June 12, 2024 • 58 mins
Cheers! Do NOT Curb Your Enthusiasm today as Phil & David welcome Phil's legendary buddy Ted Danson for a funny and inspiring conversation recorded live on June 5th at the Environmental Media Association's 2024 Impact Summit at Pendry West Hollywood. They discuss "Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson & Woody Harrelson (Sometimes)," the brand new podcast that officially starts on June 12th, as well as Ted's remarkable life in show business and the roots of his longtime passion for the environment. Follow Ted's podcast with his friend Woody here. Follow EMA here. To learn more about building community through food and "Somebody Feed the People," visit the Philanthropy page at philrosenthalworld.com.
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(00:00):
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or go through the app. David, here we are again, third time.
This is charm I think at thehottest club in West Hollywood. Yes,
where everybody knows you're green. Thatwas a climate joke. Oh yeah,
(00:44):
Hi everybody, thanks for coming.This is going to be part not
only of your thing, but ofour thing, of the Naked Lunch podcast.
How many listeners do we have ofNaked Lunch? Wow? It's overwhelming.
Yeah, and we're promoting a muchmore sustainable podcast that starts next week.
(01:04):
Yes, by our guests tell themabout it. That's right. Ted
Dancing has a podcast with Woody Harrelsonthat starts on the twelve. Fight Believe,
and it's gonna be so much betterthan ours. It already is because
they have Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson. That would help. Well, we
have Ted Danson today, we do? Should we bring him out? Absolutely,
(01:26):
Ladies and gentlemen, Ted dancing,Let's build the beans to the fat,
food for thought and jokes on Tedtalking with our mouthsful, having fun,
(01:49):
BEEAs cake and humble pies, servingup slass lovely. The dressing on
the side, it's naked lunch clothingoption. You've got entrance music? Is
this my chair? Yes? Shouldsit on the top and one is for
the bottom. I'll spare you thisone. First of all, you're very
(02:15):
tall, you're very told. Doyou ever feel bad supporting the environment when
you use up more of it thanmost people? That's very funny. So
shouldn't you pay an offset every day? I should for using so much more?
And then the whole methane thing.That's good. That's see, that's
(02:38):
why we had the bottom mic,David, we've set the tone. Uh.
We want to ask you so wedon't ignore the timely nature of your
podcast. How did this? I'msure it'll be a much more sustainable podcast
than ours. How did this happenwith you? Uh, and Woody Harrelson
(03:00):
strike or maybe COVID. One ofthose times when we weren't working, somebody
came to me and suggested this asa possibility and then told me you need
a co host. Then immediately wewent to Woody, And the reason why
we both wanted to do it togetheris because we loved each other for so
(03:20):
many years, as you do whenyou intensely work and make each other giggle
all day. But that was likeforty years ago. And how are you,
how have you been what have youbeen doing? Felt like a really
fun way to hang out because usuallyyou see each other every year for ten
minutes you know someone stone, soit's not that deep a conversation and very
(03:44):
elegantly done right there, and soit was just irresistible. And then the
conceit is, let's catch up witheach other and what have you been doing?
And let me introduce my friends toyou, and you can introduce yours
to me. And that's what we'vebeen doing. Phil, I don't know
what experiences you've had with Woody Harrold. Sorry, Can I just also add
the title is Where Everybody Knows YourName? Hosted by Ted Danson and Woody
(04:10):
Harrelson parentheses. Sometimes he's a whimsicalman. It's very realistical. I did.
I did his show and it hasn'tcome out yet. But what he
wasn't there that Yeah, he wasdoing a play in London. Oh he
could have been in mouth relaxing fromdoing the play in London. But it
was one of those two yes.But it was great well, speaking about
(04:30):
his whimsical nature and charming nature.I worked with him not that long ago
when there was a Grammy tribute toPaul Simon, and I was shocked when
Paul Simon came back to Kenner Lookand I the producer, and said,
uh, Woody Harrelson's going to openthe show. And we were like,
we had no idea. They werefriends. You. I believe in your
second episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm,I put it together today you were supposed
(04:55):
to go to the Paul Simon concert, so there is a theme emerging.
But what I remember is that woodhe called me and said I'm going to
sing, which was a surprise,and then he said I'm going to sing
old friends and I had to quicklycheck to make sure no one else was
singing old friends. And when WoodyHarrelson wants to sing. He sings,
and he was great. He isunexpected and I imagine he will be a
(05:17):
surprising co host. He were completeopposites. You know, I would I
would do anything not to sing forone, But man, he takes such
big chunks out of life. Myfavorite little Woody story from Cheers days was
during the height of the rock androllness of Cheers and weren't we Fabulous?
(05:39):
And if you were fifteen minutes lateto rehearsal, it's fine. Half hour
you were probably considered late. Fortyfive minutes went by and we're all sitting
around to rehearse, and somebody comesrunning in and goes, Woodies in Berlin
the walls coming down, and hedidn't want to miss it. Literally,
he had flown to Berlin because hedidn't want to miss the wall coming down.
(06:00):
He made it in time to shootit two days later. But that's
Woody that that was also his excuse. When Phil was over for the interview
he had he had to go forthe wall was falling again being built up,
Yes, exactly, which might betrue. Actually, uh, I
guess because we're here at the EMMASummit, the Impact Summit, it's worth
(06:21):
asking. You know, I readyour book which I have here on Oceana,
which is obviously an important, uhpart of your life, and you're
you know, you actually created theorganization that then merged with Oceana and has
become this major part of your lifeand of the environmental movement. What about
(06:41):
I was reading a little bit aboutyour childhood. I wonder how did your
childhood and your landlocked childhood lead toyour interest in this subject? Right Tucson
till I was about seven. Myfather was an anthropologist, the pH d
professor and then became the director ofthe Museum of Northern Arizona and Flagstaff and
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the Research Center. He was anarchaeologist, and I grew up around that.
But we would go visit my cousinsin southern California, and you know,
coming from the desert and going tothe ocean is just like you found
your heaven. I mean literally,I'm here today because of those formative up
(07:24):
until seven year old visits to southernCalifornia. But I was the My sister
paid attention to everything. She wasthe student everything that was said. We
were surrounded by scientists because it wasa very small museum, research center,
but it was world known, soscientists all over the world would come and
(07:45):
have cocktails and dinner with my motherand my father, and so I was
always around. Scientific conversation went rightover my head. I was off playing
with my friends. My sister absorbedit. But I think what I what
soaked in was that thought that theanthropological kind of there's a lot that has
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come before you, and hopefully there'llbe a lot that comes after you,
and this is not about you thistime. This is about your stewardship of
what you've been given. And Ithink that sunk in peripherally hard cut to
becoming an actor and cheers. Inabout half about third fourth year of Cheers,
we moved into a neighborhood in SantaMonica that was fighting desperately oil company
(08:37):
Arma Hammer from digging slant drilling sixtywells into the bay. And the man
who led it, Robert Sulnik,and I became friends and we came up
with a way to beat the oilcompany after years of trying to match them
money wise, and we defeated them. And it became kind of a naive.
(08:58):
You know, my father has abarn. Let's put on a play
kind of thing. Let's start anenvironmental organization called American Oceans Campaign, and
we hired This was in the mideighties, and we hired some lobbyists in
Washington and had some scientists on ourfledgling board of directors. We were international
(09:22):
because I knew one guy in Londonwho liked oceans. You know. It
was that kind of small celebrity boutique, but it was well respected in Washington
enough to the point when Oceania,being formed by the Pew Foundation and some
truly international foundations started, they cameto us to merge. And yeah,
(09:45):
I've been part of the board ofdirectors ever since, and it's the most
amazing part of my life. WhenI'm not acting that I get to hang
around. I'm one last thing.I'm very clear what my job is.
I'm and Emma knows this. Thecelebrity gets the microphone, you know.
So I knew from early on thatstanding in front of the tent saying thank
(10:07):
you for watching, cheers and I'dlove you to meet this biologist because marine
biologist, because she's incredibly bright.And that's my job, and to this
day, it's my job using yourpower for good. I want to go
back one second. You said youwere trying to match them, meaning advertised
to voters to vote against them theoil company. Right, yes, because
(10:31):
what we did we put it onthe ballot so as an initiative, and
then you said you couldn't match them, so you beat them. But how
did you beat them? Bye?Bye? Putting it on the ballot in
November and making the whole city voteon it, which was scary because they
do horribly tricky things like yes,a competing thing that sounds way better and
(10:54):
way more environmental than yours. Alwayscan I just jump to a thing because
Jane Fonda and her who's a friendof both of ours, and her pack,
which one of the things they're tryingto do, And what's coming our
way is our governor succeeded with Ithink almost unanimity in the in the state
(11:16):
Senate or whatever to pass a lawthat you could not build an oil well
within I don't know how many feetof human beings, of schools, of
homes, and because we're the onlycity that has oil wells, just it's
right in the middle of it withno caring, and most of it's in
(11:37):
you know, areas that don't havethe money enough to fight them like we
did in Santa Monica. So it'spassed, and then immediately the oil companies
are pumping in up to two hundredmillion dollars to do a competing thing to
say no, no, no,no, this will increase your gas bills,
which is a lie, it won't, and all of these other things
(11:58):
just because they want that total freedomto put their oil where ever they want.
So you've heard about this, thatthey can put an oil well next
door to you, and we have, and we met with the girl who
was unbelievable who told us about shelived next to one of these and her
entire town has cancer and she yes, yes, it's just tragic what's happened
(12:22):
to her physical wellbeing right and thosearound her and her friends and her family
and towns. This is a nobrainer. But like I just want to
make sure that this is clear.They will put out the oil companies will
put out information saying your lives willbe better if you vote for us,
your lives, the economic your healthwill be better. They just flat out
(12:45):
lies. Yep. And we knowhow to get oil and it'll be clean
oil, whatever the hell that is. If you get it from another country,
you know, and we shouldn't begetting our becoming oil dependent. And
that's closer we are to you,the better for you. Yeah yeah,
and it's horseship because we've never hadmore oil pumping out of this country than
now today. So AnyWho, well, let me ask you anyhow, the
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first time that we were here atthe summit, we interviewed Ed Begley Junior,
who's my hero, everyone's hero forEd? Can I just jump in
and say we would get I don'tthink it was em I can't remember.
Maybe heal the bay or something.We I was supposed to introduce him and
and I couldn't think what to do. So and this is when Ed literally
bicycled everywhere everywhere. I'd be won'tfly, maybe take a train, but
(13:35):
that's it. So he bicycled everywhere. And it was kind of a rainy
day. And my introduction, NYMwas I have to confess I was in
my limo and we drove by andI told my driver to splash him,
kind of push him off the reallyfunny. But he spoke to us when
when we interviewed him at the summitabout the impact on his career that there
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was a decade or so where everyonewas slightly afraid to have him on the
set, and he would get asense of that. You have managed to
be one of the most beloved figures. Even Jane Fonda, you know who
we had on the podcast. Yes, she you know what she calls Phil,
don't you what is the name?It's my most my favorite nickname for
(14:18):
you, the Jewish tinker Bell.But but as Ed Begley told tinker Bell
and and myself, he said,he paid a price. It's interesting.
And even Jane, you know,she manages to be the most extraordinary visionary
person and yet she does piss somepeople off. You have managed in your
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work to it seems like, okay, but I'm not as I mean,
Ed walks the walk, Jane walksthe walk. I strolled, but I'm
more of a talk the talker,you know. I mean, there is
a reason for that, and it'snot what I'm necessarily proud of. You
got arrested with Jane. I didtalk about that. It's kind of it's
(15:07):
kind of the Champagne of arrests.Yes, the Champagne of arrest Yeah,
it really, it really is.You're you Jane with Jane Fond of Fire
Drill Friday. Yes, were scaredit all. You knew you would be
arrested or thought you might be.Yeah, I knew, So what what
do you? Can you sleep thatnight? There's part of you going,
(15:30):
uh, maybe you should take thiswhole climate change thing even more seriously than
you do if you're going to goget arrested. That's that was the benefit
for me, because I think partof me was going, I gave it
the office, I'm saving the oceans. You know I'm not, But you
know what I mean. It wasa joke. So I don't think I
really had left into the climate frayquite as much until that moment. Yes,
(15:56):
it is. No, it's thesame thing, and we are all
working on the same things. Butmy my champagne of arrest went kind of
like this. When the officer cameup and said, all right, this
is the last time we will askyou. Next time we will put handcuffs
on you, I went, canI have my arms in the front?
I have a really bad shoulder.Oh yes, yes, mister dance,
(16:18):
and that'll be fine. Do theytalk that? Do they talk that quietly?
Very very nice? Yes. Theyactually came up beforehand. We were
supposed to go up and kind ofstand on the Capitol steps where you're not
supposed to, and that's where wewould get arrested. Great visual. I've
seen people go up the capital stepsand even go in without much problem.
(16:41):
Unbelievable. Too soon, too soonmaybe to be a little more assertive ted,
But tell us what happens when you'rearrested. How many of you have
been arrested for the cause? Aha? Nice? All right, so but
tell us because I think I wouldenjoy it. Sorry, I want to
(17:03):
go next time with Jane. Yesyou should, Yeah, because I want
to. You know, I needto butch up my reputation. Somebody arrests
Phil a good spinoff. I thinkthe fact that you said butcher maybe won't
happen. That won't happen. Sorry, you don't need to butcher up.
You're perfect and you are butch.You just have this Veniera butch Tinkerbell.
(17:29):
You're sort of bleach, but butbutch body. Yes exactly. Wait wait
uh so when they put handcuffs onyou doesn't hurt? Uh No, because
you asked them. My wrists arekind of earthritic too. Have you seen
cheers stuff like that? And there'sno resistance. They tell you in advance.
(17:51):
This is do what they do,do what they tell you, it
will all be okay. You're coachedvery carefully. And they came up before
the event and said, I knowyou're planning to go up on the steps,
and we need to tell you nottoday because there's an actual security threat
and if you do go on thosesteps, we will arrest you and put
you in the real jail. Sowe all went okay, okay, and
(18:12):
they told us where to go,which was still illegal. You're looking at
the cop and you're saying, isthis okay over here? Yes? Literally,
it's very coordinated, to be honest. So they put you in handcuffs
and they put you in a vanor something. Patty wagon. Yeah,
you were sitting, and that's whenit kind of donned you. Oh this
is smidge different because you're sitting likethis with a bunch of people and you
(18:33):
can't really move that much. Andyou realize, even if I wanted to,
I can't really move. Okay,And then you go and they take
you to this big warehouse and theykeep their handcuffs on enough to so I
think they're trying to educate you.You don't want to really do this.
Someday. So they give you alittle taste of that and you realize the
(18:56):
processing could have taken twenty minutes.It took four hours and twenty minutes.
Kind of I think purposefully to saythis is real. Did you know that
that time commitment was going to becausethat's enough to make me go, well,
you know what I have just kidding? Yeah, is this going to
(19:17):
take very long? Would be oneof the questions on the way. Jane
did it so many times that theyshe did spend a night in the jail.
They said, next time you getarrest that it will be real,
and she has a card that theypunched. The next one is, yeah,
she's so cool. Being about herbeing so cool, I wondered,
even being Ted Danson, did youhave a moment when you're with her getting
(19:40):
arrested when you think back to likebeing an actor, like when you began
nineteen seventy two your arm Broadway forone night. I believe in status quo
vadis? Is that the name?Damn? Yeah? Do you have a
list of all my failures? Yes, yes I do. But by the
way, the reason I know that, in particular is I was watching a
(20:00):
movie I hadn't seen called that Irecommend hearts Beat Loud. Hearts Beat Loud
with it? Is that the onewith Mary? Or was I? No,
it's with Nick nick Offerman. Yes, you play Dave, a bartender
and you play an actor who didone you know who have Obviously it hasn't
panned out that well for but Isaw the poster of Status Quo Vadis and
(20:25):
I'm like that name, what isthat? Because I know the band Status
Quo. I'm you know, butit was my one night Broadway showcase.
It was So is the Way ofthe Way of my parents from Arizona.
So sweet flew in for opening night, and we're up in the Basardi's Bar,
very very cool, very theater andRex read any of you remember Rex?
(20:49):
Yes? Right, yeah, Andhe hated Clive Barnes, who was
the New York Times critic who couldjust shut a show and did and Rex
read when the reviews come out,that you run out and get the papers.
And Rex reads it, let me, let me read it because he
hated Clive Barnes. So he's sittingthere reading Clive Barnes pan of our show,
(21:12):
making fun of Clive Barnes as he'sreading it. So you're laughing.
Oh, the bar behind me,the cage came down, My drink was
on the other side, and itwas like party over. Go to the
matinee the next day, say goodbyeto my parents and Times Square. They
get in a cab and fly home. And I walk into the back stage
(21:34):
area and the stage door man guysays, whoa, whoa, whoa,
where are you going? I said, I work here and not anymore,
you don't and pointed to the closingthing. It was literally one night.
I'm sorry, a rough start.Oh, but the question was when you
that guy, that actor, wouldyou ever believe that you'd be getting arrested
(21:56):
with Jane Fonda, who I believewould have been like around the time of
Clue or something like that. No, no, I wouldn't. I wouldn't
have. She I still get alittle shy. No I don't, but
I for a long time got shyaround her because she's so impressive. Yeah,
when I met her, I wasseventy, she was turning eighty,
and I at seventy, I wasstarting to, you know, look for
(22:19):
a glide path that was comfortable.And I met Jane and she's just foot
on them, you know, pedaljust goes one's busier, Yeah, no
one. Did you see her atcon the pictures I saw? Yeah?
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Stop mocktailing me exactly about actors havingthat out of nowhere moment, Woody.
(24:00):
We're gonna talk about Woody in asecond. Your moment was not quite out
of nowhere, but because the worldsort of discovered you in one of the
best movies. You know, BodyHeat, And Larry Kasden, who's a
friend of Phil's and mine, senta question. So this is seriously yes,
yes, this is what he wrotefor he Actually, you know,
(24:22):
Larry, it was longer than aquestion. I have only the best memories
of working with Ted, who've alwaysliked for forty years. He's so great
in the movie. I have aset photo of him and me at the
exact moment he told me he hadan offer to do a TV series about
a bar in boswaow. I wishI could take credit for all that followed,
but I'm actually it's actually due toTed's enormous, multifaceted talent. He
(24:44):
continues to amaze and delight. Youcan ask him why he turned his back
on a dancing career which he hadopened. The door left the door wide
open for you should we just sitwith that for a while. Yeah,
that's so great. Yeah, hewas amazing. He I think he had
written a fair amount of the StarWars or a couple or wist one.
(25:06):
He wrote The Empire Strikes Back,and wasn't this his start? Yeah,
so this was right after that andhis first directing. Yes, And because
he had that advertising background, hestoryboarded the whole thing three times before we
got in front of the cameras.And then we happened to have a two
week rehearsal that went into almost twomonths because of a strike. I don't
(25:30):
know who's struck, and so wewere just kept rehearsing for two months.
So by the time we got infront of the cameras, he would shoot
a third of a master, youknow, half of a clock. He
just knew, literally. And youcan take the script that we auditioned with
and take it to the film andconduct it like a symptomy. Everything there
is there. It's pretty cool.It is a perfect film war. Yeah,
(25:53):
great music everything. I watched itlast night, so I can say
it holds up and your performance isgreat. But it made me think about
with cheers you before you get tocheers. Yes, There's a story I
read recently that your mother went tosee Bobby heat Yes, and this is
my mother in the theater for theentire film, hands over her eyes.
(26:18):
I think she thought maybe I wasthe one who was going to be naked
to kill her. But when Ithought about Cheers, I thought, one
of the most amazing things if youwhen you think about Woody, the fact
is out of nowhere you picked amature actor. They picked a mature actor
to be the first bartender. AndI don't know if you have a memory
(26:42):
of him. I just going backcollege coach. What a great, great
actor he was, which I assumemust have made it seem impossible to replace
him. And yet you found another, a guy who I believe was an
understudy on an Neil Simon played.But they did it twice on that show.
Yes, What was that like toexperience that loss in the Yeah,
(27:07):
I think we were all afraid becauseNick had stopped shooting the season before he
became ill, and for about threeor four episodes we made up stories about
where the coach was. But heand he died and we and it really
because he was the heart and thesoul. He was that innocent center of
(27:29):
the show and incomes Woodie. Imean literally first joke out of his mouth.
I think it was a pen paljoke, you know, but not
writing letters in their case, theywere exchanging pens. I'm sorry, what
do you I guess you hadn't heard. No Coach passed away a couple of
months ago, but yeah, I'dlike to think he's still around. Coach
(27:55):
gone. Hardly believe it. Boy, he had a lot of friends.
I don't remember him mentioning a Woodie, Well, we never met. We
were kind of like pen pals.You exchanged letters, no pens. It
was coaches idea, Oh well,I get some to drink here. You
(28:22):
immediately knew who he was, andhe was just magnificent. It's the writers
and then our casting was just brilliantbecause he just knocked it out of the
park immediately, in spite of therest of the men in that show who
were turning thirty seven, thirty eight, and when he was twenty four to
twenty five, which is when aman realizes he's no longer twenty five at
(28:47):
that thirty seven mark, and wetried to beat him at everything. Literally,
we took him to basketball court becausewe were pretty good killed us.
I saw him a leg wrestling withJohn Ratzenberger, who has big old New
England fisherman thighs, and he kickedhis ass. It was just one thing
(29:07):
after another. Uh. To thisday, the only time if you have
a prank, the only person youwant you wait for even a year to
pull on is Woody because he's justindomitable. But that was such a brilliant
choice because you would think, oh, the old fella dies, we need
another old fella for the balance.No, maybe go the complete opposite direction,
(29:30):
because now you don't compare the two. Yeah, that's true. They
were kindred spirits, right in theirkind of mental capacity, but right,
but totally different. You're right,and kind of the same with the with
the ladies, that's true. ShelleyLong, could we replace? How do
you replace Shelley Long? And alongcame Curse the Alley? Can you tell
(29:52):
us? Because there's a pretty goodand interesting way the show was cast.
I'm looking at a lot of youngfaces. Do we need to explain the
latter half of the last century?Cheers not a hit? The first year
(30:14):
dead. Last one week we wereseventy out of Jimmy likes to say we
were seventy second out of seventy reallydead last. Yeah, well, Raymond
was what you were seventy fourth orsomething. Initially ray used to say,
I'm worried because Moesha is right onras. But talk about the audition.
(30:37):
I love this story. You auditionedfor chemistry right. First I went down.
I was doing a last second replacementon Taxi and during that week of
shooting, I went down to seeJimmy Burrows, the director creator in Lesson,
Glenn Charles, and we had twothree days in a row talking and
(31:02):
then at the end of the lastday, they said, don't take another
job until you talk to us.And I was like, Oh, does
that mean I have the job?No, No, just talk to us.
First, I went out the backof the office. There are two
doors, the front door, backdoor, and as I'm going out the
back door, I see every actorin Hollywood coming up the stairs to audition.
(31:26):
But then we ended up auditioning inpairs. There were three of us,
three pairs, and truly got Samalone because Shelley and I were good
together and Shelley was just a homerun. She was out of the box,
kind of brilliant. But this isvery smart to do, I think
if you're casting, because it isall about chemistry. Nobody's alone. And
(31:48):
that was an ensemble show and itwas one of the most perfect things in
the history of television. Yeah,it was a really funny show. How
many episodes don't remember? Two hundredand something or three thirty something? Yeah?
Yes, Wow, that's a lotof anything. Yeah. Yeah.
Do you still turn it on occasionally? Uh? When I can? Yeah,
(32:12):
when I find it? And Marywere lying in bed together in America?
What happens next? Whole idea?None? You know some of them
I hadn't watched because we had youngkids at the time and nine thirty was
not the time. Tone speaking ofbeing in bed with the great Mary steam
Virgin, Thank you careful now?Yes, my only question. And I
(32:35):
have spoken with her and she's themost alife on the Can people take a
second look at me when they realizedI'm married? He here they go,
Oh, maybe it must be okay, can you tell us the meaning of
the phrase Gosha Rooney? No,they don't want to. Okay. Mary
thought, this is her story.It's better when she tells it. You'll
(32:57):
see why. Mary thought. Whenwe were being cast into a movie.
This was after Cheers, and itwas our first time to really get we've
seen each other and gun Hi hiHollywood like, and then we got to
start to get to know each otheron this film that we were shooting.
And she kept thinking, well,he's kind of I mean, he's nice,
but he's he's slick. He's thatslick thinking, even though she knew
(33:22):
better, Sam Malone, that's whoI really kind of mean. And then
she said, but then I realizedthat really slick guys don't say Gosha Rooney
after making love. It's a goodrole of thumb. Some of us say,
jury highest compliment you can give it, Womansha Rooney. Hey, friends,
(33:54):
Ted Danson here, and I wantto let you know about my new
podcast. It's called where Ever EverybodyKnows Your Name with me Ted Danson and
Woody Harrelson. Sometimes doing this podcastis a chance for me and my good
bud Woodie to reconnect after Cheers wrappedthirty years ago. Plus we're introducing each
other to the friends we've met since, like Jane Fonda, Conan O'Brien,
(34:16):
Eric Andre, Mary Steen, VirginMy Wife, and Flee from the Red
Hot Chili Peppers. And trust me, it's always a great hang when Woody's
there. So why wait? Listento where everybody knows your name wherever you
get your podcasts. I want toget into what you're doing now. But
(34:40):
I would be remiss if I didn'task you about your experience on saving Private
Ryan. That was great, Ihad. Did you did they make you
go through any kind of basic training? Because I know the younger people they
were there for like ten fifteen whateverin real Yeah. No, I was
(35:04):
a concord soldier. I flew overfor like two days. I had just
finished, uh failed attempt at likemy fourth or fifth half hour comedy,
and I went, wow, I'vestayed too long at the half hour party.
I'm no longer funny. There arepeople doing this way better than me.
(35:25):
I need to stop doing this.And I went to Jeffrey Katzenberger,
who was a friend, and said, put me in a movie. Anything
doesn't matter how small. Don't payme, I don't care. I just
want to start doing films again.And he must have said something to Steven
and so I got this one day, two day part in Saving Private Rite.
(35:46):
And when I showed up, youknow Captain Dale Dye, who is
the guy who trained who started Ithink on polloon, polloon, pot Plato,
thank you, I'm fine, Andhe took me for two hours out
(36:08):
back with a Thompson submachine gun andwent to the very real training because,
as sadly we all know, thisis very close to the real deal,
even though they're blanks. You know, shooting a machine gun full of blanks
is dangerous, so they want tomake sure you're not an idiot. So
(36:29):
he trained me for about two orthree hours and his final word was you're
trainable, and walked off. You'retrainable was his highest compliment. You know,
but you was there a version whereyou had to shoot that gun?
Yeah? Yeah, I think that'show you first see us. Paul leans
against a wall that falls over,revealing a bunch of German soldiers having lunch
(36:57):
or catching their breath or something,and then all held breaks lows, right,
and yeah, so we shunned.Wow. I watched so much of
your body of work before this,just because I was enjoying it so much.
And when you talk to someone hadto prepare, I think. But
one of the things I thought waswhen you talk about staying too long at
(37:19):
the sitcom, Uh, fair onething, there are certain roles of yours
where you're you're never not great,But there are certain performances like Board to
Death or Damages, two things thatI absolutely love, And I think are
there performances like that or roles likethat where you sort of come back to
remembering what acting is, Because likeI, when I watch Board to Death,
(37:39):
I go you, and I'm aguy who worked for Rolling Stone,
that worked for Yon Winner, Iknow rich editors and you. It seems
like you connect especially powerfully with someof those. Yeah, I mean,
I think it a funny way youcould say, even though it was a
half hour comedy that cheers of comedythat comes out of some sort of human
(38:01):
frailty, some sort of human conditionthat has sadness or something in it.
And he was a recovering alcoholic,he was going to be a lonely man
forever. But in general, tothis day, if I if I'm in
something and it smacks of a joke, a well formed but joke, I
(38:23):
panic and I say, I'm sosorry, this is really funny. I
don't know if I can do this. That's why I think I stopped right
before saving private writing, wanting tobe funny because jokes terrifying me. But
if it comes out of the humancondition, if it's character driven, behavioral,
yeah, yeah, thank you,behavioral of which you were NonStop on
(38:46):
Raymond. It was all from family, It was all from real, It
was all from awkward and you know, and love your character. Ye,
yes, it was h yeah,I do like like Damages was to me
a very funny character. You know, it was dark, but it was
(39:09):
so dark it was funny and itwas a human comedy. What's that?
It was the human comedy? Yeah, sort of life and that stuff.
Yeah. And if you're lucky,and I have been as an actor,
material comes your way at the sametime you are processing something in life or
going through a phase in life thatmatches, and then you're just in heaven
(39:31):
and therapy and it's therapy. Yeah, totally. When I was doing Bored
to Death, it was about aguy who didn't want to be left out
and wanted to still be relevant.And you know, my favorite line was
I want to call anoscopy too,because one of the younger guys was doing
it and that was me. Iwas. I wanted to still be a
(39:52):
player, but I wanted to notbe left out. By these younger you
know something, so it has itresonates and it's more fun fit you know,
in your shows, In all theshows you've done, did you ever
have opportunity to talk to the writersand say, something happened at my house
last night. I'm wondering if there'ssomething here. No, but you grew
(40:12):
up with Ray Romano, who youknow is that's kind of part of his
living is that I'm all of us. I got yes, but I got
raised by Lesson, Glenn and Jimmy, and my upbringing and comedy was say
say our words first and then putit up on its feet, and then
well then let's talk. So mycontribution to the writing has always been plus
(40:39):
I'm so self absorbed, I couldn'tdo that writing thing. It's all very
subjective for me. But my thingis to go, I just we just
said your words, and are weon the same page? Because when I
say your words, this is whatit makes me feel. This is what
happens with me when I put yourwords in. Is that what you mean?
(41:00):
Are we on the same that's becauseif not, then we should work
on that. You say that whenyou're not feeling it. No always,
you know, I just want tomake I want to make sure I'm doing
what you think I should be doing. I am, but I usually disguise
(41:20):
it way better than you. Don'tdo that everywhere my whole self deprecating things
bullshit. You know, I gota huge ego. It's a bit of
it. We work together. Iwould have loved that we'd have so much
fun. And besides, yes wewould. I adore you, I'm getting
to love you. It's a lot. I brought these for you. I
(41:47):
sorry they're real. Sure can Iask about you're hurting the environment? Larry
David? And we're here at EMMAEnvironmental Media Sociation, and one of the
things they do is try to tryto inspire through entertainment, try to have
messages that actually are meaningful in entertainment. And I think about with Larry David.
(42:10):
I believe I bought a Prius myfirst time. I think because I
saw him in it. And thenwhen I started working on the EMMA words
for Debbie and Ashre and it wasgood, and then al Gore asked me
and I was very happy to bedriving up in a Prius. But I
wonder, how do you feel aboutcan entertainment or how can entertainment help with
(42:30):
messaging. Well, you just saidit. I think, I mean,
by example, I've never been thatgreat about that. To be honest,
I don't go out of my wayto pick a part that has an environmental
message, partly because I get tobe surrounded by some of the brightest lawyers,
scientists, you know, lobbyists inthe world through Oceania. I feel
(42:55):
like that part of my brain andmy life gets to expressed and care about
the environment that way. So I'mnot as good as those guys you know
who. Larry was amazing, andI think Laurie his uh you know his
ex wife was really good and insistenton that as well. But yeah,
(43:17):
Larry's always done a good job withthat, and it's brilliant because it does
make a difference. I can't saythat I can point to my career and
go see this is an example ofthat, I think. I mean,
we both know Larry. You knowhim much better. I've been on the
show, right, you're both partof the curb but multiverse in the same
episode, we've both been Larry Fodder. I think he puts in the nice
(43:43):
thing with the prius so that hecan behave terribly the rest of that time.
Yes. And the worst part aboutLarry David having all this success well
deserved is he gets to be moreLarry. He's so Larry. Oh,
he's so Larry. He's worse theshow. Every word out of his mouth,
(44:04):
by the way, is an episode. The first time I met Larry
was at a party. You wereprobably there, and they introduced me and
I say hi, and he doesn'tsay hi. He says, you think
it's all right to throw a gumin the fireplace? Every word is an
(44:24):
episode? Yes, or a trialballoon. Yes, that's right, which
leaves you sitting there going this hasbeen a great conversation. Ah, he's
trying out his material on me insteadof talking to me. We met because
I wrote the first review of EverybodyLoves Raymond and Rolling Stone. You gave
Larry the first review of what hasbecome Curb your Enthusiasm. Can you tell
(44:45):
that the story of what you thoughtwe were? Yeah, we were.
We met in Martha's vineyard and ahumble island for poor and he had I
don't know who they were friends with, Larry Laurie, and but we had
met them and enjoyed them and likedthem, and I think this is maybe
(45:05):
the year before, but then thesecond summer we saw them. He had
just finished the pilot for kurb andhe invited four or five or six of
us up to this rental and theWi Fi or something was bad. We
had to be on the stairs kindof going up into the attic. In
his defense, it was a verywarm night. A couple people literally fell
(45:30):
asleep watching it, and I rememberlooking at it going ooh, yikes,
this is never going to work.But I really like him, so you
know, this sycophantash ted and Marywent loved it. If you ever want
us to play ourselves, we'll behappy to do it. You know,
hard cut to It's like he turnedhalf hour comedy on its ear. It's
(45:54):
a brilliant show, and he turnedmy career around in a way. I
always try to credit him because it'strue that that I've stayed too long at
the half hour party. He invitedus to come down and it was very
gorilla like and you literally wore yourclothes. You got the call the day
(46:16):
before. Mary had to put onher own makeup. It was that kind
of It is a format onto itself. Yes, it really is not even
the half hour but it delights Itdelighted me. It made me realize,
Oh there's another way I can stillbe around the giggle, the joke,
and it was it was. He'san amazing guy, fantastic and he's very
(46:38):
smart to use you because you're theopposite of him. Yeah, is it
okay if we take a few questionsfrom the audience here? What not?
But not not her? Anybody.We have a few minutes left for a
few minutes for questions. Anyone raiseyour hand, we will call on you.
And I think there's a microphone.He knows everything about the ocean,
(46:59):
which there's only two thirds of theplanet. Is that right, something like
that. I'm the land person.Yes, you're and you're doing a great
job. Thank you very much.So. My primary experience with your work,
mister Danson, is through The GoodPlace, which is a wonderful show
and really changed the way I thinkabout character arcs and storytelling. I was
(47:22):
wondering if you could talk a littlebit about your experience on the show and
how it may be affected you atall. Sure? Are you a writer?
Very amateur? I try, Yes, that's call you not here for
the environment. She has a scriptin her bag Mike. Sure. For
(47:51):
you all who haven't seen it,Michael Short, what do you do part
Parks and rec Office? No?What is it? Brooklyn one? And
the Good Place anyway, The GoodPlace was don't be shy or embarrassed any
(48:15):
Have people seen it? Yes,my career is guaranteed for at least another
ten years because of all the youngerkids, the young teenagers devoured that show
because it was so bright. Itwas about something. It was about how
to lead a purposeful life. Itwas about ethics. It was wrapped in
(48:37):
a nine year old's fart sense ofhumor and with visual special effects that surprised
and delighted. And he literally thewriting staff had two ethics professors from renowned
colleges on speed dial. They actuallywould have before each season began, he
(49:00):
would have them come give a lecture, these ethics professors to make sure that
they were getting it right. Andto me, it's just one of the
most It wasn't as fun as someof the meat and potatoes acting. It
was kind of an elevated It washard, is what I mean. It
was fun, but it was itwas a very elevated language. Just a
(49:23):
quick story. I don't know ifyou if I ruin it. So on
at the during the first season,you think that the conceit is that I'm
the architect of this portion of Heavenand I've created this village, this how
heaven works and with a specific amountof people, and you've You've come to
(49:45):
the good place. But truthfully,I am You find out at the end
of the first season that I amactually batting for the other team. I
am evil, and I've set thisup so that they torture themselves and I've
created this world. At the endof the last episode, you discovered this,
and it's a big surprise. Soearly on he calls us all in
(50:07):
the offices, do not tell anyoneabout this, and I'm just sweating bullets
because about the week before I wastalking to my friend John Krasinski, who
had worked with Mike in the office, and I said, oh, I'm
working He was off to do abig movie and he said, what are
(50:27):
you doing, not being competitive atall, I said, I'm working with
you know, someone you know verywell, and I described it's you know,
it takes place in the afterlife anddah, and I could see his
eyes kind of go oh yeah.The office in hevn't got it, and
I went no, no, becausethere's a there's a spin to this because
(50:47):
at the end of the first seasonyou discovered that I'm actually the devil and
blew it completely blue. It anyway, fantastic, great question. We have
another question. Now they're oh,now they're coming out of the woodwork.
Hi, Ted, I had anopportunity to meet you at the Tyler Prize
(51:10):
a couple of years ago. Givenwe're in the environmental audience, do you
have one particular message about the oceansyou want to leave to us about what
we can do and how we cankind of use our storytelling to do something
about the oceans. Yes, Ido. Oceanna got incredibly good Oceanna.
(51:32):
The world everybody knows now what youneed to do to make sure the oceans
stay vital. You stop destroying thehabitat the nurseries. You stop over catching
things and throwing a third of themaway. You want to protect the fisheries
so they can continue to feed theworld, because if they if you don't,
(51:53):
if you do it correctly, youcould feed a billion fish meals a
day sustainably when protein is scarce inyou know, food security is a big
deal. So anyway, we're andyou have to do tons of things and
we're really good at it to makethat happen. I think the most important
(52:14):
message is climate change can literally undoall of that and is in a way
or en route, you know,So I really I would just say I
do believe all Oceana will continue todo ocean only ocean stuff. So we're
(52:35):
keeping offshore oil from you know happeningand mangoes happening and all of that to
do our part for climate change.But I think we all need need to
while we keep well ocean and youknow people are in this field, are
keeping the stocks elevated and live andhealthy stocks, fishing stocks. We really
(53:00):
need to focus on climate change.It is oil companies, it's methane and
cattle in a lot of things,but you have to do you have to
deal with oil. And one ofthe things we're also doing is taking on
plastics because plastics are you know,choking our oceans, getting into the system
(53:22):
and into US. And oil companiesknow that they have this is in memos
that the world is able to seethat yes we're losing the transportation battle and
it'll you know, they'll be buyingless oil for that. But don't worry.
We're backing the petrochemical industry to openup ten huge factories around the world
(53:46):
and we're going to pour our youknow, resources and money and oil into
plastics. So it is it isthe oil companies that have to be And
that's what I love about Jane Fonda'spack. It's about electing people at all,
down ballot everywhere who are not climatedeniers, who are willing to do
(54:08):
stuff. It is such a cynicaltime, you know, and we just
have to do our best to educateand get people out to vote and vote
people in who are not you know, shortsighted, greedy idiots. Very good,
good work to live by, hPhil. We should we should wrap
(54:31):
this up, but just everyone stayfor a moment because we're gonna shoot one
little promo for our podcast. Sodon't run. Wait wait, who's podcast?
All of our podcasts? We canwe can do a merger like Oceana
and you're no, But Phil,can we tell tell the people what you're
working on right now? Besides everycommercial that I see on TV, yeah,
(54:57):
one you don't know about it.Bristol Meyers Squib is doing has come
up with this pill that I havechecked out frontwards and backwards. Uh,
to deal with moderate to severe plaquesariasis, which I grew up with and
(55:19):
have and was so shamed by andembarrassed. And you want to go swimming
numb lam. Fine, thanks,and maybe you'll wear a short sleeve in
this scene. That's fine. Iyou know it was, it did kind
of dominate. It wasn't, youknow, life threatening, but it was
ego, you know, spirit squishing. So I'm off making you know,
(55:43):
PLAQ sariasis commercials going and advertising iton like the Today Show, and I'm
going, wow, never would haveguessed. And when they said they double
checked and it was it was ahealthy paycheck. And then right before they
pulled the trigger and said yes,and I knew the healthy paycheck part,
they said, does he really havemoderate to severe psiasis? And I'm in
(56:05):
the back going yeah, yeah,it's bad, It's really bad. But
I'm sorry. I'm working with MikeSure. Yes, the Bristol Myers says
some good acting in it. Yes, I'm working with Mike Sure the Good
Place on something called a Classic SpyAnd we just finished and it came from
(56:28):
a documentary called The mole agent comingout of Santiago, Chili, and it's
about I won't tell you what we'reabout because they're still cutting and putting it
together and it's not going to comeout for a little while. But the
podcast, the essence of the andthe sweetness of it comes from this,
sorry, from this documentary. Andit's a lady hires a private detective because
(56:55):
her mother who's in a I thinkit's a nursing home version it's a retirement
home. They're stealing from her andthey're just treating her horribly. And I
want you to prove this because Iwant to suit them and save my mother
or whatever. So that the privatedetective hires puts an ad in the paper
saying, eighty year old gentlemen whoare good with technology, which is already
(57:19):
very funny, and they insert inour case, me into this retirement home
to find out what's going on.And I'm delighted to have something to do
with my life and a reason toget up in the morning. But I'm
a horrible spy, which comes thefunny, but it's also full of heart.
It's about memory loss. It's aboutpeople in their forties having to deal
(57:44):
with their kids and their parents andit's really really sweet. I can't wait
for you all to see. Itwill be November. I think it's on
Netflix. I've heard of them.Well, thank you so much. We're
so thrilled that you could join.Who doesn't love ted Dance and everybody?
Thank you. Naked Lunch is apodcast by Phil Rosenthal and David Wilde.
(58:12):
Theme song and music by Brad Paisley, Produced by Will Sterling. Executive produced
by Phil Rosenthal, David Wilde,and our consulting journalist is Pamela Chellen.
If you enjoyed the show, shareit with a friend, But if you
can't take my word for it,take Phil's and don't forget to leave a
good rating and review. We likefive stars. You know, thanks for
listening to Naked Lunch, a LuckyBastard's production.
People. You know. Tropical SmoothieCafe believes you deserve a little vaca every
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(00:22):
So visit one of Tropical Smoothie Cafesfourteen hundred plus locations, or order online
or go through the app. David, here we are again, third time.
This is charm I think at thehottest club in West Hollywood. Yes,
where everybody knows you're green. Thatwas a climate joke. Oh yeah,
(00:44):
Hi everybody, thanks for coming.This is going to be part not
only of your thing, but ofour thing, of the Naked Lunch podcast.
How many listeners do we have ofNaked Lunch? Wow? It's overwhelming.
Yeah, and we're promoting a muchmore sustainable podcast that starts next week.
(01:04):
Yes, by our guests tell themabout it. That's right. Ted
Dancing has a podcast with Woody Harrelsonthat starts on the twelve. Fight Believe,
and it's gonna be so much betterthan ours. It already is because
they have Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson. That would help. Well, we
have Ted Danson today, we do? Should we bring him out? Absolutely,
(01:26):
Ladies and gentlemen, Ted dancing,Let's build the beans to the fat,
food for thought and jokes on Tedtalking with our mouthsful, having fun,
(01:49):
BEEAs cake and humble pies, servingup slass lovely. The dressing on
the side, it's naked lunch clothingoption. You've got entrance music? Is
this my chair? Yes? Shouldsit on the top and one is for
the bottom. I'll spare you thisone. First of all, you're very
(02:15):
tall, you're very told. Doyou ever feel bad supporting the environment when
you use up more of it thanmost people? That's very funny. So
shouldn't you pay an offset every day? I should for using so much more?
And then the whole methane thing.That's good. That's see, that's
(02:38):
why we had the bottom mic,David, we've set the tone. Uh.
We want to ask you so wedon't ignore the timely nature of your
podcast. How did this? I'msure it'll be a much more sustainable podcast
than ours. How did this happenwith you? Uh, and Woody Harrelson
(03:00):
strike or maybe COVID. One ofthose times when we weren't working, somebody
came to me and suggested this asa possibility and then told me you need
a co host. Then immediately wewent to Woody, And the reason why
we both wanted to do it togetheris because we loved each other for so
(03:20):
many years, as you do whenyou intensely work and make each other giggle
all day. But that was likeforty years ago. And how are you,
how have you been what have youbeen doing? Felt like a really
fun way to hang out because usuallyyou see each other every year for ten
minutes you know someone stone, soit's not that deep a conversation and very
(03:44):
elegantly done right there, and soit was just irresistible. And then the
conceit is, let's catch up witheach other and what have you been doing?
And let me introduce my friends toyou, and you can introduce yours
to me. And that's what we'vebeen doing. Phil, I don't know
what experiences you've had with Woody Harrold. Sorry, Can I just also add
the title is Where Everybody Knows YourName? Hosted by Ted Danson and Woody
(04:10):
Harrelson parentheses. Sometimes he's a whimsicalman. It's very realistical. I did.
I did his show and it hasn'tcome out yet. But what he
wasn't there that Yeah, he wasdoing a play in London. Oh he
could have been in mouth relaxing fromdoing the play in London. But it
was one of those two yes.But it was great well, speaking about
(04:30):
his whimsical nature and charming nature.I worked with him not that long ago
when there was a Grammy tribute toPaul Simon, and I was shocked when
Paul Simon came back to Kenner Lookand I the producer, and said,
uh, Woody Harrelson's going to openthe show. And we were like,
we had no idea. They werefriends. You. I believe in your
second episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm,I put it together today you were supposed
(04:55):
to go to the Paul Simon concert, so there is a theme emerging.
But what I remember is that woodhe called me and said I'm going to
sing, which was a surprise,and then he said I'm going to sing
old friends and I had to quicklycheck to make sure no one else was
singing old friends. And when WoodyHarrelson wants to sing. He sings,
and he was great. He isunexpected and I imagine he will be a
(05:17):
surprising co host. He were completeopposites. You know, I would I
would do anything not to sing forone, But man, he takes such
big chunks out of life. Myfavorite little Woody story from Cheers days was
during the height of the rock androllness of Cheers and weren't we Fabulous?
(05:39):
And if you were fifteen minutes lateto rehearsal, it's fine. Half hour
you were probably considered late. Fortyfive minutes went by and we're all sitting
around to rehearse, and somebody comesrunning in and goes, Woodies in Berlin
the walls coming down, and hedidn't want to miss it. Literally,
he had flown to Berlin because hedidn't want to miss the wall coming down.
(06:00):
He made it in time to shootit two days later. But that's
Woody that that was also his excuse. When Phil was over for the interview
he had he had to go forthe wall was falling again being built up,
Yes, exactly, which might betrue. Actually, uh, I
guess because we're here at the EMMASummit, the Impact Summit, it's worth
(06:21):
asking. You know, I readyour book which I have here on Oceana,
which is obviously an important, uhpart of your life, and you're
you know, you actually created theorganization that then merged with Oceana and has
become this major part of your lifeand of the environmental movement. What about
(06:41):
I was reading a little bit aboutyour childhood. I wonder how did your
childhood and your landlocked childhood lead toyour interest in this subject? Right Tucson
till I was about seven. Myfather was an anthropologist, the pH d
professor and then became the director ofthe Museum of Northern Arizona and Flagstaff and
(07:04):
the Research Center. He was anarchaeologist, and I grew up around that.
But we would go visit my cousinsin southern California, and you know,
coming from the desert and going tothe ocean is just like you found
your heaven. I mean literally,I'm here today because of those formative up
(07:24):
until seven year old visits to southernCalifornia. But I was the My sister
paid attention to everything. She wasthe student everything that was said. We
were surrounded by scientists because it wasa very small museum, research center,
but it was world known, soscientists all over the world would come and
(07:45):
have cocktails and dinner with my motherand my father, and so I was
always around. Scientific conversation went rightover my head. I was off playing
with my friends. My sister absorbedit. But I think what I what
soaked in was that thought that theanthropological kind of there's a lot that has
(08:09):
come before you, and hopefully there'llbe a lot that comes after you,
and this is not about you thistime. This is about your stewardship of
what you've been given. And Ithink that sunk in peripherally hard cut to
becoming an actor and cheers. Inabout half about third fourth year of Cheers,
we moved into a neighborhood in SantaMonica that was fighting desperately oil company
(08:37):
Arma Hammer from digging slant drilling sixtywells into the bay. And the man
who led it, Robert Sulnik,and I became friends and we came up
with a way to beat the oilcompany after years of trying to match them
money wise, and we defeated them. And it became kind of a naive.
(08:58):
You know, my father has abarn. Let's put on a play
kind of thing. Let's start anenvironmental organization called American Oceans Campaign, and
we hired This was in the mideighties, and we hired some lobbyists in
Washington and had some scientists on ourfledgling board of directors. We were international
(09:22):
because I knew one guy in Londonwho liked oceans. You know. It
was that kind of small celebrity boutique, but it was well respected in Washington
enough to the point when Oceania,being formed by the Pew Foundation and some
truly international foundations started, they cameto us to merge. And yeah,
(09:45):
I've been part of the board ofdirectors ever since, and it's the most
amazing part of my life. WhenI'm not acting that I get to hang
around. I'm one last thing.I'm very clear what my job is.
I'm and Emma knows this. Thecelebrity gets the microphone, you know.
So I knew from early on thatstanding in front of the tent saying thank
(10:07):
you for watching, cheers and I'dlove you to meet this biologist because marine
biologist, because she's incredibly bright.And that's my job, and to this
day, it's my job using yourpower for good. I want to go
back one second. You said youwere trying to match them, meaning advertised
to voters to vote against them theoil company. Right, yes, because
(10:31):
what we did we put it onthe ballot so as an initiative, and
then you said you couldn't match them, so you beat them. But how
did you beat them? Bye?Bye? Putting it on the ballot in
November and making the whole city voteon it, which was scary because they
do horribly tricky things like yes,a competing thing that sounds way better and
(10:54):
way more environmental than yours. Alwayscan I just jump to a thing because
Jane Fonda and her who's a friendof both of ours, and her pack,
which one of the things they're tryingto do, And what's coming our
way is our governor succeeded with Ithink almost unanimity in the in the state
(11:16):
Senate or whatever to pass a lawthat you could not build an oil well
within I don't know how many feetof human beings, of schools, of
homes, and because we're the onlycity that has oil wells, just it's
right in the middle of it withno caring, and most of it's in
(11:37):
you know, areas that don't havethe money enough to fight them like we
did in Santa Monica. So it'spassed, and then immediately the oil companies
are pumping in up to two hundredmillion dollars to do a competing thing to
say no, no, no,no, this will increase your gas bills,
which is a lie, it won't, and all of these other things
(11:58):
just because they want that total freedomto put their oil where ever they want.
So you've heard about this, thatthey can put an oil well next
door to you, and we have, and we met with the girl who
was unbelievable who told us about shelived next to one of these and her
entire town has cancer and she yes, yes, it's just tragic what's happened
(12:22):
to her physical wellbeing right and thosearound her and her friends and her family
and towns. This is a nobrainer. But like I just want to
make sure that this is clear.They will put out the oil companies will
put out information saying your lives willbe better if you vote for us,
your lives, the economic your healthwill be better. They just flat out
(12:45):
lies. Yep. And we knowhow to get oil and it'll be clean
oil, whatever the hell that is. If you get it from another country,
you know, and we shouldn't begetting our becoming oil dependent. And
that's closer we are to you,the better for you. Yeah yeah,
and it's horseship because we've never hadmore oil pumping out of this country than
now today. So AnyWho, well, let me ask you anyhow, the
(13:09):
first time that we were here atthe summit, we interviewed Ed Begley Junior,
who's my hero, everyone's hero forEd? Can I just jump in
and say we would get I don'tthink it was em I can't remember.
Maybe heal the bay or something.We I was supposed to introduce him and
and I couldn't think what to do. So and this is when Ed literally
bicycled everywhere everywhere. I'd be won'tfly, maybe take a train, but
(13:35):
that's it. So he bicycled everywhere. And it was kind of a rainy
day. And my introduction, NYMwas I have to confess I was in
my limo and we drove by andI told my driver to splash him,
kind of push him off the reallyfunny. But he spoke to us when
when we interviewed him at the summitabout the impact on his career that there
(13:56):
was a decade or so where everyonewas slightly afraid to have him on the
set, and he would get asense of that. You have managed to
be one of the most beloved figures. Even Jane Fonda, you know who
we had on the podcast. Yes, she you know what she calls Phil,
don't you what is the name?It's my most my favorite nickname for
(14:18):
you, the Jewish tinker Bell.But but as Ed Begley told tinker Bell
and and myself, he said,he paid a price. It's interesting.
And even Jane, you know,she manages to be the most extraordinary visionary
person and yet she does piss somepeople off. You have managed in your
(14:43):
work to it seems like, okay, but I'm not as I mean,
Ed walks the walk, Jane walksthe walk. I strolled, but I'm
more of a talk the talker,you know. I mean, there is
a reason for that, and it'snot what I'm necessarily proud of. You
got arrested with Jane. I didtalk about that. It's kind of it's
(15:07):
kind of the Champagne of arrests.Yes, the Champagne of arrest Yeah,
it really, it really is.You're you Jane with Jane Fond of Fire
Drill Friday. Yes, were scaredit all. You knew you would be
arrested or thought you might be.Yeah, I knew, So what what
do you? Can you sleep thatnight? There's part of you going,
(15:30):
uh, maybe you should take thiswhole climate change thing even more seriously than
you do if you're going to goget arrested. That's that was the benefit
for me, because I think partof me was going, I gave it
the office, I'm saving the oceans. You know I'm not, But you
know what I mean. It wasa joke. So I don't think I
really had left into the climate frayquite as much until that moment. Yes,
(15:56):
it is. No, it's thesame thing, and we are all
working on the same things. Butmy my champagne of arrest went kind of
like this. When the officer cameup and said, all right, this
is the last time we will askyou. Next time we will put handcuffs
on you, I went, canI have my arms in the front?
I have a really bad shoulder.Oh yes, yes, mister dance,
(16:18):
and that'll be fine. Do theytalk that? Do they talk that quietly?
Very very nice? Yes. Theyactually came up beforehand. We were
supposed to go up and kind ofstand on the Capitol steps where you're not
supposed to, and that's where wewould get arrested. Great visual. I've
seen people go up the capital stepsand even go in without much problem.
(16:41):
Unbelievable. Too soon, too soonmaybe to be a little more assertive ted,
But tell us what happens when you'rearrested. How many of you have
been arrested for the cause? Aha? Nice? All right, so but
tell us because I think I wouldenjoy it. Sorry, I want to
(17:03):
go next time with Jane. Yesyou should, Yeah, because I want
to. You know, I needto butch up my reputation. Somebody arrests
Phil a good spinoff. I thinkthe fact that you said butcher maybe won't
happen. That won't happen. Sorry, you don't need to butcher up.
You're perfect and you are butch.You just have this Veniera butch Tinkerbell.
(17:29):
You're sort of bleach, but butbutch body. Yes exactly. Wait wait
uh so when they put handcuffs onyou doesn't hurt? Uh No, because
you asked them. My wrists arekind of earthritic too. Have you seen
cheers stuff like that? And there'sno resistance. They tell you in advance.
(17:51):
This is do what they do,do what they tell you, it
will all be okay. You're coachedvery carefully. And they came up before
the event and said, I knowyou're planning to go up on the steps,
and we need to tell you nottoday because there's an actual security threat
and if you do go on thosesteps, we will arrest you and put
you in the real jail. Sowe all went okay, okay, and
(18:12):
they told us where to go,which was still illegal. You're looking at
the cop and you're saying, isthis okay over here? Yes? Literally,
it's very coordinated, to be honest. So they put you in handcuffs
and they put you in a vanor something. Patty wagon. Yeah,
you were sitting, and that's whenit kind of donned you. Oh this
is smidge different because you're sitting likethis with a bunch of people and you
(18:33):
can't really move that much. Andyou realize, even if I wanted to,
I can't really move. Okay,And then you go and they take
you to this big warehouse and theykeep their handcuffs on enough to so I
think they're trying to educate you.You don't want to really do this.
Someday. So they give you alittle taste of that and you realize the
(18:56):
processing could have taken twenty minutes.It took four hours and twenty minutes.
Kind of I think purposefully to saythis is real. Did you know that
that time commitment was going to becausethat's enough to make me go, well,
you know what I have just kidding? Yeah, is this going to
(19:17):
take very long? Would be oneof the questions on the way. Jane
did it so many times that theyshe did spend a night in the jail.
They said, next time you getarrest that it will be real,
and she has a card that theypunched. The next one is, yeah,
she's so cool. Being about herbeing so cool, I wondered,
even being Ted Danson, did youhave a moment when you're with her getting
(19:40):
arrested when you think back to likebeing an actor, like when you began
nineteen seventy two your arm Broadway forone night. I believe in status quo
vadis? Is that the name?Damn? Yeah? Do you have a
list of all my failures? Yes, yes I do. But by the
way, the reason I know that, in particular is I was watching a
(20:00):
movie I hadn't seen called that Irecommend hearts Beat Loud. Hearts Beat Loud
with it? Is that the onewith Mary? Or was I? No,
it's with Nick nick Offerman. Yes, you play Dave, a bartender
and you play an actor who didone you know who have Obviously it hasn't
panned out that well for but Isaw the poster of Status Quo Vadis and
(20:25):
I'm like that name, what isthat? Because I know the band Status
Quo. I'm you know, butit was my one night Broadway showcase.
It was So is the Way ofthe Way of my parents from Arizona.
So sweet flew in for opening night, and we're up in the Basardi's Bar,
very very cool, very theater andRex read any of you remember Rex?
(20:49):
Yes? Right, yeah, Andhe hated Clive Barnes, who was
the New York Times critic who couldjust shut a show and did and Rex
read when the reviews come out,that you run out and get the papers.
And Rex reads it, let me, let me read it because he
hated Clive Barnes. So he's sittingthere reading Clive Barnes pan of our show,
(21:12):
making fun of Clive Barnes as he'sreading it. So you're laughing.
Oh, the bar behind me,the cage came down, My drink was
on the other side, and itwas like party over. Go to the
matinee the next day, say goodbyeto my parents and Times Square. They
get in a cab and fly home. And I walk into the back stage
(21:34):
area and the stage door man guysays, whoa, whoa, whoa,
where are you going? I said, I work here and not anymore,
you don't and pointed to the closingthing. It was literally one night.
I'm sorry, a rough start.Oh, but the question was when you
that guy, that actor, wouldyou ever believe that you'd be getting arrested
(21:56):
with Jane Fonda, who I believewould have been like around the time of
Clue or something like that. No, no, I wouldn't. I wouldn't
have. She I still get alittle shy. No I don't, but
I for a long time got shyaround her because she's so impressive. Yeah,
when I met her, I wasseventy, she was turning eighty,
and I at seventy, I wasstarting to, you know, look for
(22:19):
a glide path that was comfortable.And I met Jane and she's just foot
on them, you know, pedaljust goes one's busier, Yeah, no
one. Did you see her atcon the pictures I saw? Yeah?
Yeah yeah, still like absolutely awesome. Tropical Smoothie Cafe believes you deserve a
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order online or through their app.The most mock taillable, act imaginable.
Stop mocktailing me exactly about actors havingthat out of nowhere moment, Woody.
(24:00):
We're gonna talk about Woody in asecond. Your moment was not quite out
of nowhere, but because the worldsort of discovered you in one of the
best movies. You know, BodyHeat, And Larry Kasden, who's a
friend of Phil's and mine, senta question. So this is seriously yes,
yes, this is what he wrotefor he Actually, you know,
(24:22):
Larry, it was longer than aquestion. I have only the best memories
of working with Ted, who've alwaysliked for forty years. He's so great
in the movie. I have aset photo of him and me at the
exact moment he told me he hadan offer to do a TV series about
a bar in boswaow. I wishI could take credit for all that followed,
but I'm actually it's actually due toTed's enormous, multifaceted talent. He
(24:44):
continues to amaze and delight. Youcan ask him why he turned his back
on a dancing career which he hadopened. The door left the door wide
open for you should we just sitwith that for a while. Yeah,
that's so great. Yeah, hewas amazing. He I think he had
written a fair amount of the StarWars or a couple or wist one.
(25:06):
He wrote The Empire Strikes Back,and wasn't this his start? Yeah,
so this was right after that andhis first directing. Yes, And because
he had that advertising background, hestoryboarded the whole thing three times before we
got in front of the cameras.And then we happened to have a two
week rehearsal that went into almost twomonths because of a strike. I don't
(25:30):
know who's struck, and so wewere just kept rehearsing for two months.
So by the time we got infront of the cameras, he would shoot
a third of a master, youknow, half of a clock. He
just knew, literally. And youcan take the script that we auditioned with
and take it to the film andconduct it like a symptomy. Everything there
is there. It's pretty cool.It is a perfect film war. Yeah,
(25:53):
great music everything. I watched itlast night, so I can say
it holds up and your performance isgreat. But it made me think about
with cheers you before you get tocheers. Yes, There's a story I
read recently that your mother went tosee Bobby heat Yes, and this is
my mother in the theater for theentire film, hands over her eyes.
(26:18):
I think she thought maybe I wasthe one who was going to be naked
to kill her. But when Ithought about Cheers, I thought, one
of the most amazing things if youwhen you think about Woody, the fact
is out of nowhere you picked amature actor. They picked a mature actor
to be the first bartender. AndI don't know if you have a memory
(26:42):
of him. I just going backcollege coach. What a great, great
actor he was, which I assumemust have made it seem impossible to replace
him. And yet you found another, a guy who I believe was an
understudy on an Neil Simon played.But they did it twice on that show.
Yes, What was that like toexperience that loss in the Yeah,
(27:07):
I think we were all afraid becauseNick had stopped shooting the season before he
became ill, and for about threeor four episodes we made up stories about
where the coach was. But heand he died and we and it really
because he was the heart and thesoul. He was that innocent center of
(27:29):
the show and incomes Woodie. Imean literally first joke out of his mouth.
I think it was a pen paljoke, you know, but not
writing letters in their case, theywere exchanging pens. I'm sorry, what
do you I guess you hadn't heard. No Coach passed away a couple of
months ago, but yeah, I'dlike to think he's still around. Coach
(27:55):
gone. Hardly believe it. Boy, he had a lot of friends.
I don't remember him mentioning a Woodie, Well, we never met. We
were kind of like pen pals.You exchanged letters, no pens. It
was coaches idea, Oh well,I get some to drink here. You
(28:22):
immediately knew who he was, andhe was just magnificent. It's the writers
and then our casting was just brilliantbecause he just knocked it out of the
park immediately, in spite of therest of the men in that show who
were turning thirty seven, thirty eight, and when he was twenty four to
twenty five, which is when aman realizes he's no longer twenty five at
(28:47):
that thirty seven mark, and wetried to beat him at everything. Literally,
we took him to basketball court becausewe were pretty good killed us.
I saw him a leg wrestling withJohn Ratzenberger, who has big old New
England fisherman thighs, and he kickedhis ass. It was just one thing
(29:07):
after another. Uh. To thisday, the only time if you have
a prank, the only person youwant you wait for even a year to
pull on is Woody because he's justindomitable. But that was such a brilliant
choice because you would think, oh, the old fella dies, we need
another old fella for the balance.No, maybe go the complete opposite direction,
(29:30):
because now you don't compare the two. Yeah, that's true. They
were kindred spirits, right in theirkind of mental capacity, but right,
but totally different. You're right,and kind of the same with the with
the ladies, that's true. ShelleyLong, could we replace? How do
you replace Shelley Long? And alongcame Curse the Alley? Can you tell
(29:52):
us? Because there's a pretty goodand interesting way the show was cast.
I'm looking at a lot of youngfaces. Do we need to explain the
latter half of the last century?Cheers not a hit? The first year
(30:14):
dead. Last one week we wereseventy out of Jimmy likes to say we
were seventy second out of seventy reallydead last. Yeah, well, Raymond
was what you were seventy fourth orsomething. Initially ray used to say,
I'm worried because Moesha is right onras. But talk about the audition.
(30:37):
I love this story. You auditionedfor chemistry right. First I went down.
I was doing a last second replacementon Taxi and during that week of
shooting, I went down to seeJimmy Burrows, the director creator in Lesson,
Glenn Charles, and we had twothree days in a row talking and
(31:02):
then at the end of the lastday, they said, don't take another
job until you talk to us.And I was like, Oh, does
that mean I have the job?No, No, just talk to us.
First, I went out the backof the office. There are two
doors, the front door, backdoor, and as I'm going out the
back door, I see every actorin Hollywood coming up the stairs to audition.
(31:26):
But then we ended up auditioning inpairs. There were three of us,
three pairs, and truly got Samalone because Shelley and I were good
together and Shelley was just a homerun. She was out of the box,
kind of brilliant. But this isvery smart to do, I think
if you're casting, because it isall about chemistry. Nobody's alone. And
(31:48):
that was an ensemble show and itwas one of the most perfect things in
the history of television. Yeah,it was a really funny show. How
many episodes don't remember? Two hundredand something or three thirty something? Yeah?
Yes, Wow, that's a lotof anything. Yeah. Yeah.
Do you still turn it on occasionally? Uh? When I can? Yeah,
(32:12):
when I find it? And Marywere lying in bed together in America?
What happens next? Whole idea?None? You know some of them
I hadn't watched because we had youngkids at the time and nine thirty was
not the time. Tone speaking ofbeing in bed with the great Mary steam
Virgin, Thank you careful now?Yes, my only question. And I
(32:35):
have spoken with her and she's themost alife on the Can people take a
second look at me when they realizedI'm married? He here they go,
Oh, maybe it must be okay, can you tell us the meaning of
the phrase Gosha Rooney? No,they don't want to. Okay. Mary
thought, this is her story.It's better when she tells it. You'll
(32:57):
see why. Mary thought. Whenwe were being cast into a movie.
This was after Cheers, and itwas our first time to really get we've
seen each other and gun Hi hiHollywood like, and then we got to
start to get to know each otheron this film that we were shooting.
And she kept thinking, well,he's kind of I mean, he's nice,
but he's he's slick. He's thatslick thinking, even though she knew
(33:22):
better, Sam Malone, that's whoI really kind of mean. And then
she said, but then I realizedthat really slick guys don't say Gosha Rooney
after making love. It's a goodrole of thumb. Some of us say,
jury highest compliment you can give it, Womansha Rooney. Hey, friends,
(33:54):
Ted Danson here, and I wantto let you know about my new
podcast. It's called where Ever EverybodyKnows Your Name with me Ted Danson and
Woody Harrelson. Sometimes doing this podcastis a chance for me and my good
bud Woodie to reconnect after Cheers wrappedthirty years ago. Plus we're introducing each
other to the friends we've met since, like Jane Fonda, Conan O'Brien,
(34:16):
Eric Andre, Mary Steen, VirginMy Wife, and Flee from the Red
Hot Chili Peppers. And trust me, it's always a great hang when Woody's
there. So why wait? Listento where everybody knows your name wherever you
get your podcasts. I want toget into what you're doing now. But
(34:40):
I would be remiss if I didn'task you about your experience on saving Private
Ryan. That was great, Ihad. Did you did they make you
go through any kind of basic training? Because I know the younger people they
were there for like ten fifteen whateverin real Yeah. No, I was
(35:04):
a concord soldier. I flew overfor like two days. I had just
finished, uh failed attempt at likemy fourth or fifth half hour comedy,
and I went, wow, I'vestayed too long at the half hour party.
I'm no longer funny. There arepeople doing this way better than me.
(35:25):
I need to stop doing this.And I went to Jeffrey Katzenberger,
who was a friend, and said, put me in a movie. Anything
doesn't matter how small. Don't payme, I don't care. I just
want to start doing films again.And he must have said something to Steven
and so I got this one day, two day part in Saving Private Rite.
(35:46):
And when I showed up, youknow Captain Dale Dye, who is
the guy who trained who started Ithink on polloon, polloon, pot Plato,
thank you, I'm fine, Andhe took me for two hours out
(36:08):
back with a Thompson submachine gun andwent to the very real training because,
as sadly we all know, thisis very close to the real deal,
even though they're blanks. You know, shooting a machine gun full of blanks
is dangerous, so they want tomake sure you're not an idiot. So
(36:29):
he trained me for about two orthree hours and his final word was you're
trainable, and walked off. You'retrainable was his highest compliment. You know,
but you was there a version whereyou had to shoot that gun?
Yeah? Yeah, I think that'show you first see us. Paul leans
against a wall that falls over,revealing a bunch of German soldiers having lunch
(36:57):
or catching their breath or something,and then all held breaks lows, right,
and yeah, so we shunned.Wow. I watched so much of
your body of work before this,just because I was enjoying it so much.
And when you talk to someone hadto prepare, I think. But
one of the things I thought waswhen you talk about staying too long at
(37:19):
the sitcom, Uh, fair onething, there are certain roles of yours
where you're you're never not great,But there are certain performances like Board to
Death or Damages, two things thatI absolutely love, And I think are
there performances like that or roles likethat where you sort of come back to
remembering what acting is, Because likeI, when I watch Board to Death,
(37:39):
I go you, and I'm aguy who worked for Rolling Stone,
that worked for Yon Winner, Iknow rich editors and you. It seems
like you connect especially powerfully with someof those. Yeah, I mean,
I think it a funny way youcould say, even though it was a
half hour comedy that cheers of comedythat comes out of some sort of human
(38:01):
frailty, some sort of human conditionthat has sadness or something in it.
And he was a recovering alcoholic,he was going to be a lonely man
forever. But in general, tothis day, if I if I'm in
something and it smacks of a joke, a well formed but joke, I
(38:23):
panic and I say, I'm sosorry, this is really funny. I
don't know if I can do this. That's why I think I stopped right
before saving private writing, wanting tobe funny because jokes terrifying me. But
if it comes out of the humancondition, if it's character driven, behavioral,
yeah, yeah, thank you,behavioral of which you were NonStop on
(38:46):
Raymond. It was all from family, It was all from real, It
was all from awkward and you know, and love your character. Ye,
yes, it was h yeah,I do like like Damages was to me
a very funny character. You know, it was dark, but it was
(39:09):
so dark it was funny and itwas a human comedy. What's that?
It was the human comedy? Yeah, sort of life and that stuff.
Yeah. And if you're lucky,and I have been as an actor,
material comes your way at the sametime you are processing something in life or
going through a phase in life thatmatches, and then you're just in heaven
(39:31):
and therapy and it's therapy. Yeah, totally. When I was doing Bored
to Death, it was about aguy who didn't want to be left out
and wanted to still be relevant.And you know, my favorite line was
I want to call anoscopy too,because one of the younger guys was doing
it and that was me. Iwas. I wanted to still be a
(39:52):
player, but I wanted to notbe left out. By these younger you
know something, so it has itresonates and it's more fun fit you know,
in your shows, In all theshows you've done, did you ever
have opportunity to talk to the writersand say, something happened at my house
last night. I'm wondering if there'ssomething here. No, but you grew
(40:12):
up with Ray Romano, who youknow is that's kind of part of his
living is that I'm all of us. I got yes, but I got
raised by Lesson, Glenn and Jimmy, and my upbringing and comedy was say
say our words first and then putit up on its feet, and then
well then let's talk. So mycontribution to the writing has always been plus
(40:39):
I'm so self absorbed, I couldn'tdo that writing thing. It's all very
subjective for me. But my thingis to go, I just we just
said your words, and are weon the same page? Because when I
say your words, this is whatit makes me feel. This is what
happens with me when I put yourwords in. Is that what you mean?
(41:00):
Are we on the same that's becauseif not, then we should work
on that. You say that whenyou're not feeling it. No always,
you know, I just want tomake I want to make sure I'm doing
what you think I should be doing. I am, but I usually disguise
(41:20):
it way better than you. Don'tdo that everywhere my whole self deprecating things
bullshit. You know, I gota huge ego. It's a bit of
it. We work together. Iwould have loved that we'd have so much
fun. And besides, yes wewould. I adore you, I'm getting
to love you. It's a lot. I brought these for you. I
(41:47):
sorry they're real. Sure can Iask about you're hurting the environment? Larry
David? And we're here at EMMAEnvironmental Media Sociation, and one of the
things they do is try to tryto inspire through entertainment, try to have
messages that actually are meaningful in entertainment. And I think about with Larry David.
(42:10):
I believe I bought a Prius myfirst time. I think because I
saw him in it. And thenwhen I started working on the EMMA words
for Debbie and Ashre and it wasgood, and then al Gore asked me
and I was very happy to bedriving up in a Prius. But I
wonder, how do you feel aboutcan entertainment or how can entertainment help with
(42:30):
messaging. Well, you just saidit. I think, I mean,
by example, I've never been thatgreat about that. To be honest,
I don't go out of my wayto pick a part that has an environmental
message, partly because I get tobe surrounded by some of the brightest lawyers,
scientists, you know, lobbyists inthe world through Oceania. I feel
(42:55):
like that part of my brain andmy life gets to expressed and care about
the environment that way. So I'mnot as good as those guys you know
who. Larry was amazing, andI think Laurie his uh you know his
ex wife was really good and insistenton that as well. But yeah,
(43:17):
Larry's always done a good job withthat, and it's brilliant because it does
make a difference. I can't saythat I can point to my career and
go see this is an example ofthat, I think. I mean,
we both know Larry. You knowhim much better. I've been on the
show, right, you're both partof the curb but multiverse in the same
episode, we've both been Larry Fodder. I think he puts in the nice
(43:43):
thing with the prius so that hecan behave terribly the rest of that time.
Yes. And the worst part aboutLarry David having all this success well
deserved is he gets to be moreLarry. He's so Larry. Oh,
he's so Larry. He's worse theshow. Every word out of his mouth,
(44:04):
by the way, is an episode. The first time I met Larry
was at a party. You wereprobably there, and they introduced me and
I say hi, and he doesn'tsay hi. He says, you think
it's all right to throw a gumin the fireplace? Every word is an
(44:24):
episode? Yes, or a trialballoon. Yes, that's right, which
leaves you sitting there going this hasbeen a great conversation. Ah, he's
trying out his material on me insteadof talking to me. We met because
I wrote the first review of EverybodyLoves Raymond and Rolling Stone. You gave
Larry the first review of what hasbecome Curb your Enthusiasm. Can you tell
(44:45):
that the story of what you thoughtwe were? Yeah, we were.
We met in Martha's vineyard and ahumble island for poor and he had I
don't know who they were friends with, Larry Laurie, and but we had
met them and enjoyed them and likedthem, and I think this is maybe
(45:05):
the year before, but then thesecond summer we saw them. He had
just finished the pilot for kurb andhe invited four or five or six of
us up to this rental and theWi Fi or something was bad. We
had to be on the stairs kindof going up into the attic. In
his defense, it was a verywarm night. A couple people literally fell
(45:30):
asleep watching it, and I rememberlooking at it going ooh, yikes,
this is never going to work.But I really like him, so you
know, this sycophantash ted and Marywent loved it. If you ever want
us to play ourselves, we'll behappy to do it. You know,
hard cut to It's like he turnedhalf hour comedy on its ear. It's
(45:54):
a brilliant show, and he turnedmy career around in a way. I
always try to credit him because it'strue that that I've stayed too long at
the half hour party. He invitedus to come down and it was very
gorilla like and you literally wore yourclothes. You got the call the day
(46:16):
before. Mary had to put onher own makeup. It was that kind
of It is a format onto itself. Yes, it really is not even
the half hour but it delights Itdelighted me. It made me realize,
Oh there's another way I can stillbe around the giggle, the joke,
and it was it was. He'san amazing guy, fantastic and he's very
(46:38):
smart to use you because you're theopposite of him. Yeah, is it
okay if we take a few questionsfrom the audience here? What not?
But not not her? Anybody.We have a few minutes left for a
few minutes for questions. Anyone raiseyour hand, we will call on you.
And I think there's a microphone.He knows everything about the ocean,
(46:59):
which there's only two thirds of theplanet. Is that right, something like
that. I'm the land person.Yes, you're and you're doing a great
job. Thank you very much.So. My primary experience with your work,
mister Danson, is through The GoodPlace, which is a wonderful show
and really changed the way I thinkabout character arcs and storytelling. I was
(47:22):
wondering if you could talk a littlebit about your experience on the show and
how it may be affected you atall. Sure? Are you a writer?
Very amateur? I try, Yes, that's call you not here for
the environment. She has a scriptin her bag Mike. Sure. For
(47:51):
you all who haven't seen it,Michael Short, what do you do part
Parks and rec Office? No?What is it? Brooklyn one? And
the Good Place anyway, The GoodPlace was don't be shy or embarrassed any
(48:15):
Have people seen it? Yes,my career is guaranteed for at least another
ten years because of all the youngerkids, the young teenagers devoured that show
because it was so bright. Itwas about something. It was about how
to lead a purposeful life. Itwas about ethics. It was wrapped in
(48:37):
a nine year old's fart sense ofhumor and with visual special effects that surprised
and delighted. And he literally thewriting staff had two ethics professors from renowned
colleges on speed dial. They actuallywould have before each season began, he
(49:00):
would have them come give a lecture, these ethics professors to make sure that
they were getting it right. Andto me, it's just one of the
most It wasn't as fun as someof the meat and potatoes acting. It
was kind of an elevated It washard, is what I mean. It
was fun, but it was itwas a very elevated language. Just a
(49:23):
quick story. I don't know ifyou if I ruin it. So on
at the during the first season,you think that the conceit is that I'm
the architect of this portion of Heavenand I've created this village, this how
heaven works and with a specific amountof people, and you've You've come to
(49:45):
the good place. But truthfully,I am You find out at the end
of the first season that I amactually batting for the other team. I
am evil, and I've set thisup so that they torture themselves and I've
created this world. At the endof the last episode, you discovered this,
and it's a big surprise. Soearly on he calls us all in
(50:07):
the offices, do not tell anyoneabout this, and I'm just sweating bullets
because about the week before I wastalking to my friend John Krasinski, who
had worked with Mike in the office, and I said, oh, I'm
working He was off to do abig movie and he said, what are
(50:27):
you doing, not being competitive atall, I said, I'm working with
you know, someone you know verywell, and I described it's you know,
it takes place in the afterlife anddah, and I could see his
eyes kind of go oh yeah.The office in hevn't got it, and
I went no, no, becausethere's a there's a spin to this because
(50:47):
at the end of the first seasonyou discovered that I'm actually the devil and
blew it completely blue. It anyway, fantastic, great question. We have
another question. Now they're oh,now they're coming out of the woodwork.
Hi, Ted, I had anopportunity to meet you at the Tyler Prize
(51:10):
a couple of years ago. Givenwe're in the environmental audience, do you
have one particular message about the oceansyou want to leave to us about what
we can do and how we cankind of use our storytelling to do something
about the oceans. Yes, Ido. Oceanna got incredibly good Oceanna.
(51:32):
The world everybody knows now what youneed to do to make sure the oceans
stay vital. You stop destroying thehabitat the nurseries. You stop over catching
things and throwing a third of themaway. You want to protect the fisheries
so they can continue to feed theworld, because if they if you don't,
(51:53):
if you do it correctly, youcould feed a billion fish meals a
day sustainably when protein is scarce inyou know, food security is a big
deal. So anyway, we're andyou have to do tons of things and
we're really good at it to makethat happen. I think the most important
(52:14):
message is climate change can literally undoall of that and is in a way
or en route, you know,So I really I would just say I
do believe all Oceana will continue todo ocean only ocean stuff. So we're
(52:35):
keeping offshore oil from you know happeningand mangoes happening and all of that to
do our part for climate change.But I think we all need need to
while we keep well ocean and youknow people are in this field, are
keeping the stocks elevated and live andhealthy stocks, fishing stocks. We really
(53:00):
need to focus on climate change.It is oil companies, it's methane and
cattle in a lot of things,but you have to do you have to
deal with oil. And one ofthe things we're also doing is taking on
plastics because plastics are you know,choking our oceans, getting into the system
(53:22):
and into US. And oil companiesknow that they have this is in memos
that the world is able to seethat yes we're losing the transportation battle and
it'll you know, they'll be buyingless oil for that. But don't worry.
We're backing the petrochemical industry to openup ten huge factories around the world
(53:46):
and we're going to pour our youknow, resources and money and oil into
plastics. So it is it isthe oil companies that have to be And
that's what I love about Jane Fonda'spack. It's about electing people at all,
down ballot everywhere who are not climatedeniers, who are willing to do
(54:08):
stuff. It is such a cynicaltime, you know, and we just
have to do our best to educateand get people out to vote and vote
people in who are not you know, shortsighted, greedy idiots. Very good,
good work to live by, hPhil. We should we should wrap
(54:31):
this up, but just everyone stayfor a moment because we're gonna shoot one
little promo for our podcast. Sodon't run. Wait wait, who's podcast?
All of our podcasts? We canwe can do a merger like Oceana
and you're no, But Phil,can we tell tell the people what you're
working on right now? Besides everycommercial that I see on TV, yeah,
(54:57):
one you don't know about it.Bristol Meyers Squib is doing has come
up with this pill that I havechecked out frontwards and backwards. Uh,
to deal with moderate to severe plaquesariasis, which I grew up with and
(55:19):
have and was so shamed by andembarrassed. And you want to go swimming
numb lam. Fine, thanks,and maybe you'll wear a short sleeve in
this scene. That's fine. Iyou know it was, it did kind
of dominate. It wasn't, youknow, life threatening, but it was
ego, you know, spirit squishing. So I'm off making you know,
(55:43):
PLAQ sariasis commercials going and advertising iton like the Today Show, and I'm
going, wow, never would haveguessed. And when they said they double
checked and it was it was ahealthy paycheck. And then right before they
pulled the trigger and said yes,and I knew the healthy paycheck part,
they said, does he really havemoderate to severe psiasis? And I'm in
(56:05):
the back going yeah, yeah,it's bad, It's really bad. But
I'm sorry. I'm working with MikeSure. Yes, the Bristol Myers says
some good acting in it. Yes, I'm working with Mike Sure the Good
Place on something called a Classic SpyAnd we just finished and it came from
(56:28):
a documentary called The mole agent comingout of Santiago, Chili, and it's
about I won't tell you what we'reabout because they're still cutting and putting it
together and it's not going to comeout for a little while. But the
podcast, the essence of the andthe sweetness of it comes from this,
sorry, from this documentary. Andit's a lady hires a private detective because
(56:55):
her mother who's in a I thinkit's a nursing home version it's a retirement
home. They're stealing from her andthey're just treating her horribly. And I
want you to prove this because Iwant to suit them and save my mother
or whatever. So that the privatedetective hires puts an ad in the paper
saying, eighty year old gentlemen whoare good with technology, which is already
(57:19):
very funny, and they insert inour case, me into this retirement home
to find out what's going on.And I'm delighted to have something to do
with my life and a reason toget up in the morning. But I'm
a horrible spy, which comes thefunny, but it's also full of heart.
It's about memory loss. It's aboutpeople in their forties having to deal
(57:44):
with their kids and their parents andit's really really sweet. I can't wait
for you all to see. Itwill be November. I think it's on
Netflix. I've heard of them.Well, thank you so much. We're
so thrilled that you could join.Who doesn't love ted Dance and everybody?
Thank you. Naked Lunch is apodcast by Phil Rosenthal and David Wilde.
(58:12):
Theme song and music by Brad Paisley, Produced by Will Sterling. Executive produced
by Phil Rosenthal, David Wilde,and our consulting journalist is Pamela Chellen.
If you enjoyed the show, shareit with a friend, But if you
can't take my word for it,take Phil's and don't forget to leave a
good rating and review. We likefive stars. You know, thanks for
listening to Naked Lunch, a LuckyBastard's production.
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