Joy, a Podcast. Hosted by Craig Ferguson - Josh Robert Thompson

Episode Date: August 29, 2023

Josh Robert Thompson, a comedic genius who, amongst other things, was the voice and personality behind Geoff Peterson, “the greatest side kick in late night television history.” Listen to two good friends catch up and reminisce about the “Late Late Show” days, and much, much more! EnJOY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meet the real woman behind the tabloid headlines in a personal podcast that delves into the life of the notorious Tori Spelling, as she takes us through the ups and downs of her sometimes glamorous, sometimes chaotic life in marriage. I just filed for divorce. Whoa. I said the words that I've said, like, in my head for, like, 16 years. Wild. Listen to Miss Spelling on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Angie Martinez.

And on my podcast, I like to talk to everyone from Hall of Fame athletes to iconic musicians about getting real on some of the complications and challenges of real life. I had the best dad. And I had the best dad and I had the best memories and the greatest experience. And that's all I want for my kids as long as they can have that. Listen to Angie Martinez IRL

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Want to know how to leverage culture to build a successful business? Then Butternomics is the podcast for you. I'm your host, Brandon Butler, founder and CEO of Butter ATL. And on Butternomics, we go deep with today's most influential entrepreneurs, innovators, and business leaders to peel back the layers on how they use culture as a driving force in their business.

Butternomics will give you what you need to take your game to the next level. Listen to Butternomics on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This week, the Craig Ferguson Fancy Rascal Tour continues in Joliet, Illinois and Columbus, Ohio. I will also be performing alongside Jay Leno and Arsenio Hall as parts of the Kings of Late Night dates in Pittsburgh, PA and Cincinnati, Ohio.

Tickets available at thecraigfergusonshow.com slash tour. My name is Craig Ferguson. This podcast is called Joy. It's not rocket science. I talk to people I like about their pursuit of happiness. I talk to people I like about their pursuit of happiness. Here's Josh Robert Thompson, a comedic genius who, amongst other things, was the voice and personality behind Jeff Peterson,

the greatest sidekick in late-night television history. Enjoy. Yeah, you feel all right? Oh, yeah, I feel good. See, now you put the headphones on, but you leave it off one ear. I do, yeah. Is that a real thing? Yeah. Or is that just to mess with people that don't do voiceovers all the time?

I think you do it. No, man. Yeah. It freaks me out. It feels like I'm trapped if I got both ears covered. What happens to you if you get a sinus infection? Do you get claustrophobic? It can't work, man.

I get lost. Seriously, though, because you're like a top voiceover guy. I don't know if I'm a top voiceover guy. You are a top voiceover guy. I'm around. If I ever need a voiceover, I wouldn't even call anyone else.

I don't go to Pep Boys. You go to Pep Boys. I got guys milling around out in front of Pep Boys. You can get a pretty cheap voiceover, I think, in front of Home Depot. There are guys waiting in trucks. Those guys are great. Some great voice actors over there. I don't think that's the way.

I think, I mean, I want to get onto things in a minute, but just as we're talking about voiceover, do you remember that thing, that routine Chris Rock did at the Oscars when he was mean about voiceovers? Ah. Did that bother you? Oh, about when he said, all you got to do is go in and talk like yourself?

Yeah. I mean, it's... It's a little... That's a little unfair. I mean, listen, that's kind of the way it's going now, you know? Yeah. All the celebrities.

Celebrity, how to train your dragon. These guys, that a-hole. He just walks in. You know, I felt a little bad about when Mike Myers did Shrek. I was like, he's not even Scottish. And I'm like, well, wait a minute.

He's not even an ogre either. You must have been deeply hurt by that. Nah, it's all right. Could have been yours, man. Yeah. Oh, Shrek, what a farty donkey. Look at me. Craig Ferguson.

Or you could call Shadow Stevens is another voice guy. Shadow Stevens. Legend voice guy Shadow Stevens Legendary He's done this podcast Has he? Yeah He talked about the time When he was psychotic with cocaine

Yes And he was in his cabin in Topanga Okay With shotguns Listening to imaginary people Trying to get in through the door Is that a thing you've done? Because I don't see that

Well I did do that Only I did it live imaginary people trying to get in through the door. Is that a thing you've done? Because I don't see that. Well, I did do that, only I did it live on various streaming platforms about 2016, 2017. You kind of went, yeah, you did do a little. A little bit. What happened there? Because you were like spilling your guts in audio form. Yeah, well, and video as well. Oh, really? I didn't see those.

I would have, oh, good. I'm glad they're gone but i'm sure someone will find them and share them with you oh man i was uh you know i was uh it was i became pretty angry man after the after the show ended i didn't know what i didn't know what i was doing i didn't know what i was supposed to do next yeah i understand that you know i i understand that because it's it's terrifying when a job like that ends. I wasn't prepared. I didn't know what, I didn't know how you do these things.

How does, you know, we, I was on the show for probably eight years, almost as the, almost the entire run. Well, you, you, I, to my mind, you made the show. There was like the, the show I had me in it. And then when you turned up and brought, not just the robot, I mean, like Jeff was kind of like the, when you made that thing come alive yeah i made jeff go and i think of you as jeff i don't i don't think is jeff being a separate entity you know it's like you are you're the guy who plays jeff you're like yeah when that happened

that to me that's when the show became the show that's nice to say no it's the truth and but before that you were doing ro Robert De Niro impersonations. And Arnold. It started with Schwarzenegger. Right. Craig, how are you? You'd check in with me at the Capitol. That's right.

And they'd put this appliance on my face to make me kind of look like Arnold. I would do like two hours of makeup, completely unnecessary makeup for like a five-minute sketch that we would do. They put me in a muscle suit and you would check in. Let's check in with Arnold Schwarzenegger because he was the governor at the time. Yeah. That's right. And it was this guy, Trent Cotner. Shout out to Trent.

He was a great makeup artist, but he was colorblind. Okay. And he told me in the middle of the makeup, he's like, I hope this is right. I hope this is right. I'm colorblind. But that's how we, you know, it was Joe Strazzullo, one of the writers from your show.

Yeah, I love Joe. A great writer who found me on public access TV. I was doing my preacher character. That's right. Yeah. And he was getting high and watching TV and saw me. It was a wild ride, all that, because when you started, I said you should do stand-up.

Yeah. And then the first time you did stand-up was opening for me at Radio City Music Hall. That was my fourth gig. That's right. You said, Josh, you do stand-up, right? I got to do the voice. I think you can do it pretty well.

Josh, you can do stand-up, right? Sure I can the voice. I think you can do it pretty well. I think you can do it pretty well. Josh, you can do stand-up, right? Sure I can. You bet I can, Mr. Ferguson. No problem. Where do we start? And the first gig was the Venetian in Vegas. That was your first gig? Yeah. That's a hard gig. Yeah. Beautiful room, man.

Yeah, it's a beautiful room and it's a great place to play, but Vegas is a difficult... People think Vegas is easy. It's actually one of the worst places to play but vegas yeah is a difficult people think vegas is easy it's actually one of the worst places to play it is because a lot of the people that are there don't really want to be there they're just kind of museum shrimp buffet that's just part of the all you can eat buffet what's going on there's what show let's go see that i've never seen who's that guy from how to train your dragon i work. Yeah, I enjoy his voice work. He wasn't Shrek, disappointingly.

He talks funny. Yeah. My wife and I love his comedy. So listen, let's talk about Cleveland, Josh. Yeah, let's talk about it. Let's talk a little bit about Cleveland, Josh. Because when we're talking about how you got a little angry after the show finished. Yeah, man.

So that didn't start then that started back when you were when you were in cleveland when you that's usually how it starts it starts with the child usually starts i've been talking to a lot of people and i've noticed the common denominator yeah but if you're angry it's usually because you're in cleveland that's usually why i've been there a couple i got angry a couple of times in Cleveland you see so were you of the vintage growing up watching the Drew Carey show

yeah I watched the Drew Carey I remember seeing Drew Carey do his first I think his first TV stand up on the Tonight Show Tonight Show that's right

and you everybody when you were a kid you knew he was a Cleveland boy and it was sitting there in the living room watching that on TV thinking

how can I get in how do how can i get in the t how can i get there how can i do that that was a that was one of the ways that was one of the things that started you off so he was sort of a little jackie robinson for you a little bit yeah kind of yeah all right yeah so how did it go with you and how did were you in theater were you a lot of theater i was at the cleveland I mean, you know, a legendary theater company in Cleveland. How did you get into that? Because you're a blue-collar kid, right? No, I mean, my mom's an artist, painter.

Oh. You know, she went to art school, very artistic background. Oh, I didn't know that. And my biological father, whom I never never met was also an incredible painter you know i've i've since seen photographs of his art shows and and is he no longer he's no longer with us he passed away he passed away in 1990 from aids you know he was he was gay wow that was a whole part of my life that i discovered you know later on he passed, my mother told me everything about my father. So he was a gay man, but you're...

He left and moved to San Francisco. He moved to the Bay Area and became a very prominent artist in the Bay Area. And seeing these photos of his art shows and seeing him standing next to his paintings, it was mind-blowing. But my favorite photo of him, because he had a tough childhood, you know,

you got to imagine growing up in his time and being gay. Being gay, yeah. Even in 1990, when my mother told me that information, I was going to Catholic school and I'm living in Cleveland, I'm in the Midwest. My first thought was, am I gay? Is there going to be something wrong with me? It was not talked about. But there's a photo of him that I have.

That side of the family has since given me a lot of photos of him. And there's a great photo of him at, I think, Hamburger Mary's in San Francisco. Maybe the original the original hamburger marries i don't know but he's gathered with all of his friends there's all these guys and i assume his his boyfriend or partner with him and he looks so happy yeah and it's it's a fucking great photo because he finally after all the pain that he went through you you know, he finally found his people. That's a hard journey. Yeah. And then he died of AIDS.

Died of AIDS, yeah. God, I mean, people forget that now. I mean, that shit just went. It was so terrifying. Forest fire. Yeah, I remember when Rock Hudson. Yeah, I remember that with Freddie Mercury. And then it was like, what is this? Yeah.

What is this? People just fucking. I remember when I was 21 I was in New York and I danced with the American Modern Dance Theater because I thought

I may be a dancer oh yeah I can see that it was like it was me and like 25 gay men which

I was fantastic because I was from Scotland I was 21 and I was cute and I was straight and married to at the time to a wee

Scottish girl. So they kind of adopted us. But I went back four years later and like half, maybe more than half of the guys were gone. They're gone. That was crazy. And you were out there. Hello. Yeah. Actually it was, it was a contemporary modern dance. So just, it was a lot of pretending there was a window, but it wasn't a window. There was a rope, dance. Oh, so. So just, there was a lot of pretending there was a window, but it wasn't a window. There was a rope. Punching the ground. There wasn't a rope, you know.

Oh, there's a flower. I'm a tree. I'm a tree. Don't cut me. Don't cut me. Don't cut me. Oh, you've cut me. I'm sad.

Oh, no. Yeah, there's a lot of that. Call me. So listen, you grew up in Cleveland. Yeah. So did you have a stepdad then? Yeah, my stepdad. My stepdad is my dad. Right, so that's who you think of in Cleveland. Yeah. So did you have a stepdad then? Yeah, my stepdad is my dad.

Right, so that's who you think of as being your dad. Yeah, because he was there, probably came into the picture around the time I was, I want to say three or four. Right. Then they got married when I was like five years old. Were you at the wedding? I was. That's cool. Yeah, little guy, little tuxedo.

And then I took his last name, Thompson. Right. Probably around 85, 86. We went down to the courthouse and he adopted me, basically. That's quite a lovely story. Yeah, I remember crying. I remember I didn't quite understand what it meant because I was very young. But I remember crying in front of the courthouse because I now had a new name.

And I had a real father. And it was, you know. You name. Right. And I had a real father. And it was, you know. You became a real boy. I became a real boy. I was wooden prior to that. Yeah, I understand. See, what happened was I was a wooden boy. You were a wooden boy.

I was carved by this kindly Italian gentleman. Stop it. Stop it. Tom Hanks. Yeah, you were carved by Tom Hanks. What do I do? Tom Hanks. I'm Geppetto.

So, wait. Thank you. So, wait, though. I'm Tom Hayes. I'm Geppetto. So, wait. Thank you. So, wait, though. Is he still around, your dad? He is, yeah. Right, okay. So, and your mom's still around? Yeah.

You're very lucky. That's great. Are you close? We are, yeah. My mom, I mean, they've since divorced. Right. My mom's been remarried now for close to 15 years. They both live here.

You know, we all moved here. To Los Angeles? Yeah, in like 95 from Cleveland. Why did you move from Cleveland? Well, it was very angry. We had to get away from the anger. Is Cleveland still your hometown? Yeah, I go back and visit.

You know, I visit my best, well, my best friend, Matt Lodi, passed away about a year and a half ago. I remember that. I'm sorry to hear that. I remember you got in touch with him. Thanks, by the way. We sort of talked about doing a little fundraiser. Yeah.

Went really well. Good. And he was just the nicest guy in the world. But his family, I still stay in touch with. And a lot of my family still live in Cleveland. So you come out here and you wanted to just be an actor? I wanted to be a director. Okay.

I started out making movies. I started out making movies. I started out making monster movies in my backyard in Cleveland. I still think that's still something that you're going to do, right? You're going to make a horror movie. There's no question. Yeah, writing and directing is what I did when I was a kid. In fact, my mom was my camera person for my horror movies, my monster movies. That's kind of great.

I took her to see The Fablemans last November, and we were both just weeping through the entire movie. Because that was like your childhood? Yeah. She kept turning to me and go, this is you. Yeah. This is us. I said, God, remember?

She'd hold the camera, and it'd be a chase scene in one of my movies, and she'd be running with the camera, and her Dr. Scholl's flip flops can be heard in the background. And the camera is going like this. But God bless her. But she took a real interest in my creative endeavors. She fostered that. All right. So when did the, because I always think people who do voices the way you do voices are kind of uncanny.

Like you can do that. Yeah. do voices that kind of uncanny like like you can do that yeah i think that's a musician's skill i think that that's the ear of a musician that does that do you think that's right i think that's i think that's true yeah i mean uh i think for me it was spending a lot of time a lot i'm an only child right so growing up in cleveland an only child who doesn't like sports you kind of don't have many other options. And you have that kind of thing of I'm adopted and I might be gay. Yeah, and being a latchkey kid, which was basically you come home from school and your parents aren't home from work yet.

Yeah. And I had an actual skeleton key because the house we lived in was probably built in like 1901. It was a two-story house. And we lived upstairs in Cleveland. And downstairs was the landlord, this sweet old woman named Mrs. Van Duser. I think this is a good horror movie right here. Mrs. Van Duser.

Mrs. Van Duser. She's sweet, but then you start smelling cadavers. That's right. Right Duser Mrs. Van Duser but we have she's sweet but then you start smelling cadavers that's right right got it which I were you this is true did you know

I feel like and then you guys moved to San Francisco that's right to get to try and find your dad who's sadly you know

that's the story sick yeah but the cadavers follow you that's they follow me yeah yeah

cadavers across America that's the name of the that's the name of the movie. It's not a bad idea. Cadavers Across America. Shadow does the voice. Tonight on ABC, cadavers. Josh Robert Thompson was a boy who lived in Cleveland and had a skeleton key. That's a weird thing.

You had a skeleton key. And then because a skeleton looms large in your future. That's true. Well, I was a wooden boy. Then I became a real boy. Then I became a skeleton. Then you became a skeleton. Now, the skeleton thing is very interesting.

For those people who don't know, which I don't know that there's that many, but there might be. There are some, yeah. Yeah, the people who don't know that when I talked to Grant Imahara, God rest. Rest in peace, yeah.

Who was the robot builder on the Mythbusters. And we were, it came from actually even before that, I had watched Ghost Rider. Well, yeah, with Nicolas Cage. With Nicolas Cage. Oh, yeah. And I had watched Ghost Rider. I remember talking about it in the show the next day saying that is American entertainment a skeleton who rides

a motorcycle who's on fire right if you can make a better movie than that I don't think you can so that's where it started that's where it started

yeah and in fact until Top Gun Maverick there was no better movie than Ghost Rider in my opinion it's true I'm just saying

I'm a ghost I'm on a bike and I'm on fire i'm on fire but the i had seen that you saw that and i was talking about how great it was and then joe the prop remember joe the props guy joe props joe props i'm joe props joe props put a skeleton and he put some like colored paper that was it yep and i went oh that's I went, oh, that's great. And then I said that. And the idea of Jeff Peterson, the robot skeleton sidekick kind of came from that.

But then there was a robot skeleton army. Wasn't there a story that you told? Oh, that's right. I used to annoy Milo with that. Milo, that was it. He was little at the time. And I said, I was going to start a robot skeleton army and take over the world. Yes.

And he was very angry. Like, you know, little kids get angry? No, you can't do that. Stop it. Yeah, I'm going to. I'm going to do it. So it was kind of like Terminator almost. Yeah, all of that kind of stuff.

Because then Grant made the robot. Grant made the robot. Grant made the animated robot. But you guys had a bet, though. Before that happened, before Jeff became real and materialized, there was some bet between the two of you that you would get Grant a certain number of followers. That's right.

And you did. He said, if you get me 100,000 Twitter followers, I'll build you a robot. Right. I think it took like an hour. Right. Yeah, of course. Because Twitter was a different place. It was, man.

Yeah. Remember when Twitter was like people were funny. Creative. And sweet. Yeah. And wanted to be friends with each other. Yeah. place it was man yeah remember when twitter was like people were funny creative and sweet yeah and wanted to be friends with each other yeah i mean i don't know if you go on it now but i don't not nearly as much as i ever did before no it's just people are so mean yeah i don't need it why are you so mean i became sort of ensnared in that for a while. Speaking of that anger, you know, the thing about Twitter and the platforms that I was live streaming on is it was this, it was like having a bunch of enablers in the palm of your hand. Right.

Instant enablers, right? You just, whatever problem you have, you will have a group of people that will agree with you and always be on your side, even if you're the most fucked up person. That's what I kind of got involved with for a little while because I had a low opinion of myself and I felt this is what I deserve. And you know what the weird thing was? I think you always kind of suffered from that a bit. Because I remember when we started messing around, the first thing we started doing with a robot jeff peterson it was pre-recorded bits that's right like you would say you know we pre-recorded you going you're the man craig and that yeah yeah you're the man in your pants balls that was tom straw by the way right the writer all those phrases right and he tom's a

really good writer and he is he's a fabulous, and he was part of the creation of the creative team that put together Jeff Beards. That's right, yep. He was very much involved in it, and he would fire off the phrases. Yep. They would interject when I was talking. He would just fire them in.

And then when we started, Jeff went live, became sentient, was on the trip to Vegas, right? Was that right? What happened was we were shooting in Vegas. We were doing a really funny parody of The Hangover. That's right. Where you and Jeff are driving back from Vegas in like a red 57 Chevy.

That's right, yeah. Trying to remember what the hell happened. Jeff is wearing, he's dressed like a bride. A bride, that's right. And you got married to Jeff. I married Jeff Peterson, the skeleton in Vegas. And I remember there was a part where we were on the Vegas strip in this 57 Chevy on a, what do you call it, like a camera truck?

Yeah, the low loader thing. Right? You know, it's always traffic. Yeah. And we were sitting there and all these people started coming over to the car to talk to you, which is fine. They're all very nice people, but it was a really long day. Yeah.

And I remember I had it. So I'm lying in the back of the 57 Chevy. I have to lie down so no one can see me. I'm puppeteering Jeff. That's right. For the first time, I'm puppeteering Jeff. That's right, because it's not just the voice. You're operating the eyes and the mouth and the arm and all that stuff.

Right. So I'm crouched like, you know, I'm lying like this. And I got the thing. And I got the headset. And then I have a blanket on top of me. And sitting on me, sitting on me was Brad Lace, who was the little person. The little person. Great actor.

Who was playing the leprechaun. He was always on the show. Yeah, all the time. He was dressed as a leprechaun. Yeah, I don't know if we can do this. I don't know if we can do that. But, you know, I mean, it was a thing. Who's going to play it?

Brad, put on a leprechaun outfit. So, but I remember hearing you in the earpiece starting to get, you know, a little irritated perhaps. You had a lapel mic. You put it up to your mouth and you said, get us the fuck out of here right now. Get us all the fuck out of here, man. We're done, man. We're done.

Cool. And I said, and I don't, I could hear everyone in the truck going, all right, we got to go. We got to go. We got to go. Come on, come on. Get those cars out of there and I started

as Jeff I turned Jeff's head to you and I said something like oh is the late night talk show host getting tired does he need a nap

and that's and you started fucking dying laughing it's always the, like, your power to make me laugh is unmatched. No one can make me laugh like you. That's what brings me joy, by the way. It's one of the things I wanted to say

was making you laugh was one of my favorite things because what Jeff Peterson represented, I think, was your subconscious. It was what you were actually thinking about the show and I could say it because it wasn't me it was this inanimate it was it yeah the the idea that puppets get away with yeah that's true i think also what happened is that i liked that jeff was emblematic of my creative failure on yeah that's right that's right because i wanted to put a sidekick in that was a parody of sidekicks

because it was a robot that would do whatever I wanted. And then when you gave him life, it became, to my mind, still the best sidekick in the history of late-night television. Wow, that's really nice, man. Hands down. And completely negated my parody and my kind of puffy, kind of whiny stomp against the the genre

of course and created and did it better which i i love that i got it wrong well i don't know if i ever you know properly thanked you for letting me be a part of that i mean for asking me to be that character i think thank you for that well you just said it offhand one day. You said, because you were doing the voice originally, very briefly. That's right. It was like a Dalek.

That's right. It was this way. That's right. You're the man. And you, and you know this about yourself, you notoriously got very tired

of all those machines and things, the sound machine. Oh, I'm shocking. It's too much. Yeah, I'm shocking. We're done with this. You had a sound machine

that made like a get us out of here right now get us out of here move those fucking trucks get us fucking out of here find another way find another way

that's my favorite phrase my two favorite phrases of yours are and I'll never forget these hey if you're early you're on time if you're on time

you're late right and find another way find another way that was when Jeff Arnold was rolling with us and he had a sinus you're late right and find another way find another way that was when jeff arnold was rolling with us and he had a sinus infection and jeff kept going and i said to him what the what the hell are you doing that's right and he said i'm clearing my sinuses yeah and i said find another way right before a show maybe I don't know where we were Vancouver or something

we were in Canada you were trying to get just catch some quick Z's find another way man you said it from the other room gosh what a dick I Craig Ferguson will be hitting the road again

this summer and fall bringing the fancy rascal Tour to your region. For tickets and full list of tour dates, go to my website, thecraigfergusonshow.com slash tour. Come see me live, or don't. Meet the real woman behind the tabloid headlines in a personal podcast that delves into the life of the notorious Tori Spelling, as she takes us through the ups and downs of her sometimes glamorous, sometimes chaotic life and marriage. I don't think he knew how big it would be, how big the life I was given and live is.

I think he was like, oh yeah, things come and go. But with me, it never came and went. Is she Donna Martin or a down-and-out divorcee? Is she living in Beverly Hills or a trailer park? In a town where the lines are blurred, Tori is finally going to clear the air in the podcast, Misspelling. When a woman has nothing to lose, she has everything to gain. I just filed for divorce.

Whoa, I said the words that I've said like in my head for like 16 years. Wild. Listen to Miss Spelling on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Angie Martinez. Check out my podcast where I talk to some of the biggest athletes, musicians, actors in the world. We go beyond the headlines and the soundbites to have real conversations about real life, death, love, and everything in between. This life right here, just finding myself,

just relaxation, just not feeling stressed, just not feeling pressed. This is what I'm most proud of. I'm proud of Mary because I've been through hell and some horrible things. That feeling that I had of inadequacy is gone. You're going to die being you. So you got to constantly work on who you are to make sure that the stars align correctly. Life ain't easy and it's getting harder and harder. So if you have a story to tell, if you've come through some trials,

you need to share it because you're going to inspire someone. You're going to give somebody the motivation to not give up, to not quit. Listen to Angie Martinez IRL on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Want to know how to leverage culture to build a successful business? Then Butternomics is the podcast for you. I'm your host, Brandon Butler, founder and CEO of Butter ATL. Over my career, I've built and helped run multiple seven-figure businesses that leverage culture and built successful brands. Now I want to share what I've learned with you.

And on Butternomics, we go deep with today's most influential entrepreneurs, innovators and business leaders to peel back the layers on how they use culture as a driving force in their business. On every episode, we get the inside scoop on how these leaders tap into culture to build something amazing. From exclusive interviews to business breakdowns, we'll explore the journey of turning passion for culture into business. Whether you're just getting started or an established business owner, Butternomics will give you what you need to take your game to the next level. This is Butternomics. Listen to Butternomics on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The thing is, though, that when Jeff began, right? So Jeff is now, you're operating the puppet.

Yeah. And you had a screen, right? Or were you just looking at me? Both. So you're behind the bleachers. You've got a screen looking at me. Yeah, and I'm standing. I stood the whole time.

Right. And I was on one side of the bleachers where the audience sat. Right. And how did you operate it? Like an iPad or like a little kind of? It was a remote control. It was actually a remote control unit that Grant showed me how to use the whole thing. I could move the one arm, swivel the head, blink the eyes, make the, and by the way, it wasn't voice activated.

The mouth, the only way the mouth moved, you'll enjoy this ladies. If I press this little button, there was a little switch yeah and every time i talk you had to i had to do this do you still do that now i do it even now yeah so when you're talking you move your finger like that people when you're having sex with your girlfriend yeah she loves it supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. I go, hey, what's going on? In your pants. Can we do in your pants tonight? Oh, my God. Come on, man. Oh, my God.

But yeah, there was a, you know, but despite all that, I had this real chip on my shoulder. I don't know if it was a chip on my shoulder, but I had this. I wanted to come out from behind the wall. I was so focused, I think, on people knowing that it was me back there I understand that you know I felt very much that feeling 10 years earlier when I was on the Drew Carey show oh yeah I felt exactly the same what you're describing I felt when I was doing Mr. Wick right and I totally understand it totally related even yeah because all right because you're Mr. Wick and you're doing

this British doing the English accent you're someone. Wick, and you're doing this British... Doing the English accent. English accent, and you're someone else. And I'm being someone else, and I'm not getting to do what I think is funny. I have to do someone else's version of funny. I know exactly what you mean, and I had a lot of anger about it as well. It's hard to put it, because on the one one hand you're grateful for the work, right? Absolutely.

And you're working in an environment where you get to shine creatively. I mean, I got to do that with Drew. You really got to do it with Jeff. Oh, yeah. I mean, you created...

See, that's why I think... I remember there were nights when I would talk to the producers after the show and I would say, I hope we're paying this guy enough. He's a goddamn genius.

And they would say, oh, yeah, we're paying him enough. I don't know if they were paying him enough. It was okay toward the end, but for a while, he'll be fine. Don't worry about it. Yeah, it's all right.

The money will come. The money will come. Craig, every night, every night, producers will walk by me and go, so, listen, Craig is in a terrible mood the audience has been waiting outside for four hours in the sun so it's all on you have a good show

and then right away the craig it's the late late show brought to you by anison and i'm like oh god you know it was really uh what is it? Baptism by fire. Yeah. Because it did incorporate everything up to that point that I loved because I had been doing public access TV for almost 10 years before that. And Jim Henson was an idol of mine. Johnny Carson show. I used to do the Johnny Carson show in my basement in Cleveland. I used to build, I built the set out of cardboard boxes. That's very Rupert Pup.

Is it? Right. Exactly. Except I had real guests. My little cousins would be my guests. Right? Right. Okay.

And I put a bald skull cap on and I used Barbasol, white Barbasol shaving cream to make the hair. Do any of these exist? Oh, I have it all. Oh, wow. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'd really quite like to see it. It's really, I'd love to show you.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. My first guest is my cousin, Bobby. This is interesting. Now, you didn't eat your lunch yesterday. Tell me about that. But it incorporated everything. It was my love of late night TV and puppets. I mean, you couldn't ask for a better job description.

So the frustration must have been pretty intense then because you're getting to do all of the stuff creatively, but no one knows it's you. That, and I think at the time when I was doing the show, all through my time on The Late Late Show, I was involved in a series of relationships. I do remember that. There was some scuttlebutt about,

has Joshie, well, he broke up. They're back together. That's right. Yeah, yeah. See, I got to be honest with you. Here's the truth. When I knew you were in emotional pain, because I knew you were having some breakups, I would say to Michael, the producer, how is it? He's having a really hard time with the girlfriend. I'm like, it's going to be really fucking funny tonight. And you were right oh my god when you were angry and upset yeah oh my god it's hilarious yeah right right yeah oh shut up man you what the hell's wrong with you you know what i i was i bid you adieu and all that stuff oh my god it used to make me laugh so much you're right and that's why And that's funny because you did know. And there were a lot of times when Jeff was legitimately in a bad mood.

Yeah. And it was hilarious coming through this robot. Right. So you're channeling this existential angst and rage and difficulty. And it's coming through the public. But, dude, do you see how brilliant that is? Yeah. I mean, you have to.

That's what I think is important for me. And I talk about that with people I work with now. And like, I don't think Josh, he understands what he did. I don't. You really did something that is unique to my mind. Yeah. That you took, you were writing on the hoof. You were like, there's all improvised that I don't think people really understand.

That's the big thing. That's the script. Yeah. That was the, I think again, and it's and I'm so glad you're bringing this up because aside from me not being known, like people didn't know it was me back then. I think it was that it was all improvised. Yeah. And people didn't know that. But what I realized only recently, it took me a long time to get to this place.

What I realized is it doesn't fucking matter if they know or not no we know yeah we were there we know and it was a magic trick i mean it was because because it was you said it was the purest form of improv that's what you once called it what we did yeah because you could not see me it wasn't like we could play off each other's right facial cues right you couldn't see me at all that's right You were working with this emotionless robot. Yeah, but I was working with you. Right. And I totally trusted you.

Like I knew whatever I threw out, that it was going to be, there was going to be something. But that was big for you. I was talking to Mark Summers about this and I said, I'm so grateful that you took a chance on me because that's a big deal you have the late late show with craig ferguson you are hosting that show and you decide to bring in this

other weird element it was a gamble i think we built that trust before jeff because we would do do the sketch the larry king sketch that's right when we would sit across from each other I played Larry King and I was Arnold and you were Arnold and by the way Brad Lace played Arnold's son who popped up from under the table

Jesus oh god that we probably should give him a call man I should do you talk to him much I don't talk to him

Brad Lace is a great actor yes he's a fabulous actor he was game for all of that and he was a joy yeah yeah and he was great to work with I he's a fabulous actor. He was game for all of that, and he was a joy. Yeah, yeah, and he was great to work with.

I just think it's funny that it was, hey, this is my son, Larry. Look, here's my little boy. And then he pops up wearing the same exact suit I have on. That's right. How you doing? And they were like,

bah, bah. That was weird because I became friends with Larry King. Oh, you did? Yeah. Yeah, through that impersonation, which was vicious. Oh, yeah. Because I couldn't really do him.

But that's what's funny about it. You did this out-of-control, brisket-eating monster. I mean, that's a thing that I wonder sometimes. Like, you do voices. You can do anybody, right? I mean, you know you can. I can do a lot, yeah. So sometimes when I've done like jokes about people

or impressions of people and then I meet them and I'm like kind of arsed because I've been kind of mean. Yeah. I try not to do that kind of thing anymore because you do run into people. Have you had? Because I remember you met Morgan Freeman on the show the show again thanks to you you insisted you said do you want to meet the guy that did your voice well yeah sure i would and here and i'm behind the wall in my little safe

spot with the robot you know and here comes morgan freeman making a beeline for me yeah well nice to meet you that's uh that's amazing're white. Oh, shit. You're white. He's a very classy guy, Morgan Freeman. Absolutely. Yeah. And very kind of smart, funny. Great interviews. Yeah. That you had with him on there.

We had some of that, though. That was the kind of, I remember the one time I thought, the only time I thought, I don't think we should have Jeff tonight, is when Archbishop Desmond Tutu was on. Well, well. I was like, I don't know if it's appropriate. Hey, Desmond. Yeah.

I think it would have been a. In your pants. Right, exactly. He probably would have laughed. He would have laughed. He would have been fine. But I think that it's kind of like when you have somebody on that means a great deal to people.

This is one thing I learned about late night. Not just Desmond Tutu, who means a great deal to the human race, but even if it's just someone who's like on a popular sitcom or one of the vampires for the Twilight things or something like that. If you joke with these people and don't treat them with respect, befitting an Austrian emperor of the 1700s, their fans go fucking crazy. They do, yeah.

Yeah, like, you're somehow dissing them. Like, I'm not dissing them. They're just a fucking actor and we're dicking around and having fun. Craig, that wasn't right what you did.

Yeah, it's like, you know, you have to be more respectful. It's a fucking late night show. There's a talking, there's a guy hiding behind the seats making a skeleton talk.

Yeah. He's ruined the show yeah I mean people got mad remember well that's why I got that was the other reason I got I took it very

look I didn't have I wasn't equipped to know how to deal with it I didn't I'd never been on a show like this before yeah

this was my first big gig and it was it was an odd little rocket very yes like nothing ever before right and there was it was an odd little rocket very yes like nothing ever before right and there was a petition

going around started by you know a group of very zealous fans very excited people my fans

your fans oh no who wanted what did they do Jeff gone oh no I do remember that now what happened was and that's fine

that was it was I was deeply hurt by it now I wouldn't give a shit but at the time I took it very personally, and that's fine. I was deeply hurt by it. Now, I wouldn't give a shit. But at the time, I took it very personally. That's unfortunate because they shouldn't have done that. But Michael Natis said, he tweeted, he responded to the group and said,

we're looking at it. We'll take it under consideration. And for about two weeks, man, I was sweating bullets thinking my job's over. No. Well, see, nobody came to me. And one of the things that I didn't understand for a long time as well, for a very long time, I don't think if I ever really fully understood it until the show was over,

that if your name is on the show, you're in charge. You're in charge. It's your show. You're the boss. Yeah. I didn't know. Yeah, people would call you. They'd say, how's your boss? Yeah.

I go, he's not my boss. He's my friend. He's a colleague. We're together. I never thought of you as like a guy. I never thought of that either. I never thought like I wasn't involved in the HR of anything like that. See, I always got, after every show, I would have a meeting like in the control room with someone from standards.

And they would say, okay, if craig says vagina yeah you can't say vagina back that's right it's vagina tonic so what started happening was they would get in my head and it would frustrate you because you would set it up and i would i would knock it out you would you know and But there were a lot of times when I would hold back. And I remember one night you looked at Jeff, me, and you were like, what's wrong with you, man? But it wasn't like, it was real. It was like, what the fuck are you doing? Where's the, come on. Yeah, where are you?

I had people in my head. And it's just a late night fucking talk show. Let's just have some fun. Yeah, I know. It's a stupid show late at night. That's all it was. not a big deal but i think the other thing that happened was we went to comic-con took jeff to comic-con twice oh to the cbs booth and as you know that's where everybody goes first when they go to comic-con people want to get that sweet ncis merch is the blue bloods cast gonna be

here but they would have jeff set up and I'd be hidden away puppeteering Jeff. And people lined up all around. To talk to Jeff. To talk to Jeff. Right. And I said to Michael Matis, I said, you know, do you think I could go out there and meet everybody? No, no, no. I think you'd stay in the booth.

I said, okay, but it's Comic-Con. You know, people come here. People want to know who's doing it. Okay, no, no. I think you'd stay in the booth. I said, okay, but it's Comic-Con, you know, this is people come here to know who's doing it. Yeah. Okay. No problem. Listen, I'll happy to do it. No worries. Great. Then we went back a second year, happened again, two years in a row. And that always left a bad feeling that left a bad taste in my mouth. left a bad taste in my mouth. Meet the real woman behind the tabloid headlines in a personal podcast that delves into the life of the notorious Tori Spelling as she takes us through the ups and downs

of her sometimes glamorous, sometimes chaotic life and marriage. I don't think he knew how big it would be, how big the life I was given and live is. I think he was like, oh, yeah, things come and go. But with me, it never came and went. Is she Donna Martin or a down-and-out divorcee? Is she living in Beverly Hills or a trailer park? In a town where the lines are blurred, Tori is finally going to clear the air in the podcast Misspelling.

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This is what I'm most proud of. I'm proud of Mary because I've been through hell and some horrible things. That feeling that I had of inadequacy is gone. You're going to die being you. So you've got to constantly work on who you are to make sure that the stars align correctly. Life ain't easy and it's getting harder and harder. So if you have a story to tell, if you've come through some trials, you need to share it because you're going to inspire someone. You're going to you're going to give somebody the motivation to not give up, to not quit. Listen to Angie Martinez IRL on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. of the Amber and Lacey, Lacey and Amber show on Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network. You thought you had fun last season? Well, you were right.

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or wherever you get your podcasts. So how did you get past it then? So the show ended. I finally couldn't take it anymore. You left. Well, here, I want to tell you why. Because I don't think people really understand why I left. People still say to me, why would you leave?

People still say to me, Craig, where's Jeff? And I will say, fucking your mom. That's where Jeff is. People say, where's Craig? Where's Craig. And I say, I don't say that. Probably best if you don't. But what happened is, for me, I don't know if it makes everybody crazy who does it, but it made me a little crazy. Like I would walk in a building every day. Your picture is everywhere. There's pictures of me all around. And on the stationery, my name is written on all the envelopes and bits of paper.

There's my name, my name, my face, my face. And 150 people, and all they're doing all day is kissing your ass. And it made me insane. I felt like I couldn't trust anyone. I felt like I just, I was so uncomfortable in my skin. I was kind of paranoid. And I, like you, I was like, I gotta, I can't process this. I don't know what to do. And that's why I left.

I mean, look, I didn't like leaving the money, but there comes a point. Right. I have an appreciation now for that. I see now, like, oh, wow, yeah, that must have been really weird for you. It was weird. Because you had a lot of cooks in the kitchen as well. You were being pointed in a lot of different directions.

Because it's Hollywood, and there's a lot of people around that have agendas and are looking to protect themselves. It's just the way it is. And the network and the nature of TV as it was then. We were part of, I think, the golden age, the end of the golden age. I agree. It's different now. It's much more controlled now. We actually, I think, the late night show that we did existed in a very odd little anomaly

because we were in a time period that was protected by David Letterman. That's right. Who had absolutely zero interest in what we were doing. It was funny because I saw Dave a couple of days ago and it came up and I said, I can't thank you enough for providing the opportunity. He said, let's be honest, I had very little to do.

Yeah, right. But he created the environment in with it. Yeah, right. I was like, yeah, you're right. But he created the environment in which it could exist. Yes. And that I don't think would happen now because the media polices itself with the mob, whether on Twitter or Instagram or, you know, it's like that thing. If you're not reverential to an actor on Glee,

then suddenly your house should be burned down. Right. You know, it's like, what the fuck are you talking about? And also, we weren't trying to be offensive, right? No, no, we just were sometimes. We were, but we were free. We really were free for the most part. Yeah, that's true.

Except saying vagina a second time. Right. To do whatever, I mean, really, I think toward the end, I don't know about you, but I was rolling in there there i would come in about a half hour before show time yeah half hour was that was if i was early it was half hour we'd roll up and do it but it was still making me crazy the only thing that worked and something i heard camel say and i agree with it if it was just the hour every day of doing the show yeah i could do it forever right but it's not the hour every day. It's not. It's all the other stuff.

Yeah, yeah. But it was the most fun that I've ever had. I mean, it was an amazing crew and it's a very bizarre job description being the, you know,

talking robot psychic among other things. I mean, there was also a lot of other, you know, I was making the phone ring on your desk. That's right. The phone going off, it was the surge from of other, you know, I was making the phone ring on your desk. That's right.

The phone going off. It was the surge from. Oh, how? That's a surge. Yeah. How are you? And the flies. The celebrity flies.

And then we had Alfredo Sauce and the band. The Invisible Band. The Invisible Band. Too Shy. And then the great Dana DiLorenzo originally did the voice of Sandra the Rhino. That's right. And then she was Beth. She was Beth.

She's a fantastic actress. Isn't she great? She's gone on to do so many great things. She's still good friends. Yeah, she did The Walking Dead. Is that her name? No, she did Ash vs. Evil Death with Bruce Campbell. I knew it was something.

Something with dead people. She worked with a dead skeleton. But I had to apologize to her i mean we're good friends now but when she became beth the cbs executive you know i was sitting back there behind that wall you know wanting to come out from behind the wall oh and you see her getting see i became that guy for a while where I couldn't be happy for other people's success. I would see people like on Instagram, friends of mine and colleagues that would book a gig or something. And my first thought would be, ah, fuck them.

Why did they get that? I think that makes you a human being. I think that happens sometimes. How did you get past it? I realized that it's actually good for all of us. It actually, I actually somehow, it inspired me to see people that I know. I was like, oh shit. Oh, they did it. Oh, so we, it's possible. It's actually possible. A friend of mine that I went to college with, I went to Cal State Fullerton and I got my degree in TV, radio and film communications degree. And this guy named Omid Abtahi. Omid, I met in 2000 and I was directing, it was for my TV production course and it was for the final. And I had written an episode of Doctor Who.

Oh, wow. And it was called Anti-Matters of the Heart. And the doctor falls in love with his companion. Now, Doctor Who hadn't come back yet. The resurgence hadn't happened yet. It was only one TV movie, and I think the show had ended in like 86 with Sylvester McCoy, right?

It was done. It was dead in the water. So I did Doctor Who and I cast this guy Omid as the doctor and he had just switched majors and he thought he'd give acting a try and he was fucking great. It was really good.

The whole production was a disaster because it was a beginning production course. Because I was already in public access for years i was ahead of the game so my my instructor my professor said hey for the parameters of this class it was great don't be hard on yourself you're just trying to do stuff that they can't pull off then i worked with omid again and did a zombie film on campus and made omid my star right head zombie head zombie did the zombie no on campus and made Omid my star. Right. Head zombie. Head zombie.

Did the zombie, I'm sorry to sidetrack you just a little bit, but you know I love zombies. Yeah. Did the zombies river dance in your movie? They should have. I'm still waiting to see the zombie river dance movie.

I think it's got to come. You remember the sensation from the 90s. Now they're back. It's zombie river dance. Zombie river dance. I'm telling you, that's the way to go because they're

clickety-click, click, click. They eat you during the show. So last week, I'm watching The Mandalorian on Disney+. Right. I don't watch those things.

Well, don't worry about it. Yeah, all right. But Jon Favreau doing an unbelievable job. I like Jon Favreau very much. He's really done, he's doing great things

for Star Wars. And the entire episode stars omid abtahi no and i could not have been more fucking overjoyed that's great i tweeted it out to him and i said dude you were great back then with the zombie river dance but remember the zombie river dance never forget his character's name is dr pershing he's persian but doctor and he said he said to me that's not the first time i played a doctor so he remembered that's and i said dude it was just nice to choose to feel joy and to feel proud for someone. It's much harder. Now, was that a choice, though? Were you in such pain that you thought, I have to change?

Not for that. No, this was... No, I don't mean that. I mean, I'm talking about the period after the show. Oh, I knew. Because I had a rough time after the show for a year or two. I wasn't angry. I was just rudderless.

I just didn't know where to go. Yeah. So I toured like crazy and I made a lot of television shows maybe I shouldn't have made and stuff like that. But I didn't know what to do. I really didn't know what to do. Things were changing. It's interesting to hear because I didn't know who am I.

What am I now? Right, exactly. Like, oh, you were a robot behind the... But you know how showbiz, they don't care what you did yesterday. No. What are you fucking doing now? What are you were a robot behind the but but you know how showbiz they don't care what you did yesterday no what are you fucking doing now what are you doing now what are you doing right now and also it seemed to me that like because i never set out to be a late night talk show host right for me it was like a job like being a realtor right it's like i i you know it's nobody wants to be a fucking realtor yeah but then But then you go, well, you know,

it's a decent job and you make pretty good money and you get your photograph on bus stop. Sure. That's the best part. I think that, okay, I'll do it.

But there was a lot of guys and still there are a lot of people, people who watch late night TV, people who are, you know, who are doing late night TV who think it's some kind of fucking high art yeah and they get mad if you don't right right i've felt uncomfortable with

that whole thing too yeah well i had to make my piece with the voice stuff like impressions are fun yeah right and and i can do them and you pointed out once very wisely i think it was before one show we were doing we were on tour doing stand-up and you said i was sort of like i don't want to do impressions anymore and you said well you know don't write it off entirely because it is a good sort of magic trick it is a cool it's a great tool to have on your back it's a great tool if you've got it but what i realized is for me it's not who i it doesn't define who I am. It's probably like maybe number six of my things that I really want to do. But what I made my peace with and figured out is it's a great way to make a living.

There are certainly way worse things you could do. It's a lot of fun. And it affords me the time then to work on the things that i really love like making films and and writing i've been writing a lot and i feel like because the horror and the kind of but it's not like horror in the sense that is unpleasant to look at horror for me your kind of ethos has always to me been sort of hammer horror yeah yeah kind of ethos has always, to me, been sort of Hammer Horror. Yeah, yeah. Kind of like... Oh, I love Hammer, yeah. You know, the kind of schlock is not fair.

It's more kind of like arty, busty in many ways. Oh, God, the Hammer ladies? Yeah. Hammer glamour? Caroline Munro. Ooh, Caroline Munro. Yeah. Oh, my God.

Jeez, that was a thing for me when I was a kid. But those were great. Yeah, Hammer Horror was... I had seen the Universal movies, and I always loved those. The Silent Earth, those kind of things from the 50s and 60s? Yeah, well, you know, the classic, Dracula, Wolfman. Oh, right. All the Universal pictures.

Early, early. Yeah, early stuff. Right, right, right. Wow, what's this? And then, but when I first saw Hammer, you know, because I grew up, in Cleveland, I grew up watching all the late night horror shows, the late night monster movie shows. Elvira was Cleveland, right?

Elvira was syndicated. All right. So that was everywhere. Right. But we had, I think, like six or seven horror hosts at one time. We had Goularty, who was Ernie Anderson. That's right, because Drew Carey had loved Goularty. Goularty was Ernie Anderson, father of Paul Thomas Anderson, the great director. Wow. Ernie Anderson. He didn't keep the Goularty. Goularty was Ernie Anderson, father of Paul Thomas Anderson,

the great director. Wow. Ernie Anderson. He didn't keep the Goularty thing? Yeah. Well, actually. Skip Goularty is a great name for a director. He's in the Zombie River Dance, I think.

Oh. Skip Goularty. Featuring Skip Goularty. How do you do, everybody? Hi, dilly-doo. Hey. Hi. Touch me, Lucky Charms. dilly-doo. Hey. Hi. Touch me lucky charms.

And Brad Lace. I'm sorry. That's too much. Brad, if you're out there. Yeah, yeah. But Goularty was my parents' era in the 60s. Right. And then Ernie Anderson left Cleveland, as you do,

and became the voice of ABC for many, many years. Ah. Tonight on an all-new Love Boat or, you know, Who Will Win on America's Funniest Home Videos? Dog Who Shit the Bed or Baby Who Vomited on Mommy. Right? So, in fact,

Paul Thomas Anderson's company, I think, is Goularty Films Limited or something. There it is. There it is. I mean, a dog who shit the bed. Yeah, yeah. A dog doesn't shit the bed. A dog would have to work on shit the bed. You can't have a dog who shits the bed. Yeah, yeah. A dog doesn't shit the bed.

A dog would have to work on shitting the bed. Like a dog just shits anywhere. This is what people do. That's why it's on the show, Craig. It's such an unusual video. But if you had a video camera and a dog was going to take a shit, you know it starts shivering. The tail starts doing the little bumpy thing. So what are you going to do? Are you going to film it? Are you going to go, shit. You know, it starts shivering. Right. The tail starts doing the little pumpy thing.

So what are you going to do? Are you going to film it? Are you going to go, get off the bed, get off the bed? If you want money and prizes. I don't know, man. I don't think people would. I would never. Like if you saw a dog.

Yeah. If you saw a dog about to take a shit. Yes. Do you have a dog? No. You have a cat though. Two cats. Two cats and you've got rats.

I don't have rats anymore. Oh, why? Oh, you got a girlfriend. No, because. You have a cat, though. Two cats. Two cats and you've got rats. I don't have rats anymore. Oh, why?

Oh, you got a girlfriend. No, because... That's what happens, isn't it? Admit it. I admit it. It's either the rats or me. Yeah, I knew it. No, you know what happened?

This is really a sad story. Some kid, they used to sell them at Petco. And some kid got bit. Oh no. Rabies? Petco rat? Rat bite fever. And he died. Oh no. So no more rats? That's a horrible story. My first question was, what was that kid

doing to those rats? Oh, that's awful. That's an awful story. But it's not America's Funniest Home Videos. No, it would not be. Who will win? Dog who shit the bed, baby who vomited on mommy, or kid who got bit and died of rat bite fever? I think that could be how the zombie river dance.

That's how it starts. That's how it starts. Yeah. Somebody gets bit by a rat. An Irish rat. Oh, and the rat sings. It's a rat puppet. That's right.

Oh, I'm still killing pet. Who's that putting your finger in the cage? Why, I'm hungry. That's for sure. I see it in my head. It's a big, giant cage that we build on stage. It's a massive cage and then this guy dressed as a rat with makeup on. Right. And he's sitting alone in the corner and there's

maybe moonlight behind him. Oh, nice. It's like in the David Bowie video for that song Where the He's in the mental hospital I love it Oh You know the one I made

The later on Yeah Oh yeah Was that Lazarus Yeah That was weird man Oh I love that man Do you know how

How ballsy is that To do that album As you're dying He knew he was dying And it was about that too Yeah And he was And he was like

Doing the video With the coins on his eyes And all that It's one of my favorite Do you know He liked our show Apparently I heard that Really Through another source and he was like doing the video with the coins on his eyes and all that it's one of my favorite do you know he liked our show apparently I heard that

through another source yeah he used to watch the show because remember holy shit I know because remember

I did this thing when David Bowie turned 60 I did a sketch where like I did my Bowie impression and I was wearing

a jumper and I'd been to the store and I was like I just went for some bananas and I was wearing a jumper and I'd been to the store and I'm like, I just went for some bananas. I'm making a shake, more smoothie or something like that. I did that and apparently that got to him and he started watching the show. Oh, he, it's interesting because I found about, I found him when I found his album Outside. He did an album in 95 called Outside. Yeah,

that's late. That's where I came in. Wow. Same with a lot of Depeche Mode. I came in like 1990. That happened to me with John Cale. Okay. I had, for some reason, during the 80s, missed all John Cale's work with Brian Eno and all that kind of stuff.

And then came to it very recently. And I'm looking at the back catalog. That album that John Cale and Brian Eno did, Wrong Way Up. Yeah. That's one of the greatest albums. Oh, it's brilliant. It's unbelievably good. Love Brian Eno.

Yeah, yeah. Oh, wow. Now, see, Brian Eno is a great example of Jeff Peterson. Yeah. That's who you are. Interesting. You know, it's like, wait, it's like you create this whole thing and then you move on and some guy goes out and goes oh i did it but i didn't do it you know right i'm glad that you got to a place of peace with it because i never and i swear i never

underestimated what you were doing yeah i knew what was going on i knew how good you were you were and are and remain you know i was never in any doubt of your talent or your contribution. Never. I mean, I wouldn't change the title of the show to Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Jeff Bezos.

Although, had we still been doing it, I would have done that. Wow. I would have done that. I could have done like five more years of that show. But I wasn't in your position.

Nah. We were hitting some kind of stride. I think maybe we could have done more yeah we could have but the world could not have taken five more years the world changed that immediately became very political you're right and everything got super sensitive and a lot of the stuff we were doing there was no mean spirit in it but people would have read a

mean spirit in it not at all and it would, you know, it was that whole people getting into fractions of you. You have to, you know, follow to a certain line ideologically. And I don't think we were really doing any of that. However, that being said, I'm not ruling out at this point, you and I ever putting that together again. What do you think? I would love it, dude. I think we should.

To work with you, it would be so great, dude. I think we should really think about that. To work with you, it would be so great, man. To bring in some way, some form. That's how I feel. And I think that what we should do is somehow go from

this podcast to the next stage, which is, I've still got the robots. Yeah. I've got, there are two Jeffs. Where are they?

Yeah. Why don't you have one? I'm like, I don't know, man. I've got both of them. Because there were two. There was the one in the studio. Studio Jeff. And then on the road Jeff.

Traveling Jeff or Paris Jeff. Paris Jeff. Because when we went to Paris, we took that one. Yeah, we did Paris. We did Scotland. Scotland, yeah. New Orleans. He went to New Orleans.

He went to- New Orleans was- That was crazy. That was where I- What happened? New Orleans was that was where I what happened that was where I had a little bit too much to drink one night

yeah and I have a photo of it that Tim Mancinelli took our director yeah he's a great director

I love him so much he's such a sweet guy he's directed like you know 50,000 episodes he went on to do a James Corden show as well right

he stayed there oh yeah he's done he's a very loyal show as well, right? Oh yeah. He stayed there. Oh yeah, he's done. He's a very loyal guy as well. He's done more episodes, I think. He really, yeah,

he really, yeah, he's there. He's making that money. I'm right there for you. Well, he took a picture of me at the bar

talking to a young lady who seemed to take quite a bit of interest in me. Oh, that's nice. I didn't realize she was... Things were not all as they seemed. Yeah. Yeah, that can happen.

Thankfully, that didn't happen. But the next day... Sure, let's just say it didn't happen. It didn't happen. Okay. So I pass out in my hotel room after I've given her $300. And the next day I have to do a voiceover session because they need some lines of dialogue from Jeff.

And I can't even get out of bed. I've had a lot of absinthe. Wow. I didn't know. I was a black hair drunk for years. I had absinthe once. I was like, nah. Even you couldn't. Nah. I was like, nah. Well, I was a black haired drunk For years Yeah I had absinthe once I was like nah Even you couldn't

Yeah I was like nah Well I was on the whole I'd take heroin Heroin Maybe I should have done that Heroin's a It's a much cleaner out

That was That's like That's like getting bit by the rat Yeah That's like boom You're done I had a hard time Getting through that next day

But But I never It never got to the point where I never showed up to our show drunk I don't remember any of that I think on tour

when we were on tour toward the end I was going through a horrible breakup so I probably wasn't the most fun to be around I know you were so funny at that point

yeah I mean once you that's when you were we were on the tour bus and you were being R2-D2 as the little kind of New York guy in that video

yeah I'm doing like a De Niro face but I'm R2-D2 as the little kind of New York guy. In that video. I'm doing like a De Niro face, but I'm R2-D2. And you're being Obi-Wan Kenobi. Quiet now. Said R2. What's up? Meanwhile, I'm crying.

Would you like a bagel? You guys would go, hey, Josh, come on, man. Stop crying for a minute and do the sketch. That's right. So you're looking at, if you see that video, folks, you're seeing a guy that's just dying. But I think what a lot of people don't,

people who are not inside the world of comedy, it's all that tears of the clown stuff. But it's a little more complicated than that. It is. If you're in agony, like whenever I heard one of the writers was like oh you know he's getting a divorce i'd be like oh really i'm like my eyebrows go up and i'd be like let's look at what he's doing on the show because you know it's like you know

yeah yeah make him head writer yeah because he's like apparently yeah it's it's a very contentious there's a custody battle i'm like oh wow gold yeah it's fucking dark immediately it's true man it's true and i think that's quite interesting towards the end of late our show yeah the last couple of years i think that's when i was at the most uncomfortable doing it and without a shadow of a doubt that's when the shows were best yeah and it sounds like you were in the same place absolutely yeah absolutely man that's so weird i was yeah. Yes. And it sounds like you were in the same place. Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely, man. That's so weird. I was, yeah, I was doing crazy shit, you know. Yeah.

My sort of cure-all was I started drinking a lot. Yeah, I've tried that. Yeah. You're familiar with that? Yeah, it doesn't work. My face gets, it all went to my face. I had like this round, like a Charlie Brown. Wow.

Like real puffy. I had to get sober much earlier if that happened to me. Well, I didn't know. I wasn't thinking about it. Oh, boy. I'm fine. It's that feeling of this is my time now. Yeah.

This is what you do. I guess this is what's done. I'm going to have a good fucking time. Yeah. And you weren't having a good time? Not really. You having a good time now. Yeah. And you weren't having a good time? Not really. You having a good time now? Yeah.

Yeah? Yeah. I mean, I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do. That's okay. It's all mine. But not- You're 60 years old, Josh. Yeah.

I'm still trying to figure that shit out. But not from a place of, the voice in my head doesn't say, you better fucking figure it out. Right. Now it's like, eh, we'll see. Yeah, some will turn up. Let's make something to make, like creating just to create something is where I derive, I think, we'll see. Yeah, some will turn up. Let's make something to make. Creating just to create something is where I derive, I think, the most joy. I make music.

Maybe no one will ever hear it, but it's for me. It's still music. It's still music. I enjoy it. I enjoy writing. I love Halloween. My girlfriend, Nalani, I've been with her for three years now right that's really what

turned me around was meeting her that was a big deal yeah that's what saved me as well was Megan oh yeah late night

I was like if we hadn't been together I'd have crashed in 18 months then yeah you think so oh totally yeah I'd have fucking

taken a temper tantrum or something wow but you know the thing was why we were doing the show, because, you know, you know Megan, I was going home every night. I had kids. Yes. So there was that paranoid Hollywood craziness, but then, you know.

You had a safe. Yeah, it was straight home. And, of course, the kids were young, so it was like, Daddy, where are you? And there was no fucking showbiz in the house. It was like, now kids would shit in your bed. Yeah, now that you want to get on tape.

Yeah, well, I think I probably have that, but you save that for their wedding video, you know, when they're, you know, they're going, you know, the reception afterwards, the embarrassing thing. Remember this part?

Remember this? Kid who shit the bed. And now you're a doctor. Oh, it's true, man. reception afterwards right the the embarrassing thing remember this part remember this kid who shit the bed and now you're a doctor oh it's true man i because i go home now you know we have the place that i live in i've lived there for probably 11 years now right and the landlord like the people that run it they're such lovely people it's this older couple and you know i fix everything around the house and it's just nice it's just and she's made it a real home you know she and and and also she's an exceptional artist she's an animator she's a she's a director she's a painter that's perfect for you and so we're you have to be in that

environment all the time you must have that yeah yeah you know something similar and so at halloween every year you know i love hallow. I love horror movies and all that. But we do a massive display in the front yard. And this year, this last year, I bought an old tube TV. I found a Zenith, a 1988 fake wood panel, 26-inch Zenith, a beast. Yeah. Put it in the front window. It's like bay window.

With Frankenstein's monster. I have this big animatronic Frankenstein monster. Looks like he's holding the TV. And all of October, I would play old black and white horror movies on this tube TV. Wow. And we set up a big graveyard. Did people come around? This year, it was so amazing.

a big graveyard. Did people come around? This year, it was so amazing. There were kids that would come by and tell me that they grew up watching that display.

Oh, that's great. And that means the world to me. Yeah, that's really cool. That, to create something like that with someone you love is such a wild experience. And to not ever,

to not feel like, well, when is this going to go wrong? You know, because I used to always feel like, well, this is this going to go wrong? You know, because they used to always feel like, well, this is going to go off the fucking rails. Any minute now, the other shoe will drop. Sure. I've never understood that expression.

Yeah, because if you already have the shoe is off. It's like filming the dog shitting on the bed. Well, pick up the fucking shoe. Well, you have your one shoe off, you see. Yeah, one shoe off, one shoe on. Glass has full lap empty. Well, you see, Craig, the one shoe is on, but you're probably ready to take it off. It's like when you're lying on the couch and you're trying to wiggle that last shoe off your toe.

What do you mean the last shoe? How many shoes have you got? Maybe three. Some of us have three legs. I don't even know you anymore, man. Yes, you do. No, no, I don't. You remember me.

I don't. We're out of time. That's you do. No. You remember me. I don't. We're out of time. That's it. That's it. I was like a therapy session. Yeah, it was good. It worked for me. Got that shit sorted out.

Well, let me just say, thank you for having me on the show. Thanks for thinking of me, man. Thanks for doing it. Really, thanks for thinking of me on the Late Late Show. I mean, that was one of the best gigs I ever had in my life,

working with you. Right back at you. And thanks to the fans, because I want to was one of the best gigs I ever had in my life working with you. Right back at you. And thanks to the fans because I want to say one of the things that really does bring me joy now is hearing all their stories

of their memories of watching the show. Some people watching the show back when they were junior high, high school. Have you noticed the whole new generation

of people watching the show as well? That's the weirdest thing to me is like I do stand up now and there are people there who can't have been more than 10 years old when that thing was going out

and they were like, where's Jeff? And you know, and they, you know, I don't know. I guess it's TikTok or something. During the lockdown,

during the pandemic, everybody found the show on YouTube. Oh, is that what it was? And this whole new generation came in, man. Yeah, it's crazy. It's really amazing.

So thank you again, man. It's really good talking to you. Well, it's really good talking to you too. I appreciate it. Let's do it again soon. Yeah, is that what it was? And this whole new generation came in, man. Yeah, it's crazy. It's really amazing. So thank you again, man. It's really good talking to you. Well, it's really good talking to you, too. I appreciate it. Let's do it again soon. Yeah, I will. All right. Bye.

Good night, everybody. That's our show. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.

Bye. Bye. meet the real woman behind the tabloid headlines in a personal podcast that delves into the life of the notorious tori spelling as she takes us through the ups and downs of her sometimes glamorous sometimes chaotic life in marriage. I just filed for divorce. Whoa. I said the words that I've said like in my head for like 16 years. Wild. Listen to Miss Spelling on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Angie Martinez, and on my podcast, I like to talk to everyone from Hall of Fame athletes to iconic musicians about getting real on some of the complications and challenges of real life. I had the best dad, and I had the best memories and the greatest experience. And that's all I want for my kids as long as they can have that. Listen to Angie Martinez IRL on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Guess what, Will? What's that, Mango? I've been trying to write a promo for our podcast, Part-Time Genius, but even though we've done over 250 episodes,

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