Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade - Joe Piscopo

Episode Date: January 31, 2024

Replacing the original cast, friendship with Eddie Murphy, and respect for Frank Sinatra with Joe Piscopo. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey guys, it's Spadoodle. You can always go to davidspaid.com to look at my tour dates because I bless a lot of cities in America with my hilarious stand-up act. Or you could not go to it and get on my enemy list. Up to you! Fanduul Casino's exclusive Live Dealer studio has your chance at the number one feeling, winning, which beats even the 27th best feeling, saying, I do. Who wants his last parachute?

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you know, we've had so many people on, but Joe Piscopo is one of the OGs. And I hate to say, when you say his name, usually people say, oh, he was back in the Eddie Murphy days. And he was Eddie Murphy's probably best friend. And I think they're still very close. But that was back in that era. So it was after the first five years,

then there was a couple of grumbling years and getting on their feet. But he was there when he and Eddie were tearing it up. And he was huge. He did a great job on the show. He has so many funny stories. He's just very good at telling stories. And he really brings it. He knows how to talk. He knows how to entertain you. He used to do impressions. We do a few of those, of course. Dana jumps in on those and he's just a very, very likable guy and a very humble guy.

And we had a great time talking to him. So without further ado, here we go, Joe Piscopo. Joe has left the zoom. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here. I got you. Except I can't see.

I got something saying record by staying in this meeting. Okay. I consent., I'm here, I'm here. I got you. I can't see, I got something say record by staying in this meeting. Okay, I can send. Got it, okay. There's my man, Dana. That's right. Are we recording now or is this the first time? We're always recording.

We don't have any intro. We're not like professional. We don't say, here's our guest or anything. No. We just go. Where's David? Where'd David go? I'm right here. Do you see me?

There you are. Maybe I'm already, man. I'm at the bottom of the screen. I don't know. Look at his stuff. Hey. Look at his stuff back there. David, can I start? Dana crushed it at an event on Friday night. He was out there and it was like 800 plus 1,000 baseball players who just wanted to talk like baseball. close to a thousand baseball players who just wanted to talk like baseball. They didn't go. They didn't go. And a lot of folks have done the event and haven't done really, well, great. So they go, something's gonna be joining up. It's gonna be great. I gave them one

of those. It's gonna be great. And you, and you, you nailed it. I was, I was off. I lost my notes. Did you find them? I lost my notes. I didn't. I didn't know where I was. I felt bad about that one for a while. But afterwards, Joe being very nice said, did you tell him to like our producer, Matt? It goes, everyone has a tough time here. Even Seinfeld, you know, so I didn't know the bar was low, but yeah, it was a little extremely nice people, but the room went way back and there was a lot of chatter because it's a cocktail party. You know, were you playing to a pre-tapy out of band? I was just off to the side.

So you come out and sing. No, we're two. A little of both. We had a live band there, but I cranked the way you heard. What you heard was a pre-tapy, cranked it up to make it easier. But that's awesome. But I did put, I put the live girls on stage.

David, I turned it into the way Newton of comedy. Thank you. That's fine. And so we just got the girls, got the girls singing with me on stage. It, I turned it into the Wayne Newton of comedy. Thank you. That's fine. I just got the girl, got the girl singing with me on stage. It was a whole thing. It was fun. Listen, I love it. I've done those kind of corporate gig or a charity gig. I did one just up in Calgary. They want to be very nice, but, you know, it's always a crapshoot. You just don't know. They have other things in their

mind. Yeah. And if you're a surprise while they're eating their steak, they go, it's been an eight hour meeting and now we're going to hold you hostage for one more hour while we're here. And they go, Stevie Nicks, David Spade. Oh, I heard it was Stevie Nicks. I always say, when did they get up? 6 a.m. for the breakfast meeting? When did the open bar start at 4? When do I go on?

11. Okay. All right. 11 at night. So I gotta tell you, David, so I always, when I am seed, like back in the days when I started at the improv 100 years ago, before you young people were born, you know?

We want to know that. Yeah, yeah, no. But I would always be cognizant and responsible to who's on stage because it's your job to get the crowd going and then hand it off. So I felt that way with data particularly. So I'm going like, okay.

So we start the whole thing and it's going great. The data comes down and he's really working. He's working with the crowd. It's great. And now he's going to close and then we're going to start the night in the awards. And we're going to close it. And then he picks up his guitar,

shrubs the guitar. It's dead as it goes dead. He can't get it. I'm going, oh man, so I'm off stage. It's dead. I'm off stage. So I go to the guy with the headphones, my buddy Jordan, to go. So I'd call the back of the room, man, his monitor's out.

I'm not getting anything. It's up. And they couldn't figure it out. And I said, give me the mic. Give me the mic. So they gave me the mic. So I walked out on stage and I held my microphone Next to the data and I was just smart. Well, you know what you helped

Then you had you had a great one liner at that point because you're kind of bending down actually you place the mic Perfectly, I don't know if you'd know that to get some volume because it was a short what I do And then what Joe said was this is a career highlight for me good job be be glad for uncle joe i like that it was great but i tell you it was great it was great you know and it was fun and thanks thanks yeah well thank you frank i mean joe joe uh sometimes those gigs are contractually like 60 minutes and they, and that's why like if Dana is short five minutes, you sometimes have to go do something extra, even if you're killing because you might get off 99% of the

time, they said, great, we didn't even need that long, you did great, but sometimes they go, we paid you for an hour, you did 54 and you go, oh my God. It's all, it's all flipped. They sent, they said 45 and then they sent me a text a day of the show and said Really apologizing saying you could you do just 30? Because when I when Joe was backstage he goes, what are you gonna do 2025? You know because like I said, we're we're an apertee. We're not the show

But then later they said what if you feel it go longer? I don't have long idea But anyway, Joe was there got to hang out. Yeah Did you look at your phone? Do I want you on stage you glance at to make sure you had the time right? Did you I did I see you do that? You were just I saw you had a phone on stage. You do I must have lost a sense of time I don't remember, you know once I because my guitar thing is like I'm I'm going all over the stage I'm in the zone. It's really loud. It's like for a room that's a little unsettled. It's a big closer. And then when it's like, uh oh, it happens about every one every 20 shows like, oh, there's a short. It's not going to be amplified. So I just sort of froze until you rescued me. Folks, we at the Joe Pesco has been our guest today. and this is about an event we did. So can we go back just for a second to the how you just a little out of bog. We know that your time on SNL at 80, but you're like you're very young when you get on the show.

What did how did that happen so quick? Right? What what a tell us that little journey. I think it was about 26, 27 when we hit, man. And I went to the improv and tell me if I talked too long, man. Love you guys. By the way, with great respect, you dated to you, David. Great respect for you guys,

because you held a great legacy of SNL and, you know, and just so proud to be with you here. And it's really cool to be with you, you know. And but I got, but I did, I just wanted to be be with you, you know. But I did, I just wanted to be a working stiff, you know, but I went to the improvisation because I heard that they had like comedy nights that just like all of us did. This was in New York. It was 44th and 9th. It was Hell's Kitchen. It was back in the 70s when New York was a million times even worse than now. It was terrible. You could, I mean, you, I remember distinctly walking from the parking lot where I parked your car and then I walked down a 44th street

and they were like, you know, bodies and police lines, you know what I mean? And I go, oh, that's because somebody got whacked, you know, chalk out. I got whacked. No, it was like that. So, so then I said, well, let me try at least tried. So I remember I went in the first night was audition night. And, and, and you said, well, let me try at least tried. So I remember I went in the first night, it was audition night. And, you know, God, you guys are young, young. And it was like, I went back then, that is when comedy was rock and roll. It was, I tell you, all of a sudden comedy

just came into its own. And I went, I gotta try that. I just wanted to get on stage and then be a working step. Let's have somebody hire me to do the third, fourth lead in an hour episodic. That's all I wanted to do Great Exactly what I was thinking the bar wasn't too high dammit. What am I gonna die?

You know so so not to take anything away from that love So I go in I came in in Lincoln Tunnel, came around, going down Night Day Avenue, I looked down at the improv, there had to be 400 people jam, like it was like Times Square in Hell's Kitchen Jam, and I looked and I said, oh, I had a panic, and I went right back into the Lincoln Tunnel, and went right back home totally chickened out. Then I came back, and when people had to just start out,

we used to have to get there, because everybody wanted to do comedy at the time. 12 noon, 12 noon, and at eight o'clock, roughly 8.30, the improv would come out, Judy Orbach would come out, and she would hand out numbers so to see when you would be on. So if you got there earlier, like at noon,

you could kind of go, all right, I'm on third. And then each week, me, Gilbert Gottfried, Alan Combs was there, Larry David was there, Jerry came later. But we would jockey numbers around to see when you would go on. And you would get your five minutes, man, your five minutes. And it was the most petrifying thing in the world. And I did that for about six weeks.

And then I finally got dying. For some reason, they put me up and it worked. you know and Chris Albrecht, you know gave me this He got this you know he got me this you know Hb. Oh was he the HBO? Yeah, one of the great TV executives ever Club manager and owner with bud Friedman and silver Friedman back in the late 70s went on I didn't know that I didn't know He was my agent in the 80 70s went on. I didn't know that. I didn't know that. And he was my agent in the 80s, Chris Albrecht. Chris Albrecht was? Oh, I didn't know that.

Before HBO. He was the guy. Yeah. We used to call him the general because we used to play, guys, we used to play, there's gotta be a film or documentary about it. We used to play softball. We're all Yankee fans. We go to Central Park.

And then Larry was there. Larry David was there. Larry was then just the way he is now, you know, completely neurotic, you know? And he would just be there and he would take the most brilliant thing. Larry went on stage when finally he became a regular and we just have to work out and you'd get up at one, two in the morning.

When Larry went on stage, everybody would just rush to the little opening that led to the showroom which was about a couple hundred people, and we would watch Larry, and he would get into fights with the audience, like you hear about, it was true. So he would get in with his attitude and start fighting back and forth,

but it was genius, and everybody knew, Larry is a genius. And then, I can remember distinctly, we would play softball, and then I was playing third base, Larry was playing shortstop, and then I can hear Larry And we're waiting and you know the game is on I hear Larry going What happened I stepped I stepped a dog shit I stepped the batter because I'm in the hot quarter. I go, Larry, what happened? I stepped in dog shit. I stepped in dog dude.

I stepped in dog shit. What did you do? He goes, I threw away my shoes. I have no shoes. This was a legitimate conversation with Larry David. The time. Episode of Curb, yeah. Exactly, exactly.

It was exactly right. So it was it was bizarre, but then then we got we heard that SNL was leaving and John Belushi and Danny would come hang out at the clubs, particularly the catcherizing star. The comedy clubs were, it was Hell's Kitchen and then it was the Upper East Side was Catch, even before the comic strip. But they had blown up, Joe. So those are two monster stars coming in. Yeah, you know, exactly right. So they, but we didn't know when they first went on the air, we were at work on Saturday night.

Oh, okay. We were working on Saturday nights and we didn't even know. And I remember being at the bar or catch on the star and I go, how are you doing? And nice as ever, it was John Belushi. I had John Belushi, I'm on new Show Saturday Night Live.

And Danny Ackler right there. The times were nuts, man. Patty Benatar down by the bar, you know? It was crazy. But then we heard they left and they were leaving and they needed a new cast. And I didn't want anything to do with it because you couldn't replace the original cast.

You just couldn't. I mean, it was Gilda and Danny Ackler. And it was Chevy and John and you couldn't do it. And I didn't want to do it. So long story short, even longer than this. Take your time. Is that a friend of yours? No, it was a writer named John DeBellis.

And John was hired by Gene Dominion, who was the new producer, Lawrence former right hand. And I don't know what happened politically there, but Gene was running the show and and Jean said I need a utility guy and John said I know Joe Piscopo is at the club. He does characters and voices She goes bring them up. So I went right up to the 17th floor And I auditioned for Jean and and she I heard she used like Woody Allen as a rabbit because she and Woody were very close

So so I did the audition and they go okay You could now do the big audition and I go what and they did a sweep of that town NBC came in and they swept the town and the big buzz They did a big buzz was like who's going on SNL who's gonna replace the original cast So and everybody was scared and they wanted to do it. I said, I don't know, but I don't want to do it. I want to just keep doing what I'm doing. I was doing commercials.

I was doing, you know, like, like comedy clubs. And I was doing great. That was my career high, Dana, for real, you know? I got it. So, so, so then they go, okay, now you got to go to the regular audition. And I go to the regular audition and it was me and there was some great talented people

that Gilbert was there, Paul Rubens was there. He was there when I was, yep, yep. He, he, he, he. Huh. Huh. Huh, huh, huh, huh. So can I ask you one question, Joe? How many years were you doing stand-up before

1980? Was it five years six years? Yeah and you at one point knew you could do impressions and voices you had that kind of style. So then you then you got noticed now you don't want the show so but you got you're gonna do it. It's perfect for the show but you don't want so then what? No, we do so we do the audition and then they go, okay, we want to hire you so Chris calls me over it calls me You've got the part you're gonna be the utility guy, you know, and I'll go And I remember arguing with them because I was making good money I you know I joined sag and after and I was I just and I, you know, I joined SAG and Aftra and I was, I just, and I said, you can't replace Belushi and Akroy. Please don't make me do this. And Chris was, he was

the boss back then to all of us young guys. And he, listen, he was our age too. But I said to him, all right, man, I'll go in, but I don't feel good about this. You feel like it's no win, right? It was, and you know what, David, I don't want to say nothing, but I was right. We did 10 shows. And nobody's fault. You just couldn't replace America's favorite television show, one of the greatest television shows of all time.

The writing of Alan Swivel, the writing of Bert Sargent, Frank and Davis, you couldn't replace that. And we didn't. But Jean D'Amenia was great. I remember I went up She said you're in she hired Gilbert She hired a couple other people and then there was a kid and he's up there on 70th floor in the back You know awful Lawrence office. There was a little sitting area and and I and I said they said Joe

This is Eddie Murphy. I said hey Eddie. How you doing? We from Long Island never heard of him They were new we hit it off immediately and said, yeah, they want me to audition. So I go, all right, what do you want to do, man? This is exactly the way it happened. And he goes, let's do the word association sketch that Chevy and Richard Pryor did. Let's do that. You do Pryor, I'll do Chevy and we'll do it.

So we went, we're in an office, we're upstairs on the 70th floor. And then we had the script and we did the word association, you know, all as an inappropriate as it was. A famous sketch where it was incredibly, could not do it today, but it was Chevy Chase and Richard Pryor. So you guys duplicated that, just met,

got the script from people there and then we're, okay, so then what happened? Fascinating. Well, Eddie just like crushed it, man. I mean, he was like, I mean, he crushed. I'm next to him going like, oh man. So now, now they wait. Okay, well, let you know, like to Eddie.

And I, and if I remember correctly, and I went into gene, I said, this kid's the next prior. This kid is the next prior. I said, that was unbelievable. Well, we don't know NBC thought he was too edgy. They was too edgy. We said, no, so they made him. They, yeah, they made him a featured player. You know, which, that's funny. He's 19, right? 18, 19. Yeah. 19. Which makes sense. Which makes sense. Yeah, you know, so they bought him in and little by little, he did 10 shows. Gilbert was on it, and it just nobody's fault. I don't

want to, and I got a, I got a big shout out to Billy Mary, the genius of Billy Mary, the heart of Billy Mary, one of the great guys ever. He came in and he came in on that new cast and he, he guest hosted and that meant a lot. And then he took us out and he all kind of brought us together, but it just didn't work. So, so cut to this. So tell me if I'm talking too much because I'm on a latest album. We want you to talk. This is great.

I knew you'd be a great guest. So you are. So go ahead. So thank you. So, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no You know and we were like off the air it touch shows I thought I knew this would happen Say Chris I told you I So so now now they're calling everybody up to the 17th floor now they replace gene dominion And by the way gene gets credit. She hired me, but she hired even more importantly Eddie Murphy She hired Eddie Murphy. You got to give gene dominion credit for that Right. So so now so now they're being Dick Eversole, Dick Eversole, legendary, legendary,

you know, like he was sort of there with Lauren a little bit in the beginning. He's an NBC. Yeah. Are you, are you guys, though, the history, man? Listen, Dick Eversole was the executive at NBC that was with Brandon Tartico, rest his soul. Another great executive as Mr. Eversall was. And then I think Dick and Lauren were very close. I think so. That's why it happened. So I guess they went to Lauren and said, look, sorry, what do we do now? I don't know, this is a conjecture. And they bought it in Dick. So Dick, we went to Lauren's office, but Evers is there and he's bringing and we're I'm sitting out there in the writers wing and every way's coming out and they're all getting Everyone's getting a whack

Firing they bring you into they bring you into fire you Yeah, they bring they bought everybody in whack one by one and Oh, no, Tim Kim, this was like, yeah, this was, this was a preliminary. So now Gilbert Kim and me was one of my best friends. And we came up together at the club. He walked out and he goes, I'm just fired, I'm just fired. And he got fired. And he, I said, you got fired?

So now they go, all right, let's go ball Murphy, come on in. So me and Eddie go in and me and Eddie had, we had sets to do at the comic strip or wherever we were going. We were, we were, we's get about Murphy. Come on in. So me and Eddie go in and me and Eddie had, we had sets to do at the comic strip for wherever we were going. We were in our heads, that's where we were. So, and we didn't care and I fed off of the reckless abandon of Eddie Murphy because he just didn't care about anything.

It was a beautiful thing to be a part of. So now we're going into Lawrence's beautiful office and Dick Everett's all back there like this, you know. And I sit down and he says that dick goes like this Well, lady Joe, we've uh, we've decided to keep you and we went on there. We get great dick Look, we got a couple sets and we got to make a set if you buy I think the cockiness help guys, you know saying oh death, but it was like I mean so so that was it and then well were you Joe were you?

Relieved or were you sort of like oh no, I'm stuck on the Titanic. Oh, no, I'm stuck It wasn't really helping you at that point you're like God we're just gonna sink further in this I know exactly exactly but but I gotta but again shout out to, I'm sure he leaned on Lorne, but Dick Eversall knew what he was saying. You couldn't match, fellas, the writing of, of the, and the genius of the original cast. You just, you couldn't match it. 100%. Because it was a perfect storm. Yeah.

With the politically, with the way Lorne put everything together, it was genius. And whoever was going to follow that original, because they, the original everything together. It was genius. And whoever was gonna follow that original, because they're the original rock stars of comedy, they were, you know, and then it was impossible to follow. I had a buttress of yours, but to follow that hard. And proof is Eddie Murphy, you couldn't scout in the whole country a better guy that does well on SNL.

And was he blowing up at all or was it still just people just turned the TV off? No, no, we started to catch on a little bit. You know why? Yeah, you have to give Dick ever so credit because he bought in entertainment. He said, we can't match the hitness of Lauren's original show. Let's just entertain. Let's just be funny. So we Entertain, Let's Just Be Funny. So that was a great lesson. That was, I don't know if Lauren told Mr. Eversall

that, whatever it was, we went on. And then Eddie and I out of, I guess, fear and survival, we kind of just joined together and started writing for ourselves, reaching out to two great writers, Barry Blousting, David Sheffield, they were the key writers for Eddie and I. Tim Kazarinski came in, and Timmy really was the captain of that cast.

He was great. He, Mary Gross came in. And we had, you know what, we started to gel a little bit, started having some fun a little bit. And I gotta tell you, I think what maybe probably made it work when Eddie and I were doing the in ones, you know, David, I said to Dana the other night, I said, the great thing that Dana always did, the Right directly to the camera, we would write silly, crazy eddy sketches, you know, whatever it was. And Eddie and I would do the in ones together,

or I would do it, and that seemed to gain, you know, some steam and I go, my people, we go like this, but it graced the guy that worked, you know, it just, and I couldn't say how. Just for a second, because I just, my brain gets curious about this stuff. So you, how many episodes did you do with Gene Dominion before it was sourced 10 just 10 and then

There's a purge and then the show starts again in the fall. Was there a gap of it not being on the air? Yeah, there was a gap in the nothing really cancel. I did not I did not know it was almost like a funeral and awake for the first season You know the great people and then it's like, okay, they took the hit, the first 10 shows. Now it's almost like it can't be that bad. You know what I mean? Some something about it. Yeah. And then you and Eddie started, for me, being in clubs and being aware of this

whole situation, uh, you know, I felt that you and Eddie kind of were, you know, becoming stars, obviously, you know, the two of you, you know, the famous Sinatra and Eddie doing Stevie Wonder almost as a dramatic actor, almost like it was very it shocked the audience when he started singing. And then your Sinatra, I think is, I mean, there's I got my Phil Hartman, you, but I think it's right up there with anybody who's ever done it Phil Hartman you but I think it's right up there with anybody Who's ever done it? Yeah, you know you're you're you're Frank? You know what they asked me to do the Frank Sinatra early on and we were now we were searching

We were searching what are we doing? How do we how do we keep going and we had the pretty good guests would come on And then he bought on like like Jerry Lewis came on which was great And then he would do you would book down wrinkles and then Sid Caesar. And he went back and it was like, it was like, let's just get guys that can do this. But early on they said, Joe, we need the Frank Sinatra character. This was early on. And even during jeans time, I said,

I can't do it because it's a respectful thing and I don't want to make fun of it. I did it in the clubs. I did it for my SNL audition. I can't do it. And so I bought it then and the way I wrote Mr. Esoleta, because I wanted to be a team player. I wrote Mr.

Sennacher letter and I said, this is done with respect. This is the whole Italian New Jersey thing, guys. That's what this is about. That's what I want to hear about, because I'm from California. So this is like it's not dangerous, but you don't want to hear about because I'm from California. So this is like It's not dangerous But you don't want to hurt Frank because for someone from New Jersey at that time. It's Frank Sinatra You know, I was frank and you love Frank Yeah, it's exactly respect. Yeah, it's respected and my father said my father's an attorney

Restless, so they said if you know, you're not gonna be a lawyer, then you wanna do entertainment, then look to Frank Sinatra, because that's your role model. So here I am doing them. And then they asked me to do them in a satirical way. And I said, I can't, because it's up telling you, it's hard to describe,

but people would understand, it's a North Jersey Italian American thing, and it's all about respect. And I told that to Mr. S. So I sent it to Mickey Rudin, his lawyer at the time, and it's all about respect. And I told that to Mr. S. So I sent it to Mickey Rudin, his lawyer at the time, and then hear anything back. I said, OK, let's do it. And we did it, but I always couched it.

I always was respectful. Matter of fact, that evening in Ivory sketch was Barry and David, Blousey to Sheffield. Eddie and I came up with the idea. We ripped it, they wrote it, and it was really kind of vicious and edgy. And I had to soften it just a little bit, even more, you know what I'm saying? So, and the old man I heard Mr. S was watching that

from the Waldorf and saw the sketch with his daughter, he met Nancy and they said, and his daughter said, Joe, why don't you go in and surprise Joe on the air, which I would have had a coronary. But I had to tell you, the old man, when I got an invitation while I was at a Chanel to go to a roast, to attend and be at the podium of a roast of D. Martin, the master's ceremonies was Frank Sinatra. That was the approval seat. And when I met him, he could not have been nicer. From the whole time I've been with him a few times. I was never on the inside of the rat

You know, you know, but you would always so respectful always Did he say maybe don't call me the old man. Maybe that's more offensive than the sketch He was 52 at the time He was 52 like it's nice to meet an old person like yourself. He's like, Hey, no, no. But you know what? Everybody who was around Mr. S, all the guys would call him the old man, the old like the captain. That's like the admiral. Okay. And this is this is the story. So when when he first saw me doing him, you know, you guys even know, uh, Charlie Callis remember Charlie Of course. Yeah, he was like Jerry Lewis' sidekick on a talk show. He was Jerry Lewis like another extended version, a crazy guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just to

David, you gotta put that out. Charlie Callis. Someone told him to play it bigger and he never looked back So callous over mr. I let it was Atlantic City, you know 1980 something and then they're in the dressing room at Caesars Mr. S is about to do a second show and they're in the dressing room about to step up to the stage And in the dressing room on the TV Somebody had Saturday night live on and I came on doing him. It's the first time Mr. Sinatra saw me doing him and the room grows silent.

Everybody goes, gosh, who's crazy enough? So Charlie Callis breaks the silence and he goes, what do you think, Captain? And Mr. S looks at me doing him and he goes, hey, he's pretty good. The little prick. Like that was just. Yeah. That's the best answer. That was a great line. But he didn't like it.

He got that, it was respectful. And it was all good. So, have you been to the stage? At that Ebony and I everything. It was kind of edgy, because it was based on Paul McCartney and it talks about black and white, getting together, all that stuff. And it was pretty edgy because it was based on Paul McCartney and Interrupts about black and white getting together

all that stuff and it was pretty it was pretty edgy with Frank being the clueless you know but like the old Italian guy the way they could be at that time. Yo black I'm white you're singing but at the very the very last thing you had Frank say which I wonder if you kind of was sort of sweet and landed it completely different, who cares? Or what did Frank say at the end of that sketch? That's good, you know, I gotta tell you, and if folks watch, everybody's watching your podcast now, guys, I gotta tell you, that means so much to me

where you just said, Dana, what you just said. Because you do things on the air, you do things on the air, and sometimes someone picks it up, thank you for that. No, it was- I said who cares, baby? Yeah, that changed the whole sketch and it changed the whole up. Thank you for that. No, it was yeah That's the whole sketch and it changed the whole virus and opera he can do this and that Oh, and we all know that he was a champion for Sammy and he wouldn't you know, he was completely

Not that character. Yeah, so that was nice at the end. It really made a great thank you for thinking of that Social justice warrior he was I mean just for his folks don't understand when mr. F went to Vegas at they and he was playing the main room and he was playing with the Count Basie Orchestra which was an old black orchestra he had Quincy Jones arranging for conducting for him and then and Sammy would come on and they were staying on the other side of town and mr. S said what's that what are you going to. S said, what's that? What are you doing? He had lunch with Sammy. Where are you guys staying?

Where are you guys? He goes, they're putting us, they're not, they wouldn't allow the performer to walk in, the people forget. And Mr. S said, Baldi goes, look, they don't go, they don't come in and you treat them exactly like you're treating me that I'm not going on. And he really stood back to that.

No, no, he did. Yeah, he's just like, yeah. There's a brilliant documentary on Sammy Davis Jr. It speaks a lot to how Frank was like, if you don't treat him like you treat me, I'm out of here. I'm doing you, doing him, doing him, whatever. But that's a fascinating part. So I'm curious about that cast.

Now you and Eddie, and then what was the cast that came in with you? Just because it was Brad Hall and Julie Louise Stryphus. Well, they had, when we first went in, we had, it was mostly Timmy Katherinsky and Mary Gross. And then we had a guy, I think Tony Rosado joined us for a little while. There was some other, I broke from Toronto.

Robin Duke is brilliant. Yes. Robin Duke is brilliant. He was just brilliant and wonderful, Robin Duke is brilliant. He was Just brilliant and wonderful and Mary as well, but Robin and I did the winers together We could riff and he's one of Toronto Toronto second She's great and the winers was one of your reoccurring Characters that yeah, the audience would start to applaud when you guys appear. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I always said if Lorne was producing, it would have been a movie.

You know, I think it would have been a movie. It'll be called The Winers. We'll do it at Paramount. It'll be a 40 day shoot. Three sketches into one movie. Eddie will do a cameo. We go in June. Really? Now let's eat. But you also had Jim Belushi as well,

was in that era. So. Jimmy came in later and it was great, and a great, great, great actor, and it was just great. But then they say we're bringing in Brad Hall, Gary Kroper. Yes.

And we're bringing in Julie Louise Dreyfus. Now they were three young kids and they could not have been more pleasant, more fun fun more talented They were great, but to this day I feel guilty because it really was Eddie and I kind of hopped her down to write for ourselves And if you didn't write for yourself back in the day, I guess pretty much with you guys Yeah, you just didn't get figured out pretty quick. Yeah. Yeah, right, right? No one's really looking out for you

Yeah, that's right. It's just like that. And I always felt bad that you know, help, you know, I mean, you know, it doesn't make any difference now, but like Julia was so sweet and nice and great. She was 19 at the time and she was great. And I always felt we should have probably got her into the sketches more, you know, but I don't think she needed our help. When you look back, what did she do after SNL? I mean, it just appeared. What did she really do? No, we hopefully will have her on as a guest too.

But it's also a luck factor, like some sketch falls in your lap or someone writes you something good or you blow up on something, you know, Dana got, Wayne's world and that thing blows up. He doesn't know for sure that's gonna blow up. You know, and so you're in different things, some things you really think are gonna work, they don't, something else blows up. I think it's gonna blow, you know. And so you're in different things, some things you really think are gonna work,

they don't, something else blows up. I think it's hard though, if you don't write for yourself for your own moves, like that's, you have to show them, like I go, I'm funny and they go, they don't know. Like they're busy, you show them, you can do something even around the office and you do an impression or anything and they go, we should put that in something.

And then you go, okay, good, you know, that's, they need, you need to help them a little. It's like, so you and Eddie integrated with writers. So you would instigate, this stuff I do at the club, Eddie, and then you had a couple of writers who were like hungry for that. Cause when it works that way, your rhythms, your sensibility is already enveloped into the sketch.

And then they hopefully improve it, you know, so yeah I mean forsonation He's a force of nature, but he's a comic genius and it's effortless and it's instinctive So we would be there we'd be in the producers one of the, and one of the producers office, and he was watching Mr. Rogers, you know, and he goes, no, I'm gonna do a street version of this. And I look at him, I'm gonna be Mr. Robinson, and I'm gonna be, and he would come up with the concept. And he was just, and I remember one writer going, I don't know if that's gonna work. And he would say, I'm doing it. Then he would say to me, he would

say to me, I'm gonna do Buckwheat. And I go, he would say to me, I'm gonna do Buckwheat. And I go, I'm sorry, he goes, and I'll do Buckwheat. Remember Buckwheat for the Little Red Skulls? And I would go, and I was like his older brother, because I had him by almost about 10 years. And I would say, and it might be a little racist. You might wanna just maybe not do that, you know?

Bang, he didn't care. He went for it and it was, I have to tell you the joy of it to be next to it, to experience it, especially to be live, to be like, I don't believe we had a delay back then. And to be next to Eddie, whether we were doing everything in ivory, whether I was watching him do a buckwheat or whether we would do my favorite thing,

we would do a Solomon and Pudge, the two old guys in the bar, which was kind of a bittersweet thing. That was just a fill. It was meant to do a fill because they needed time right before one o'clock. And they would say, Eddie, Joe, just go up and do something. And Eddie and I just riffed.

That was, it was magic moments that I cherish forever. It was, and I told Eddie this, when they gave him the Mark Twain Prize down there, watching it, and that Chappelle was there, and our city was there, and Georgie Lopez was there. And it was, it was like the, you know, except for me, it was like a Mount Rushmore of comedy, you know? And everybody's going before,

though we're supposed to speak, you know, to Eddie at the Smithsonian the night before the events. What are we gonna say? And I remember Chappelle going, I think it'd be funny, what can I do? I said, guys, just speak from the heart, man. Just speak from the heart. And that's right, when I got up,

I said, Eddie, thank you for a great, man. Just speak from the heart. And that's right. When I got up, I said, Eddie, thank you for a great ride. Thank you for a ride of a lifetime. And it resonated. And we all had tears in our eyes. It was a beautiful thing. Out of comedy, you know? It was a lot of heart.

People may see us trying to be funny or silly or outrageous, but I think you got a lot of heart and probably feel more than most, you know, guys. Well, and also say the state the obvious, and it's come up a lot in this podcast, just Rockefeller Center, 8-8, 17th floor, live television in New York City, Beebeam from California. There's no more viscerally intense thing you can do in show business,

and everyone even moves on to movies or whatever they do There still is just that and we were talking to Eric Andre the other day and he was like How did you deal with the pressure? The pressure. I mean, did you get more comfortable? Did you just feel good when you're out there with Eddie like we're gonna kick ass because you've got yeah great great observation David exactly right I was petrified the whole time and I petrified and I just was always worried and a matter of fact the writers would always bust my chops because

I was always so uptight on that's gotta be perfect before the show before the show I would say everybody be getting ready right after after the rehearsal you know the after shooting you know, the after shooting, you know Rehearsing it's like 9 30 and it's over and we go over the notes I'd run down under the bleachers and I would go to Al the cue car guy I would go I would go to Kevin the cue car guy and I would just go let me see the cards Which was real. I'm gonna pay them in that basketball. I mean really but they did

Oh, I've done that they ran. Do you know what I'm gonna paint it in that basketball. I mean, really? But they did. No, I've done that. They ran. Do you know what I'm saying, David? Yeah. Yeah, if you practice, because you don't know where the sentence ends, and you're like, I want to get ready for exactly what it will be. So if that looks a little weird, I want to say that now, and then maybe they can tweak it, and then you go, ooh, could you go a little faster? Anything where you just go, it'll help. It's so scary. Do anything you can. Yeah, I agree with you. We were live. We were live. No safety net.

It was no safety net. I wanted to be perfect every single time, but I think working with Eddie, Timmy Kazaristi as well, um, and that they were loose. When you're loose and you get that fun like that on stage, it was, it was gold. It was just gold like that. That's where I relaxed in the arena, right, right in the belly of the beast, right live, we had, I mean, look, think of the numbers when we were on, guys. I mean, you know, was it eight million?

Was it 20 million? It wasn't the 30 million they had, you know, originally, but there were a lot. Still very, very big. Yeah. Yeah. No cake. Dana, I worked with the, I knew Tim Kazerinsky a little bit because we did something after that. He's a Chicago guy. I know. I worked with the I knew Tim Kazerinsky a little bit because yeah, we did something after that He's a Chicago guy. I know I worked with him after that and he was super cool, dude

I remember a great time with him and we didn't even talk that much about SNL. Oh, I wasn't I wasn't on it yet That's why we I did it before that. Yeah, wow But Timmy Timmy brought us all together Timmy was like he was the liaison between the producer because they would say things and we would you know through animosity Comes creativity. So you know so so if that you what do you mean? And then and then the worst was for me when they said, okay All right, you gotta we want you to do this sketch and you didn't want to do the sketch man You just knew it wasn't gonna work But you had to do the sketch and then you're waiting and then, and then you do your dress rehearsal, you know, and then you wait and you're in

that, I'm just being, remember being crammed in, you know, 930s coming to 10 o'clock. Oh my gosh, we're live in an hour and a half. And somebody said, Oh, the sketch is in that bad sketch that you're hitting. That was tough. You got to go sell it. That was tough. You know, but we did it. I have a question.

Joe, did you have, let's say you write the winers, you write a first draft that gets through Readthrough. Do you have a Thursday Readthrough, I mean, a rewrite debt, we had a 16 hour rewrite day, you go through every sketch, or did you just go off, whoever wrote it rewrites it? Whoever wrote it rewrites it, that's great. There were notes, there were notes. But whoever wrote it rewrote, whoever wrote it, if they had a rewrite, it was that. It was their piece. Right. Because sometimes when you gangbang it like that on a Thursday, it gets a little better because you've got everyone around the table giving you their best joke for that and you pick. And then you do it. That's the way we did it.

Yeah, like 16 people work on it. Yeah, it's Conan O'Brien and Bob Odin Kirk and Jack Hanney. Downy. Yeah. Yeah. Great writers. You know what? I love that. I wish we had it. So we, because we didn't know what to do. But when we first went in and and now, and now we're all there and the new cast is together and we went in the back that that that back writing area and then Dick Evers was so said all right I'm bringing back Michael of Donahue And he was like a lamest writer in the original cast. Yeah Thank you. Thank you. I love the play by player doing I just try to set the table

I'm just thinking the person who doesn't know anything about this part of SNL and also your era is like a missing link for us I mean, it's very interesting. Yeah, but I Well, well, we're there now and now Michael Oh my gosh, so now any and he and he was so theatrical and great So we all waiting there. He makes an entrance And he's got a spray paint can in his hand and he walks doesn't say a word and he shakes it and you can hear it shaking and on the wall of the writers wing he wrote D A N G E or danger and he went show anybody that that's what the show lacks and that's what we're gonna do like

that I went whoa whoa, man. So then he would call us in, he would call us in and he would, I'll tell you, these guys from that era were, and I mean this in the most respectful way, they were like off the charts, crazy like that, you know? And Michael was like, so listen, listen guys, he sits me in the office, now I'm new,

and I don't even wanna be there because I don't, I've ruined the show so far, I don't wanna continue through this, because I've ruined the show so far. I don't want to continue through this. But God, he goes like this. Listen, he's there and he goes like this. Piscopo, just he and I in the office one on one in one of those little producers office. He goes, I don't get you. I don't think you're funny.

I don't get it. Like that, like that. And I'm going like, I'm going like, okay, well, I'll leave now. He's wanting me to go like that. And then I didn't like confront him. I said, you know, Mike, I agree with you. I don't think I belong here either. And I'm honored to see you, man. And he goes like, then he softens up and he goes like this.

Well, that's not your thing's pretty good. I like that's not your thing. Like you do, he goes like that. And through all that adversity, that tanks, that blood, sweat, and tears, it all worked out. ["The Last Song of the Year"] By the way, and again, if I can,

it's, I guess, stop me, but John Belushi was, I mean, he was like a, people don't understand. He was a comedy guy. He was a god, man. He was, it was like, and I, and to me aqroy was my back Danny to this day I've such a immense love and respect for Danny really was he was the he was the captain of that ship I thought but John was so great So we did the shows we start to catch on a little bit and then

John would come back and hang a little bit and Danny acroint came in and these to me man I was in the it was it was it was Akkoin and Belushi yeah and the Blues Brothers you know just just every just kissing here and and Nixon you know pray for me Henry remember he played Nixon with a mustache Epitome of how to execute a character so then they go they go okay We're going to an after party at Joe and Episcopal they go Episcopal you're going after party We want you to go with us So we went down to what was the precursor to the house of blues. It was a hole in the wall

I don't know if you got I don't think it was there when you guys went in No, but it was like the village and it was just a dive and everybody was there. Gilda was there, Alan's right, Bell was there, it was everybody. It's a band against now. Yeah. And I don't go like, oh my gosh. And then, and then Belushi comes over to me, just one on one, and he goes, Piss, come on. And he goes, come here. So he walks me over to the jukebox, and there's a big jukebox there,

and he takes a quarter out of his pocket back in the day. He puts it in the jukebox, and he punches up Frank Sinatra in New York, New York, and he starts to sing it. And I'm doing dueling Sinatra's with John Belushi at a bar in Greta Trilich. And it was, those are the things that happened. And we're saying and then to note it became a moment at the party and everybody came around.

Wow, look at Johns with Piscopal. Look at this. And as soon as that happened, it became the moment I saw John and he just shied away. He shrunk away and got out of it. All he wanted was a moment and I felt bad and I understood that when you think people want to be famous, I want to be famous, I want to be... It was not easy. And I saw a lot in Eddie, you know, too, when you got that big.

It just wasn't easy. But I always appreciated that. Again, and it was the greatness that the humor John Belushi, the boldness of John Belushi. But I tell you, he had a big heart. He had a big heart. And I saw it right there at that moment. Oh, lucky.

What a great... You got Eddie, you got Belushi Aquas out there, the fucking heyday of it all Jesus. Hey, can I can I ask? We have we have no structure we don't Tell me about if I may I would be I would be a I went to St. Molokies when I was on Broadway and I was across the street with St. Molokies and and then they were telling me Chris Farley was always there to St. Malachy's when I was on Broadway and I was across the street with St. Malachy's and then they were telling me Chris Farley was always there at St. Malachy's. And then I'm in Beverly Hills and I'm out there and I'm at church and more than once

and I forget if it was a Saturday night mask and there's Chris Farley taking communion, walking like he just had partied all night and we saw each other and I said, hey, how you doing? I wish I wanted to talk to him. I didn't want to bother him. I wish you did. I know. He would love it. But he would have loved it.

His face. Oh, old SNL to talk about SNL. He was completely a full on Catholic. And I mean, David knows so much better than I did. But yeah, he was. Went to church all the time, right, David? Yeah, it than I did, but yeah, he was, went to church all the time, right David? Yeah, it was all night Saturday, wrap party, straight to church, and then back to zero.

He says, I'm back to zero. Like he go in there and confess and do all the things he did. And he goes, five Hail Marys later, I'm back to zero. I'm all good, going to heaven again. I go, all right, well, let's ruin it again this week Yeah, he was very into it and I think he would have really Respect it and love to see anyone messing up especially you did so much. Oh, yeah, you would he was young age Yeah, he would have been yeah all up in your cast for sure and you and Eddie

Yeah, and listen, it's fun for me and Dana, because having you on and just hearing this stuff, it brings it all back and we're lucky to work with you. We worked with and then you got to work with people and you're part of it all. So we heard of your names while we were there. It's the same thing. Absolutely. You just hear about the cast before you.

And I'm seeing you killing on SNL, doing characters and doing what I wanna do, you know, before I was lucky enough to get there. Well, and you know what, David, I remember we were at, we were in Hollywood somewhere or Los Angeles somewhere and I was with my son the years ago and you and it was a sushi place, great sushi place. I right from the Beverly Center and you walked in,

I said, hi, and you were very nice and very respectful. I, you know, you appreciate that. And my son was of course great to see, you know, the great David Spade, no, it was great. And then, and then I remember this my son was of course, great to see, you know, the great David Spade. No, it was great. And then, and then I remember this, I don't know why I remember this. But I told Dana this the other night, when I was in my makeup chair, it was had to be rehearsal or we were doing a pre-shoot or something. And, and I looked in

the mirror, and a kid stuck his head in, and went, Joe, Joe, hey, I'm a big fan. Hi, my name is Dana Carvey. Well, I don't know why I remember that. So that was before Dana, you were doing a series you said you were doing a sitcom at that time. I had a little deal with NBC. I got cast on a show called One of the Boys. Mickey Rooney was the star. Nathan Lane was the co-star. All of a sudden I'm living in New York in 1981 and I'm shooting this sitcom on the sixth floor. And of course I was possessed by SNL and I did go up to the on Thursday a couple times and bleachers watch you guys running stuff And then we had the same makeup artist He would do your makeup on Saturday night or was in the at least working Saturday nights

And I would do my Andy Rooney and do certain impressions. He goes, you gotta tell Joe, but I thought I did it, Andy Rooney did it better or something. But I remember finding you somewhere, Joe Piscopo's down this hallway, you know, it's like a big lab. And I guess I noticed. Hi, I'm Dan Nicarvi. I must have been really nervous because I was on- Falsy Dan.

I was on this sitcom that was, it was a death knoll. I mean, talk about it We're driving this Scatman Carruthers stoned all day Mickey with a 38 throwing it around the room Revolver they're not gonna get me So I was in a madhouse and 72 months later. I got you're like hey Joe. We're both in sag. I wanted to say But any anyone who does this or anyone who's been to stand right live you have Tracy Morgan called he says hey alum Like I wanted to say. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha of this. There's a horse, there's people juggling. Now I'm throwing on me and push me out there. Well, we appreciate it, Joe. Thanks for taking some time out for us and love chatting with you. Yeah, this was great respect and great love, guys.

Joe, you paint great pictures. You're a great storyteller. This was really fun. Yes. Thanks for filling out with us. See you out there. See you around campus. Okay, buddy. This has been a presentation of Odyssey. Please follow, subscribe, leave a like, a review, all the stuff, smash that button, whatever it is. Wherever you get your podcasts. Flying the Wall is executive produced by Dana Carvey and David Spade. Jenna Weiss, Berman of Odyssey. Charlie Fine and of Brillstein Entertainment and Heather Santoro. The show's lead producer is Greg Holtzmann.