gentlemen.
11:58They didn't know one of the great directors of all time, one of the great actor-directors
12:03of all time.
12:03Yeah, just forgot.
12:04And so she comes up and says, Mr. Little, can I have your autograph?
12:10You know, and I'm sitting there with these two icons, and I'm going, of course you can.
12:15What's your name?
12:16Oh, yes, so to Pat.
12:18And I'm writing a big thing on here.
12:19And they're watching, and then she's kneeling down, and as I'm signing, she says in a kind
12:25of loud voice, who's your fat friend?
12:29Oh, my God.
12:31Meaning Orson, right?
12:32Who's your fat friend?
12:33Who's your fat friend?
12:34And John Huston, without missing a beat, says, well, we found him on the highway, and
12:42he looked under-nourished, and we brought him in here for a cherry coat and some fries,
12:48and we're going to fatten him up and send him on his way.
12:51And Orson went, well, thank you, kind sir.
12:55And that's true.
12:56Who's your fat friend?
12:57Who's your fat friend?
12:57Would be a great title for your book, but it's called Little by Little.
13:01And I was just perusing it.
13:03And it's fascinating, because by God, you've met everybody.
13:08Well, I've been very fortunate to have worked with a lot of the greats.
13:11Let me ask you about that movie.
13:13What was it called?
13:14Which one?
13:15That was never released?
13:17The Other Side of the Wind.
13:18The Other Side of the Wind.
13:19Yeah.
13:19Now, do you feel that if you had not been an impersonator, you would have tried to be
13:24an actor full-time?
13:26Well, I did try to be an actor.
13:27I started out in Ottawa, you know, at the Little Theater.
13:31I know the Little Theater.
13:32A lot of plays.
13:33A lot of plays.
13:34And I really wanted to be an actor, because I was such a movie buff.
13:37But then I started doing impressions, and that sort of caught on.
13:41And then I said to myself, wait a minute.
13:44There's only about 10 impersonators in the world, and there's about 50,000 actors.
13:50So I think I'll be an impersonator.
13:52Oh, good.
13:52You know, did you see the Joan Rivers documentary?
13:55I saw it.
13:56And she was so frustrated that she couldn't be an actress.
13:59And I felt the same way.
14:00I'm like, well, you're so funny.
14:02Why would you want to compete with all these people, you know, when you're so hilarious?
14:08But she did.
14:09She wanted to become an actress, a serious actress?
14:11Yeah, she seemed very, yeah.
14:12She made a couple of movies, didn't she?
14:14Because she was in the documentary, she was putting on a play, and she really wanted to
14:16be taken seriously.
14:19But I agree with you.
14:20Why?
14:21When you're...
14:22That is what I wanted to ask you.
14:23When you began, I loved you when I was a kid, but who did you love?
14:29There were no impersonators, were there?
14:31Well, yes, there were impersonators ahead of me.
14:34Frank Gorshin was a little ahead of me.
14:36A little bit.
14:36A little bit, and George Kirby.
14:38Sure, a little bit.
14:40He was ahead of me.
14:41Nobody when you were a kid.
14:42Will Jordan, who did Ed Sullivan, looked like him.
14:45He was ahead of me.
14:46Nobody when you were a kid, though.
14:47When I was a kid, I'm trying to think.
14:51Larry Starch from F Troop.
14:53Yeah.
14:54He was an impersonator.
14:54Still alive, perhaps.
14:55I think.
14:56I think he is still alive, yeah.
14:58I'm trying to think.
14:59Well, a lot of people did impressions that you don't think about, like Debbie Reynolds does
15:05his impressions.
15:06Oh, yeah.
15:06And Sheila McCray, remember her?
15:09Of course.
15:10She did impressions.
15:13But you're right.
15:14When I was a little kid, I'm not sure I remember really any impressionists.
15:18And when you were at the top doing Carson, the most famous impressionist in the world,
15:25the most famous impressionist that ever lived.
15:27Who?
15:29Don't you think?
15:30Me?
15:30Yes.
15:31Oh, I don't know about that.
15:32Oh, definitely.
15:33Who would be more?
15:34Who would be more?
15:36Who would I pick?
15:38Not the best.
15:39The most famous.
15:40Oh, most famous.
15:42Hmm.
15:43Well, the answer is Rich Little.
15:46Who do you think is the best other than you?
15:48Gorshin?
15:49Well, I think Gorshin was pretty good.
15:52You know, he had his voices.
15:53I had mine.
15:54He was...
15:54Now, did you feel Gorshin was sort of a physical actor?
15:57Like when he was...
15:59Yeah, Gorshin was an actor.
16:00He had the body that...
16:01Yeah, and Gorshin, Frank Gorshin was the first impersonator I ever saw who did an act
16:07where he did serious things.
16:09You know?
16:10Uh-huh, uh-huh.
16:10He did a scene from Camelot, and he did a serious speech from a movie.
16:13Most impersonators before that were just comics.
16:16Yeah, yeah, yeah.
16:17They were liners.
16:17Yeah.
16:18Did you try to...
16:19Did you ever try that?
16:20What?
16:21After you saw Frank Gorshin, did you ever...
16:23Yes.
16:24Yes, that had a big influence on me.
16:26And then I started to do speeches from movies and more serious things.
16:30He would do Camelot and do Richard Burton and do a whole speech and then a song by Burton.
16:36And that was very impressive.
16:37I'd never seen that before.
16:39Right, because when you think about impressions, because when, let's say, me and my trusty sidekick
16:45Adam Egan are talking about movies, we'll memorize, you know, big bits from Godfather
16:51or from Asphalt Jungle and do them to each other, and it's very funny.
16:55We don't put any jokes in, but it's just fun.
16:58Yeah, it is.
16:59It's fun to do.
17:00It is.
17:00And we were talking earlier about how in your day, or before your day, actually, because you
17:07were a young man and they were older, the actors, who nowadays would probably be character
17:12actors, were stars.
17:14Right.
17:14Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson.
17:17James Cagney.
17:18Cagney.
17:18John Wayne.
17:20Outlandish voices.
17:21Yeah, larger than life.
17:22Larger than life.
17:23Yeah.
17:24Easy to impersonate.
17:26Easy to impersonate.
17:26Because today, it's harder because the actors today are not as exaggerated.
17:31Right.
17:32And you've got George Clooney and you've got Matt Damon and Brad Pitt.
17:37I mean, how would you imitate Brad Pitt?
17:40I wouldn't know where to begin.
17:41Just be handsome.
17:41Well, frankly, I'd rather do Angelique Jolais, to tell you the truth, but I'd end up jumping
17:47myself.
17:48But I wouldn't be lonely, would I?
17:51I'd do her.
17:53But Brad Pitt would be hard to do.
17:55Very hard to do.
17:56What about the first days in Hollywood?
17:58So you moved, I don't really know the history of it.
18:01You're in your 20s.
18:03Right.
18:03You moved to Los Angeles, California?
18:05Right.
18:05I came down to do the Garland Show in my Rambler.
18:09Wow.
18:09I drove down, took me six days.
18:13Holy Lord.
18:14Is that Sunset Strip or Route 66?
18:18Probably.
18:19Yeah.
18:19Yeah.
18:19Well, this was 1964.
18:22A Rambler from Ottawa, Ontario to Los Angeles, California.
18:25Yeah.
18:25Wow.
18:25Yep.
18:26Wow.
18:26Yep.
18:27I had my little green card.
18:28Yeah, yeah, yeah.
18:29Yeah.
18:29I came down to do the Garland Show and never went back.
18:33Never went back.
18:34And so the Garland Show ran for how long?
18:37Well, I did one show.
18:39I think it ran for-
18:40You did one show?
18:41It ran for, what, three seasons?
18:42Oh, I'm sorry.
18:43You just did one show.
18:44I did one show.
18:45Yeah.
18:45You moved to Los Angeles knowing that-
18:48Well, no.
18:48Right after I did the Garland Show, that went over so well that I suddenly got offers to
18:54appear in a lot of clubs and other television shows.
18:57Right after the Garland Show, I did, oh my gosh, I did the Steve Allen Show, I did the
19:03Donald O'Connor Show, I did Jack Benny, you know, I did a lot of shows right after
19:09that.
19:09We would love to hear an anecdote about Mr. Jack Benny.
19:16Well, I love Jack Benny.
19:18Amazing.
19:18He was a sweet man, gentle man, kind man, and he was not stingy, but he was a little
19:27finicky though, you know, in his ways.
19:29Everything he did was typical Jack Benny.
19:32And he'd say to me, Rich, did you play the Palmer House in Chicago?
19:40I said, yes, I did, Jack.
19:42You know, I love working there.
19:44I love to play the Palmer House.
19:46I said, why, Jack?
19:48Well, the towels are so fluffy, you know, and I could hardly get them on my suitcase.
19:57But that's the way Jack was, you know, the towels were so fluffy.
20:02I mean, little things meant a lot to him.
20:04I remember one time he went on the Tonight Show and then he said to me after, Rich, are
20:10you going to join us at the commissary for dinner?
20:13And I said, the commissary at NBC?
20:17He said, yeah.
20:18I said, why the commissary?
20:19Well, they've got the greatest chicken soup.
20:23I mean, it's fabulous.
20:25That's the only reason I did the show tonight was to get a cup of that famous, you know,
20:32soup.
20:33And so we all went down to the commissary to get this soup that Jack's raving bought.
20:37This is true.
20:38It's in my book.
20:39And we all filed down there, right?
20:41The commissary was closed.
20:44And Jack said, I want the chicken soup.
20:48It's closed.
20:50Keep banging.
20:51And we're banging on the door and there's nobody there.
20:53And finally, this lady that was cleaning up let us in.
20:56And we raided the icebox and found the soup.
21:00And then they heated it up and gave us cups of this soup.
21:04We left.
21:04We're walking back, you know, to our cars.
21:08And we passed where they were shooting the Lucille Ball show.
21:13And the red light was on.
21:15And Jack went right in and walked right on stage while she was doing a scene.
21:21And he said, Lucy, you've got to try this soup.
21:25I mean, it's just fantastic.
21:28Have you ever tried it at the commissary?
21:31She said, Jack, we're trying to do a show here.
21:33I know, but listen.
21:34And he started to pass the soup around to the audience.
21:37And the audience were drinking this soup.
21:40And then they finished it.
21:42And then Jack said, we've got to go back.
21:44I'm now out of the soup.
21:45You know, this is all in my book.
21:47This is a funny, funny story.
21:49Now, when you tell that story, Jack Benny is so funny.
21:54And your impression of him, but he's saying nothing funny.
21:58You know what I mean?
21:59If it was anyone else, it would be.
22:00No, there's no jokes.
22:02But he's just such an incredibly funny.
22:04Yes.
22:05You know, I'm reading this thing.
22:07It's a thing about your life that somebody gave me.
22:11But I did not know this.
22:13Yes, my favorite performer of all time is Dean Martin.
22:17Yeah.
22:18And you performed on the Dean Martin Show.
22:2024 times.
22:2124 times.
22:22On the Dean Martin roast, yeah.
22:24Oh, and the roasts.
22:25On the roast, yeah.
22:25The roasts were incredible, weren't they?
22:27They were great.
22:28I don't like today's roasts.
22:30No, the today's roasts are very, very blue.
22:34And a lot of people, you don't know who they are.
22:36They don't know who each other are.
22:37And they think they're funny.
22:38Yeah.
22:38And they're not.
22:39You look at those old ones.
22:41And I remember when I was young.
22:41Oh, those old roasts are great.
22:43But the biggest stars you've ever seen in your life.
22:45Biggest stars ever.
22:46Yeah.
22:47That was...
22:47And was that nerve-wracking to...
22:49Oh, my gosh.
22:50Go up and do an impression?
22:52No, I can't tell you how nerve-wracking that was.
22:53That and hosting the Tonight Shows was the most pressure I've ever had on me in my life.
22:58But, you know, those roasts were terrifying to do because, I mean, a lot of people are watching a high
23:07-rated show like that.
23:08But it's not only that.
23:09You were standing up there in front of the giants of show business.
23:14I mean, you couldn't look down to your right or to your left.
23:17You might get panicky because you'd see Lucille Ball and John Wayne and Orson Welles and Jack Benny and George
23:24Burns.
23:24And it just went on and on.
23:26I mean, the best of the best.
23:28And I'm thinking to myself, I'm just a kid from Ottawa.
23:31What do I know, you know?
23:32And was this due to the great friendship of Dean Martin?
23:40What, for me?
23:41No, how that Dean Martin could attract these incredible stars?
23:45Oh, yeah.
23:45Dean was very popular and the show was popular.
23:48Yeah.
23:48So he had the best of the best on, you know?
23:51And I think one of the reasons I did the show was, the main reason was,
23:56if I could imitate three or more people sitting on the dais,
24:00then they'd book me on because, you know, if you watch those,
24:04as soon as I start to imitate Johnny Carson or John Wayne,
24:08they cut to them to see their reaction, you know?
24:11Yeah.
24:12And they always did that.
24:14So I ended up doing, I think, 24.
24:16Wow.
24:17There's a thing with impersonators where somebody, nobody can do a guy
24:22and then somebody cracks the code and then everybody can do it.
24:26Do you know what I mean by that?
24:26Yeah, because they listened to the impression.
24:29Exactly.
24:29I don't think anyone had done Bob Hope before Dave Thomas.
24:32And now...
24:33That's right.
24:33It seems like a sort of an easy impression to do, like...
24:36Bob Hope.
24:37I want to tell you,
24:39I just flew over to England to do a command performance
24:43for Queen Elizabeth and the royal family.
24:45They ran out of ushers.
24:46But I want to tell you,
24:47you know, everything was sort of speed with Bob
24:50and then he paused, right?
24:51Yeah, the rhythm, but I want to tell you.
24:53I shook hands with so many blue bloods,
24:55my fingers looked like my toes during the grape crushing season.
24:59I mean, stupid stuff, really.
25:02We all laughed at it.
25:03When you did Impressions of Comedians,
25:06did you then, because you just said he had this rhythm,
25:09you know, and so forth,
25:10did you pick up on that and use it in your own comedy
25:13in between the impressions?
25:15Well, yeah, you know, as a comedian, it's timing.
25:17You know, timing is something that if you don't have, you know, I mean...
25:22But did you ever find yourself slipping into a guy maybe by accident?
25:26By accident?
25:26Yeah, that kind of thing.
25:28One time I did a show, I can't remember where,
25:31years and years ago, and I went to do Spiro Agnew.
25:34Do you remember him?
25:34Sure.
25:35Vice President?
25:35What do you call it?
25:36What do you call it?
25:37The nabobs of...
25:38I wasn't thinking, and I set it all up, Spiro Agnew,
25:42and I did Gerald Ford's voice.
25:44And the audience didn't know the difference.
25:47He said anything.
25:49What was it?
25:50The nattering nabobs of negativism?
25:52The nattering nabobs of...
25:55Yeah, negatism.
25:56That was a great...
25:58Even the politicians were at one side.
26:00Let me clarify the discrepancies promulgated by those who closed their eyes to the pernicious
26:07influence of the steward of masochism encouraged by an effete core of impious snob.
26:14Oh, wow.
26:15Remarkable.
26:16He was a wordsmith.
26:18Like Howard Cosell was.
26:21Cosell.
26:22Howard was, too.
26:23Yeah.
26:23Loved words.
26:24Not only the actors, but the politicians, the Cosell's, the sportscaster, they were outsized
26:33characters.
26:34Oh, yeah.
26:35Howard Cosell.
26:37Howard Cosell.
26:39Amazing.
26:39Rich, if you could speak in my voice 24 hours a day, there's no degree to greatness you
26:47could not obtain in the world of showbiz.
26:51I love that.
26:52It trails off at the end, right?
26:54Yeah, yeah.
26:55That's what I love about those subtleties.
26:56I noticed that in the James Mason where there's, you know, there's little subtleties in your
27:00version of James.
27:01I mean, we hear a bunch of James Mason, and we've done it, and you get the little subtleties
27:06that you don't pick up on.
27:08I love that.
27:09What do we do with James Mason?
27:10Oh, from The Verdict.
27:11Yeah, yeah, yeah.
27:12We do Mason from The Verdict.
27:14I did that.
27:14Howard Cosell.
27:15Howard was larger than life.
27:16I remember one time we did a show in Rochester, New York, and he did it somewhere else.
27:22I was doing my show at a theater, and we met at the airport the next day, and he offered
27:27to give me a ride back to New York in his superjet plane, and they sent him a prop plane,
27:34and
27:35he went bananas.
27:36He went absolutely bananas when he saw this plane.
27:41You mean to tell me, a superstar like me, a man that has brought millions to the networks,
27:48and I am greeted by a prop plane.
27:52Disgusting, and I will not...
27:53So he drove.
27:54Trails up.
27:55Drove, go up.
27:56He drove to New York, and he wouldn't take the prop plane, and I did.
28:00Oh, you took the plane?
28:00Oh, yeah.
28:01I got there a lot quicker than he did.
28:05Did you ever ruffle any feathers?
28:06Did anyone get very upset with you over a particular impression?
28:12Well, I don't think so.
28:15No, not...
28:16Even Nixon, a friend of his said that he used to watch...
28:23Nixon used to watch me on television and thought it was quite funny.
28:26Maybe he didn't know I was doing him.
28:28I don't know.
28:29You know, but that surprises me, because I was pretty tough on him.
28:33What is the inside story with The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson?
28:37What happened there?
28:38You were there forever.
28:39What happened there?
28:41Well, I don't know what happened, really.
28:44I tried to find out many times.
28:46I would go down there and find out why I was a no-book on the show after...
28:51For those of you who don't know...
28:52I was appearing on it 20 times and hosting it about 20 times.
28:55And then all of a sudden I was a no-book.
28:57And obviously...
28:59Because he's a sensitive man.
29:01Well, I don't know whether it was him or whether it was Freddy de Cordova.
29:05But somebody took something I said the wrong way,
29:08and then I was put on a list of people not booked on The Tonight Show.
29:12And I found out later that that list was about 200 names on it.
29:16Oh, wow.
29:16Wow.
29:17Of people that were no-books.
29:18And that hurt a lot because that show really helped me.
29:22But I don't think it was Johnny because even though I wasn't booked on the show,
29:26I ended up doing a charity event with Johnny.
29:30And he was very nice to me and very friendly and everything.
29:33And then the last time I saw him, after he retired,
29:37I saw him in a restaurant in Malibu.
29:39And he came up to me.
29:41And, you know, this was about six or seven years after he retired.
29:44And he said, Rich, are you still doing me in your act?
29:51And I said, of course, John.
29:52I'm doing you every night in my act.
29:55Really?
29:56Do people remember me?
29:58I said, of course they do.
30:00I thought you...
30:01I haven't been on television for about seven years.
30:05And I thought maybe, you know, you weren't doing me.
30:07Isn't that interesting?
30:08I said, you, John, you're still popular.
30:10You will always be popular.
30:11People love you.
30:13Honest.
30:13You're not just trying to make me feel good.
30:16You really are doing me in the act?
30:18He was so insecure.
30:20That's right.
30:20Oh, wow.
30:21Yeah.
30:21You know what else is interesting?
30:22I noticed this on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
30:25Everybody called him Johnny, except guys that were closer to him.
30:29We called him John, which you just did.
30:32Yeah.
30:33Which is interesting because you'd think it would be the other way around.
30:35Really?
30:36But, yeah, I noticed people that knew him called him John.
30:39And I just heard you...
30:40Well, that's like Sinatra.
30:41If he called me, which he did, Richie, or it's Bobby, or, you know, then he liked you.
30:49He liked you.
30:50Yeah.
30:50Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
30:51Yeah.
30:52But I never noticed that.
30:53That's interesting.
30:54John, yeah.
30:55Did you...
30:56When you began, did you open for...
30:58What?
30:59When you began, did you open for big singers and so forth?
31:02Well, I opened in Las Vegas at the Sands Hotel in 1965 with Jack Jones, who I just saw at
31:10the Smith Center two nights ago.
31:12And sounding great.
31:14Oh, my gosh.
31:15He's still great.
31:15But I opened for Jack Jones at the Sands in 1965.
31:19That was my first appearance here in Las Vegas.
31:22Right after the Garland Show.
31:24Wives and Lover, is that him?
31:26Yeah.
31:26Oh, that's a great song.
31:28You heard of that song?
31:29Lollipops and Roses, and The Love Boat.
31:31Oh, that's what I know him from.
31:33Oh, yeah.
31:33The Love Boat, soon we'll be making another run.
31:40I love that song, don't you?
31:42Oh, I love it.
31:43And he must have made a lot of money from that.
31:45A lot of these guys...
31:47Paul Anker made a lot of money from The Tonight Show.
31:50Well, yeah.
31:51Sure.
31:51Yeah, yeah.
31:52Boy, he must have, huh?
31:53Composing that song?
31:55Yeah, he must have.
31:55He composed the theme, in case you don't know.
31:57When I started doing comedy, it was in Ottawa.
32:01Probably close to where maybe you lived.
32:02Where did you perform in Ottawa?
32:03It was called Yuck Yucks.
32:04What is it?
32:05The Beacon Arms Hotel.
32:06The Beacon Arms.
32:07Oh, my gosh.
32:08Tough old.
32:08Wow.
32:09Bad hotel.
32:10But anyways, we were underneath.
32:12And we got good crowds, you know.
32:13It was pretty easy work.
32:16Upstairs, on the first floor, there was a big conference room.
32:21And a young man had booked it out for himself.
32:24And he performed, but only for four or five people.
32:26We'd go up and watch him.
32:27We thought he was crazy.
32:28We thought he was like the Rupert Pupkin or something.
32:32But he was very talented.
32:33It was only his family.
32:35And the next time I saw him was in Los Angeles.
32:41He said, you know, Rich Little likes me.
32:44And he brought me to Las Vegas.
32:47Really?
32:47Gordy Brown.
32:48Gordy Brown.
32:49Yeah.
32:50Yeah.
32:51Yeah.
32:52Yeah.
32:53And now I see his name.
32:54Gordy is terrific.
32:55Yeah.
32:56What a great impersonator he is.
32:58And you, but you.
32:59I put him in a show called Copycats.
33:01You must have been happy that he was from Ottawa.
33:03And he was from Audible.
33:04Yeah.
33:04Yeah.
33:04And apparently he came to see me at the art center when he was about 15.
33:09And he sat in the front row.
33:10And halfway through my act, he turned to his father and said, that's what I'm going to be.
33:15Wow.
33:16Very cool.
33:17Wait, I went to see you at the art center.
33:20Yeah.
33:21And I pointed at you.
33:23I said, nah, I'll just be a bum.
33:26I said, I'll be a bum.
33:27Did you pay?
33:32Did you see me at the art center?
33:33Yes, sir.
33:34I thought you were there a couple of times.
33:35First time I ever saw you.
33:36These are just questions from the internet, but a lot of them are bad.
33:40What?
33:41Huh?
33:42What?
33:42Oh, this is a question.
33:44Here's a question.
33:45You like questions?
33:47Let's see where this goes.
33:47You were told there'd be questions on this program, or you, I'm sure, inferred that there
33:52would be.
33:54You did a speech from the Treasure of the Sierra Madre, one of our favorite films, of the great
34:04Humphrey Bogart in one of his greatest roles ever.
34:09That's right.
34:09Fred C. Dobbs.
34:10Fred C. Dobbs.
34:12Fred C. Dobbs don't say nothing, they don't mean.
34:33Oh, no.
34:38That's great.
34:40Yeah.
34:41What a great movie.
34:41After he killed them, the laugh, the insane laugh.
34:45Yeah, that insane.
34:46That's great.
34:46Well, Bogie was great.
34:47And when the Mexicans were down and he looked, they were looking.
34:51Well, Bogie was great when he played somebody a little paranoid, like the Kane Mutiny was
34:55the same character.
34:55That's true.
34:56It was the same character.
34:57You're right.
34:57Yeah.
34:58They both were incredibly paranoid.
35:00Yeah.
35:00Paranoid.
35:01One was finding the gold and the other was strawberries.
35:10Great movies, huh?
35:12Yeah.
35:12They don't make movies like that anymore.
35:13No, sir.
35:14No, sir.
35:14They don't.
35:14You know, it's so funny.
35:16I mean, you would see movies, you would not even care about the movie.
35:19You'd just go, that's a John Wayne movie.
35:22I'm going to see it.
35:23I'm going to watch that movie, no matter what.
35:24It didn't matter what he was in.
35:25Yeah, yeah, yeah.
35:25Even Genghis Khan, we went to see him, right?
35:27That's right.
35:28Genghis Khan.
35:28But you're right.
35:29You're right.
35:29You know, it's so funny.
35:30Kids today like the movies of today, and I don't think they're as good, and I say to
35:37them, you should see some of the great black and white movies of all time.
35:40I can't get my kid to watch a black and white movie.
35:42No, you know what?
35:43And there was some kid I met here who was going to UNLV taking a course in film.
35:51Yeah.
35:52And I said, have you seen the classics?
35:54You know, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Citizen Kane, Casablanca.
35:57Oh, no.
35:58I never watch a black and white movie.
36:00Oh, my God.
36:00I said, what?
36:01You're taking a course in movies, and you've never seen a black and white movie?
36:05Oh, my God.
36:06You know what this kid said to me?
36:07Well, I don't like them because life's in color.
36:11So then I thought for a second, and I said, really?
36:13What if you live in Seattle?
36:16What if it's nighttime?
36:19That's true.
36:19Life is in color.
36:20Life is not necessarily in color, is it?
36:23That's true.
36:23At night, it's not.
36:23No.
36:24The shadows.
36:25Oh, yeah.
36:26The shadows.
36:27Well, you know what?
36:27I asked Claire Trevor about that.
36:29You remember her from the 40s?
36:31Very barely from the Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
36:33Yeah.
36:35Anyway.
36:36And she said film noir, you know, was all shadows and light and darkness.
36:42And she said that happened because they didn't spend money on light.
36:45They didn't have any lights.
36:47Wow.
36:48So they just shot it with...
36:49So it was dark.
36:50And in the dark.
36:51And now it's a classic movie.
36:53Yeah, that's art.
36:54That's the reason why it came about.
36:56They didn't have money for lights.
36:58That's amazing.
36:58I never knew that.
36:59I liked it.
37:00We both watched film noir, but I like film noir that they have their own star system.
37:05You know?
37:05Sometimes a big guy would show up.
37:07Sure.
37:07Out of the past, you'd have Mitchum or...
37:10But Robert Ryan...
37:11Oh, I love Robert Ryan.
37:13He's a big star, you know?
37:13Wow.
37:14So more real guys, you know?
37:16Yeah.
37:16Or seemingly real.
37:18Authentic.
37:19Yeah, Robert Mitchum.
37:19Mitchum.
37:20Yeah, Mitchum's my favorite.
37:21Oh, God.
37:21Yeah.
37:22There's a sleepy giant...
37:24Robert Mitchum was a little bit like Dean Martin in a way, wasn't he?
37:28That he didn't care.
37:29Didn't care.
37:30Yeah.
37:30I put Sterling Hayden in there too.
37:32See, Dean's attitude was, I get the job done and I go play golf or like to watch old westerns.
37:39You know, he didn't take anything seriously, Dean.
37:41When I would watch Lewis and Martin, I liked Dean Martin.
37:45I did not care for Jerry Lewis much.
37:48One of my favorite stories of Dean that's in the book is, and this is true, we were going
37:52to do a roast at the MGM Grand, right?
37:55Yes, sir.
37:56And we're all in the green room.
37:57And that's where the fun was, in the green room before the show.
38:00Oh, my God, I bet.
38:00Because you're having coffee with Orson Welles and John Wayne and Lucille Ball and Jack Penny.
38:05Can you imagine such a thing?
38:06Yeah.
38:06And then Greg Garrison, the producer, was saying, okay guys, we're going to start shooting
38:12in two minutes, so let's make our way to the dais.
38:15So we walked towards the dais.
38:17Audience is there.
38:18This is in Los Angeles?
38:19Yeah, right here.
38:20Oh, it's in Vegas.
38:21Yeah.
38:21So we walked towards the dais, going to be two minutes, and we're on the air.
38:25And as we're walking there, Dean is right next to me.
38:28And Dean says to me, Rich, who are we honoring tonight?
38:34I said, what?
38:36He said, yeah, who's the guest of honor tonight?
38:40I said, it's Michael Landon.
38:41Oh, that's a good choice.
38:43I like him.
38:43We're going to have some fun.
38:44In other words, here we were two minutes from taping and Dean didn't know who the honoree
38:50was and could care less.
38:52Right?
38:53He probably would have found out when the show started and the cards were there and he went,
38:59we're here tonight to honor Michael Landon.
39:04Oh, yeah.
39:05Gee, that's a good choice.
39:06We're here tonight.
39:07I mean, Dean did not care.
39:10They left on the roast that they had Dean Martin, a famous drinker, but then they would
39:15have Foster Brooks.
39:16Foster Brooks.
39:18Foster Brooks.
39:20Foster Brooks.
39:22He'd go for a name, right?
39:23I was so drunk, she couldn't see me.
39:28I mean, he was funny, wasn't he?
39:30What was that thing he'd do where he'd go, Mr., you know, he'd try for a name.
39:34And he couldn't get it, so he'd go for another name, you know what I mean?
39:37Because he just couldn't get it.
39:38Well, the ones on the Martin roast that played characters were Foster Brooks, Jonathan Winters,
39:45and Charlie Callas.
39:47Yeah.
39:47Were always playing like Sinatra's drill instructor.
39:51Yeah, yeah, yeah.
39:52Or, you know, Jonathan Winters was Frank's teacher at school, you know?
39:57Right, right.
39:57And they always played somebody, you know?
39:59Yes, yes, yes.
40:00And they were good natured.
40:01I remember Mickey Mantle when Foster Brooks was his umpire from his little league.
40:07So he'd go, bah, actual mask, you know?
40:10Yeah.
40:10But God, damn, the stars.
40:10He was funny with Foster Brooks.
40:13The stars.
40:13Dean would fall down with Foster Brooks.
40:16Yeah.
40:16Oh my gosh.
40:17And when Dean...
40:17And that's the other funny thing is that Dean Martin would be sitting there laughing.
40:20I mean, you must have loved when he broke up.
40:23Oh, he broke up a lot.
40:25Yeah.
40:26Yeah.
40:26Yeah.
40:27Everybody liked Dean.
40:29Amazing.
40:30But when you think of it, his whole character was based on somebody who didn't know what they
40:35were doing.
40:36Right.
40:36And so when he screwed up, which he did a lot, right?
40:39It was funnier than if he'd done it right.
40:42I've got a bit on my show if you come and see me at the Trop.
40:44Which I am.
40:45You're going to be at the Tropicana, huh?
40:47I'm there.
40:48Is that where you are all the time now?
40:49I've been there for a year, yeah.
40:50Tropicana.
40:51That's the time I went home.
40:51Come and see him.
40:52I love Harry Bezos.
40:54Yeah.
40:54But anyway, I show clips from...
40:56In other words, in my act now, I'm doing sort of a history of my career and I show clips
41:04from various shows.
41:06So I do George Burns and then I show me with George Burns.
41:09Then I do John Wayne and I show me with John Wayne.
41:12Wow.
41:12And then I show Dean Martin and I show me with Dean Martin.
41:15So that's what I do in the show.
41:16That's amazing.
41:17And I show one clip of Dean trying to read the words on a cue card and totally lost.
41:24Everybody got up to try and save him and the place is bedlam.
41:28And I mean, you wouldn't believe the ad-libbing and the people that got up, you know?
41:32Yeah.
41:32And then it was all over.
41:33Dean looked in the camera and said, and all that was rehearsed.
41:40You know what I miss?
41:40I missed that era in Vegas where the stars were Red Fox and Buddy Hacken and Shacky...
41:54Johnny Tama...
41:55Goddamn.
41:57And they had the lounge and the room.
41:59Yeah.
41:59That must be something else.
42:00Don Rickles in the lounge.
42:01Rickles.
42:02Rickles in the lounge.
42:03In the lounge.
42:05And would you go to every...
42:06Jackie Leonard, Toadie Fields.
42:08Fat Jackie Leonard.
42:09Is that Fat Jack Leonard?
42:10Yeah.
42:10So you...
42:11Toadie Fields?
42:12Toadie Fields.
42:13So would you go and just wander around?
42:16Oh yeah.
42:16What we'd do in those days was we would go and see a show, right?
42:20Yeah.
42:21And then after we'd all go to the lounge and see a lot of great performers in the lounge.
42:27Yeah.
42:28And then about two o'clock in the morning then we'd go get Chinese food at the, you know,
42:33at the Desert Inn or where, the Sands.
42:36And then we'd go home.
42:37Four in the morning.
42:38So you have seen this city change dramatically.
42:42In terms of entertainment.
42:44Yep.
42:44For the worse.
42:45Yep.
42:46Well, you know, now it seems to be chefs seem to be the fad now.
42:51They put up pictures of chefs.
42:54Everywhere.
42:54And before that, I mean...
42:56Wait, wait, wait.
42:57That's a show you can go see?
42:58Yeah, yeah.
42:59Over at the Tropicana where I am now, they have a chef on the side of the building for
43:03a restaurant that's not even built yet.
43:05Oh, I see.
43:05It's a restaurant.
43:06I thought he meant he did a show.
43:07I'm sorry.
43:07No, no.
43:08That's what draws them in.
43:09And clubs too.
43:11People go to clubs rather than see entertainers.
43:14They go to clubs.
43:14Yeah.
43:14And, you know, the marquees now have things like Roast Beef 895 on it instead of Dean
43:20Martin and Frank Sinatra.
43:22Exactly.
43:22The great stars of the 40s and 50s.
43:25Exactly.
43:25Yeah.
43:26Now, as an impersonator, like I said, I guess Gordy Brown was kind of a protege of yours.
43:34And...
43:34Fred Trevelina was.
43:35Fred Trevelina.
43:36Yeah.
43:37We lost him too soon.
43:38We lost.
43:39Yeah, he was...
43:40What a great guy he was.
43:41I met him a couple of times.
43:42But he was so sweet.
43:44And he kind of did...
43:47He did a fantastic impression that I always loved.
43:50It was Charles Bronson doing a cat food commercial.
43:55Oh, yeah?
43:55He said, so you say your cat don't like the food you give it.
43:59You know what I'm saying?
44:00You know what I'm saying?
44:01But it was like...
44:02How?
44:03Such a great...
44:04Greatly written, you know?
44:05Yeah, there was a guy named Johnny Dark who did...
44:07Loved.
44:08Oh, Johnny Dark.
44:08He did Charles Bronson too.
44:11He did.
44:11Doing a commercial.
44:12Yeah.
44:13He would say...
44:14Does your breast stink?
44:17Does your breast stink?
44:19Try this toothpaste, you know?
44:21I can't believe I did an impression, isn't it?
44:23But Charles Bronson...
44:24I sat with Charles Bronson near the end of his life when he had Alzheimer's.
44:28And it was kind of sad.
44:30And I remember...
44:32The end was near because we were sitting there and he ate everybody's dessert.
44:40That's what I remember about him.
44:41Oh, my Lord.
44:42A friend of mine told me that they want...
44:44He was a writer in Hollywood.
44:46And they said, we want George Burns to do a TV show.
44:51And George Burns was very old.
44:53And he said, meet him at the...
44:55Wherever he hung out, the Hollywood...
44:57You know, the tennis and I don't know where rich people go.
45:02But he played bridge there every day.
45:04So, my friend, this writer, he was just in his 20s.
45:07And he went to pitch a show to...
45:09And everybody told him, he's on the top of his game.
45:12Still funny, you know?
45:13He's still funny.
45:14And he had a lunch with him.
45:16And he looked over.
45:18And George Burns was buttering his own hand.
45:25We'll be back with a great Rich Little momentarily.
45:40We are back with the inimitable, which is a strange...
45:45I guess it's kind of a strange thing to say.
45:49But, well, unable to imitate.
45:50And yet you can imitate anybody.
45:52So, the inimitable Rich Little.
45:56And what was I just about to ask?
45:58What were we just talking about?
45:59I forgot.
45:59Reagan?
46:00Candles?
46:00Yeah.
46:01Ronald Reagan.
46:02Do you find that you do impressions of people?
46:08And the people that are beloved, like Ronald Reagan, would get a better response?
46:15Oh, yeah.
46:16Yeah.
46:16That's why Reagan and Johnny Carson and, you know, Dean Martin are so popular.
46:22Yeah.
46:22Because they like them.
46:23Right.
46:24And they love the voice.
46:26And they love the voice.
46:27Yeah.
46:27Yeah.
46:27And God.
46:28Ronald Reagan.
46:29And Jack Benny.
46:30I mean, they just love Jack.
46:31And they love George, too.
46:33When you just say the word George Burns, people start to laugh.
46:35Yeah.
46:36And Jack Benny, like when you were doing him.
46:39I watch the show, I always laugh.
46:40And he never says anything funny.
46:42Like, it's not...
46:43It's funny.
46:44No joke.
46:45It's not punchlines.
46:46No jokes.
46:46No jokes, no.
46:47It's exceptional.
46:48No.
46:48That he can get laughs.
46:49Situations.
46:50Yeah.
46:51Yeah.
46:52And...
46:52But your Ronald Reagan is so amazing.
46:56And...
46:57Well...
46:57And you were saying you started with well.
47:00That's what I started with.
47:02Just nothing but well.
47:04And then I'd say, now what do I say?
47:08And I...
47:09You know, when I first met Ronald Reagan, somebody had told me, if you're doing Reagan, start with
47:16well.
47:17He always starts every sentence with well.
47:18And make sure you look down before you speak.
47:21And then raise your head and do Ronald Reagan.
47:23So say, well, and look down.
47:26So, Reagan asked me the first time I met him, he said, how did you get me down?
47:33I said, well.
47:36And then I said, I looked down.
47:38And I said, Mr. President, why is it you always look down before you speak?
47:43And he said, very simple.
47:45I...
47:46I used to own a horse ranch.
47:48Oh!
47:54He was very quick, Reagan.
47:56Yeah, yeah, yeah.
47:56Very funny, you know.
47:57That's amazing.
47:58I once...
47:59You know he did impressions for me once?
48:01Reagan did at the White House?
48:02Wow.
48:03He did his impression of Jimmy Stewart, you know, as everybody does who can't really do
48:09him.
48:09Wow, wow, Jerry Walsh, I'm a star.
48:12Yeah.
48:12And I thought to myself, Mr. President, don't give up your day job.
48:16This is not that great.
48:17But anyway, then he did just John Wayne, which was fair.
48:20Now he did Truman Capote for me.
48:23President Reagan did Truman Capote for me.
48:25Ronald Reagan did Truman Capote.
48:25And it wasn't bad.
48:27It was better than...
48:28Now, can you do Ronald Reagan doing Truman Capote?
48:31Yeah.
48:31Well, he said to me, Rich, what do you think of my Truman Capote?
48:35I said, well, Mr. President, I think it's your best.
48:39I mean, of all the voices I've just heard, this is great.
48:42He said, yes, but I don't have a line.
48:45I don't have a joke.
48:47And I said, well, I've got one.
48:49I'll give it to you.
48:50Well, you give me a line?
48:51I said, of course.
48:53Well, this is wonderful.
48:54And he got a Secret Service man, he got a piece of paper, and he started to write the
48:58joke out on his back.
49:00He said, what's the joke?
49:02And I said, well, the joke is this, Mr. President.
49:04Now, this is Truman Capote, you know.
49:08And a lot of people think that I wrote in cold blood.
49:13But that's not true.
49:16Actually, I wrote in ink.
49:19Okay?
49:20Now, Reagan just thought that was a sterile, right?
49:24So he's writing this down, and the handwriting is getting jerky because he's laughing.
49:29What is it?
49:30I wrote in ink, and he wrote this down, and he took the paper and put it in his pocket,
49:35and he said, Rich, can I use that?
49:37I said, of course.
49:38That's hysterical.
49:39He said, I can't wait to try that out on Gorbachev.
49:44That's what he said to me.
49:45Unbelievable.
49:45Wow.
49:46Wow.
49:46Then I'm thinking later, try that out on Gorbachev.
49:50My lord.
49:51Doing Truman Capote for Gorbachev?
49:53I mean, I would have given any amount of money to see that, wouldn't you?
49:57Yes.
49:58Well, Mr. General Secretary, all I have to say is...
50:02Well, you know, a lot of people think that I wrote in ink.
50:07Yeah.
50:07And Khrushchev's going, what the...
50:10Gorbachev's going, what the...
50:16I don't know if you understood what you just did.
50:19What?
50:19You did your Truman Capote impression, which was spot on.
50:24Then you did Ronald Reagan doing Truman Capote.
50:26Did you understand you were doing that?
50:28No.
50:29Did you just do it?
50:29Oh.
50:30Did you notice that?
50:31Yeah, it was pretty unreal.
50:31You mean I should have done it badly?
50:33No.
50:34You weren't doing it badly, but you were doing it as Ronald Reagan was.
50:38Because you asked him to.
50:39Yeah, that was insane.
50:40Well, a lot of people think that I wrote in...
50:43Oh, thank God.
50:45But yes, I wrote in ink.
50:48See, now he's trying, but before he was subconscious, I think.
50:51Well, I mean, just recently they did Killing Reagan.
50:55I'm sorry, but did you?
50:56They did Killing Reagan on TV, Bill O'Reilly's book.
50:59Yeah.
50:59And I auditioned for it.
51:00I sent them a tape of me doing Reagan.
51:02Oh, really?
51:02Well, you'd be a perfect age, too.
51:04I was about the right age, and I, you know, it's my best impression,
51:08and I sent them a tape of me doing his farewell speech to the nation,
51:12and the reply back was,
51:14We enjoyed your speech, but we're going to hire an actor.
51:18Oh, my God.
51:19What?
51:19How insulting is that?
51:20Ridiculous.
51:21So I didn't watch it, but...
51:22They don't consider an impersonator an actor, which is ridiculous.
51:25Well, I've done a lot of acting, I mean, you know.
51:28But I feel when you do an impersonation, you're acting.
51:31Yeah.
51:31My God, I mean, what is that if it's not acting?
51:34Yeah, well, I didn't see the show, but...
51:36Yeah.
51:36But, yeah, you're typecast.
51:39They say, we don't want to...
51:41We don't want...
51:42That would have been a great part for me.
51:43Oh, my God.
51:44That would be incredible.
51:46Yeah.
51:46Yeah.
51:47But did you meet John Wayne also?
51:49Yes.
51:50And was he a sort of remote figure, or...
51:52I met John Wayne...
51:54The first time I met him, he was on Laugh-In.
51:58Oh.
51:58In a rabbit's outfit.
52:00Imagine what he was doing.
52:03Because that was a crazy show.
52:04But anyway, there he was in his rabbit outfit.
52:07And he had to get to the airport, so he took the rabbit outfit off.
52:10And they were saying goodbye to him, and I happened to be standing in the back of the
52:16hallway, and I'd never met him before, and I was in awe of him.
52:19And he noticed me, and recognized me.
52:22And he said, Little, get the hell over here.
52:27So I went over, and I said, Yes, Mr. Wayne?
52:30He said, I hear you do an impression of me.
52:34I hear you do my walk.
52:37Let's see it.
52:38Do it for me.
52:39I'm...
52:40God dammit, I'm losing it.
52:42So I said, What?
52:44Do my walk for me.
52:46So I did John Wayne's walk.
52:47They all got back, and I went right across the set and did John Wayne's walk.
52:52And he's looking at me as I'm doing it, right?
52:54And he says, when I finished, he said, Well, that's how I do it.
53:00My God, I've been walking like Loretta Young for 30 years.
53:06How do you say it?
53:08He did have an effeminate...
53:09Even though he was John Wayne.
53:11His walk was very effeminate.
53:12A little bit, huh?
53:14All right, we're going to end this.
53:15Thank you so much for being with us.
53:17It was a joy, eh?
53:18Oh, it was great fun.
53:20When we edit this, it's going to be a great show.
53:23We're going to edit it.
53:23We're going to take you out.
53:24Yeah, I'm going to tell you.
53:25That's what I'm going to be able.
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