August 26, 2025 • 56 mins
Meet Lisa Ammerman, a Peabody Award-winning producer, journalist, and media executive. She was the Senior Producer of The Late Late Show and it was great to catch up and go down the memory lane of the Late night days! She has produced television for CBS, NBC, and PBS, as well as developed and produced podcasts for clients such as Audible, Wondery, iHeart, Disney Music, Universal Music Group, Microsoft, and Sony. She co-founded the award-winning, independent podcast company Treefort Media in 2018 and prior to that, she originated the role of Vice President, Talent Booking at CBS Entertainment. EnJOY!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is me, Craig Ferguson. I'm inviting you to come
and see my brand new comedy hour well as Actually
it's about an hour and a half and I don't
have an opener because these guys cost money. But what
I'm saying is I'll be on stage for a while. Anyway,
come and see me live on the pads on Fire
Tour in your region. Tickets are on sale now and
we'll be adding more as the tour continues throughout twenty
(00:23):
twenty five and beyond. For a full list of dates,
go to the Craig Ferguson show dot com. See you
on the road, My DearS. My name is Craig Ferguson.
The name of this podcast is joy. I talk to
interesting people about what brings them happiness. You probably don't
(00:46):
know my guest today, but I do because Lisa Amerman,
who's my guest. The guy was one of the producers
of the old Late Night Show, which I used to
do on CBS television, and today we shall spill as
much tea as legally advisable about our time there. She's
a great, lovely fun person, as you're about to find out.
(01:09):
Enjoy So the last time we did this. You were
going to say, I said to you funny all day?
Isn't it something like that? You did? You did? It?
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Seared in my brain.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Because you were what was the situation of his show?
Was it Sean William Scott Stiffler, stiff Stiffler, that's right?
And you were the segment producer that was producing him
as a guest, and what he got held up or
something and he got stuck?
Speaker 2 (01:42):
What Craigs?
Speaker 3 (01:43):
He was well on Thursdays we always did two shows,
and so he was the second show for Friday. He
was going to be the lead guest, and he was
coming in from Malibu and he was delayed in traffic
because anyone who lives in Los Angeles knows to get
from Malibu to like.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
You know, West Hollywood. It was like three hours exactly.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Himself.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Enough time, poor guy, or I should say poor me.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
So oh yeah, because I remember them saying to me
made it And I was like, well, who did the thing?
And they said it was Lisa. I was like, all right, Lisa,
you're up, but it's your guest. Do you have to
be on the show? And when I look back at
the way, so did I put you on the spot.
Was that cruel or a little bit? Was it cruel?
I'm so sorry.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
It wasn't cruel. It was actually I mean, was I
on the spot? Yes, but it wasn't cruel. It was funny.
I mean, I have a good sense of you're more,
obviously you do.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
And I also figured it would be fun, I mean,
and like we'd have a good time. And also if
you hated it, because I don't know if people knew
this about or know this about late night shows, but
none of them, none of them are live. And so
if you hate it and said, look, I didn't like that,
then I could have just said I will kick it
out and I'll do an extra tweet and email segment then.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
But my recollection is you like this so much you
put me out there several more times. I was a
cold open a few more times. So I don't know
about that.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Yeah, I did like it because I thought, and I
like it even though because look it's ten years since
we did that show, we haven't and we still talk
to each other.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Yeah, you just had coffee and.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
You we have a decent relationship. So obviously it was
not bad.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
It was not that bad.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
It was actually fun and it's sort of the gift
that keeps on giving. I have random people literally like
text it to me and be like.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Oh my god.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Yeah so yeah, well I thought you did great. That
My recollection of it is that you did great. So listen,
we you won for our late night show when you
were one of the producers in that lad show. You
won for that show a Peabody Award. I don't know
how many people know that about you, the Peabody Award.
Will we go for that show? You really wasn't it.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
That is very kind of you to say. But I
was behind the scenes. You were the one out there
in front of the camera. I got Desmond Tutu to
the studio with a nice letter. But that was a
team effort for sure.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Well, I look, and the way I remember it is this,
Once Desmond Tutu was in the studio, all I had
to do is just sit there and let them be
Desmond Tutu and I'd collect the kudos. I mean, he
was amazing. Well it kind of an easy gandam there though, right, it.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Took I think the process start.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
It was eight months of like sort of you know,
behind the scenes, trying to get him there.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Michael Natis who was our showrunner.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
He saw that Tutu was going to be in Palm
Springs at an event, and so he was like, he
came into my office and he said, see if you
can get him. He's never done Late Night, and so
we sort of strategized and I wrote a letter. Basically
the gist of it was, you've never done Late Night
and this is a great way to sort of educate
people who may not recall because at that point it
(05:01):
been decades, you know, since since he had sort of
you know, made himself a global name. And and they
said yes, and so we did a whole sort of
takeover of the show where we did three segments with him.
We asked him who his musical, like, you know, guest
if he if he had his pick, and I think
he said George Clinton, if I remember right, because it
(05:23):
was George Clinton, right.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Yeah, I think George Clinton. Yeah he did.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
And he was so lovely.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
And then the only thing that they asked was because
time was sort of really crunched for him, they asked
us to arrange for a helicopter from CBS TV City
to go out to bring him to Palm Springs because
otherwise he wouldn't be able to do it.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
So we were like, whatever we need to do, of course.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
And so after we had taped, I'm like walking out
to the helipad on top of the building. One of
our interns is in the helicopter and she and I
like lock eyes, and I mean, like wordlessly, she just
you know, she was like talking to the pilot.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Was very funny. He didn't he didn't see me notice,
but it was like.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Yeah, helicopter, Well, was she gonna you better not tell
me who it was? But was she going to hitch
your ride? I don't know.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
I think she was just fascinated that there was like
a helicopter on the roof, you know, And so she
was just like asking questions.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
But yeah, were you working at the show when I
was taking the helicopter every day? Oh my god, No,
I don't think so. Yeah, that like it was right
in the beginning. How many years then did you join
the show? It wasn't that far in, was it?
Speaker 2 (06:35):
It was the It was I.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
I actually I had I don't know if you remember this,
but the writer's strike that happened in two thousand and
seven when you guys were dark, I was. I started
interviewing I met Michael and Peter producer, and then you
and I met at the grove because we couldn't cant remember, yeah,
and so because I started to go under the law, right,
(06:58):
that's right.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
So I started in January of two thousand and eight.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
That's funny because I think it was before the writers strike.
I was doing a residency in Las Vegas, right or
I was doing a week in Las Vegas, and the
helipad was right outside my office, and I used to
do this show. I would do the show and we
would finish at six o'clock. Then I would go up
(07:24):
to the helipad. I would go to my office, get
my jacket, go into the helicopter that was waiting on
the helipad, go to Van Night's airport, and then they'd
fly me up to Las Vegas. I don't think. I
don't think that kind of stuff goes on that much anymore.
And these were different times.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
I don't think so mean. I mean, all talk shows
are now on.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
YouTube, also talk shows now. I think that like Late
Night Steven's going away now, I mean that's going away,
and I think, you know, I think the whole the
whole thing is probably going to fold up and don't
you think, do you think kind of they're big shows
to keep going? They are?
Speaker 3 (08:03):
I mean, it makes me sad. I feel like it
was just such a fun sort of you know. I
love the pace of it. I loved the you know
sort of the content. I mean, everything was like so
sort of very current and fun and funny. You know. Again,
I sort of feel like what goes around comes around,
you know, like podcasts.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Everyone was just talking.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
And there was no video, and now literally Late Night
is all podcasts. I mean, I feel like these are
very similar conversations. A lot of times.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
I think that I think that's right. I think that
the itch that the people, if anyone needs to scratch
a late night edge, that they can. And I don't
know that I'm one of them, but if anyone does,
then you can do a podcast. I mean, it seems
to me like everyone who, i mean, Stephen Colbert end
up doing a podcast. I'm sure when he's done, and
Conan does one. I do this one for now. Bima
(08:57):
was the big quer Lan Lando doesn't do one though,
he just but he's got his cars.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
He's got his car show, right, I'm does he still
do that?
Speaker 1 (09:04):
I'm not even know the car show. The car show
he doesn't do anymore, but he has, but he has
the actual cars. Have you ever been there? No, Oh
my god, it's the greatest. Yeah, oh my god, it's amazing.
You know in the cars. There no high recall. I
don't think you were ever in the cars? Are you.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
A little?
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Not really, although I have to say, I just was
driving up my street and somebody has like a really
cool old Gto that's like being completely refurbished. And my
dad used to have a gto when when I was
when I was little, and he brought it. He actually
shipped it when he was in the army to Germany
so he could drive it on the Autobahn.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Which that's great. Yeah, I mean that's great.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Did you did you drive your dad's car in the
autobone in Germany?
Speaker 3 (09:55):
I mean I was a child. It was like the
early seventies. Now I'm dating myself, but yeah, I mean,
but you you know, I asked you.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
This is sad. I had this like plastic baby that
I took everywhere and my parents.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
I was in the back of the Gto. He's like
flying out like one hundred and twenty miles an hour.
I'm not somebody's passing him on the left, and I
opened the window and out goes the baby the boob.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
My parents were like, who I told you?
Speaker 3 (10:20):
I was like three, and so my dad like screeches
over to the like you know, emergency lane.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
As people are literally like, I mean hundreds.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
Of miles now, it's really like combing through the fields.
I try to find you know, the baby was like
in Smitherings. Yeah, the baby.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
The baby didn't make it.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
The baby did not make it.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Do you remember this?
Speaker 2 (10:42):
I you know, like you have like says, what's your
first memory? I have?
Speaker 3 (10:46):
I don't know if I remember it very clearly or
if I've heard the story so many times I can
picture it because I can picture like what I look
like at that age, like the car, me in the
back seat, my mom and dad like. So, I don't know,
I'm not totally shure if I trust my own memory.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
I didn't know about you in Germany. How long were
you in Germany?
Speaker 2 (11:04):
We were there? I think it was just the hair
under two years.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Was your dad in the military, mm hmmm.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
He was a psychiatrist of the army shut the He
had the option to Vietnam or to Germany and My
mother's first language was German, so that was actually really easy.
But you know, sort of you'll appreciate this because I
know you and I share some sense of humor here
(11:33):
where we didn't live on the base. We lived like
sort of off the base. It was like this tiny
town and on the street there was a sign that
basically warned cars that there was cowshit, so you had
to be careful your car would yeah yeah, how did
(11:55):
you guys not take that back to the United States
with you?
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Like that side, I would have taken it everywhere with me. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Yeah. But here's the thing. If you you break the
law in Germany, especially no, I think probably any type,
but especially then, it probably would be that great Germans
like things to be, you know, just so yeah, little bit. Yeah,
maybe that's it. But you know what, maybe that's a
racial stereotype. I don't know. I don't know if that's true.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
You know what I will My parents had always sort
of said every time that gto broke down, and they
would like drive everywhere all over the place.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
The French would just drive right by him.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
The Germans always stopped, and I said, well, how many
times did this car break down? The two years you
were in Germany, Like, maybe it wasn't the safest car guys.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
You know, yeah, no, no answer, you knew.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
A car like that. But then again, in the nineteen seventies,
that GTO probably isn't that old at that point, right,
it's probably like a few years old. If that, Yeah,
we shouldn't be breaking down.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
No, I mean exactly, he drove it hard.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Yeah, I mean, my god, the idea of a GTO
in Germany in the nineteen seventies, man, that's that's living
your life, right, And the fact that he was I
don't know why I didn't know that your father was
a psychiatrist, which is a little bit about you. You've
got a very psychiatrist vibe. Actually, if you don't make
me saying so.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
I'm going to take that as a compliment because I
feel like, yes.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
No, it's a compliment because I think that, you know,
the job that you had when we were working in
late night was extremely political. I mean you were like
you were working with me, you were also working with
you know, the power of the network and all of
these people. That's that's like a that's a tricky dance
because I don't know how I mean, I don't think
(13:43):
I was ever aggressive with a network. But I didn't
care for them much, and I don't think they cared
for me much either. I liked I liked Alex. Alex
was a great executive, but the rest of them, well, you.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Know, she and I grew up together. We were friends
as we were twelve.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
I didn't know, no, I knew you were friendly. I
had no idea that you were such close friends. We
should see Alex's second name now, because we're talking publicly.
Then we should give her credit.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Alex Jeaffe Actually, and she will love this when she
finally hears this. And I've said this actually before. I
actually credit her with a big portion of my career
because she too. Yeah, right, Because when I was deciding
what I wanted to do with my life, sort of
a few years out of college, I wasn't sort of
happy with what I was doing. She was like, you
always like pop culture, why don't you do something in TV?
(14:36):
And so I was like, you know what, You're right,
and so I sort of made my way into I
worked like PBS type stuff, initially more journalism, and then
when I moved out to Los Angeles, I when my
daughter was little, I was just sort of doing my
casting for Amazing Race and Survivor, which was really fun.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
It was like journalism one on one.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
And then she ran into Michael Natis in the parking
lot at CBS. They were colleagues, and he was like,
we're really looking for a you know, a segment producer,
and she was like, I have a friend who's never
done this, but she has like a very like odd sort.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Of memory for a lot of random pop culture stuff.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
You should talk to her and so and then like
a year after that, she then became the executive assigned
to the show.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
And we didn't tell anybody how well we knew.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
Each other because I was like, well, you know, we
don't want to walk the boat. But then it became well,
that's you must have kept it for me.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
I know, I knew you guys got along, but I
had no idea that you went by that far, which
I would have made absolutely no difference at all. But
I mean, but it was interesting because I remember when
Alex took over, because we were still working on the
old style of format for television, and Alex was the
one that goes to up to date cameras in the
(15:49):
studios because you the stuff before Alex. I mean, it's
like soup, it's like TV from the name. I remember
once Lily Tomlin was on the show and she said,
oh my god, the studio when I was here, this
was this was a closet. This was the wardrobe closet.
I went, well, it's a studio, and the rich went, well,
(16:10):
I love what you've done for.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
It, right right, Well, I mean she was a wonderful
guest here. She was so fun.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
She's great. Yeah, she's a lovely person. She's lovely. Mm
hm did you do her when she was on the show.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
I did.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
I had, Lily Tomlin, I had I'm trying to think,
like I mean, I have to say I had so
many like amazing sort of moments.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Hello, this is Craig Ferguson, and I want to let
you know I have a brand new stand up comedy
special out now on YouTube. It's called I'm So Happy,
and I would be so happy if you checked it out.
To watch the special, just go to my YouTube channel
at the Craig Ferguson Show, and is this right there?
Just click it and play it and it's free. I
(16:54):
can't look. I'm not going to come around your house
and show you how to do it. If you can't
do it, then you can't have it. But if you
can figure it out yours, you know what we should do,
he says, we should explain to people, and maybe you
should explain to me. I actually, because I don't know
if I fully understood the entire job. Well, exactly, a
segment producer on a late night show such as the
(17:17):
one we did actually does.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Sure.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
So ours actually was a little bit different than other shows.
Other shows there's bookers and there's producers. We combined those
two roles and work with outside bookers too, But so
you know, when we booked something, we then worked with
our research department to make sure that we had sort
of all up to date information on what they were promoting,
(17:43):
which we never talked about.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Did nobody cared?
Speaker 3 (17:48):
And and then I would get on the phone with
that talent and you know, spend like a half hour
depending sort of you know, find out what they were,
what was happening in their lives. But our show really
was because it was so sort of off the cuff.
I you know, when I spent so much time with you,
I knew, like if you'd fallen off a horse, if
you had like stubbed your toe if you decide you
(18:10):
were no longer like whatever. So I would try and
find common ground because I knew once I got that
common like you know, denominator out there like and you
guys could start chatting, conversational oil just sort.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Of took over.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
So I knew, like what and I knew people who
were capable of that and not capable of that. So
if they weren't capable of it as or it wasn't
as comfortable for them, I would basically, you know, give
them pointers on like, you know, if you feel like
the conversation is starting to you know, you know, go
in a direction you're not comfortable with. Ask him about
(18:43):
something on the desk, ask him about something and the
do a call back to something you heard earlier in
the show.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
And I always tended to work, so just prepping them, yeah,
and then you know, prepping you.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Yeah, I remember because we used to have that meeting
before the show every day where you would come in
and the other who was this segment be coud you
So you worked with.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
I worked with a few when I first started. There
was a gentleman named Josh, and then Megan O'Toole was
there for years, and I'm in touch with Megan, who.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Was too fantastic.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Gah, you guys got tattoos together.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Yes, I knew that.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
That was before my time.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
And then Meghan married a former intern who Brian Kerr.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
They got me.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
Yes, they've been married for like ten years now. They
have two adorable boys. Yeah, I mean they're boys or
I just met them. Actually I met the boys for
the first time in New York a few weeks ago.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
They're ridiculously kid fun.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
That makes me so happy.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
And Brian was really he was He was a little
bit older as an intern, and so like he had
been a pilot in the military, which is why.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
You like empressive dude.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Yeah, terrific writer. I like, I just learned to fly.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
So I was talking to him a lot about planes
and stuff like that as well. Is he still a pilot?
Speaker 2 (20:04):
No, I don't think so that maybe maybe I actually
I shouldn't answer. I don't know the answer.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
But they weren't even dating when we were doing the show.
Well they or you see, I didn't know what they
were doing.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
Quietly, Yeah, our shows, our show had more than one marriage.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Our writer Ben Stout, he met his wife at the
show I don't remember.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
I think I knew that because I was yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
Still in touch with them. I was actually in touch
with them recently.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
That's great. Yeah, so that's pretty much fair of this
than I am. You. The only person I talked to
him from the from the show, I think Josh Oberto
I talked to Joe.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
I love Josh.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
I worked with Josh a lot.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
He makes me laugh.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Yeah, yeah, well, well you see that much he makes
me laugh. It's all over the internet, you know, It's like,
do you think it's weird? How much the show. I
remember having this conversation with Michael Natives, who you mentioned
earlier about about our show when we were making it,
and I remember it was towards the end of it.
We were winding down, and he says something about, you know,
(21:06):
people were you know, was the tickets where the audiences
were like it was backed up all the way and
they couldn't find any space for people. And he said
to me this thing, because I remember it as clear
as they were his office. They said, people really love
this show and I said, yeah, but not as much
as they're going to love it when we stopped doing it.
And I feel like that came true. No, I mean
(21:29):
I think that it's it's got huge presence now that
I don't know if he even had the presence that
kind of. I mean, I suppose it did, but I
wasn't aware of it, I guess. I mean, I was
just going to work every day.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
I think what people really loved, I mean, I can
tell it from the fan point, and I can tell
it from the talent point. The fan point was that
it was always unexpected, like they never knew sort of
what was coming, and it was like, I mean Dancing Horse,
which actually another amazing segment producer who I then worked
with for years also after I left CBS, Matthew Coogler.
He's he started as an intern for us to an
(22:03):
amazing segment producer, is now an executive producer.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Love him.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
That's amazing because he was a part of the horse.
He was back into the horse because the Front with
Jewel produces Tom Papa's radio show does Netflix as a
joke and all that big timey TV guy or wherever
people are in.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
The so you know, I think that the fans loved
the fact that like it was just wild and funny
and for people who really regularly watched the show like
the stuff that you got away with you, Oh my god,
Blake and the name of the robot Jeff, Jeff, you
(22:46):
know Jeff, how'd you get to Cleveland?
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Took the train? Oh my parents? Yeah, I was.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
I mean some of the stuff that we were getting
past the censor was crazy. It was crazy. Yeah, I
mean it was nuts. But because and I also think
the temperature was a little different then that, I don't
think anyone was like I don't think the internet was
quite looking for it and didn't need as much content
as it needs now, So there wasn't like you know this,
(23:16):
you know what did they do that we can get
angry about. But I mean I think now there would
be a little more of that, which is a shame
because it was you know where I kind of like,
have you ever heard of a radio show in Britain
called I'm sorry, I haven't a clue. No, Well, there's
a there's a radio show. It's a panel show. It's
(23:38):
been running on BBC Radio for years and years and
years and years, like I think from maybe the nineteen
sixties or maybe before, and it's different. People have rotated
through like Doctor Who or something like that. But there
was a time when it was It was hosted by
a guy called Humphrey Lyttleton who was a jazz trumpeter, okay,
and there were three panelists so on every show, so
(24:01):
it was basically improvised comedy. It was a guy called
Tim Brooke Taylor, a guy called Willie Rushton, and a
guy called Graham Garden, and there were other guys on
it as well who were hilarious. But what they did
was very early on in the life of our show,
Like I'm talking maybe even before you got there. I
think probably before you got there, maybe like two thousand
(24:22):
and five ish. I was flying from London to Los
Angeles and there was a compilation of these old radio
shows on Virgin Atlantic. I was on the plane, so
I listened and they were hysterical. They were hysterical, and
they were filthy. I mean stuff. Now they'd be like,
(24:45):
oh my god, like utterly filthy. But it was all
double long tongue crawls. It was all, you know, filthy
double one trunks. And I was just weeping with laughter
on the play. And I remember saying that Megan. When
I got off, I was like, you know, they whatever
that is, I'm going to do as much as that.
Speaker 3 (25:03):
But it was so fun I mean and like the
you know sort of the the talent liked it also
because they felt taken care of, you know, you never
it was never at like a really really awkward moment
like this weird pregnant pause.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
They all under mean.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
That was another thing that as segment producers, we would
always say to them like yes and no, but that
is the key to this show, you know, And they
all got that.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Yeah, I think improvisation was where to go. And people
always say this to me, and I wonder if they
say to you. They always say to me, who was
your favorite guest? And I always say, you know, Benny,
why or because they're too many that were great? So
is there anyone that stunds out to you?
Speaker 2 (25:43):
I mean other than Desmond Archbishop Desmond too too, which
was just like so amazing.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
That was like really incredible I had, I mean, I
got because we traveled with people, I really got to
know some of them very well and they were always
fun and funny. Like Kristen Bell was a favorite for
it was a favorite. David Sandaris was a favorite. Yeah,
oh great, didn't travel with us, but should have. He
(26:10):
would have been great. I've worked with him a lot since.
I mean, they were all fun and playful. I also
I loved the fact that we did so many authors,
because I think a lot of times people only see
authors on like a really sort of short promotional window
like Good Morning America or the Today's Show, and it's like,
tell me the plot of your book, How hard was it?
Speaker 2 (26:32):
What happens when you get writer's block?
Speaker 3 (26:33):
And we didn't talk about that at all, although I
will tell you John Irving, who I am everything, and
You're like, we got to get you on her.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
We got and I'm like, okay, have you ever seen him? Okay,
he's the hardest interview.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
I think you were out there with him for like
nine minutes, and I think I went back and counted.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
I think he said eleven words.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
I remember it because I remember Joan Irving's like, God,
this is about as hard as it get. Look, he's
a great writer. And I wanted them writer, Oh my god,
know that. Yes, And so when he when he came in,
and I because I remember it, and I was like,
oh my god. And then years and years and years later,
I'm talking years after we finished, I came across some
(27:16):
thing that was lying around the house that Megan and
I were moving on yet again, and I found some
thing lying around that was a list of authors talking
about their experience on our old show. Because I love
to say that because I can't even remember where it was,
but there was a quote from Johan Irving. He said, Oh,
I loved it. It was so playable, that he had
(27:36):
such a great time. He was my favorite. You shouldn't
let me know at the time, but I think I
think you're right. I think talking isn't.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
His thing, and he seemed like he had a grin
on his face, so I think he was enjoying himself.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
He's just not super chatty, and.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
I think he's maybe shy, yes.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Probably, yes.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (27:59):
Another one that I have to say I always loved
was the first time we had Robin Williams on and
his daughter had been a huge fan and convinced him
to do it because we've been out to him forever,
you know, and convinced him to do it, and and
you know, initially he came on, he did some material
and then he settled in and afterwards he came off
(28:22):
camera and he literally just turned to me and it
was like, oh my god, he hugged me and he
was like, I have found a home and I was like,
it was so he was so lovely he was.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
I mean, I still you know kind of I say.
I think it was about this time of year when
when he died, and I still think about it, you know,
I'm like, what the fuck? Man? And that one really
got to me. I mean because people that became friend.
Carrie Fisher was another one. Yeah, me too. I still
(28:59):
get a still get Robin and Carrie Forster on my
phone and I still have you know, I lost my
phone about a year ago or something, and you know
when you get your new email thing and all that
sorted out, and I found the email that I sent
to Carrie before I knew she had died. Oh I
(29:20):
you know, I'd sent her an email because she'd been
in London for a long time and I was like
I haven't seen you for ages and what the fuck
and where are you? And then and it was like
that it was like the day before or something, and
she never got back, never go back to me obviously, you.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
Know, but I was like, oh my god, she was
always fun, she always got These are all people who
just like totally got the show.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
And they just lean like I hit that turn, but
like leaned into it.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
You know, yeah, they understood it. I think that, you know,
there are people who like I think about, you know,
I can't believe I ended up kind of knowing them
and talking to them like in this Hoper and Michael
Keane and you know, it's like, yeah, I mean these
(30:06):
kind of it's such an odd feeling when you I
don't know if you got this, but I always thought
people that you would you could hardly really believe that
they actually exist. And then they become human and friendly,
and some of them knows for friendly, but I don't
really remember anyone being an asshole that.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
To be honest, people ask me that question all the time, like.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Yeah, they always they asked me too.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
It's weird, and I have to say, and this is real.
Speaker 3 (30:33):
I'm not just sort of like throwing a Hollywood line
out there like very much. I was the last face
that people saw before they went in front of a
live studio audience.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
So they were kind.
Speaker 3 (30:43):
They wanted me to help them somehow, you know, like
give me something so that I go out there and
don't like, you know, make an ass of myself.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
And so for the most part.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
I never I mean, in seven years on the show,
there were really very few incidents is where you were
kind of like, all right, breather, this is not.
Speaker 1 (31:05):
I think one or two and I've never talked about
them publicly, and I want today because I think sometimes
people get nervous, particularly I think if they're new to
the game. I mean, there's because I think back on
you know, sometimes when I was like when I was
coming up, I was probably a lot touchier. Like if
(31:28):
I do a talk show now and then I'm like,
I don't find fuck it whatever they say over running
late or you get yourself there or whatever, I don't.
I don't have any But I think when you're very insecure,
most people I think get rid of it over time,
but some people remain insecure and it gets a little
(31:49):
a little weird. But I don't remember much of it.
I really don't. I also feel like maybe that comes
from the vibe of the show, like being precious around
our show wasn't didn't do much for you, I don't think.
I don't think it.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
Hell agreat And I was going to say too, I mean,
that's also why you have producers as a buffer for you. Yeah,
you know, we know, our mantra was always to protect
the host, and the host is the brand zoo, it's
the show, you know. But at the same time we
weren't this wasn't sixty minutes like we're also protecting the guests.
I mean there were a few times where guests that
something that was like a career ender and I like
(32:23):
would turn to the publicist and be like, I got you,
don't worry, she will work again.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
Yeah. I remember a few of those that that's going
to come out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was like, funny
that because I think now that would be much harder
because someone in the audience would tweet it or you
know that like oh they said this and they must
have cut out of the show, or I think the
scrutiny on on the way people are now probably makes
(32:51):
the type of show we did almost impossible. I would
think it would have to have a it would have
to have a polemic so that you would say, we
don't care about that, so that you would you know,
you it'd have to be a thing. You know, you'd
have to make it a thing.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
I mean, you my this is you know, pov of one.
But my favorite was always like when something bothered you
and you just like threw out like everything, so like,
do you remember the time. It was actually one of
my favorite monologues, which is not really fair to the
writers who you know, you worked so closely with, But
I did love it.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
When we had the leak in the old.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
Oh, I was so fucking it was like ten minutes,
I mean, were you just went off? I literally like
it was so funny. It was so fucking Another thing
I also loved, which was semi rehearsed, I guess. But
when you and John Reynolds, who I'm also in touch with,
love He was a writer performer for us, and he
(33:50):
was you and you were Larry King, and he was like,
I mean so I've literally still watched some of those
on YouTube and like died laughing.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
They're very fund you know.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
It's it's funny because I remember that because his his
impression of me was so cruel that it was hilarious
because he was doing it right to me, yes, and
I could see, and he worked for me, so he
was I mean the storms on that man, because he
was he was, and I was like, oh god, damn,
(34:26):
It's very funny because because I did the same I
remember having the same experience with Larry because remember with
Larry King, I used to do this rather kind of
vicious impression of him and then I may'am and I
loved him.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
He was so lovely.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
He was on my very short list of like anytime
we had a drop out, like Larry King. Tom Lennon
also another favorite. I'm still in touch with Tom actually,
oh very nice.
Speaker 1 (34:53):
Yeah, yeah he's still I'm still friendly with him.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
Yeah, I love him.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
Those two were like at the top of our lists.
Who were on the dropout. Oh I would call sometimes
Michael Sheen if he was in town.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
He was also a.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
Tour ye always great as.
Speaker 3 (35:08):
Well, so great, Like those three were sort of like
the very top of the list, like where I was
like on speed Out hurry can you get here?
Speaker 2 (35:14):
It too?
Speaker 1 (35:16):
Yeah, there was tons of that. And I think the
Tim Meadows of course as well.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
Love to Meadows. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
I think Tim was actually on the show more than
anyone else. I think he holds the record. I remember
talking to some Mayi Ti or Kristen Bell, I don't
know sure, but he was spectacular, I mean, and they
he was I remember like, well called Tim probably the
(35:43):
night you had to come on and be it must
have been pretty late, or we would have called Tim
or Tom Lennon. Tom Lennon led like five blogs away
from the studio. Anyway, it was so late.
Speaker 3 (35:54):
I mean we started like clockwork, talk about German precision.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
We were like we always were on my kids were little.
But that's why the mom.
Speaker 2 (36:04):
I appreciated it. I mean, you know, I was the
only working you know, Is that right? No, I was not.
I was one of like two working moms when I
started the show, I think.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
Right, I think that that increased over time.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
Yes, for sure, but like at the time. I mean,
my daughter who's now twenty was like three, my.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
Last twenty four. It's insane. Liam's fourteen. I mean, it's
like crazy when I think about it, because but when
I when I was you know, but Liam was born
in twenty eleven, so he was there for the last
three years of the show. So I had a little
baby then, and then my little when I started the
(36:42):
show in two thousand and five, he was only four
years old and I was a single dad at that point.
So I would like the reason I got in the
habit of the show always had to be on time
is because I had childcare until six o'clock, and if
I didn't finish six o'clock, then what the fucker was
(37:02):
going to do? So I had to start on time
and finish on time. So that and it's crazy when
you think of all of the shit I could have
get up to, but I always had to six o'clock
and then get a baby and take them home.
Speaker 2 (37:15):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 3 (37:16):
I used to bring Sasha, my daughter, to the office
if we had a drop out, Like I was like, yeah,
here's some pushbins. Play with these, you know, yeah, but
they I mean, remember that there were kids towards the
last few years of the show. There seems like there
were kids running all over the place. It was a
little different time. Yeah, it was a different type of thing.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
I don't know if I said this to you at
the time, but I do remember it, and I've talked
about it, you know since. One of the things, one
of the reasons why I really had to stop doing
that show was when I came in every day and
you touched on it earlier with that protective host thing,
that the when I walked on every day, there was
pictures of me everywhere, and all the stationary had my
(38:05):
name on it and everybody wanted to make sure I
was in a good mood. And that really fucks with
your head. It really fucks with your head, because I started,
I mean, it makes you paranoid. Because I have a
friend who's a who was a cop. He's no longer
a cop, but he said, what you hated about being
(38:25):
a cop is that you feel like, even if they're not,
you feel like everyone's lying to you. And I said,
that's exactly what it's like. Venus fuckingtly know everyone is
lying to you, but it feels like everyone is lying
to you. And I think it's that it's a kind
of paranoia that comes in.
Speaker 3 (38:40):
I mean, you know, I will say, I think I
speak for anybody who works with hosts or anchors, or
anybody who's got a daily or a nightly show.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
You do not want to.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
Say something ahead of the show that could impact the host,
like you know, performance, mindset, whatever.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
And I remember perfect sense.
Speaker 3 (39:05):
You know, you actually had said to me when we
were in the interview process, when we met that time
at the Grove. Beforehand, you had said to me, if
you have an issue with me, we can talk about
it at six o'clock. Let's not talk about it before
the show, and I remember that, and which is true.
And I mean, you know, there wasn't anything that was
like earth shadowy that we couldn't figure out like how
(39:27):
to handle, and so it was you know, that was
again it was protecting the host. It was protecting the show,
and it was protecting the guest. It was going to
go out there. So there wasn't anything that was like,
I mean, nobody walked in violent you know.
Speaker 1 (39:41):
No, no, I don't remember any kind of because you heard.
I mean I heard about other shows and you hear stuff,
but I don't really remember anything any guests behaving particularly
badly with us, or anybody being an asshole when they
were coming at I mean again, I probably wouldn't have
heard about it. You know, pro certainly you're not going
to say to me before someone comes out and I've
(40:03):
got to be nice to them, this person is a
fucking asshole and you're going to hate them, because that
doesn't make any sense. And then then because I know you,
I wouldn't think, well, this person is a nuts one
and I am going to hate them, and then that's
that's not great.
Speaker 3 (40:16):
To watch now, I mean, and I think what was
helpful I think too is because we would do the
pre interview and somebody would like somebody said, like, you know,
please just make sure he doesn't ask me about like
my dating life because I'm getting divorced, Like okay, totally
get it off the record, of course, and like you know,
we will tell you that, because again, you never want
to have that moment out there, because that's not.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
Protecting you, it's not protecting them, like this isn't this
isn't tmz.
Speaker 1 (40:42):
I remember one we won't see who it is, but
I remember one where I said it was just it
was just riffing out there but nothing. And I said
to the guest, uh, you're still in that mad religious cult.
And I didn't know that they were. They were a scientologist.
I'll tell you.
Speaker 2 (41:01):
This.
Speaker 1 (41:02):
Yeah, And then like I think it was you said
to me afterwards, you know they're scientologist. I went, I
didn't fucking oh my god, oh no, And we cut
it out of the show and I had I called
I remember I called this person up in their car
or the way over and I said, I am so sorry,
I know what. I admit nothing by that, and we'll
cut it out. When they were fighting about it, but
(41:23):
I was like Jesus, you can put your fucking fool in.
It's so easy. Over and over again.
Speaker 2 (41:31):
We had somebody that we worked with quite a bit.
I'm not going to name.
Speaker 3 (41:35):
Names, who was off camera because we spent some time. Uh,
we spent some time with this person. They then were
very difficult to myself and the staff, but we kept
them from you until we were we were positive that
we had good content with that person because it was
(41:56):
something stuff we were doing off Kim.
Speaker 2 (41:58):
I mean, you know, out side the studio.
Speaker 1 (42:01):
Oh my god, yeah, the guy I remember. I remember that. Yeah,
I remember that. Oh no, we can't talk about that,
but yeah, that's right. I was like, oh my god,
I had no idea. I remember you guys saying, well,
that's I remember you told me afterwards, though, I remember
that it was very disappointing.
Speaker 3 (42:21):
But Josh Robert Thompson did an amazing impersonation of that
person that made it so much easier. Every time that
person opened their mouth, we were like, aha, it didn't matter.
Speaker 1 (42:30):
You know, it's so funny. Josh can do everybody, it's
unread everybody that the sabant like quality that he can
watch a human being for like, yeah, ten minutes, and
just not to say that he doesn't work at stuff.
I know that he does actually have a process and
he works and he's very diligent and stuff. But he's
(42:51):
coming from a place of such talent anyway. I mean,
it's bizarre, unbelievable. It is really unbelievable. I don't think
he's never done me to my face, but I bet
it would be good. I bet you could do you.
I mean what's alarming is when he's when he did
mean to me, and because he started doing the robot
(43:11):
doing my voice and my voice is nothing like that,
and then people would laugh because he would say, oh yeah,
and I was like, but it's not, and but apparently
it is. And I guess you don't hear yourself like
like he like it isn't said your head. I suppose
that happens to me quite a lot.
Speaker 3 (43:29):
Well, you know what I love about that too, is that,
you know, I feel like, you know, so many people
are always saying, like, you know, it's so hard to
pay attention and we're so distracted, you know, we're overwhelmed
with so much information. He like zones in on that.
People say he listens so intently and then uses it.
I mean, it's really it's it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (43:49):
Yeah, he finds a quirk and he gets at it
or like so it's ten years more than ten years
since we stopped doing the show. Yes, So what did
you do in between? What did you between then and now?
I know you could have invented podcasts or something.
Speaker 2 (44:12):
I did not invent podcasting.
Speaker 3 (44:14):
But well after, right after the show ended, I was
an executive CBS for a number of years where I
was sort of creating synergy across the network. So I
worked with a lot of the people that you know
in PR and marketing and other.
Speaker 1 (44:27):
Late night shows there in.
Speaker 2 (44:29):
Corn and started. Yeah, so that was actually really fun.
Speaker 1 (44:33):
Did you work with James Cordon after I had gone?
Speaker 3 (44:35):
No, right, just I mean just sort of his staff
that I was never on the show, like.
Speaker 2 (44:42):
Exactly, Yes, a little bit of that.
Speaker 3 (44:44):
And then and then after I did that for three years,
and then I co founded a production podcast production company
and we did that.
Speaker 2 (44:52):
I did that for like the last like seven years.
I left that in November.
Speaker 3 (44:56):
And now actually just more recently, I started as a
director of cultural programming at a members club in New York.
Speaker 2 (45:05):
So I'm actually really living in New York now is
just kind of bonkers.
Speaker 1 (45:09):
It's very nice. Yeah. Now I don't want to reveal
my exact location, but I am also in New York. Yes,
I mean, I reveal my exact location. Yeah, but you know,
and I don't think anyone cares anymore. But there may
be a few crazy people left over who couldn't sleep
(45:30):
in the you know, ten years or so ago. It's funny, though,
I don't. I feel like that level of visibility that
was there was only you know, that we were dealing
with on late night that I would not quurt that anymore.
That never made me comfortable.
Speaker 3 (45:49):
Well you know, I mean I raised a child in
Los Angeles, and so we would see people out everywhere
gas station, grocery store or whatever, and you know, we'd
be like, you know, little Canyon store where I am. Yeah, yeah,
look look look, you know. And when she was just
good milk, I thought it was a vagan And when
(46:11):
she has little should say, do you think I could
ask for a picture? And we would always say no,
that person's not working today.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
Like lead them alone, they're with their family or whatever.
Speaker 3 (46:19):
And I mean I have watched, like you know, at
the airport, like someone's you know, sniping a picture of
so and so, and it's like it's lost, there's no privacy.
Speaker 1 (46:28):
I wouldn't.
Speaker 3 (46:30):
I mean, I'm a very private person. I would not
want that for myself, and I find it. I think
it's probably hard for most people. You have so little
that's your own anymore.
Speaker 1 (46:42):
I think that's I mean, you don't even have to
be famous, though, you just have to be dumb. Like
look at the those people at that Coldplay corns for
those people that were having an affair, Like, neither one
of those people is a public perison, neither one of
them has a TV show or anything like that. They
are fucking everywhere everyone.
Speaker 2 (47:02):
The memes that I got, some of them were hilarious.
Speaker 1 (47:04):
I'd have to say some of them are hilarious.
Speaker 3 (47:06):
But hilarious still exactly. And I catch myself because I think, oh,
you know, their parents, they have kids who are seeing
this doe and it's like the collateral damage on that
is heartbreaking.
Speaker 1 (47:20):
Yeah, I think so. I think that it's such an
oddly different world. It's funny though, because I talked to
I talked to people even on this podcast. You know,
if you talk to actors or directors or artists of
any kind. They're very concerned and very suspicious about AI
(47:43):
and about the development of that. If you talk to
anyone in medicine, they're like, this is the greatest fucking
thing since sliced bread. This stuff's amazing. It's going to
save so many people. And so I guess the perspective
of what the technology can do depends on where you're standing.
But I feel like, like publicly, it seems like an
(48:06):
odd time to be famous. I don't know if i'd
won it.
Speaker 2 (48:11):
I mean, like the deep fake stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (48:13):
I mean that, yeah, I mean, you know what I.
Speaker 2 (48:17):
Mean, you don't know what to believe sometimes.
Speaker 1 (48:20):
I guess the good thing is if you ever do
in dumb you can just go that's not true. That's
that's a I added to do that. In fact, that's
going to be my position from now. Yeah, what everyone
says you said that, What that was to me, it
was Joyce Robert Cholston exactly. He was him doing my voice,
which I still do things that's like my voice. But
(48:40):
Burnley it does well.
Speaker 3 (48:41):
I mean, I don't know if he still does Morgan
Freeman or not. But when he so, Morgan Freeman came
on probably once a year on the show, and I
produced him again the majority of that time. And one
time as he was we were done and he was
walking off stage, Josh just started riffing as Morgan any
to me and he's like, is that me? She couldn't
(49:04):
even tell the difference, which was insane.
Speaker 1 (49:08):
Yeah, I know, it was. It was amazing. I remember
because when Josh got a little when Morgan Freeman got
a little bit, Josh looked like and he's like, wow,
you're a scarny little white kid. What the hell? Yeah,
I mean, and it was. It was amazing. Yeah, it's
funny to say. I mean, I don't know. I didn't
watch Late Night before I did it, and I didn't
(49:31):
watch it when I was doing it, and I don't
watch it now, so I have no real connection to it.
Did you were you a fan of it? Did you?
Speaker 3 (49:42):
I grew up watching Letterman like in bits, you know,
like the Top ten List, stupid Patrick's.
Speaker 2 (49:47):
I had a friend who.
Speaker 1 (49:47):
Guy I would do. Yes, Laerman was different.
Speaker 2 (49:50):
Yeah, I remember her standing.
Speaker 3 (49:52):
This woman is now a doctor, but when we were
in like tenth grade, she was standing on the payphone
in our high school doing like an I guess a
what's the right word audition for stupid petricks. So she
was like doing some animal noises or something that like
in the hallway and her like, you know, uniform. So
she did not make it, but she ended up Okay,
(50:13):
she's a doctor. And then but when my daughter was born,
the she was born in them like just after twelve
thirty in the morning, that was when I went to
labor and so Conan was on in the room.
Speaker 2 (50:25):
How weird is that when she was born?
Speaker 1 (50:29):
Oh that is so funny.
Speaker 3 (50:31):
Yeah, which I hadn't thought about until just now actually,
And but I mean, I have to say I having
I love conversations. So I love sort of those kinds
of like storytelling, and you know, like that reminds me
of like my childhood and like listening to my parents
and my grandparents like always sort of telling crazy stories,
one louder or more, you know, you know, it's strange
(50:53):
than the other. And so I like that.
Speaker 1 (50:55):
Yeah, I like it too. I feel like I just
won or sometimes. This is the thing that I wrestled
with even with this podcast, is that I love the
conversations and I love the conversations with people that I
want that I want to talk to and I was
talking today and stuff like that, And sometimes I feel
like the tricky part is people who do not wish
(51:20):
you well are listening into these conversations and that sometimes
because sometimes I completely forget all about it. I never
used to think about it late night, just never at all,
but I think about it a bit now.
Speaker 3 (51:32):
I had a coffee with a friend the other day
and we're both you know, women of a certain age,
and we were start of laughing. I was like, aren't
you with that Asian? Are you like could give to fos.
I don't care, like at this point, like you know, like, honestly,
if somebody doesn't like something I said, I think I've
been kind.
Speaker 2 (51:48):
I would try to.
Speaker 3 (51:49):
I try to be a good listener, a good friend.
If somebody is upset about something, I can't. I'm sorry,
I'm sorry, listen.
Speaker 1 (51:57):
I think that. I think that's fucking healthy. My position
is this, and I said this, and I do it,
and when I'm doing stand up now as well, I say, look,
I can't be held accountable for what I say. There,
that's it. Yeah, I can't be held accountable for what
I say. Also, the thing is it's kind of weird.
(52:19):
This is one thing I noticed about when you write
a book as well, and I've talked to a few
authors about this, that you write something down, maybe in
your thirties or forties, and you really believe that thing
to be true, and then about ten or fifteen years later,
you're like, oh my god, that's such fucking bullshit. I
(52:41):
hate that. I feel completely the opposite of that. But
now that's the thing you said, and it's written down
so people can put it on T shirts and then
put your name underneath it, and you're like, oh my god,
and I now I'm the guy that said that. I
don't believe that at all, but I did.
Speaker 2 (52:57):
Then do you want to write with or do you
want to write.
Speaker 1 (53:01):
Another I'm kind of littling away with something right now.
Speaker 2 (53:05):
Oh that's great.
Speaker 1 (53:09):
Uh fiction but the but I but in this day
and age, I don't think there's such a thing as
fiction or non fiction. I think it's all just a
big fucking soup. Now. There the but the It was
the thing that Peter Cook, who had he been alive,
I would definitely have him on the show. You know,
cook was my mentor I think years ago. Yeah, and
(53:32):
Cooky was so great to me whatever anyone would say.
He told me this himself. He said, whatever one anyone
says to me, I'm writing a book. I always say this.
Neither am I there is? You've did he ever?
Speaker 2 (53:47):
Was he ever on the show?
Speaker 1 (53:48):
No? No, he died before we started. He did die before.
Speaker 2 (53:52):
I didn't know when he died.
Speaker 1 (53:53):
Yeah, he died. He died like quite a long time
before before I started Late Night. I would have fucking
been He would have all over it as well. You
would have loved it, because, of course my whole vigain.
A lot of what I did was stolen from stolen.
Seems like a bit much was influenced then and procured
from me, but certainly in some part by knowing Peter
(54:17):
and working with Peter Cook. I mean, he was fucking amazing,
so funny and so again a very kind person, the
very empathetic person, and a kind of sad person too.
Speaker 2 (54:28):
You know, how had you initially meet him? I forgot.
Speaker 1 (54:31):
I asked him to be I asked him to be
on a thing that I was doing for for Channel
four in the UK, and they sent him the script
and he said yes. I think he said yes because
the production company I was working for was owned by
Ron Atkinson, mister Bean and Rowan knew Peter so and
(54:57):
then once I met Peter, he was very nice and
endly and we established them, you know how it happens,
you know that thing, and it was lovely. Look, we
should meet and spill some real tea that we can't
talk about publicly very soon. Yeah, I'm a town right now,
but I'll be in New York in a couple of days.
(55:18):
And I know Megan wants to call you and say
something as well, so we'll do that in the meantime.
Bugger off, you're done here well, and the next time
I'll talk to Sean William Scott.
Speaker 2 (55:27):
Oh, thank you. I could find him. I'll find him
for you, you.
Speaker 1 (55:32):
Know that, that would be funny if we. I haven't
seen him in years years, although he was Do you
watch The Gemstones? Yeah, yeah, he was great.
Speaker 3 (55:43):
I'm rewatching that right now because my daughter hadn't watched it,
so it's creatious. Edie Patterson is a genius fucking American
poet is wonderful.
Speaker 1 (55:58):
Again, he is somebody I wish we'd had on the show.
When you get half that, I mean, right, But then again,
it could have been a journer of HIC situation. Maybe
he's not, because maybe he's he likes to be charged with.
I don't know, I don't know, all right, bugger off, yeah,
This is me, Craig Ferguson. I'm inviting you to come
and see my brand new comedy hour well as Actually
it's about an hour and a half and I don't
have an opener because these guys cost money. But what
I'm saying is I'll be on stage for a while. Anyway,
come and see me live on the pads on Fire
Tour in your region. Tickets are on sale now and
we'll be adding more as the tour continues throughout twenty
(00:23):
twenty five and beyond. For a full list of dates,
go to the Craig Ferguson show dot com. See you
on the road, My DearS. My name is Craig Ferguson.
The name of this podcast is joy. I talk to
interesting people about what brings them happiness. You probably don't
(00:46):
know my guest today, but I do because Lisa Amerman,
who's my guest. The guy was one of the producers
of the old Late Night Show, which I used to
do on CBS television, and today we shall spill as
much tea as legally advisable about our time there. She's
a great, lovely fun person, as you're about to find out.
(01:09):
Enjoy So the last time we did this. You were
going to say, I said to you funny all day?
Isn't it something like that? You did? You did? It?
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Seared in my brain.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Because you were what was the situation of his show?
Was it Sean William Scott Stiffler, stiff Stiffler, that's right?
And you were the segment producer that was producing him
as a guest, and what he got held up or
something and he got stuck?
Speaker 2 (01:42):
What Craigs?
Speaker 3 (01:43):
He was well on Thursdays we always did two shows,
and so he was the second show for Friday. He
was going to be the lead guest, and he was
coming in from Malibu and he was delayed in traffic
because anyone who lives in Los Angeles knows to get
from Malibu to like.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
You know, West Hollywood. It was like three hours exactly.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Himself.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Enough time, poor guy, or I should say poor me.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
So oh yeah, because I remember them saying to me
made it And I was like, well, who did the thing?
And they said it was Lisa. I was like, all right, Lisa,
you're up, but it's your guest. Do you have to
be on the show? And when I look back at
the way, so did I put you on the spot.
Was that cruel or a little bit? Was it cruel?
I'm so sorry.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
It wasn't cruel. It was actually I mean, was I
on the spot? Yes, but it wasn't cruel. It was funny.
I mean, I have a good sense of you're more,
obviously you do.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
And I also figured it would be fun, I mean,
and like we'd have a good time. And also if
you hated it, because I don't know if people knew
this about or know this about late night shows, but
none of them, none of them are live. And so
if you hate it and said, look, I didn't like that,
then I could have just said I will kick it
out and I'll do an extra tweet and email segment then.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
But my recollection is you like this so much you
put me out there several more times. I was a
cold open a few more times. So I don't know
about that.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Yeah, I did like it because I thought, and I
like it even though because look it's ten years since
we did that show, we haven't and we still talk
to each other.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Yeah, you just had coffee and.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
You we have a decent relationship. So obviously it was
not bad.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
It was not that bad.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
It was actually fun and it's sort of the gift
that keeps on giving. I have random people literally like
text it to me and be like.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Oh my god.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Yeah so yeah, well I thought you did great. That
My recollection of it is that you did great. So listen,
we you won for our late night show when you
were one of the producers in that lad show. You
won for that show a Peabody Award. I don't know
how many people know that about you, the Peabody Award.
Will we go for that show? You really wasn't it.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
That is very kind of you to say. But I
was behind the scenes. You were the one out there
in front of the camera. I got Desmond Tutu to
the studio with a nice letter. But that was a
team effort for sure.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Well, I look, and the way I remember it is this,
Once Desmond Tutu was in the studio, all I had
to do is just sit there and let them be
Desmond Tutu and I'd collect the kudos. I mean, he
was amazing. Well it kind of an easy gandam there though, right, it.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Took I think the process start.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
It was eight months of like sort of you know,
behind the scenes, trying to get him there.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Michael Natis who was our showrunner.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
He saw that Tutu was going to be in Palm
Springs at an event, and so he was like, he
came into my office and he said, see if you
can get him. He's never done Late Night, and so
we sort of strategized and I wrote a letter. Basically
the gist of it was, you've never done Late Night
and this is a great way to sort of educate
people who may not recall because at that point it
(05:01):
been decades, you know, since since he had sort of
you know, made himself a global name. And and they
said yes, and so we did a whole sort of
takeover of the show where we did three segments with him.
We asked him who his musical, like, you know, guest
if he if he had his pick, and I think
he said George Clinton, if I remember right, because it
(05:23):
was George Clinton, right.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Yeah, I think George Clinton. Yeah he did.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
And he was so lovely.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
And then the only thing that they asked was because
time was sort of really crunched for him, they asked
us to arrange for a helicopter from CBS TV City
to go out to bring him to Palm Springs because
otherwise he wouldn't be able to do it.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
So we were like, whatever we need to do, of course.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
And so after we had taped, I'm like walking out
to the helipad on top of the building. One of
our interns is in the helicopter and she and I
like lock eyes, and I mean, like wordlessly, she just
you know, she was like talking to the pilot.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Was very funny. He didn't he didn't see me notice,
but it was like.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Yeah, helicopter, Well, was she gonna you better not tell
me who it was? But was she going to hitch
your ride? I don't know.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
I think she was just fascinated that there was like
a helicopter on the roof, you know, And so she
was just like asking questions.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
But yeah, were you working at the show when I
was taking the helicopter every day? Oh my god, No,
I don't think so. Yeah, that like it was right
in the beginning. How many years then did you join
the show? It wasn't that far in, was it?
Speaker 2 (06:35):
It was the It was I.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
I actually I had I don't know if you remember this,
but the writer's strike that happened in two thousand and
seven when you guys were dark, I was. I started
interviewing I met Michael and Peter producer, and then you
and I met at the grove because we couldn't cant remember, yeah,
and so because I started to go under the law, right,
(06:58):
that's right.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
So I started in January of two thousand and eight.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
That's funny because I think it was before the writers strike.
I was doing a residency in Las Vegas, right or
I was doing a week in Las Vegas, and the
helipad was right outside my office, and I used to
do this show. I would do the show and we
would finish at six o'clock. Then I would go up
(07:24):
to the helipad. I would go to my office, get
my jacket, go into the helicopter that was waiting on
the helipad, go to Van Night's airport, and then they'd
fly me up to Las Vegas. I don't think. I
don't think that kind of stuff goes on that much anymore.
And these were different times.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
I don't think so mean. I mean, all talk shows
are now on.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
YouTube, also talk shows now. I think that like Late
Night Steven's going away now, I mean that's going away,
and I think, you know, I think the whole the
whole thing is probably going to fold up and don't
you think, do you think kind of they're big shows
to keep going? They are?
Speaker 3 (08:03):
I mean, it makes me sad. I feel like it
was just such a fun sort of you know. I
love the pace of it. I loved the you know
sort of the content. I mean, everything was like so
sort of very current and fun and funny. You know. Again,
I sort of feel like what goes around comes around,
you know, like podcasts.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Everyone was just talking.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
And there was no video, and now literally Late Night
is all podcasts. I mean, I feel like these are
very similar conversations. A lot of times.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
I think that I think that's right. I think that
the itch that the people, if anyone needs to scratch
a late night edge, that they can. And I don't
know that I'm one of them, but if anyone does,
then you can do a podcast. I mean, it seems
to me like everyone who, i mean, Stephen Colbert end
up doing a podcast. I'm sure when he's done, and
Conan does one. I do this one for now. Bima
(08:57):
was the big quer Lan Lando doesn't do one though,
he just but he's got his cars.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
He's got his car show, right, I'm does he still
do that?
Speaker 1 (09:04):
I'm not even know the car show. The car show
he doesn't do anymore, but he has, but he has
the actual cars. Have you ever been there? No, Oh
my god, it's the greatest. Yeah, oh my god, it's amazing.
You know in the cars. There no high recall. I
don't think you were ever in the cars? Are you.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
A little?
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Not really, although I have to say, I just was
driving up my street and somebody has like a really
cool old Gto that's like being completely refurbished. And my
dad used to have a gto when when I was
when I was little, and he brought it. He actually
shipped it when he was in the army to Germany
so he could drive it on the Autobahn.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Which that's great. Yeah, I mean that's great.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Did you did you drive your dad's car in the
autobone in Germany?
Speaker 3 (09:55):
I mean I was a child. It was like the
early seventies. Now I'm dating myself, but yeah, I mean,
but you you know, I asked you.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
This is sad. I had this like plastic baby that
I took everywhere and my parents.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
I was in the back of the Gto. He's like
flying out like one hundred and twenty miles an hour.
I'm not somebody's passing him on the left, and I
opened the window and out goes the baby the boob.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
My parents were like, who I told you?
Speaker 3 (10:20):
I was like three, and so my dad like screeches
over to the like you know, emergency lane.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
As people are literally like, I mean hundreds.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
Of miles now, it's really like combing through the fields.
I try to find you know, the baby was like
in Smitherings. Yeah, the baby.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
The baby didn't make it.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
The baby did not make it.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Do you remember this?
Speaker 2 (10:42):
I you know, like you have like says, what's your
first memory? I have?
Speaker 3 (10:46):
I don't know if I remember it very clearly or
if I've heard the story so many times I can
picture it because I can picture like what I look
like at that age, like the car, me in the
back seat, my mom and dad like. So, I don't know,
I'm not totally shure if I trust my own memory.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
I didn't know about you in Germany. How long were
you in Germany?
Speaker 2 (11:04):
We were there? I think it was just the hair
under two years.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Was your dad in the military, mm hmmm.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
He was a psychiatrist of the army shut the He
had the option to Vietnam or to Germany and My
mother's first language was German, so that was actually really easy.
But you know, sort of you'll appreciate this because I
know you and I share some sense of humor here
(11:33):
where we didn't live on the base. We lived like
sort of off the base. It was like this tiny
town and on the street there was a sign that
basically warned cars that there was cowshit, so you had
to be careful your car would yeah yeah, how did
(11:55):
you guys not take that back to the United States
with you?
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Like that side, I would have taken it everywhere with me. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Yeah. But here's the thing. If you you break the
law in Germany, especially no, I think probably any type,
but especially then, it probably would be that great Germans
like things to be, you know, just so yeah, little bit. Yeah,
maybe that's it. But you know what, maybe that's a
racial stereotype. I don't know. I don't know if that's true.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
You know what I will My parents had always sort
of said every time that gto broke down, and they
would like drive everywhere all over the place.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
The French would just drive right by him.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
The Germans always stopped, and I said, well, how many
times did this car break down? The two years you
were in Germany, Like, maybe it wasn't the safest car guys.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
You know, yeah, no, no answer, you knew.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
A car like that. But then again, in the nineteen seventies,
that GTO probably isn't that old at that point, right,
it's probably like a few years old. If that, Yeah,
we shouldn't be breaking down.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
No, I mean exactly, he drove it hard.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Yeah, I mean, my god, the idea of a GTO
in Germany in the nineteen seventies, man, that's that's living
your life, right, And the fact that he was I
don't know why I didn't know that your father was
a psychiatrist, which is a little bit about you. You've
got a very psychiatrist vibe. Actually, if you don't make
me saying so.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
I'm going to take that as a compliment because I
feel like, yes.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
No, it's a compliment because I think that, you know,
the job that you had when we were working in
late night was extremely political. I mean you were like
you were working with me, you were also working with
you know, the power of the network and all of
these people. That's that's like a that's a tricky dance
because I don't know how I mean, I don't think
(13:43):
I was ever aggressive with a network. But I didn't
care for them much, and I don't think they cared
for me much either. I liked I liked Alex. Alex
was a great executive, but the rest of them, well, you.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Know, she and I grew up together. We were friends
as we were twelve.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
I didn't know, no, I knew you were friendly. I
had no idea that you were such close friends. We
should see Alex's second name now, because we're talking publicly.
Then we should give her credit.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Alex Jeaffe Actually, and she will love this when she
finally hears this. And I've said this actually before. I
actually credit her with a big portion of my career
because she too. Yeah, right, Because when I was deciding
what I wanted to do with my life, sort of
a few years out of college, I wasn't sort of
happy with what I was doing. She was like, you
always like pop culture, why don't you do something in TV?
(14:36):
And so I was like, you know what, You're right,
and so I sort of made my way into I
worked like PBS type stuff, initially more journalism, and then
when I moved out to Los Angeles, I when my
daughter was little, I was just sort of doing my
casting for Amazing Race and Survivor, which was really fun.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
It was like journalism one on one.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
And then she ran into Michael Natis in the parking
lot at CBS. They were colleagues, and he was like,
we're really looking for a you know, a segment producer,
and she was like, I have a friend who's never
done this, but she has like a very like odd sort.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Of memory for a lot of random pop culture stuff.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
You should talk to her and so and then like
a year after that, she then became the executive assigned
to the show.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
And we didn't tell anybody how well we knew.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
Each other because I was like, well, you know, we
don't want to walk the boat. But then it became well,
that's you must have kept it for me.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
I know, I knew you guys got along, but I
had no idea that you went by that far, which
I would have made absolutely no difference at all. But
I mean, but it was interesting because I remember when
Alex took over, because we were still working on the
old style of format for television, and Alex was the
one that goes to up to date cameras in the
(15:49):
studios because you the stuff before Alex. I mean, it's
like soup, it's like TV from the name. I remember
once Lily Tomlin was on the show and she said,
oh my god, the studio when I was here, this
was this was a closet. This was the wardrobe closet.
I went, well, it's a studio, and the rich went, well,
(16:10):
I love what you've done for.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
It, right right, Well, I mean she was a wonderful
guest here. She was so fun.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
She's great. Yeah, she's a lovely person. She's lovely. Mm
hm did you do her when she was on the show.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
I did.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
I had, Lily Tomlin, I had I'm trying to think,
like I mean, I have to say I had so
many like amazing sort of moments.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Hello, this is Craig Ferguson, and I want to let
you know I have a brand new stand up comedy
special out now on YouTube. It's called I'm So Happy,
and I would be so happy if you checked it out.
To watch the special, just go to my YouTube channel
at the Craig Ferguson Show, and is this right there?
Just click it and play it and it's free. I
(16:54):
can't look. I'm not going to come around your house
and show you how to do it. If you can't
do it, then you can't have it. But if you
can figure it out yours, you know what we should do,
he says, we should explain to people, and maybe you
should explain to me. I actually, because I don't know
if I fully understood the entire job. Well, exactly, a
segment producer on a late night show such as the
(17:17):
one we did actually does.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Sure.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
So ours actually was a little bit different than other shows.
Other shows there's bookers and there's producers. We combined those
two roles and work with outside bookers too, But so
you know, when we booked something, we then worked with
our research department to make sure that we had sort
of all up to date information on what they were promoting,
(17:43):
which we never talked about.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Did nobody cared?
Speaker 3 (17:48):
And and then I would get on the phone with
that talent and you know, spend like a half hour
depending sort of you know, find out what they were,
what was happening in their lives. But our show really
was because it was so sort of off the cuff.
I you know, when I spent so much time with you,
I knew, like if you'd fallen off a horse, if
you had like stubbed your toe if you decide you
(18:10):
were no longer like whatever. So I would try and
find common ground because I knew once I got that
common like you know, denominator out there like and you
guys could start chatting, conversational oil just sort.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Of took over.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
So I knew, like what and I knew people who
were capable of that and not capable of that. So
if they weren't capable of it as or it wasn't
as comfortable for them, I would basically, you know, give
them pointers on like, you know, if you feel like
the conversation is starting to you know, you know, go
in a direction you're not comfortable with. Ask him about
(18:43):
something on the desk, ask him about something and the
do a call back to something you heard earlier in
the show.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
And I always tended to work, so just prepping them, yeah,
and then you know, prepping you.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Yeah, I remember because we used to have that meeting
before the show every day where you would come in
and the other who was this segment be coud you
So you worked with.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
I worked with a few when I first started. There
was a gentleman named Josh, and then Megan O'Toole was
there for years, and I'm in touch with Megan, who.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Was too fantastic.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Gah, you guys got tattoos together.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Yes, I knew that.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
That was before my time.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
And then Meghan married a former intern who Brian Kerr.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
They got me.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
Yes, they've been married for like ten years now. They
have two adorable boys. Yeah, I mean they're boys or
I just met them. Actually I met the boys for
the first time in New York a few weeks ago.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
They're ridiculously kid fun.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
That makes me so happy.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
And Brian was really he was He was a little
bit older as an intern, and so like he had
been a pilot in the military, which is why.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
You like empressive dude.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Yeah, terrific writer. I like, I just learned to fly.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
So I was talking to him a lot about planes
and stuff like that as well. Is he still a pilot?
Speaker 2 (20:04):
No, I don't think so that maybe maybe I actually
I shouldn't answer. I don't know the answer.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
But they weren't even dating when we were doing the show.
Well they or you see, I didn't know what they
were doing.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
Quietly, Yeah, our shows, our show had more than one marriage.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Our writer Ben Stout, he met his wife at the
show I don't remember.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
I think I knew that because I was yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
Still in touch with them. I was actually in touch
with them recently.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
That's great. Yeah, so that's pretty much fair of this
than I am. You. The only person I talked to
him from the from the show, I think Josh Oberto
I talked to Joe.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
I love Josh.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
I worked with Josh a lot.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
He makes me laugh.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Yeah, yeah, well, well you see that much he makes
me laugh. It's all over the internet, you know, It's like,
do you think it's weird? How much the show. I
remember having this conversation with Michael Natives, who you mentioned
earlier about about our show when we were making it,
and I remember it was towards the end of it.
We were winding down, and he says something about, you know,
(21:06):
people were you know, was the tickets where the audiences
were like it was backed up all the way and
they couldn't find any space for people. And he said
to me this thing, because I remember it as clear
as they were his office. They said, people really love
this show and I said, yeah, but not as much
as they're going to love it when we stopped doing it.
And I feel like that came true. No, I mean
(21:29):
I think that it's it's got huge presence now that
I don't know if he even had the presence that
kind of. I mean, I suppose it did, but I
wasn't aware of it, I guess. I mean, I was
just going to work every day.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
I think what people really loved, I mean, I can
tell it from the fan point, and I can tell
it from the talent point. The fan point was that
it was always unexpected, like they never knew sort of
what was coming, and it was like, I mean Dancing Horse,
which actually another amazing segment producer who I then worked
with for years also after I left CBS, Matthew Coogler.
He's he started as an intern for us to an
(22:03):
amazing segment producer, is now an executive producer.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Love him.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
That's amazing because he was a part of the horse.
He was back into the horse because the Front with
Jewel produces Tom Papa's radio show does Netflix as a
joke and all that big timey TV guy or wherever
people are in.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
The so you know, I think that the fans loved
the fact that like it was just wild and funny
and for people who really regularly watched the show like
the stuff that you got away with you, Oh my god,
Blake and the name of the robot Jeff, Jeff, you
(22:46):
know Jeff, how'd you get to Cleveland?
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Took the train? Oh my parents? Yeah, I was.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
I mean some of the stuff that we were getting
past the censor was crazy. It was crazy. Yeah, I
mean it was nuts. But because and I also think
the temperature was a little different then that, I don't
think anyone was like I don't think the internet was
quite looking for it and didn't need as much content
as it needs now, So there wasn't like you know this,
(23:16):
you know what did they do that we can get
angry about. But I mean I think now there would
be a little more of that, which is a shame
because it was you know where I kind of like,
have you ever heard of a radio show in Britain
called I'm sorry, I haven't a clue. No, Well, there's
a there's a radio show. It's a panel show. It's
(23:38):
been running on BBC Radio for years and years and
years and years, like I think from maybe the nineteen
sixties or maybe before, and it's different. People have rotated
through like Doctor Who or something like that. But there
was a time when it was It was hosted by
a guy called Humphrey Lyttleton who was a jazz trumpeter, okay,
and there were three panelists so on every show, so
(24:01):
it was basically improvised comedy. It was a guy called
Tim Brooke Taylor, a guy called Willie Rushton, and a
guy called Graham Garden, and there were other guys on
it as well who were hilarious. But what they did
was very early on in the life of our show,
Like I'm talking maybe even before you got there. I
think probably before you got there, maybe like two thousand
(24:22):
and five ish. I was flying from London to Los
Angeles and there was a compilation of these old radio
shows on Virgin Atlantic. I was on the plane, so
I listened and they were hysterical. They were hysterical, and
they were filthy. I mean stuff. Now they'd be like,
(24:45):
oh my god, like utterly filthy. But it was all
double long tongue crawls. It was all, you know, filthy
double one trunks. And I was just weeping with laughter
on the play. And I remember saying that Megan. When
I got off, I was like, you know, they whatever
that is, I'm going to do as much as that.
Speaker 3 (25:03):
But it was so fun I mean and like the
you know sort of the the talent liked it also
because they felt taken care of, you know, you never
it was never at like a really really awkward moment
like this weird pregnant pause.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
They all under mean.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
That was another thing that as segment producers, we would
always say to them like yes and no, but that
is the key to this show, you know, And they
all got that.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Yeah, I think improvisation was where to go. And people
always say this to me, and I wonder if they
say to you. They always say to me, who was
your favorite guest? And I always say, you know, Benny,
why or because they're too many that were great? So
is there anyone that stunds out to you?
Speaker 2 (25:43):
I mean other than Desmond Archbishop Desmond too too, which
was just like so amazing.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
That was like really incredible I had, I mean, I
got because we traveled with people, I really got to
know some of them very well and they were always
fun and funny. Like Kristen Bell was a favorite for
it was a favorite. David Sandaris was a favorite. Yeah,
oh great, didn't travel with us, but should have. He
(26:10):
would have been great. I've worked with him a lot since.
I mean, they were all fun and playful. I also
I loved the fact that we did so many authors,
because I think a lot of times people only see
authors on like a really sort of short promotional window
like Good Morning America or the Today's Show, and it's like,
tell me the plot of your book, How hard was it?
Speaker 2 (26:32):
What happens when you get writer's block?
Speaker 3 (26:33):
And we didn't talk about that at all, although I
will tell you John Irving, who I am everything, and
You're like, we got to get you on her.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
We got and I'm like, okay, have you ever seen him? Okay,
he's the hardest interview.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
I think you were out there with him for like
nine minutes, and I think I went back and counted.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
I think he said eleven words.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
I remember it because I remember Joan Irving's like, God,
this is about as hard as it get. Look, he's
a great writer. And I wanted them writer, Oh my god,
know that. Yes, And so when he when he came in,
and I because I remember it, and I was like,
oh my god. And then years and years and years later,
I'm talking years after we finished, I came across some
(27:16):
thing that was lying around the house that Megan and
I were moving on yet again, and I found some
thing lying around that was a list of authors talking
about their experience on our old show. Because I love
to say that because I can't even remember where it was,
but there was a quote from Johan Irving. He said, Oh,
I loved it. It was so playable, that he had
(27:36):
such a great time. He was my favorite. You shouldn't
let me know at the time, but I think I
think you're right. I think talking isn't.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
His thing, and he seemed like he had a grin
on his face, so I think he was enjoying himself.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
He's just not super chatty, and.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
I think he's maybe shy, yes.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Probably, yes.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (27:59):
Another one that I have to say I always loved
was the first time we had Robin Williams on and
his daughter had been a huge fan and convinced him
to do it because we've been out to him forever,
you know, and convinced him to do it, and and
you know, initially he came on, he did some material
and then he settled in and afterwards he came off
(28:22):
camera and he literally just turned to me and it
was like, oh my god, he hugged me and he
was like, I have found a home and I was like,
it was so he was so lovely he was.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
I mean, I still you know kind of I say.
I think it was about this time of year when
when he died, and I still think about it, you know,
I'm like, what the fuck? Man? And that one really
got to me. I mean because people that became friend.
Carrie Fisher was another one. Yeah, me too. I still
(28:59):
get a still get Robin and Carrie Forster on my
phone and I still have you know, I lost my
phone about a year ago or something, and you know
when you get your new email thing and all that
sorted out, and I found the email that I sent
to Carrie before I knew she had died. Oh I
(29:20):
you know, I'd sent her an email because she'd been
in London for a long time and I was like
I haven't seen you for ages and what the fuck
and where are you? And then and it was like
that it was like the day before or something, and
she never got back, never go back to me obviously, you.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
Know, but I was like, oh my god, she was
always fun, she always got These are all people who
just like totally got the show.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
And they just lean like I hit that turn, but
like leaned into it.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
You know, yeah, they understood it. I think that, you know,
there are people who like I think about, you know,
I can't believe I ended up kind of knowing them
and talking to them like in this Hoper and Michael
Keane and you know, it's like, yeah, I mean these
(30:06):
kind of it's such an odd feeling when you I
don't know if you got this, but I always thought
people that you would you could hardly really believe that
they actually exist. And then they become human and friendly,
and some of them knows for friendly, but I don't
really remember anyone being an asshole that.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
To be honest, people ask me that question all the time, like.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Yeah, they always they asked me too.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
It's weird, and I have to say, and this is real.
Speaker 3 (30:33):
I'm not just sort of like throwing a Hollywood line
out there like very much. I was the last face
that people saw before they went in front of a
live studio audience.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
So they were kind.
Speaker 3 (30:43):
They wanted me to help them somehow, you know, like
give me something so that I go out there and
don't like, you know, make an ass of myself.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
And so for the most part.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
I never I mean, in seven years on the show,
there were really very few incidents is where you were
kind of like, all right, breather, this is not.
Speaker 1 (31:05):
I think one or two and I've never talked about
them publicly, and I want today because I think sometimes
people get nervous, particularly I think if they're new to
the game. I mean, there's because I think back on
you know, sometimes when I was like when I was
coming up, I was probably a lot touchier. Like if
(31:28):
I do a talk show now and then I'm like,
I don't find fuck it whatever they say over running
late or you get yourself there or whatever, I don't.
I don't have any But I think when you're very insecure,
most people I think get rid of it over time,
but some people remain insecure and it gets a little
(31:49):
a little weird. But I don't remember much of it.
I really don't. I also feel like maybe that comes
from the vibe of the show, like being precious around
our show wasn't didn't do much for you, I don't think.
I don't think it.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
Hell agreat And I was going to say too, I mean,
that's also why you have producers as a buffer for you. Yeah,
you know, we know, our mantra was always to protect
the host, and the host is the brand zoo, it's
the show, you know. But at the same time we
weren't this wasn't sixty minutes like we're also protecting the guests.
I mean there were a few times where guests that
something that was like a career ender and I like
(32:23):
would turn to the publicist and be like, I got you,
don't worry, she will work again.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
Yeah. I remember a few of those that that's going
to come out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was like, funny
that because I think now that would be much harder
because someone in the audience would tweet it or you
know that like oh they said this and they must
have cut out of the show, or I think the
scrutiny on on the way people are now probably makes
(32:51):
the type of show we did almost impossible. I would
think it would have to have a it would have
to have a polemic so that you would say, we
don't care about that, so that you would you know,
you it'd have to be a thing. You know, you'd
have to make it a thing.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
I mean, you my this is you know, pov of one.
But my favorite was always like when something bothered you
and you just like threw out like everything, so like,
do you remember the time. It was actually one of
my favorite monologues, which is not really fair to the
writers who you know, you worked so closely with, But
I did love it.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
When we had the leak in the old.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
Oh, I was so fucking it was like ten minutes,
I mean, were you just went off? I literally like
it was so funny. It was so fucking Another thing
I also loved, which was semi rehearsed, I guess. But
when you and John Reynolds, who I'm also in touch with,
love He was a writer performer for us, and he
(33:50):
was you and you were Larry King, and he was like,
I mean so I've literally still watched some of those
on YouTube and like died laughing.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
They're very fund you know.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
It's it's funny because I remember that because his his
impression of me was so cruel that it was hilarious
because he was doing it right to me, yes, and
I could see, and he worked for me, so he
was I mean the storms on that man, because he
was he was, and I was like, oh god, damn,
(34:26):
It's very funny because because I did the same I
remember having the same experience with Larry because remember with
Larry King, I used to do this rather kind of
vicious impression of him and then I may'am and I
loved him.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
He was so lovely.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
He was on my very short list of like anytime
we had a drop out, like Larry King. Tom Lennon
also another favorite. I'm still in touch with Tom actually,
oh very nice.
Speaker 1 (34:53):
Yeah, yeah he's still I'm still friendly with him.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
Yeah, I love him.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
Those two were like at the top of our lists.
Who were on the dropout. Oh I would call sometimes
Michael Sheen if he was in town.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
He was also a.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
Tour ye always great as.
Speaker 3 (35:08):
Well, so great, Like those three were sort of like
the very top of the list, like where I was
like on speed Out hurry can you get here?
Speaker 2 (35:14):
It too?
Speaker 1 (35:16):
Yeah, there was tons of that. And I think the
Tim Meadows of course as well.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
Love to Meadows. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
I think Tim was actually on the show more than
anyone else. I think he holds the record. I remember
talking to some Mayi Ti or Kristen Bell, I don't
know sure, but he was spectacular, I mean, and they
he was I remember like, well called Tim probably the
(35:43):
night you had to come on and be it must
have been pretty late, or we would have called Tim
or Tom Lennon. Tom Lennon led like five blogs away
from the studio. Anyway, it was so late.
Speaker 3 (35:54):
I mean we started like clockwork, talk about German precision.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
We were like we always were on my kids were little.
But that's why the mom.
Speaker 2 (36:04):
I appreciated it. I mean, you know, I was the
only working you know, Is that right? No, I was not.
I was one of like two working moms when I
started the show, I think.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
Right, I think that that increased over time.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
Yes, for sure, but like at the time. I mean,
my daughter who's now twenty was like three, my.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
Last twenty four. It's insane. Liam's fourteen. I mean, it's
like crazy when I think about it, because but when
I when I was you know, but Liam was born
in twenty eleven, so he was there for the last
three years of the show. So I had a little
baby then, and then my little when I started the
(36:42):
show in two thousand and five, he was only four
years old and I was a single dad at that point.
So I would like the reason I got in the
habit of the show always had to be on time
is because I had childcare until six o'clock, and if
I didn't finish six o'clock, then what the fucker was
(37:02):
going to do? So I had to start on time
and finish on time. So that and it's crazy when
you think of all of the shit I could have
get up to, but I always had to six o'clock
and then get a baby and take them home.
Speaker 2 (37:15):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 3 (37:16):
I used to bring Sasha, my daughter, to the office
if we had a drop out, Like I was like, yeah,
here's some pushbins. Play with these, you know, yeah, but
they I mean, remember that there were kids towards the
last few years of the show. There seems like there
were kids running all over the place. It was a
little different time. Yeah, it was a different type of thing.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
I don't know if I said this to you at
the time, but I do remember it, and I've talked
about it, you know since. One of the things, one
of the reasons why I really had to stop doing
that show was when I came in every day and
you touched on it earlier with that protective host thing,
that the when I walked on every day, there was
pictures of me everywhere, and all the stationary had my
(38:05):
name on it and everybody wanted to make sure I
was in a good mood. And that really fucks with
your head. It really fucks with your head, because I started,
I mean, it makes you paranoid. Because I have a
friend who's a who was a cop. He's no longer
a cop, but he said, what you hated about being
(38:25):
a cop is that you feel like, even if they're not,
you feel like everyone's lying to you. And I said,
that's exactly what it's like. Venus fuckingtly know everyone is
lying to you, but it feels like everyone is lying
to you. And I think it's that it's a kind
of paranoia that comes in.
Speaker 3 (38:40):
I mean, you know, I will say, I think I
speak for anybody who works with hosts or anchors, or
anybody who's got a daily or a nightly show.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
You do not want to.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
Say something ahead of the show that could impact the host,
like you know, performance, mindset, whatever.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
And I remember perfect sense.
Speaker 3 (39:05):
You know, you actually had said to me when we
were in the interview process, when we met that time
at the Grove. Beforehand, you had said to me, if
you have an issue with me, we can talk about
it at six o'clock. Let's not talk about it before
the show, and I remember that, and which is true.
And I mean, you know, there wasn't anything that was
like earth shadowy that we couldn't figure out like how
(39:27):
to handle, and so it was you know, that was
again it was protecting the host. It was protecting the show,
and it was protecting the guest. It was going to
go out there. So there wasn't anything that was like,
I mean, nobody walked in violent you know.
Speaker 1 (39:41):
No, no, I don't remember any kind of because you heard.
I mean I heard about other shows and you hear stuff,
but I don't really remember anything any guests behaving particularly
badly with us, or anybody being an asshole when they
were coming at I mean again, I probably wouldn't have
heard about it. You know, pro certainly you're not going
to say to me before someone comes out and I've
(40:03):
got to be nice to them, this person is a
fucking asshole and you're going to hate them, because that
doesn't make any sense. And then then because I know you,
I wouldn't think, well, this person is a nuts one
and I am going to hate them, and then that's
that's not great.
Speaker 3 (40:16):
To watch now, I mean, and I think what was
helpful I think too is because we would do the
pre interview and somebody would like somebody said, like, you know,
please just make sure he doesn't ask me about like
my dating life because I'm getting divorced, Like okay, totally
get it off the record, of course, and like you know,
we will tell you that, because again, you never want
to have that moment out there, because that's not.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
Protecting you, it's not protecting them, like this isn't this
isn't tmz.
Speaker 1 (40:42):
I remember one we won't see who it is, but
I remember one where I said it was just it
was just riffing out there but nothing. And I said
to the guest, uh, you're still in that mad religious cult.
And I didn't know that they were. They were a scientologist.
I'll tell you.
Speaker 2 (41:01):
This.
Speaker 1 (41:02):
Yeah, And then like I think it was you said
to me afterwards, you know they're scientologist. I went, I
didn't fucking oh my god, oh no, And we cut
it out of the show and I had I called
I remember I called this person up in their car
or the way over and I said, I am so sorry,
I know what. I admit nothing by that, and we'll
cut it out. When they were fighting about it, but
(41:23):
I was like Jesus, you can put your fucking fool in.
It's so easy. Over and over again.
Speaker 2 (41:31):
We had somebody that we worked with quite a bit.
I'm not going to name.
Speaker 3 (41:35):
Names, who was off camera because we spent some time. Uh,
we spent some time with this person. They then were
very difficult to myself and the staff, but we kept
them from you until we were we were positive that
we had good content with that person because it was
(41:56):
something stuff we were doing off Kim.
Speaker 2 (41:58):
I mean, you know, out side the studio.
Speaker 1 (42:01):
Oh my god, yeah, the guy I remember. I remember that. Yeah,
I remember that. Oh no, we can't talk about that,
but yeah, that's right. I was like, oh my god,
I had no idea. I remember you guys saying, well,
that's I remember you told me afterwards, though, I remember
that it was very disappointing.
Speaker 3 (42:21):
But Josh Robert Thompson did an amazing impersonation of that
person that made it so much easier. Every time that
person opened their mouth, we were like, aha, it didn't matter.
Speaker 1 (42:30):
You know, it's so funny. Josh can do everybody, it's
unread everybody that the sabant like quality that he can
watch a human being for like, yeah, ten minutes, and
just not to say that he doesn't work at stuff.
I know that he does actually have a process and
he works and he's very diligent and stuff. But he's
(42:51):
coming from a place of such talent anyway. I mean,
it's bizarre, unbelievable. It is really unbelievable. I don't think
he's never done me to my face, but I bet
it would be good. I bet you could do you.
I mean what's alarming is when he's when he did
mean to me, and because he started doing the robot
(43:11):
doing my voice and my voice is nothing like that,
and then people would laugh because he would say, oh yeah,
and I was like, but it's not, and but apparently
it is. And I guess you don't hear yourself like
like he like it isn't said your head. I suppose
that happens to me quite a lot.
Speaker 3 (43:29):
Well, you know what I love about that too, is that,
you know, I feel like, you know, so many people
are always saying, like, you know, it's so hard to
pay attention and we're so distracted, you know, we're overwhelmed
with so much information. He like zones in on that.
People say he listens so intently and then uses it.
I mean, it's really it's it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (43:49):
Yeah, he finds a quirk and he gets at it
or like so it's ten years more than ten years
since we stopped doing the show. Yes, So what did
you do in between? What did you between then and now?
I know you could have invented podcasts or something.
Speaker 2 (44:12):
I did not invent podcasting.
Speaker 3 (44:14):
But well after, right after the show ended, I was
an executive CBS for a number of years where I
was sort of creating synergy across the network. So I
worked with a lot of the people that you know
in PR and marketing and other.
Speaker 1 (44:27):
Late night shows there in.
Speaker 2 (44:29):
Corn and started. Yeah, so that was actually really fun.
Speaker 1 (44:33):
Did you work with James Cordon after I had gone?
Speaker 3 (44:35):
No, right, just I mean just sort of his staff
that I was never on the show, like.
Speaker 2 (44:42):
Exactly, Yes, a little bit of that.
Speaker 3 (44:44):
And then and then after I did that for three years,
and then I co founded a production podcast production company
and we did that.
Speaker 2 (44:52):
I did that for like the last like seven years.
I left that in November.
Speaker 3 (44:56):
And now actually just more recently, I started as a
director of cultural programming at a members club in New York.
Speaker 2 (45:05):
So I'm actually really living in New York now is
just kind of bonkers.
Speaker 1 (45:09):
It's very nice. Yeah. Now I don't want to reveal
my exact location, but I am also in New York. Yes,
I mean, I reveal my exact location. Yeah, but you know,
and I don't think anyone cares anymore. But there may
be a few crazy people left over who couldn't sleep
(45:30):
in the you know, ten years or so ago. It's funny, though,
I don't. I feel like that level of visibility that
was there was only you know, that we were dealing
with on late night that I would not quurt that anymore.
That never made me comfortable.
Speaker 3 (45:49):
Well you know, I mean I raised a child in
Los Angeles, and so we would see people out everywhere
gas station, grocery store or whatever, and you know, we'd
be like, you know, little Canyon store where I am. Yeah, yeah,
look look look, you know. And when she was just
good milk, I thought it was a vagan And when
(46:11):
she has little should say, do you think I could
ask for a picture? And we would always say no,
that person's not working today.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
Like lead them alone, they're with their family or whatever.
Speaker 3 (46:19):
And I mean I have watched, like you know, at
the airport, like someone's you know, sniping a picture of
so and so, and it's like it's lost, there's no privacy.
Speaker 1 (46:28):
I wouldn't.
Speaker 3 (46:30):
I mean, I'm a very private person. I would not
want that for myself, and I find it. I think
it's probably hard for most people. You have so little
that's your own anymore.
Speaker 1 (46:42):
I think that's I mean, you don't even have to
be famous, though, you just have to be dumb. Like
look at the those people at that Coldplay corns for
those people that were having an affair, Like, neither one
of those people is a public perison, neither one of
them has a TV show or anything like that. They
are fucking everywhere everyone.
Speaker 2 (47:02):
The memes that I got, some of them were hilarious.
Speaker 1 (47:04):
I'd have to say some of them are hilarious.
Speaker 3 (47:06):
But hilarious still exactly. And I catch myself because I think, oh,
you know, their parents, they have kids who are seeing
this doe and it's like the collateral damage on that
is heartbreaking.
Speaker 1 (47:20):
Yeah, I think so. I think that it's such an
oddly different world. It's funny though, because I talked to
I talked to people even on this podcast. You know,
if you talk to actors or directors or artists of
any kind. They're very concerned and very suspicious about AI
(47:43):
and about the development of that. If you talk to
anyone in medicine, they're like, this is the greatest fucking
thing since sliced bread. This stuff's amazing. It's going to
save so many people. And so I guess the perspective
of what the technology can do depends on where you're standing.
But I feel like, like publicly, it seems like an
(48:06):
odd time to be famous. I don't know if i'd
won it.
Speaker 2 (48:11):
I mean, like the deep fake stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (48:13):
I mean that, yeah, I mean, you know what I.
Speaker 2 (48:17):
Mean, you don't know what to believe sometimes.
Speaker 1 (48:20):
I guess the good thing is if you ever do
in dumb you can just go that's not true. That's
that's a I added to do that. In fact, that's
going to be my position from now. Yeah, what everyone
says you said that, What that was to me, it
was Joyce Robert Cholston exactly. He was him doing my voice,
which I still do things that's like my voice. But
(48:40):
Burnley it does well.
Speaker 3 (48:41):
I mean, I don't know if he still does Morgan
Freeman or not. But when he so, Morgan Freeman came
on probably once a year on the show, and I
produced him again the majority of that time. And one
time as he was we were done and he was
walking off stage, Josh just started riffing as Morgan any
to me and he's like, is that me? She couldn't
(49:04):
even tell the difference, which was insane.
Speaker 1 (49:08):
Yeah, I know, it was. It was amazing. I remember
because when Josh got a little when Morgan Freeman got
a little bit, Josh looked like and he's like, wow,
you're a scarny little white kid. What the hell? Yeah,
I mean, and it was. It was amazing. Yeah, it's
funny to say. I mean, I don't know. I didn't
watch Late Night before I did it, and I didn't
(49:31):
watch it when I was doing it, and I don't
watch it now, so I have no real connection to it.
Did you were you a fan of it? Did you?
Speaker 3 (49:42):
I grew up watching Letterman like in bits, you know,
like the Top ten List, stupid Patrick's.
Speaker 2 (49:47):
I had a friend who.
Speaker 1 (49:47):
Guy I would do. Yes, Laerman was different.
Speaker 2 (49:50):
Yeah, I remember her standing.
Speaker 3 (49:52):
This woman is now a doctor, but when we were
in like tenth grade, she was standing on the payphone
in our high school doing like an I guess a
what's the right word audition for stupid petricks. So she
was like doing some animal noises or something that like
in the hallway and her like, you know, uniform. So
she did not make it, but she ended up Okay,
(50:13):
she's a doctor. And then but when my daughter was born,
the she was born in them like just after twelve
thirty in the morning, that was when I went to
labor and so Conan was on in the room.
Speaker 2 (50:25):
How weird is that when she was born?
Speaker 1 (50:29):
Oh that is so funny.
Speaker 3 (50:31):
Yeah, which I hadn't thought about until just now actually,
And but I mean, I have to say I having
I love conversations. So I love sort of those kinds
of like storytelling, and you know, like that reminds me
of like my childhood and like listening to my parents
and my grandparents like always sort of telling crazy stories,
one louder or more, you know, you know, it's strange
(50:53):
than the other. And so I like that.
Speaker 1 (50:55):
Yeah, I like it too. I feel like I just
won or sometimes. This is the thing that I wrestled
with even with this podcast, is that I love the
conversations and I love the conversations with people that I
want that I want to talk to and I was
talking today and stuff like that, And sometimes I feel
like the tricky part is people who do not wish
(51:20):
you well are listening into these conversations and that sometimes
because sometimes I completely forget all about it. I never
used to think about it late night, just never at all,
but I think about it a bit now.
Speaker 3 (51:32):
I had a coffee with a friend the other day
and we're both you know, women of a certain age,
and we were start of laughing. I was like, aren't
you with that Asian? Are you like could give to fos.
I don't care, like at this point, like you know, like, honestly,
if somebody doesn't like something I said, I think I've
been kind.
Speaker 2 (51:48):
I would try to.
Speaker 3 (51:49):
I try to be a good listener, a good friend.
If somebody is upset about something, I can't. I'm sorry,
I'm sorry, listen.
Speaker 1 (51:57):
I think that. I think that's fucking healthy. My position
is this, and I said this, and I do it,
and when I'm doing stand up now as well, I say, look,
I can't be held accountable for what I say. There,
that's it. Yeah, I can't be held accountable for what
I say. Also, the thing is it's kind of weird.
(52:19):
This is one thing I noticed about when you write
a book as well, and I've talked to a few
authors about this, that you write something down, maybe in
your thirties or forties, and you really believe that thing
to be true, and then about ten or fifteen years later,
you're like, oh my god, that's such fucking bullshit. I
(52:41):
hate that. I feel completely the opposite of that. But
now that's the thing you said, and it's written down
so people can put it on T shirts and then
put your name underneath it, and you're like, oh my god,
and I now I'm the guy that said that. I
don't believe that at all, but I did.
Speaker 2 (52:57):
Then do you want to write with or do you
want to write.
Speaker 1 (53:01):
Another I'm kind of littling away with something right now.
Speaker 2 (53:05):
Oh that's great.
Speaker 1 (53:09):
Uh fiction but the but I but in this day
and age, I don't think there's such a thing as
fiction or non fiction. I think it's all just a
big fucking soup. Now. There the but the It was
the thing that Peter Cook, who had he been alive,
I would definitely have him on the show. You know,
cook was my mentor I think years ago. Yeah, and
(53:32):
Cooky was so great to me whatever anyone would say.
He told me this himself. He said, whatever one anyone
says to me, I'm writing a book. I always say this.
Neither am I there is? You've did he ever?
Speaker 2 (53:47):
Was he ever on the show?
Speaker 1 (53:48):
No? No, he died before we started. He did die before.
Speaker 2 (53:52):
I didn't know when he died.
Speaker 1 (53:53):
Yeah, he died. He died like quite a long time
before before I started Late Night. I would have fucking
been He would have all over it as well. You
would have loved it, because, of course my whole vigain.
A lot of what I did was stolen from stolen.
Seems like a bit much was influenced then and procured
from me, but certainly in some part by knowing Peter
(54:17):
and working with Peter Cook. I mean, he was fucking amazing,
so funny and so again a very kind person, the
very empathetic person, and a kind of sad person too.
Speaker 2 (54:28):
You know, how had you initially meet him? I forgot.
Speaker 1 (54:31):
I asked him to be I asked him to be
on a thing that I was doing for for Channel
four in the UK, and they sent him the script
and he said yes. I think he said yes because
the production company I was working for was owned by
Ron Atkinson, mister Bean and Rowan knew Peter so and
(54:57):
then once I met Peter, he was very nice and
endly and we established them, you know how it happens,
you know that thing, and it was lovely. Look, we
should meet and spill some real tea that we can't
talk about publicly very soon. Yeah, I'm a town right now,
but I'll be in New York in a couple of days.
(55:18):
And I know Megan wants to call you and say
something as well, so we'll do that in the meantime.
Bugger off, you're done here well, and the next time
I'll talk to Sean William Scott.
Speaker 2 (55:27):
Oh, thank you. I could find him. I'll find him
for you, you.
Speaker 1 (55:32):
Know that, that would be funny if we. I haven't
seen him in years years, although he was Do you
watch The Gemstones? Yeah, yeah, he was great.
Speaker 3 (55:43):
I'm rewatching that right now because my daughter hadn't watched it,
so it's creatious. Edie Patterson is a genius fucking American
poet is wonderful.
Speaker 1 (55:58):
Again, he is somebody I wish we'd had on the show.
When you get half that, I mean, right, But then again,
it could have been a journer of HIC situation. Maybe
he's not, because maybe he's he likes to be charged with.
I don't know, I don't know, all right, bugger off, yeah,
Host
Craig Ferguson
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