S4 Ep. 1 - “Mel’s Offer”

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. You can also watch the video version of the History of Curby Enthusiasm podcast on Max and YouTube as well.

Links available in the episode description. So here we are.

Yes, I'm Jeff Garland.

I'm Susie Esman, and this is the History of Curby Enthusiasm, and we are about to start season four.

Right in Susie's in studio.

I'm in studio in New York.

I'm in my office at home. I usually close the door, but my dog will be weirded out, so maybe she'll show up. Yeah, from my kitchen.

We have to have dog access. That's very important.

So season four, I believe it was two thousand and four around there that we shot this.

Yeah, and this is the producer's season.

And by the way, if I'm Susie. When I started watching this episode, it wasn't until I saw Mel Brooks that I realized it was the producers season. That's well, that's how long since I've seen this stuff.

I know it's been a long time. Yeah, And this episode is called Mel's Offer yep. And we start off with Cheryl and Larry. They're in an Italian restaurant and the waiter is giving them unintelligible specials, which I thought was hilarious.

I feel like, use.

What's the sauce with the fish?

What?

What fish? Well, by the way, if you slowed that guy down, he was just doing either either he knew Italian or it was gibberish. Because Larry's making a joke on something. Every once in a while we do a subtle broad joke because what it usually is is the guy just talks fast with a French accent or Italian accent, and you have no idea what they're saying. Would you slow them down? It would make sense.

This guy no nothing, We understood nothing.

Then finally Larry's like, I'll have the first thing in Cheryl's I'll have the second thing. And then we find out from Cheryl that their ten year anniversary is coming up and Cheryl would like to renew the vows and have a real ceremony. I have to say, my fifteen year anniversary is coming up. I have zero interest in renewing my vows and having a real ceremony.

Zero interest.

Would you want to even have a party. No, exactly. You know, I used to gig on New Year's I don't even do that anymore.

Well, in the old days, we didn't have to worry about having dates because we were always busy on Saturday night, always busy on New Year's Eve.

Oh you know, it wasn't that kind of thing.

We didn't have children, right, and so yeah, you could do anything. So I worked every New Year's for probably.

Two for years.

Is great pay day, always any day, even for a young comic, it was a better payday.

And at the clubs that you would work, let's say New Year's Eve was a Friday, the Thursday night before you'd get you know, twenty dollars a set. New Year's Eve you get maybe three hundred. So it was like a big the same exactly deal.

Yeah, it was a big deal.

The only thing that sucked being on stage always was the countdown.

Yeah, well I always tried to avoid that, but that was like, you know, thinking about that. That was like in the old days, you didn't have to think about your social life ever. You'd walk into a club, you knew everybody, from the waiters and waitresses to the doorman, to the comics.

Oh.

Then from the age of twenty up until I met my wife Marline, no exaggeration, I was dating my stand up career. Yes, yes, dating my stand up career. That's all that mattered. And it was great, girls, it was great, it was great. You had There was nothing I want to recapture that moment.

And it was our cheers, like you'd walk into a club and you knew everyone ever.

You was just.

But also of that time, there was a different vibe amongst comedians. We were almost a organism and this is the world.

It's so, but there was not that many of us. Also, Jeff, there's a lot more now, I think, oh.

My god, a zillion more. But you still I don't ever get the oh, we're going to the diner down the block.

H you know what I mean.

Fine, That's how I helped gain a lot of weight.

We'd run around doing five, six, seven sets a night, and then we'd go to the diner and you go over your stuff. You'd say, I did this, this work, This didn't work. Somebody would say try that.

I know found that the max helpful is five, six is not helpful. Seven is a complete loss. You don't know what's seven, Yes, because you don't remember what you said, you didn't say, and.

I have done this where I repeat myself.

Oh, by the way, that's why I'm saying I did the same thing, you know.

So Cheryl wants to renew the vows and Larry gives in. He says, oh, okay, okay, I'll give in, and Larry says, my gift for our ten year anniversary he has already been agreed upon, and Cheryl doesn't know what he's talking about. And then we have the flashback, which you know I love these, Okay, I love the flash back.

All the flashbacks. This one hold on though. This one felt real, do you know what I mean? This one because some of the others, especially the ice cream one and bald Larry as a kid, Joe per se. But this one they look like they looked I don't know if Cheryl had that kind of.

Hair, but it looked glassy hair, yeah, but it looked real.

And then Larry Larry was just brown, yeah, but he was it was And the glasses that he wore, he looked like you wanted a time machine and I knew him.

Then, Yes, what look like That's what I'm saying, except he had more in those days, in the eighties, he had brown hair, but it was bigger, it was more bozo.

And then when it was on Fridays it was really big.

It was very boso.

So they're about to get married and Cheryl she just goes to this whole thing.

She wants to be Cheryl David. It's very odd she wants to be Cheryl David. Larr's like, why, well, the great.

Line that Larry says is, I don't even want to be a David, right, why would you want to be a David?

But she does because it's exotic to her, And she says to him, are you worried about Are you reluctant because you're worried about not being able to have sex with someone else?

Now, you know that is a major thing.

When you're making a commitment to get married, you're basically saying I am never going to have sex with anyone else for the rest of my life. That's bizarre to make that commitment. I mean, I've made it, but it's bizarre.

That's why a lot of couples, partners what have you, don't get married, right, I do believe like gay marriage and all that stuff. Hey, I love that the civil right is there. But I always wonder I someone did this joke.

Why do you want to be us?

Why do you want to be married? We don't want to be married. Why would you? But I do get the civil rights of it all.

But of course the civil they should have the right to do whatever they want. But why choose it?

I had dunched the other day with a beautiful French woman, seventy nine years old, gorgeous, she's never had any work done, her hair as brown and beautiful. I mean, this woman is as gorgeous. She was married. Her name's Francois. She was married to Douglas Kirkland, who was a great photographer. He has a new book coming out of his pictures of Bridget Bardoux. He did a lot of them in road too.

There you go.

Anyhow, she starts telling me about their relationship, and she said, we split up a couple times, and she knew he was with other women, and she wasn't mad about that. She was mad about that he was sharing what was on his mind his work, because emotion, that's beyond emotional, it's very that's specific emotional intimacy. And so but she also said to me because I'm I'm big on Uh

Who will gratefulness, well, watfulness.

All that stuff. I'm about that, but it seems to me and I'm always I don't say I don't ghost them. I hate ghosting. But it's a funny how all these women from my past whenever I have a fight with Sari, whenever Sari lives town. I don't know if they have a red light that goes in their house, but they all contact me. Oh and by the way, that's not an exaggeration. When Sari's around, I never hear from any of them. I don't know how they I.

Got married for the first time at how old was I forty eight? So I had no problem committing to monogamy. I had sewn wild oats, you know.

By that way, point thanks to you, I've sewn wild oats, which you recommend to me when I split with my wife. So your oats you have never seen you?

Why, Jeff, Because you you got married young, you didn't have a lot of experience before you met Marla, and I thought it was important before you met the next person for you to go out there and you know, have some.

Fun experience, like, yes, I had a bit before I started comedy, Like I said, though, comedy was my girlfriend.

Yeah you.

Will.

So your oats okay, So your oats okay?

All right.

So apparently in the flashback, Cheryl tells Larry. Not apparently, she tells yet Larry.

Okay, how about if we get married now, right now, for a ten year anniversary, you can have sex with someone else. If that's your your hold up here, let's just do that.

Come on, when you get you're not gonna let me do that? What are you saying, though, I will.

Just sex one time. It's not a big deal.

On our ten year anniversary. You could have sex with someone else one time. Then we're back to the present and Cheryl says, I can't believe you remember that, and Larry's say, ah, I'm joking around it.

Sarah's like no, no, no.

Cheryl insists that he calls her on that because I think Cheryl does not believe he could find somebody.

Hold on a second here, hold on a second there. He would have loved to say, and what he wanted on the inside was Oh, you can do that, Okay, that's great. Instead he has to fake it. No, I wouldn't want to. But the minute she tells him he can't, that good luck to him is that he can.

Minute she tells him he can, yeah.

No, No. The minute she tells me he can't, though, is good luck. You won't find anybody like he's going out. That's when he's made his mind up. This is gonna happen. It's a challenge.

She says, if you think you can have sex with somebody else and you should do that, what does that mean? Hey, lady, I'm Larry David and my wife said I could have sex with somebody tonight.

If you think you could have sex with someone else, then you should do it. Clearly she doesn't think he could, and Larry's insulted. I understand that, And Cheryl doesn't think she's capable, And Larry says, it's okay with you, no crying afterwards, and she's like, you have until our anniversary.

Good luck.

Then they're on the way to the karaoke Larry's like, I hope Jeff is going to be at the karaoke party.

Because he can't wait to tell you, he can't.

Wait to tell you that he has permission right to fuck somebody else.

And then what does it open up right away that I love the economy of that.

The cut Tamel singing justin Time.

Cut to Mel just in Time, and then a cut to Larry and I having that conversation. And of course I say, you have to.

Marry man's dream.

You say it's a married man's dream, and you think it's great, and then you say.

Who, Well that becomes the issue, doesn't it.

Okay, So before we get to what happens next, I want to say two things. Number One, watching Mel in this, just watching Mel in general, Mel is magic. Yes, Mel warms my heart when I see him.

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

You know, one time I went to the doctor's to get my flu shot and I hear this voice from inside the doctor Jeff, Jeff. It was Mel calling me to be so in the room. We got our flu shots. So, as a kid watching Young Frankenstein or A History of the World, whatever have you, silent movie, in my wildest imagination being a flu shot with.

Him, well, you know, I mean one of the one of the nice things that in one's career is when you get to meet your idol, sometimes you're disappointed. Mel was absolutely my comedic idol. In nineteen sixty, I was five years old and my parents got the two thousand year Old Man album and I would.

Listen to it over and over.

And what's interesting to me is that there were things I couldn't have possibly understood that were well.

There was a lot, there was a lot of subtleties.

But I got the rhythm of it, the rhythm. I knew it was funny because of the rhythm of it.

Rhythms exactly.

So at five years old, I had that rhythm in my head and I would stand up on the kitchen table. I would do the whole album for the family, both Mel and Carl.

I do both parts. I memorize the whole thing.

And then some years later, sometimes I'd be on stage doing stand up and I would hear that rhythm in my head like somehow I would say something. I'd be like, oh my god, that was a Mel rhythm. It was so ingrained in me.

Yeah.

So he was my first comedic influence, right, and to meet him and to work with him was just absolutely one of the great thrills of my life.

And he did not disappoint.

He was fun. He was great.

Meant she wonders, underform.

Willing to talk about anything you know from his past. No, a delight. That's why I so I'm saying when I'm watching him sing, I'm like, mel is magic. Okay, he is, all right?

So there, so we introduced Mel and then you and Larry are talking about the married man's stream.

The mind that I wrote down that I said to him was damn it man, do it, damn it man too. And then he goes over to talk to that he.

But Larry does say, this is the thing I'm worst at in the world. Asking a woman, you know, and we know that he is. And Jeff points to a very attractive.

Does what he would say? You know? He doesn't. Yeah.

And then Jeff, you point to a very attractive woman, you say, just go do it, make a move. And Larry goes and talks to this attractive woman the most ridiculous conversation.

What can you do a night bowling movies? It's like a third thing to do after bowling in the movies. I don't know if you bowl or not. I don't go that often, but it's fun. It's fun.

You can't find the ball, that's the problem.

I don't know.

I don't Maybe you want a bowling ball. I don't own a bowling ball my whole life. Every time at a bowling allergy sticking my fingers and all his holes picking up the balls. You gotta get your own ball. I don't bowl enough, I think, to get my own ball. It takes up a lot of space in the house. You keep looking at it in the closet, going what am I doing with a bowling ball?

I don't even I mean if that, if I was that woman, I would have just like I would have said the.

Way she played it note perfect for not she said a million words by not saying any words, right. And you know what's funny this episode he talks more than usual. He does talk a lot, as you know, and outside of the show, I'm a big talker. So as I'm watching him talk through this episode, it started reminding me of Sari and I so I told her that. I said, Sari, I was watching Curb a scene on Curb, and I thought of you, and she was prepared.

I thought about Sary. So everybody knows is your girlfriend.

Yes, and I told her, I said, you know, I'm watching Larry Talk. And all I thought to myself was poor Sari, poor poor Sari, that she used to deal with this. Well, you the listener, who've been listening to this, Yes, I interrupt, because it's a thought about it.

The show goes, he goes off on a whole rant about bowling balls, and it's just a ridiculous rant and it's a complete disaster.

By the way, I had an end to the French thing. I realized it wasn't what she missed, and I don't remember the topic. But at the end, when she left, she grabbed my face. She said life is too short to worry about that, in other words.

Being she's jealous. No no, no, no, no, no.

No, that I should be with all those women women because she's French and you.

Should you know, French. Okay, she's obviously she's not Jewish, Jeff, I.

Don't know if she is. I don't think she is.

No, it's not a Jewish women. Jewish women don't let their husband's cheat, they.

Don't let their husbands even think about you.

That's right, by the way, that show and this show will do that episode, man so many people love the scene when I take you to the airport and I'm singing and I'm bouncing.

I'm happy. I'm not telling you I'm doing anything. Thank God you're gone, and you look at me and you say.

Back, I'm too happy.

What the hell's going on? And that is a Jewish woman? That is wow.

That's that was season nine or ten.

Yeah, yeah, so but nonetheless people love We'll get to it, yes, okay, And then the MC calls Larry up, and Larry goes up and he does his al Jolson swany yeah to the carry out.

And by the way, he is good at that. He's really good at singing, he really is.

But he's also such a good mimic as as you and I know, he's a terrific mimic, whether it's James or you know what's his.

Name doing the young Lincoln.

I'll think that young Raymond, you know Mary the House Divided?

Well, how many times do I ask him to do it? And then he finally did it in the show and I laugh at that one.

Say that Jeff, well, give him something away.

Hold on, I don't think is Raymond Massey is part of the storyline whenever he did it?

Oh no, his Raymond Massy is not okay.

So there you go. What am I?

All right?

So, and then we cut to Larry.

Wait, hold on, hold on, are you talking about Larry? So the last line that he says before he walks away from the woman is the funniest line in the scene, which is, I'm around town.

Yes, like she can find him.

In case you think, oh I made a mistake, I'm around town. I love I'm around town. That's too funny.

And let's say she did want to find him. I'm around town.

Yeah, you know, but that's why it was so funny. I'm around town. Oh boy.

So we cut to you and Larry are in a meeting with Melbrook.

No, are you going into the meeting with Melos?

No, we are in the car.

You're in the car going and at Mel's building right in the wheelchair, and the guy in the wheelchair is on the cell phone and Larry almost runs him down and they get into an argument.

And Steve Rash.

Very quickly, who was our editor, it was in the background as an extra, been the editor.

A brilliant editor, because so.

Much of this show is done in the hour, all the way since the very beginning.

Because I always say with Larry, you know, you and Cheryl most of it, but I always say Larry myself, and who is the other person? One other person had been there since the actual beginning, and I can't remember Caryl, yes, but she had seasons that she wasn't on.

Was Bob Whitey uh No, because the.

Past you've seen Laura Laura, Laura Fairchild or Laura Striker Striker. Yeah, so it's Laura. Who's Larry.

She's a producer Rash as well, Steve Rash as well.

So there's four of us who've been on everage.

And because the show is improvised, so much is done in editing, so much, I mean so much of the show.

Yeah, he is, he really is.

I remember this is just coming to me when we were in these weird offices where HBO had this theater where they would screen their stuff and there were offices on that level no windows. So I remember the only thing that had been like this prior to us doing this was Christopher Guest movies. And I know, yeah, he had a strong script, but he also had great improvisers in all the roles, and.

So question did he have dialogue written in his scripts or no, oh.

Sure, sure, sure, yeah, and I we don't I know, but I think his was more than an outline, Like we get an outline and the scenes ritt, but we don't have so he had more. But that being said, I called him and I said, hey, we're about to do this show. He doesn't know who I am at this point. We're about to do this show. Do you have any advice for our editor and editing? He said no, he was Mary succinct. You went no, no, and then I go, well, thank you, and it was over. It

Didn't didn't non plus.

Well, just like you know, he's very succinct, that man.

Yeah, yeah, okay, you know you mentioned the Comedy Arts Festival. The first trip it was like twenty years ago when I first met my husband Jimmy. The first trip I took with him was I brought him to Aspen to the festival.

We were doing some kind of panel, some curb panel.

With David Steinberg. Yeah, and I remember Diane Keaton was right after us, huh. And it was a fun and Monty Python were being feted the right word.

So we're at the you know, you're at the bar at these festivals, and you know everybody at the bar, it's just everybody, every comic. And Chris Rock was standing there and I introduced Jimmy to Chris Rock and I said, Chris, this is my you know, I've known Christmas so many They say Chris, this is my boyfriend, Jimmy, And Jimmy says, I'm sorry, what was your name?

Mark? And I thought, I love this guy.

I got you the way. He is the least pretentious man I've ever met.

Exactly, didn't know who anybody was.

It doesn't care a lot of people in that situation would try to cover it up and just not use his name or try and make something maneuver it.

And he's guileless. He just says, I'm sorry, what was your name? Mark?

Okay, So the guy in the wheelchair on the cell phone Larry. He and Larry have a fight because Larry almost runs him over and the guy's not paying attention, but blah. And then you walk into the building and Larry finds a wallet sitting in the hallway in the lobby. You go up to Mel's office and there is his assistant played by Rachel Harris.

Rachel Harris a grown person, one.

Of Cheryl's friends, Cheryl's best friend, and Rachel Harris. I forgot the name of her character, but she says, yeah, she's Amina. She says that the wallet belongs to Dennis, who does our computers. I don't know if she says at that moment that he's in a wheelchair. But then she says that she Larry noticed that.

Larry said a guy in the he had a problem with the guy in the wheelchair. He had to stop. Shouldn't there be rules? And then he said, I found this wallet, and she said that's Dennis our blood.

He's in the wheelchair. Okay.

So then Rachel is looking at baby names and she establishes that she and her partner are adopting a baby. And why do I have hear my partner is my rival? I think Larry said that.

No, he says, you know, look at partners partners. I'm married, When you're married, your wife is like, he's talking about I have a rival. I don't have a partner, which, by the one, so true.

Well, I don't know. I don't feel that way. But we'll be right back. Stay tuned, and we're back.

It's established that they're adopting a Chinese boy, which I thought was weird because there aren't Chinese boys at that time to be adopted. They were all Chinese girls that were being adopted. And so Larry starts going through Chinese.

Name Wang isn't a bad first name. Wang.

Then you got the whole Aang family, Fang Bang Tang. Tang is not actually a bad name because it's like China, but it's it's not China.

It's a juice, that's what it is.

Tang. Is that so bad?

Naming a kid after a juice? Maybe that's not so bad, but it's but it has Chinese overtones tang, but yet there's a you got a little jolt with it.

I don't think that would go over too well with the school kids.

It's going to kind of be the least of his problems though.

And I'll be right with you.

Did they still make tang?

I don't know. The astronaut tang was.

Supposed the astronauts used it. It was a powdered orange drink that you put in the water, and it was actually it wasn't great.

It was orange, okay.

And then Larry goes off on a hole named me the kid after a juice and Rachel says, I don't think that'll go over with the school kids, and Larry says, least of his problems.

No, it's so incendiary. It's so incendiary.

And then Larry goes to the bathroom and as he's going walking into the bathroom, Mel opens the bathroom door and hits Larry in the head and it's a big gash and he's bleeding. Next Jeff and Larry go to the doctor.

Hold on one second, I have written down ben Veren, did I?

Or you said something about ben Veren and the name you didn't.

You, Ben Veren, Okay, yeah, yeah, it's something that I've repeated many times in times. Long before he was hit by a van. You know it was he was on ten Speed in brown Shoes, a show with Jeff Goldblum. That was the co star Ben Vereen Jeff Goblum Network show. Okay, keep going.

So you're at the doctor. Larry doesn't want to sign in. He doesn't like having his name on lists.

Just sign in. He makes a McGill about it.

Then hold on, though, I hate that too. A lot of times I'll read it.

Well, yeah, it's a reasonable thing.

I write a fake name almost every time. They don't care, they don't notice.

And also, why does everybody have to see your name?

Well, by the way, I always read the names, Yeah, exactly. I always do as a friend because I think a friend of mine might be there, and that's happened.

Well, I don't read it because I think somebody I know might be there. I read it more like I'm just interested. It's like, who's here today?

Yeah?

You know, what are the names?

What is this?

What is this world that I'm walking into?

Then Larry's waiting in the exam room and he calls you on the phone, not the cell phone, but the phone that's sitting on the counter in the examination room.

Dude, what are you doing? What? What do you call me on the doctor's phone for?

I'm doing board to Dathan here.

Don't use the doctor's phone. That's not right.

What's the big deal?

They don't like it?

Well, I just thought i'd give you a call. See what's up? How you doing? What are you.

Reading Men's Fitness, Men's Fitness? Yeah, about America's fastest cities.

Oh, you know what, there's a doctor.

All right, I'll talk to you later.

I will talk to you later.

I was Jeff, I'm supposed to use that phone.

Sorry, it was a local call.

You're not supposed to use the phone. It doesn't matter whether it was a local or a long distance phone. We just didn't want people using that phone.

Okay, fine, what's what? What's the big deal? Though maybe I may ask what's the problem.

There is no problem. We just don't want people using that.

And you say you don't use the doctor's phone. Hold on, I guess it came up.

It comes up in conversation. But you see me when my phone rings, reading Men's Fitness and I am. I am very heavy, not the heaviest I ever was. But I'm a good.

I'm a good face is so cherubic. Baby, Yeah, you're just like a little baby.

Easily eighty five at that point, and reading Men's Fitness, which in itself, okay, keep going.

And then in walks the doctor who is the great, great Philip who was such a brilliant, brilliant character actors no longer with us.

Yeah, he was on Seinfeld in almost every Paul Thomas Anderson movie.

Yes, yeah, he was.

He was a favorite.

He's a brilliant Well, by the way, he's worked so much.

You know, the other night, I remember what I was watching last week. I was watching a reasonably old movie something. It was eighties, I believe you know today that's that's a classic old thing. Anyhow, it was a young Philip Baker Hall in a small part, and I was like, holy crap, that's Philly. So he's been working a long time and he was and by the way, I want.

To say, Larry loves him.

Yeah. Well, you know they get in an argument. What's the big deal, don't use the phone.

I'm supposed to use that phone. But Larry's like this stresses that it was a local call. Yeah, so what difference does it mean?

Don't stop? But here's what I want to say. Philip Baker Hall at no point even smirked.

No.

Every time he said anything, Larry exploded with laughter. I'm talking every time he said don't use the phone. You shouldn't use the phone, Larry.

Exploded, and he said things that were so funny, like the history of why you can't use this phone is so complex, Yes, things like that.

By the way, again Larry. And when I say laughed, I mean he laughed hard and he could barely. That scene should have taken forty minutes to shoot, and I know it took an hour easy.

With his laugh, Well, welcome to my world.

Yeah, you know, Larry, the reason seems capricious, and yeah, he doesn't break. He's totally serious that the history is so complexible. And then he mentions that he has tickets for the producers and he's going to be because Larry says, mel Brooks bang the door into his head and he talks about having the doctor has tickets for the producers, and he's going to clean it up in a few minutes and put some stitches on et cetera, et cetera.

And they then they still carry on more after that about the rule not making sense.

And then he says it'll be a little prick, little prick when he does the stitches, and Larry says, oh, I know that there's a price.

Definitely a prick, and he says, yeah, a prick.

And I thought to myself, why he's doing that? And this is Larry's character. If you are going to move forward with the doctor to do a minimal procedure a big procedure, wouldn't you kind of want him to like.

You, especially if he's stitching up your head. Yes, so well not Larry.

No.

And then as the doctor is stitching him up, the doctor.

Drools on Larry, which is really gross. It is really really.

It is it is, it is. I'm surprised he did that. That's not really drooling poop all that stuff. That's he really doesn't like gross stuff, and I'm surprised. Yeah.

So then he's with you when you're saying you have any ideas for the anniversary present, and Larry's like, I've got three months, my fat friend, and it goes off in a whole rick with that's a.

Couple of things you have to know. First off, he said, what I mind? Because he is calling me my fat friend, And like I used to say to you all the time, go nuts, rip me, call me as a fat fuck, call me whatever you want. And I did, I know, but you had called me in previous thenes fat fuck, and you still felt bad doing it, and I'm like, come on, do it. So I said to him, do it. And do you know who he was doing? Do you know who that was? Who he was imitating?

It was Carson, wasn't it.

No, this is where Carson got from. Jackie Gleeson.

Oh, Jackie Gleeson, Yeah, yes, and the things.

He was saying, yeah, Jackie Gleeson, that voice comes.

From yeah, And again did a great impression.

Yeah, And it was really fun.

And then the wheelchair guy you run into him, and Larry says, did you get your wallet? And he says, yeah, Joe Anne, who is the Rachel Harris? That was her name, Joeanne. Joanne found it. I gave her one hundred dollars. The two of you go back to Mel's office and he says to Joe Anne, Rachel Harris, I ran into Dennis.

He gave you one hundred dollars.

I walk in and just go to the seat. I'm not going to be involved with you.

Well, that's you him, he has to confront her. I hear that he gave you one hundred dollars. And then Joanne's partner comes in.

And what's going on. This is the guy that I told you, Oh, you got a problem with our lifestyle that we want to adopt a baby. No, you need a good fucking thinking.

That's what you need if you want to name our baby tang. You think it's good to name a kid after a breakfast drink. We don't think that's a good name. Do you understand that?

I understand.

And she roughs ld up. She just beats the crap out of him in a way. You know, she just threatens him. And I hear you were complaining about you know, it's about us having a baby and blah blah.

Blah blah blah. And you could see he's really scared of her.

But she really was great, because she really here's the point.

You didn't know back hold on.

You believed he was scared of her.

It was I was scared of her.

Yeah, she was really great.

So now we enter Mel's office, and sitting there is Mel Brooks and Paul Mazerski and Rudy de Luca. Yes, now let's tell people who these guys are, because they might not know.

I mean most people should.

So.

Rudy de Luca was a great writer. Yes, comedy right, he wrote all of Mel's movies with him.

I wrote, Yeah, wrote, and it was in all of them too.

And he was in a lot of them. And he wrote.

He wrote a lot of stuff through the years. And also an actor, a character actor. And Paul Mazerski was an amazing director.

Yeah.

Next up Greenwich Village. Bob and Carroll and Ted and Alice Block.

In Beverly Hill.

Just a wonderful and by the way, may.

Also say my mentor he was. He was my mentor I had.

And a lovely man, the.

Best I had breakfast with him all the time amongst other people at the Farmer's Market, a third and Fairfax, and every day talk about even when I spent time alone with him, he told me a story. The first shot of Bob, Carroll, tedan Alice is from a crane down on all these people who were at a couples not retreat, but and sex went around and I don't know what you'd call it back then, and he's he's really nervous about shooting his first scene. So his DP says, Paul,

Did that relax you?

I told him? I go I can't. I said, I'm so nervous. I can't. He calmed me down. But how about that passing it on?

Now?

I love that he died a few years ago. Is is still alive. I don't know.

I don't know.

Look that up I was mel Is Mail is still alive and kick.

Is mel ninety eight or so ninety nine.

Something way out there. Yeah, so okay. So now Mel asked Larry to play Max Bioli stock in The Producers. In the New York version, when Nathan Lane leaves, he wants Larry to go in and play Max Bioli shop or you got it or you ain't.

Oh.

He tells a story about Andreas, the guy who played Carmen Ghia in the in the Producer's movie.

And we made the movie of the Producers.

The guy that played Carmen Gia was this incredible talented Greek actor. His name is Andreas, Andreas Fatinas. And Andreas used to say to me, or you got it or you ain't. I said, Andreas, you can't start a.

Sentence with war. He said, never mind. Oh you got it? Oi you ate? You got it? Larry, you got it? Larry, you got it. Mister mister Brooks is right, my friend, you got it.

Or you got it or you And he tells him that Ben Stiller will be playing Leo Leo Bloom.

Uh.

And he says, come to the show tonight. And Larry's like, is this candid camera? I keep thinking Alan Funt is gonna walk in or something. He can't believe that he's being offered this part, and you guys leave and Paul Mazarski Norman says.

And by the way, I say to Mel, he's gonna do it.

He's gonna do it.

And I'm like, sure, well you are because as a manager you are his biggest fan.

Oh yeah, and you you are. You know, is a home run.

He's going to do it, which leads to Paul mask who we've seen getting angrier and angrier. And then what does Paul say?

Giant mistake. Yeah, this is a giant mistake.

He says, you had zero, Nathan, you had zero Mustelle, Nathan Lane, Jason, Alexander, and Larry David, which is.

A worthy question, by the way.

Yeah, we'll be right back. Stay tied. Okay, we're back.

And then we are at the theater. It seats seat M four and M five. I thought that was hilarious that Mel threw that in what seats?

They were, Oh, you're right, right, right, right right.

And Larry wants to take a painkiller because his head is hurting him, you know, from the gash he got, and Cheryl's like, won't you get tired?

Bah bah, And then.

Across the lobby they see Ben Stiller and his wife Christine Taylor.

First off, in the background, I see and I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure Marissa Winnaker, which.

Tells you I didn't notice that.

No, I'll tell you why. She was probably there. She was probably at the theater because we didn't shoot inside that theater. We shot inside a different theater. Hairspray had to have been playing there with her.

Marissa Whittaker was in the show.

Oh yeah, she was the elevator. Speaking of shining, speaking of signing it, wrested Larry wrestling Marissa was pretty awesome. H And so I start in the background. Now the other thing is and this is La. So Larry is miffed at who he wants to play opposite him and the producers. He's like this, that.

And the and the show in the.

Show he wants to know and he names famous people's names. The night before, I'm at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood seeing some old movie and Ben's there with Christine, and I say to Ben, Ben goes, the show's great. Then I go, would you ever want to do it? Because I know he's a great improviser. Would you ever want to be in the show? He goes, I'd love to be on the show. So the next day I go into work and I go, Larry ben Stiller, do you think you'd do it? Oh? I know, do it and the rest and he.

Was a great I was great casting, right.

So Larry tells him that he was offered Max and Ben is non plus.

A little.

Actually offered, yeah, really offered.

In the I know are you guys just going because it's it took him a long time to make this decision.

Well yeah, we.

Won you act?

Yeah, yeah, And he's saying, I don't do anything really really, they'll have to teach me, right.

He saw me in a karaoke bar.

Wow, you're working with me, right, No, it's true, but I'm still thinking about it. I haven't made up my mind.

Yeah, yeah, well you should think about it.

And he's like, well you can act, you could sing, uh, he said, And then it took Ben a long time to make up his mind and Larry just decided immediately ready to getting off to the wrong foot. And then and Ben sneezes into his hand. Then they part because the show is going to start, and Larry pats him on the back. He won't shake his hand, which I think is completely reasonable.

Well, by the way, I had the reverse app and so I know it's reasonable. Meaning what one of James's friends when he was very little, mother I loved, father not so crazy. We went over to their house shook my hand. And the reason Larry didn't shake is what happened to me handful snot and I know a lot, and I was like, how could he do that to me? How can he do this?

Disgusting?

So anyhow, when you say reasonable, I know reasonable more than I'm sorry to even tell that story.

But Cheryl says, what's wrong with you? You didn't shake his hand?

And then we see they're watching the Producers and it's Lewis J. Stadlin is playing Max. Now, let me tell you about Louis and me. Lewis and I go way back. Lewis's father, who was a voiceover like aficionado.

He did when we were kids. He did all the cartoons.

He was Odi Kelodi, he was did Underdog Simon bal Sinister. He was a major voiceover gard I did a million commercials. His father, Iras Stadlin, was my mother's boyfriend in high school.

Lewis J.

Stadlin's father, and they stayed friends so he was like an uncle to me, and he always took me under his wing and was amazing to me. So I've known Lewis my whole life. And there was Lewis playing Max Reali Stock in the la version of The Producers, and Don Stevenson was playing Leo. And then Larry's getting really tired. He took the painkiller and he's getting really tired, and he yawns and Cheryl whispers to him, which this whole part.

But by the way, I think, hold on though, that happens in every show, no matter how well written, no matter how poorly written, no matter how serious not serious. People talk in the theater in television.

I don't well, and I had with my husband.

He starts sit in the last row generally in movies because I don't want to hear anyone behind me.

I agree, And I also don't like to feel anyone behind me, not just here. I don't like anybody behind me. I always sit in the last row. By you and I are oddly compatible, Jeffrey.

Well, people, we said this before, whereas close as can be, and we love each other, which is so the opposite of what people think. But I wanted to say something. I went look at my notes.

They're talking in the movie in the movie theater okay, yes, not movie there, but the theater theater Broadway, you know, live theater, and Cheryl says, how about our tenth anniversary present. Larry's like, it's fine if you want to get out of it, and she's like, I don't want to get

Well, by the way he says that after he sees Katie.

Katie Huffman as what's the Katie Huffman who plays but she plays the Swedish secretary.

She got her name, Yeah, she's a tall drink of watery.

Tall drink of water, tall drink of sexy water. And he sees Katie Huffman, He's like, maybe I'll do the show. She'll be my anniversary present. And then he falls asleep and he drools on Philip baker Hole's head.

And he looks up and we shot it to where Larry is over the edge, so Philip baker Hall can.

See like Larry's on the mezzanine right and that, and Philip baker Hole is in the in the orchestra.

I have a memory of shooting that. We shot it. We're moving to the next location. We're a bit of ways from this theater, which was a downtown theater, and Larry realized he didn't have the bandageohn the whole scene, the whole thing. We had to go back and reshoot everything.

Oh, I didn't know from the jet go.

So was another okay, two hours that cost us.

By the way, there are two people whose responsibility that is. One is the makeup person who's putting that on on him, and the other is the script person, who's the script supervisor.

By the way, we had I believe she was a substitute because we've had a couple genius ones like I don't know how they pull it off.

Like I go, wow, well, especially for our show, right, yeah, let's just tell the audience what they do because some people don't know. Script supervisor generally takes care of continuity, like exactly what you just said was my leg on the rise of So we're shooting a scene and I might be like this, and then the next scene I don't remember that I was like this, and I'm like this, and it's not going to match when we start cutting.

I believe got fired in the next week or two, because that's that's about a bad mistake because that costs a lot of money and.

We already know we know all about makeup at that.

But I also want to say this, and this is something that I believe Francis Ford Coppola said this Coppola Coppola continuity is for pussies, and I completely agree, because if your note like people notice a microphone, but I mean, you know, a boom, but it goes out of the way. You don't want that because that takes.

You out, or or not having the bandage. That's egregious, very egregious.

Yes, that's an a great so all based on But I'm talking about physical things that can.

Hold on Sondra out.

I don't know if I told this story to I said Larry, we're about to shoot, Larry needs his makeup done, and we're in the middle of the scene. And she walks out in the middle of the scene and starts poking on Larry, and the look on Larry's face and everyone and everyone know it, knew it had to be me. But by the way, continuities for pussies because in the scene, finger this side, finger that side, doesn't matter if they're engrossed in the thing.

So unless it's unless it's something that's egregious, because that could be distracting and take you out of the scene. And that has happened to me in in movies where I noticed something. I'm just like, it takes me out of the scene. It's too startling and jarring. But a leg cross the wrong way, I could care that.

The way you hold your elbow is also The.

Other thing is also eye line, which is which is a major and very important. By the way, eye line is very important because if like a lot of times. We'll a scene. I'm just explaining this for the audience, not for you. We'll do a scene where I'm looking at you, but instead of looking at you when we're shooting the scene, I have to look to the left of you or to the right of you or whatever so that the eye line for the camera is correct.

Yep.

And that's important to me because when I see eye lines off, it throws me.

And by the way, every day of shooting we have that where you're talking to me, but the camera is right next to me and you have to look at the camera. So that way makes sense on the thing. But that's the dp's job, that's the script supervisor's job, and the directors, the three of.

Them, and that's the magic, the magic of films.

Did they cross the line?

So we will see you next time?

Yes for season four, episode two, which is a very funny episode, and we'll be back.

Yes, Yes, Bye bye.

The history of came Enthusiasm the production of iHeart Radio. For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.