Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast - Mini-Ep #97: Remembering Mary Tyler Moore (with Bill Persky)

Episode Date: February 2, 2017

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Starting point is 00:00:00 This episode is brought to you by FX's The Bear on Disney+. In Season 3, Carmi and his crew are aiming for the ultimate restaurant accolade, a Michelin star. With Golden Globe and Emmy wins, the show starring Jeremy Allen White, Io Debrey, and Maddie Matheson is ready to heat up screens once again. All new episodes of FX's The Bear are streaming June 27, only on Disney+. That's the sound of unaged whiskey transforming into Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Around 1860, Nearest Green taught Jack Daniel how to filter whiskey through charcoal for a smoother taste, one drop at a time. This is one of many sounds in Tennessee with a story to tell. To hear them in person, plan your trip at tnvacation.com.
Starting point is 00:00:53 Tennessee sounds perfect. So Frankie, there's a lot of confusion among our fans about what nutmeg is. We thought we would clear it up. So we're coming right to the source. Frank Verteroso, as Gilbert calls him. Just joking around. Frank Verteroso, our trusty engineer, is here. And we just want to talk a little bit about Nutmeg facilities where we record the show.
Starting point is 00:01:18 Because some people seem to be under the impression... It's not Gilbert's Kitchen. It is not Gilbert's Kitchen. Gilbert's Kitchen is... Well, how do we describe Gilbert's Kitchen? That's my morning cooking show. Gilbert's Kitchen. It is not Gilbert's Kitchen. Gilbert's Kitchen is, well, how do we describe Gilbert's Kitchen? That's my morning cooking show, Gilbert's Kitchen. We did record the first probably 30 episodes pretty much in your kitchen. Yeah, around the table. But then you were rescued.
Starting point is 00:01:43 We decided to become professionals, and we met frankie so tell us about nutmeg tell us what happens this is a professional operation on a good day well it started with a facebook post that a friend of yours picked up on elena olivardis yep i had been in a quiet car on the train coming to work and i forgot to plug in my headphones and i started blasting the podcast so i made a little facebook post about that she saw it and said oh i know the co- the co-host. And I said, look, you know, if you're friends with Frank, reach out and tell him I love the show, but it could sound a lot better. And I got to work and an hour later, the receptionist calls and says, there's a Dara Gottfried on the phone. And I remember I used to get lots of tweets with people going, I like this show, but it sounded like you recorded it in Lincoln Tunnel.
Starting point is 00:02:29 Yeah, we had some episodes like that. I mean, we had adventures. Joe Franklin, we were recording over in Times Square and the traffic noise was coming up. We didn't want to tell them. You can't do anything about. But, you know, what you needed was a controlled environment, good microphones, the ability to really edit and kick it up a notch. So. And what does Nutmeg offer, sir? Well, that's the thing. Nutmeg has been around for
Starting point is 00:02:49 nearly 40 years, but it's grown a lot. I started here in 2004 when it was only handling audio post-production for like ad agencies and networks. And at the time we had eight audio rooms, but now we've expanded to three full floors. We have 11 Pro Tools suites of varying sizes. We have 11 Avid rooms for video editing. We have ColorCorrect graphics, in-house producers for content creation and soup-to-nuts production. We have an amazingly talented team of people to run it all. And we're even handling casting. Sometimes you help us cast this show. I do.
Starting point is 00:03:18 And sometimes we steal a guest from the hallway and say, come on. More than once. So, you know, there's a lot going on. I mean, that's how I first met Gilbert. He was recording for Disney. We steal a guest from the hallway and say, come in. More than once. So it's, you know, there's a lot going on. I mean, that's how I first met Gilbert. He was recording for Disney. We were recording for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles through Nickelodeon. So what you're saying is the production and the engineering is professional, but not the content.
Starting point is 00:03:37 I think the content's getting there. It's really getting there. I see. Well, we love being here. It's a great environment. It's a professional environment. Everybody's great to us. We love being able to invite our guests and have them walk into this very well-appointed, comfortable, beautiful room. The snacks, you can't beat the snacks.
Starting point is 00:03:52 Oh, yes. Getting Gilbert here all I had to do was go out to the avenue and lay a trail of candy and Gilbert would be fine. Wave a Twizzler. It was a chain of Snickers and then he just came in. So I'm going to tell people about it. If you want to know anything else, you can go to www.nutmegcreative.com if you want to learn more about the kind of projects at Nutmeg. Anything else?
Starting point is 00:04:14 No, that's about it. I mean, definitely check us out if you're an ad agency or a network. There's a lot we can do for you. And I also want to do a special thanks to Sam Giovanko and Daniel Farrell, who actually set this room up for us every time we have to do a taping and then get it back to where it belongs for the next morning. Thank you, guys. Nutmegcreative.com. Gil?
Starting point is 00:04:32 No, we don't have to talk to you any further. No, no. Oh, good. We can all go home. Thanks, Frankie. Thank you. How will you make it on your own? This world is awfully big. Girl, this time you're all alone.
Starting point is 00:05:06 But it's time you started living. It's time you let someone else do some giving. Love is all around, no need to waste it. You can never tell, why don't you take it? Hi, this is Gilbert Gottfried, and this is Gilbert and Frank's amazing, colossal obsessions with my co-host, Frank Santopadre, and our special guest, the great writer, Bill Persky. Bill, you're back. I'm back.
Starting point is 00:05:40 I never left. That was so fast. I'm back. I never left. And we should start, you know, they were talking about 2016 as when all these people in show business were dying. Yeah. But, boy, we've gotten off to quite a start. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:06:04 Within like a one-week period, three people that we should have had on the podcast. Yeah. Miguel Fer podcast. Yeah. Miguel Ferrer. Yeah, terrific actor. And from a showbiz dynasty. Yeah, his father was Jose Ferrer. His mother was Rosemary Clooney. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:06:16 Yeah. And George Clooney's cousin. Oh, yes, yes. Yeah. And a great actor in his own right. Loved him. Loved him in Twin Peaks. Yeah. Millions of movies.
Starting point is 00:06:26 And, oh, Mike Connors. Mike Connors, Maddox. Did you ever work with Mike Connors, Bill, on your travels? No, no. I watched it. I loved it. Me too. We asked him to do the show back in 2014, and he was having surgery.
Starting point is 00:06:39 Oh. He was having his knee replaced or something like that, and we didn't get to him. Did you ever work with Miguel Ferrer? No. No. Yeah. I worked with. How about Mel Ferrer?
Starting point is 00:06:49 How about Jose Ferrer? I worked with Desi Jr. Desi Arnaz Jr. I worked with him. Does that count? Can I stay? Not at all. No.
Starting point is 00:07:02 Yes, you can stay, but no, it doesn't count. Oh, okay. And, oh, John Hurt. Oh, the great British actor, John Hurt. No. Yes, you can stay, but no, it doesn't count. Okay. And, oh, John Hurt. Oh, the great British actor, John Hurt. Yeah. Best known as, I'm not an animal. I'm a human being. That's a good impression.
Starting point is 00:07:18 It's a pretty great movie. Oh, yeah. The Elephant Man. Terrific movie from Mel Brooks. Of all people. Mel Brooks. Terrific movie from Mel Brooks. Of all people, Mel Brooks. But the real reason that we're here with Billy doing this episode is to talk about probably the most significant loss,
Starting point is 00:07:37 which was Bill's old friend and colleague, the great Mary Tyler Moore. Yep. So we had you here. We had you coming in. We had you booked. And it seemed like it just made sense to have you come in and talk about your old pal. Yeah. You know, she was so special in so many ways. There were very few people at the funeral, and I was really honored that I was included.
Starting point is 00:08:03 And I was really honored that I was included. And so many of them were people from hospitals that were doing research on diabetes. She had given so much of herself to, you know, they said if there is ever a serum, we will call it the Mary Tyler Moore serum. We will call it the Mary Tyler Moore serum. She raised, I think, $3 billion or something like that for diabetes. It's incredible. And then there were other people who talked there. Grant Tinker's son, John Tinker, who is a wonderful writer himself, He was there and he talked about when Mary married Grant, he had these three rambunctious kids and how she incorporated them and how much she meant to them. And, you know, he and his wife through all of her illness, which was really bad the last
Starting point is 00:09:01 couple of years. And they would come and see her from, they live in Alabama. She was so loved. I mean, and, and deservedly so deservedly. So, I mean,
Starting point is 00:09:15 the talent and the ability are one thing, but the person is, is another, you know, and I got the luckiest thing. I mean, I said, I spoke at the funeral and I said, uh, I have known Mary Tyler Moore for 50 years and been in love with her for 54 years. I was in love with her legs and her voice. Richard Diamond.
Starting point is 00:09:46 Richard Diamond. Yes. And she was just splendid. Do you remember meeting her for the first time? Yeah. I was tongue-tied, you know, because I'd been watching. We came on the show in the third season. Right, you and Sam.
Starting point is 00:10:02 So we'd already been fans and just in love with her like everybody in America, every guy in America. That was his dream girl. I mean, when she did the movie with Robert Redford. Ordinary People. Ordinary People. He wrote a piece about what it was to actually be with her, you know, working with her and stuff. She, she did a scene. I mean, she did a lot of things, but one of the shows that we wrote specifically with her in mind as having the biggest part of it was the one called Coast to Coast Big Mouth. Sure. And it was that she had been on a quiz show
Starting point is 00:10:48 and had blurted out that Alan Brady, who was Dick's boss, had a toupee. Recently colorized and just aired it. Yeah, that was on CBS recently. And it was like the worst thing that could have happened because Carl, who played Alan Brady, was the worst vicious human being. And the thought of what she had done and Dick was just, I mean, he was withering and shrinking. I'm shrinking. And so we wrote this scene that instead of Dick going and facing Alan Brady, she decided that she was going to go.
Starting point is 00:11:34 And that was the thing about Mary as a person and as a performer. There was a power and a strength in her and a fearlessness in her that was also totally surrounded by femininity and girlishness in many ways. There's a difference, you know. Anyway, the scene, she goes up to Carl's office and Carl is at his desk with five styrofoam heads, each of which has a toupee. You know that episode, Gilbert. It's a classic episode. And it is, to this day, it is listed in the 10 funniest scenes ever on television. I came to apologize and to tell you personally that I'd like to try to explain.
Starting point is 00:12:18 Explain what? You got a big mouth. I do. I know. I know, Alan. If you wanted a pre-rotisserie or a dryer, I would have gotten it for you. I would have gotten you a house, a show place. Oh, Alan, you don't have to do that.
Starting point is 00:12:29 Alan, could I say something? You got more to say? Well, I've been thinking, Alan, and... Well, for instance, I think you look very nice without your... Hair? Oh, well, yes. And, well, for instance... Now, I'm not saying this just because I'm in trouble, Alan,
Starting point is 00:12:50 although goodness knows I am. Oh, yes. But believe me, sincerely, Alan, really sincerely, and you can ask anybody, I have always said that I like you so much better without your... Hair! Hair! You didn't have any trouble saying it on television.
Starting point is 00:13:08 God, she was so good in it. The way she started to talk and then backed off. And, Alan, do you remember? I'm sure you remember, Alan. Maybe you don't. Can I remind you? And he'd say, talk to me. But she was just so wonderful.
Starting point is 00:13:25 How did she get that part? I mean, it's an interesting story. Yeah, it is. Danny recommended her? Yeah, well, Danny interviewed her for his daughter, and they loved her. But what he said. Yeah, Danny Thomas. He said, who's going to believe that nose is related to this nose?
Starting point is 00:13:42 Right. She used to say, miss that part by a nose. Yeah. Yeah. And then when they were doing the Van Dyke show and they were having so much trouble finding who to play it,
Starting point is 00:13:56 Danny said, remember the girl with the little nose? What was her name? And they brought her in and from the first time she walked in the door, that was it. She was Laura Petri.
Starting point is 00:14:04 The little nose with the three names. Yeah. The little nose with the three names. Yeah, married. The little nose with the three names. Carl likes to say that he picked her up by the head. He cupped her head and said, come with me. Come with me. After she did the read. Yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 00:14:15 I mean, there was no contact. Go ahead. No, I was just saying it's a funny thing because back then it was more innocent times. Oh, God, yeah. No internet. You couldn't get, you know, porno anytime you wanted. You're kidding. You couldn't.
Starting point is 00:14:31 We had a show where we couldn't say the word pregnant. Yes. And Carl went to the network and said, why can we not say pregnant? Why can we not say pregnant? And they said, because there are people who tell their children that babies come from the stork and some who still tell them that babies are found behind cabbages. And you can't go into their home and bring up the subject of pregnant and have them ask what it is. And Carl said, those people do not deserve to have children or homes. That's the perfect answer.
Starting point is 00:15:12 And I always thought afterwards, and when I do lectures and stuff, and I would say, now those children are faced with their children saying, what is a four-hour erection? And what does it mean when the moment is right? But it was very, very – well, you know the story about the double beds with Lucy. Oh, yes. All of them back then. But she put a single bed in the heart at the opening.
Starting point is 00:15:43 Oh. Yeah. Next time you see Lucy, there's a big double bed in the heart. Because I was going to say, back then, I guess what was turning guys on the most was Mary Tyler Moore and the Capri Pants. Oh, God, yes. And they said you can't wear them and you can't this.
Starting point is 00:16:02 This network was horrified that she was wearing them. And I think we'll have to ask him when he comes on. Carl Reiner said they had a trouble with the censors saying that with her in those pants, there's some under cupping. Uh-huh. Under cupping. Yes. Right. There's also the famous story of Rob.
Starting point is 00:16:24 Oh, yes. Rob Reiner grabbed. When he came to the set, young Rob touching her tush. Oh, yeah. She was so adorable. We will return to Gilbert Gottfried's amazing, colossal podcast after this. And now back to the show. There will not be her like. You know, after the Van Dyke show went off, everybody was looking for the next Mary Tyler Moore.
Starting point is 00:16:48 And there wasn't going to be one. You know, there was one of those. And Sam and I were doing a series, Good Morning World. Right. And we were looking for the next Mary Tyler Moore. And a young girl came in to read and she was all wrong for the lead of the show. But we said, you know what? You're not going to be the lead, but you're going to be her best friend.
Starting point is 00:17:13 And she said, well, I read the script. There was no best friend. I said, that was before you came in, and that was Goldie. Yeah, Goldie Hawn. Goldie Hawn. You saw something in her, huh? Well, you know, stars are like that. You know, I mean, another time we were reading people for a thing,
Starting point is 00:17:31 and this young woman came in. She had just arrived in L.A., and it was like her first and second interview. And I said to her, you can have this part. And she was so excited. I said, but you shouldn't take it. And she said, well, why? have this part. And she was so excited. I said, but you shouldn't take it. And she said, well, why? I mean, it's a part. I said, well, you're going to be a superstar.
Starting point is 00:17:53 And if you sign a contract to do this, you're going to be locked in and we're going to end up not liking each other because you want to get out. She said, no, I want to do it. I said, well, I'll tell you what. This is Friday. And think about it over the week. Talk to your agent. to do it I said well I'll tell you what this is Friday and think about it over the week talk to your agent tell him what I said so she called on Monday and she said my my agent and I decided not to take the part I said good and that was Farrah oh you just you just know Farrah Farrah Fawcett yeah Farrah Fawc. But all Mary wanted to do was be a dancer and a singer
Starting point is 00:18:26 on Broadway. That was, that was the matter what else happened in her life. That would have been the joy. Is that one of the reasons you guys wrote so many musical numbers? Yeah. Yeah. Because they both did. And, and the, the interesting thing is she had a contract. They, they only did five years because Dick and Mary were sought after and Carl were sought after by everybody. And they had done the show that Carl wanted to do. So Mary had a contract at Universal, a film contract. And in the contract, she had the right of refusal for the films she did so that she could carefully build her career. The first thing she did was Thoroughly Modern Millie with Julie Andrews, and she played a, you know, a supporting part,
Starting point is 00:19:13 and she was terrific. And then they came, they were doing a musical of, uh, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Abe Burrows, and they wanted Mary for the part. And that was it. That's all she wanted in her life. So she went to the People Universal and they let her out if she would give up the option on choosing the movies because she had refused the number of them and stuff. So she gave them that. And then she went to do the show, which I saw her in in Hartford, and she was fantastic. But the show really wasn't working, and it kept not working until they,
Starting point is 00:19:57 when they got to New York, it was a total flop. It lasted three days. And back then, Broadway would not accept anyone from television. They were waiting for you. Nobody could get a good review. So the show was so awful, they blamed Mary for all of it. It was a very, very unfair, but very destructive thing. So she went from being a red hot to being ice cold.
Starting point is 00:20:23 Red hot to Broadway. Well, you know, maybe America didn't know what Broadway was, but in the business she got blamed for everything. Then when she got back to universal, they just pumped her into movies with Elvis Presley and a change of habit. Yeah. And, and they did movies. And by the time that was through, she had lost, it was five years, and she had lost the luster of she had before that. And Sam and I were doing one special a year for Dick Van Dyke. And I said to Dick, it's five years. Why don't we do a reunion with Mary? And he said, that'll be great. And then we also knew that it
Starting point is 00:21:10 would be great showcase for her. And Dick was so generous. I mean, we wrote numbers specifically for her. It was really her show. And the day after that show went on the air, they called her and offered the series that became the Mary Tyler Moore Show. Dick Van Dyke and the other woman. Dick Van Dyke and the other woman. Right. I still love it. So you and Sam, and you're not saying it directly, but I'll say it.
Starting point is 00:21:34 You and Sam, it could be argued, played a role in her resurgence. Well, we were certainly instrumental in that happening. All it did was give her a chance to be who she was after you know she hadn't been away from that for a while and she and grant tinker went and pitched the yeah pitch the mary tyler moore yeah and and uh something that mary didn't know until sam and i did a show that was my favorite thing we ever did called the boys. And it was about two comedy writers that were us. And it was originally going to be Harvey Korman and Tim,
Starting point is 00:22:12 but Harvey felt he was getting too identified with Tim and he wanted to do something that was old. So we had Herb Edelman come in and play it. And when people saw it, did you ever see it? Yeah. You showed it to me at your house. It was real good. We watched it with Leopold. Yeah. And everybody who was sending in pilots said,
Starting point is 00:22:31 well, why bother? You know, this is it. And it didn't get picked up. And, uh, it was the biggest disappointment in my life. And the reason it didn't get picked up is because the testing in front of an audience was very bad. And we were walking around and couldn't understand it. And Grant Tinker said, Mary's testing. The show was the worst testing you've ever seen. They hated Rhoda. They hated Mr.
Starting point is 00:23:02 Grant. they said he was too angry. Yeah. They hated everything and they were going to buy the show out. She had been guaranteed 26 shows, and they were going to buy it out just because they said it's not going to work. And Grant said, no, we're doing the show. And they had never shown Mary the testing until this had happened.
Starting point is 00:23:24 And she said, well, now we can show you what your show test is like. And it turned out about five years later, I got a call one night from a guy who had worked in the research department. He was drunk and he said, Bill, it's taken me five years to tell you this, but the guy in charge of testing lied about your show's testing because he didn't like you and Sam. I won't mention his name. Wow. But back to Mary, because this is not about me.
Starting point is 00:23:58 What was wonderful was when she moved to New York and I was the only real friend she had. I mean, New York was waiting for her like they would have given her the city. I didn't know she was from Brooklyn originally. Yeah. Ocean Parkway. Yeah. And she came to New York and she got an apartment and she was invited to everything. And, uh, I took her, I mean, I was like her friend taking her. And then people started to say, are you having a relationship with Mary Tyler Moore? And I'd say, no, no, no. And then after a while it sounded, well, why not? It makes me sound pretty terrific. But at any rate, uh, we went everywhere and, uh, my three is closest friends, two closest friends and I rented a house every summer out in the Hamptons and Mary, uh, decided she wanted to rent. So she went out and she and Hope Lang rented a house together and they would come over to our
Starting point is 00:25:07 house and we would play dictionary and we would play all kinds of games. And we spent this incredible, wonderful summer together. And we had all our kids with us. So there were like 12 of us and she and Hope gave a party and we went over in three vans, you know, and the kids walked in and they had this beautiful buffet and it was gone. Locusts came through and then there was there was nothing to eat. We had to go out and get more food. I was sorry that her later shows didn't work out after the Mary Tyler Moore show. She did so many attempts at new shows. Well, I have to tell you, she decided she wanted to do a variety. She did the one with Letterman. Yeah, but I did a special that led to that show. Okay. Mary. No, it was Mary Tyler Moore and how to survive the seventies. Right. Okay. And her guests were, uh, Bill Bixby and Harvey Korman and John Ritter and Dick played a part
Starting point is 00:26:15 with her, which I mean was so wonderful. It was, it was about relationships, which were part of the seventies finding a relationship. And Harvey did the introduction, and he said, relationships take forever or they can happen in a moment. And we did a thing where she is on an elevator and Dick gets on the elevator. And from in eight floors, they fall in love with each other. I mean, it was, we never rehearsed it. Maybe once. It was magical.
Starting point is 00:26:51 And then when they got out of the elevator, there's a woman waiting for him and a man waiting for her. And they hug their people and kind of wink at one another. But the two of them together were just. Well, and their chemistry in the thing you and Sam wrote, Dick Van Dyke and the other woman. It's just great. I wish it was available. Yeah, it was. There was... Well, one of the things, because of Mary's dancing that we did, we did a dance number at a ski lodge where everybody had a broken leg and were on crutches.
Starting point is 00:27:22 It's fun. Oh, it was just... And the final thing was they were the bride and groom on a wedding cake. We had this big wedding cake and they were there and she was so excited. And all he wanted to do was be on the cowboy cake over there or the football cake over there. And they had a real argument like a couple. And then it was the fifth year anniversary and he, you know, they had put the argument like a couple. And then it was the fifth year anniversary. And they had put the cake in the freezer. And it kept going like the 20th and the 25th. And finally their 50th anniversary.
Starting point is 00:27:57 And Mary's gown was tattered and Dick's hat, the top was off. It was just perfect. And he was still being grumpy. And she said, you never, ever once in all these years told me that you love me. And he's, well, um, yeah. And then they sang, do you love me from fiddler on the roof it was i mean it was just unbelievable and and it was partially because of the two of them and the magic thing all-time chemistry that they created and they were really in love with each other in real life. No. Dick at that time was not very available.
Starting point is 00:28:51 Mary said at one point when she first met Dick, he said, hi. Then when they were doing the special, he said, hi. He cared deeply about her. She wasn't that available at that point either.
Starting point is 00:29:07 But they, well, you know, it hit him with her passing away and the respect they had for one another. I'm sure. If you don't trust me like you should That's no good If you won't take my best advice I'm not nice If you don't say you think that I'm okay That isn't any way to be
Starting point is 00:29:41 What we need is good old harmony. Harmony. Harmony. Imagine Minneapolis without St. Paul. It's harmony. That's all. You know, people say the cliche is something you hear that beautiful women can't be funny. Well, that's the thing.
Starting point is 00:30:09 They are the golden find in movies. If you found a beautiful Carol Lombard. Yeah, sure. Was that, you know, and there are very few beautiful women who are funny. She was certainly one. And it's because they didn't need it as they were growing up, you know. Katharine Hepburn's pretty funny in bringing a baby. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:30:30 But Mary Tyler Moore, you know. And on the special, the second one, How to Survive the 70s, I interviewed this young writer. In fact, I took him out for sushi. And to this day, it was David Letterman. And he said, Bill Persky bought sushi for me for the first time. But he didn't want to do the show. But he ended up doing the series.
Starting point is 00:30:55 The Variety Show. The Variety Show he did. And Dick did it with her, too. Yeah. Dick Shawn was on it and Susie Kurtz and Michael Keaton. I was going to say, it was sad. I was rooting for her back then to get another series. Oh, I got to tell you, on that show,
Starting point is 00:31:08 the last thing we did was, this is the rest of your life, Mary Tyler Moore. And we introduced people, you know, this is your fourth husband, Grant Left. Yeah, we just did all these things. And then we said, and this is so-and-so who was your boyfriend on Here Comes Mary, the series you did that didn't kind of work out. And then we do a couple more things and said, and here is your director from that Mary again, and that you did 10 years. And we went, we had all of these, Mary is coming, Mary, oh, we love Mary. And then
Starting point is 00:31:57 in your later years, at the age of 80, you try another one. And it's called There Goes Mary, in which you're only photographed from the back. And John Ritter, who was sitting next to her, you know, in the sketch, she said, have I no shame? And he said, apparently not. So she had a great sense of humor about herself. She was a great straight actress, too. I'll tell you one of the great nights. I took her to Sammy's Romanian down on Rivington. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
Starting point is 00:32:33 Drew told me to ask you that story. Sammy's Romanian, which people don't know, was a Romanian restaurant, but a Jewish Romanian restaurant. It was down in a basement. It's still there. Yeah, it's still there. Kind of a dive. And we, yeah, but I mean, it's a crazy place. I mean, and there's a violinist running around and playing.
Starting point is 00:32:54 You have a DJ. As a matter of fact, Paul Schaefer was having a party there, and I was with him. Yeah, it's where Leopold was. Yeah, Leopold's Last Night as a Jew was there. That's right. Yeah. Before his conversion.
Starting point is 00:33:08 The famous Last Night as a Jew. We had a great party for him. His Last Night as a Jew. Last Night as a Jew party for Tom. But at any rate, it was like a dive. But it was famous. Delicious. And on the table, every table had a huge jar of chicken fat and a huge jar of pickles.
Starting point is 00:33:28 And the steaks, Romanian steaks, are like a broiled tennis racket comes out on the plate. I mean, they're dripping over. Everything is fried and it's this. And I said to Mary, let's go. So we went and the door, and she was there. And it was a question of who was more in shock, them or Mary. But by the time it was over, she was covered in chicken fat. She was dancing with the violets.
Starting point is 00:33:59 I mean, she just entered into whatever she did, you know. God, she was great gifted gifted actress gifted serious yes and and uh again when she had her first apartment at the san remo she had the tower with the 360 degree view and when it finished, I was going over to have dinner with her. And, uh, we, she, I was going to take her out, but she said, let's just stay here. And I said, okay. And I said, well, how about Chinese food? She said, fine, but order enough for three. And I said, Oh, who's coming? She said, well, my mother had a little heart scare this week. And, uh, little heart scare this week and uh i took him to mount sinai and there was this very nice young doctor there and i'd like to invite him over and that was robert who she married that's great so i
Starting point is 00:34:53 was kind of on their first date with that's great big loss yeah kind of said that for God knows how many years, because of the diabetes, that it went on for years that just about every other issue of a tabloid would be some depressing photo of her saying Mary's last tragic days. Yeah, of course. She also did a lot for animals. She did a lot for animals. Oh, God. She did a lot for dogs.
Starting point is 00:35:24 She did a lot for a lot of people. She did a lot for, she did a lot for, she loved dogs. She did a lot for a lot of people. She and Betty White, who was, Bernadette Peters is, I think, her best friend with Betty. Betty White and Bernadette Peters were her best friends.
Starting point is 00:35:36 But she never took herself seriously, but was totally in charge. That's nice. You know what I mean? She, when she knew something wasn't right for her and when we were rehearsing for the special and there was a dance number because everyone was jogging in the 70s so we had a dance number that was on a track that like around the lake and central park And the whole dance number was the dancers doing running while they were dancing,
Starting point is 00:36:08 but they were doing conga dance, all kinds of things. And at one point she wasn't in the thing. You know, it was a little change. And we were in the rehearsal hall, and it was a hot day, and I was sitting there drinking a beer. And she came over and slid in and took a sip of the beer. And she said, Billy, how lucky are we? That's nice.
Starting point is 00:36:33 She always knew. That's nice. She always knew. Mr. Gottfried? Ah, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention. Yeah. He forgets to host.
Starting point is 00:36:44 Yes. That's sweet, Bill. And thanks for coming here and sharing paying attention. Yeah. He forgets to host. Yes. That's sweet, Bill. And thanks for coming here and sharing that stuff. Yeah. Sharing your memories. I tell you, people should look, not only people know about ordinary people, she's terrific in a comedy called Flirting with Disaster. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:36:57 And with Robert Preston in Finnegan Begin Again, which I would urge people to, but also a very accomplished dramatic actress. Oh, yeah. She really had range. You know, she did whose life is in any way. Yeah, she did whose life. She could really do anything. Yep.
Starting point is 00:37:12 So I'm Gilbert Gottfried, and this has been Gilbert and Frank's Amazing Colossal Obsessions with my co-host Frank Santopadre. Once again, we're at Nutmeg. And our engineer, Frank Fertorosa. And once again, God knows how many times this man has been on the show, and we're still only scratching the surface. This is his fifth.
Starting point is 00:37:40 Yeah. I'd want to change a clothes. That's fine. It's like a game show. So are you homeless or something? Yeah, I just, to change a clothes. It's like a game show. So are you homeless? Yeah. I just, where's the shower?
Starting point is 00:37:49 Thanks for coming and talking about Mary. Oh, it was great. It was, it was good to do. The great Bill Persky. Thank you very much for inviting me. Of course. Thank you.

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