S3 Ep. 4 - "The Nanny from Hell" with Cheri Oteri

You can watch the original episode we'll be discussing in every other episode of HBO's Curby Your Enthusiasm, including the new and final season, on Max.

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Video version of the history of Curby Your Enthusiasm podcast on Max and YouTube, as well. Links available in the episode description. We are here today. It's season three, episode four, The Nanny from Hell and Jeff is not with us on Psusiasm and Jeff is not here today. He had a little thing he had to take care of. But we don't need him because we have the Nanny from Hell herself. Cherry.

Oh, Terry is here with us today.

Oh, everybody, it's so good to be here. How many people are here? Three? Four, five?

All of us, big audience. And Cherry, let's talk first about how did you get the part? Did you audition?

No?

Actually, Larry called me at home. And the funny thing is I was so excited. I couldn't believe that he was calling me at home. It's like, you know, Jerry, Larry David. And he started to tell me about the character, right, But I was so excited or really wasn't listening, right, you know what I mean? I thought to myself I'm gonna get it later when I get my script, right right, right, and yeah, and study it. And he was going on, and had you.

Been I mean, this was just the third season, So had you been watching the first two seas? You had, because the first two seasons were really under the radar for us, I mean, you know, but people in the business were watching, but the general public I just noticed anecdotally. I wasn't really stopped in the street or anything till after season three.

But you had been watching it?

Oh?

Yeah, I thought it was great, but I truly did not think it was all improvised. Right.

Nobody believes us when we tell them that.

Well, I'll tell you. I went in and I kept waiting for paper, you know, and I said to you, my agent at the time, I go, I still haven't gotten a script. Yeah, And then I'm just thinking, why haven't I gotten anything? And then I get in and I knew, if I knew anyone, it was Jeff. But I could never get alone with Jeff. And you guys are all on automatic. You're not even thinking about what the guest is thinking about, right, you know, you know, it was kind of like guest one SNL. Once they're

Right, I just had a flash of my favorite year when Peter O'Toole is doing that and he doesn't know it's live and he just freaks out.

Did you ever see that movie?

No?

Oh, it's a great movie.

It's a bat a live show and it was kind of based on your show of shows watch that, Yeah, And Peter O'Toole comes on as like, you know, what was his name, Alan Swan I think or something like that, and he's playing a Peter O'Toole character, like an Errol Flynn character, and he thinks he's doing the show, and then that night he realizes it's live and he gets completely sloshed and just fucks everything off. And but yeah, so same thing with us. Don't know, don't they know

And so how many seasons did you do?

Five? But I went straight from the groundings to there, so you know, you go live, you know live, and you don't even pay attention to the cameras. And he used to get in trouble. He's like, Sherry, do you know where your camera is? And I go, yeah, no you don't. Yeah, And he was right. I never paid attention to the cameras.

Because you were alive, literal, live performers.

The people at home like to see you too.

Yeah.

I get like, like, coming from stand up all those years, I don't even think about where the camera is. I'm just not camera savvy like that. I'm just I'm used to live performing.

Yeah, it's kind of like, wow, I never even thought you have to play to your camera.

We're not Marlena Dietrich. Well, we know where our key light is.

I never knew about lighting. I never even thought to say, wow, that's bad light. You know, even today I still don't think about but yet I know how important it is after the fact.

But you don't think about it when you're performing. Neither do I need to know.

So when I got there, I still no paper, know nothing. And so you were.

You didn't see an outline nothing. Yeah, and I believe in that in those years, nobody saw outlines. No guests saw outlines in those years, So nobody ever showed you an outline.

No, nothing, And I couldn't say to David. Hey, listen, when you called me and you explained what I was going to be doing, I wasn't listening because I was excited. You can't say that, yeah, yeah, you know, and Jeff was running around. I couldn't say, Jeff, could you tell me what I'm doing?

Oh?

So you were just lost. I was so lost and so scared that the first scene that I did, and he's like, all right, you're gonna try We were by the pool, Oh that one, okay, And I said you're going to try and stop me from using the bathroom. And I go, do I succeed?

Action?

You know? And I said I'm doing Do I succeed?

Yeah?

So I didn't know when to stop, how long to keep going. And he's like, you know, going to use the bathroom and I just was like, you can't use the bathroom whatever? And then I didn't know how long to go on for right, And I just said when he was really pushing me, I think I said, is it one or two? Right?

But it all worked.

It all, Well, let's hold off on that because we're going to get to that scene and we could talk about it. It all worked beautifully. Even though you say you had no idea what you were doing. None of us ever know.

And you know what, he didn't come off like the kind of guy I could say, Hey, Larry, could you you know?

He wasn't approachable, right, Yeah he is, but people are scared of him.

But he's not scary. But I understand, I understand.

All right.

So we start off the episode and we're at Bobo's, which is the restaurant that Jeff and Larry are investing in with Michael Yorke and Blue DiMaggio and Ted Danson, and Larry walks over to the bar and he says to the bartender.

I'll take a seven and seven.

What are you doing?

A little plumbing?

A little plumbing, got the plumb plumb the depths the depths of Hell.

And the bartender is actually Richard Tibbitts, who is our electrician and he has been on the show. I think he started in season two and he's still now season twelve, and he's he's doing a little plumbing behind the bar, and Larry goes off into a whole thing about schlepping marble, you know, another complete non sequitor, and Timbets is ignoring him, and then Hugh Mellon comes in. Who is Tim what's the name Tim Kazarinsky? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I

Was he Brownling? Also?

He wasn't a groundling? And he invites Larry to a pool party. And it turns out that Hugh Mellon, the character, who's also an investor I think, is head of a publishing company and they publish Bartlet's quotations and Richard Lewis wants to get into Bartlett's quotations for the blank from Hell, like the Nanny from Hell, the Dinner from Hell, the Girl from Hell, because he claims he made that up.

Do we believe that?

Do we believe that Richard Lewis came up with from Hell? Or was that an old.

Oh my gosh, if he claimed it, it must be true. I mean I think he thinks it. That's all that matters, That's all that mattens.

You know, it's funny because you know, there's all these jokes that always go around and like somebody wrote those jokes nine tenths of the time Rodney wrote those jokes.

Are you saying, Rodney Dangerfield.

Yeah, Like when old jokes used to be going around then I would find out Rodney wrote it like originally because he was such a great joke writer. So we don't know if Lewis actually coined the phrase, but for the purposes of this episode, yes, from hell, we'll get it to him.

It's his and a fairy.

Well maybe it's like it sounds like something he would come up with, so he wants Lewis wants to get into Bartlet's quotations, and You says he'll see what he can do, Hugh mellon, and then he runs into Jeff and it turns out Jeff and Susie are back together. They were previously split up. Now they're back together, and he's bringing Susie to the pool party. And the reason they're back together is because Susie's pregnant.

I have more to say about that later on.

He's moving back in, but of course Susie got a German shepherd, Oscar while Jeff moved out because she wanted some protection. And it turns out Jeff is allergic to the dog, so he's moving back in. He's allergic to the dog. And Larry goes into a whole thing where he says to Cheryl, you should let me date. I'd come home and I tell her about her, but the dates that I had, and we would laugh about it, some crazy Larry thing. And Jeff says, what if you're

Cut to Larry and Cheryl.

They're at a bakery and it turns out the bakery's going out of business, Butterman's Bakery. They lost their lease and they buy a sponge cake for the pool party. Now, I don't know about you, Sherry, I'm not a fan of sponge cake.

I don't mind it with berries.

With berries and maybe a little vanilla ice cream.

Nobody gets hurt. I love it.

I like a pound cake.

Yeah, not a sponge That's that's good. But sponge is a lot lighter.

It is a lot lighter. And apparently Buttermans has the best sponge cake in town. It's like eating a sponge he the larryer. Jeff says that, and then they how much is it twelve ninety five? And he says, no, wonderre you going out of business? I mean twelve ninety five, this is two thousand and two. That's a lot even back then. You know, yeah, what's the other sweet lady

No, it was like it's a pool house.

Oh, it was a pool house. Okay, So why didn't he want to use the poolhouse it was? It wasn't a porter potty, it was a pool house.

I think when you know that everybody there is using using it. And Larry is very particular about bathroom. He had a sense of p entitlement. Yes, he did, absolutely p entitlement. And he's not going to the cabana. He's going to go into the house.

And I say, as he's walking away, he thinks the rules don't apply to him, which he does, and there you are guarding the house. And this is where you're saying you had no idea what you were doing, none whatsoever the whole show. I you directed this show. I didn't notice Larry Charleston. Yeah, and he didn't tell you. No, nobody came over to you.

And explained what we were doing.

Wow me, Wow, Yeah, that's unusual usually, Well maybe it's changed over the years, but I know now if you came on the show, you would be pulled aside by Jeff Schaeffer, our director and our EP and told exactly what he had to tell you.

Like, I truly was like a babe in the woods, and no, everybody was on you know, you guys know what you're doing right right, you know what I mean. You're barely even looking at each other. Yeah, you know, you just know where your mark is and everything. And you guys are so used to it and go. And I am telling you when I say a flying blind you know, and I'm nervous too.

It kind of works for the character though, didn't it, Because the character's crazy.

Yes, she's not nervous. No, she's too oblivious to be nervous.

Yeah, she's very secure. Actually, she was in her craziness.

So Larry comes over to you and he's like, you know, you're guarding the house, and you say outside sandbox only, so like, you know, your improv. You just went into improv mode. As far as I could tell from watching it. I watched it last night. You were just totally in improv mode.

I say sandbox.

Yeah, you said outside sandbox only. You're not allowed in here, okay. And then Larry starts to beg He starts to beg you, and then you say to him, you would love to, but you'll get in trouble. So you must have been fed that information in some form.

Let me see. I don't know that I.

Was okay, but you picked up on it.

But it was kind of like, what am I going to say back to him? I was told not to let you learn let him and that's what I went off of, you know, And I knew that I would get in trouble, right, So that's what I said. But he wasn't begging, he was pressuring.

He was pressuring, yeah, which he could do very very well. Yes, And then you say to him just number one, you say you got to let him in, but just number.

One, Yeah, renegotiated.

Renegotiating, and he goes, noo.

Yeah, what does that mean? I think Boo Boo said, I always say poo poo seta, but I think it's Spanish for laundry, because you know when you drive by and there's a laundromat and it says poop serta.

I never noticed that. Yeah, I live in New York, so I don't know.

I'm pretty sure I don't know. I don't know.

So you let him in?

Yeah?

And were you told to finally let him in or you just went with the scene.

I just kind of went with the scene. It's so funny because I couldn't because that's what I said to him right before he yelled to action. I said, do I succeed like in not letting you go in? Like? Do I win? Or do you?

And I just kind of gave it up right so instinctively you knew what to do. I guess that's because you're damn good. We'll be right back.

Stay tuned. Okay, we're back.

So Larry goes to the bathroom and then he comes back out and he's talked his way in and then they're looking around Larry, Cheryl, Jeff and Susie, and they're all looking around and where's everyone else from the restaurant? He thought all the other investors were coming, and there's

It's a circus freak show.

Its circus freak.

Let's go where are you going?

It's not funny now, it's interesting because I get asked this question a lot in interviews. Is ever a time when you look at the outlines and you think he's gone too far? And I have to say this was one of those times. When I read the outline, I was like, okay, talking about what is it four years old or something? A four year old's penis size I thought was too much, you know, And having watched the

In his show.

Very rare, but this was one of those moments.

I really did. I thought it was cute. It's a baby, and that's something like, I know my dog has a huge penis. What kind of dog? What kind of dog? He is just a rescue He's like Scooby Doo.

Okay, big dog.

Because I have a dog, and I swear he has no penis, right, Jimmy, my husband's here.

He's got no penis whatsoever?

I mean, he peeve he's a person else got so okay, So we have stepped and I I guess because the kid comes up later, I guess he was more like five, maybe four or five.

The kid not two. He was more like four or five.

I'm thinking like four.

Yeah, because Larry has that fight with him later on, which we'll get to. So we cut to Jeff and Richard Lewis walk into a crowded restaurant.

It's unbelievable stuff. Heeling like soundin's here. Guy deserves to make a good living here.

He's gonna be a great lunch here. I can't even talk about you can't say anything.

Then directed right to me.

I have a whole whispered lunch.

It's a whispering It's like the mafia. Thats like, yeah yeah, having a general appointment tomorrow.

And Larry tells Richard Lewis that he spoke to Hugh Mellon about the blank from Hell and that Youugh Mellon seemed very interested and menable to looking into it, and Richard starts to talk about how he's really pissed off that he doesn't get the credit for it because it's become a phrase in our lexicon, and Larry also says that he invited you Mellon to come to Richard's screening of his HBO special coming up very shortly, and then Larry says to the guy next to.

Him, ever been getting all this?

I'm meeting my lunch.

It's the lunch from hell? What what did you say saying this is the lunch from hell?

Wan?

Did you hear that expression?

Girlfriend? You see what I'm there?

It kills me and Larry just Richard Lewis is like, it kills me. It kills me every time everybody's using my phrase and I'm not getting credit for it. I think he's being a little over said sitive. You know if people use phrases. We've all said on TV everybody calls somebody a fat fuck? Well that was my phrase. Okay, Then we're back at Bobo's. The rest of yes, exactly. I mean, I would never even think that I coined that phrase. It's a phrase the people you whatever, Treven Vin, do you now?

Yes?

It is?

Then they're mad a fat fuck. They're back at what does it who you say?

It's as with all things, it's all about content and context. Then they're back at Bobo's and they talk about Larry's fucking up one chef after the other and they need to find a chef, and Larry's like just totally focused. They open in two weeks. He's totally focused on my Nutsha. You know you have arms on your chair. I want arms. And they're all kind of coming down on him, especially Ted, and he's like, at least I went to the pool

So just again clueless, clueless, clueless.

They're opening in two weeks and he's focused on Apple sauce as a very underrated side dish typical, and he wants to encourage people to order apple sauce. And then they break up, and Jeff says to lud DiMaggio, did you sign Sarah Jessica Parker to a recording contract? It's just silliness, just silliness. And Larry goes over to you melon, and he very insensitively brings up his son's penis.

So it is at the polia, I said your son. I saw your son at the hole.

Yeah. Yeah, kid's got.

Some penis on him. It's pretty good. What are you saying, your son?

It's what penis? Wait? What do you say that before?

Hey, it's a compliment. What's the big deal?

What's the compliment? I?

Well, how's it bad?

How's it bad?

He's got he's got a nice big penis.

So what we I'm not talking about your wife's tits.

I I this is rude. You can say. You can say my wife has nice hits as long as it's complimentary.

Come on, you shew not you ShW okay, phew.

Shoe. Cut to Larry goes home and there sitting in the living room is Cheryl with Martine than Nanny. Now were you at this point? Did you know more of what was going on?

I mean I knew from I got fired, that's it, right, Oh, and that I got a job at the Looney Tunes. I worked at the Looney Tunes. Right.

You were informed of that that you write previously worked at the Looney Tunes, and that was all you knew.

Yeah, and I was so grateful for that little bit of an information.

And imagine our surprise as the audience when we walk in and we see you sitting there with Cheryl. Yeah, you know, and you've already established that you're a little nutty, not as nutty as you're going to get.

I bring attention to because I didn't know really what to say, something like I brought my suitcase.

Yeah, and it did no wheels, no wheels, right, meaning it was a shitty suitcase.

Yes.

And we find out your name is Martine and that you fired you because you let somebody use the bathroom and Mark Rita rat it on you, right, And you say to Larry, well, of.

Course I remember what you said about you know that you would be responsible if anything happened. So did you.

Tell him that it was me?

No?

I don't die. I didn't die. So I remember when I let you in, you said there's any problem, I think I'll take care of it. So here I am. I'm gonna have to hold you to that because I don't have another job.

No, So when you had the interaction at the bathroom you were regarding, he did say to you, Yeah, and whatever happens, I'm responsible.

I'll take full responsibility.

Right, It's like he got me pregnant exactly, and now he's responsible. If I let you something happened, you'll take responsibility.

Yeah, what is this? I have a note I don't dine dime, oh dime.

Do you know? I can't believe that came back from my childhood. I remember hearing my mother say to somebody Stevie dimed.

On dion that what does that mean? Like he told on a rat is.

It's like an old term.

And I never heard it, really, yeah, it never heard. I don't write down what is that.

In my head, but it just came up from my child because I'll never forget my mother's saying, you know, And I thought of the context of the sentence, and that's when I realized what that meant, and it really is an old fashioned kind of a term, and it just came out.

Aren't you continually surprised when you're improving the stuff that just comes out of nowhere of your head?

Yeah, like, what a weird I've never said that before in my life, and it just came out. No, I don't dime like Dion did to Stevie, you know. I mean, but I just said dime and you thought it was dying all this time.

Yeah, I didn't.

I wrote it down. I didn't know what it meant. I still didn't know when you said dime. I still didn't. But now I know what it means.

Oh my god. And I don't die either. That's the word on the street, Susie, Yeah, Susie, don't die. Susie, don't die.

So basically, you say that you're homeless now you're kicked out.

You were living there, you were living nanny.

And you ask Larry if you talk to mister Mellon, and of course Larry can't talk to mister Mellan because he just had a falling out with mister Mellon about the size of his son's penis. And that's when and then you say, how about that thing? You say how about that thing.

I said, it's the size of a baby's arm. Yeah, because I remember my friend was talking about a crab leg and he goes, these crabs were so big. I swear one was the size of a baby's arm.

And that's a reference.

And then and then it just stuck in my head and I go, yeah, it's a size.

A baby's arm. Oh God, that's such a gross imo.

I know, so, Larry, you cannot so you're talking about the kid's penis, and you'll need a reference from mister Mellon. Now you can't get a reference. And he says, where did you work before? And that's when you tell him you worked at the Looney Tune Lodge. Is that such a thing?

It sounds like it would be. Yeah. But then I you know, growing up watching you know the theme song, you know the do you sing the theme over and over again, and then you're like, it was fun, it was fun.

You're so fucking crazy that it's it's so hilarious, Sherry, it's so hilarious.

And then what's the theme song again?

And you know what I remember after shooting that episode that was in my head weeks annoyingly, so was in my head for weeks. And then Larry takes Cheryl aside and wants to talk privately, or Cheryl takes Larry's side wants to talk privately, and Cheryl says to him, I don't want the nanny from Hell staying at my house. And Larry says, where'd you hear that? And Cheryl says, my dad used it all the time, from Hell for years.

He used it.

And she says, well, you got that from Richard Luis.

She's like, no, we didn't get her father in Tallahassee, Florida did not know from Richard Lewis, trust me. So we're a little suspicious about the whole from Hell thing at this point. And then Cheryl starts talking about how crazy you were, Like you were talking about you like to pet horses, how will you enjoy a good corn dog? How you like to take a bath with your socks on, like a total fucking nut. And then you're in the background singing the theme Oh my God. And then Jeff says,

So next he's in a car with you.

Oh my god, that scene.

Stop off and get some sponge cake. It's my friend's birthday. Yeah, buying him some sponge cake.

Here. You you like sponge cake? He doesn't. Yeah, you know, I'm trying to think. We were in that car for a while. Yeah, and I'm really trying to think of, you know, like what to talk to him about. Yeah, And I could not have been more awkward awkward, And I was just like, I think I said something like, so, yeah, you have fun, and he looked at me like, yeah, you know, and then we just didn't talk the whole time in the car. We didn't say two words to

Larry is very comfortable in himself in that way that he doesn't feel the need to make conversation or make small talk, and until you really know that, you could feel awkward and uncomfortable with it exactly.

And I didn't know him. I was so excited. It's just like it was when he called me, I really was very excited, so bit intimidated, so it just like squashed my personality. I couldn't think of anything interesting to say. And but once action, once they said action, you were fine. Yeah, but I'd like to get to know one to have a moment. I wanted to have a moment with him and understand. And so, uh, I could see why I wasn't asked back.

No, no, no, no, no, you were terrific.

I couldn't think of a goddamn thing to say.

You were not asked back because your character was over. You were fantastic in the episodo.

I know, I just I mean, I'm just joking, but yeah, I was intimidated.

I understand you were intimidated, but luckily it did not show through in your performance.

We'll be right back, Stay tuned, and we're back.

So then you're in Butterman's and you're taking all the free samples and stuffing them into your face.

That was fun, because that's how I am in real life.

If there's a free sample, why not, Why would you not?

I'm in line at Costco for the free sample when I know that it's something good and I love. Sometimes in my Starbucks down the street. I love a free sample. So here I'm truly eating them and swallowing all of them all the buttermans something, Oh my god, I'm just being committing to my acting.

No, I just wanted to and who does like a free sample?

That's what I said.

That's the whole point.

And then Larry then, oh yeah. He looked at me like what are you doing? And I got.

Three, which is what I would say in real life. Yes, And then Larry then purchases they're going out of business. They have twelve sponge cakes left, and he purchases them all and they don't have boxes, so they wrap them up and you know, ran wrap cellphane.

Thank you cellophane. That's the word I was looking for.

And then you come to our house so that I could meet you and answers the door and I'm like, what the fuck is this?

Hi?

This is Martine, the nanny I was telling you about on the phone.

Hi.

Hy, I'm Susie green By. What the fuck is this? What are these?

Oh?

Sponge cakes?

What do you mean sponge cakes?

It's a birthday present for Jeff.

Larry and he's like, you don't understand. They're going out of business. It was like, I understand, I don't give a shit. I don't care, you know. And I was like, he doesn't need to eat. He's a fat fuck, as if he's going to explode. And then you say to me, congratulations about the baby.

How did you know?

Apparently Larry told you because Jeff told him. It's bad luck. I'm not even in the first trimester, etc.

And I'm all flummixed and upset about it.

And then I'm just like, you know what, come in, darling, we'll have a little I'll interview you.

And I'm a little condescending to you.

I think, oh, yeah, yeah, but of course I'm happy pants.

Yeah exactly. I think I'm getting a new job exactly.

And I'm like telling, like, put the sponge cake in the kitchen, and then we cut to I'm walking down the outside stairs and I throw all the sponge cakes into the garbage, just into the garbage area.

I just throw them down.

On the ground, into the garbage area.

I throw them out, and then we're in the screening room for Richard Lewis's taping, and nobody from HBO came, and Louis says something like that they want to be in their private homes and Larry corrects him.

He said, you mean the privacy of their homes.

And Louis is like, you're like the English language cop to him, you know, and he really loves to correct Lewis by the way, you know their friends for like yeah, yeah, forever. And Louis says, Tom, maybe you can intro me to the Bartlet's guy, meaning Hugh Mellan, and Larry says, well, that's the problem with that, And just at that moment, Jeff gets a phone call and he has to leave emergency. Your nanny attacked Susie, and Larry says, should I go?

You know what I'm saying. But i still feel like a wreck of broaders. I'm still screwed.

Up, you know.

And then you jumps in and says to Larry, don't talk to my kid, and Larry says, get Uncle Milty out of here. A lot of people, a lot of people might not know what that reference was, Milton Sherry.

It was. It's very uh, well known, well known that Milton Burle has a huge.

Hat he's had. I assume his penis is dead as well.

But if that didn't die, everything else, you know, just that's still.

His penis is in the Smithson Um.

It's been mummified, but it was always you know, it's like Milton Burrow, a little waste of a big penis.

Don't say that to missus Berl shunting.

Yeah, exactly. Milton Burle. You know when he did his show, was that in the fifties. Yeah, his maiden thing was dressing up in drag. Yeah, he was always dressed in women's clothes. I actually went to a birthday party. Oh tell my friend Camery Man, she goes do Milton Burle's birthday party.

I'm like, who doesn't.

Yeah, so we go how old?

Oh?

I mean nineties and yeah. And he was sitting at a table, and everybody that I grew up with, all the comedians that I grew up with, were there, like Jan Murray, Oh really, Phyllis Diller and and King Alan Alan King and.

Whoa Jack Carter, Jack Carter, Red Buttons.

I'm just thinking to myself, Oh my gosh, this is everybody that was in my living room in the.

Seventh everybody we watched Password with.

So lucky. It was like I just wanted to talk to any of them. Red Buttons was really really nice. But I made my way over to Milton Burrell and he was flanked by men standing up and they're all smiling. Not his penis, no, no, no, okay. And they were also and what they were were they kept people away from him?

Oh really? They were bodyguards.

Yeah, but you know it's like, who do you think is gonna.

At his house? But with all his almost had about people.

Didn't want they didn't want people to know how bad off he was at that point, h So what was he senile or I don't think he had all of his wits together. You know, I did approach him, and you know, I felt like he was there, his heart was beating. But I think, you know, sometimes you could have doctors around the clock. You sometimes live longer than yeah, than want to, you know what I mean. And I felt like, all right, uh, he's been around a little longer than he'd probably even like.

But yeah, so but he was still stealing people's jokes. Wasn't he known for stealing people's materials?

I heard that he was a material Yeah.

Yeah, the big schlang and the stealing material and the dressing up as a woman.

Yeah. But I'll tell you something, I'll never forget that that was such a form for me. That's like, you know everybody that that you as a kid. As a kid, did you always want to be a comedian? No? I mean, I mean, I guess I was funny, but I never saw myself doing stand up, like.

Be a comedic address.

I never really thought about that. I mean, it wasn't until like I found the groundlings and hiding behind characters to me, but to be myself what very very.

What what inspired you to join the ground Links?

Uh. I was working at A and M Records and someone from the legal department said to me, because everybody said, oh, you should just stand up, you should just stand up, and I just always was like, yeah, standing us a different beast. I know, it's completely different beasts. And then a woman came up to me one time I'll never forget. Her name was Susan Linner and she said, you show the Groundlings and I said, what's the Groundlings? She said, it's improv and I swear I said, what's improv? Yeah?

So you took classes first? And how long did you take classes before she got the company?

Two years?

I took classes and you know, a lot of people get dropped along the way.

There's four so there's levels of classes.

Yes, there's four levels.

And I just the charel there at the time.

She was after me and the clouds parted. It was like, oh, my gosh, if I could do this, if I ever became a groundling. To me, being a grounding was.

So you had no acting training. No, just this was the first thing you ever did.

I worked at Atium Records, you know, during the day, and so when we got into lab, which was writing, I didn't have the same schedule as other people because I worked during the day a lot of people were doing so I wrote it at my job a lot. That's where I had a computer, and so I really kind of learned to write on my own. And yeah, it was the best training, and it was just something I just.

Thought, you just took to it.

I took to it, and I just loved it so much. And it was so funny because everybody had headshots. I didn't have a head shot or anything. And yeah, that's how I got into it. And then it was like, told Sherry, you need to quit your job. Then I became a I was in the Sunday company for two years. What does that mean. That's where you perform every Sunday night and you either get moved up or you get dropped, and the decks.

Kind of brutal. It's very brutal.

Yeah, it's a really good kind of training ground for SNL. Yeah, you know, which is also pretty bruf. And that's what it is. And how long were you in the Groundlings before you got SNL? A year and a half. Oh, not long at all.

No, I mean it probably felt like long to you, but in the reality it didn't.

Because I loved it every minute. I would have never dreamt that big, Susie. I would have never dreamt that big. And when they came and saw me, it was really a showcase for Chris Catan, so I only had one sketch in and so I thought, well, maybe they'll remember me for next time. And then I remember I was tempting at Disney Legal because I quit A and M right so I could go on auditions. And Lee calls me and he's like, hey, Lee.

Was your manager at the time. Who's my manager now?

Yes?

Yes? He said, what are you doing next Monday? And I'm like, very funny, I'll be at Disney Legal, and he goes, no, you're going to be auditioning for Saturday Live.

We'll be right back. Stay tuned, and we're back.

So four of us were flown out from the Groundlings. Oh, you flew to New York. They flew us to New York. Wow, and you got it? Well? Yeah, then then they how did they audition?

What was the audition process?

It was like, do four or five characters in like seven to ten minutes.

Uh huh so, and you would just do monologues of the characters.

You do a little bit of it, yeah, you know, and then some characters you have with other people, right, and you have to kind of almost pretend that they're there, right, you know. I really didn't know very much, you know. But then I went I got the call back. I think there was thirty some people that were flown in HU and then I think twelve got called back.

What year is this.

Ninety five? Nineteen ninety five? Okay? And then after that, I remember I didn't hear anything, and then I heard Lorne Michaels and Bernie Brilstein are coming to.

The show to the Groundling.

Shit, yes, yeah, And so Mindy Sterling, who was a groundling. She's amazing. She was a teacher as well. She said to me. She goes, I heard Bernie Brilstein. He lean over to Lauren and goes, she pops like Gilda. She pops like what Gilda? Oh Gilda, uh huh, Well that's a cod and I'll never ever forget that.

Yeah, and.

Meaning Gilda rat dark yes for our listeners. And then a few weeks later and I just thought, you know, nothing's it's been so much time has gone by. And then when I found out I got it, Oh, Lauren wants you to meet him? And it was will and I and will who peral? Yeah? And so I went. We were both in the waiting room and I went in and I remember buying address that I really couldn't afford. But I'm like, how about look my best And he's like, Harry, hmmm, we want to fly to New York. He never said

You know?

But then afterwards and I said to Willie goes, what did he say? And I go, he just wanted to talk more because I didn't want to ruin it for him, right, you know, I wanted him to have that you both got it at the same time. Yeah, And then we went into the parking lot holding hands. And then we just screamed in the parking lot and we both went to a phone booth. He called his mother. I called my father. Yeah, well they can't do that anymore, I know.

Just so I miss phone booths.

Yeah, they're petri dishes, those two booths. Yeah, I know, I don't remember that. I went off on the long tangent. It was like, I don't know.

It was fine, It was all interesting, So we'll probably just keep it all in, yes, Lee.

So I got Cherry an apartment in my old building on seventy sixth Street, and she was across the hall from my neighbor when I was living then, and I said to her, he's the greatest guy you'll ever meet. He's a wholesale wine.

Salesman, Willie Gluxtern, and he was the nicest, nicest.

Guy in front of me.

All right, but what why are we having?

Can I help? Can I help you? He said? I remember whenever this guy had sex, everybody in the building heard it and told him to shut the hell up, and he was screaming. He would scream and this was like a very dapper, you know, sophisticated older man. And I'm like, okay, okay.

Got Cherry got a little annoyed.

She's like, wee, that's such a guy thing to say.

I said, Okay. A few weeks go by and then I am literally calling nine one one because someone was screaming, scream and here, and then I remember Lee and I'm like, no, that can't be him. I mean it was I was on the phone and I put the phone down and he's right across on it and it was him. And I was just kind of like, god, this is like a Larry David episode. Yeah, And I called him and I go, you're right. He was screaming bloody murder like that woman must have been like holy, he.

Needs to have sex in the woods.

All right.

So wait, I'm gonna go back a little bit.

So yeah, so Larry says to him, get Uncle Milty out of here. That's where we ended about the episode. And then they're back and forth, You're stupid, No, you're stupid. No, you're stupid. And here's Larry fighting with the four year old, you know, poopy head and Dodo brain and stupid, stupid, stupid, And Larry says he wouldn't be here if you didn't fire the nanny. So it all comes back to you, and then we go back with fuck you, fuck you,

And Larry asked how I am? And I said that nanny was a sick. Oh, she was a mental case. She was sick.

And Larry Fane's innocence, like he had no idea you were crazy, but of course he knew that nanny was crazy.

And then I retell the story of what happened.

And it shot very film noir, film.

War, and I'll tell the story and then we'll just talk about Sammy's watching Looney Tunes and they're playing and Martine is freaking out. She hears that music and she starts to freak out.

She starts fighting with me.

She starts she grabbed my arms, she starts pulling me back.

And forth all of a sudden, I'm fighting with this crazy woman.

I mean physically fighting you. Next thing I knew, we were like out.

On the deck, out on the deck, Yeah, like struggling and fighting. Oh my god.

And then what happened.

She pushed me over the rail. This crazy woman. She pushed me over the rail. She was trying to kill me.

Oh here's the thing, Lare.

My fall was broken by twelve sponge cakes. Now, I remember shooting that scene. I remember I had red marks on my arms.

You did, because didn't we have these stunt pursuits.

Yes, there was a stunt double that did the fall for me over the rail. And I remember that I was upset because she had a much bigger ass than I did.

And I remember.

Thinking, Oh, everybody's gonna think that's me, and she has a bigger ass than me. And also I remember when I fell on the sponge cakes. There was Kelly and I believe it was Mike. There were two crew guys, huge guys, and one had my two legs and one had my two arms, and the sponge cakes were on like a like a mat or something, and they lifted me up and dropped me and we had to do it several times.

They didn't lift me up more than a couple.

Of feet, but my back got all fucked up from them, like the things that we people don't realize how injured we get all the time from oh my.

Gosh, oh my god, even with like a stunt person, right, you know. But I remember, I'm thinking, you know, you just push and you you pull and push, push, push and pull, So you don't know that's what I was doing. And I'm so sorry that I hurt your arm. You didn't hurt.

It was afterwards that I saw there was like deep, deep fingerprint.

Marks someone we were finally committed.

Yeah, you were committed, but so was I.

You know, we were in an altercation and it's like it's not something I usually do.

So it was kind of fun. Yeah, it was kind of fun.

And then the episode ends with my fall broken by the sponge cakes. And the funny thing is is that apparently I did not lose the baby because the sponge cakes saved the baby. But then the baby was never mentioned again. I never had the baby, I never gave birth to the baby, and the baby was never mentioned again. I think we mentioned it once later on in that season or the next season where there was some reference to the baby because we said, wait a minute, didn't

She was never there. What late?

But you had a daughter, Sammy.

I already had the daughter.

Oh, you already had, yes, Sammy, who was by the way, a son in the first season, but then became a daughter because of the doll episode in the second season, and was Sammy in the first season, but Sammy could be you know, then then she became Samantha. So yes, So Sammy was a boy. Now Sammy's a girl. And then I was pregnant and then I don't know what you.

Should have had a boy with a really small penis, but big bulls. That's right, that's right, Sherry. What do you got going on now? I'm developing a show?

Oh good?

Right now? Yeah good, because I never talked about anything until, like I know.

You know her a pooh pooh pooh, as we say in the Yiddish. Well, we would all love to see you back on the air in your full glory.

Oh, thank you, Susie.

And you were fantastic on this episode and it was the episode from hell, and you know, sounds like it was the episode from hell for you.

Well, it ended up being wonderful, you know, and I'm so grateful because I love the show and to you know, be working with all you guys and to be asked by Larry it was a big deal for me.

And sure, and you didn't have to audition, and you know, it was a lot of people, well known people who still have to audition, and he didn't audition you, which is a testament to how.

See he doesn't he auditions people because it's so much of it is improvised.

Yes, yeah, and you know this. I mean obviously you were groundling.

You know how to improvise, but there's a lot of terrific actors who don't know how to you know, it's a completely different That's.

Why when I would watch the show, I'm thinking, damn, everybody's good at this. Like I would see all the guests that would come on it.

I think the reason why a lot of the guests are really good is, you know, not for somebody like you who's such a proficient improviser. But I think a lot of the reasons why so many guests are good is because it's the way he lays out the storyline, and it's so clear what each scene is about that there's not room really to go outside the story. And if people come on and they start doing jokey kind of stuff, cut immediately, Kyley. He does not want jokey stuff.

No, no, yeah, because I'm wondering, how long do you go on for? Like there's no I didn't know when to stop, when to end it. So well, a lot of times we don't end it because a lot of gold comes after when we just keep on going, going, going, and then they edit it. But you don't want to annoy him, Like that's what I felt. I thought to myself,

Yeah, yeah, you know, And you know I always tried it in different takes because sometimes in certain takes I could be so big, you know, I always try to do a big take, then a smaller take than a medium take and just so they have an editing like a lot of different choices because you know, I mean, we can all have a tendency to go big because it's funny, but sometimes it doesn't work in the scheme of the whole exactly, and then.

You don't have a place to go if you start big, right, Like I always thought about that. It's kind of like just you know, lay the groundwork right, and then if it calls for it, you have a place to go.

Are you still involved with the Groundlings at all?

I'm actually doing a show on the twenty third. They're having their big anniversary coming up. I forget which one it is, but they're bringing Oh, we had Lorain Newman on and Lorraine was the founder. It was one of the founders. Yeah, I love her so much. Do you know When I was in classes, I was in classes with her boyfriend all the time, and he said to me, Hey, do you want to write together? And I'm like, uh, yeah, because I knew he lived with Lorraine and I'd never

Well, so are you, Sherry.

Thank you for coming your fight. You're stupid. No, you're stupid now you're stupid. And thank you for filling in for Jeff. Yeah, it's not taken. None taken. Yeah, no information the first time I saw.

You, and no information exactly you Jeff. Love you, Susie and we'll be back next time.

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