Joy, a Podcast. Hosted by Craig Ferguson - Steve Guttenberg

Episode Date: July 2, 2024

Steve Guttenberg needs no introduction, an actor, author, businessman, producer, and director. His lead roles in films include Cocoon, Police Academy, Three Men and a Baby and many many others. Steve has a new book out titled ’Time to Thank: Caregiving for my Hero’ and you can buy it here. The book chronicles the fun journey Steve took getting to Hollywood to become an actor, but also talks about how he recently had to put all on hold when he tended to his father after he was diagnosed with kidney failure. He even became a dialysis technician so that he can treat his father at home instead of bringing him into the hospital every other day. Don’t miss this episode, enJOY! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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

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We're back with season two of the Amber and Lacey, Lacey and Amber show on Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network. This season, we make new friends, deep dive into my steamy DMs, answer your listener questions, and more. The more is punch each other. questions and more the more is punch each other listen to the amber and lacy lacy and amber show on will ferrell's big money players network on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts just listen okay or lacy gets it do it hello it's craig ferguson i'm going on tour with the stand-up comedy tour this fall of 2024 with a brand new hour and a half of material and the tour is called Pants on Fire because I'm a very truthful man. We start in September and go all the way through mid-December. Get your tickets now at the Craig Ferguson show slash tour and if you feel like

saying hello after the show VIP packages are available. Oh, la, la. My name is Craig Ferguson. The name of this podcast is Joy. I talk to interesting people about what brings them happiness. I'm very pleased that my guest today is one of the best guys in show business. He's one of the best people I have met in the years I've been an old show business whore selling my wares around Hollywood. He is just a delightful human being. If you don't know him, you're about to find that out.

He's Steve Guttenberg. Do you think your hearing's gone down a little bit? Probably a little bit. You and I are about the same age, I think, right? What'd you say? You and I are about the same age, I think, right? Yeah, I'm 65. I'm 62.

Oh, you're 62. You're a young guy. Well, yeah. You look so handsome. You know what's funny? Three years in your 20s, you're like, we're kind of the same age. When you're in your 60s, you're like, we're kind of the same age. When you're in your 60s,

like, I'm a lot younger than you. Damn, bro. What's it like to walk without a limp? It must be nice. But you're doing good for 65. I'm pretty good.

Yeah. Do you, like, you really take, oh, really, it just happened? No,

I just moved the wrong way. Yeah, I get that. I just, when we were sitting down, of course, of course I have time. I have cortisone. I have time.

Oh yeah. Oh no, no, no. The cream. Oh yeah. Cortisone cream because getting old is itchy. It's itchy, man. Especially. I'll be happy to. No. I don't want you to do anything. Whatever that is, I don't want you to do it.

So you got some cool artwork on your arms. Yeah, I got some, yeah. Where'd you get it all? Around the country or one place? Yeah, just around bits and pieces. You don't have any ink? I don't have anything. Well, you know.

I don't have anything. I never wanted to. You know, it's also, Jewish guys tend not to though, don't they? That's the kind of thing. Well, the Jews believe that if you get a tattoo, you do something, you can't be buried in a Jewish cemetery. Oh, okay. That's just a, I don't know if it's a hard rule.

I feel like a lot of things in Judaism, there's kind of room for, you know. Yeah, you can move around. Pork, you can eat pork. Let me have a bacon. Let me have a little bacon here. In my people, if you don't have a tattoo, you have a little bacon here in my people yeah

the if you don't have a tattoo you can't get into the afterlife is that true I just made it up but it sounds good

it sounds really good we could put it in like one of those outlander shows I have a nephew who has a he's half Jewish half Catholic

so he has a Jewish star and a cross very guilty very guilty person yeah on his ankle a cross and a and a Jewish star and a cross. Very guilty. Very guilty person. Yeah, on his ankle. A cross and a...

And a Jewish star. And a star of David on his ankle? Yeah. Is it mixed together or just... I think it is mixed together. I think he had a friend of his in college do it. Like amalgamated. Yeah.

You got to be careful though, because you can go satanic without knowing it. If you get your logos wrong, suddenly, I am the dark lord. What do you require? Six, six, six. Yeah, exactly. Have you heard anything about the ink being bad for your bloodstream? I've heard that recently, yeah.

I don't know if that's true. I hope it's not true, but I heard that it gives you Alzheimer's and stuff. Yeah. I don't know. You still seem great. I haired. I don't know. I don't know.

But you know what? Here's the thing. Here's the thing. You don't know what's in front of you, right? You don't know what's in front of you. You got to live in the day. You got to live in the day. I think, but I actually do know what's in front of me.

You do? I do live that way. I've always lived that way. Yeah. I think that what's in front of me is good, and it's going to be great. That's a great attitude. And, you know, there are glitches. No, well, sure.

I mean, because I wanted to talk to you about your book. It's like a huge bestseller about your dad. Time to thank you. I didn't bring it. I should bring it with me. Well, you know, we'll buy one on Amazon. I should have it right here, though. People will buy them.

We can also, because we have technology, we can probably put up a picture of the cover. Could you put up a little picture of it? Yeah, yeah, we could do that. Thank you. But that's about, I mean, that's more than a glitch. So that's like when your dad had kidney failure, right? Right, right, yeah.

Did he die of kidney failure? Yeah, kidney disease. So is that just like renal disease, is that what they call it? Yeah, exactly, where there's so many cysts inside the kidney that they start to not function. And that's kidney failure. Because you can live with kidney disease.

Right. But then when they become so weak, then you go on dialysis, which is a marvelous, wonderful, life-sustaining system. What is dialysis? Because that's the thing I was surprised to hear about when you were caring for your dad. Yeah. That's the thing I was surprised to hear about when you were caring for your dad, which is spectacularly, I have to say, looking at you as an actor, for an actor to do something that selfless, kind of like beggars believe in me. Well, I think I'm half actor, half human. Yeah, right.

Okay. So this is like mixed up, like your nephew is half Jewish, half Catholic, right? Yeah, exactly. Half actor, half human. Like I'm going, how do I look, Dad? But let me do your dialysis. Yeah, so you learned how to be a dialysis technician, though. With my sister Susan, yeah. We went to a medical facility, and we actually learned to become dialysis technicians and were certified.

And I actually, my sister was certified, and I was her assistant. Right. But we both learned how to cannulate, which is putting a needle into a fistula, which is a very, very large vein, which is created from an artery and a vein. They meld them together, so it's a very large target. Right. So then you insert, and the blood comes out. All your blood. All your blood? All your blood goes through a machine, chilled to 34 degrees. Right. So then you insert and the blood comes out. All your blood. All your blood?

All your blood goes through a machine, chilled to 34 degrees. Right. Is cleaned. That's what your kidneys do. Right. Then it's returned from another needle and another tube. So you're just lying there. Yeah, you lie there for about three hours and you get your blood cleaned.

It's a marvelous system. That's amazing. How often did you have to do that for your nose? Well, some people do it three days a week. Depends on how your kidneys are working. Sometimes four days a week, because you have fluid on your body. The great thing about kidneys is it gets rid of all the fluid in your body. Right.

Excess fluid. Right. But when your kidneys don't work, you build up this fluid, and that has to be released. And the dialysis machine does that, but if it doesn't do enough in three days you have to do it four days and if it's not enough in four days you have to do it five days how did how did that i mean if you're doing this this fairly intense medical procedure on your father who's very ill yeah i mean you guys you've gone really well right you were close yeah very

close best friends and that's so what, so what was it like for you when you get into that situation? Because, you know, I think with my father, my father, you know, he passed fairly quickly. It wasn't a long thing like that. How long ago? 2006, my dad died. Sorry.

Yeah, I'm sorry for you. It doesn't go away, you know. People died. Sorry. Yeah. I'm sorry for you. It's, it's hard. It doesn't go away. You know, people are like, uh, you know, when people talk about grief, I think it's so weird. Yeah. Like, it's like, it's kind of like a scar. I think grief is like really raw. Yeah.

And then it kind of healed a bit. It doesn't go away. No. And it depends on the type of person you are. There are some people that don't want to admit their pain. Yeah. So they just say, you know, it's okay, I'm fine. Right.

And they go on. Then there are people who feel something and say it really bothers me and I miss them a lot. Yeah, I bet. I still miss my dad. I do too. Every Sunday I think about phoning my mom. She's been dead since 2008.

Yeah. I still think about her. I still think. Of course you do. Yeah, because I phoned her every Sunday. Were you close? Yeah. Yeah since 2008. Yeah. Still think about it. I still think. Of course you do. Yeah, because I told her every Sunday. Were you close? Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

When we were older. Oh, really? Yeah. When I was older, I got closer with them. When I was young, I was a little crazy. You grew up in Scotland? I did, yeah. And did your parents still live there or they moved here?

No, no. They lived and died there. Oh, okay. Yeah. I grew up in, you're from brooklyn right right but old school brooklyn not hipster brooklyn right no yeah so it's kind of like where i grew up it's kind of like old school brooklyn but with a lot more rain okay and and no good food no good food no no like brooklyn there's good food it doesn't rain so much yeah yeah Yeah, but Glasgow in the 1970s, eh. Oh, uh-huh.

There's that. So you're very close with your dad, right? He's your best friend. I was, yeah. And then he gets kidney disease. Yeah. So you were driving him, I guess, to dialysis before that, right? Yeah, my sister and I and my mom and my wife was driving him.

And then it got so bad that we had to do it three, four, five times a week. Right. And that's when we went to school. Right. And learned to do it at home because my dad was an U.S. Army Ranger. Oh my God. And he was an airborne Ranger and the Veterans Administration is great to all soldiers. Yeah. And they gave us all the equipment. So we were able to dialyze him at home. Wow. Which is pretty great. That's fantastic. So, were able to dialyze him at home. Wow. Which is pretty great.

That's fantastic. So how long were you doing that for, though? About over a year. A little over a year. It was much easier on him. Yeah, I think so. Did he cope with it well? Because I don't know how I'd be with my kids looking after me.

He did it every day. And he didn't like, like anybody, their dignity. Yeah. when somebody has to do things that you usually do yourself yeah and it's tough for a kid too to shower your dad or mom yeah when they used to shower themselves of course and they used to when you were a little boy they taught you how to shower yeah how to shave and then i was shaving my dad. It's tough. Was it tough on you too? I guess it's got to be, right? Yeah, it really was. You don't want to show it to your dad or your mom. Not at the time, I know.

Because you want to go, it's going to be great, dad. You're going to be okay. And that actually helps you get through it. Yeah. By talking so positively. Yeah. Dad, you're doing great. My dad would say, look how skinny my legs are.

And I go, Dad, you look great. You're going to gain some weight back. Everything's going to be okay. And I think for the caregiver, too, you know, there are 53, over 53 million caregivers in this country. Some people estimate it to 100 million caregivers in this country. What is three people or something? Yeah. I mean, everybody knows somebody taking care of somebody.

I know somebody. You mean like medically taking care of somebody? Somebody who can't take care of themselves. They need to be looked after eight hours a day, 10 hours a day. Yeah. Helping them go to the bathroom, helping them shower, helping them get into bed. Everybody, at one point, Rosalind Carter opened up the Caregivers Institute in Georgia. And she said, at one point, you're either going to be a caregiver

or you're going to need a caregiver. It's just how it is. And it's tough. It's really tough. Where did you end up with it? Did you get depressed? I think I did get depressed. Because it's funny, because I think of you as one of the most positive individuals I've ever met in this business. I mean, you really are. I appreciate it. You're kind of like a big shiny flashlight in a world of vampires. I want to be.

You're like that. You really are like that. Thanks. And I wonder, how did it manifest itself for someone like you? Because you're an upbeat guy. I have to fight it and maybe have a weep by myself. Right. And tell someone close to me how I feel.

But, you know... That sounds appropriate, though. That doesn't sound like depression. That sounds like you're feeling what's going on. Sadness, you know. Yeah, sadness and depression are, I think they're different. So I wouldn't say, no, you're right. I don't think I was depressed. I think that it was hard to see someone you love.

Oh, my God. Anytime. Yeah. See someone you love in pain. Yeah. My mom right now has terrible pain in her shoulders. And it's hard. And they're trying to find a solution her shoulders. And it's hard. And they're trying to find a solution to it.

And it's hard. They don't know what it is? No, they know it's arthritis. Right. My mother had that terribly. And they tried the shots. Did your mom take shots? Took shots.

They gave her gold injections at one point. Really? Yeah. They were all sorts of experimentation. Did it help? I don't know. She was like. Sucks. It really sucks. Yeah, it were all sorts of experimentation. Did it help? I don't know. She was like... Sucks. It really sucks.

Yeah, it really does. You know what's the thing about my mom? My mom was... She came to visit me when I was doing the Late Night show. Oh, she must have... Oh, she was on the... Oh, Cloud Nine. She was on the show.

She was on the show? The week she was on the show, RZA from Wu-Tang Clan was on the show. She was on the show? The week she was on the show, RZA from Wu-Tang Clan was on the show. And I said to RZA, hey, we want to do this bit for the show. You can take my mom around LA and take her to cool places and show her around. And he went, sure. Really? And he took her around town and showed her around town. And you filmed it?

Yeah, we filmed it. We put it on the show. But they kind of stayed in touch. And they got on really well. And when Wu-Tang were playing in Scotland my mum wanted to take the ladies from arthritis care to go and see Wu-Tang I was like I don't know if they'll really enjoy it mum

I don't know if it's their thing Did they go? I don't think they did but I wish they did I think in my mind I'm going to say yes they did Did your mum go at least? No my mum didn't go I think she got sick again

Do you know what I that thing I remember this with my dad. I wonder if this happened to your dad. When he was sick, I would make plans for us to do things. And then he'd like the idea of the thing. But when the day came to go on a trip or a road trip or something like that, he'd be like, I can't.

I can't do it. I've seen that with my dad and my mom. And it really is disappointing. But the idea of it seems to be. Yes. In the last minute. Yeah. A lot of times they'll say, but the other day, my sister and my brother-in-law were going out to dinner.

My mom lives there. My mom and dad were living with them in Arizona. Which I love Arizona, by the way. Yeah, it's great. And they were going out to dinner. I said, I'm going to take mom out to dinner. And they said, no, mom will never go. She won't go.

So I said to mom, mom, let's go out to dinner tonight. She's like, no, I don't know. I go, mom, come on. We'll go out to dinner. We'll have a great Italian meal. There's this place called Fabio on Fire. Really hot, hopping place. Great Italian food. Is it actual Fabio?

No, it's not Fabio. The famous Fabio, who's a wonderful guy actually. I never met Fabio. You never met him? He's a great guy. I have to say, the only thing I really know about him is that when he got hit in the face by a goose on the roller coaster. What happened?

He was on a roller coaster and a goose flew by and hit him in the face? Yeah, it was bad. I didn't know that. Yeah, and he was like bleeding. Oh, no. Yeah, and then, I don't know if this is true,

but in my mind, it's true that he tried to kind of put some activism together for people that had been hit by birds on roller coasters, but he was the only one. He had to be the only one. Oh, my God.

What are the chances of that? What do you think the goose felt like as well? It was like, oh, my God, is that Fabio? Yeah, he must have said, oh, that's pretty cool. So he said, you just hit Fabio. Good-looking guy. Do you know I hit Fabio? Yeah.

You touched his face? Yeah. Well, I met him in a restaurant. Right. The source. No, I didn't meet him there. I met him at this place called Cosa Nostra. Cosa Nostra? No, not C him in a restaurant. Right. The source. No, I didn't meet him there. I met him at this place called Casa Nostra. Cosa Nostra?

No, not Cosa Nostra. You're thinking back to Brooklyn. No, Casa Nostra. It's this great restaurant. Right. Italian restaurant. He was there with his wife and girlfriend or his wife. And we were talking.

And when my mom was there, she met him. And he took care of his mom. Did he really? Yeah, in Italy. He was a good son. Yeah. Yeah, good son. What's he doing now?

I should have him on the podcast. I don't know. I think he might be writing or something. Yeah. He's a very nice guy. When I first came to Hollywood in the mid-90s, he used to eat at the Source restaurant on Sunset. Yeah.

The health food place. Yeah, every day. And I used to go there. I used to go there because I thought, you have to go to health food restaurants. It's Hollywood. I was trying to detox after growing up in Scotland. Sure.

And I used to see him every day. Really? Yeah. It's fabulous. Did you say hi? Nah. I mean, what am I going to say? But you know what I find about famous people?

Yeah. Everybody likes to say hi. I saw that Instagram post you did the other day when the guy said to you, hey, I like your posts. And you said, yeah, good. Yeah. Everybody likes to say hi. I saw that Instagram post you did the other day when the guy said to you, hey, I like your posts. And you said, yeah, good. Yeah. And you were happy about it. Yeah. We like to, everybody, we're social animals.

So whether you're a carpenter, you're an actor, you're a doctor, people like to say hi. Hey, Dr. Puller, I saw your, I was a patient of yours 10 years ago oh my god good to see you again you know hey uh you know hey craig i love your show you're really great i love your podcast you're gonna turn around go thanks a lot that's so great can i have a picture yeah of course yeah yeah when it's like that fine it's when people come over this this happens in scotland people

come over to you and go i don't know who you you are. Oh, I know that one. Yeah. I know that one. Well, then why are you talking to me? Do you walk up to everyone you don't know and tell them you don't know them? Isn't that a funny thing? It's a weird one, right? It is. I don't know who you are. Then why are you talking to me?

My kids don't know who you are. But I think that's, I go, okay. Yeah. Do they know who the Secretary of State is? No. Okay. That's all right. it is. No. Okay, that's alright. But I do think that everybody wants to say something clever

and somewhat complimentary. I think everyone wants to be complimentary. And I think also as being a well-known person, if you're out in public, you know, you have a little bit of a responsibility to say hello.

You're on. I think so. 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, 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 build 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

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Listen to The True Story of the Fake Zomb zombies on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. My understanding about you, even when it was like burning super hot for you at the very beginning, like the policing academy and cocoon and stuff like that, you were always pretty on the level, though. You weren't a crazy drinky or drugger or anything like that. No, I dabbled in all the fun. Sure.

And I was writing. Actually, there's a little part in my book, which is about the beginning of my career, where my mom and dad really gave me all the tools I needed to learn, and it was at their kitchen table. They taught me to whether I was going to talk to the president of the United States or talk to the super in my building, that there's a way to deal with people

that makes life more palatable. Because that's what you want. The idea of life is to be happy. The idea of life is to try to make somebody else happy, if you can. If you can. If you can. If you can. And I've always felt that I wanted, that I want to get along.

My dad, I actually wrote this in the book too, my dad always said, come unarmed. You know, my dad was a cop. And whenever he would walk into a store that there might be trouble, he would always walk in with his left side and try to lean to the right so they never saw his firearm. Right. Because he wanted to come in with the illusion that he was unarmed. Right. Because people are more comfortable that way.

But the important part there is the illusion that he's unarmed. Well, the illusion that you're unarmed, because if you're a strong individual, you're armed to an extent. But you and I are unarmed right now. Sure. You know, and that's the way we should be all the time. Even tough guys, I'm sure you meet

tough guys, and when you meet a tough guy, and you're nice to him, he's nice to you. Yeah. And you're both un make a I make a point of being nice to tough guys of course but everyone's always a little kid well sure you want to make them know you want them to know I'm not in the game there's nothing here to to go fight over what about you know you said one of the things I teach my own kids this well to anyone who wants to know anything about show business I tell and I quote you and I name you and that this. To anyone who wants to know anything about show business, I tell, and I quote you, and I name you,

and this is the greatest lesson for anyone in show business. You told it to me. It's the, who's Steve Guttenberg? Let's take it through it again. Five stages. So it's the five stages are. Who is Steve Guttenberg? Get me Steve Guttenberg.

I want a Steve Guttenberg type. I want a young Steve Guttenberg. I want a Steve Guttenberg type. I want a young Steve Guttenberg. And who is Steve Guttenberg? I think that is such a chilling, accurate portrayal of this business. Paul Newman told me that one. Really? Was he in Joe business? No, no. He sold salad dressing. Oh my God. But he said that. I'm a salad dressing guy now. To a lot of people. That's funny because he said the embarrassing thing is more money was made in that company.

I mean it's for charity but more money was made in that company than he made as an actor. That's incredible. I think that I was on Hollywood Boulevard last night. I went to see the musical. Yeah, I wasn't working. All right. Caslo.

I saw the musical Mrs. Doubtfire. All right. How was it? Which is fantastic. All right. It was really great. But I was looking at all the stars on Hollywood Boulevard and all the ones that I recognized and the ones I did not recognize.

Yeah. And I thought at each one of those stars, there was a ceremony. Sure. With maybe hundreds or a thousand people screaming this person's name and now either they're gone or something to that effect so you get a perspective of what we do on my what i was it gaze upon my i uh i am ozzy mondayas gaze upon my works ye mighty in despair you know that no it's uh it's a i think it's a byron poem it's about finding the tomb of ozzy monday so i think it's based on rameses the second who is the pharaoh in egypt

that lived to be 92 years sure right like and when the average person was living at about 25 someone lives to yeah 92 they really do think he's a god yeah Yeah. And it's like, and, uh, and it was about coming across as tomb a thousand years later. Yeah. That you don't, you may not know who I am now. You'll know who I am, but I'm gone. Who's Steve Goodenberg?

That's it. Who's Ozymandias? That's the game. I know. And that is the game. And I think that's the weirdest thing is that, you know, you,

you see people get, I, I, I've been guilty of this. I wonder, you know, when I was a younger man, I believed in the- You're still pretty young, by the way. Well, to a very select group of people,

I am still young. Yeah, you're a young guy. But when I was a kid in this business, I believed in the legend of show business. And I believed in it right up until I did Late Night. And then in the 10 years I did Late Night, I met everybody. Sure. Everybody.

Sure. And the mensch to douchebag ratio was about the same as a restaurant or a bar or anywhere else. Some people were great. Some people were assholes. What do you think that, what would you say that percentage is to? I'd say it's about 75-25 mensch to douchebag.

Right. Most of the time. Maybe even a little better than most people I think are pretty nice. Because like you say, you want to get along, I don't want any trouble. Yeah, trying to get along. I don't want to, in fact the older I get, the more I'm like,

I'm not looking for an argument. Right. That's why I wonder about the kids now. I was trying to get to this when you were kicking off with the early part of your career. I'm talking about the early, early diner and that period. There's no cell phones. There's no social media, there's no like, so if you behave like an idiot or you make a fool of yourself, it's not public, you know what I mean?

And I feel for the young people right now, young performers in particular, it's like, you make a mistake, it's there forever, you know, it's digitally there forever yeah and i would so and it when i i thought the same thing about writing you've written what three books yeah you ever write anything in a book and then look at it later and go shit i don't believe that anymore yeah absolutely i've done that yeah of course and same in life. That you change your perspective. Yeah. You know, when you're at a certain age, you say, this is black. That is black. That's the color blue.

It's blue and it's never going to change. It's blue. And then later on, you say, it actually wasn't blue. It was yellow. That was yellow. That was really yellow. It's funny that knowing when to shut up, I think, is a skill which is underestimated. There was a mafioso boss back in the New York area. He used to say, fish with closed mouths don't get caught.

Okay. Fish with closed mouths. That get caught. Okay. Fish with closed mouths. That's pretty scary, though. It is. You don't get caught. You don't get caught. Nothing bad happens. Nothing bad happens.

No open mouth. Yeah, but you got to eat. Yeah, you got to be careful. You just got to be careful. And I find it in life, too, that I am trying my best. I'm not always successful to keep my mouth shut. You know, I noticed that you don't, I mean, like I'm sitting here doing a podcast, right? Where I talk to people for an hour.

My only rule is I only talk to people I want to talk to. It's not a late night show. That's nice. It's my only rule. It's like, you know, it doesn't, it doesn't really even have to be about joy. I mean, we call it joy and we try and wow you know it doesn't it doesn't really even have to be about joy i mean we call it joy and we try and focus it on joy but it doesn't really even have to be but that all has to be about is conversation with somebody i want to talk to but even as i say that i think should i really be doing a podcast because everybody is doing it maybe i should be quiet huh and so that's what i'm starting to think right now maybe maybe you actually have a distinctive intelligent funny three-dimensional way about you and you're

different than a lot of guys the other one side of it you're trained you you know how to perform you know how to be entertaining but you're also a very decent human being oh it depends on who you talk to and when they knew me i don't talk to anybody yeah that's that's probably a thing that's probably a the one guy gave me like a face when i walked in i said i'm here to see craig you went oh like that guy i said i don't know i actually didn't know what that meant now i know what it means now that you said it. You do have a very good way about you. Well, you have a good way about you.

And you have a very clever way about you. Because you do this thing. You started me talking about me. You got me talking about me again. Only because I'm interested. Well, I'm interested in you too. I'm not trying to do anything. But I'm interested. I'm interested in you. I'm interested in you i'm interested in this in this

period of your life i mean look i'm interested in all of it but i'm interested in the recent thing that spurred you right look i've written books i know it's difficult to write books it requires a lot of your time and and usually is emotionally takes a toll and you wrote a book about something that was doing that anyway did you write the book during that period, or was that a catharsis afterwards, or was that a kind of journal at the time? During, actually. During? I was doing it sitting next to my dad, and I would show him pages.

That's great. Yeah, because a friend of mine, a guy named Jake Steinfeld, who was Body by Jake. Yeah, I remember Body by Jake. Yeah, you remember me, Jake? I think I might have, actually. Good guy. If you ever want to have him on your show. He's like a super jacked guy. Yeah, I remember Body by Jake. Yeah, you remember me, Jake? I think I might have, actually. Good guy. If you ever want to have him on your show. He's like a super jacked guy. Yeah, he's a big guy. He lived down at the Palisades way or something.

Yeah, I used to see him in the Starbucks down there. Right, he's a good guy. If you ever want to, and he's a terrific talker. Yeah. He has a great personality. Does he still do all of that? Yeah, he's really engaged. See, I'm not in that world, so I wouldn't know. Yeah, he invests in Broadway shows. Okay.

He just invested in water for elephants. Okay. And he also, he does all his exercise equipment. Right. And he has a sports drink out called Don't Quit. He's like a billionaire. He's very, very well off. Yeah.

And a great guy. Comes from actually South Shore, Long Island. When I moved to Massapequa when I was a kid, he comes from Baldwin, a couple of towns away. Do you know what? It's really funny. What I remember of the body by Jake is that I read something, an interview or something he did, maybe in the 90s. Right. And he said, on Sundays, I eat a bag of M&Ms because you got to have a day off.

And I remember that. I don't know if he still does it. I bet he does. He said, on Sunday, I got to have a day off. And I remember that. I don't know if he still does it. I bet he does. He said, on Sunday, I've got to have a bag of M&Ms. Every morning, he's up at 345 in his gym. He's at the gym at 345. I can't do that. Yeah, but he's a workout guy.

Yeah. So anyway, I saw him in the supermarket. Right. And he said to me, I haven't seen you in a while. Where have you been? I told him, looking after my dad. And I told him that. And he said, I think that's a book.

He said, I'm going to call my agent, and you're going to talk to my agent, my book agent. I think it's a book. And I told him about it. He said, I think that's a book. He said, I'm going to call my agent and you're going to talk to my agent, my book agent. I think it's a book. And that's how it happened. So you actually, you'd sold the book and then that's good because then you'll write it.

I wrote about 40, 50 pages, sent it to my agent, Jan Miller. Great lady. She sent it around. She got a deal. And then I started writing, sitting next to my dad. So he knew it was going to happen.

Yeah. I didn't know the end of the book was going to, my dad was going to pass. But man, you see how excited I get. It was such a good time being with my dad a lot, even though he was sick, which, you know, I have to, I could go to that side and get sad. and get sad but my my enthusiasm is i got to sit next to my dad a lot and write and show my dad what i was writing he would read from the computer and meanwhile take care of my dad um what was it like when you were a little kid what what forged that relationship you and your sister right it's just two kids is that right we? We have a second sister. She's Judy in Jersey.

Right. By the way, that's a sitcom. Judy in Jersey? Yeah, that's a sitcom. Let me call my sitcom. My God! That is a sitcom if you met my sister. Hey, how you doing?

Oh my God. It's Judy. It's me. It's me. It's me. It's me. I'm in Jersey. Yeah, I'm in Jersey.

We're going down to the shore. We're going to the shore. She's a great lady, my sister Judy. So we grew up Brooklyn, Flushing, Queens. Okay. Then Massapequa, Long Island. My dad wanted to get us out of the snake pit, which he thought was Flushing. Right.

And we moved to Massapequa, a little house in a great neighborhood. Is that far out in Long Island? Midway between, you've been to the Hamptons. I have. and we moved to Massapequa, a little house in a great neighborhood. Is that far out in Long Island? Midway between, you've been to the Hamptons. I have. Midway between New York City and the Hamptons, about 45 miles. Near Smithtown?

Not far, probably about 15 miles from Smithtown. Smithtown's the first place I went to in America. Oh, okay. Yeah, that's Mid-Island, a little north, but a great town. Right. Nice people there. All right, so you go, what age are you go you what is

it when you move out to massapique we went to massapique when i was seven years old and the first thing we did what my dad it was 100 degrees or something my dad painted the house in the inside of the house we stayed at a friend's house who uh ellen and jerry kaufman they're their friends from brooklyn when they were kids and they had air conditioning we had one air conditioner we stayed there and then my father got done We moved into the house and then my father pulled out this machine that was in the garage and it was a Toro lawnmower. And, uh, I remember I was seven years old and I'm looking at this machine. My dad's looking at the machine and we both said, what do we do with it? And my dad said, I think this cuts the grass and we never cut grass. So my dad said, I think this cuts the grass. And we never cut grass.

So my dad said, okay, I got to get, and he asked the neighbor. The neighbor told him, you know, you get gasoline, you put it in, you pull the rip cord like a mini bike. You start it up and you mow and then you empty the bag. So we, the first day we were there, my dad and I cut the lawn and my sneakers and his sneakers got green. Yeah. They got green. Yes, they would. That would happen.

Because, you know, you're walking on the grass and it's a little wet and the grass looked like velvet, like emerald green velvet. I'm a dad. I understand the joy of a mowing lawn. Oh, man. So we did it. And my dad said, we are suburbanites. And I wrote this in the book.

It was such a joy for me. I went, what's a suburbanite? He goes, we live in suburbia. What is suburbia? Suburbia is where everybody has their individual houses. That's suburbia. We all have a little bit of land, our land. And I'll never forget, he said,

take your shoes off. Take your socks off. I took my shoes and socks off. He said, walk around the grass. And I'm walking around the grass. He goes, this is your land. You own this land. When you live in an apartment, you don't own any land. You own this land. This is your land. You're a suburbanite. That's kind of great. Are you still a suburbanite? You think there's... No, I don't consider myself a suburbanite. Even though I live in Pacific Palisades, I don't really consider that suburbia.

I kind of find that L.A. is sort of one big city in a way. I think L.A. could almost be one big suburbia as well. For sure. It's kind of like... I mean, where we are right now, it's kind of. This is city, right? We're right.

Would you say? Yeah. Hollywood. But I think if you go like to Valencia or something like that, that's more. Yeah. Suburbia is really from, to me,

an actual city with, with skyscrapers, big buildings, like a downtown. And then that's suburbia. This is LA is kind of a sprawl. Yeah, it is. It's an odd town, LA.

I remember coming here and thinking, we're trying to find where it was. Right. Like, where's the bit? Where's the center? Where's downtown? Where's the thing? Right. It's a hard city that way.

It's a sprawl. Yeah. And I think that's the disadvantage to LA. And LA has been great to us. Yeah, it's been great to me. I don't live here anymore. I live on the East Coast now. Where do you live?

I live in New York City. You do? Yeah, I live in New York City. And I've got a little place out of New York City as well. But I'm on the East Coast. Oh, where in the city do you live? Manhattan, Upper East Side. Oh, you do?

Yeah. So I lived on Columbus and 67th for 20 years. Oh, yeah, that's great. Oh, man, so you live in the 60s, you don't want to say? Yeah, a little north of that, but yeah. Okay, great. And how far from Lexington Park, Fifth Avenue and all that? Yeah, right around there.

Right around there. Great. Yeah, it's fantastic. And your kids are around there too? Well, my oldest boy now lives out in Jersey. Oh, he does? Yeah. Where in Jersey?

Well, Hackensack. Okay. My sister lives in Scotch Plains. Really? Yeah. Well, they kind of like, because for young people affording places to live and work, Manhattan is not an option. It's great.

He's got a house? He's got a little house with his buddies, and they all live together, and they work together, and they do a thing. Hackensack's about 45 minutes from the city? It city it's nothing i mean it's like over the george washington bridge i have this like thing with my wife though every time she goes over the george washington bridge i try and take a photograph of her because my wife's a yankee she doesn't like going to jersey she doesn't no no i understand it's got a weird thing. It is a weird thing, I know. I just started to love Jersey, actually. I love Jersey.

I'll tell you about Long Island, though. When I went to Long Island, for the first time I came to America, I was 13 years old. I came over with my dad. Me and my dad came over because there were cheap flights from Scotland, and my Uncle James lived in Smithtown, Long Island. My Uncle James and my Aunt Susan. So we go there, we get this cheap flight. This is before really cheap flights.

You flew into Kennedy. We flew into Kennedy from Presswick in Scotland, direct flight, on a DC-10, Laker Airways. Yeah, Laker Airways. Yeah, and we went to Smithtown. And the first night, maybe the second night we were there, we go to a bowling alley. I'd never been to a bowling alley.

Oh. Never been to a bowling alley. And I go been up bowling. Oh. Never been up bowling. Uh-huh. And I go there, and they said, do you want a root beer? And I thought, you can, I'd never heard of root beer. So I thought, it's a beer. It's a beer. So do you want a root beer?

And I went, yes. Yes, I want a root beer. And they gave me, I remember to this day, a root beer over crushed ice. Yeah. In a bowling alley in Long Island. And I drank it and I went, whatever this is, and whoever these people are, I need to be part of this. And I still will drink root beer over crushed ice, especially in the summer. I love it.

It's the best. It's the greatest. And I occasionally will go to a bowling alley. Oh, I'm a bowl. I got my own bowl. Shut up. You actually bowl? I mean, you never really left alley. Oh, I'm a ball. I got my own ball. Shut up. You actually bowl?

I mean, you never really left Long Island then, did you? I don't talk about it a lot. No. That's because, you know, fish with closed mouths don't get caught. But I actually have a bowling ball with my dad's name on it. Really? And it has an army insignia on it. Yeah. And my wife got it for me.

And it's in the car right now. So. You want to go bowling? If you want to go to bowling. I suck at bowling. All right. Yeah. But that's good.

That's good for you. Yeah. Because then you win. Well, it's not about winning. Can we put the bumpers up for me? Yeah, of course. If you want, I'll lay on the alley. You'll lay in the alley and bump against you.

I love that. Yeah. I love that. Yeah. I love that. So that was a bonding thing with your dad when you became a suburbanite when you were a kid then. You went bowling. We went bowling. We went bowling and we played tennis and my dad took me to Met Games. But wait, when you were in Smithtown, did you go to the water?

Did you go to Long Island Sound and see the water? Yeah, I did. I went to Long Island Sound and I went to see my first ever concert in Smithtown. Oh, in one of the parks or something? No, it was the first ever rock concert. I don't know what it was called, Smithtown Arena or something. It was Blue Oyster Cult. Oh my God, cool.

Yeah. Very cool. That was the first concert I ever went to when I was 13. Oh, that's very cool. It was Blue Oyster Cult. Oh, my God. Cool. Yeah. Very cool. That was the first concert I had when I was 13. Oh, that's very cool. Wow, Blue Oyster Cult. Yeah. Wow. Yeah.

And that's when I first smelled what the kids are now calling the marijuana. Oh, wow. Were they smoking marijuana then? Some people were. Yeah. I don't know if you know this, but marijuana has been around for like over 25 years. I mean, yeah. Someone told me that, but I never...

Did you never smoke it? I did. I never cared for it. Did you like it? I liked it. I liked it. I don't smoke it anymore, but I used to like it. No, I don't get a sense of you being someone who medicates at all, do you?

No, no. I actually, I don't even drink. Yeah, you never drank? I did. I have an occasional glass of wine. Yeah. It's just not sort of... My thing is like ginger ale now. I don't know why, but I just like ginger ale.

Good for the gastrointestinal. Good for the stomach or whatever. You know what I got to tell you? I think when I stopped smoking weed and it wasn't a sober program, I just stopped. Yeah, yeah. I start seeing that when you're very clear. It's kind of like when you were 13 years old and someone would say, hey, we're going to an amusement park Saturday night and it's Tuesday. And Wednesday you go, Saturday night we're going to an amusement park. And Thursday afternoon you go, it's only a few days till Saturday. And then, you know, Friday you go like, one more day. There's an excitement. There's a thrill.

There's a normal, there's a thrill, there's a normal, not normal, there's a natural enthusiasm that comes out of you when you don't have anything else in your body. I agree. And what was interesting is I think there's a lie permitted about drugs and alcohol in particular, that they have some kind of creative advantage. Right. kind of creative advantage. Right. Like, and then, you know, people, they always talk about drunk poets or drunk artists, and you go,

well, you know, Mogdigliani was a great painter. He was an alcoholic, and he died young. But he was a great painter. Picasso, also a great painter, painted for a long time. Not an alcoholic at all. Lived to be in his 90s, painted a lot.

Now, I don't know if Mogdigliani would have painted any better if he had not been drinking, but my theory is people who are great artists and are great drunks are great artists despite the drugs and the alcohol, not because of the drugs and the alcohol. I think that that talent and that vision and that genius cuts through the mud of that stuff.

Because I felt that too. I remember talking to someone when I first got sober, and he said to me, let's call him my sponsor. And I said, when I go to, I went to a party last night, and when I walked out, I didn't know anyone there, and I felt kind of shy and awkward. It was weird. And he went, that's a normal human response to walk into a room

where you don't know a bunch of people. You feel shy and awkward. That's what it feels like. that's a normal human response to walk into a room where you don't know a bunch of people. You feel shy and awkward. That's what it feels like. Yeah. So welcome to yet another emotion that you might not have experienced before.

And it's actually okay. It's okay. You're not going to die of it. I feel shy. Okay. And then all of a sudden someone comes over and says hello.

Someone will talk to you. Yeah. Although now, you know, I was young and cute then. Now if I stand there or somebody will come over and go, I don talk to you yeah yeah yeah uh although now you know i was young and cute then now if i if i stand there somebody will come over and go i don't know who you are i don't know who you are but my friends think you're rubbish yeah yeah no i know i'm edgy 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 this relaxation, this not feeling stressed, this 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. And 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 build 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.

Back in 1969, this was the hottest song around. So hot that some guys from Michigan tried to steal it. My name is Daniel Ralston. It's the time of the season for the beast. My name is Daniel Ralston. For ten years, I've been obsessed with one of the most bizarre and audacious cons in rock and roll history. A group would have a hit record, and quickly they would hire a bunch of guys to go out and be the group. People were being cheated on several levels. After years of searching, we bring you

the true story of the fake zombies. I was like blown away. These guys are not going to get away with it. Listen to the true story of the fake zombies on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What gets you

through the really, because you are relentlessly positive and I'm trying to figure out where that comes from like it's your it's your childhood. Yeah, I would say. But you ended up going to you went to Juilliard or something, right?

First Summer, yeah, with John Hausman. Right, so that's pretty fancy acting. I can't see how you go from freckle-faced kid of an army ranger going to be an actor. How does that happen? Well, we

had a family friend who was an actor. And he was my parent's friend from Brooklyn. And they grew up with him. And his name was Michael Bell. Super talented guy. Went to the high school performing arts. Went out to California. Started to become an actor. But he was brilliant

with his voice. So he became one of the top ten voiceover guys in the world. Paul Freese who did Disney. And he was in that league. So it had been demystified as a thing to your parents. They knew it was a legitimate business. Right. And he would come and visit us all the time. He was successful. Somebody said to me, what do you want to do? I said, what does Michael Bell do? Because he's got a Cadillac and he's got great girlfriends and he's

got money. I want to see. And they said he was an actor. I go, I want to be an actor. Yeah. So I started doing children's theater when I was 12, then going to the city and taking classes, taking classes on Long Island. And when I was 17, my parents, and I talk about this in the book, my parents gave me $300 and they let me go out California. And I had two weeks to become a movie star. That it? Two weeks? Well, how much time does it take?

Yeah, it probably doesn't take that much longer. Two weeks. So, 10 days. So, I went out there and I got a commercial. Stop it. I got a Kentucky Fried Chicken commercial. They let me stay a little longer. I got a little movie with Phil Silvers. No, you worked with Bill Cole?

Yeah. Come on. Did you ever meet the guy? No, I never did. He's a cool guy. No, you watched with Bill Cole? Yeah. Come on. Did you ever meet the guy? No, I never did. He's a cool guy. Oh, my God. Really cool guy. They're talking about your legends of comedy.

Yeah. Wow. So exciting. And he also, he told a very funny story. He said that, he said he was very famous for having a large. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And Milton Berle also had. I believe that's true a large... Yeah, yeah. And Milton Berle also had... I believe that's true.

And Forrest Tucker, the great actor. Forrest Tucker, yeah. And then the story goes... Apparently, Liam Neeson also. Oh, really? I don't know if it's true. I just heard it on the scuttlebutt. I don't know.

But he's a confident guy. Confident guy. And a great guy. I don't know the gentleman. Let me tell you something about that Liam Neeson. Yeah. Nice guy. confident guy. Confident guy. And a great guy. I don't know the gentleman. Let me tell you something about that, Liam Neeson. Yeah. Nice guy. Nice guy.

And funny. Yes, very funny. Really funny. You see him in the Ted movie? Oh, my God. That was great. And he does great imitations. Yeah.

Does he? He does. He does great imitations, and he's really funny. And so apparently, anyway, apparently he's in the Phil Silver's Milton Berle. He's really funny. So what do they say? Well, so he's a, you know, but I'm sure you're a big guy too. You're, you know, hey, you don't want to say anything.

But anyway, the story goes that Milton Berle and Forrest Tucker were having a contest, and Forrest Tucker said the only contest, and Forrest Tucker said, the only way to see what it is, let's lay him on the table. So Forrest Tucker laid his on the table, and Milton Berle laid his on the table, and Milton won. Right.

And Milton said to Phil Simmers, goes, good, I'm glad you won. How'd you do it? He goes, I only took out enough to win. But Phil Simmers, really, really great guy. Yeah. And yeah and wonderful wonderful actor and funny as hell so you get that job so your parents are impressed now because now you're working with a big star then i did a big tv movie which called something for joey about john capoletti a football legend right and after a year i quit i just did not like la i didn't like the culture out here. It's tough. It's a brutal town.

It's just a tough town. It really is a brutal town. And I went back to school in Albany State. And I got another call about six months into it from my agent to say, do you want to do The Boys from Brazil? Oh, yeah. I forgot you were in that. Yeah.

That's right. Yeah. And they're going to remake it, actually. They are? Yeah. They're going to remake it. That's what I heard. So I're going to remake it, actually. They are? Yeah, they're going to remake it. That's what I heard. So I went over.

I took the job. I went to Portugal and worked with those guys. That's a dark film. Yeah, but because it's science fiction, it kind of takes the little darkness off because it's fiction. Yeah, it's fiction. Of course, yeah. It's just fiction. Okay. So the story goes that this scientist, Mengele, took all of Hitler's DNA when he passed and was injecting it into pregnant women so that they would have little Hitlers.

Yeah. And that actually the little Hitlers all were identical. Maybe 500 of them. Little mustaches. Yeah, little mustache. When they'd say, do you want Cheerios? When I think about it, it's kind of a stupid movie. Yeah.

Actually, if you want to play. But it was directed by this great director, Franklin Schaffner. Right. Who directed Patton. Oh, really? And Papillon. Yeah. The first Planet of the Apes.

Then he did live television. It was brilliant. And you got Greg Peck, you got Larry Olivier, you got James Mason, you got Uta Hagen. That's some heavy, heavy hits. It's a pretty cool group. So anyway, and Ira Levin. Uta Hagen said the greatest thing about performance I ever heard.

Tell me. I think about this when people say, do you just make up your stuff on stage when you're doing it? Or do you know what you're going to say beforehand? I'm like, oh yeah, I just make it up. But Uta Hagen told the truth. Uta Hagen said that what a performer has to do is create the illusion of spontaneity.

And I thought, that's it. That's it. That's it. That's it. Really is. Yeah. Because that's what the audience wants. Yeah, yeah.

They want to think it's just happening right now. It's real. Of course. Yeah. Because that's what the audience wants. Yeah, yeah. They want to think it's just happening right now. It's real. Of course. Yeah. Yeah. They don't want, you know, like a compliment. Yeah. Nobody wants you to think that you were thinking it at home.

You know, I want to say, like, Craig, you've got great hair. Yeah. What are you going to say to Craig? Tell him he's got good hair. Tell him he's got good hair. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you do, by the way.

So do you. Thank you so much. Yeah. And this is spontaneous. I didn't rehearse it. I didn't even think about it. The good thing about, I guess, the disease of podcasts, the kind of absolute kind of plethora of podcasts,

is that a lot of conversations are indeed spontaneous. Of course. Because back in the day when I was doing Late Night, they really forced you to try and not do spontaneous. Yeah, well, you have your segment producer who has, you got to have three good stories. Tell your story. This is what you're going to say. He's going to ask you about this.

You're going to talk about that. I think they probably still do that a bit. Of course. Yeah, they do because they want to make sure, you know, we got something to talk about. And it doesn't just, because it's not an hour. If I tell you something, if we had 10 minutes, that might be the system. Hey, Steve, we want to talk about this it doesn't just because it's not an hour if i tell you something if we had 10 minutes that might be the system hey steve we want to talk about this and this and this but let me tell you something i think about podcasts that i think about show business okay you got to be great and then you'll rise to the top and people will listen to you

there are i don't know a hundred thousand podcasts a million podcasts whatever there are yeah but if you're good that That's true. People will listen. There's millions of musicians. There's millions of actors. There's millions of. You just got to be good. Yeah.

You got to be so good. That's the only thing that you need to do is be good. Steve Morton had a great line I heard. You got to be so good that they can't ignore you. He's a pretty impressive guy. Yeah, of course. Oh, my God. You know him?

No. No, I don't know him either. I met him once in the Westwood marquee hotel okay when i was out here trying to get a job because before i even moved here i was walking out and steve martin was walking in that was like he was the first famous person i met in la wow and he held the door open for me and i went i i don't know how to do it i don't know where the protocol is but i just and i gushed a little bit about his work and stuff like that. And he was so nice. Yeah.

He was like, just that thing you were saying, I guess. Yeah. You know, about like people like, but I really meant it. Of course you did. Like I was like, you know, Steve Martin. I mean, wow. Yeah. And he could tell you really meant it.

Yeah. I think he could tell you really meant it. And you know, everybody's got, everyone's got, you know, a minute or two minutes to say something nice. Yeah. And say, hey, thanks a lot. And he said, what are you doing out here? And that's an accent I don't recognize. Where are you from?

And it was, you know, it was really encouraging, actually. I think he's known as a very, very authentic person. Yeah, well, it was certainly, I mean, it's funny how little things land. Yeah. Like that thing you said about who's Steve Guttenberg, that's a thing in our family. We say that to each other. You know, I mean, it's funny that the little lessons that come in. Yeah.

When you're talking about your dad and the lawnmower, it's just a guy and his dad dicking around in the new house first day. But, you know, here's what, 50 years later, 60 years later, you're sitting here talking about it. Yeah, it made me feel so good. That's crazy how you don't know how it's going to land. Well, you know, it's so funny. I think there are certain experiences that you can still smell the grass, feel the air.

I'm, you know, I keep thinking about moving back east do it do it do it I did it do it do it right do it

and you can still work you can do everything yes do it wow what a different what a great life back there oh my god and New York City

oh the best come on man New York fucking city do you go out do you go to plays and do stuff? Yes.

Isn't that great? I go and see stuff, and I go, let's go in there and eat there. What is it? It's an Ethiopian Chinese fusion restaurant. I'm in. Let's go. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I love New York City, and I really missed it.

Yeah. How long were you here? I was 23 years. I was in Los Angeles. And I feel like, I mean, I loved it, but I feel how it changed. It sure has. And, you know, I mean, when I came here in the mid-90s, it was weirdly sleepy, if you know what I mean. Like, Fabio would be at that restaurant on sunset.

It was a second-class city. It was, right? It was, and it changed. It's a first-class city now. Yeah. And it has first-class city problems and attitude and manners. Yeah. And it's still a great city.

It's the number one city. But I do think when you would think of L.A. years ago, it would be the beach. Yeah. You would think about the beach. You don't think of LA as a beach anymore. No, and then I would go up the, you would meet people and it kind of,

I mean, look, maybe I'm just an old guy saying things were better in the early, but I don't know because I go to New York and I think New York's just as good now as it was in the, better than it was in the 1980s. Yeah, yeah. Better. Yeah, it's got so many opportunities there.

Yeah, yeah. But you know, my nephew lives out here. He works for Sirius. He's a producer for College Sports. He loves LA. People do. He would never go back to New York. Never.

I know I said that too, though. Yeah, you know, and so... Remember that thing as you get older, you think... I want to go back. Well, I remember talking to a friend of mine because we were talking about getting old. And I said, I want to go back. Well, I remember talking to a friend of mine, because we were talking about getting old. And I said, I want to get old in the country where I

can relax and all that stuff. And he was like, no. New York City. I went, what? Yeah, New York City. He said, if you're old in New York City, nobody, you put on a nice coat, walk through the park. Yeah. Nobody even knows you're old. Yeah. You don't even know you're old. You're just going somewhere.

And it's kind of easier because you can get in a cab, go to the supermarket, you get stuff delivered. It's a little easier at older people. Yeah, I mean, it's expensive. I will say that. It is an expensive city.

Oh, my God. I mean, sometimes you go to the store in New York and you're like, my God. I know. How can anybody live here? It's getting expensive here too.

Yeah, yeah. You know, I mean, life is, listen, everything gets more pricey. It just is. I had a friend who died some time ago, and he was a self-made man and made a lot of money. And he said something that, again, is legend and error. His name was Bill Fleming.

And Bill said, if you have a problem that can be solved with money, solve it. Because so many problems can be. That's a great one. And I was like, if you have the money to solve a problem, solve it. My uncle would say, if I could throw money at something and solve it, it's great. Well, I wouldn't have any money left. That doesn't matter. You solved your problem.

Yeah. And you'll get more money. Yeah. The pipes don't work. Just call a plumber, throw money at them, and fix the pipes. Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of, I mean, maybe it sounds a little simplistic, but it's weird that I have in my life.

I mean, we're both in our 60s now. Crazy to think of. Yeah. But I think my life has become, I don't know if I've become more cranky or just more simplistic. I'm like, well, I don't want to fight you. If I don't agree with you, it's fine. It's a smart way. I think, well, you just get a little smarter.

Yeah. It's sort of like learning, right? Even when you're in your 20s, you learn, you're going to go from point A to point B. You can do 10 different blocks and it'll take you 25 minutes. And then you learn maybe half a year later, oh, if I take these two blocks, I can get there in 10 minutes. I learned. I don't need to do that anymore. Same thing with an argument.

Oh, I learned. I can argue, argue, argue. Or I can just there in 10 minutes. I learned. I don't need to do that anymore. Same thing with an argument. Oh, I learned. I can argue, argue, argue. Or I can just say, okay. And that's probably the same thing that's going to happen. Yeah. The same outcome is probably going to happen. I don't think I ever changed anybody's mind in an argument. And if I ever did change somebody's mind in an argument, then they were really mad at me for changing their mind.

Yeah. So I probably better just let it go. I mean, look, there comes a time when you got to say what you got to say, but so many times it's not that time. Yeah, it is. It's better that you just don't say anything. That's my wife's thing. Never miss an opportunity to shut the hell up. That's my wife's thing. Never miss an opportunity.

Shut the hell up. That's really great. Yeah. She's a Yankee. Now, where is she from? She's from New Hampshire. Oh, what's that? I've never been up there.

Oh, it's beautiful. Must be gorgeous. It's beautiful up there. She's from just outside Hanover. Oh, friends of mine go to Hanover. Oh. Friends of mine go to Hanover all the time. They talk about it all the time. It's a beautiful place.

Big college town. Dartmouth College. It's a cultural town, too. They've got stuff going on. Right. Yeah. And they got a science museum and stuff. You'd love it.

Maybe you should move there. Maybe I'll go to Hanover. Well, you know what I think? I think you should move back east. Don't move into the city, but move near the city. Near the city. Near the city. Yeah. Your second place is upstate New York?

No, it's further up. Further up. North of Boston. North of Boston? North of Boston. Not even further north than that. Maine. Oh, Maine.

So, what is it, a six-hour drive? Yeah, about that. It's five and a half. Do you drive? Sometimes. It's 45 minutes in the plane. Oh, okay. And you fly sometimes?

I don't fly my own plane. That's a good idea, though. You get a little airplane and fly around up there. Busy airspace there. Oh, okay. Yeah. So you drive up there once in a while, or how do you take the train? You take the train.

You can drive. You can take the plane. All of these American facilities are available to you. Wow, and I've been to Maine a few times. Yeah, it's beautiful. It's really beautiful. of these American facilities are available to you. I've been to Maine a few times. Yeah, it's beautiful. It's really beautiful. Really beautiful. Yeah, I love it. So, that's enough about me, and it's enough about you,

apparently. We're done. No. Yeah, but I do want to thank you for coming in. I want to thank you for writing that book, A Time to Thank. Thanks for telling me. It's not easy to write any kind of a book. I think when you're going through

the thing you're going through and writing the book at the same time, that's a pretty authentic approach to it. I'm impressed. Gosh darn it. And you've got good hair. And I have good hair. All right, get out of here.

Thanks, man. 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 podcast 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. Get emotional with me, Radhi Devlukia, in my new podcast, A Really Good Cry. We're going to be talking with some of my best friends. I didn't know we were going to go there. People that that i admire when we say listen to your body really tune into what's going on authors of books that have changed my life now you're talking about sympathy which is different than empathy right never forget it's okay to cry as long as you make it a really good one listen to a really good cry with raleigh devlukia on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts