Desperately Devoted to Richard Burgi aka Karl Mayer

Hi, Welcome to Desperately Devoted.

The Ultimate Desperate Housewives rewatch, hosted by me, Terry Hatcher, my on screen daughter Andrea Bowen, and my real life daughter Emerson Tenney. Today we are talking to the amazing Richard Burbie. The heart wants what the heart wants, and we know your heart wants to hear about Karl Meyer,

His answer makes me blush just a little. Let's jump in. Welcome to Desperately Devoted, our little rewatch podcast that we've got going. We're so glad to have you here. We really have been having such a great time actually revisiting the show ourselves and revisiting it with cast members. Have have you just you haven't seen it recently? Right? Or have you?

I don't have a TV and I am rarely am on my computer.

Oh right, that's amazing. Now, Okay, I'm going to jump to a question that I was going to ask you later, because sometimes we do ask people, are you desperately devoted to anything. But I seem to recall you being desperately devoted to surfing. Is that what you're still doing, and why you don't have a TV and why you don't have a computer.

Well, you know, I was just up in Nova Scotia. My son lives up there, my firstborn. He's twenty nine. We went surfing the other day in Nova Scotia and I hadn't served since I was dating this gall in Florida, so it was about a year ago.

So but I'm back in Jersey.

So I'm devoted to, you know, my trees and mother nature and trails and streams. And I got my girlfriend in the back, this beautiful stream. Well I fall asleep with every night and have my coffee with in the morning. And she's lovely and she's connect to a beautiful ecosystem.

There's like in a little place.

I took my nephew's fishing there the other day, and I you know, I jump in and slowly, slowly, so I'm a fresh one most of the time. But I'll have to do the hours slept down in the Jersey shore and it's not like California surfing.

So oh yeah, the Atlantic's different.

Being devoted to nature is something I can totally relate to. You know, that's there's just nothing better. But I actually remember being on the set of Desperate House with you, and I don't know why, but you were telling I. Maybe it was when I was training for the triathlons that I used to do out in Malibu, and I was probably telling you about how I was afraid of

Yeah?

I wanted to take you out. We never was able to do that for some reason. Right, you just kept dodging me. You had bigger You've had bigger fish on the line.

It's never too late. I think you got to get her out there.

But you have to come back to the Pacific Ocean.

Do you know?

It's funny. A place that I love in the world, which is just across the pond from Nova Scotia, is Cornwall, England. And have you ever been there?

I've seen pictures, but I've been to England. I'm going to Ireland for Thanksgiving.

Okay, Well, Cornwall, England is probably one of my favorite places in the world, if not the favorite place. But I have taken surfing lessons there and they, yeah, I have a picture of me actually up on a surfboards. The water's quite cold, as I would imagine it is in Nova Scotia. But who cares you wear wetsuits?

Not like Cornwall.

But oh okay, no, because it's like, you know, it's still kind of end of summer up there. We were overdressed. My son gave me a full HOODI and was way over dressed.

Okay, but surfing is a great is Did you have a full hoodie? No, I didn't. I don't you know, I don't think so. I think I just had like a pretty like a what's a thick one five millimeter?

Yeah? Five six six?

Yeah, I think I think I had a pretty thick. They don't even know what we're talking about. I think this is where you go, get a room. Get a room, Richard and Terry, just get a room.

A hoodie wet suit would scare me if I were someone really afraid of the sharks. I feel like I would look even more like a seal.

Yes, well that has crossed my mind.

But a surf maker had actually thought about putting like some kevlar and embedded, so it would make if you did get chopped, it would make it harder for the sharks to eat.

Well, that's good.

I think that's a good advancement.

I think it sounds like the two of you are prepared to go on your next surfing trip together, and please send me pictures.

Okay, I will wave.

Wait do you still have your Bookswagon Bus?

I absolutely do. I still do. In fact, oh see, you would love this because you appreciate stuff like this. I put solar panels in the top of it so that when I the solar panels don't run the engine. But when I get somewhere I can be completely like off the grid with my solar panels running, like you know, my refrigerator and whatever electricity I would need. So it's it is still as I said to my daughter on our first camping trip in it when she was six

Me the story that Mom, this is all I need.

No, the bathroom is like a kitty litter box. Basically, it's like a stool that you open up with like litter in it. I mean, wow, you said that's all you need. Wow. Wow.

Okay, you know what, we have different needs. It might be mildly less true today, but not far off.

I think being a minial minimalist is very advantageous. So I like that about myself. So okay, back to Desperate Housewives. So you haven't seen it, then it's what discovering. Nor had we and I'm really I think one of the things that has popped us off to us in these first ten twelve episodes is first of all, just what a magical place with steria Lane was in itself, but secondly, like just how great everyone was and is, and specifically you, Richard.

Oh so well, yeah, you know I had this whole interesting thing going in because you know, I originally tested from not tested, but I met Mark and the other fella who the director to Charles Plumber. Yeah, and Jamie had a contract with ABC and he's much more handsman talented,

So because we were going to ask about your casting story, because we're finding it really fun to hear about how everyone ended up on the show. And one of my questions for you was, had you auditioned for any of the other male roles on the show?

And you I originally I auditioned for the Plumber.

Then I thought it was disaster because Mark and Charles were fighting, and I found this idea, like the name.

And then my manager at.

The time told me that ABC was was honoring Jamie's contract and he was the first pick, and he was terrific. Jamie's a sweetheart and he's good, and so he got the job. I was offered a showdown in San Diego, which only lasted. I don't know, like eleven or fifteen episodes or something, but it was like my favorite show because I could surf on the way.

Going to San Diego is really groovy. Have you Terry, have you surf?

Sorryle Many like Santa No Frey, have you been down I have not.

I mean I have been down there because.

I told you I was going to take you down there.

Now I know, I know, We're not too late.

It's not too late.

Well he's in New Jersey now, so it's a little late.

Plain surf ride.

I have surfing ocean.

I have never actually surfed the coast of California. So the only surfing I've ever done is in Cornwall, which I enjoyed, I loved. I would like to again, but no, I haven't.

I have Like the only time I've served is Wyky Keys.

I have to jump in.

So the Mike and Carl rivalry was real from the very inception of casting.

I guess so I.

Love he always had a hair about me, but it's not on you.

So I don't know because I was just in this place like I let it all go and I don't care.

And well, how did Carl come back? And how did that role come back into your life because the.

Show ended in San Diego. And then my manager said, hey, you know, they got this role coming up. They want to see if you're interested. And I said, yeah, sure. I went in an audition with a bunch of guys and I you know, I think I had a puff and I was just in this really like, oh I know who this guy is, and so yeah, I was just really in my body and really doing all these.

Like wow, yeah, yes, a physical I want to talk to you about that. But I wanted to where did that because that physicalization it has stuck with me of yours for twenty years, and I remember just being so enthralled with it while you were doing it. I mean it really do you remember why that was a choice you made for that character.

So yeah, I.

Felt him to be really self absorbed, and so I then I put the concept to physicality, like what's in life and somebody's really self absorbed? And it could you know, uh, because I'm very tactile as well, like touching things and you know, and then I just thought, Okay, what would be like to really be self absorbed with myself?

It's soome and it's so great that you have such a good body to be self absorbed with, because you know everyone else was also self absorbed with your body.

From you know, I come from an area. I'm just a regular schmuck around here.

You know, the people I grew up with, like you know so and I spent a lot of time in locker room.

So I'm just a regular Joe.

Well, the whole physicality thing, I mean, it's just it's it's kind of amazing and that I remember even like when you weren't there, we would be shooting other episodes and it would come up with the camera crew, like people would say, the heart wants with the heart wants. You know, It's like, you know, what do you do? You guys want to heal after work while the heart wants with the heart wants, you know, Like we didn't had a part of.

The lexicon for the remainder of the shot. It really did iconic you doing that once?

Yeah, no, it really did. Do you have any you know? This was another thing that I had forgotten and I think, I mean, we find as Andrew and I find as we watch it, we go like I don't remember shooting that at all, Like I barely remember shooting anything, And although I am finding very entertaining, I find it crazy

Maybe the heart on?

Uh? Well no, I mean, I'll only get going on somebody I wasn't a lot crazy about.

However, I'll get to that question.

Do you remember when you said to me one day we were like, I just started on. The show is a second season, I think towards the end of the first, I don't know, and you said to me, you said, what are we doing?

Are we doing shit? The show hadn't really taken it off yet, You're like, well, do we.

That's really funny that you that. I don't actually remember that, but I can imagine, you know, some episodes were better than other episodes, some writing was better than other writing. And I can imagine that I would be the kind of person who would just be not like even mean, but just sort of like, do you think this is shit? Or do you think this is good?

Like?

How are we going to work this out? Richard, like, what, how are we going to make this as good as we can make it?

Wait?

And what did you say back? What did you say to her?

I really have no idea. I really think I said I.

Had no idea, right right?

Maybe?

Maybe not?

Well, I don't know why, because I never think you know, what I do is you know, I got it.

I never think that like so, which is a nice thing. You know, keep humble totally, But that's why we have directors.

But man, we are so enjoying watching you. We really are.

Yeah, You're so great in it.

I'm curious what is your I mean, say, for a character like Carl who you were talking about, how he feels so sort of self interested and absorbed and then he goes on to be the kind of horror of the neighborhood. What is your process as an actor for getting into a role like that or a character like that?

You know, sometimes I know people like I just it pops off the page and I, you know, just like embody a friend or somebody I've seen, or it's an amalgam of things, and then the process is sort of hate to use the word organic, you know, it's it evolves. I did a play in La and it started one where and then I like I was that became a sort of old Jewish guy who took like this, you know, one character, I played two characters, so it's I don't know,

Of attachment to it.

Like no, I mean I did. I loved, I loved all that.

I loved just doing he asked you to pull that back?

Yeah?

Wow, okay, and did you.

Sure we'll watch?

So yeah.

I have this idea in my head that I don't know if this is accurate, but maybe you can help clue me in if I'm right. I I assume that maybe when Carl came to be, they didn't know how much a part of the show you would be yet, and then when you came and were so amazing, and you had all these fun ideas and you gave this character just so much oomph and magic and identity that maybe they decided to expand on Carl's presence. Am I right with that assumption?

Do you know anything?

I think he was just there to punch around for a little while and then ended up, you know, being likable, and yeah, it happened.

The last job I had to oh, yeah, well, well you are. You are fun to be around and very charismatic and likable, and so I can imagine, like why that.

Expansion back at you? And I you know, look, we're like it drives me nuts. Two things drive me nuts. So we have what Ward shows, we already got the award, it's like, why we go. We're so blessed to be able to do this and to have like people like Grossman, who I was able to do another show with him or two afterwards, and.

I love that. I just love working in this in this place where I'm playing all day and I get to play with amazing people like you guys. It's so yeah, I'm.

I feel very grateful, very very blessed about the whole thing.

I agree, it's quite a gift.

You did you have any like stand out I mean, I know it was a long time ago, but stand out scenes or moments or things that really have stayed with you from the show.

I know this is going to sound strange, and I really enjoyed being in bed with your mother.

I know what clip we're using on social media for this interview.

Well I enjoyed that, fan, Yeah, I know. Wow, Oh my gosh.

Well right, I love working with your mom. I love working with your mom and people ask me that all the time. And I had fun with you know, the other girls down the lane. You're just your mom's pretty fucking awesome.

That's you know, that's so sweet. I'm I mean, really, it's and you know what.

Honestly, because I'm just tell the truth.

Well, I love that, and when when I also love that my daughter's here saying listening to it, because sometimes there are people in my life that I'll come across that will say things to me like that, and I'll say, will you just go to my funeral because my daughter's an only child and there won't be a lot of family around here, and be really nice if all these people said these things so that my daughter would know

Just how assiduous you were to the application of the craft, of figuring it out of playing, of trying this, trying that, being open to like, oh no, let's try it this way, okay, let.

Me do like just being flexible and curious.

Oh I can't think of anything nice to prepare and prepared. Well that's it.

Well you're getting a big love festivals.

Prepared to say the same things. I feel the same way about how fortunate I was to work with Terry for all of those years.

Yeah you too.

I mean I was really.

Ready to tour and role model and a consummate pro and somebody's just fun and like, you know, bringing food to the set.

It's such a sweet gesture.

I don't know if anyone else did that, but that that it just spoke volumes of your character.

What food did she bring to this out?

I don't know the story, A cook's and whatever.

I mean, it was terrible for the teeth and overall health, but it was a sweet I did bring.

I did were you? Did you have a partake in the big tequila bar? Things I would do every Friday night on the camera truck.

I spent a lot of time in the camera truck. And that's all I'll say.

Well, that was a lot of that alcohol was supplied by me, and we had a lot of Friday nights into Saturday mornings where we would we would finish up our week.

I've always managed to find that, you know, the screw ups that I could go like, hey, I got a six pack.

You know, hey, you any guys kind of.

Do you find that there were nights we were gonna have like a glass of red white wine?

Uh uh eva. And you know, we just work and do our stuff. And I've been on a bunch of shows like that. But you don't abuse it. You're just you're creating and having fun, right.

Speaking of shows. We actually we were just saying that we saw you pop up on this season of The Morning Show.

Which I loved, and it was great, how exacting to see you on there?

It was it was really fun.

I my son went to UCLA, so we shot it at Luskin Center in U c. L A.

And I've stayed there and had a lot of fun there. Uh and uh.

I was able to spy on the UCLA football team practicing right outside my hotel window. And it was just lovely. She was lovely, the cast lovely, John's lovely. Those really the only two actors I worked.

With on that.

Did you know John before.

Or I did not know? We never crossed paths.

Yeah, well I'm but he's a sweet hat, a sweet cat who again really likes the craft and it is not what he appears to be because he's gotten such a rarefied air like a lot of you know, people like yourself and that get you know, recognized, and like Jennifer is.

It's it's pretty creepy watching people you know, hover there.

It's almost like parasitic or the like she's some some prey animal and you know all these hyaenas are It's it's pretty weird, but it was fun to watch and the director was super fun and I wish it was more like Grossman, you know that everybody was like Grossman. A couple of folks we had on Housewives where they want to come out and jam and you you bring your riff and then they're going to like, well how about this.

And so, But it was sometimes there isn't space to do that. Were there other directors that ran through the seasons that you were on that you liked, particularly on Desperate Housewives?

For some reason, I just remember him, but yeah, I love them all. And if you named him Mary, like yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, Larry Shaw?

Do you remember Larry Shaw?

My god?

And Larry was great too.

Larry was a lot of people didn't think he was as creative as he was because he came up through the ranks in a different way or I forget Larry's arc leaders look like a producer like in the Trenches guy, and a lot of people didn't thought he was had. He was kind of dry and you know, nuts and bolts, but he was super funny at times.

Yeah.

I liked him.

I liked him a lot. We like the thing that I remember the most, we had a conversation once Larry and I like on the side, you know, of the set when they're changing the lighting and you're just kind of hanging out and waiting, And for some reason we came up with the conversation of how our favorite thing was both of us, was when your foot finds the cool spot in the sheets at night, like you know, when you go so and so. For years we would be like, did you find the cool sheets?

Right?

Foot found the cool sheet. It's just so funny how you have these little tiny things that you hook into your memory about with what one person's relationship with you was.

Right, right, right right? Yeah, No, he was a sweetheart.

You know again, I've had I had three concussions before I was fifteen, and other things have played their role in making me forget a lot of things. And plus I'm so accustomed to like absorbing a lot of stuff and then jet seeing it. So he went out with the jenison.

I have that same thing too. I think it's like as an actor, I think you develop an acute skill at short term memory because you have to learn so much so quickly, and then the downside of that is that it just all goes completely away and you don't even know what you did yesterday. That's so interesting. I think you're right, right, Yeah, do you have that?

I totally have that, but I never knew why or I never identified.

It that way, But that's totally true. I'm curious.

I want to jump back to something that you said talking about the Morning Show and the kind of like a parasitic dynamic maybe around how people viewed Jenner Anniston. Did you feel like any of that kind of same celebrity culture rubbed off on you at all at the time during Desperate Housewives, because that was We've had some conversations about, you know, how paparazzi were camped outside of my mom's house all the time while I was growing up, and.

It was just such a phenomenon. Did that affect you at all?

Oh god, yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean the lightning in a bottle of that show was it's pretty rare. And not only did I have friends that came out of the woodwork, but people just treat you different. It's very strange, and that kind of repels me. But yeah, I remember, you know, walking down the street and Beverly Hills with

Where you know, your mom, like the girls were the we were just sort of the.

Fluff and the film and your mom and the girls were you know, front and center and that, and like Jen's she and Reesa the star of the show, but she's got another another level of insanity to deal with. There's various levels and and I would I would not want that.

Yeah.

Something we're also sort of recognizing is that the show seems to be back out there a bit. Whether that's I think it's probably because of streaming and you know, younger people are what TikTok and younger people are discovering it for the first time. Are you feeling that affect?

Are people?

Over time?

All over the world, people are like, you know, young people come up and talk to me and introduce themselves or at least like most of the time it's like I know you from somewhere or whatever. So yes, that that it's it's crazy the young people that are watching.

It now, do you and so so you don't have a favorite scene. It's not the scene where you you you close the car door in my towel and you drove away. It's not that scene.

I didn't look, by the way, what a gentleman in the rear view. But everything is.

Reversed, everything was upside down, so it looked better that way, I'm sure.

Uh no, I just you know, any scene we were because we would just goof and that, so like every day was my favorite. And uh as much as I could piss off Jamie or like just just get under people's skin.

It was really working with Nicola, and it was completely different than working.

With you because she's sort of off the coffin, not very prepared, and that has its its beauty and its challenges.

But you worked with her. Was she the kind of second most person you worked with?

I know, Marsia, Okay, I did the whole that an arc of one year or two or something.

I don't know you and then and then Nicolette we worked on one season.

I don't know.

Okay, Yeah, it is funny how I've sort of forgotten about that. And I'm a little bit possessive about you. So like when I started to realize that, oh wait, there was a whole season where he was with three Like, what the hell? Well, I a really think of Karl.

In the context of.

Wait, tell us what was I mean?

Well, look, look my plumber Pinnata is finally run out of a candy beating it all these years.

So at you, I would love I mean, if you can, I know we don't have a ton of time, but I'd love to hear a little bit about what you remember from working with Marsha or working with Nicolette, because we've said a lot. Obviously my mom and Andrew can only offer, like their perspectives of the scenes that they were in.

Do you have any memories from that time that.

You want to share?

Yeah, I mean you.

Don't have you know, Yeah, I love Nichola's tremendous. She's She's a sweet lady. And I just like your mom, I come from a world where you get prepared and then you get ready to play and get ready to improvise or change things, and and Nicolette.

Doesn't come from so I don't think.

Marcia was always pretty well prepared, and we had a lot of fun and she was a lot of she was a lot of fun to play with. But yeah, you know I your mom broke the mold for me on that show.

Oh thank you.

Well, I have one last question, let's hear it, please tell it, because I love not having a TV in the home. What motivated that? Just to bring it all the way back to the beginning, Why no TV? And how is it major life better?

So I grew up like I grew up in a house. We had a black and white TV. Then we had a color TV. It was my parents' bedroom.

And when I in Jersey, I wouldn't I listened to music at night.

And then I moved into the city and I didn't have a TV, and I had a girlfriend who had a TV. But and I would go to you know, I'd go to bars and watch ball games because I love sports. And then I moved to LA and never had a TV. I just listened to music and read and painted and lived by candlelight.

It was really lovely.

So I plus, I was going through a lot of of changes from this relationship that was really difficult for me, and a wonderful change. And then I had a house and look at the beach TVs and you know, the whole thing. And then I had a condo and looking at the guel, I had five TVs, and and I just I don't know, I just wanted to desaturate from that world.

And I went through something with this last show.

I was on twenty twenty one, and I started to see the business and what will have my you know, cog in the wheel, and just wanted to simplify my life and not so.

Inundated and or stimulated.

I think a lot of people could learn a lot from that. I think that that's something everybody needs to take.

A little I'm gonna smash my TV when I get.

Home, just throw it right out the wind.

I'm done with you ging up with the TV.

You know, we've really found that I feel like, in hindsight, the husbands did not get the kudos that they deserved because there was, as you said, so much hype around the housewives that we really were pushed out in front and center. But without all that hype, now watching it at a time where it's not the thing everybody's talking about, we are just finding that the show would be nowhere without all the husbands. And you guys were all so individual and so spectacular, but like in each of your

No, well, my mother is one hundred and one.

I can't give through my second divorce, and I was like, I just got to really get back to some simple things and so being because.

I would like to be it's n arrogant.

And but my mom said she'd like to have me there with my brother while she when she crosses over. I wasn't there when my dad crossed forever. So and I'm connecting with some old friends here. I'm just really enjoying being a sort of unplugged from the business kind of dipping my toe in here and there, but really committed to being around for my mom.

And do you know what, Richard, I relate to that more than you might know. I three years ago took over really the primary caregiving of both of my parents, who are ninety. My dad has to menia. I bought them a house up the street from me in where I live in Los Angeles, and so I'm very, very involved in their daily care and I've got my dad taking art classes and I went over there the other night and put on the new Superman movie for them,

Thanks so much. You guys are terrific. Good luck with this.

Thanks for being here. We know everyone's going to love here and from you, thank you. Bye bye bye