Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast - Gavin MacLeod Encore

Episode Date: February 27, 2023

GGACP celebrates the birthday (February 28) of Captain Stubing and Murray Slaughter himself, actor Gavin MacLeod, with this ENCORE of an interview from 2019. In this episode, Gavin talks about paying dues, playing bad guys, crushing on Marilyn Monroe, acting with (and without) a hairpiece and sharing a years-long friendship with the late, great Ted Knight. Also, Gavin praises Cary Grant, ad-libs with Peter Sellers, cuts the rug with Bing Crosby and breaks into the business with Martin Balsam, Martin Landau and Jack Warden. PLUS: Chuckles Bites the Dust”! The villainy of Big Chicken! “ The brilliance of Blake Edwards! A surprise caller chimes in! And Gavin and Tony Curtis share a donut! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Peloton has everything you need to help you get going. Get a head start on summer with Peloton and choose a flexible payment plan that works for you at onepeloton.ca financing. Sunday, Monday, happy days. Tuesday, Wednesday, happy days. Thursday, Friday, happy days. If you want to have a happy day and you want to have a good time, tune in to Gilbert Gottfried's amazing, colossal podcast. This is Charles Fox.

I just had a great time with these guys. Hi, this is Gilbert Gottfried, and this is Gilbert Gottfried's amazing, colossal podcast with my co-host, Frank Santopadre, and our engineer, Frank Verderosa. Our guest this week is one of the most recognized, versatile, and popular actors of the last seven decades, appearing in notable films and some of the best-known TV series of all time. Memorable big-screen performances include I Want to Live, Porkchop Hill, The Sand Pebbles, Operation Petticoat, The Party, The Comic, and Kelly's Heroes. He's also made hundreds of appearances on the small screen.

In classic shows like The Dick Van Dyke Show, McHale's Navy, Perry Mason, The Untouchables, McHale's Navy, Perry Mason, The Untouchables, The Munsters, The Andy Griffith Show, Hogan's Heroes, Ironside, That 70s Show, Jag, The King of Queens, and Oz, just to name a few. He also played one of Steve McGarrett's arch enemies, the notorious drug pusher, Big Chicken, on Hawaii Five-0, and spoofed his old co-star, Telly Savalas, in the TV movie,

Frank and I are especially fond of, Murder Can Hurt You. But he'll forever be known for portraying a pair of iconic characters, and two of them of the most beloved series in the 1970s and 80s. News writer Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Captain Meryl Stubing on The Love Boat. In a lengthy and successful career that started back in the 1950s, successful career that started back in the 1950s. He's worked alongside some of Hollywood's biggest names, including Bean Crosby, Tony Curtis, Gregory Peck, Barbara Stanwyck, Cary Grant, Helen Hayes, Steve McQueen, Peter Sellers, Robert Redford, and Clint Eastwood.

His terrific 2013 memoir is called This Is Your Captain Speaking, My Fantastic Voyage Through Hollywood, Faith and Life. It's our pleasure to welcome to the podcast an actor we all grew up watching and the only guest we've ever had on this show who can say they attended Ernest Borgnine and Ethel Merman's engagement party. The pride of Pleasantville, New York, Gavin McLeod. Well, it's nice. That was so long. I'm glad I lived through all those credits.

Yeah. Welcome, Gavin. You're finally here. Thank you so much. Pleasantville, New York was a wonderful place to grow up. Home of the Reader's Digest.

My mother worked for them when there were five people in the office. You know, they went on to do great things. Those wonderful, the Wallace, the Wallace family,

we used to live in New York on 1025 Fifth Avenue, across from the Metropolitan. And every month they would give new flowers. And I thought, oh, the Wallace's donated all those flowers from the Reader's Digest. My mom used to work for them. I was so proud of that. Anyway, I love the reading. Thank you.

It's a little like this is your life without Ralph Edwards. I know. It's a little like This Is Your Life without Ralph Edwards. I know. Now, the one thing I'm most proud of, can you say your birthday? 228-228-31. No. Okay, so it's February 28th?

1931. We share a birthday. Oh, there you go. You're kidding me. Yes. Are you February 28th? Yes. Wow. That's why we're so much alike.

You still have more hair than I have. What is it with these Pisces? We all lose our hair. He's got a few left. Now, also, I remember, I think the only time we met, it was at an autograph signing years ago. In Parsippany, New Jersey. Oh, yeah, Chiller Fest.

Yes. Oh, and I got to say thank you to Stuart Hirsch for getting us. Yes, thank you, Stuart. He's a great guy. He's a good man. He's a good man. And so you were there and I thought, you know, I'm one

of those people who would watch you on the love boat and say, oh, he's so friendly and kind and considerate. He's got to be a total bastard in real life. And in person, you're Captain Steubing. Well, I guess I'm full of water.

I mean, I don't know. I mean, I think in the long run, I played so many different human beings, some of the meanest people in the world, the drug pushers, all these people. It was nice to be me for a change. And yeah, I got to be me. And I like people I like. I'm very grateful for my life. I'm grateful for every day I have still alive. My father died when he was 39. He had a very short life. And here I am, 88 years old, still going strong. I'm so grateful. And so how can you not be nice for something, especially when people are nice to you? Now, I noticed how nice,

I noticed your lines are the biggest lines of them all. Oh, at the Chiller Fest? Oh, thank you. I said, what has he got? And I looked at his hair. I said, well, he has a little more hair than I have. But he's got his beautiful wife with him and two little children.

And I also remember the whole time I was sitting there, I had to pee desperately. But I was watching you and going, well, this guy's older than me and he's not peeing yet. Yes, but you've heard of Depends? Yes, but you've heard of Depends? Bernie and I discovered Depends years ago. You and Coppell? Yes, we went to the Rose Bowl parade, and they said, you've got to be up at 4.30 in the morning,

you have to sit on this thing until it gets light out and so forth. I said, Bernie, what are you going to do when you have to urinate? He said, I don't know. He's two years younger than I am. I said, I'll tell you what. I'll get some Depends. I'll bring them up. So I brought them up, and he and I both wore them.

Guess what happens? It's so cold out there, neither one of us had to go for the whole morning. The end of the pandemic. And we were still full of... That's... But anyway, that's a love boat story that we've never mentioned to anybody. We feel honored. That's an exclusive, Gilbert. Oh, that's so funny.

That's hysterical. Gil, if you do another chiller, get the Depends. Yes. Oh, that's so funny. That's hysterical. Gil, if you do another chiller, get the Depends. Yes. I would work for Depends. I mean, keep your, I'll tell you, we live in way down in the, well, can I mention where I live? I won't get bad letters or anything. No, no, you're in Rancho Moraz. I live in the Palm Springs area.

Right. And my kids and most of them are all up in the L.A. area, and we have to drive up. And sometimes that's four hours. And sometimes it's very difficult because you can't find places to stop. And my dear, beautiful, wonderful love of my wife, my wife is my age, too. And here we are, two alter cockers both saying,

have you gone yet? Have you gone yet? No, I'm wearing it. I'm wearing it. I'm wearing it. The first time I wore it all the way on Christmas, I finally,

I never had to go. I said, those depends play tricks with you. the pens play tricks with you. It happens. There's a tip. Gavin, why were you cast as so many bad guys and mobsters and drug dealers and pushers in those days?

Because I didn't have any hair. I was a young guy without any hair. Did you ever? I'm sorry. There's my hair maker on. My wig maker's on the phone. That's okay. I'll tell you what happened.

Did you read my book? You know, when I got my first hair piece, the secondhand hair piece. From Ziggy. Yeah. It was from Ziggy. That's right. And he was bolder than both of us put together all these guys working in their hair places are bald so he gives me i said i have i was working at radio city musical for 34 a week as an usher and uh i had to get my

cousin they don't write parts for a young bald guy you. You know, even O'Neill didn't do that. And so I saved up my $125, and I went to the Sins Brothers place. I think they're still there in New York. I don't think Ziggy's alive anymore. I went upstairs. The guy with the bald head, I'm Ziggy. How are you, kid? I said, good.

He says, what can I do? I said, well, look at my head. He said, you don't have any hair. I said, I know. That's why I'm here. You sell it. I'd like to buy some. He said, let me look at you. He He said, you don't have any hair. I said, I know. That's why I'm here. You sell it. I'd like to buy some. He said, let me look at you.

He walks around, looks at the head and so forth. He said, that'll be about $300. I said, oh, no, no, no. I only have $125. It took me six months to save this. I said, I make $34 a week at the music hall. I'm a young actor. They don't write parts for bald-headed young people.

I said, I don't know. So I need a hairpiece. He says, come back when you get the money. I don't have time for this. I says, all right. So I start walking down the stairs. Then I heard, hey, kid. I turn around.

He says, come on up here. He says, follow me. So I followed him. And he opened this big curtain. And there was a room with a whole wall was a mirror with a shelf and chairs and there's like a skull there with some hair on it he said sit down there so I sat down there he put this thing on my head he said how do you like that it was hair on my head for the first

time in years I said it could have looked like a bird nest I don't care I said this is magnificent he says you can have this for 125 I said uh but you told me it was like three something or no he said yeah but you know a guy came in this morning. He turned this one in. He got a new one. You can have this for $125. I said, oh, oh, gee, that's wonderful. I said, who was it? He said, I'm not permitted to tell you. I said, oh. I said, he said, you ever hear of Frankie Lane?

Frankie Lane? Mule train. This is Frankie Lane's hair. I'm going to wear Frankie. Wait till I get to the Rockettes and tell them I'm wearing Frankie Lane's hair. It was wonderful. Except every time we were someplace and we heard Mule Train, it would go flip-flop, flip-flop, flip-flop by my head.

It really belonged to not Frankie Lane, though he wore them. I see. It belonged to B. Wayne, and they had this wonderful radio program. Oh, oh, oh. Andre Baruch. Andre Baruch. Andre Baruch. It was Andre Baruch and B. Wayne.

So listen to this. I was telling this story 40 years later on The Tonight Show. We're doing the love boat. The phone rings the next day. And somebody said, Gavin, somebody wants to talk to you. I said, well, do you know who it is? He said, a guy named Baruch. Baruch. I said, I wonder if that's Andre Baruch. So I went to the phone. I said, hello. Hello, Gavin. This is Andre Baruch. I, Mr. Baruch, what an honor to talk to you. He says, I heard you on the Tonight Show. He said, thank you for the plug.

I didn't know it was a plug telling people he had a bad hairpiece. He says, I'm in town. My son represents the Three Tenors. And he said, I was interested. Would you be interested in another hair piece? Hilarious. That's the end of that story. Hilarious.

But he and B. Wayne, he died. They had a show. He invited me to go to Florida to see him. He and B. Wayne was a big band singer. And he had died in ensuing years. And she was still alive a couple of years ago in beverly hills in a place i knew about anyway love it that was the hair and and i i gotta tell you a few months ago just switching around the channels i came across an old hawaii five-o oh yeah and you were the drug pusher and killer big chicken big chicken big chicken now big chicken go ahead do you remember any of your lines i can tell you everything about that

thing oh can you do it in the voice you did that i was oh yeah i was doing the play uh the web and the rock and I got a call doing a new series with Jack Lord who I had met once before and so I go over there and you know you pick up the script and described he said I said who am I here for she says a guy named Big Chicken I said okay Big Chicken. Big Chicken is notoriously thin. He's 6'6". He has a goatee. He weighs about 200 pounds. And here I am about 240 pounds, 5'10", bald. I said, what are they calling me for these parts for?

So I said, what a waste of time so i read it and i said oh man this guy is fantastic he's so evil oh yeah he got these kids hooks on drugs so they would steal for him and all these things he was evil so i said i'll go read so i'll go in and joe gantman was the producer then. And I sit down in the room with him and read. It's the same place where we did the Mary Tyler Moore show years later. I'm sitting with him, and we read this one scene, and it's silence. He says, you know, I never thought you could act. I said, that's kind of funny. Then why did I come here?

He said, you blew me away. I want you to play this character. I said, he's described as being six foot six and tough. He said, no, that's John D.F. Black, the author. He described himself, who I eventually met. So I did. I went to Hawaii. That was like the third show

they ever made Ricardo Maltabon preceded me we all had the same suite we stayed in and I was in and then uh the character was fascinating and um and I thought wouldn't be interesting he's so evil they were wearing peace symbols in those days i said suppose i wear a peace symbol and have them say peace brother peace and that's what he did and i incorporated that in that character and the review was outstanding and they wrote him in again and they wrote the next one called the box which was he was in prison this one the first time you see him he's completely naked taking a shower taking a shower. Taking a shower.

And that's where these guys from Parsippany, New Jersey, they came that day when I was with you, that first time I saw you with your kids and your wife signing those things. They came in and said, hey, big chicken. And they start doing all the lines. I said, I don't believe you guys. They came back that night with T-shirts. They had big chicken on their T-shirts with their lines. And they started playing some of the scenes.

Now you cut. And so I said, you guys are fabulous. This past year, I was there again in another place in Parsippany. And they showed up on a Saturday night. People are lined up. And I hear, hey, big chicken. Now they got a name. They got Tony the Greek was with them, and they got another guy.

And all day long, they do the big chicken lines. That's fantastic. They took me out. There was a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse there, and they have chicken. So we all took chicken. We all had pictures of us holding our chicken they gave me a Christmas decoration that said love uh Hawaii Five-0 on it and they're going to be in Vegas in July and they may come over here to see me and my wife oh they're wonderful guys they just hung up on they love they love big chicken baby

and it's so much fun you know you think maybe they're crazy but they're very successful in their own businesses and they're neat guys you gotta talk

like big chicken he wants you to do a little dialogue oh oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh but I'm on a Oh, it's been a while. Yes. But I want to tell, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, I'm going to have this zip gun right at your head, McGarrett. Yeah, McGarrett, you put me in this place. Now you're going to get it, McGarrett. Hey, McGarrett. You put me in this place.

Now you're going to get it, McGarrett. And I put a zip gun to his head. Are you ready, baby? Are you ready? This is big chicken talking. Big chicken. Let me lighten your burden, Mr. McGarrett. Now, even though she may say bad things about me,

even though as a three-time loser any conviction would close that gate for good on me, even though all of that, I'm still safe. Because I believe in the law. There's a favor to you, Mr. McGarrett. That's a good citizen. You take yourself over to that little jungle.

Maggie's pet. Just look on that like an early Christmas present, Mr. McGarrett. Me to you. I'm going early Christmas present, Mr. McGarrett. Me to you. I'm gonna nail you, chicken. You'll miss some angle. You stay smug and I'll stay patient. And I'll nail you. Never, Mr. McGarrett.

No chance you'll ever... No way. Peace. My son calls me. He just sent me something for my birthday. I said, big chicken McLeod on it. That's great. So that's that's we still have that going. And it's either a big chicken, a chicken fricassee, a chicken.

There's a part in your book where Jack Lord took you aside and said, Gavin, you're the bravest actor I've ever seen. That's right. He asked me to do a movie for him. He wanted to direct. And I'm the only one they said he ever had lunch in his trailer. Oh. And I had lunch in his trailer.

And he was telling me he had this movie he wanted me to be in. He wanted to shoot it in Spain. But it never happened. Wow. remember it's big chicken you sounded like a beatnik you know it's like hey i don't break no laws god that was so long ago but he was he was genuinely scary oh he was terrible yeah no it was one probably one of the worst i played drug pushers and evil people and all that but but this guy was one of the one of the but oh boy actors always say they love playing villains you played a lot of them yeah because because it's you know you're getting away with something you couldn't get away with in real life, and you're getting paid for it.

And I wanted to show that I could do something like that, and especially some of the things I've played, these outrageous characters. I mean, in Kelly's Heroes with Donald, you know, you played the Moriarty character. I still get a lot of mail on him. And then going from him to Murray on the Mary Tyler Moore show, it's a big jump. A lot of range. It's wonderful. A lot of range.

Gilbert, I was telling Gilbert, you played four different characters on the Untouchables. I'll assume they were all bad guys. Porker, Whitey, Three Fingers. And for some reason, there was a character named Artie McCloud. Well, I don't know. If I did, I did. I remember I was with Marty Balsam,

Marty Balsam, Marty Landau, all those wonderful actors. Great names. All wonderful people. Great names. All wonderful people did those shows. Tell us about those two, because we brought them up on this show a few times. Yeah, we love character actors. Oh, yeah. Jack Warden, too, who you also work with.

Oh, Jack Warden. I did Asphalt Jungle with him. Yes, yes. You know what he told me? I had done The Sand Pebbles with Robert Wise, you know? By the way way i did the introduction to there's a new book on robert wise out that joe jordan wrote he asked me to do the introduction oh great so i did that because i had worked for him a few times you guys were close

wonderful incredible human being and a great director now now what was the point now i forgot what i was going to tell you the character actor jack warden oh jack warden anyway so when i met jack i was at the mcguire's house he was one of the assistants on uh on the sand pebbles with steve mcqueen and all that and we were in china and all it was a big big long long 10 month run so uh i went to this guy's house, Charlie Maguire, Charlie Maguire, and Jack Wharton was there. And Jack said he was on one of those boats that we were on with McQueen in real life. Wow. He had really been a sailor on one of these boats on the China seas in real life. And he said they shot at them too, because they were shooting at us from the mainland at that time uh jack warden was great and then i did ask for jungle he was an actor's

actor everybody loved him one of our favorites working with him you know uh jack lord was a little different because of his hair moved you had to do another take what what about his hair no matter what and he always had a little bit of hair coming down always and martin landau um marty was so wonderful uh uh he was on the road with uh ebriji robinson i was doing a play out here and he was on the road with ebriji robinson oh it's a play that i was doing. I was doing Marty Balsam's part that he did in New York. I did on the West Coast. And when they came out with Emory

G. Robinson to do it sometime later, Marty Landau was in it. Somebody saw him and that was the beginning of his film career. And I think his first movie was north by northwest sounds right with carrie grant yes that sounds right i think that was marty's first one and he was a

wonderful actor and a wonderful person and my acting class in new york was this wonderful beautiful model who he eventually married and then she did that other series with barbara bain And then she did that other series with him. Oh, Barbara Bain. Barbara Bain, yes. Beautiful woman. And the other Marty, Martin. Marty Balsam? Balsam, yes.

Oh, boy, he was an actor's actor. And he married Joyce Van Patten, one of my best friends. We had Joyce here on the podcast. Oh, you did? She's adorable. How is she doing? We love her. I love her.

I love her. And Dickie was so great, too. But she was great. I wrote a play for her I belong to a group called Theodore West and I used to write plays and all that Carol O'Connor did the same thing and uh I wrote a wonderful part for Joyce because I I thought she was just a sensational actress I haven't seen her for years we will return to Gilbert Gottfried's amazing colossal podcast. But first, a word from our sponsor. Gifting dad can sometimes hit the wrong note. Oh, instead, gift the Glenlivet, the single malt whiskey that started it all for a balanced flavor and smooth finish. Just sit back and listen to the music.

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for a limited time only at participating McDonald's restaurants in Canada. Talking about great New York actors, and we said this before we turned the mics on, we were talking about you working as a cashier. Yeah. At Jim Downey's. At Jim Downey's Steakhouse.

And the great Eli Wallach introduced you to somebody. I first met Eli Wallach when he was doing the rose tattoo when I was in college. He and Maureen Stapleton. I came with my, John Barthol came with my John Bartholomew friend, John Bartholomew Tucker. He had a radio show. Remember that name? Yes, yes, I do.

Yeah, he hosted game shows too. I do. He just died two years ago. He was one of my best friends and we went to college together for four years and everything else. We had a nightclub act called The Sophisticates of Comedy. We were like 18 years old.

What did we know? Was that the vaudeville act that you started and then you realized vaudeville was dead? That's right. That's right. We know that name. John was wonderful. He went to a retirement home in Nyack or something like that up there.

And there were six of us in college hung out together. I'm the only one left. Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Yeah, I am too. I mean, you know, there were also one. I was the youngest, so that makes sense, a little sense. But great days. I mean, in the book, you tell, I was telling Gilbert these wonderful stories about you eating at the automat and having no money and the ketchup soup.

And then you're working as an elevator operator. Absolutely. And that's when I met the elevator operator. Are you kidding me? You know, wow. I took up, you know, you had to buy special tickets to get into the elevator the one elevator at radio city musical and one night the movie was going to be the world premiere of the world's largest trailer something like that although yeah the long long trailer the long

right i brought them and russell market who created the Rockettes, up in my elevator. Oh, wow. Lucy and Desi. I mean, that was my claim to fame. And guess what? Three years later, I was on the West Coast doing all those Desilu shows. I love it. Walter Winterfell. Untouchables.

Untouchables, yes. And tell us about your starving years with the ketchup soup well you know they weren't that bad I always had something to eat like you know the ketchup soup and and you find Ritz crackers and things like that then you find a friend that's doing all right and we always helped each other starting out but I never had it that bad because I always had a job. I had a job. I used to work. When I went to New York, okay, I got a job. I knew one guy there, Vince Clemmer.

He quit college and went to work at Radio City Music Hall. His uncle worked there working lights. And you join the union and you make great money. He was making great money. He's the only guy I knew. So I called him when I got there. He said, well, maybe I can get you a job at the musical. I said, working the lights?

He said, no, no, no, you have to be in the family. He says, maybe you can be an usher. I said, that would be good. I didn't know it was $34 a week, but listen, it's better than nothing. Sure. And so we lived on Central Park, he and John, a pianist and him,

and now me, on 73rd and Central Park West. And I used to walk. I never could take a subway or a bus or anything else. I used to walk from there down to walk 6th Avenue and 51st to 50th Street with Radio City Music Hall and work and then walk back.

And all those, I would always stop a men's shop that had in the window men's underwear. Here we go with men's underwear again. It was before Depends. It was before Depends. But they had Fruit of the Loom underwear there. And I would always stop. This is the God's honest truth. I would look at that and I couldn't afford it. I would look at that and I'd look at that underwear and I would always stop. This is the God's honest truth. I would look at that, and I couldn't afford it.

I'd look at that, and I'd look at that underwear, and I'd say, someday I'm going to get you. And so I said, making it to me was going in and buying a six-pack just like that. Oh, that's fantastic. And that was really making it. That's fantastic. Back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. I couldn't afford anything. That was one of the back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. They couldn't afford anything.

That was one of the things in those days. And then I used to save enough. There used to be some place where they had hot dogs. I would have a hot dog, but it was they would have a lazy Susan that would have mustard and onions. Oh, wow. Relish and all this stuff. So I would have a hot dog but i would put like four inches of other stuff on top of it because that was the one meal for the day it would let

out oh i can still i still get like this when i think about it and no getting emotional those were the early days yeah you were you were an usher first, Gavin, and then an elevator operator at Radio City. Yes, I did. That's right. I started as an usher, and I had the flashlight. Right. Go ahead. Yes.

I was going to say, go ahead and tell, but tell us about who you met at, who Eli Wallach introduced you to when you were at. Oh, then years later. Downies. I had gone on the road to do Andrew Cleese and the Lion. I met a Rockette at a communion breakfast, a Catholic communion. My mother says, you should go to go to communion.

I said, I'm a little usher at Radio City Musical. Nobody wants me. She said, you should go to go to communion. I said, I'm a little usher at Radio City Musical. Nobody wants me. She said, you should go to have communion, and then you go to the reception afterwards. You should do that. I did that, and I saw this beautiful girl with all these other women in one empty seat next to her. And I said, these are Rockettes, and who am I?

So I sat next to her well I felt so much in love I was with all the Rockettes and their husbands and boyfriends and stuff I felt like I'm really I'm moving up you know and I eventually got engaged to her and we got married we had four children and we still see each other. I just talked to her Mother's Day the other day and all that. That's nice. It was very, very special, yeah. And that was an interesting time there.

And a lot of those girls we knew. In fact, that's when I first saw Steve Onidi, because it was one of was a uh one of the girls dancing one of the rockettes her husband was gene i think bianco was his last name and he was a male harpist he would play the harp big italian guy uh-huh young too and he was doing the steve allen show late at night and we all went over to see it after work at the rock at the music hall and that's where steve and Edie were just young singers going together at that time, way, way, way, way back then.

Those are some of the things we did. But getting back then years later, I went on the road with the other crazy, the lion saved enough money, paid off my debts, got married and all that. Now I'm working at Jim Downey's as a cashier. And everybody came. The actor's studio was a hangout for them because those people,

then you'd have tourists come in to want to see the actors and stuff. It was like the poor man's Sardis. And Mr. Downey was always so great. So one day, in comes, I'm in back of the cashier's thing, and there was a big wall, and the bar was here on the other side. You enter, and you walk down that, and you can see big wall and the bar was here on the other side you enter and you walk down that and you can see who it is and they sit in the back and i saw this beautiful creature there i said that must be marilyn monroe well she starts coming this way

this way and then i said there's eli everybody, there's Eli. Everybody loved Eli Wallach. He goes over, and he sits right there. I'm over here. They're right there. I couldn't believe it. He said, Gavin, come on over. He says, I want you to meet my wife. I said, I know who she is.

Amazing. I said, you know, boy, I said, I was like 23 years old, 24 years old. I said, boy, you're more beautiful in person than you are on the screen. Thank you so much. You know, she had all powder. It was that part. She didn't put, she was just powder. It wasn't a lot of eye makeup or stuff like that she was just powder and she was so beautiful and he was talking he introduced us he said he's a young actor here he's going to go far and all this kind of stuff

and she's I said you know this is uh this is just a wonderful moment for me. I said, you know what I'm going to do after work tonight? I said, I get off at one o'clock in the morning. I got to go and add up all the bills and payment and all that. You know what I'm going to do after that? She said, no, what are you going to do? I said, I'm going to call all my friends and tell them I met Marilyn Monroe. She was beautiful. That's so sweet. A couple of years later I'm a 20th century fox I'm shooting something

with Blake Edwards for High Time with Bing Crosby oh yeah you go you go in the makeup department everybody sits there and that's

so now now I go and she was shooting a wonderful movie anyway she was shooting something. So I was walking down to my soundstage, and her limousine was coming past that she was in.

And she looked out, and the difference was night and day. The Marilyn Monroe I met was genuinely a beautiful skin. the Marilyn Monroe I met was generally a beautiful skin everything and here she was made up at 20th

Century Fox with the beauty mark they paint on here my friend Whitey Snyder designed that for her that beauty mark she had here and you know I said I met the real person this is the movie star

it's a big difference how about that big difference since you brought up Blake Edwards another guy I mean I know you got close to Robert Wise but Blake Edwards was another guy who was pivotal in your career especially at that turning point

where you would move to L.A. and you lost that part in the Hell March pilot and you were despondent. Yes, and I never sold it. Right. And then Blake Edwards was on the phone, right, and asked you to do the Peter, was it the Peter Gunn pilot? Can you imagine being Peter Gunn pilot?

I was fired. I had rented a car, everything on that job. And I didn't get a chance even to show him anything. The guy, they didn't want me. He wanted his friend that turned out to play the part. I can understand that. But for me, I was in my 20s. I had to get back in the car and go and tell my agent I was fired.

I had to tell my wife I was fired. Harry Guardino was very understanding. Harry Guardino? Oh, man. Harry and I were very close friends. Love that guy. We used to be on the road together when it had full of rain. Anyway, so I'm getting out of here.

New York is the place for me. At least you know if they're going to lie. They're lying. They don't two-faced. And I said, we don't belong out here. These people aren't real. And then about a couple of hours later, after I was very self-indulgent, thinking I wasn't any good anymore,

the phone rings. That's my agent. He says, do you know who Blake Edwards is? I said, well, I know who he is. I never met him and everything else. I used to send him pictures when I was doing my play. I'd send out pictures. He says he wants to see you.

He's doing a thing called Peter Hunt. Peter Gunn. Peter Gunn. Yeah, with Craig Stevens, wasn't he? Peter Hunt was an artistn. Peter Gunn. Yeah, with Craig Stevens, wasn't he? Peter Hunt was an artist in Cape Cod, I know. This is what happens to the brain. I said, oh, good, I can go see him. I said, I have my car. I rented the car.

I said, should I wear my hairpiece? He says, no, just bring it. So I always had it with me and so i go in when they got the hair in the box and everything else and i see a guy sitting there with a full head of hair he became a leading man with donna reed eventually paul somebody oh what am i doing here look at me i'm a character man this handsome what am i doing here so i went in and saw blake and i saw his assistant dick crockett who who ironically enough he was bald too and he had done some stunts for What am I doing here? So I went in and saw Blake, and I saw his assistant, Dick Crockett, who, ironically enough, he was bald too,

and he had done some stunts for me on U.S. Marshals, these other shows I did for Desilu at one time. So he says we rapped and rapped and rapped and told him I did. I want to live. His father was the company manager on that. His name was Mick Edwards, and Blake changed it to Edwards. Right. And we started talking about my career and everything,

and he said, you know something? He said, you know, I really want you to do this pilot. I said, wow, you know, what's the part? He said, well, it was going to be an Italian. I'm going to make him Irish so you can play him. We'll call him Fallon. You can play him. And he said, he's going to be the first heavy ever to play squash on television. I said, how do you play squash? I didn't even know how you play it. He said, oh, it's going to be fascinating. So anyway, that was the beginning when I first met Blake

and Herschel Bernardi and Craig Stevens and Hope Emerson and all those. Oh, we love these names. All those wonderful people and the music and Hank Mancini. Oh, yeah. Boy, that was the first big breakthrough there. And then. But he used you a lot.

And that was just fabulous. It was just fabulous. And then they sold that it's true that they said at that time that pilot was sold faster than any pilot ever it was very different the music was different shots were different sure they were long scenes they were not just long shots close-ups they were long the camera you rehearsed a long time and the camera did all the movement. Blake did a great job. And so I did a lot of those. Tell us about the voice

of the tuna fish for all these years. That was Herschel Bernardi. Yes. Oh, yes. Oh, yeah. Was it Charlie the tuna? Yeah, only Blake changed it. You know what he used to tell us? I love that job because it's the only job I've ever had.

You don't have to get dressed for it. I can go down in my pajamas and do it. He used to live in a lake some places. I just go down in my closet. I don't care. Well, you know, they say next to zero, his Tevye is the best. Oh, yes. Yes.

Herschel Bernard is Tevye. Yeah. He traveled all over for it. Yeah. He was a wonderful, wonderful person. I didn't know him personally, you know, but I worked with him and he was so wonderful and great and all that. And as a matter of fact, my stepdaughter played his daughter on a series called Arnie.

Sure. I remember that. Sue Ann Langdon was the wife. Sue Ann Langdon, yes, and Stephanie Steele was the daughter. How about that? Isn't that funny? She was doing that when I was doing the Mary Tyler Moore show. How about that?

She was 16 making more money than I was. Don't tell everybody. You remember that show Arnie with Hersch bernardy yeah oh sue ann langdon was great i loved her too i loved working with her well gilbert got a kick out of this question about uh we were talking something from your book about blake you said you were almost cast as mickey rooney's character in breakfast at tiffany's or you were you were up for it oh yes you'd be surprised how many parts i was up for oh boy and also max in the great race the the peter faulk part absolutely absolutely amazing if blake was alive he'd tell you that that's how i know about it wow wow oh yeah and then he also did uh

i don't know i went over i We did the Peter Gunn pilot. And then there was a series called Steve Canyon based on the cartoon character. Yeah, and one actor that played the lead only had four fingers, I remember. It was kind of strange shaking hands. We also remember you in the party. I always kept looking for the other one.

Gilbert and I were talking about the party too, which you did with Blake. Oh, the party. Everything was ad lib. They had me the, which happened first, the party or the high time? In 1960, we did high time with Bing Crosby.

Yeah, the party came later. I played the nutty professor. It gave Jerry the idea. He did a whole movie on him. Yeah. And then, and then the other one. Wait, how did the Nutty Professor come about?

I played the Nutty Professor on the High Time. If you look, see High Time with Bing Crosby. Love is wonderful the second time around. That's from that show. High Time was a, that was one of Blake's favorite movies. And you know who else loved that movie? Frank Sinatra. Interesting.

Oh. I was doing, I was was doing the love boat years later and i got to work one day and frank jr is there oh how great to meet you and that's when i met his father it's a long story but he says my father loves high time i said is that right he says i'm gonna have a screening in my house come on gavin you gotta come so i went to jr's place and we watched High Time on the big wall, you know, a huge big wall. Frank Sinatra loved that picture. And so did Junior. It's a picture about a bunch of college kids, Tuesday Weld.

Oh, yeah, Tuesday Weld's in it, right. Fabian's first movie and things like that. And Bing Crosby plays the howard johnson's kind of character who says i never went to college i'm gonna go to college and he got and his kids are stuck up rich he goes to college he falls in love with the french teacher nicole moray love is wonderful the second time around that's when he sings that oh it's wonderful and i played this bloody professor who does uh experiments that all explode and stuff like that. And then, oh, I remember Bing was pledging for a fraternity,

and they made him dress in a big cotillion dress. I have that picture. And I played this nutty professor, and I danced with him. I spent about four hours dancing with Bing Crosby. How many guys could say that? him right i spent about four hours dancing with me how many guys could say that and jerry got inspired by the character that you played yes yeah yeah anyway so after that came um really the the fun show with peter sellers when we did the party yeah we're just watching it i think the opening of that is almost some of the funniest five minutes

of the opening of any movie I've ever seen. Just Peter and those guys shooting. He's like Gunga Din to take off. Son of Gunga Din. Yeah. And this guy, he sits on the thing. Yeah, the plunger. Everything explodes.

They had one set. It all explodes. That's great. And they're going to kill him. I'm the producer. I'm going to kill him. I remember. And he gets an invitation to a party by mistake.

And he comes to the party. And it's what happens at the party with him. All that stuff, all those scenes were ad-libbed. Blake gave me about five pages with an outline and we all ad-libbed and rehearsed and shot like jerry shot that was a it was a wonderful picture and blake and peter was very very very interesting to work with and nancy sinatra told me she was up for the lead part nancy is my neighbor here and she she told me she was up for the part uh and nicole what's her name andy williams oh uh claudine lange claudine lange got it right

yeah right yeah interesting i i had heard peter sellers was one of those actors who if he wasn't in character, it's like he didn't exist. Oh, I wouldn't say that. Well, don't ask me because I like people, but he was just himself, and himself was a different kind of... His characters were all kind of extreme. Even when you think about all of the characters he played, he had really, really great takes on every one of them. You should see The Party because you should see what he does. He plays this Indian actor.

Yeah, yeah. Everybody in that movie is funny. And Steve Franken, too. The late Steve Franken. He says that one scene near the end, we almost broke up because of the ad libs we do. He and Claudine and I were there when I had her. I was taking her away from him.

And I said, you're my sugar. I am not your sugar. We didn't know he was going to say that. Tell us about Kelly's Heroes, Gavin. Anything about Rickles? Any memories of Don? Oh, don't you love Don Rickles? God, he was so funny.

It was, well, let me see. Brian Hutton. Yeah, right. Brian Hutton, he was an actor. And I had seen some old Perry Masons and all those little things, little parts, big parts. He was on his way. And Brian started directing movies,

first television things and so forth. And then he called me for one thing. I couldn't do it. I was tied up. But then he called me for Kelly's Heroes in Yugoslavia. And he told me the lineup of actors. I said, oh, my God. To be with Kelly?

Wow, wow, wow. And Donald Sutherland. Wow. And Clint Eastwood. Look at this. And Don Rickles. Are you kidding me? That was the beginning of it all. The rest of the character men are incredible. So I went over there to, I remember when I was going on the airplane, it was when What's-His-Name landed on the moon for the first time. Oh, Neil Armstrong. Armstrong. There's this clip. Frank and I have watched it, and you're on the-

Oh, you're going to talk about him and Robert Blake singing? Yes, on the Dinah Shore show, you and Robert Blake sing a duet. You remember this, Gavin? Oh, yeah, I remember that. I've seen that on occasion. It's on YouTube. It's classic. I forget what the song was.

You sang It Should Have Been Me with that real fine chick. It Should Have Been Me. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da We were very, very close. We're still close. He spoke to me a couple of weeks ago, and he was my one daughter's godfather. He's a wonderful guy, and they just did a special 2020. I came down here. I spent hours with these people, showing them our scrapbook together, the plays we'd done, and talked about how much he loves God and everything.

And they cut all that out, and he called me. He says, I'm so sick you did this because I asked you to. And all they wanted to do was talk about the murder. You know? And he's a wonderful, wonderful guy. I'm crazy about him. So you've been friends with him for a while. Since I've been friends with him since 1957.

I've been through the first marriage. I took him down there when he went to shoot that picture with Redford and Natalie Wood we took him down to the train station so he could go to a location that was the Tennessee Williams piece I forget it was called although Robert and I have always been very very close I see the real person there

then unfortunately a lot of people haven't. It's interesting. It's very interesting. Tell us about another close friend. Tell us about Ted Knight.

Oh, I know you adored him. I could cry over Ted. We love him, too. We never got to meet him. We had Ed here. You would have. He was like my big brother. When I came out here, when the play, after the play closed, we closed in Boston.

I came out to the West Coast. I had one connection. So I went to the connection, Lou Irwin, the agent, and there was a guy named Ted Knight there. They introduced us. I said, how are you? Nice to meet you and so forth. He says, are you new here? I said, I just got here yesterday.

He said, oh, first thing you got to do is you need a business manager. I said, yeah, but don't you need money for a business manager? He said, yeah. I said, I don't have any money. He says, neither do I, but I have a business manager. I said, who is he? He says, neither do I, but I have a business manager. I said, who is he? He says, Sam Cholkoff. I went and met him, and eventually he was my business manager.

But that was meeting Ted for the first time. And we had the same agent at that time. He was seven years older than I was. His name was Thaddeus Konopka. I spoke at his funeral. And he was one of the most talented actors I saw him on the stage

to inherit the wind oh you said that in the book that he did a great hornbeck in Inherit the Wind I'm telling you and then he also did in the Compulsion and that play too

it was fabulous so much authority. Ted was a wonderful actor and to think that he would finally be Ted Baxter because they were thinking about young people to play that. They thought about Jack Cassidy because he had just done He and She, that series. He wound up playing Ted's brother on the series. An ego kind of model looking kind of guy and they had seen seen, I guess, 200 and something people. And Ted saw them once. And then they called him in again. So he told me on the way in, it was on Hollywood Boulevard. He looked in the window and he saw a blue blazer.

And he stopped the car. He said, I'm going to get that blue blazer. He bought that blazer. He put that blazer on. He went in, read for the second time. He was the last one cast of the original five people on that show. And that was the beginning of Ted playing that character. But he had done voiceover work for you. Oh, yeah. The voice of Superman and all those things. Versatile guy.

He even did, he even did, in modeling in the newspapers, they had a thing called night and day. If you had gray hair and you wanted to make it dark,

you could make it dark. So he did, he had an ad. Half his head was black and half his hair was gray like in real life. And it was like, but yeah,

Thaddeus Konopka, he's buried up there in the hills there. And then his wife Dottie just lasted about a year and a half after him, and I spoke at that funeral too. Did he find the typecasting of the character difficult, Gavin? He had trouble playing a buffoon. I'll tell you what was difficult. I think that could have been the beginning of buffoon. I'll tell you what was difficult. I think that could have been the beginning of the cancer.

I'll tell you what happened. He would tell me things he wouldn't tell anybody else because it wouldn't go any place. And he told me, he says, I can't stand it. He says, Ted is so popular. It's the same name as me.

I walk into restaurants and say, hey, Ted, and they start pointing, and they start making fun of him. He was Polish. He was not used to being made. He was a very strong man. And it started to eat, all the disgrace,

it's interesting about people's careers. Sometimes their careers can be like this, but their personal life can really suck you know and then vice versa and there's certain things you have to deal with that maybe are too difficult to deal with and the fact that his character was called ted just like him it started to eat it and then he had those two series after the Mary Tyler Moore show, and we knew he had this. He just told Patty and I this cancer, and we suggested these places that we know about with Laetrile and all this, where they can help you. He got help for a while, but we never told anybody.

And then it came back again a shame and that last time i saw him you know he gave his life to christ which is great comfort for me a wonderful actor a wonderful comedian oh a wonderful i mean the timing of everybody on that show i'm i'm i'm i i look at them now watching the episode with you and Barbara Barry, who we had here as well. Oh, yes. I love a piano, where Murray thinks about straying. I love a piano. Since you're talking about this subject, you know,

Joyce Bolivant that played my wife. Yeah, we love Joyce too. We see each other all the time. It sounds like we're going to be having a project together. Great. Murray and Marie. Murray and Marie. Murray and Murray. Yeah.

Yeah. Where are they now? And I remember we had Ed Asner and John Amos on. Oh, we had John here, too. And both of them said every take Ted Knight did was, like, different than the last one well ed said you guys used to go go and sit in the bleachers and just watch him watch him work just just well yes when we weren't in the scenes yeah oh i used to sit and watch mary work uh-huh and and valerie work and clarice work yeah what a cast yeah i mean we had some wonderful actors on that show What a cast. Yeah, I mean, we had some wonderful actors

on that show. What a cast. Looking at, too, I was watching the episode yesterday, Mary's Three Husbands, where you have the fantasy that you're married to Mary and you're a successful playwright

with jet black hair. I've never seen that. It's so wonderful. I've never seen that. It's so wonderful. I've never seen that. It's on YouTube. I'll send you a link. Thank you. It's wonderful.

I would love to see that. It's wonderful. I remember the still of us, the old age makeup. When she was married to Murray, wasn't she always pregnant, having a baby? Yes, she goes in the bedroom and says, I'll be right back, and gives birth and comes out with a baby. And the baby has your hair, has a big shock of black hair. Oh, what a wonderful show that was.

How about Chuckles Bites the Dust? Yes. I was telling Gilbert that Jay Sandrich didn't want to direct that episode because he thought death wasn't funny. Death is not funny. Amazing. And they got Joan Darling, this actress. Yes, sure.

They gave great opportunities to the females there. And she won an Emmy for it. Wow. We were out at a big, big function last year out here, people from all over the country. We were dining with people we'd never met before. And one guy says to me he said you know what's the funniest half hour on television i said i think i know what you're

going to say he said it's chuckles bites the dust i said oh yeah written by the great david lloyd great david lloyd right we had some great play great people oh yeah stan daniels and you were you worked with carrie Grant. Oh, yes. Oh, Operation Petticoat. I was in my 20s. Yeah, it was 1957. And we did Operation Petticoat. Again, Blake Edwards.

That's right. I must have been a great heavy. He cast me in these funny characters. I was this, yeah, I went over to pick up the Steve Canyon script. And the car stops it's Blake he said I was just talking about you he said I'm going to be at so and so's office he said come on down I got a part

for you in Cary Grant's new movie I said wow I have to okay so I did that and I met the producer and all that he says he wants me to play this guy Hunkle I hadn't even read it yet and people He wants me to play this guy, Hunkle. I hadn't even read it yet. And people still remember those big scenes.

Oh, sure. I'm telling you with Tony and me. Oh, sure. I represent Princess Cruises, and I go out frequently, and I have big audiences there, and they want to know the stories. And one day I'm there talking, and we were on our way to Hawaii, and a guy says, I said, any questions? He says, how's Mabel?

I said, how's Mabel? I'm thinking, was I married to somebody called Mabel? I don't know. He said, no, no. Operation Petticoat, remember? On your chest. They tattooed this naked girl on my chest. So I was afraid to go home to my wife, and I reenlisted.

It was a funny, funny thing. And Cary Grant, what happened with Cary Grant was 25 years after we did that picture, the love boat is a big thing. And they're having a big function to raise money for their new art museum downtown that my boss, Doug Kramer, was involved in. They said, hey, we got a great way to make some money.

When the ship comes in, the princess ship comes in, let's have a big function on that ship. We'll bring out these high rollers, you know, and they'll have an evening on one of the pacific on the on one of the ships and they'll meet all the aaron spelling uh people and so that's exactly what we did we went there i was with my wife and my daughter we go down and all these people come in and we shake hands with everybody coming in and after about two hours we're finished with all that and we said we'll go to the dining we go to the dining we were sitting and it's having a great time and all of a sudden main door in comes carrie grant who's like 83 now without white hair oh yeah that's glasses and everybody stops i mean it's carrie grant and patty says there's carrie Grant. I said, no kidding. Nobody's eating.

They're all watching him. She says, watch where he goes. He walks past us. He's going over to sit over there. I said, doesn't he look great? God, I haven't seen him for 30 years. Boy, he still looks great. She says, I want you to introduce me to him.

I said, what? She says, well, you worked with him. I says, how naive can you be? That was 25 years ago. He doesn't know who I am. And my daughter said, please, Pop. And my wife says, I'll never ask you for another thing. You know you were in trouble when they used that line.

So I say, oh, OK. OK. so i say oh okay okay let's go so do you ever see these cartoons where like the heart is out coming out oh sure i felt like my heart was gonna go like just hold it in i said, give me the right things to say. So here we are. He's talking to his wife. I go over. Excuse me, Mr. Grant. He looks at me. He says, Gavin, Gavin, Gavin, I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of you. I tell you, if I didn't have those things on,

then I would have gone right in my pants. I didn't want to get back to that, but that's one of those moments. Oh, nice. I said he, no. And I introduced him to my wife and my daughter. And I forget what else we said. I met his wife. Wow. And here he was.

He's an older man, 83 years old, younger than I am now. So this is the end of the story. And I couldn't sleep. I said, can you imagine? He was so nice. This giant was so nice to you and everything. Remembers you all these years. Two weeks later, he was in Davenport, Iowa.

He was traveling with certain movies. He would tell stories, you know, Gregory Peck did it too. Yeah. And answer questions and stuff. He had a stroke and died. Yeah. The lesson for me was you better risk. Because if I didn't risk not knowing what he would say oh bald get out of here who are you if i didn't risk i never i for the rest of my life i would have said

why didn't i do it i had that moment and i didn't do it. Sometimes we're given moments in life, like this interview. You know? We're thrilled to be put in the same category as Cary Grant. But you know, your daughter and your wife deserve a lot of credit for egging you on to do that.

Yes, they did. If they didn't do that, I don't think I would have done it. What a beautiful story. Yeah, but then that was the lesson. And I've talked about risk to other actors all those years after that. Because if you don't risk, you're never going to gain. You're not going to... Call me from Dr. Ghetto. Oh, that's my ear doctor.

Oh, that's right. I got to see him tomorrow. Oh, that's so funny. I can't. My secretary's got to get it. Why don't they pick it up in the other room? Sorry about this. It's like a running monologue.

That's okay, Gavin. We will return to Gilbert Gottfried's amazing colossal podcast after this. What happens when 20 extremely athletic Canadians who thrive on competition and won't settle for less than number one find themselves on a team? Taking on jaw-dropping obstacles all across Canada is one thing. Working together on a team with some pretty big personalities is another. It's a new season of Canada's Ultimate Challenge.

And sparks are gonna fly. New episode Sundays. Watch free on CBC Gem. Speaking of phone calls. We got somebody here for you, Gavin. We're hoping you can hear him. Is he there? It's a him.

Gavin McLeod, Gavin McLeod, I cannot tell you how much I love you. You are the best actor I ever met. You're the most incredibly wonderful human being. You're my dear friend, and I love you so much, especially when you came on the love boat. I was no longer the oldest member of the cast. I've got some new depends for you. These are really going to work.

Gabby, can I tell the Depends thing? Okay, first You already told them the Depends thing. First, let me tell the audience. Doc from the Love Boat, Bernie Capel. Bernie's here. My favorite doctor. Okay, so

anyway, three years ago the Love Boat cast was doing the Rose Parade. So Gavin comes up in a very secretive way and he puts his hand into a big bag. And he says, Vern. I said, what? He says, put this on. I said, what is it?

He says, it's the male version of Depends. And while you're waving, you could use the Depends thing. Reluctantly, I put it on for three hours. I didn't use it because I was so concerned about making a mess. Gabby, I love you, baby. Our interview started with this story. Really? But it's good to get two versions of it, Bernie. Oh, yeah, well.

It shows you how important it is at our age. I love you, Bernie. Oh, God. I love you, Bernie. Oh, God. I love you, sweetheart. I heard you were in Alaska. I ran into a couple the other night that saw you in Alaska. Yes, I was in Alaska. Yeah, lots of crabs.

It took me months to get rid of them, but there you go. Yeah, we went. get rid of them, but there you go. The most exciting part of Alaska was there was like 50 eagles in the trees, and the guys on this fishing boat, they threw out fish, and the eagles swooped down and got the fish in midair. Some got the fish in the water. So it was very, very exciting. Very exciting. Sounds like my ex-agent. Can I tell you, not everybody

knows this. We did three pilots, but on the third one, they said, what are we going to do? They almost dropped the idea of having a love boat. Gavin McLeod comes on in the third one, and that sells it. That sells it. So I'm so grateful

to you, not just for being an Alta Kaka, but also You think it's easy? You get the show on the air. Did you guys have a history before Love Boat? Oh, a big fan of his.

We met on McHale's Navy. But I mean, we are both veteran actors. I go back all the way. I became a professional in 1961, if you can believe that. And Gavin has been doing this for years and years and years. And we used to sit in the makeup room, 7.15 in the morning, look at each other, smile, and say, we got a job! That's right.

Some of the best scenes. It never goes away. Some of the best scenes ever are the scenes with the two of us, the two alter cockers talking about life and our situations and so forth. I know. Those were some of the nicest scenes to play without holding our hairpieces down. Oh, that was just you.

What? Gavin and I had a scene on the deck. You know, I had an undetectable hairpiece. Until that moment, it was undetectable. Gavin and I were coming on to Connie Stevens on deck. It flew right off

right on the bridge. You got the the wind is blowing and the forward motion of the ship is going and I'm feeling something like a

on the top of my head. It's like, what the hell? What the? And the director calls, cut! Cut, and we have liftoff. Get your nose out. You look like a raven on his head. At that time, I understand that you gave your hairpiece a burial at sea.

Is that true? No, I buried it on a McHale. I shot it and buried it on McHale's Navy. I shot it on the ground. What an untimely death for that hippie. Gavin, were you envious of all the fan mail that Bernie was getting from the ladies during the love boat run? I know there was quite a lot of it. No, I got two letters.

Two letters a month is not a lot. So my attitude about, you know, skirt chasing and all that was, and I said, look, I'm a seasoned, disciplined professional. I look at the script and it says, Doc chases Louise. And I said, well, I guess I got to do it. It's in the script. So I did it. It was exhausting.

I'll never forget when Bernie comes to me one day and said, you'll never guess who I'm going to play the opposite next week. I said, who? He said, Juliette Prowse. He couldn't sleep for four days before they started that show. He and Juliette Prowse. I thought it really was going to manifest into something else. I had had a crush on her for years and she'd gone with Sinatra.

So my feeling about her was partial intimidation and partial lust so we got this scene we got this scene in bed and there's 50 people you got the camera people you got the sound people and I'm just so concerned about this

I don't know if I'll be able to speak this is Juliette Prowse I'm in bed with. We're supposed to have an incredible night. It's morning. And she says, you know, Charles Boyer had a sexy scene like this with a very sexy girl. And I'm saying to myself, why is she telling me a story now? I'm trying to concentrate. So, and he said to the sexy girl, you know, darling, if possibly I get, how you say, aroused during this scene, forgive me, please.

If possibly I don't get aroused, forgive me, please. Juliette Prowse. She was South African, wasn't she? Juliette Prowse? She was South African. Yeah, she was great. Beautiful. She was married to John McCook. Yep.

Sweet human being. Before Bernie. Yeah. Most beautiful legs in the universe. Yeah, she was great. And the softest, softest lips. If Katrina's listening, I'm only kidding, hon. Now, when you were with Juliette Poust, did you wear your topange?

I thought you were going to ask me if I wore my toupee. I did wear my toupee. And it stayed on, and I was very grateful. I didn't wear the pants on it because if anything happened, I said, well, that's life. Bernie, what did you think of Gavin's musical bit? His famous musical number with Cab Calloway and Ethel Merman. And who was it? Carol Channing and Della Reese?

That was Ethel Merman. Gavin is basically, on top of being a phenomenal actor, he has music in his soul. He's a musician, and he had such joy in singing. I was just sort of, I was awed by Gavin's singing. Oh, thank you, Bernie. I have now been handed my baton.

I am conducting the Pasadena Society. You'll find one that you like. Bernie, what were you doing in Alaska? I was on a cruise. Oh, on a cruise. I was on a cruise. Oh, you're right. I was on a cruise to Alaska. Right, right, right.

So you... Because I... I think they're just using the love boat people. I don't know. Oddly enough, for years, they had sort of kept us at arm's length. And lately, they said, here, take a free cruise. So take a free cruise, meet the people, be nice and schmooze. And it's wonderful.

It's wonderful to be on those ships. It makes me feel good because it reminds me of those immensely marvelous years that I had. And I remember doing one of these morning shows, Gavin and the rest of the cast, and Teddy and Fred, and the question came up, with all the people you had romances with, they said, who is the best kisser? And right out of my mouth. I said, Gavin!

It was on the Today Show. I got so much mail, you couldn't believe it, Bernie. Really? Oh, yes. Bernie, Gavin would have gone there. Gavin's got his baton out since you said he was musical. Well, he better zip it up again because that's not... I tell you, if you want to get serious for a moment, I have done a little bit of conducting in my lifetime

with Richard Kaufman. I've traveled. I've been with the Dallas Symphony, the Florida Symphony, the San Diego Symphony. That was a good one. Wow. Even the Cape Cod Symphony many, many years ago.

That was the smallest. And yeah, I conduct and I talk. And that's kind of, and I wear the Depends, so I'm safe. We should call this the Depends Hour. We might be able to get a sponsorship. Hey, Bernie, how about that? The doctor and the captain. But did you wear your hairpiece with those musical...

Not there. I wear it on my head. Well, it keeps you warm in the wintertime. What a treat to have the two of you guys here together. I love him. He's wonderful. This is great.

I've always had a great harmonious time with you. It's always in my memory and I cherish it. I love you so much. His wife had a great idea for the doctor and the captain to go to Florida and say, an evening with the Alta Cockers, and we could just sit there and tell stories. That's great.

I know. We could go on forever. Yeah, but nothing ever happened. I think we have. There's still time to do it. You guys should do it. You should put it together. It's hard to remember those stories.

We've had you both on this show, and you've both done wonderfully in remembering those stories. Thank you so much. What a treat to have Bernie come in like this. Wow, this really made it. Thanks, Darren. It was Dara's idea. We have to thank Dara. Or was it Gilbert's idea?

Thank you, Dara. You're such a beautiful lady. Barbara Felden says you're so gorgeous. We had Barbara Felden call in when we had Bernie on the show, Gavin. Oh, yeah. Oh, wow.

And wish him a happy birthday. She was there in New Jersey. He saw her in New Jersey, too. Yeah, yeah. Dara, the question I have for you, Dara, is what are you doing with that Schmendrick? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, that, it's okay, I guess.

It's okay. Bernie, we love you. Thanks for chiming in, man. Love you right back. Gabby, I love you, baby, and keep kissing, baby. Keep kissing. This was so exciting. Exciting and new. Yes, exciting and... Come aboard. Captain St Exciting and new. Yes, exciting and new.

Come aboard. Captain Stubing and Doc together again. And we have Charles Fox here Wednesday, the composer of the theme. Oh, really? Yes. Oh, great. It's Love Boat Week. He did the Mary Tyler Moore song also, too.

Indeed. Charlie Fox. It's Love Boat Week here on the Gottfried podcast. Why not? Why not? Bernie Bernie we adore you and we'll talk to you pal right back at you it's been a great pleasure guys

all the best okay thanks for chiming in buddy okay you bet thank you bye bye love you okay Bernie what a kick

yeah well it's been an hour and a half and we talk so much about those depends I'm telling you I gotta go now. Gavin, let's plug the book, which you wrote in 2013. Oh, I have.

Listen, can I tell you about my book? Go ahead. Please do. Oh, sorry. Yes. My book is called This Is Your Captain Speaking. Great read. You can get it any place.

And then I wanted to tell you about two more books. My daughter-in-law did a fabulous book. It's going to make a great movie called Blood on the Orchids. Takes place in Hawaii. And she did it before the last eruption. And that eruption came. It sounds sexy, but it didn't work out. The eruption came, and my son and her and the two kids lost everything they had.

Oh, gosh. So they had to move up to another area now. But the book is prior. Everything she talks about in this book, the different parks and the different things they do to live, no longer exist. What's it called? So it's become a part of his Blood on the Orchids by Jill Steele. Blood on the Orchids. And then there's another book that I think

everybody should have called The Little Town Band. It's written by a friend of mine in Cape Cod who conducts his own band in Hyannis. And it's fabulous. And it's a great story with a happy ending. And it's a feel-good kind of a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful book. The Little Town Band.

He's got another one called The Little Town Christmas. You'll send us that info. You'll give us that info and give it to Dara and we'll promote it on social media. Okay, Gavin, we'll promote all those books to our listeners. I've enjoyed this so much. The energy that you guys have

and to be able to see you does make a big, big difference. You know, are those teeth real? Gavin, we love you. Next time you come back, you'll tell us the story of when Betty Davis came to dinner from the book. I do an evening on that. It's a great story. I'm going to do that as a play.

Yeah, when Betty Davis came to dinner, it was a disaster. It's a great story. It was all Kay Ballard's fault. She said, she ran into her in a party. She said, nobody invites me to dinner anymore. Nobody invites me. Well, I found out why. It's a very funny story and all of it's true too.

We'll save it so we can have you back. Okay, that'd be fun. Do you want to do the Tony Curtis, Gavin McLeod bit for Gavin before he runs away? Tony? Do you know he's been doing a bit in his act for 40 years? This is, go ahead, he's going to do it in his act for 40 years? This is... Go ahead. He's going to do it for you.

Tony Curtis talking to Gavin McCloud. Hello, Gavin. Hello, Tony. How are you? I'm fine. You want to have some coffee? Okay. I think I'll have a donut too.

So you will have two donuts? No, I will have a donut. You are having a donut and I shall have the same. So you will eat the same donut that I am eating? No, I meant although we are both eating two entirely different donuts, the very fact that they are both donuts puts them in the same food group. Are you saying like an apple and an orange are both in the same food group? No, because the orange is a citrus fruit.

This is the highlight of my career later you don't know you don't know but when we were doing operation petticoat tony had his own suite at universal and he invited over for me to lunch every once in a while and one time he was getting measured for his costume for uh Douglas, the Greek thing. Oh, Spartacus. Yes. And we had donuts. He was a wonderful guy. Oh, boy.

Tony was great. What a moment. I never met him. I would have loved to have met Tony Curtis. You would have loved him. He was great. What a moment. I never met him. I would have loved to have met Tony Curtis. You would have loved him. He was wonderful. We had a lot of scenes we had, but in real life, too. He's been doing this on stage for 40 years, Gavin.

Yes. The same one. Yes. Well, thank you. I never sounded so good. I have to tell you, four stars out of four stars. Gavin, we'll have you back. We barely got into it.

There's so much. Yeah, I'd love to come back. Let me know. Okay. You want to let this man get to the bathroom? So this has been Gilbert Gottfried's amazing colossal podcast with my co-host Frank Santopadre and the great Gavin McLeod. Gavin, thanks so much. That's so nice.

Thank you so much. We're expecting you And love Life's sweetest reward Let it float It floats back to you Little lover back to you The love boat soon will be making him all run

The love boat promises something for everyone Set a course for adventure your mind on a new road land Set a course for adventure, your mind on a new lowland And love won't hurt anymore It's an open smile on a friendly shore

On a friendly shore It's love Welcome aboard It's love It's love Godfrey's amazing colossal podcast is produced by Dara Godfrey and Frank Santa Padre with audio production by Frank Verterosa. Web and social media is handled by Mike Lee Padden, Greg Pair, and John Bradley Seals. Special audio contributions by John Beach. Special thanks to John Fodiatis, John Murray, and Paul Rayburn.