Charlie Adler (Tiny Toon Adventures, Cow and Chicken, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters)

This week on Toon’d In!, Jim Cummings welcomes the inimitable, unstoppable, and undeniably unforgettable Charlie Adler—the voice behind iconic characters like Cow and Chicken, the Red Guy, Ed and Bev Bighead, Starscream, and so many more!

From his early days navigating the animation boom of the '90s to directing and shaping voices behind the scenes, Charlie shares hilarious stories, surprising insights, and his thoughts on what it really takes to stay relevant (and sane) in the wild world of voice acting. Expect big laughs, bigger personalities, and the kind of behind-the-mic magic only Jim and Charlie can deliver.

🔊 Ever wonder how Charlie landed some of his most beloved roles? Tune in and get Toon’d In!

🎟️ Meet Jim and Charlie in person!

Catch Jim Cummings at these upcoming conventions:

• Nostalgia Con (Houston, TX) - August 24-25
• SacAnime (Sacramento, CA) - August 29-31
• Amazing Art Expo (Las Vegas, NV) - September 12-14
• Nostalgia Con (Milwaukee, WI) - September 26-28
• Smoky Mountain Anime Fest (Gatlinburg, TN) - October 17-19
• Anime Pasadena (Pasadena, CA) - November 8-9
• Nostalgia Con (New Orleans, LA) - November 21-23
• Nostalgia Con (Salt Lake City, UT) - March 13-14, 2026

Stay tooned for more appearances—because these legends are just getting started!


Listen on Spotify: bit.ly/4fHWwxa
Listen on Apple: bit.ly/3AmUYZi
Support on Patreon: patreon.com/jimcummingspodcast 
Order a Cameo from Jim: cameo.com/toondinjimcummings

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/toon-d-in-with-jim-cummings--5863067/support.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
If you're a fan of everything we do here at
tuned In with Jim Cummings, you could support the show
on Patreon for bonus exclusive podcasts, as well as early
in ad free access to the show itself, prize drawings,
and more. You'll feel the difference, so go ahead and
join the tuned In family today at patreon dot com

(00:21):
slash Jim Cummings Podcast. Do it now?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
How you doing out there?

Speaker 1 (00:27):
It's me Tigger, I am Doc Wayne Duck. It's me
Bunkers Deep Bobcat.

Speaker 3 (00:33):
All right, y'all, is it rate your favorite firefly you desire?

Speaker 1 (00:37):
Hondo, old knock guy. My name is Jim Cummings and
welcome to tuned In.

Speaker 4 (00:43):
Welcome back, everybody to another episode of Tuned In with
Jim Cummings. I'm producer Chris, joined as always by the
legendary Jim Cummings. How are you doing today, sir?

Speaker 1 (00:51):
It's another truly another day in paradise on account of
because I get to be with my old buddy Charlie Adler.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
Accept no substitutes.

Speaker 5 (01:01):
Singular, substitute singular.

Speaker 1 (01:03):
He's singular. He is singular.

Speaker 2 (01:05):
That is so true, boy, that that is could much
left of him? But serially, yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:11):
Thank you so much for joining us today, thanks for.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
Having thank you, thank you so very much. And we
were just talking. I think you're one of the first
guys that is crazy memorable that I met in this
crazy business. Like you work with Charlie. You see Charlie,
you get to know Charlie. You never forget Charlie because
you know why, there's only one Charlie and we've got
him today. Hooray, Thank you brother, thank you.

Speaker 2 (01:36):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
So now I have to ask you because you one time,
many moons ago, uh, you had a party at your
house and inexplicably I was invited. I think it's because
I knew Jenny m explain and you showed pity on me.
And I remember I remember you saying, and when you
get up here, you're going to understand why I'm always

(01:58):
so goddamn cranky because you have to drive for five
years to get up and then you go back and
then you go up for it. And he's on the
tallest hill in.

Speaker 5 (02:07):
Malibu, it's the highest peak in mal It was. I'm
not there anymore. I'm now right below that mountain on
the other side.

Speaker 1 (02:14):
Oh boy.

Speaker 5 (02:15):
That because of that vantage point when fires broke out,
which were several. I would call welcome and I would say, Frank,
it's near you, or it's heading your way. I had
a whole vantage point. And when I moved, Frank said
to me, I don't get my fire reports anymore.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (02:30):
Yeah, but yeah, it was way up there, wasn't it.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
Yeah, Yeah, it sure was.

Speaker 5 (02:35):
I've been out of there for twenty yeah, oh my god,
twenty five, twenty eight years, still the fire zone. You
think i'd learn, Well, well, we're I think we all are,
aren't we are?

Speaker 1 (02:44):
You probably? I'm yeah, still in California, you.

Speaker 5 (02:47):
Know, Just for a point of reference, this last fire,
the Palisades fire, which was Palisades and the oh god,
it blew through here so fast, and we it was
so far, it was so far, and those winds were
so incredible that within twenty four hours we were evacuated.
Where did we go? Two dogs and two huge dogs?

(03:11):
Mm hmm.

Speaker 2 (03:13):
And where did you go?

Speaker 1 (03:15):
Where?

Speaker 5 (03:15):
Jeff Bennett's house? Oh, for ten days, and then when
they evacuated, they came here because we got.

Speaker 1 (03:25):
Back in Oh my god, so kidding.

Speaker 5 (03:27):
It was like three or four days. I thought, if
you missed me that much, why did you have to,
you know, because you could have just come over.

Speaker 1 (03:34):
Yeah, you didn't have to start a fire.

Speaker 5 (03:36):
It was it was. They were so wonderful and it
was such a it was a weirdly wonderful time. We
had a great time together.

Speaker 1 (03:42):
Oh that's good. Yeah's good.

Speaker 5 (03:44):
It was wonderful that they were so available to be invaded.
There was also another family there that was was so insane.
Oh wow, for a good amount.

Speaker 1 (03:52):
Of the time. So you had to you were doing
a lot of zippering the old lip and go at all.

Speaker 5 (03:59):
No, they were. They were as much gypsy hookers as
I am. Oh wow, they were wonderful. This is an
old friend of Jeff's who grew up. They were at
the Alley Theater together in Texas and his wonderful wife
and his wonderful daughter, and so we just there. We
really all bonded. It was great. It was just like
camping out. It was really wonderful.

Speaker 1 (04:19):
Oh that's cool.

Speaker 5 (04:20):
Yeah, yeah, a heck of a reason to do it.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
But hey, you make make all you can.

Speaker 5 (04:25):
And the dogs couldn't have been happier. More hands that's right.
What kind of dogs are they? One is a one's
right here laying down at my feet. One is a
Rottweiler mastiff mix, and the other is a Anatolian shepherd
Saint Bernard, who is one hundred and seventy five pounds
some big ones.

Speaker 1 (04:45):
I'm sorry, one hundred and seventy five. I didn't think
dogs got quite they do. That's a little more than
I'm like one seventy two, So I'm amazed. I am
not going to mess with this particular animal.

Speaker 5 (04:59):
The sweet He is a total, total marshmallow. He really is.
It's so ridiculous. And the you know, the elephant, the
guys to all the elephants catching their ship. Oh yes, yeah,
we have in the back of the property. We call
it ship Mountain because it has now, even with rains

(05:20):
and everything, it's now about four feet tall.

Speaker 1 (05:23):
And about okay, wow, cheez, oh my god. Well, thank
you for reminding me something. We used to drive by
this one place in Thibodaux, Louisiana when we would play
out there when I was in a band in New Orleans,
and they swore that it was a mountain of batshit.
I can't believe we're talking about this.

Speaker 2 (05:42):
It could be, but it.

Speaker 1 (05:44):
Was, and you know, and the weird thing is you
drive out at night and there were tons of bats.

Speaker 5 (05:49):
Yeah right, that made total sense when you said that.

Speaker 2 (05:52):
And I can't believe that.

Speaker 1 (05:54):
Somehow or another they said, you know, let's take a
dumb here, No, everybody, all of us, let's just do it.
And so they did. And then you drove around the
other side. You were up wind. You were fine.

Speaker 2 (06:05):
Boy, this is some riveting thats.

Speaker 5 (06:07):
Are known for, big old guadopiles.

Speaker 2 (06:11):
Yeah, well they were.

Speaker 5 (06:12):
This is not new, but the fact I've never nobody
saw one about them.

Speaker 2 (06:17):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 4 (06:19):
I'm so happy you guys have worked on You guys
have worked on quite a few projects together. Do you
remember the first time you met.

Speaker 5 (06:28):
Lord, I don't remember. I don't breakfast Chris, Yeah, kind of,
I think, Go ahead, what's your memory, Well, I don't.

Speaker 1 (06:37):
I don't think it was Tailspin. I think it was
something I was I was guesting on of yours. Which
could that narrows it down to about forty shows.

Speaker 5 (06:48):
Well, here's what I remember. Tell me if this lines up.
I don't think I knew you. We were auditioning at
Lionsgate on the West Side. Yes, yes, I remember, and
that's the first time I met you. Before we worked together.
We were at the audition together and it was just
you and me and we were just talking hmmm, and

(07:08):
we hit it off. And I don't remember where it
was in time, but I don't because I don't remember
having known you before that.

Speaker 1 (07:17):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I met you.

Speaker 2 (07:18):
That sounds about right.

Speaker 5 (07:19):
Yeah, yeah, you were You were eager and I was
eternally crabby.

Speaker 1 (07:24):
Yes, well, you were internally crabby. You probably felt like
you were slumming people.

Speaker 5 (07:30):
That's dumb. What a dumb shit thing to say.

Speaker 1 (07:33):
To say, Well, by hanging out with me, but what
you were referring to that was a dumb shit.

Speaker 5 (07:39):
I stand by my words.

Speaker 2 (07:41):
Thank you. I appreciate that.

Speaker 1 (07:43):
And uh, you know, I remember being so impressed with
you originally because you had just come off doing a
little something on oh what was the.

Speaker 2 (07:53):
Name of that street again? Broadway?

Speaker 1 (07:55):
I mean, I mean, my goodness is great towards song
trilogy and and you won You won a Tony did you?

Speaker 5 (08:04):
I was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award rby Fierstein,
who I replaced one the tones and won it as
to writing it. In fact, he's being given a Life
Achievement Award. Uh, in three weeks from the Tonys, I
was just given a Life Achievement Awards by the Emmys.
I was inducted in the Gold the Gold Circle. Wait, yeah,

(08:24):
the Gold Circle.

Speaker 2 (08:25):
That's awesome.

Speaker 5 (08:26):
I got the award. At the ceremony, they give you
a really great sort of thinking about BOO and I said,
I encourage them because I'm not done yet. And I said,
the next award, maybe give me a platinum earn. I thought,
that's the next level, because after a gold thing, what
do you.

Speaker 1 (08:45):
Get and what and what will go in this earn?

Speaker 5 (08:49):
My reminds, Yeah, I mean I did. I came here
from doing the Broadway than I did the national tour,
and then I came here and life changed completely. I
had no idea what animation really was really. I mean,
I knew people did it, but I wasn't like, you know,
I'm dying to do a cartoon. It never occurred to me,
It really didn't. I came out fairly tough, but I

(09:11):
was so lucky and it landed. I landed like a
very hungry pilgrim on Plymouth Rock. And I lived at
the Magic Hotel in Franklin for several months, and then
I got oh yeah, got a gig and it opened
the whole My whole life changed. What led you, I mean,
it just happened. So everythings just took off from that point.

(09:31):
And I never have completely understood it, because I've never
completely analyzed it. I just got on the boat and
went on wherever it took me. Because you know, from
all of us, just to be an artist working in
anything is a friggin miracle. I had had a whole
life in New York before I came here, and so
I know, I knew that. You know, you worked, you

(09:55):
didn't work, You worked, you didn't work. I was lucky.
I worked a lot in New York. Yes, But having
said that, I so it didn't work a lot and
in my very very early years, and so to me
just to be working was a thrill. And then it's
so true and actually to be kind of thrilled by
the work itself out here, I had no idea, did you.

Speaker 1 (10:14):
Yeah, well I actually believe it or not. Yeah, I
I've told this before. I don't want to bore you
and everybody else. But I was five and watching the
Jack Benny Show, and I was sitting there with my
dad and he goes and mel blank came out and
he was doing that sea sign, you know that. But
and he goes, My dad goes, you say this bastard, Yeah,

(10:37):
he goes, He's the one does that bugs Bunny and
the Daffy Duck and the Tazz and this and then
that Sylvester does.

Speaker 2 (10:44):
He's a voice guy.

Speaker 1 (10:45):
He does. He does those voices. You're kidding. And I
distinctly remember thinking, well, he doesn't have to stand in
the corner, does he? For being weird? You know?

Speaker 5 (10:54):
So?

Speaker 1 (10:54):
And so I just said, Okay, I'm going to grow
up and I'm going to do that.

Speaker 5 (10:59):
That amazes me because I had very little awareness of it.
I'll tell you one thing though, this is really the
first time I've ever talked about this. I'm old, so
who gives a shit? So my father, who was kind
of a disgusting human being. This I've said in other interviews. Yes,
but he always did the voice of Donald Duck, and
he did it fairly well. And so I had an

(11:20):
affinity to not like Donald Duck. And so when I
moved out here and I was living at the Magic
Hotel and I was struggling to survive, I get a
phone call wee hours I'm thinking it somewhere between five
and six am. Oh my gosh, and it's the idiot
on the phone. He says, bunk, bunk, you gotta do

(11:40):
me a favor. Donald Duck just died. I thought, what
do you want me to bury him? And he said,
you got to get me in.

Speaker 3 (11:48):
You got to get me in.

Speaker 5 (11:49):
I can do this. You got to get me in.
This is a man who has no performance background. And
I said to him, his name was Irwin, I said I.
I couldn't call him dad. He was two gross. I said,
he what. I can barely get my own career going.
You think I'm going, I'll send you time. I'm gonna
send you a tape. I swear to god he saw

(12:10):
a tape. He sent me a real.

Speaker 1 (12:11):
To real sure and with.

Speaker 5 (12:15):
A note that says drop this off at Disney. And
I had that eph in my car for months and
then finally, and I think it might have been the
voicecasters that had those real toils, and somebody play it.
And they played it and I said, this is Erwin
Adlers doing the voice of Donald Knuck whatever the hell.

(12:39):
And he did it, and I was mortified. And they
said do you want this? And I said, just toss it. Yeah,
and of course I lied, and I told him I
delivered it right at the gates of Disney. He bugged me.
He bugged me for months. Did they get did you
hear it? Did I listen to it?

Speaker 1 (12:57):
What did they think? Yeah?

Speaker 5 (13:00):
This was this was a Jim Coming exclusive.

Speaker 1 (13:03):
Yes, yes, well you know, yeah, I hope you left
his phone number on there so they could contact it.

Speaker 5 (13:09):
I dumped it. No one heard it ever, so I
could not give a ship, right I had I had
no ships to give.

Speaker 1 (13:19):
Yes, yes, Oh my god, I just know.

Speaker 5 (13:23):
That's the second to Donald Duck. Just I go like this,
and you know, Daniel Ross, who is a lovely man,
an incredibly talented man. I can't help it. I hear Donald,
I just go like this, and I know he's extraordinary
at it. It's not him, it's ghosts. I have to
to go like this. If I hear it.

Speaker 1 (13:40):
Oh yeah, one quack in your hits the fane, out the.

Speaker 5 (13:44):
Door, out the door, down the street.

Speaker 1 (13:48):
Oh man, that's crazy. What what was your very very
first gig in voiceover?

Speaker 5 (13:57):
Well, you know in New York you were not called
a voice actor. We just called an actor. So I
could literally go to uh, you would do several radio
spots a week. I would do on camera commercials and
for real, I was like one of the it boys
and commercials in the seventies. If you want to have
a good laugh, just go to YouTube. Go to Charlie
ad their commercial reel. Okay, my my wh I had

(14:19):
brown hair and no yes facial hair. I my agent
used to remember say up and Kickie young and pricky,
and so I would do different things all week. I'd
go sing at a club at night, I would go
to the theater. Uh, you know, to do a play.
You could do everything. They would. They would fly me
out to hear the West Coast from New York to
screen test for a series. It was between me and

(14:42):
Ron Paul Little for Welcome Back Hotter for a Horseback
So wow. I knew Ron had he I had followed
him in a show. It doesn't matter we knew each other,
but friendly. I loved him. He was terrific. We ended
up doing the Little Clowns of Happy Town together right here.
So the point being that I did a lot of
voiceover stuff. But while I was in New York, I
got an audition for the very first special of My

(15:05):
Little Pony, which I think was nineteen eighty two maybe,
and I didn't know crap from Christmas and I did
it and I got it and I got spiked the
Baby Dragon. And then when I was touring tort Song
and I was in Philadelphia at the Forest Theater, I
got a call from my agent. They said they're doing
My Little Pony Part two. And so it was two

(15:27):
or three years later. This was eighty five maybe, and
on my dark Day, I took the train up and
I did My Little Pony Part two And when I
came out here, those were the That was the only
thing I had under my belt in terms of animation.

Speaker 2 (15:42):
But it's not a bad start.

Speaker 5 (15:43):
No, it wasn't. And then I did a general audition
at Hannah Barbera and I got Nat Smurf which was
my first show out here, the Smurfling, the Pat Music
and Noel North and they turned us into Tidy Bowl
after I think four seasons, and that was it, and
then I just took off from there. It was crazy
who knew Pat Music? No, No, there you go. I

(16:04):
can't say what I used to call My Little Pony,
but just replaced the pony with one of my favorite words,
oh okay.

Speaker 1 (16:10):
All right, oh that one yeah. Oh. And I think
Buster Bunny made it almost an appearance there in that voice.
I could we.

Speaker 5 (16:24):
Wait yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (16:30):
Oh man, that is awesome.

Speaker 4 (16:33):
Would you do voices as a kid? Would you make
funny voices as a kid or anything?

Speaker 5 (16:36):
Would you? I made fun of everybody, But this is
this is a little dark, but it's the truth. And
I think many many actors know this. M M. My
father was so wildly abusive in so many ways. Most
of it's psychological that kids who have that kind of

(16:58):
being border line terrorized, tend to be able to read
every facial muscle of people. They we become over aware,
right analytics, yper vigilant, and I would see a muscle
in his face change and I would snap into performance mode.

(17:19):
And it was the fact that I can make him laugh,
or I could diffuse him with a laugh, and I
would do it, or worse, I humiliated him by imitating him,
and so he'd be coming at me and I would
do him back in a mirror and it would just
totally back him away. It was so upsetting to him

(17:39):
to be to be humiliated. And I really got good
at it. So that was the beginning of that. But
then yeah, then I imitated anybody who passed, you know,
passed my way across my path, and so I kind
of was a weird mind of words. Now, by the way,
I'm lousy at impressions. I mean, there are geniuses out
there who can do Jim being one of them. I mean,

(18:00):
you know, Okay has made you know, pooh and all.
I didn't mean a click o, sure, yeah, yeah, Winny
the uh and there Frank Welker is a genius. De
Bradley Baker. I'm missing people. I'm just to make a point. Yes,
I'm not one of them. And the only thing that
I could do was do at an impression. So if

(18:21):
I did, if I did a Catherine Heppern impression as
a villain, it would not be Catherine Heppern, but it
was my starting point. Yes, yes, so there are really
gifted people. I'm not one of them. I just I
just get a sketch. They go in for the they
go in for the detailed oil painting. Mmm.

Speaker 1 (18:41):
Yeah, but you know, I I have my own little
mini philosophy about that. If you do an impression of
some very famous person that nobody can tell who the
hell you're doing.

Speaker 2 (18:50):
That's a new character.

Speaker 5 (18:52):
It's exactly exactly, that's what.

Speaker 1 (18:55):
The hell that's right. You know, it's a win win.

Speaker 5 (18:58):
You know, I don't do John Wayne, but if I
did John Wayne as blah blah, then you get the
essence of somebody. It becomes a completely new person. You know.
We get tired and we run, we run down a
little bit. There's nothing worse than hearing somebody. You're seeing
somebody on the Internet that says, I love this the
Monday morning quarterbacking.

Speaker 1 (19:18):
Well Showing show show, Good night showing show.

Speaker 5 (19:21):
In my response is I've done four hundred and fifty
thousand characters. Yeah, I'm awfully sorry. I disappointed you.

Speaker 2 (19:28):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (19:29):
Oh no, little Stinky the wee wee boy sounds like
Monty the Mushroom.

Speaker 2 (19:35):
Oh no, world ends anything but that.

Speaker 5 (19:39):
Yeah, give me ready, here, let's keep going. Hold they pay,
There you go, the check cleared? Shut up?

Speaker 2 (19:47):
Yeah yeah it's too late. Yeah, oh god.

Speaker 4 (19:49):
Do you ever get that gym? Do you get people
say your characters sound alike?

Speaker 2 (19:53):
It all here and there?

Speaker 1 (19:54):
Yeah, here and there, you know, and they think they're
complimenting you in they kind of.

Speaker 5 (20:00):
Are guide of our they are.

Speaker 1 (20:04):
Because they're going, oh yeah, I saw the episode number
fourteen of the Transgressors, and as soon as you and
you were you were like the delivery guy. You were
delivering pizza and you went, hey, I'm delivering pizza. And
I was like, that's Tim Coummies, that's sim comies. Because
because I could reck it, I could, I could, I
could tell. And then when you said because because you

(20:25):
know why, because I could tell, it was you, Oh okay,
thanks good, thank well.

Speaker 5 (20:31):
I think that's that is a compliment, And that's kind
of different time. What I'm talking about is so and
SO sounds just like stinky Sunds, like right, right, all right,
well change the channel.

Speaker 2 (20:43):
Yeah, here's one.

Speaker 5 (20:45):
Turn it off.

Speaker 2 (20:46):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (20:48):
I'm just doing the best I can and I'm working,
and I'm sorry it isn't up to your high standards.
Let me alone.

Speaker 1 (20:55):
Yeah, yeah, that's right. If you're a fan of everything
we do here at tuned In with Jim Cummings, you
could support the show on Patreon for bonus exclusive podcasts,
as well as early in ad free access to the
show itself, prize drawings, and more. You'll feel the difference,

(21:15):
so go ahead and join the tuned In Family Today
at Patreon dot com, Slash Jim Cummings podcast, Do It Now.
And that is your corporation still called mister cranky or
is called cranky cranky.

Speaker 5 (21:29):
You know what when when I perfect, when I came
out here and I got a business manager and they said,
you know, we were going to form a corporation. I
didn't quite get that. And then they said your corporation
has to have a name. And I said, this is
like so highbrow and high falutin for me, and I said,
this makes me so cranky. Call it cranky.

Speaker 2 (21:51):
Yeah, that was it.

Speaker 5 (21:52):
I mean, that's what the name. It was no thought
at all, yeah, right right, that was it. It was.
It just came, it was written down, it was filed,
and it's still in the end.

Speaker 1 (22:01):
Instincts are the best inks, right, That's what I always say.

Speaker 5 (22:04):
What you got?

Speaker 1 (22:05):
Yeah, so true? So damn true.

Speaker 5 (22:08):
Man.

Speaker 1 (22:08):
Oh man, So Charlie, do you do because I don't
know that I've seen you at many of them, the
conventions that are out there, you know there I did.

Speaker 5 (22:18):
I did them for a little while, and then my
claustrophobia got the best to me. M and then my
I don't know, I just.

Speaker 1 (22:28):
Well they're in big places, they're not in a coffin.

Speaker 5 (22:32):
Well then then COVID hit. So I didn't leave my
house for five six years, no telling, starting to do
them again. And here's wow. Weirdly because of the wonderful
Jeffrey Glenn Bennett.

Speaker 1 (22:48):
Mm hmmm.

Speaker 5 (22:49):
He was talking about doing a convention and he asked
me the same question. I said, He said, I have
the greatest agent. He said, really, they're so wonderful because
I said, I don't like a lot of the low
brow stuff and the low hanging fruit, and it makes
me uncomfortable and I don't like being on display. I'm
just not that guy. And I kind of am a
little shy and it's you wouldn't believe it, but I am.

(23:12):
I don't feel that's not an environment for me. But
then he said he kind of got me excited, and
I said, you know what, hook me up with him.
And he did and I and I told this wonderful agent,
I think we have the same one. What I did
like and what I didn't like, and what I was
looking to do and what I was not looking to do.
And he was a little terrific about it. And so yeah,

(23:35):
so I did the first one I did was this
year was the Transformers one that you were at. Wow,
that was the very first one that was That was
my virgin voyage. Wow. And it was it was, it
was wonderful, It was fun. I had a great damn time,
which shocked me.

Speaker 1 (23:54):
Who would yeah, I know, yeah, right, who would have
thunk it.

Speaker 5 (23:58):
I really enjoyed it. And then we did that at
all and then and I kind of feel at this point, uh,
and I think we're kind of in the same age bracket.

Speaker 1 (24:08):
Oh yeah, we are, except I'm older, thanks a little bit.

Speaker 5 (24:16):
I kind of feel like I have I'm liking it
a minute. So I'm doing the Anahem one, the Anahem nostalgic,
and my you know, my my expression is really I
think I'm even past nostalgia. I think we have to
call it the Anaheim archaeological dig for my poet work.

Speaker 1 (24:38):
I'm right next to you, brother, I'm right next to you.
Don't don't forget that. Yeah you're going to be there too, yeah,
oh yeah, yeah, I'm actually to it. I'm actually maybe
right next to you. Because if they're going in alphabetical order,
as long as they.

Speaker 5 (24:51):
Are or cranky.

Speaker 1 (24:53):
See, yeah, that's all.

Speaker 5 (24:55):
Right, well, you know, my feeling is I'm going to
go the night because I don't want to drive down
on a Friday and it's two it's like three hours,
and I'm teaching that night till thirty. So I'll just
get in the car after i teach home, so I'll
just be all packed and I'll just get in the
car and go. Yeah, there's been the night and wake

(25:18):
up like a normal person and not be fighting traffic
and be in a good space. I'm actually looking forward
to this one, and I'm not quite sure why. I know,
David's Feast, who created Cow and Chicken, is going to
be there, and I think we're doing I think we're
doing a panel together, which oh good, wonderful, And I.

Speaker 1 (25:35):
Was going to ask you about that one.

Speaker 5 (25:36):
Yeah, we'll see, we'll see, we'll see where it goes.
But yeah, I've accepted a couple. I've accepted a couple
and not a ton, just enough to sort of get
my tired ass out of the house and amongst people,
which I spark a lot with more than I thought
I did, but I like it.

Speaker 1 (25:56):
Yeah, Well, you know, they're all there to admire you
and celebrate you and have a good time with you,
and and I can tell you from experience, I've been
doing this a pretty good while now that I think
of it, made like ten years.

Speaker 2 (26:09):
And they when you do.

Speaker 1 (26:11):
The voice, when you're you know, you know, and they're
coming up in.

Speaker 3 (26:14):
There, could you do the ticket?

Speaker 5 (26:19):
Well, then you do it then, which means so much
to me. Right, Yes, yes, we live in a vacuum.
I think, yeah, we don't. We're because we're not We're
not seen. We're not seeing that way. I never, and
I swear this is true. I never watched any show
I ever did. I maybe watched two episodes of Tiny

(26:41):
Tunes when it first came out, and Cow and Chicken
I maybe did the same, and I never watched them again.
And then just this year I was I just finished
directing the reboot of Rugrats. Oh okay, I wonder how
it came out. And then I saw in Paramount Plus
all these shows and there was our real monsters, and

(27:03):
I thought, I never saw that show? Could you believe it?
And Chris Calvire kidding my dearest in life, we would
I would wake up to a fax every morning and
we would have coffee. We had coffee hour at six
am every month.

Speaker 1 (27:17):
No kidding, God bless her.

Speaker 5 (27:18):
And to see what we did. I was blown away.
I was blown away. Weirdly, Tim Curry, who was like
my brother, I saw the other Great.

Speaker 1 (27:31):
You know, I think it's his first name is the Great, isn't.

Speaker 2 (27:34):
It he was?

Speaker 5 (27:35):
He was the Zimbo and it was hilarious. And there
was one episode that we went on a road trip
and so I said him coming over, and so looked
it up and we watched it together. We were howling. Yeah,
we were howling. That was his damn good show. Is
I never saw or related to anything I did except

(27:56):
when I was doing it. And then to go to
a can invention and to see that it mattered to
people that that in not in not superficial ways I
got through my childhood. I was the last key kid.
I came home. My father died of aids I needed.
My mother was a wreck. She was a single mother.
That I would that they would look forward to a show,

(28:20):
and I thought, mm hmm, that's that great shift in.

Speaker 1 (28:24):
To transport them, to get them out of their own lives.

Speaker 5 (28:27):
Well wonderful. So I am very moved by the fact
that anybody gives a shit at all about me. She goes.
The truth is, I've never really paid attention to my
work except.

Speaker 2 (28:39):
That I was there.

Speaker 5 (28:40):
But when I left, it's right, I got a life.
I'm not fascinated with all of it. Yeah, that has
shifted me, or I go geez. This is important work
and not not for nothing. It's made a difference to
a lot of people. I'm thrilled. Yes, yes, I'm I'm
ready to I'm ready to receive.

Speaker 1 (28:58):
Yes, well, good for you. And it is true because
it did it for me when when I was in
the audience, when I was young, I you know, I
mean Mighty Mouse, Calvin and the Colonel. I had all
all these all these shows that just took me away
and and and I've said it before I was five
years old, and I knew I was going to do this.

Speaker 5 (29:20):
So you know, look at what the watching mill blank.

Speaker 1 (29:25):
On Yeah yeah Jack, Benny, Well look what that.

Speaker 5 (29:29):
Did to you?

Speaker 1 (29:30):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (29:31):
Were you really?

Speaker 1 (29:32):
Yes? Oh god yeah, yeah, five years old and you know,
and and of course in the joke was my dad goes, Okay, yeah,
but that's good. Of course you are. After all, you're
in Youngstown and you'll be working in a steel mill soon,
so of course you're going to go to Hollywood and
become a voice actor, and that, how are you going

(29:53):
to make a living?

Speaker 2 (29:54):
How are you going to eat?

Speaker 1 (29:55):
And I go, no, I'm going to do that, and
he goes, Jesus.

Speaker 5 (29:58):
Christ, did he get you see your success? Jim?

Speaker 1 (30:01):
Oh yeah, yeah, thank you, Yeah he did.

Speaker 5 (30:03):
How lucky?

Speaker 1 (30:05):
Yeah. And and he enjoyed the house, you know, the
one I bought him.

Speaker 5 (30:09):
Yeah. But but how wonderful that you got to do that,
and more importantly, how wonderful that he got to see
it and share it with you, and that that the
game full circle.

Speaker 1 (30:22):
Well, you know, quick aside, I brought him to one
of our I think it was Tailspin, you know, and
and and Chuck McCann was in it. Well you know,
you know, your old partner in crime and mind God
rest his soul. Well, you know, my dad was like, yeah, okay, yeah,
so what are we doing. We're going to We're gonna

(30:42):
go do and recording in Burbank. Burbank, huh like beautiful downtown.
That that Johnny Carson's over there, you know, And I go, yeah,
yeah he is, and uh and uh we drove by
it and there was a tonight show and we went
up to B and B, the old B and B
and uh we're walking. We're walking along and Chuck McCann,

(31:04):
God rest his soul, Like I say, he was there
and he was coming across the parking lot and and
I said, oh my gosh, my dad has to know Chuck.
And and right on cue he goes, I know this bastard.
He checked everybody's bastard. You see his bastards, Chuck McCann,
I'll tell you what he's he's pretty good. And so
I said, well, let's go go talk to him, you
know him, and he and so I'm welcome.

Speaker 2 (31:26):
Hey, Chuck, Hey, how you doing, kid?

Speaker 1 (31:29):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, kim me here, kive me here, your
little you know. And and I said, I'd like to
introduce my folks. This is my dad, my mom, folks,
Chuck McCann, Bob Sally Cummings, How you.

Speaker 2 (31:41):
Doing, How you doing the kid? Listen?

Speaker 1 (31:43):
Let me tell you your kid's all right?

Speaker 2 (31:45):
Okay, he's pretty damn good.

Speaker 1 (31:47):
He's one of the best kids we got out here.

Speaker 2 (31:49):
He's we're not worried about him. Don't you worry about
a thing, you know?

Speaker 1 (31:53):
And then my dad's puffing up and everything, and then
all of a sudden, we're all walking a little taller
and grinning a little and.

Speaker 5 (32:02):
Gracious. First of all, Yeah, you're sweet and generous always.

Speaker 1 (32:06):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (32:06):
The fact that in that minute you were the beneficiary
of that still full circle. And I bet I mean
you know that he carried that that he told that
one thy and twelve.

Speaker 1 (32:16):
Times and he car you know he did, Yes, he did.

Speaker 5 (32:19):
That's pretty wonderful that you got that.

Speaker 1 (32:21):
Yeah, yeah, I agree, it's so yeah. I just had
to get that out of me.

Speaker 5 (32:26):
Oh it's a beautiful No, it's a beautiful story. Yeah,
that was a great story. I've never heard that before.

Speaker 1 (32:30):
Oh yeah, yeah, See, this is what happens. Yeah, yeah,
it is what happens, you know. And all you have
to do is stick around long enough. Like apparently we have.

Speaker 5 (32:41):
It feels different now, doesn't it get to.

Speaker 2 (32:43):
Me much different? Yeah?

Speaker 1 (32:46):
Of course not one of us, I'm sure is working
like we used to. But I'm okay with that.

Speaker 5 (32:51):
I'm so okay with it. Yeah, I mean, I'm really
And here's the other thing. When stuff comes in my
way that I doesn't interest me, I don't want to
do it, and I don't do it, so now I
only do it. I really really want to do. And
that's been thrilling for me. I mean, I have a

(33:11):
couple of shows out there now that I'm so proud
of that I just finished and so or they're just
airing or blah blah blah as a director, and it's
so exciting, right because I love acting. I do. I
miss it sometimes, but I'm not, like, you know, It's
never driven me anyway. I've never been one of those

(33:32):
people who had to. I mean I did for money,
for sure, but I don't know what. I've never been
particularly competitive. I'm kind of an idiot.

Speaker 2 (33:44):
I don't know about that.

Speaker 1 (33:45):
But you were competitive, but you didn't you mean you
didn't feel in competition.

Speaker 5 (33:48):
No, I was with myself. I never competitive. I never
if somebody somebody else got something that I wanted, my
feeling was it's theirs, so there's only one person can
get it.

Speaker 2 (33:59):
Sure.

Speaker 5 (34:00):
Never was like I gotta have must I must play
Wee Wee the Peepee Boy, I must have that. I
never did that.

Speaker 1 (34:07):
It was it was that's funny. I wanted to be
Wee Wee the Peepee Boy too.

Speaker 5 (34:11):
And did you end up playing we we Yeah? Okay,
well congratulations.

Speaker 1 (34:17):
I know I didn't want to tell you because I
knew your heart.

Speaker 6 (34:21):
Was Oh okay, and yes we're making this up folks.

Speaker 1 (34:31):
Out there for you guys wanted we wait.

Speaker 2 (34:35):
Yeah, I was bad to be.

Speaker 1 (34:40):
I was born to be the peepe boy. Okay, whatever happened?

Speaker 2 (34:47):
What happened? Where did this podcast go?

Speaker 5 (34:50):
Well?

Speaker 1 (34:50):
Chris, out of here direct reverse river is quick? Oh man? So,
uh what is your next destination?

Speaker 2 (35:01):
Should we do?

Speaker 1 (35:02):
We have anything on the horizon? I mean, I know
you're just discovering the cons Adaheim one.

Speaker 5 (35:09):
Yeah, okay, and then make sure I know I'm doing
Transformers one in Chicago in October.

Speaker 1 (35:16):
That's pretty cool.

Speaker 5 (35:17):
Oh, I love this. This is I am the guest
of honor at the Megaplex, which is a furry convention.
And I got to tell you something. I knew nothing, nothing,
nothing about furries at all. And I did one convention
first one. I have never met a more sweet, adorable, lovely, kind, diverse,

(35:43):
generous group of people who treated me with such kindness.
And it was a weird experience in that when I
was making my decision. This is eight years ago, I
think for the first furry con, I had asked a
bunch of people about it and people's oh, well, you know,
they're they're kind of weird. And I was looking at

(36:05):
who was telling me who was weird, and I thought, well,
that's you know, from you, that's not such a conduct.

Speaker 2 (36:10):
That's okay.

Speaker 5 (36:11):
You know, that's called the pot call in the kettle
beige with the hell you tell me?

Speaker 1 (36:14):
Yeah and so.

Speaker 5 (36:16):
And then I got a lot of disinformation, and then
I got a couple of very intriguing statements. And then
I made a phone call myself to talk to the
other convention. I said, these are my concerns, tell me
about you guys. They were so damn sweet, and it
turned out to be one of the loveliest times I've had.
So then I got, eight years later, this call to

(36:36):
do it in Orlando, my favorite state, Florida, and I'm
doing it in I think the end of August, and
I'm really looking forward to it. You know, there is
I have never been anyone to point fingers at weirdness.

Speaker 2 (36:55):
No, yeah, you and me both.

Speaker 5 (36:57):
So you know, for me, what who the hell am I?
What people do they do? I don't care? Sure there
is just it was just this inherent sweetness because I
think they've been on the outside for so long, and
I think they've been judged and weirdly, there was a
great expose on sixty Minutes about furries, and it was

(37:22):
so it went into depth about the souls of the
people that were so socially uncomfortable that I hope it
was kind of function was to dress that way. And
I thought, you know, this makes sense to me. Yeah,
and I started to really understand where they were and
I and I just have a great affinity. I ain't

(37:44):
no furry except my own body.

Speaker 1 (37:47):
But yeah, yeah, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's that's
what I got going, so that no judges robes there
and Anaheim, so that's pretty much. Yeah, well, you know,
when it's there's a lot of people getting together of
like mind, having a good time and keeping grins on,
putting grins on everybody's face in sight, Okay, I'm in Yeah,

(38:10):
you know really.

Speaker 5 (38:11):
And you know, yeah, I just worry about how much
oxygen they can get, not breathing fresh air.

Speaker 1 (38:17):
That's true. That is true, which reminds me of a
very sad story. And it was like the first six
months I got into the business, and and I and
I had a job and it was doing fine, and
then they went on hiatus for a couple of months
Dumbo circus, which meant I then just go ahead and
starve for a couple of months, because what do you do,

(38:37):
you know? So I said, oh my gosh, singing telegrams.
Sure that that's perfect. And Easter was coming up, so
I was the Easter Bunny and and I would walk yeah, yeah,
I can. Yeah, you're pischuring that, aren't you. Thank you?
And I got this for cocta head on and the

(38:59):
big furry ferry basically a costume, and uh, and I
walk up and these parents. It was in uh Corona, Corona, California.
I lived there at the time. And I walked up
and I banged on the door and I got my
little Easter bunny basket with jelly beans and things, and

(39:19):
I was supposed to give the kids. And there was
a song and I was supposed to sing here comes
Peter Cotton tail up and down, you know. So I'm
singing that. I think it was Gene Autry who did it.
I can't remember, but I'm singing it. And then I
realized that I'm re breathing the same air over and over.

Speaker 2 (39:46):
And I'm greasy, and.

Speaker 1 (39:49):
There's a little six six year old and four year old,
and I realized I have to take the hat off,
the head off.

Speaker 2 (39:55):
So I pulled off the.

Speaker 1 (39:57):
Head and here's this this with all this black hair
and big furry black beard.

Speaker 2 (40:04):
And the kid goes.

Speaker 1 (40:08):
And and and the mother is looking at me like,
what the hell's the matter with you?

Speaker 2 (40:13):
And I said, I'm sorry, I.

Speaker 1 (40:18):
Yeah, I would have and I damn near did and
and I said this was free. And I got in
the cry drove away and what and give up showbiz.

Speaker 5 (40:31):
Here's a big question to give you a big tip.

Speaker 1 (40:32):
Yes, never show ups. Yeah, get out of show business. Kid, here,
take this with you, Okay.

Speaker 5 (40:40):
Thank you, give up your day job. That's pretty awful though.

Speaker 1 (40:44):
Yeah, oh god, well I'm sure there's if God willing.
This kid is watching.

Speaker 2 (40:50):
The podcast, well, oh my god, that was him.

Speaker 5 (40:53):
But then he goes, oh, wow, do you know who's
saying me a telegram on? Jim Cumming's the guy who
blankety blankety blank. I think that's kind of a cool story, truly.
I hope he's watching.

Speaker 1 (41:06):
Yeah, actually I do too, now that you hope you
let you know? Yeah, yes, like can subscribe in the comments.

Speaker 2 (41:13):
And by the way, I.

Speaker 5 (41:14):
Just can't subscribe.

Speaker 1 (41:15):
I was that sad little weasel for that you traumatized
Low those many years ago.

Speaker 5 (41:22):
I'm looking get traumatized by shiit like that. Yeah, yeah,
I am not necessarily Easter Bunny singing telegrams take their
heads off, but as let's kid, it's weird. Shit happens. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (41:35):
If you're a fan of everything we do here at
tuned In with Jim Cummings, you could support the show
on Patreon for bonus exclusive podcasts, as well as early
in ad free access to the show itself, prize drawings,
and more. You'll feel the difference, so go ahead and
join the tuned In family today at patreon dot com

(41:57):
slash Jim Cummings podcast it.

Speaker 5 (42:00):
Now, I don't have a story that has to do
with furry, but I kind of want to tell this. Yes,
so again, this is nothing I've ever told in public,
so excluding New York. And I was doing a play
off Broadway for a year and a half and the
first my first scene, I had to enter shirtless, which

(42:24):
of course makes one more vain than one should be.
And so I was twenty two and I thought, oh.

Speaker 2 (42:31):
You know, I got to kill You're good to go.

Speaker 5 (42:34):
It was a three act play and it was heavy
and it was a drama anyway, so I would I
had a backpack. I lived on West fifty sixth Street
when it was Hell's Kitchen. Now it's Hell's Kitchen. Then
it was a kitchen. It was pretty pretty rough. But
I picked a gym that I had a walk to

(42:58):
for miles. So I was in. I was at fifty
sixth and ninth and the gym was on fifty seventh
and you know third third, which is the entire depths
of Manhattan. That's pretty good. With my back I had
two bricks and my stuff for the day and I
would walk with those in my backpack. And that was

(43:19):
your exercise and exercising to get to the exercise. Yes,
And I was taking gymnastics three times a week, and
I had a sauna suit. You know they tie here,
they tied.

Speaker 1 (43:30):
Oh yeah, sure.

Speaker 5 (43:32):
So I was working out like a fiend. I was
also eating a macro bioaddict macro biotic diet which was
only plant based and a lot of yeast. You need
to tell you more. So I was there in the
gym and I was working out, and I was doing
sit ups, and I was cutting the cheese. And I

(43:53):
was here and I mean serious, serious stuff, and I'm thinking, oh,
oh my god, it's a miracle. I am so clean,
I am so pure from this diet. Can't It's like
May West. She couldn't she She claimed that she farted roses,
and so I thought, oh my god, I'm turning into

(44:15):
May West. I'm just I'm just cutting the cheese and
it's nothing right and it's not smelling. And I'm so
impressed with myself and my digestive system, and I can't
get over how amazing this diet has been. And I
finished my workout and I go downstairs and I untie
the knot to get into the shower, and a methane

(44:35):
cloud rises from my suit, and I mean a methane cloud.
People were, oh god in the gym, in the locker room,
and it just it was just a cumulative.

Speaker 2 (44:50):
Good thing. There was no open flame.

Speaker 5 (44:54):
Mahattan would have been gone. Yes, So the furry sort
of triggered triggered that memory.

Speaker 1 (45:04):
Well, that that would do it, wouldn't it. Thank God?

Speaker 5 (45:08):
A lovely punchline.

Speaker 4 (45:09):
Yeah, I ask you about your time on tiny tunes adventures,
tiny toon adventures and reportedly quitting after learning that the
origin that you were not going to be coming up
on animaniacs is does this hold water?

Speaker 5 (45:26):
Is this true? Or is this just an internet rumor?
It's internet noise, and you know, one of the rumors.
And then I'm not going to say any more about
this because I'm actually writing a book, so okay, all
things will all all will be revealed. However, what i
will tell you is one of the rumors out there
was that I had quit because allegedly Trest McNeil was
making more money than me and tiny tunes. No, we

(45:49):
have a favored Nations clause, so that was sure even
remotely possible. But of course, you know, what is that
for people who don't know a Favorite nation's clause is
that when you under tract, nobody can make more than
you if you all agree to a favored nations clause.
So there was no way that I could have made
more than trust or Truss could have made more than me.

(46:09):
And so that was just you know, say what you want.
There's so much noise out there, and it's such an
old story, but what was what was the one that
you said about animeniacs.

Speaker 4 (46:20):
Apparently there was a rumor that you were upset by
not getting cast on Animaniacs, even though tiny toon Adventures
the Egg.

Speaker 5 (46:28):
I was not being cast on NIMEX because I quit. Dudes,
that'll do it to not go over. Well, yeah, apparently,
here's the joke. Here's the joke on me. The joke
on me is there were many reasons why I left,
but I won't discuss them here. Yeah, sure, sure, However, you.

Speaker 2 (46:48):
Got to buy the boot.

Speaker 5 (46:49):
There was another season. This is where it makes me laugh. Now.
I wouldn't have changed my decision, by the way, but
as it turns out, there was not another season. There
were only two episodes left, and so all of this,
all of this ridiculousness. But I was making a stand
and for me and for my sense of myself and

(47:12):
what was right and wrong to me. It was the
right decision. I wouldn't have changed it. But pulling back
in the big picture, it's kind of hilarious that, you know,
I walked when I could have just stayed and bit
the bullet for another two episodes. I couldn't. I could not,
not for love nor money, And so it was a
good decision for me.

Speaker 4 (47:33):
But you will discuss this. These things in your book, Yes,
I will. What made you decide so I want to
write a book.

Speaker 5 (47:41):
I've been encouraged by a lot of people in my
life because I've had so many lives, and I thought
there's so many chapters to my life, and I thought,
well why not. I mean, why not. Maybe it'll stink
on ice, maybe nothing will come of it, and but
it's very hard.

Speaker 4 (47:58):
When I ended up, I was just about to ask.
A lot of people say they enjoy the process, even
of it.

Speaker 5 (48:03):
Well, it's kind of a narcissistic process, because what are
you talking about world politics? You're talking about yourself, So
you know, it is very narcissistic. It's very self indulgent.
But it's also in many ways healing, and in many
ways it's jogging things that I have otherwise forgotten. So

(48:23):
if I go down one rabbit hole all of a sudden,
I'll go, oh my god, and that and that and that,
So that it's jogging. It's dredging a lot of stuff
that I have mostly forgotten about. Yeah, so I kind
of like it, you know.

Speaker 1 (48:39):
For that, Yeah that I was going to say, yeah,
that that's got to be rewarding, because you know, I'll
have people do that, they'll pull something out of me
and it's like, oh gosh, I forgot about that.

Speaker 5 (48:50):
Is it's a pleasant And then but then you get
something else, and something else and something yeah, and all
of a sudden you're in a different chapter that you
didn't even remember or talking about. I've been very lucky.
I still have friends from elementary school. I have friends
from every child in my life that have you know,
We've all kind of gone on this long ass road

(49:12):
together and and I love that. And they each kind
of represent something. So when I'm with them or I
talk to them, something something will come up and I'll go, woll.
I have a dear friend who's not doing very well
physically who sent me something that just reduced me to
rubble because it was were I was back in high school.

(49:35):
Oh boy, right, and I went, oh my god, isn't
that Isn't that miraculous?

Speaker 1 (49:41):
Yeah? Yeah, those things that draw you back like that
are really.

Speaker 5 (49:45):
They get to me too, They get to me too
old and sentimental.

Speaker 1 (49:50):
Yeah yeah, but it's it's it's a beautiful thing though,
you know. And it's always nice to know when you
do these things and somebody will bring something up that
you did and you can't even barely remember it, and
they bring it up like it was yesterday and it
changed my life and it did that, you know, and
it's very touching.

Speaker 2 (50:05):
I don't you know. I'm probably not unlike yourself.

Speaker 1 (50:09):
I don't take myself seriously, but I do take the
work seriously because other people do. Yeah, so you know.

Speaker 5 (50:19):
And then I don't know how you feel about it.
But for me, not the job, the actual event of
creating something is still thrilling. For me. It's still important
to me, and I need to do it. I have
to do it. I don't feel I feel now, Jim,
this is weird. I feel now that I am more

(50:42):
potent in my work than I've ever been. I feel
now that I'm more ready and what I've learned about
life and how things work, I'm more ready to perform
than I ever have been. I'm not tired. I'm not

(51:02):
tired of any of it. I'm tired of people, I'm
tired of corporation stuff. I'm tired of the Greek corsh
that comes in and weighs in. But what I'm not
tired of is the actual job itself, which I still love.

Speaker 1 (51:15):
I still oh, yeah, same, here, same here. Oh my gosh, yeah,
I get a kick out of it. We we just
and I this is so weird that I'm saying this,
But I don't know if I mentioned this. I don't
want to repeat myself. But we just wrapped the latest
iteration of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse out house, funhouse, you know,
house a Mouse, something with a mouse. And we've been

(51:38):
doing it for over thirty years straight because one would end,
you know, the Mickey Mouse Funhouse. I don't remember which
was for that that went for a year and a
half or you know, two years.

Speaker 2 (51:51):
Or oh we got renewed.

Speaker 1 (51:53):
Oh okay, so now it's like four years now, Oh
here's House a Mouse and then boom boom boom. And
it's been all most my whole career.

Speaker 7 (52:02):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (52:03):
And we just I think two weeks ago, Kelly Ward
and I we were talking about it, and everybody's buddy
Kelly Ward, the sweet the sweetest, yeah, sweetest guy. And
it's just the damnedest thing. It's been going that long,
you know, And I play Pete, Well there you go, Perrell.

Speaker 2 (52:20):
How are you doing, buddy?

Speaker 5 (52:22):
You know?

Speaker 2 (52:22):
Uh, And he's tied for first place.

Speaker 1 (52:24):
Is the oldest Disney character so I'm very honored, and
you know, we're so lucky to a little bit. Yeah,
you know, because but the good news is that there
there's rumors of a pickup for this or that, you know,
and you know, knock on wood'll there'll always be something there.

Speaker 5 (52:46):
Well to be with the show that long is Yeah,
and singularly to Queen Friends, something that never happens. I
mean that that is as rare as Hen's teeth.

Speaker 1 (52:58):
That God.

Speaker 5 (53:00):
Yeah, thanks Mo for that one. It's very sat it
really is, because who the hell goes on a thirty
year ride?

Speaker 1 (53:10):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (53:10):
Oh, I mean eight years is a miracle. Three orty
damn good thirty years Jai.

Speaker 1 (53:16):
Yeah, it's it's been you know, the moun you know.
And of course I go back to Wayne Online and
Rusy Taylor, you know that two sweethearts. Yeah, Mickey and
mini folks in case for those three of you that
don't know they were a couple in real life, you
just couldn't couldn't have gotten any sweeter than Rusy bless

(53:38):
her herd.

Speaker 5 (53:39):
At a school because okay, I know what you're going
to say. I know they would both love this. We
would we would go to lunch, not often but in
the in the scheme of knowing each other for thirty
plus years, sure, thirty around three years, we would go
out and hang out and you know, my mouth is
kind of like the Ganges River. Yes, and so is theirs.

Speaker 1 (54:04):
Yes.

Speaker 5 (54:05):
What I know is every now and again I would
just get this this awareness that I'm sitting with Minnie
and Mickey and we would be all arrested. Yeah, there
was that one side to her and hint of my sweetest,
most wonderful people.

Speaker 1 (54:21):
Dane, absolutely truly, truly and Rusy bless her her.

Speaker 2 (54:26):
We I did a few.

Speaker 1 (54:29):
I was like the clean up guy on this one
thing called Mother Goose and it came out after Teddy Ruxman,
that talking little teddy bear that told stories, and you
bought a cassette and smacked it in its forehead and
it spoke, well, Rusie was Mother Goose and she I
want to say it was the Princess.

Speaker 2 (54:47):
And the Pea.

Speaker 1 (54:48):
We were doing that one and it was the one
where she had to kiss a frog. I forget whichever
one that was, and you know, the fairytale, and she
could not get We all had to leave eventually because
Rusie couldn't get through.

Speaker 2 (55:05):
The line and sue.

Speaker 3 (55:06):
It became that the princess leaned over and kissed the
little frog right on the tip of his little glean.

Speaker 2 (55:23):
And then she would pee.

Speaker 8 (55:24):
She would just start, you know, she couldn't finish the sentence,
and like a half an hour later, we realized she's
not going to get out because her mind is thinking,
dying to say something and you know, yeah, and it.

Speaker 1 (55:41):
Wouldn't cooperate, so we all had to leave the room.
Twenty minutes later, she goes, all right, I finally got
it out. Okay, we can continue now, okay, and it's
you know, fill in the blank, folks, you know, oh, well,
unbelievable and you know, and she sounded like that. She
sounded like this greatest person in She was the sweetest

(56:01):
person in the world. But the idea that this she
had the brains in the mouth of a sailor.

Speaker 5 (56:08):
She did and had an enormous appeal and she was
so delicious about it. Yeah, we grew up two towns
away from each other. We didn't find this out. I
didn't know years later after we knew each other. Isn't
that crazy?

Speaker 2 (56:20):
Oh wow, I didn't know that.

Speaker 1 (56:21):
Well, you're from from Syrah.

Speaker 5 (56:23):
No Sarah Houston, Laughlin County, New York. And I went
to Nanuet High School and then ended up moving back
living on a houseboat in Nayak, New York. And West
Nayak was between Nanuett and Nayak, and so she was.
She went through Clarkstown High School, I think in West Niac,
but you know she lived there was a beautiful place
called Van Houton Fields and it was old acres of

(56:47):
old houses in the middle slap Dad. It was only
eighteen miles from New York City, so it was so
weird that there were people there. And then I found
out that my great grandfather had a commune.

Speaker 1 (57:01):
Before there were commune great grandmuns.

Speaker 5 (57:03):
It was it was, they were not called communes, but
he was. He was a communist.

Speaker 2 (57:07):
I believe that it was a cult, Charlie.

Speaker 7 (57:09):
You know that they grew vegetables and fruit and it
was And he had a summer It was a summer
camp for people who want to get out of New
York City.

Speaker 5 (57:20):
It wasn't really a come wow. But he had been
he had been uh a rabble rouser and a union
and he was shot at and he walked across Russia
after being a Russian prison camp as Iberian prison camp,
to make it to Liverpool, to make it to New York,

(57:42):
and my great aunt wrote a book about it which
blew my mind. It is actually in the permanent collection
of the show, a collection of Steven Spielberg's and I
and what was I've read it. It blows my mind
to see where it came from. But I realized my

(58:02):
big mouth came from him.

Speaker 1 (58:04):
Wow, mouse came from him. That's great. Wow, that's a
that's a damn fine inheritance, nutty kind of yeah, good
for you, But we.

Speaker 5 (58:14):
Never had money. I inherited a bowling bowl in a vest.
That was my legacy.

Speaker 1 (58:18):
You two, That's all I ever got, really, Yeah, yeah, yeah,
I don't want nothing from nobody.

Speaker 5 (58:25):
I'll find my way.

Speaker 1 (58:25):
I did, that's right, Yeah, yeah, no kidding. If you're
a fan of everything we do here at tuned In
with Jim Cummings, you could support the show on Patreon
for bonus exclusive podcasts, as well as early in ad
free access to the show itself, prize drawings, and more.
You'll feel the difference, so go ahead and join the

(58:47):
tuned In family today at Patreon dot com, slash Jim
Cummings Podcast. Do it now?

Speaker 5 (58:54):
Well, Jim, I think it might be time for a
voice swap. What do you think?

Speaker 1 (58:57):
I think?

Speaker 2 (58:58):
So, let's we do this thing.

Speaker 4 (59:00):
There's a little game. Okay, there's a little game that
we play, and basically we're just swapping popular character voices
between the two of you that you voiced. So, for example,
Jim will do a line as Tigger, and then you
will say that same line but in the voice of
Buster Bunny, and then vice versa. How's that sound sure?

Speaker 5 (59:21):
So I'm just saying the same line, yeah, different characters.

Speaker 1 (59:26):
As your character. Yes, and then then you lay one
down and I'll mangle it.

Speaker 5 (59:32):
Okay, So you start, though it's a tennis match. You start, yes,
you say, okay, here we go.

Speaker 2 (59:38):
Let's see.

Speaker 1 (59:38):
Uh, we'll get dark Wing Duck out here. I of
the Terror, the Flaps in the Night. I am the Terrors.

Speaker 2 (59:51):
Yeah, there you go. That's what That's what I'm talking about. Okay,
if you could.

Speaker 4 (59:55):
Just say the character name before you say your line, yeah, yea, yeah,
I'm just saying for like when you do it, so
it'll be your turn now.

Speaker 5 (01:00:01):
Yeah, okay, now what do I do?

Speaker 1 (01:00:03):
Oh?

Speaker 2 (01:00:03):
Yeah, yeah, Now you do one.

Speaker 5 (01:00:05):
So you won one of your characters, you'll say one
of their lines. Yeah, any line.

Speaker 1 (01:00:11):
It's your I am the that flaps in the night ad.

Speaker 4 (01:00:18):
That like, you can say something that he would say, like, So,
now we'll do with the rever. You don't want to
do a dark wing line like, you'll do your own lines,
so lousy ship.

Speaker 2 (01:00:31):
You're doing great?

Speaker 5 (01:00:33):
Oh god, I'll try better, try better.

Speaker 4 (01:00:36):
Now you're doing fine, you're doing It's all for fun.

Speaker 5 (01:00:42):
So it's an idiot.

Speaker 1 (01:00:43):
Go ahead.

Speaker 5 (01:00:44):
Oh so I have it's my turn now after say
something that.

Speaker 2 (01:00:47):
Yeah, and then I'll do it and I'll be pooh
for you.

Speaker 5 (01:00:50):
Oh it's just a red guy. It hurts so bad.
Are you sure you want to do pooh?

Speaker 3 (01:01:02):
Oh? It hurts so bad.

Speaker 1 (01:01:06):
Mom. Okay, well I'll never work again. Now, good night, everybody.
Thank you for coming to the last podcast that I'll
ever do with my dear friend Charlie Chris, take us home.

Speaker 5 (01:01:25):
So are we doing more of Are we done? No?

Speaker 4 (01:01:27):
Let's do one more, let's do no, let's do robotnick
and sniffy.

Speaker 2 (01:01:32):
Oh oh yeah that that's true.

Speaker 1 (01:01:34):
Yes, alright, Well let's see A good robotic line would
be something very basic, something like get bad joke, sniffy
h I lot my assk down?

Speaker 5 (01:02:00):
No, say get that hedgehog? Oh ship?

Speaker 1 (01:02:09):
And what did and you brought up escargo in some fashion.

Speaker 5 (01:02:13):
I'm such a moron. You get that ahead.

Speaker 1 (01:02:22):
Yes, And Charlie Hedler is available for books on tape.
He will be she will be your narrator.

Speaker 5 (01:02:31):
Supreme you at your local rubber room.

Speaker 2 (01:02:36):
Yes, Charlie, thank you so much.

Speaker 5 (01:02:40):
I'm so sorry. I'm so lousy at games. What Aron, No,
that was really funny.

Speaker 1 (01:02:46):
I think you knocked it out of the park and
this is one for the Hall of Flame.

Speaker 5 (01:02:51):
Definitely before I go and thank you. Yes, thank you
and Chris nice to be. Yeah. Likewise, it was nice
meeting you. Do I hit the ex.

Speaker 1 (01:03:00):
At the top, hit the action to top, can get out? Yes?
Did you actually?

Speaker 5 (01:03:07):
Okay? Wait wait wait wait wait.

Speaker 2 (01:03:10):
Wait wait wait wait wait wait hold on, don't don't don't.

Speaker 4 (01:03:12):
Hit that all right? That was another episode of Tuned
In with Jim Cummings. I'm producer, Chris joined us always
by the legend. Jim Cummings and if Charlie Adler, thank
you so much for being here today. We really appreciate it.
If you guys like this content. If you enjoyed this episode,
be sure to like and subscribe. We really appreciate it
and it helps you out. It recommends videos like this

(01:03:33):
shorts all that good stuff to you do you know
on YouTube you can watch a video and literally never
be recommended it again. It's a crazy algorithm, so be
sure to like him subscribe to keep seeing this content.
If you like this content a lot, you can go
over to Patreon and see bonus content. That's right, episodes
that don't even air here on YouTube, nowhere else other
than Patreon, shorts, bonus giveaways, a lot of good stuff

(01:03:55):
over there.

Speaker 5 (01:03:56):
I'll be there, I'll be wishing. We always flaming tassels
on the bonus con tent. Yes, that's right, that's right.
You can see Charlie flaming.

Speaker 2 (01:04:04):
Tassel nipples a Kimbo that was your old stage name.

Speaker 4 (01:04:11):
You can get merchandise on Shopify at Jim Commings closet,
and be sure to check the description for any upcoming
conventions that Jim or any of the guests featured on
today's show will be at. We really appreciate you guys
watching once again. I'm producer Chris Jim Cummings, Charlie Adler,
we will see you in the next one.

Speaker 5 (01:04:29):
You'm a hugging at on yes,