1
00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000
Downloaded from
YTS.BZ

2
00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000
Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.BZ

3
00:00:10,552 --> 00:00:13,637
More often than not, I guess
documentaries are done about people

4
00:00:13,638 --> 00:00:15,807
who've done something extremely well.

5
00:00:19,269 --> 00:00:23,857
But in my case, I think it's like
that I did a number of different things...

6
00:00:25,192 --> 00:00:26,901
Martin! Martin! Martin!

7
00:00:26,902 --> 00:00:27,861
Martin Mull!

8
00:00:29,905 --> 00:00:33,408
...and got at least
passing grades in all of them.

9
00:00:35,535 --> 00:00:38,621
I don't have a one-man show
at the Museum of Modern Art.

10
00:00:38,622 --> 00:00:40,290
I don't have an Oscar.

11
00:00:41,875 --> 00:00:42,876
I don't have a Grammy.

12
00:00:43,794 --> 00:00:47,547
I don't have a million-selling album,
et cetera, et cetera.

13
00:00:49,382 --> 00:00:52,552
And I realize
that's a problem in a documentary.

14
00:00:56,765 --> 00:00:58,558
I... I don't know what it's about.

15
00:00:59,976 --> 00:01:04,898
It's not necessarily about a painter
or about an actor or about a musician.

16
00:01:06,942 --> 00:01:09,736
It's about a man and his ego, I guess.

17
00:01:12,906 --> 00:01:13,907
Why do it?

18
00:01:14,407 --> 00:01:17,910
Well, it's a chance to answer a question

19
00:01:17,911 --> 00:01:21,581
that has been haunting me
for nearly 75 years.

20
00:01:24,084 --> 00:01:26,128
Who is Martin Mull?

21
00:01:28,713 --> 00:01:30,257
And who gives a shit?

22
00:01:31,883 --> 00:01:34,301
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Martin Mull.

23
00:01:34,302 --> 00:01:37,012
- Martin Mull!
- Mr. Martin Mull!

24
00:01:37,013 --> 00:01:40,224
Major musical talent, Martin Mull!

25
00:01:40,225 --> 00:01:42,853
Thank you. Thank you.
Please. Please, sit down.

26
00:01:45,605 --> 00:01:49,442
{\an8}I live where success
and stupidity shake hands.

27
00:01:53,321 --> 00:01:54,531
{\an8}Hello?

28
00:01:56,283 --> 00:01:59,577
{\an8}My next guest is a musician
as well as an actor and a fine comedian.

29
00:01:59,578 --> 00:02:01,579
{\an8}He is bizarre, eccentric,
a little off-the-wall.

30
00:02:01,580 --> 00:02:04,499
{\an8}I'm here for shameless self-promotion.

31
00:02:05,792 --> 00:02:07,126
{\an8}Look, I want a straight answer.

32
00:02:07,127 --> 00:02:09,879
{\an8}Are you trying to make me look stupid
in front of the other guests?

33
00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:12,174
{\an8}- You don't need any help from me, sir.
- That's right!

34
00:02:14,426 --> 00:02:16,635
{\an8}Think about it. I detest Barbra Streisand,

35
00:02:16,636 --> 00:02:19,054
{\an8}and for God's sake, I'm a Republican!

36
00:02:19,055 --> 00:02:21,182
{\an8}But do you like having sex with men?

37
00:02:21,183 --> 00:02:23,143
{\an8}- Well, it's--
- Gay!

38
00:02:25,437 --> 00:02:27,980
{\an8}<i>Life is better than death</i>

39
00:02:27,981 --> 00:02:31,275
{\an8}You might want to start calling me
Uncle Willard!

40
00:02:31,276 --> 00:02:33,360
{\an8}Gene Parmesan.

41
00:02:33,361 --> 00:02:35,362
{\an8}Gene Parmesan, how you doin'?

42
00:02:35,363 --> 00:02:37,823
{\an8}<i>Life can only be life</i>

43
00:02:37,824 --> 00:02:39,700
{\an8}What do you think? Are we gonna win?

44
00:02:39,701 --> 00:02:42,912
{\an8}Madam President, I've got big balls,
but neither one of them are crystal.

45
00:02:42,913 --> 00:02:43,955
{\an8}Oh, darn it.

46
00:02:45,373 --> 00:02:47,625
{\an8}<i>Life is better than death</i>

47
00:02:47,626 --> 00:02:49,544
{\an8}Russell, you been hitting
the free samples again?

48
00:02:50,128 --> 00:02:51,213
{\an8}What are you, a cop?

49
00:02:53,298 --> 00:02:54,883
{\an8}<i>Don't hold your breath</i>

50
00:02:55,884 --> 00:02:58,510
{\an8}Let me in! Let me in!
I've got the answer! Come on!

51
00:02:58,511 --> 00:03:00,222
{\an8}I've got a madman in my studio and...

52
00:03:01,973 --> 00:03:03,141
{\an8}Help me!

53
00:03:05,894 --> 00:03:09,856
{\an8}- You are a painter, a good painter.
- Thank you. That's my main thrust.

54
00:03:10,941 --> 00:03:13,526
Show business was a means toward an end.

55
00:03:14,194 --> 00:03:16,029
Every painter I know
has to have a day gig.

56
00:03:17,781 --> 00:03:19,074
They do that to support painting.

57
00:03:19,741 --> 00:03:24,037
I still need show business,
but it's all just an excuse to paint.

58
00:03:25,330 --> 00:03:26,248
Terrific!

59
00:03:32,087 --> 00:03:34,172
All right. Set, and...

60
00:03:35,882 --> 00:03:37,132
{\an8}Apple baker.

61
00:03:37,133 --> 00:03:38,343
{\an8}Scene marker.

62
00:03:42,973 --> 00:03:45,058
The makeup lady go too far?

63
00:03:51,356 --> 00:03:54,567
- Let me put this here where it goes.
- I'll put it where it was.

64
00:03:56,861 --> 00:03:58,280
Okay, so...

65
00:03:58,822 --> 00:04:01,574
With that being said,
no laughing, no moving.

66
00:04:03,702 --> 00:04:07,997
Um... I don't know
where to begin because, to me,

67
00:04:07,998 --> 00:04:10,666
you truly are a jack-of-all-trades.

68
00:04:10,667 --> 00:04:12,002
Jerk-of-all-trades.

69
00:04:13,837 --> 00:04:17,381
Well, I will say that you're
one of the first comedians I ever saw.

70
00:04:17,382 --> 00:04:22,052
I was 17, and you were at
the Main Point in Philadelphia.

71
00:04:22,053 --> 00:04:24,347
Hello!

72
00:04:25,348 --> 00:04:29,227
My name is Martin Mull.

73
00:04:30,812 --> 00:04:32,855
Thank you.

74
00:04:32,856 --> 00:04:34,398
Thank you very much.

75
00:04:34,399 --> 00:04:36,400
It was one of the best shows
I'd ever seen.

76
00:04:36,401 --> 00:04:38,402
- And you inspired me.
- Well, thank you.

77
00:04:38,403 --> 00:04:41,739
I have a bossa nova song
I'd really like to do for you very much.

78
00:04:41,740 --> 00:04:45,326
I don't know, it's got some language in it
that maybe isn't for everybody.

79
00:04:45,327 --> 00:04:48,162
I'm gonna sing it anyway, okay?

80
00:04:48,163 --> 00:04:51,707
But if I come to a word or a phrase
that might not be everybody's cup of tea...

81
00:04:51,708 --> 00:04:55,544
I'm worried about that... what I'm gonna do,
and this is a bit of a brainstorm...

82
00:04:55,545 --> 00:04:58,672
I'm going to hum those words, okay?

83
00:04:58,673 --> 00:05:01,216
I had been writing comedy songs,

84
00:05:01,217 --> 00:05:04,428
but your comedy songs,
to me, were so incredible.

85
00:05:04,429 --> 00:05:06,348
<i>Last night I took you home</i>

86
00:05:07,932 --> 00:05:11,186
<i>And we began to hmm, hmm-hmm</i>

87
00:05:11,686 --> 00:05:15,356
<i>You were such a hmm, hmm, hmm</i>

88
00:05:15,357 --> 00:05:17,984
<i>Hmm, hmm, hmm, only 17</i>

89
00:05:19,194 --> 00:05:23,197
<i>Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
Rubber shirts</i>

90
00:05:23,198 --> 00:05:26,158
<i>Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, leather skirts</i>

91
00:05:26,159 --> 00:05:27,785
<i>Hmm, hmm</i>

92
00:05:27,786 --> 00:05:30,997
<i>Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
And a quart of Valvoline!</i>

93
00:05:32,248 --> 00:05:34,458
I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

94
00:05:34,459 --> 00:05:35,918
I could never be that funny.

95
00:05:35,919 --> 00:05:38,338
<i>Hmm, hmm, hospital
For life</i>

96
00:05:39,089 --> 00:05:43,759
It was the same reaction I had when
I was in film school and I saw <i>Annie Hall.</i>

97
00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:46,554
"Oh, shit, I'm never gonna
be able to make a good movie."

98
00:05:47,138 --> 00:05:49,599
<i>Then from the chandelier</i>

99
00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:53,352
<i>The three of us, hmm, hmm</i>

100
00:05:53,353 --> 00:05:56,271
{\an8}When I got out of high school,
for a while I'd just hitchhike

101
00:05:56,272 --> 00:05:57,941
{\an8}to wherever Martin Mull was playing.

102
00:05:58,525 --> 00:06:00,652
I'd memorized everything that he'd done.

103
00:06:01,653 --> 00:06:03,113
The show was astonishing.

104
00:06:04,114 --> 00:06:06,365
{\an8}People now may not know

105
00:06:06,366 --> 00:06:09,368
he was a big deal in the '70s.

106
00:06:09,369 --> 00:06:13,288
It was a very specific kind of comedy
that Martin just shot to the top of.

107
00:06:13,289 --> 00:06:16,542
Oh, this is so close to a thrill,
being here.

108
00:06:16,543 --> 00:06:20,255
{\an8}Martin's act was completely different
from any other comedian.

109
00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:23,006
He's as unique a person as I've ever seen.

110
00:06:23,007 --> 00:06:25,342
<i>Hmm, hmm, hmm
Whips and chains</i>

111
00:06:25,343 --> 00:06:29,847
You're talking about someone
who was a world-class comedian,

112
00:06:29,848 --> 00:06:31,890
and that's not what he did best.

113
00:06:31,891 --> 00:06:33,351
<i>My father's wife</i>

114
00:06:36,438 --> 00:06:38,189
Thank you.

115
00:06:40,066 --> 00:06:43,778
I never thought
I'd be in show business... at all.

116
00:06:44,362 --> 00:06:48,575
I'd always felt like I was a painter,
and that I had a great day job.

117
00:06:49,117 --> 00:06:53,328
But it's a two-headed monster,
because for many, many years,

118
00:06:53,329 --> 00:06:56,832
the fact that I was a painter,
people would say, "Oh, really?"

119
00:06:56,833 --> 00:06:58,625
And I used to cringe.

120
00:06:58,626 --> 00:07:01,712
It was like, "Please, no.
Call me a shitty actor, but don't..."

121
00:07:01,713 --> 00:07:03,922
"Please, this means something to me."

122
00:07:03,923 --> 00:07:06,468
You know? "This is...
This is who I really am."

123
00:07:07,135 --> 00:07:11,180
And it's been a battle trying to get
that painter identity away from, like,

124
00:07:11,181 --> 00:07:13,098
my being connected to show business.

125
00:07:13,099 --> 00:07:14,100
Right.

126
00:07:15,852 --> 00:07:16,853
Um...

127
00:07:17,645 --> 00:07:22,441
I wanna go back, just before
you were born, maybe nine months.

128
00:07:22,442 --> 00:07:25,027
Uh... at your inception.
Do you remember that?

129
00:07:25,028 --> 00:07:28,322
When I was just a bottle of wine
under my father's arm?

130
00:07:28,323 --> 00:07:30,449
- Exactly.
- Um...

131
00:07:30,450 --> 00:07:33,160
You know,
I was an accident of sperm and egg.

132
00:07:33,161 --> 00:07:35,120
I mean, that's basically what it is.

133
00:07:35,121 --> 00:07:37,415
I had that for breakfast.

134
00:07:41,085 --> 00:07:42,711
All you need to know is,

135
00:07:42,712 --> 00:07:45,381
we lived in this little town
called North Ridgeville, Ohio,

136
00:07:46,508 --> 00:07:50,011
where I've always maintained
that the zip code should be EIEIO.

137
00:07:51,846 --> 00:07:53,306
It was pretty remote.

138
00:07:54,224 --> 00:07:56,600
It was my father, my mother, and I.

139
00:07:56,601 --> 00:07:59,019
And then I have a brother,
two years my junior,

140
00:07:59,020 --> 00:08:01,189
and a sister, ten years my junior.

141
00:08:03,233 --> 00:08:09,571
{\an8}It's rural with a capital R. You know?
You can't get much farther away from...

142
00:08:09,572 --> 00:08:11,865
{\an8}civilization, humanity.

143
00:08:11,866 --> 00:08:15,578
{\an8}It was right out of <i>Leave it to Beaver,</i>
right out of what you would expect.

144
00:08:16,538 --> 00:08:19,039
{\an8}In our family, Marty was the favorite

145
00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:23,044
because he was the first,
and as it turned out, he <i>was</i> special.

146
00:08:24,212 --> 00:08:26,713
{\an8}I started drawing when I was quite young

147
00:08:26,714 --> 00:08:28,675
and, uh, just never stopped.

148
00:08:29,300 --> 00:08:33,595
{\an8}When I was in high school,
I was doing these stupid cartoons

149
00:08:33,596 --> 00:08:37,224
{\an8}and I sent some in to a card company,
and they bought 'em.

150
00:08:37,225 --> 00:08:39,811
And I thought,
"Wow, I could maybe do this."

151
00:08:40,812 --> 00:08:45,148
No, making art was definitely something
that was not part of the community

152
00:08:45,149 --> 00:08:46,150
that I was in.

153
00:08:47,068 --> 00:08:51,322
But my mother was very artistic,
and she would always play piano.

154
00:08:53,157 --> 00:08:56,911
My mother raised us,
and she was a big influence.

155
00:08:57,787 --> 00:08:59,581
And, uh, my dad...

156
00:09:00,373 --> 00:09:02,082
My dad was just kind of a shadow

157
00:09:02,083 --> 00:09:04,835
that was over there on the couch
reading the newspaper.

158
00:09:04,836 --> 00:09:06,879
He was never involved in our lives.

159
00:09:08,464 --> 00:09:10,883
I have a sensitive question to ask you.

160
00:09:12,468 --> 00:09:18,349
Are you ever sad that you didn't have
a deeper relationship with your dad?

161
00:09:19,809 --> 00:09:20,810
No.

162
00:09:24,272 --> 00:09:28,025
There were some issues I don't want
to really get into that weren't the best.

163
00:09:28,026 --> 00:09:30,778
We didn't...
We didn't have the best relationship.

164
00:09:31,404 --> 00:09:32,905
By... By any means.

165
00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:36,325
- Wanna leave it at that?
- Leave it at that.

166
00:09:36,326 --> 00:09:38,910
I'm not gonna go into
any long story about that.

167
00:09:38,911 --> 00:09:40,203
It's not a good story?

168
00:09:40,204 --> 00:09:41,331
No, it isn't.

169
00:09:47,086 --> 00:09:51,299
But I knew that there was some other life
other than the one I was living.

170
00:09:51,799 --> 00:09:55,511
That I would not spend the rest of my life
behind a John Deere tractor.

171
00:09:56,763 --> 00:09:59,264
I don't think I would've been
a happy camper

172
00:09:59,265 --> 00:10:02,142
staying at home
and taking the easiest street.

173
00:10:02,143 --> 00:10:04,936
I knew there was
other stuff out there to be done

174
00:10:04,937 --> 00:10:06,939
and I wanted to give it at least a try.

175
00:10:08,483 --> 00:10:11,027
But I tend to think that almost...

176
00:10:12,278 --> 00:10:15,947
...all of my life, in many, many ways,
up until I went to art school

177
00:10:15,948 --> 00:10:17,700
was a dress rehearsal.

178
00:10:22,330 --> 00:10:24,373
When I got to RISD, got out of the car...

179
00:10:24,374 --> 00:10:28,836
It literally was when Dorothy
walks into Oz, and it's in color.

180
00:10:31,839 --> 00:10:35,926
Art school opened up things that had
never been opened up to me before.

181
00:10:35,927 --> 00:10:37,512
So inspirational.

182
00:10:38,054 --> 00:10:41,181
When I came across Matisse's drawings,

183
00:10:41,182 --> 00:10:43,809
and other people like Edward Hopper,

184
00:10:43,810 --> 00:10:46,854
I just got hit right between the eyes
with his imagery too.

185
00:10:48,439 --> 00:10:51,567
I think that there was
a complete cellular rebirth.

186
00:10:52,235 --> 00:10:55,446
My brain got bent, and it stayed bent.

187
00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:04,205
Art school made me what I am.

188
00:11:04,789 --> 00:11:06,499
Or destroyed what I was.

189
00:11:09,252 --> 00:11:11,920
I think everybody at RISD knew him.

190
00:11:11,921 --> 00:11:16,592
Every class there's one person who excels,
and you see it instantly.

191
00:11:17,093 --> 00:11:19,803
{\an8}"That... That one's got it."

192
00:11:19,804 --> 00:11:20,763
{\an8}And he got it.

193
00:11:21,556 --> 00:11:23,766
He was an artist from day one.

194
00:11:24,475 --> 00:11:25,685
Came right out of him.

195
00:11:28,521 --> 00:11:31,607
The one thing that mattered to him
the most is painting.

196
00:11:32,108 --> 00:11:35,528
Marty didn't do anything musical at all
until he went off to college.

197
00:11:37,947 --> 00:11:41,199
He said, "Can I take your guitar?"
And I said, "Why?"

198
00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:43,995
He said, "I think
it's a really good way to pick up chicks."

199
00:11:45,371 --> 00:11:47,456
And I guess he really wanted these chicks

200
00:11:47,457 --> 00:11:50,417
'cause he really worked hard
at learning the guitar.

201
00:11:50,418 --> 00:11:54,421
When he came back home
after just the first six months,

202
00:11:54,422 --> 00:11:56,340
he actually could play some tunes.

203
00:12:01,971 --> 00:12:05,640
{\an8}I was in a, I guess you'd call it a...
When I say a leather shop,

204
00:12:05,641 --> 00:12:08,351
{\an8}I mean... a place where you fix shoes.

205
00:12:08,352 --> 00:12:09,645
{\an8}Okay?

206
00:12:11,189 --> 00:12:14,065
And this fellow next to me at the counter

207
00:12:14,066 --> 00:12:16,693
was getting a pair
of cowboy boots resoled.

208
00:12:16,694 --> 00:12:18,528
And his name was Marty Mull.

209
00:12:18,529 --> 00:12:20,281
Marty. There was no Martin Mull.

210
00:12:20,865 --> 00:12:23,825
And we started chatting. We just bonded.

211
00:12:23,826 --> 00:12:25,661
We spent a lot of time together.

212
00:12:26,704 --> 00:12:30,040
One time Marty came over
with a circle of friends,

213
00:12:30,041 --> 00:12:31,959
and he started playing guitar.

214
00:12:33,169 --> 00:12:35,253
And everybody was around

215
00:12:35,254 --> 00:12:39,801
fussing and buzzing and listening to him
play these crazy songs.

216
00:12:40,551 --> 00:12:42,261
And Marty knew that I am a pianist.

217
00:12:42,887 --> 00:12:46,224
Somehow or another
he got me involved in a group.

218
00:12:46,808 --> 00:12:48,850
And we called the group Soop.

219
00:12:48,851 --> 00:12:50,853
{\an8}<i>Well, do you wanna be</i>

220
00:12:51,729 --> 00:12:53,648
{\an8}<i>An auto mechanic</i>

221
00:12:54,315 --> 00:12:56,567
{\an8}<i>Well, you can fix your car...</i>

222
00:12:58,361 --> 00:13:00,987
We'd go up to Brown University
as the hired band,

223
00:13:00,988 --> 00:13:03,073
and we'd play for a drunken fraternity,

224
00:13:03,074 --> 00:13:06,827
and you'd stand in front of
this tower of amplifiers,

225
00:13:06,828 --> 00:13:08,454
and all you'd hear is yourself.

226
00:13:08,955 --> 00:13:11,873
And all you got out of the evening
was maybe $35

227
00:13:11,874 --> 00:13:14,335
and just award-winning tinnitus.

228
00:13:17,129 --> 00:13:20,091
And how did you become a comedian?

229
00:13:21,300 --> 00:13:22,760
I was a shitty singer.

230
00:13:28,474 --> 00:13:31,811
I was there for
the birth of the Martin Mull we all know.

231
00:13:33,563 --> 00:13:35,356
It happened at a coffee house.

232
00:13:36,357 --> 00:13:38,317
We were doing our songs.

233
00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:42,362
Something happened to the stage equipment.

234
00:13:42,363 --> 00:13:45,408
And Martin started talking.

235
00:13:46,742 --> 00:13:49,703
<i>There's somebody up there
singing "We Shall Overcome."</i>

236
00:13:49,704 --> 00:13:52,206
<i>What a thing to sing about. My God.</i>

237
00:13:53,833 --> 00:13:57,879
<i>To me, that's between you, your spouse,
and your doctor. Do you know what I mean?</i>

238
00:13:58,588 --> 00:14:00,798
And just... slayed 'em.

239
00:14:02,091 --> 00:14:04,801
<i>If they undercame,
they wouldn't be singing.</i>

240
00:14:04,802 --> 00:14:06,596
<i>Isn't that true?</i>

241
00:14:10,182 --> 00:14:14,770
Once I got my master's degree,
I knew there was no doctorate in painting.

242
00:14:15,396 --> 00:14:20,401
So, I would have to face the world now.
I could not any longer hide in academia.

243
00:14:21,193 --> 00:14:22,611
I had no money.

244
00:14:22,612 --> 00:14:24,029
Poor as a church mouse.

245
00:14:24,030 --> 00:14:28,658
And I thought, "What can I do
to keep myself in beer and cigarettes?"

246
00:14:28,659 --> 00:14:32,704
I thought, "Well, the only place
I'm making anything at all is music,

247
00:14:32,705 --> 00:14:34,165
so I'll do that."

248
00:14:40,588 --> 00:14:43,131
Painting was not paying the bills.

249
00:14:43,132 --> 00:14:47,678
And he decided that he was gonna
take his songs and become a musician.

250
00:14:48,429 --> 00:14:52,140
He was writing songs,
but not terrifically successful.

251
00:14:52,141 --> 00:14:54,935
If this thing isn't chart-bound, I quit.

252
00:14:54,936 --> 00:14:57,729
I've thought about this a little bit
in terms of what's...

253
00:14:57,730 --> 00:15:00,065
You know, like,
certain people get discovered.

254
00:15:00,066 --> 00:15:01,900
You know, all of a sudden, "Oh, my God."

255
00:15:01,901 --> 00:15:03,235
- Right.
- That didn't happen.

256
00:15:06,656 --> 00:15:10,534
I would audition for the people at
the record company, and they hated it.

257
00:15:19,794 --> 00:15:23,464
They said to my manager, "Why did you
drag us to hear these assholes?"

258
00:15:24,924 --> 00:15:25,758
Like it?

259
00:15:27,843 --> 00:15:30,220
The real turning point was

260
00:15:30,221 --> 00:15:34,265
when I all of a sudden wrote a song called
"A Girl Named Johnny Cash,"

261
00:15:34,266 --> 00:15:36,978
which was an answer song
to "A Boy Named Sue."

262
00:15:38,020 --> 00:15:41,898
Warner Bros. Music ended up
placing it with Jane Morgan,

263
00:15:41,899 --> 00:15:46,027
and she ended up singing it
on the <i>Ed Sullivan Show,</i> which was huge.

264
00:15:46,028 --> 00:15:50,615
{\an8}<i>I wanted out in Tennessee in 1944</i>

265
00:15:50,616 --> 00:15:55,537
{\an8}<i>When the doctor hollered, "It's a girl!"
My father hit the floor</i>

266
00:15:55,538 --> 00:15:58,123
{\an8}<i>Then he hit the bottle
And he signed his name</i>

267
00:15:58,124 --> 00:16:00,458
<i>And he drove off into Nash</i>

268
00:16:00,459 --> 00:16:05,172
<i>And when that sun came up again
He'd named me Johnny Cash</i>

269
00:16:05,881 --> 00:16:08,216
And out of that, Warner Bros. Music

270
00:16:08,217 --> 00:16:09,927
gave me a contract to write songs.

271
00:16:10,511 --> 00:16:13,805
Covered my rent, and that was just gold.

272
00:16:13,806 --> 00:16:16,182
You know, "My God,
I'm actually a professional."

273
00:16:16,183 --> 00:16:18,143
<i>My name is Sue</i>

274
00:16:18,144 --> 00:16:20,229
<i>Great, I'm Johnny Cash</i>

275
00:16:21,605 --> 00:16:23,898
I kept writing songs and writing songs.

276
00:16:23,899 --> 00:16:26,736
So when I did have a chance
to go out on my own,

277
00:16:27,278 --> 00:16:29,697
I've got what started to become an act.

278
00:16:30,990 --> 00:16:34,659
Tonight, Martin Mull and...

279
00:16:34,660 --> 00:16:36,704
his fabulous furniture!

280
00:16:39,498 --> 00:16:44,378
What was the Furniture Tour,
for people that need to know?

281
00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:48,132
Well, when I was in art school,
playing college mixers...

282
00:16:49,633 --> 00:16:52,927
...afterward, I'd go back to my house
with one of the other players

283
00:16:52,928 --> 00:16:56,848
and we'd smoke a joint or have a beer
or whatever and start playing,

284
00:16:56,849 --> 00:16:59,351
and that felt like music all of a sudden.

285
00:17:00,895 --> 00:17:02,813
The other was just cacophony.

286
00:17:03,564 --> 00:17:06,524
"But this is music.
What's the difference here?"

287
00:17:06,525 --> 00:17:08,902
"I know what it is.
We're sitting in furniture."

288
00:17:08,903 --> 00:17:11,196
"There's couches,
there's tables, there's chairs."

289
00:17:11,197 --> 00:17:13,698
So when I started doing
my own little live act,

290
00:17:13,699 --> 00:17:15,867
I decided to take my furniture with me.

291
00:17:15,868 --> 00:17:19,954
Then the band took on the name
The Fabulous Furniture.

292
00:17:19,955 --> 00:17:21,332
One, two, three, four!

293
00:17:25,086 --> 00:17:26,711
I've got the costumes,

294
00:17:26,712 --> 00:17:28,546
I've got the sound equipment,

295
00:17:28,547 --> 00:17:30,048
I've got the furniture.

296
00:17:30,049 --> 00:17:33,260
I started to become
the person that I was going to be.

297
00:17:33,844 --> 00:17:36,180
<i>There's a new dance
And it's in this town</i>

298
00:17:37,098 --> 00:17:39,433
<i>It's the hottest... thing around</i>

299
00:17:40,059 --> 00:17:42,685
<i>It ain't hard
No, there's nothing to it</i>

300
00:17:42,686 --> 00:17:45,647
<i>So, come on
Everybody, won't you do it?</i>

301
00:17:45,648 --> 00:17:47,565
<i>Do the Nothing</i>

302
00:17:47,566 --> 00:17:49,860
Ah, it's so nice to see everyone.

303
00:17:50,861 --> 00:17:54,197
This is one of our favorite songs.
This just gives us a chance to...

304
00:17:54,198 --> 00:17:55,825
...just...

305
00:17:57,993 --> 00:18:00,621
No, no, no clapping.
Nothing. Nothing, nothing.

306
00:18:01,956 --> 00:18:04,874
It's just so awkward and cringey.

307
00:18:04,875 --> 00:18:06,918
How long can we make this last?

308
00:18:06,919 --> 00:18:10,047
{\an8}I want people to squirm,
and that's where the humor is coming from.

309
00:18:13,217 --> 00:18:17,053
Martin's character was like,
"I'm handsome, I drink scotch,

310
00:18:17,054 --> 00:18:19,306
I have a little bit
of a 'fuck you' attitude."

311
00:18:20,558 --> 00:18:22,225
He was cool.

312
00:18:22,226 --> 00:18:26,896
I'm sorry, I'm a Gen-Xer.
A cocktail and a cigarette is very cool.

313
00:18:26,897 --> 00:18:28,440
<i>Doin' nothing</i>

314
00:18:29,191 --> 00:18:30,567
<i>Here we go now...</i>

315
00:18:30,568 --> 00:18:33,444
I am playing a guy

316
00:18:33,445 --> 00:18:37,073
that you and I are laughing at.

317
00:18:37,074 --> 00:18:38,575
I'm with you.

318
00:18:38,576 --> 00:18:42,203
I think he's an asshole too,
and I'm gonna be him for you.

319
00:18:42,204 --> 00:18:44,622
You're probably wondering,
"How can a guy smoke

320
00:18:44,623 --> 00:18:45,958
and still sing that good?"

321
00:18:47,501 --> 00:18:48,919
Well, I look at it this way.

322
00:18:53,549 --> 00:18:54,591
Works for me.

323
00:18:54,592 --> 00:18:58,553
So, I was being purposefully an asshole,

324
00:18:58,554 --> 00:18:59,679
and that worked.

325
00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:00,723
Pizza's here.

326
00:19:02,349 --> 00:19:05,561
{\an8}Martin Mull is one of the people
in my life who I've really idolized.

327
00:19:07,146 --> 00:19:11,941
In high school, he comes to Phoenix
to do a show at ASU.

328
00:19:11,942 --> 00:19:13,776
It was a phenomenal show.

329
00:19:13,777 --> 00:19:16,238
I'd like to do a tune right now
that really cooks.

330
00:19:17,573 --> 00:19:20,617
Watching somebody sit
in a big auditorium full of people,

331
00:19:20,618 --> 00:19:23,244
on a living room chair
with a rug and the band...

332
00:19:23,245 --> 00:19:25,581
You're almost like
you got to crash his house.

333
00:19:27,124 --> 00:19:31,336
{\an8}You have to remember...
late '60s, '70s, it was all "rock god."

334
00:19:31,337 --> 00:19:35,841
Long hair, platform shoes, leather pants.

335
00:19:36,467 --> 00:19:37,635
Martin went the other way.

336
00:19:38,761 --> 00:19:40,554
It was low-key.

337
00:19:41,096 --> 00:19:44,766
When you come out, and you sit on a sofa
and light a lamp in low light,

338
00:19:44,767 --> 00:19:48,103
you're already at a low-- slower speed.

339
00:19:49,730 --> 00:19:52,398
I would like to become
dead serious right now

340
00:19:52,399 --> 00:19:54,360
for just about a minute if I can.

341
00:19:58,155 --> 00:20:03,743
{\an8}He was kind of like a substitute teacher,
or a strange friend of your parents.

342
00:20:03,744 --> 00:20:06,872
Like a vacuum salesman on your porch.

343
00:20:07,456 --> 00:20:11,876
{\an8}And the songs, while being funny...
This guy could play.

344
00:20:11,877 --> 00:20:13,628
{\an8}You could tell this guy could play.

345
00:20:13,629 --> 00:20:15,631
Oh!

346
00:20:16,882 --> 00:20:19,217
It just had a combination of

347
00:20:19,218 --> 00:20:21,762
comedy and music to me
that was irresistible.

348
00:20:25,808 --> 00:20:27,518
<i>Do the Nothing</i>

349
00:20:35,109 --> 00:20:36,025
More!

350
00:20:36,026 --> 00:20:37,277
- Oh, boy...
- Marty!

351
00:20:37,278 --> 00:20:38,237
Whoo!

352
00:20:53,127 --> 00:20:55,712
I was just remembering this song that...

353
00:20:55,713 --> 00:20:58,923
The kind of thing
you can't get away with anymore. Um...

354
00:20:58,924 --> 00:21:02,970
It was, uh, "I remember the way
that we walked down the beach

355
00:21:03,470 --> 00:21:06,140
with the wind and the rain in your hair."

356
00:21:07,182 --> 00:21:10,102
"I'll never forget you as long as I live."

357
00:21:11,437 --> 00:21:12,730
"I'll never forget..."

358
00:21:13,939 --> 00:21:15,733
<i>Big Tits Jackson</i>

359
00:21:18,569 --> 00:21:21,821
That was the kind of thing I liked to do,
where you'd set the audience up

360
00:21:21,822 --> 00:21:25,491
and then just throw a pie
right in their face, et cetera, but, uh...

361
00:21:25,492 --> 00:21:26,493
Let me think.

362
00:21:30,039 --> 00:21:31,123
Oh, dear.

363
00:21:32,499 --> 00:21:34,834
- Hey, Martin?
- Steve interview, take one.

364
00:21:34,835 --> 00:21:36,586
Wanna ask if it's okay to call him Marty.

365
00:21:36,587 --> 00:21:37,879
Martin to Marty.

366
00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:42,425
Marty or Martin? I always call him Marty,
but I think maybe he doesn't go by that.

367
00:21:42,426 --> 00:21:45,053
- First, thanks for doing this.
- My pleasure.

368
00:21:45,054 --> 00:21:46,180
Long-time friend.

369
00:21:47,264 --> 00:21:48,431
Not you.

370
00:21:48,432 --> 00:21:50,184
Martin. Yeah.

371
00:21:53,354 --> 00:21:56,481
When I first met him,
I was working a place called

372
00:21:56,482 --> 00:21:59,610
the Great Southeast Music Hall
in Atlanta, Georgia.

373
00:22:00,778 --> 00:22:02,571
Martin Mull was a headliner.

374
00:22:03,155 --> 00:22:05,491
I became a headliner much later on.

375
00:22:06,492 --> 00:22:11,205
So I'm backstage, and he walked by.

376
00:22:11,747 --> 00:22:16,042
When we first met, I remember
being extremely intimidated by you.

377
00:22:16,043 --> 00:22:18,753
I couldn't think of a thing to say to you,
and I just walked by.

378
00:22:18,754 --> 00:22:21,840
- Yeah.
- And you said, "Pretty good, how are you?"

379
00:22:23,467 --> 00:22:26,135
- That's when we became friends.
- We became instant friends.

380
00:22:26,136 --> 00:22:29,264
When we worked together,
we called it <i>The Steve Martin-Mull Show.</i>

381
00:22:32,893 --> 00:22:36,396
When we'd finish our show,
we used to go out into the parking lot...

382
00:22:36,397 --> 00:22:38,064
- That's right.
- ...and play for tips.

383
00:22:38,065 --> 00:22:40,274
- We'd put our hat down on the ground...
- Yeah.

384
00:22:40,275 --> 00:22:43,362
...and we made, like, four or five bucks
or something like that.

385
00:22:46,865 --> 00:22:49,201
We also stayed at the same hotel.

386
00:22:49,993 --> 00:22:54,248
We had all the days free
to just hang out and be funny together.

387
00:22:58,752 --> 00:23:02,922
Even after the tour was over,
you and I kept on being great friends,

388
00:23:02,923 --> 00:23:07,093
and that's when you got a little painting
of mine, I think, called <i>The Mermaphones.</i>

389
00:23:07,094 --> 00:23:09,345
- It was phones with mermaids.
- I was... Yes.

390
00:23:09,346 --> 00:23:11,681
- I just looked at it yesterday.
- Oh, my God.

391
00:23:11,682 --> 00:23:12,932
- You still have it.
- Yeah.

392
00:23:12,933 --> 00:23:15,269
You've gotten some of the best paintings
I've ever done.

393
00:23:18,313 --> 00:23:20,649
When did you discover Martin the painter?

394
00:23:21,150 --> 00:23:23,444
All along. From when I first met Martin.

395
00:23:24,736 --> 00:23:25,988
He painted on cels.

396
00:23:27,573 --> 00:23:29,700
A Disney cel, but they would be big.

397
00:23:31,702 --> 00:23:33,996
When I first saw what he did,

398
00:23:34,580 --> 00:23:36,247
it kind of set me back,

399
00:23:36,248 --> 00:23:40,752
'cause they were surprisingly well done,
and they were always, in some way, funny.

400
00:23:43,464 --> 00:23:47,800
These are <i>The Eagles versus the Browns.</i>
This is a field goal attempt.

401
00:23:47,801 --> 00:23:51,180
I had a chair that I really liked
that I anthropomorphized.

402
00:23:52,222 --> 00:23:55,141
I used this little chair
in so many paintings.

403
00:23:55,142 --> 00:23:57,685
{\an8}I really did love Disney animation,

404
00:23:57,686 --> 00:24:00,229
{\an8}and I thought, "I'm gonna
start painting some things

405
00:24:00,230 --> 00:24:03,275
that look like they were
taken <i>from</i> old movies."

406
00:24:07,237 --> 00:24:12,075
But I never really had what I would call
a significant show of paintings.

407
00:24:12,826 --> 00:24:16,037
I certainly wasn't making money,
money to live on.

408
00:24:16,038 --> 00:24:20,250
No, I still needed show business
very desperately in order to pay the rent.

409
00:24:22,753 --> 00:24:26,255
Well, here's the man
who Martin Mull thinks

410
00:24:26,256 --> 00:24:30,384
is going to be the next
big superstar in country music.

411
00:24:30,385 --> 00:24:32,053
Ladies and gentlemen,

412
00:24:32,054 --> 00:24:33,388
Martin Mull.

413
00:24:36,016 --> 00:24:37,809
Thank you. Thank you.

414
00:24:38,477 --> 00:24:41,896
He was rising, rising, rising.

415
00:24:41,897 --> 00:24:44,190
Please welcome Mr. Martin Mull.

416
00:24:44,191 --> 00:24:46,192
He started to get publicity.

417
00:24:46,193 --> 00:24:48,486
How do you describe your music?

418
00:24:48,487 --> 00:24:50,239
Sort of blond-haired soul.

419
00:24:51,448 --> 00:24:52,824
- The band likes that.
- Yeah.

420
00:24:53,784 --> 00:24:55,994
And then he got a record contract.

421
00:24:57,329 --> 00:25:00,289
Martin had eight comedy albums,

422
00:25:00,290 --> 00:25:03,043
and comedy albums were king in the '70s.

423
00:25:04,503 --> 00:25:07,505
Martin Mull was becoming
a superstar in comedy.

424
00:25:07,506 --> 00:25:11,634
He toured the country, he opened
for the biggest rock acts on the planet.

425
00:25:11,635 --> 00:25:15,513
Beach Boys, Liza Minnelli, Billy Joel...

426
00:25:15,514 --> 00:25:16,973
We opened for Springsteen.

427
00:25:16,974 --> 00:25:20,477
There was no competition.
Big stars knew he was harmless.

428
00:25:21,562 --> 00:25:25,148
{\an8}He'd come on tour with us
in the early days, when we toured America.

429
00:25:25,941 --> 00:25:28,859
And that was much fun
because when he came around,

430
00:25:28,860 --> 00:25:30,529
it was always a huge party.

431
00:25:31,905 --> 00:25:35,658
We were never far
from a beer or a glass of wine or a joint.

432
00:25:35,659 --> 00:25:38,244
You know, I wasn't shooting heroin
and things like that,

433
00:25:38,245 --> 00:25:41,581
but it was sex, drugs
and rock n' roll in the early '70s.

434
00:25:41,582 --> 00:25:43,041
Do the math, you know?

435
00:25:45,127 --> 00:25:48,380
He was a huge star, hugely successful.

436
00:25:49,756 --> 00:25:53,176
Martin Mull was
the absolute top of comedy.

437
00:25:53,885 --> 00:25:55,220
Hello, <i>señoritas</i>.

438
00:25:56,972 --> 00:26:00,266
At a certain point,
my band needed a keyboard player,

439
00:26:00,267 --> 00:26:03,644
and my manager said, "Do you have
anything against women in the band?"

440
00:26:03,645 --> 00:26:04,812
And I said, "No."

441
00:26:04,813 --> 00:26:08,859
It's a meritocracy.
If you can play... you know, you're in.

442
00:26:11,528 --> 00:26:14,530
I heard from his manager,

443
00:26:14,531 --> 00:26:18,451
{\an8}and he said, "Martin's looking
for some female musicians."

444
00:26:18,452 --> 00:26:19,535
Very progressive, Martin Mull.

445
00:26:19,536 --> 00:26:24,999
Yes, he was. Or... horny.
I'm not... I don't know which.

446
00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:27,001
I'd say progressive. That--

447
00:26:27,002 --> 00:26:29,379
I'm sorry, Martin, that wasn't very kind.

448
00:26:32,841 --> 00:26:34,384
I'm from the Bay Area.

449
00:26:34,968 --> 00:26:36,511
I was a studio musician.

450
00:26:37,304 --> 00:26:40,098
I played in a lot of funky old bands.

451
00:26:41,475 --> 00:26:44,645
I did some stuff with Santana,
'cause I lived with the drummer.

452
00:26:45,479 --> 00:26:47,813
I went on the road with Alice Cooper.

453
00:26:47,814 --> 00:26:51,151
I was under contract with him
for about two and a half years,

454
00:26:51,818 --> 00:26:56,323
and then I worked with Azteca,
which was 17 men... and me.

455
00:26:56,823 --> 00:26:59,033
There was a group called Freudian Slips.

456
00:26:59,034 --> 00:27:01,702
They were the <i>first</i> female group I was in.

457
00:27:01,703 --> 00:27:06,582
When I was with Freudian Slips,
we used to work with Janis Joplin.

458
00:27:06,583 --> 00:27:10,795
We were in <i>Life Magazine.</i>
We thought we had made it.

459
00:27:10,796 --> 00:27:13,048
We stunk. We were horrible.

460
00:27:14,007 --> 00:27:17,051
So I decided to take my VW bus,

461
00:27:17,052 --> 00:27:19,720
pack my B3 in the back,

462
00:27:19,721 --> 00:27:21,806
and I drove down to LA.

463
00:27:21,807 --> 00:27:23,474
That's when I met Martin.

464
00:27:23,475 --> 00:27:26,310
He hired a drummer.

465
00:27:26,311 --> 00:27:27,979
And myself as keyboard.

466
00:27:29,106 --> 00:27:34,902
When I started rehearsing with him,
he was living in Malibu.

467
00:27:34,903 --> 00:27:39,491
I did like him, but he was in
a relationship at the time when I met him.

468
00:27:40,242 --> 00:27:43,077
So, we just became really good friends.

469
00:27:43,078 --> 00:27:46,748
We went on the road together.
We did all the clubs.

470
00:27:47,290 --> 00:27:49,501
Oh, he was... he was ambitious.

471
00:27:50,001 --> 00:27:53,087
He was definitely trying
to make a name for himself.

472
00:27:53,088 --> 00:27:55,298
{\an8}Thank you.

473
00:27:55,882 --> 00:27:58,885
Ever since Soop,
Martin and I did a lot of gigs together.

474
00:28:00,721 --> 00:28:02,848
But the Roxy was really big.

475
00:28:04,558 --> 00:28:06,016
And this was his idea.

476
00:28:06,017 --> 00:28:09,186
He bought every ticket in the Roxy,

477
00:28:09,187 --> 00:28:10,647
and he filled it with...

478
00:28:11,523 --> 00:28:13,065
{\an8}movie people.

479
00:28:13,066 --> 00:28:15,025
{\an8}Everybody was there,

480
00:28:15,026 --> 00:28:16,777
and we did our show for them.

481
00:28:16,778 --> 00:28:19,614
<i>La la la la la</i>

482
00:28:22,159 --> 00:28:24,244
<i>La la la la la</i>

483
00:28:25,871 --> 00:28:32,877
When I first saw him perform at the Roxy,
I saw such an unusual talent.

484
00:28:32,878 --> 00:28:35,379
<i>What a lovely night it's been</i>

485
00:28:35,380 --> 00:28:36,381
English!

486
00:28:37,799 --> 00:28:40,093
<i>It's too bad it has to end</i>

487
00:28:40,677 --> 00:28:42,678
He's wickedly smart.

488
00:28:42,679 --> 00:28:45,264
<i>Won't you give me a little kiss?</i>

489
00:28:45,265 --> 00:28:50,187
{\an8}But there was never anger
or hostility in his sarcasm.

490
00:28:51,354 --> 00:28:53,815
<i>It's so hard to say au revoir</i>

491
00:28:54,941 --> 00:28:57,652
<i>So let's just say hors d'oeuvres</i>

492
00:29:01,198 --> 00:29:05,326
As a showrunner,
I can say that Norman Lear, in many ways,

493
00:29:05,327 --> 00:29:07,536
was the father of television comedy.

494
00:29:07,537 --> 00:29:10,289
{\an8}He dominated television
with all of his shows

495
00:29:10,290 --> 00:29:11,916
{\an8}that he created and produced.

496
00:29:11,917 --> 00:29:15,419
<i>The Jeffersons. Good Times.</i>

497
00:29:15,420 --> 00:29:17,589
Most famously, <i>All in the Family.</i>

498
00:29:18,298 --> 00:29:21,926
Like, he was kind of a celebrity.
He was on the cover of magazines.

499
00:29:21,927 --> 00:29:26,013
So, for him to look at Martin Mull
and appreciate him

500
00:29:26,014 --> 00:29:28,809
could very much be
a big boost to his career.

501
00:29:31,561 --> 00:29:33,230
After the show was over...

502
00:29:34,523 --> 00:29:36,525
...I went in and met with Norman...

503
00:29:39,486 --> 00:29:41,570
Mwah! My dear friend.

504
00:29:41,571 --> 00:29:43,698
My dearer friend!

505
00:29:45,116 --> 00:29:48,369
I remember it very clearly.
I went in and had a meeting with you.

506
00:29:48,370 --> 00:29:51,872
I had been on the road as a traveling
musician, and I wanted to get off,

507
00:29:51,873 --> 00:29:54,667
and you and I talked for a good hour,

508
00:29:54,668 --> 00:29:58,547
had a lovely chat, at the end of which
you said, "I have an idea."

509
00:30:00,048 --> 00:30:03,676
Tonight from Fernwood! Fernwood 2 Night!

510
00:30:03,677 --> 00:30:08,472
You made a small-town version
of public access television.

511
00:30:08,473 --> 00:30:09,307
Yep.

512
00:30:09,891 --> 00:30:12,142
I said, "Wouldn't it be funny

513
00:30:12,143 --> 00:30:16,022
if a couple of men were
doing a late night talk show?"

514
00:30:16,690 --> 00:30:20,068
Except... it happens in Fernwood, Ohio.

515
00:30:21,695 --> 00:30:24,363
Our first guest is a man
familiar to everyone in Fernwood.

516
00:30:24,364 --> 00:30:26,323
He was the former postmaster here...

517
00:30:26,324 --> 00:30:28,409
Please welcome Mr. Rock Mondo.

518
00:30:28,410 --> 00:30:31,453
Let's get together and welcome
the body language of April McTear.

519
00:30:31,454 --> 00:30:34,373
Tonight,
Barth's guest will be Penny Dunbar,

520
00:30:34,374 --> 00:30:36,209
Fernwood's answer to Romania.

521
00:30:38,461 --> 00:30:40,129
That was an amazing show.

522
00:30:40,130 --> 00:30:41,297
Thank you.

523
00:30:41,298 --> 00:30:44,926
That was absolutely pivotal
in terms of my life.

524
00:30:46,136 --> 00:30:48,262
And me, I'm Jerry Hubbard.

525
00:30:48,263 --> 00:30:52,058
And now here's your host and mine,
Mr. Barth Gimble.

526
00:30:52,726 --> 00:30:57,146
We wanted to make it sound
like a real talk show from Fernwood, Ohio.

527
00:30:57,147 --> 00:30:59,356
{\an8}So people thought they were
really watching a show,

528
00:30:59,357 --> 00:31:01,859
{\an8}and let the comedy come out realistically.

529
00:31:01,860 --> 00:31:02,943
Didn't mean to interrupt.

530
00:31:02,944 --> 00:31:05,112
Every time I sit down,
you have to stop your monologue.

531
00:31:05,113 --> 00:31:07,489
And I feel so silly
'cause it kinda breaks the flow.

532
00:31:07,490 --> 00:31:10,452
And you really had a nice,
uh... nice roll going, as they say.

533
00:31:11,661 --> 00:31:14,955
I'd never met Fred Willard,
and it was just absolute kismet.

534
00:31:14,956 --> 00:31:16,582
I mean, he's amazing.

535
00:31:16,583 --> 00:31:21,003
Acting with him is like following someone
who refuses to use their turn signals.

536
00:31:21,004 --> 00:31:23,423
You never know where Fred's going.

537
00:31:26,051 --> 00:31:27,968
- We go back a bit.
- Yes.

538
00:31:27,969 --> 00:31:29,553
I'm trying to remember,

539
00:31:29,554 --> 00:31:32,139
when we did <i>Fernwood 2 Night...</i>

540
00:31:32,140 --> 00:31:34,266
- You remember that?
- Was I on that?

541
00:31:34,267 --> 00:31:35,809
- Yeah, you were.
- Oh-ho...

542
00:31:35,810 --> 00:31:38,354
Part of it was
to try to crack the other up a bit.

543
00:31:38,355 --> 00:31:40,649
- 'Cause we both played it very deadpan.
- Yes.

544
00:31:41,232 --> 00:31:45,194
I remember once we had somebody there
that was a war hero from World War II.

545
00:31:45,195 --> 00:31:48,072
World War II...
You know, it's funny, back then, uh...

546
00:31:48,073 --> 00:31:49,782
it was legal to kill a German,

547
00:31:49,783 --> 00:31:53,370
but boy, if you kill one now,
all hell breaks loose.

548
00:31:57,374 --> 00:31:59,458
Jerry, there's no war now.

549
00:31:59,459 --> 00:32:01,294
Guess not. Who wants to go to jail?

550
00:32:02,545 --> 00:32:06,549
{\an8}The very first episode,
it was absurd and treated seriously.

551
00:32:07,342 --> 00:32:11,595
Many Fernwooders or Fernwoodians
have actually never seen

552
00:32:11,596 --> 00:32:13,765
a real live Jew before, and, um...

553
00:32:14,349 --> 00:32:16,517
You look just like the rest of us.

554
00:32:16,518 --> 00:32:18,812
It's as plain as the nose on your face.

555
00:32:19,980 --> 00:32:23,482
It was mind-blowing.
This was... adults acting silly.

556
00:32:23,483 --> 00:32:27,152
But with a ringmaster in the middle
who was kind of put off by it

557
00:32:27,153 --> 00:32:28,988
and able to comment on it

558
00:32:28,989 --> 00:32:31,031
and set it up to make it more absurd.

559
00:32:31,032 --> 00:32:34,201
Hello, "Talk to a Jew." You're on air.

560
00:32:34,202 --> 00:32:37,705
It was really <i>Fernwood 2 Night</i>
made him the legend that he became

561
00:32:37,706 --> 00:32:39,331
in the comedy circles.

562
00:32:39,332 --> 00:32:40,833
What've you been discussing lately?

563
00:32:40,834 --> 00:32:42,084
Gynecology.

564
00:32:42,085 --> 00:32:43,585
Oh, boy.

565
00:32:43,586 --> 00:32:46,046
That is a fascinating area.

566
00:32:46,047 --> 00:32:48,590
And Fred Willard was hilarious.

567
00:32:48,591 --> 00:32:50,300
What area is that?

568
00:32:50,301 --> 00:32:52,302
Gynecology.

569
00:32:52,303 --> 00:32:56,473
One was a fool and one was suave,
but they were both idiots, you know?

570
00:32:56,474 --> 00:32:59,477
Have they, uh, ever come up
with a cure for that?

571
00:33:01,646 --> 00:33:05,733
{\an8}<i>Fernwood 2 Night</i> was very ahead of
its time... the idea of a fake talk show...

572
00:33:05,734 --> 00:33:09,194
{\an8}I mean, that's what they did later
with <i>The Colbert Report,</i>

573
00:33:09,195 --> 00:33:10,988
with <i>Space Ghost Coast to Coast.</i>

574
00:33:10,989 --> 00:33:14,659
<i>Larry Sanders.</i> Like, he predated
<i>Larry Sanders</i> by ten, 15 years.

575
00:33:15,410 --> 00:33:19,038
Even before there was
<i>Spinal Tap,</i> he basically created

576
00:33:19,039 --> 00:33:21,206
the idea of a mockumentary

577
00:33:21,207 --> 00:33:24,501
where the whole thing was fake and crazy.

578
00:33:24,502 --> 00:33:27,630
I was, um, violated with a beam of light.

579
00:33:28,298 --> 00:33:32,051
Could you actually call it a violation
if it was simply a beam of light?

580
00:33:32,052 --> 00:33:36,181
Of course it was a violation,
if the light goes where he shined it.

581
00:33:39,184 --> 00:33:40,018
Okay.

582
00:33:42,645 --> 00:33:45,440
The show
wasn't meant to be a teaching tool.

583
00:33:46,066 --> 00:33:47,524
But it did, and it does.

584
00:33:47,525 --> 00:33:50,444
If we can all laugh at that...
"Wait. Why are we laughing?"

585
00:33:50,445 --> 00:33:52,571
"Because you shouldn't behave that way."

586
00:33:52,572 --> 00:33:56,117
Our next guest is an American Indian
from the Chenectaw tribe.

587
00:33:56,910 --> 00:33:59,078
My gosh, you look very authentic.

588
00:33:59,079 --> 00:34:02,331
So many of the, I guess,
the modern Indians, especially the girls,

589
00:34:02,332 --> 00:34:06,086
they wear those saris
and a little red dot on their foreheads.

590
00:34:09,297 --> 00:34:12,341
{\an8}The point about comedy
is shedding light and truth

591
00:34:12,342 --> 00:34:14,676
{\an8}into areas where
people are scared to talk.

592
00:34:14,677 --> 00:34:17,472
And sometimes the people
that you think you're going to offend

593
00:34:18,306 --> 00:34:20,349
- are the ones that like it the most.
- Always.

594
00:34:20,350 --> 00:34:23,435
Been a lot of talk all over the country
about the overabundance

595
00:34:23,436 --> 00:34:25,771
of pornography that's been
in our communities.

596
00:34:25,772 --> 00:34:28,691
- Isn't that something?
- Isn't it terrible? Or maybe it isn't.

597
00:34:29,359 --> 00:34:32,903
We weren't getting away with anything.
We did what we did.

598
00:34:32,904 --> 00:34:35,280
- Yeah.
- And everything we talked about

599
00:34:35,281 --> 00:34:38,867
was something that could have
taken place on a street corner.

600
00:34:38,868 --> 00:34:42,955
It helps and gives new hope
to our Deaf citizens in Fernwood.

601
00:34:42,956 --> 00:34:44,958
- They'll be glad to hear that.
- Yes, yes.

602
00:34:47,043 --> 00:34:51,213
I don't think any person would look at
any of those things, even today, and say,

603
00:34:51,214 --> 00:34:52,881
"No, wait, that's inappropriate."

604
00:34:52,882 --> 00:34:54,758
Debbie, would you... stand up?

605
00:34:54,759 --> 00:34:55,801
Here...

606
00:34:55,802 --> 00:34:57,470
- Okay.
- Can you bend over, please?

607
00:35:00,140 --> 00:35:02,809
It was brand new. He was just
taking it to a whole other level.

608
00:35:03,393 --> 00:35:06,479
And as far as whether it offended people...

609
00:35:07,772 --> 00:35:09,982
I simply don't give a fuck.

610
00:35:09,983 --> 00:35:10,984
Not the slightest.

611
00:35:12,819 --> 00:35:15,612
I thought, "We're just
doing the show and having fun."

612
00:35:15,613 --> 00:35:16,530
Yeah.

613
00:35:16,531 --> 00:35:20,701
And I was in Chicago,
and my wife and I got into a cab,

614
00:35:20,702 --> 00:35:23,871
and the guy turned around and says,
"You're Jerry Hubbard, aren't you?"

615
00:35:23,872 --> 00:35:26,290
I said, "What?"
He said, "I recognize your voice."

616
00:35:26,291 --> 00:35:29,293
That's when I came back
and went into the producer's office

617
00:35:29,294 --> 00:35:31,336
and said, "This show is very popular."

618
00:35:31,337 --> 00:35:33,339
They said, "Oh, no, we know it is."

619
00:35:35,508 --> 00:35:38,760
I had my mother as a guest.
She came on and played a librarian.

620
00:35:38,761 --> 00:35:42,849
Please welcome, from the Fernwood
Public Library, Miss Janice Graham.

621
00:35:45,268 --> 00:35:48,270
I asked if she'd want to be on.
"Oh! Oh! Oh!"

622
00:35:48,271 --> 00:35:49,521
"Oh! Oh!"

623
00:35:49,522 --> 00:35:51,690
You don't need to whisper.

624
00:35:51,691 --> 00:35:53,775
- I know, it must be a habit.
- Of course.

625
00:35:53,776 --> 00:35:56,111
Now, I understand, um...

626
00:35:56,112 --> 00:35:58,822
I understand you've compiled
quite a list of Ohio natives

627
00:35:58,823 --> 00:36:00,782
who've made their mark in the world, and...

628
00:36:00,783 --> 00:36:02,701
I'm kind of curious. I think we all are.

629
00:36:02,702 --> 00:36:04,913
- Who are some of these famous people?
- Yes.

630
00:36:05,496 --> 00:36:06,955
Warren G. Harding.

631
00:36:06,956 --> 00:36:09,082
- I'll be darned.
- Say, you know, he was--

632
00:36:09,083 --> 00:36:11,376
- Keefe Brasselle.
- Mm-hmm...

633
00:36:11,377 --> 00:36:13,378
- You know--
- Danny Thomas.

634
00:36:13,379 --> 00:36:15,631
- Is Danny Thomas--
- Paul Lynde.

635
00:36:15,632 --> 00:36:17,758
- That name doesn't--
- Johnny Appleseed.

636
00:36:17,759 --> 00:36:19,968
Okay, well, this is fantastic. Uh...

637
00:36:19,969 --> 00:36:21,511
- Bob Hope.
- Mm-hmm.

638
00:36:21,512 --> 00:36:24,474
Do you remember how you were
whispering before? That might...

639
00:36:25,058 --> 00:36:27,184
Could you possibly just, uh...

640
00:36:27,185 --> 00:36:32,982
My mother was just thrilled to have...
your son grow up to be a television star.

641
00:36:33,816 --> 00:36:36,236
This is the album she made for Martin.

642
00:36:36,945 --> 00:36:38,988
All these articles about him.

643
00:36:43,660 --> 00:36:46,621
She was very proud of him,
very supportive.

644
00:36:49,165 --> 00:36:51,583
My father came to a show once.

645
00:36:51,584 --> 00:36:54,796
And I remember that
it wasn't a terribly fun night.

646
00:36:57,173 --> 00:37:00,343
It was always such a struggle for Martin

647
00:37:00,927 --> 00:37:03,012
whenever his father was around.

648
00:37:04,389 --> 00:37:09,060
There was such competition
with he and his father, in an odd way.

649
00:37:09,686 --> 00:37:11,354
That's what I saw.

650
00:37:12,230 --> 00:37:14,816
I think his father was envious of Martin.

651
00:37:16,359 --> 00:37:19,404
By not getting
any recognition from his father,

652
00:37:20,655 --> 00:37:22,364
he got it from other people.

653
00:37:22,365 --> 00:37:24,158
Thank you. Wow.

654
00:37:24,993 --> 00:37:27,620
Maybe that's what drove him
to be an entertainer.

655
00:37:28,204 --> 00:37:29,998
Thank you very, very much.

656
00:37:32,166 --> 00:37:34,918
When <i>Fernwood</i> hit,
you were still performing.

657
00:37:34,919 --> 00:37:38,839
- Yes.
- I'd assume that your audience exploded.

658
00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:42,592
Once <i>Fernwood 2 Night</i> was on,
yeah, the concert audience grew.

659
00:37:42,593 --> 00:37:45,430
I was playing some pretty big places.

660
00:37:46,264 --> 00:37:50,017
I still have my furniture on stage,
my EasyChair, my ashtray.

661
00:37:50,018 --> 00:37:53,855
I always, at that time,
had at least that many fingers of scotch.

662
00:37:54,814 --> 00:37:56,232
Time for another break.

663
00:37:56,816 --> 00:37:58,483
Ooh. Hear that?

664
00:37:58,484 --> 00:38:01,696
Sounds like a Latin band, doesn't it?

665
00:38:02,739 --> 00:38:03,947
I got real good at it.

666
00:38:03,948 --> 00:38:07,743
I found that a quart of scotch could take
the edge off even the most troubling day.

667
00:38:07,744 --> 00:38:09,995
- The road does that to a lot of people.
- Oh, yeah.

668
00:38:09,996 --> 00:38:11,706
The road giveth and the road taketh away.

669
00:38:13,916 --> 00:38:16,460
He could drink all day
and still go on stage.

670
00:38:16,461 --> 00:38:19,087
How many of you have
ever stopped to think that man

671
00:38:19,088 --> 00:38:21,631
is the only animal

672
00:38:21,632 --> 00:38:23,801
that eats the ice in his drink?

673
00:38:25,553 --> 00:38:27,304
He loved his booze.

674
00:38:27,305 --> 00:38:29,724
I mean, if you look at those,
he is hammered.

675
00:38:30,933 --> 00:38:32,393
It was a persona.

676
00:38:32,894 --> 00:38:35,229
And he played it well. He did it well.

677
00:38:35,813 --> 00:38:38,024
It's how he coped.

678
00:38:39,317 --> 00:38:43,988
There was a romantic quality
to the smoker-drinker artist.

679
00:38:44,572 --> 00:38:47,616
And it just seemed like
it was part of the makeup.

680
00:38:47,617 --> 00:38:48,951
Part of your costume.

681
00:38:49,952 --> 00:38:54,164
I'm not going out there alone.
I'm gonna have my drink and my cigarette.

682
00:38:54,165 --> 00:38:57,210
And so what happens is
the booze starts to take over.

683
00:38:58,378 --> 00:39:02,423
And around then, he became totally
enamored of this woman, Sandra Baker.

684
00:39:03,257 --> 00:39:06,510
She was the costume designer on a show,
and she was fitting me for suits.

685
00:39:06,511 --> 00:39:08,720
Well, it really works.

686
00:39:08,721 --> 00:39:10,515
Yeah, I think so. They fit great.

687
00:39:12,058 --> 00:39:13,810
They decided to get married.

688
00:39:14,394 --> 00:39:16,604
And we knew this was a horrible match.

689
00:39:17,230 --> 00:39:20,857
He had a bachelor's night, and he said,
"You know, what do you guys think?"

690
00:39:20,858 --> 00:39:23,068
And nobody would speak out.

691
00:39:23,069 --> 00:39:26,780
Nobody would say anything like,
"This isn't the best idea, Martin."

692
00:39:26,781 --> 00:39:30,076
But because Martin,
when he falls in love, he falls in love.

693
00:39:31,828 --> 00:39:34,247
And it was miserable in this marriage.

694
00:39:34,831 --> 00:39:37,917
{\an8}But Martin really was
doing well professionally.

695
00:39:38,918 --> 00:39:40,128
{\an8}He made a movie,

696
00:39:40,711 --> 00:39:43,423
{\an8}and Martin and the female star
became an item.

697
00:39:44,215 --> 00:39:48,553
That's the only time
I think Martin stepped out on a marriage.

698
00:39:49,720 --> 00:39:52,056
When Sandra found out about it,

699
00:39:52,557 --> 00:39:54,475
she wanted a divorce.

700
00:39:56,310 --> 00:39:57,937
After his marriage broke up...

701
00:39:59,439 --> 00:40:01,190
that was serious drinking.

702
00:40:04,861 --> 00:40:06,528
And all during that time,

703
00:40:06,529 --> 00:40:10,031
were you on a hiatus from painting,
or were you painting as well?

704
00:40:10,032 --> 00:40:11,075
I was painting.

705
00:40:12,243 --> 00:40:13,077
Never stopped.

706
00:40:13,703 --> 00:40:17,582
Even when I was on <i>Fernwood 2 Night,</i>
I would take my watercolors with me.

707
00:40:18,916 --> 00:40:22,003
And as much as I was
earning my living from the other...

708
00:40:22,503 --> 00:40:25,882
painting always seemed to me
to be job one.

709
00:40:27,175 --> 00:40:29,718
And that was kind of
a tricky thing to balance,

710
00:40:29,719 --> 00:40:34,056
because I think I was pretty much
what they call a functioning alcoholic.

711
00:40:34,640 --> 00:40:36,392
It was just habitual.

712
00:40:36,976 --> 00:40:41,731
In fact, I was still drinking scotch
when I did this painting here.

713
00:40:42,482 --> 00:40:46,277
This is an airbrush painting of
our dog Lucky, who we miss terribly.

714
00:40:47,361 --> 00:40:49,447
But this was all done spraying.

715
00:40:56,496 --> 00:41:00,415
You have distinct phases in your art.

716
00:41:00,416 --> 00:41:01,708
True.

717
00:41:01,709 --> 00:41:04,085
One is the painting on cels.

718
00:41:04,086 --> 00:41:06,464
- Right.
- Then you have photorealism.

719
00:41:07,256 --> 00:41:10,134
- Right.
- And I have a couple of those.

720
00:41:10,760 --> 00:41:16,348
One of the reasons I was doing these
incredibly intricate photo-real things

721
00:41:16,349 --> 00:41:18,266
was to prove I'm not drunk.

722
00:41:18,267 --> 00:41:21,520
- Right.
- You can't do that and be drunk.

723
00:41:21,521 --> 00:41:22,438
No, no, no.

724
00:41:24,273 --> 00:41:26,650
Once I started doing
the airbrush paintings,

725
00:41:26,651 --> 00:41:29,611
I would start to sell
just a little bit more,

726
00:41:29,612 --> 00:41:32,739
but it certainly wasn't a huge moneymaker.

727
00:41:32,740 --> 00:41:35,576
And yet I could do what I wanted to do

728
00:41:36,118 --> 00:41:40,247
because I had this other golden goose
that was laying eggs for me.

729
00:41:40,248 --> 00:41:42,123
Would you welcome Martin Mull.

730
00:41:42,124 --> 00:41:43,918
Martin Mull!

731
00:41:46,712 --> 00:41:50,340
Do you consider yourself an entertainer
who paints or a painter who entertains?

732
00:41:50,341 --> 00:41:52,300
Great question. Gee, that's terrific.

733
00:41:52,301 --> 00:41:54,595
Well, um, I'll answer both of you. Uh...

734
00:41:56,347 --> 00:41:59,599
More of a painter
who does the entertainment industry.

735
00:41:59,600 --> 00:42:00,517
I see.

736
00:42:00,518 --> 00:42:04,271
So many appearances you made
on the <i>Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.</i>

737
00:42:04,272 --> 00:42:09,568
And he was very proud of saying
he's a great actor, he's a great comedian,

738
00:42:09,569 --> 00:42:11,778
um, and he's also a great artist.

739
00:42:11,779 --> 00:42:13,613
What price range would we be discussing?

740
00:42:13,614 --> 00:42:18,160
A really good friend getting a great deal,
at about five to $6,000 apiece.

741
00:42:20,329 --> 00:42:22,415
Suppose I don't want a background.

742
00:42:26,210 --> 00:42:30,130
Watching the Carson appearances,
he always asked Martin about his art,

743
00:42:30,131 --> 00:42:33,092
and I think he's the only one
who always asked about it.

744
00:42:34,635 --> 00:42:36,344
Carson really loved being a drummer,

745
00:42:36,345 --> 00:42:39,973
{\an8}and because he became Johnny Carson,
he didn't get to drum very much.

746
00:42:39,974 --> 00:42:43,685
{\an8}I think he understood what it's like
to have these two passions.

747
00:42:43,686 --> 00:42:46,396
No sky and no background, and one coat.

748
00:42:46,397 --> 00:42:48,148
Well, I got...

749
00:42:48,149 --> 00:42:50,817
Johnny Carson was just so supportive,

750
00:42:50,818 --> 00:42:53,987
and I ultimately
was actually asked to guest host,

751
00:42:53,988 --> 00:42:55,740
which is a terrifying moment.

752
00:42:57,033 --> 00:42:58,241
Nothing was worse than when

753
00:42:58,242 --> 00:43:00,910
you're standing backstage
at <i>The Tonight Show</i> and you hear,

754
00:43:00,911 --> 00:43:04,247
- And now, here's...
- "And now, here's..."

755
00:43:04,248 --> 00:43:06,374
There's one word that follows.

756
00:43:06,375 --> 00:43:07,376
- Johnny!
- Johnny!

757
00:43:09,629 --> 00:43:11,379
And when you hear, "Here's..."

758
00:43:11,380 --> 00:43:13,591
Here's Martin Mull!

759
00:43:14,175 --> 00:43:16,344
It sounds so wrong.

760
00:43:19,013 --> 00:43:22,599
You think there's been
this big fuck-up in the cosmos.

761
00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:24,184
Everything is wrong.

762
00:43:24,185 --> 00:43:28,730
I want my mom just in case
I literally or figuratively shit my pants.

763
00:43:28,731 --> 00:43:30,940
Thank you, thank you!

764
00:43:30,941 --> 00:43:34,737
But I went out there, stood
on that friggin' star, and did my job.

765
00:43:35,321 --> 00:43:36,696
I got through it.

766
00:43:36,697 --> 00:43:39,991
The people here at NBC
have decided to bestow upon me

767
00:43:39,992 --> 00:43:43,536
one of the highest honors
I think our industry has to offer.

768
00:43:43,537 --> 00:43:45,330
The right to host <i>The Tonight Show</i>

769
00:43:45,331 --> 00:43:46,457
for $300.

770
00:43:48,709 --> 00:43:52,379
Johnny's guest host tonight
is Martin Mull.

771
00:43:52,380 --> 00:43:54,047
To host <i>The Tonight Show</i>

772
00:43:54,048 --> 00:43:57,425
and all the different personalities
and different people coming at you,

773
00:43:57,426 --> 00:43:59,678
and then you have to have a response.

774
00:43:59,679 --> 00:44:01,680
He was a nervous wreck.

775
00:44:01,681 --> 00:44:03,807
That's why he drank, probably.

776
00:44:03,808 --> 00:44:05,684
Do you do anything you don't want to do?

777
00:44:05,685 --> 00:44:07,769
I don't exercise. I don't believe in it.

778
00:44:07,770 --> 00:44:09,062
I've tried jogging,

779
00:44:09,063 --> 00:44:12,066
and the ice flies out of your drink,
and it's ridiculous.

780
00:44:13,401 --> 00:44:17,445
<i>The Tonight Show</i> was
the launch pad for comedians.

781
00:44:17,446 --> 00:44:18,864
Period. That was it.

782
00:44:19,907 --> 00:44:20,990
Thank you!

783
00:44:20,991 --> 00:44:23,034
I remember him being a guest, but I never...

784
00:44:23,035 --> 00:44:24,786
- He guest hosted <i>The Tonight Show?</i>
- Yeah.

785
00:44:24,787 --> 00:44:26,121
Over 30 times.

786
00:44:26,122 --> 00:44:27,205
But wait a minute.

787
00:44:27,206 --> 00:44:31,209
Because his whole thing was
making fun of the talk show format.

788
00:44:31,210 --> 00:44:32,503
How did that go?

789
00:44:33,087 --> 00:44:35,296
A new fad was developing in this country.

790
00:44:35,297 --> 00:44:37,717
It's called a wet T-shirt contest.

791
00:44:38,592 --> 00:44:42,804
It's in no way intended
to sponsor prurient interest or to...

792
00:44:42,805 --> 00:44:45,975
I was gonna say "titillate the audience."
I don't think that's the...

793
00:44:46,559 --> 00:44:50,437
- One, two...
- One, two, three!

794
00:44:50,438 --> 00:44:52,731
All right.
Would you choose a wet T-shirt, please?

795
00:44:52,732 --> 00:44:53,816
- Here we go.
- Okay.

796
00:44:54,608 --> 00:44:58,486
There's one. Now we're gonna wring
that one out in here, see how wet it is.

797
00:44:58,487 --> 00:44:59,529
Okay!

798
00:44:59,530 --> 00:45:01,573
Do you have him
when he plays with B.B. King?

799
00:45:01,574 --> 00:45:02,532
Oh, my God.

800
00:45:02,533 --> 00:45:06,494
I'm sitting with B.B. King, I'm absolutely
as nervous as a small young bird

801
00:45:06,495 --> 00:45:09,080
because this is
one of the giants in my life.

802
00:45:09,081 --> 00:45:11,332
One other question.
Can we play a tune together?

803
00:45:11,333 --> 00:45:13,169
- I'd like to do that.
- Okay, let's do it.

804
00:45:14,920 --> 00:45:20,134
I think it's the ballsiest move ever,
to play on television with B.B. King.

805
00:45:28,726 --> 00:45:31,102
You always feel like
this little snot-nosed kid

806
00:45:31,103 --> 00:45:33,646
next to these people that
really know what they're doing.

807
00:45:33,647 --> 00:45:35,483
You had to be on top of your game.

808
00:45:40,321 --> 00:45:43,699
You cannot do higher
than hosting <i>The Tonight Show.</i>

809
00:45:44,742 --> 00:45:45,993
But Martin Mull...

810
00:45:46,702 --> 00:45:51,123
He was a hugely successful comedy star
and wanted to be a painter.

811
00:45:53,375 --> 00:45:58,005
So he was just in the wrong place
in kind of a beautiful way.

812
00:46:09,600 --> 00:46:12,352
I think <i>The Tonight Show</i>
was a very big deal.

813
00:46:12,353 --> 00:46:14,939
You reach an awful lot of people
with a show like that.

814
00:46:15,564 --> 00:46:19,735
And so that just started a snowball effect
that was quite amazing.

815
00:46:20,236 --> 00:46:22,905
- All of a sudden, work starts pouring in.
- Yeah.

816
00:46:23,572 --> 00:46:25,533
Oh, Lord, Mommy.

817
00:46:28,327 --> 00:46:31,162
Let me tell you what we have so far.
We have a script.

818
00:46:31,163 --> 00:46:32,247
You can count me in.

819
00:46:32,248 --> 00:46:33,582
But not a particularly good one.

820
00:46:34,166 --> 00:46:35,667
You will like this film.

821
00:46:35,668 --> 00:46:38,878
It just doesn't have any, um... guts.

822
00:46:38,879 --> 00:46:42,173
- You were in many films and TV shows.
- Yeah.

823
00:46:42,174 --> 00:46:45,802
{\an8}Oh, come on. Nobody takes it seriously.
It's just good, clean fun.

824
00:46:45,803 --> 00:46:47,720
{\an8}- Many.
- He's dead.

825
00:46:47,721 --> 00:46:48,764
{\an8}He is?

826
00:46:49,807 --> 00:46:51,725
{\an8}Yes. I have a resume.

827
00:46:52,309 --> 00:46:53,936
{\an8}And the service was...

828
00:46:54,937 --> 00:46:55,854
{\an8}adequate.

829
00:46:55,855 --> 00:46:57,856
You played an asshole a lot.

830
00:46:57,857 --> 00:46:59,107
{\an8}What?

831
00:46:59,108 --> 00:47:00,775
{\an8}Why do you think that is?

832
00:47:00,776 --> 00:47:03,570
That came really out of my stage act,

833
00:47:03,571 --> 00:47:06,823
that that persona was a bit of a butthole.

834
00:47:06,824 --> 00:47:09,827
So when roles like that came along,
they go, "I know the guy."

835
00:47:13,038 --> 00:47:16,000
{\an8}But it never says "asshole" on the check.

836
00:47:16,709 --> 00:47:18,586
That is how I made all my money.

837
00:47:19,461 --> 00:47:21,963
That does not make me a murderer!

838
00:47:21,964 --> 00:47:25,675
But <i>Clue,</i> for instance,
came and went in a breath,

839
00:47:25,676 --> 00:47:29,220
and then later on has experienced
some kind of resurgence,

840
00:47:29,221 --> 00:47:31,180
that people like that movie now.

841
00:47:31,181 --> 00:47:34,559
How did you know Col. Mustard works
in Washington? Is he one of your clients?

842
00:47:34,560 --> 00:47:35,852
Certainly not.

843
00:47:35,853 --> 00:47:39,439
{\an8}He always did his homework to make
this movie, talking a mile a minute,

844
00:47:39,440 --> 00:47:42,442
{\an8}and figuring things out,
setting a joke up to do that gag.

845
00:47:42,443 --> 00:47:45,779
All that stuff. He knew what he was doing,
and he's very funny in the film.

846
00:47:46,697 --> 00:47:49,198
He was that dude, when he would pop up...

847
00:47:49,199 --> 00:47:50,658
Well, hello down there.

848
00:47:50,659 --> 00:47:52,577
...it was always a pleasant surprise.

849
00:47:52,578 --> 00:47:53,620
Want a beer?

850
00:47:53,621 --> 00:47:55,039
It's seven o'clock in the morning.

851
00:47:55,998 --> 00:47:58,083
He always makes it better.

852
00:47:59,585 --> 00:48:01,669
{\an8}I worked with him on <i>Ski Patrol.</i>

853
00:48:01,670 --> 00:48:04,839
I'm stuck on a goddamn runaway weenie!

854
00:48:04,840 --> 00:48:05,840
Hey!

855
00:48:05,841 --> 00:48:10,094
I would talk to him, and he'd say to me,
"I only do this to... so that I can paint."

856
00:48:10,095 --> 00:48:11,305
I was like, "Wait, what?"

857
00:48:13,140 --> 00:48:16,768
In my heart, there was a great divide

858
00:48:16,769 --> 00:48:20,647
between that which I did
to put a roof over our heads,

859
00:48:20,648 --> 00:48:22,690
i.e. television and movies,

860
00:48:22,691 --> 00:48:23,733
and my painting.

861
00:48:23,734 --> 00:48:26,320
One is one hat,
and the other is the other hat.

862
00:48:27,988 --> 00:48:30,615
They're all separate lives, in a way,

863
00:48:30,616 --> 00:48:32,618
each one with its own identity.

864
00:48:33,744 --> 00:48:35,662
And I felt schizophrenic.

865
00:48:35,663 --> 00:48:39,040
Oh, yeah, make no doubt about it,
I am schizophrenic, but it's, um...

866
00:48:39,041 --> 00:48:40,833
I think it's the only way to be, and...

867
00:48:40,834 --> 00:48:43,462
We're very happy men, aren't I?
Well, I know I am.

868
00:48:45,631 --> 00:48:47,591
It was a means toward an end,

869
00:48:48,258 --> 00:48:51,177
the end being that
I can continue to be this hippie

870
00:48:51,178 --> 00:48:53,137
that paints pictures all the time.

871
00:48:53,138 --> 00:48:55,431
So I was certainly not gonna
turn my back on that,

872
00:48:55,432 --> 00:48:57,601
and it just kept growing
and growing and growing.

873
00:48:58,102 --> 00:49:01,271
And why look a gift horse in the mouth?
I kept doing it.

874
00:49:01,772 --> 00:49:03,524
Please meet Martin Mull.

875
00:49:07,152 --> 00:49:10,113
- Hey, hey there. Hiya, Marty, old buddy.
- Dicky.

876
00:49:10,114 --> 00:49:11,739
Hey, Tom.

877
00:49:11,740 --> 00:49:14,742
- How you doing?
- I'm good, thanks for the toast earlier.

878
00:49:14,743 --> 00:49:16,661
- That's wonderful.
- Was it? Okay.

879
00:49:16,662 --> 00:49:19,622
- You think... You're all right?
- I was... I was nerv...

880
00:49:19,623 --> 00:49:21,499
I was nervous about... playing piano.

881
00:49:21,500 --> 00:49:23,960
- No, it's all right.
- But... Tommy said have this.

882
00:49:23,961 --> 00:49:26,212
- I'll play piano all right.
- You're our guest.

883
00:49:26,213 --> 00:49:29,717
Despite the fact that
he was doing TV and Carson,

884
00:49:30,384 --> 00:49:32,093
Martin was really suffering.

885
00:49:32,094 --> 00:49:34,138
And he cratered.

886
00:49:39,018 --> 00:49:41,103
Oh, there's a bunch of 'em.

887
00:49:41,979 --> 00:49:45,899
And Wendy was in
a difficult situation with another guy.

888
00:49:46,942 --> 00:49:51,154
<i>No use denying
I'm there where the juice is</i>

889
00:49:51,155 --> 00:49:55,366
<i>Alcohol abuse is okay by me</i>

890
00:49:55,367 --> 00:49:57,076
It was pretty bad.

891
00:49:57,077 --> 00:50:00,247
They were broken psychologically.
Yeah. Yeah.

892
00:50:02,458 --> 00:50:08,756
At that time, I was in a terribly
unhealthy relationship with this guy.

893
00:50:10,841 --> 00:50:12,300
Terribly unhealthy.

894
00:50:12,301 --> 00:50:18,015
And Martin's brokenness,
he never expressed it much to me.

895
00:50:20,309 --> 00:50:23,394
So what are you finding out about Martin?

896
00:50:23,395 --> 00:50:25,605
That's why we're talking to you!

897
00:50:25,606 --> 00:50:29,442
- Well, at that point...
- We were not an item.

898
00:50:29,443 --> 00:50:31,694
- We were not an item.
- You were a hired gun.

899
00:50:31,695 --> 00:50:34,113
- Yes.
- And we became very good friends.

900
00:50:34,114 --> 00:50:37,742
Yeah, and then it took a while.
We had a few relationships to go through.

901
00:50:37,743 --> 00:50:40,369
Yeah, she was with someone,
and I was with someone,

902
00:50:40,370 --> 00:50:42,247
and then both of those fell apart.

903
00:50:43,540 --> 00:50:46,000
And we'd call each other
just 'cause we were friends.

904
00:50:46,001 --> 00:50:48,961
We were good friends.
And I said, "What are you doing tonight?"

905
00:50:48,962 --> 00:50:53,091
And she said... You had been set up
on a blind date to go to the Magic Castle.

906
00:50:53,092 --> 00:50:54,717
That's right.

907
00:50:54,718 --> 00:50:57,471
And she didn't sound
terribly excited about it.

908
00:50:59,139 --> 00:51:00,973
I said, "It's <i>Monday Night Football."</i>

909
00:51:00,974 --> 00:51:04,603
"For God's sake, you gotta come over
and watch <i>Monday Night Football</i> with me."

910
00:51:05,229 --> 00:51:07,688
And you said something to the effect of,

911
00:51:07,689 --> 00:51:12,026
{\an8}"Well, it's not gonna be that good
because Drew Pearson is hurt."

912
00:51:12,027 --> 00:51:13,820
<i>Touchdown!</i>

913
00:51:13,821 --> 00:51:15,447
Blew my fucking mind.

914
00:51:16,698 --> 00:51:20,034
Here's somebody who's
absolutely beautiful, smart as a whip,

915
00:51:20,035 --> 00:51:24,872
talented as can be, fun to be around,
and knows football! So...

916
00:51:24,873 --> 00:51:26,583
- That was it.
- That was it.

917
00:51:27,167 --> 00:51:28,126
- Yeah.
- 1980.

918
00:51:28,127 --> 00:51:29,419
{\an8}1980.

919
00:51:32,089 --> 00:51:35,216
It was so comfortable
to be back with Martin,

920
00:51:35,217 --> 00:51:37,219
almost like being on the road.

921
00:51:38,220 --> 00:51:39,847
Why look any further?

922
00:51:40,681 --> 00:51:43,642
And it just grew
and grew and grew, and, uh...

923
00:51:44,226 --> 00:51:46,019
shortly thereafter, we were married.

924
00:51:54,945 --> 00:51:56,113
I was older.

925
00:51:56,822 --> 00:51:58,073
He was older.

926
00:51:58,949 --> 00:52:01,242
And we were having a ball together.

927
00:52:01,243 --> 00:52:03,495
Martin Mull and his wife, Wendy.

928
00:52:06,331 --> 00:52:08,292
My domestic life is, um...

929
00:52:08,959 --> 00:52:10,543
almost embarrassingly good.

930
00:52:10,544 --> 00:52:11,460
Really?

931
00:52:11,461 --> 00:52:14,339
Yeah, my wife is
just one of these people that...

932
00:52:14,965 --> 00:52:17,634
- I don't know. Some... She's perfect.
- Really?

933
00:52:18,927 --> 00:52:22,680
We were on the road,
drinking it up, yukking it up.

934
00:52:22,681 --> 00:52:25,224
You know,
I say my one in a million, and she is.

935
00:52:25,225 --> 00:52:29,520
But wouldn't that mean there's 260 just
like you in this country alone, honey?

936
00:52:29,521 --> 00:52:31,606
Oh, not to mention China, darling.

937
00:52:31,607 --> 00:52:33,609
Oh, we better not.

938
00:52:35,277 --> 00:52:40,282
And I don't know
when we decided to settle in to...

939
00:52:41,200 --> 00:52:43,076
what's considered a "normal" life.

940
00:52:44,036 --> 00:52:45,871
- I wanted kids.
- Yeah.

941
00:52:46,413 --> 00:52:48,373
I think that was the switch.

942
00:52:50,459 --> 00:52:52,836
But he was still drinking.

943
00:52:53,420 --> 00:52:57,424
No doubt about it, he was drinking.
He was working constantly.

944
00:52:58,300 --> 00:53:02,471
And somewhere in his brain,
something scared him.

945
00:53:05,140 --> 00:53:08,142
I just kept pushing myself
and pushing myself.

946
00:53:08,143 --> 00:53:10,270
You know, I was not terribly healthy.

947
00:53:11,313 --> 00:53:14,524
I did have a liver that was
probably approaching statehood.

948
00:53:16,360 --> 00:53:17,986
It just became time to quit.

949
00:53:18,695 --> 00:53:20,656
And I didn't really know how.

950
00:53:22,407 --> 00:53:27,245
I went in to see my doctor,
and he said, "When you leave here today,

951
00:53:27,246 --> 00:53:28,788
what are you gonna do?"

952
00:53:28,789 --> 00:53:32,459
I said, "Honestly, David,
I'm gonna probably have a cocktail."

953
00:53:33,543 --> 00:53:35,419
He said, "Good, that's a great idea."

954
00:53:35,420 --> 00:53:39,549
He said, "Have your favorite cocktail
in your favorite glass."

955
00:53:41,134 --> 00:53:44,346
"And enjoy the hell out of it,
knowing it's your last."

956
00:53:45,264 --> 00:53:52,144
And for some reason, the simplicity
of that statement resonated.

957
00:53:52,145 --> 00:53:54,897
And I said, "You know what?
That's exactly what I'm gonna do,"

958
00:53:54,898 --> 00:53:56,483
and it's exactly what I did.

959
00:53:58,068 --> 00:54:00,237
And it's been 35 years.

960
00:54:03,198 --> 00:54:04,448
Okay.

961
00:54:04,449 --> 00:54:07,327
She has her good mood hat on!

962
00:54:07,953 --> 00:54:12,373
And your whole life changed in '85,
'cause you stopped the road at that point.

963
00:54:12,374 --> 00:54:13,916
I was sick of the road.

964
00:54:13,917 --> 00:54:15,294
Okay, bear with me.

965
00:54:15,877 --> 00:54:20,631
A lot of my stuff after 15, 17 years of
doing the same song over and over again

966
00:54:20,632 --> 00:54:21,882
started to become rote.

967
00:54:21,883 --> 00:54:23,552
Okay!

968
00:54:25,304 --> 00:54:28,681
And also, I didn't want to be one
of these people that was out, you know,

969
00:54:28,682 --> 00:54:32,893
working at a club somewhere and get a call
from Wendy saying, "Oh, she's walking."

970
00:54:32,894 --> 00:54:34,438
You know, I wanted to see that.

971
00:54:35,105 --> 00:54:36,690
Look who's home early!

972
00:54:37,232 --> 00:54:38,357
Willy Loman!

973
00:54:38,358 --> 00:54:40,401
Something must have clicked in him,

974
00:54:40,402 --> 00:54:44,238
and he just decided
what his real passion was.

975
00:54:44,239 --> 00:54:45,657
Whoa!

976
00:54:46,325 --> 00:54:49,744
My mind didn't change
when I stopped drinking,

977
00:54:49,745 --> 00:54:52,872
but I thought I was not thinking
big-picture enough.

978
00:54:52,873 --> 00:54:55,875
- New Year's resolutions, on tape?
- Yeah, I'm gonna...

979
00:54:55,876 --> 00:54:58,211
I'm going to become a painter.

980
00:54:59,463 --> 00:55:02,381
Support my family through art.

981
00:55:02,382 --> 00:55:04,550
All right. I like that. Really?

982
00:55:04,551 --> 00:55:06,552
- Yeah.
- That's a big one.

983
00:55:06,553 --> 00:55:11,474
<i>Look out, world
You're going to hear from me</i>

984
00:55:11,475 --> 00:55:15,228
<i>Because there's a whole challenge
Out there</i>

985
00:55:16,563 --> 00:55:18,731
People that take their painting seriously

986
00:55:18,732 --> 00:55:21,693
and are full-time painters
have a proper place to work,

987
00:55:22,361 --> 00:55:24,363
and I've often wanted that.

988
00:55:26,823 --> 00:55:29,283
It was a three-car garage
when we bought the place.

989
00:55:29,284 --> 00:55:32,788
We tore the whole thing down,
rebuilt it, and built a studio.

990
00:55:34,206 --> 00:55:38,125
{\an8}His studio window was, like,
directly across from my bedroom window.

991
00:55:38,126 --> 00:55:40,253
{\an8}I'd go to my window,
and the light would be on.

992
00:55:41,338 --> 00:55:43,423
I mean, he was always in his studio.

993
00:55:43,965 --> 00:55:45,509
He was always working.

994
00:55:46,468 --> 00:55:51,013
My earliest memories of my dad
are going up to his art studio...

995
00:55:51,014 --> 00:55:52,640
More blue? Yes.

996
00:55:52,641 --> 00:55:56,520
{\an8}... where he made up this game
called Scribble Scrabble.

997
00:55:57,521 --> 00:55:59,188
{\an8}He would draw an abstract scribble,

998
00:55:59,189 --> 00:56:02,442
and I would have to
turn it into something figurative.

999
00:56:05,862 --> 00:56:08,949
I think my dad communicates best...

1000
00:56:10,492 --> 00:56:11,868
through his paintings.

1001
00:56:12,369 --> 00:56:14,871
{\an8}And so the game was important.

1002
00:56:16,081 --> 00:56:18,458
{\an8}It was a way of communicating with him...

1003
00:56:20,752 --> 00:56:22,254
And I still draw like that too.

1004
00:56:22,921 --> 00:56:24,713
So I guess it makes perfect sense

1005
00:56:24,714 --> 00:56:28,301
that I'm kind of doing
exactly the same things he used to do.

1006
00:56:29,719 --> 00:56:31,429
{\an8}Maggie's extraordinary.

1007
00:56:31,430 --> 00:56:34,808
{\an8}And she is extremely funny

1008
00:56:35,600 --> 00:56:36,977
{\an8}and dark.

1009
00:56:37,644 --> 00:56:41,021
{\an8}So, she would be one of your biggest
accomplishments of your life.

1010
00:56:41,022 --> 00:56:44,442
She's not an accomplishment of mine.
She's... She's Maggie.

1011
00:56:44,443 --> 00:56:46,819
I'm with my daughter, Maggie,
and I'm with Barkley.

1012
00:56:46,820 --> 00:56:51,408
And that's just a totally unique thing
that's happened on this earth.

1013
00:56:54,119 --> 00:56:56,537
Over the years,
I've seen a lot of his artwork,

1014
00:56:56,538 --> 00:56:58,372
and I've seen it change a lot.

1015
00:56:58,373 --> 00:57:02,461
I think once he stopped drinking,
he went inward.

1016
00:57:04,087 --> 00:57:06,922
I just went right back
to square one again,

1017
00:57:06,923 --> 00:57:11,594
just doing a bunch of little drawings
just to keep my hand alive.

1018
00:57:11,595 --> 00:57:14,096
You know what's amazing about this to me,

1019
00:57:14,097 --> 00:57:17,183
is this is where some people would begin.

1020
00:57:17,184 --> 00:57:19,561
- Well, I began again.
- You began again.

1021
00:57:20,729 --> 00:57:23,522
Just went back to... paint on canvas,

1022
00:57:23,523 --> 00:57:25,232
just little bits and pieces,

1023
00:57:25,233 --> 00:57:27,902
very odd little things
of just certain imagery.

1024
00:57:27,903 --> 00:57:31,823
I don't know where it was coming from,
but it was back just trying to paint again

1025
00:57:32,449 --> 00:57:34,159
and come up with compositions.

1026
00:57:35,619 --> 00:57:36,744
Start everything over.

1027
00:57:36,745 --> 00:57:39,289
You got a new brain.
You got a new body. Start again.

1028
00:57:40,290 --> 00:57:44,127
It was just a slow metamorphosis
of one thing into another.

1029
00:57:46,254 --> 00:57:51,259
There's an ambition
attached to that kind of profound change.

1030
00:57:51,760 --> 00:57:55,221
At a young age, you enter your art-making.

1031
00:57:55,222 --> 00:57:58,350
You're imitating
and you're learning craft.

1032
00:57:59,142 --> 00:58:05,732
{\an8}And then all of a sudden,
you begin to embrace the deeply personal.

1033
00:58:07,025 --> 00:58:11,237
As an artist,
you want to be known for who you are,

1034
00:58:11,238 --> 00:58:14,783
and that starts with the artist
wanting to know who <i>they</i> are.

1035
00:58:16,326 --> 00:58:19,787
I grew up in this soft, white underbelly.

1036
00:58:19,788 --> 00:58:23,290
And as arrogant as this sounds,

1037
00:58:23,291 --> 00:58:26,710
I don't know of many artists

1038
00:58:26,711 --> 00:58:31,883
who have zeroed in on
my specific view of America.

1039
00:58:32,968 --> 00:58:36,929
And so to an extent,
I feel a little bit, maybe almost like--

1040
00:58:36,930 --> 00:58:38,430
And this is really pompous...

1041
00:58:38,431 --> 00:58:43,562
{\an8}Like Audubon, when he went out and said,
"My God, there are all these birds."

1042
00:58:44,062 --> 00:58:45,896
"We need a record of those."

1043
00:58:45,897 --> 00:58:48,149
So he started drawing the birds.

1044
00:58:50,402 --> 00:58:53,697
And there are times
when I feel exactly like that.

1045
00:58:54,906 --> 00:58:56,991
White people in America...

1046
00:58:56,992 --> 00:58:58,535
these are my birds.

1047
00:59:05,041 --> 00:59:07,127
How do you spot a white family?

1048
00:59:07,711 --> 00:59:10,754
Let's nose around a little bit and see
if we can't dig one up, shall we?

1049
00:59:10,755 --> 00:59:14,926
<i>We're havin' a heck of a barbecue</i>

1050
00:59:15,510 --> 00:59:19,680
<i>- We're hopin' you all come along</i>
- <i>Come along, now</i>

1051
00:59:19,681 --> 00:59:23,642
White Americans run the proverbial gamut,
from the very rich and embarrassing

1052
00:59:23,643 --> 00:59:26,103
to the very poor... and embarrassing.

1053
00:59:26,104 --> 00:59:27,981
Yellow!

1054
00:59:28,773 --> 00:59:32,526
Do us a favor, will you? Will you stop
and pick us up some mayonnaise?

1055
00:59:32,527 --> 00:59:35,321
About, uh... about five jars'll do 'er.

1056
00:59:35,322 --> 00:59:39,199
It was a mockumentary about my heritage.

1057
00:59:39,200 --> 00:59:41,952
Just as the baby bird must leave the nest,

1058
00:59:41,953 --> 00:59:45,372
so too must the white man open <i>his</i> eyes

1059
00:59:45,373 --> 00:59:47,750
to other cultures <i>if</i> he is to survive.

1060
00:59:47,751 --> 00:59:49,710
So let me get something straight, Sid.

1061
00:59:49,711 --> 00:59:53,464
<i>The History of White People in America,</i>
obviously making fun of the whole thing.

1062
00:59:53,465 --> 00:59:55,966
Hey, you got another little hat on
under that hat, huh?

1063
00:59:55,967 --> 00:59:57,301
This is a yarmulke.

1064
00:59:57,302 --> 00:59:58,927
Anything that commented on

1065
00:59:58,928 --> 01:00:02,765
the actual culture and society
that we lived in, we were all down for.

1066
01:00:02,766 --> 01:00:04,391
So no, all that shit was cool.

1067
01:00:04,392 --> 01:00:07,686
{\an8}I guess one of the biggest difficulties
in being white for me

1068
01:00:07,687 --> 01:00:10,856
{\an8}is being typecast in mostly white roles.

1069
01:00:10,857 --> 01:00:13,067
But I found one picture led to another,

1070
01:00:13,068 --> 01:00:16,362
and pretty soon I was known
as a white person.

1071
01:00:16,363 --> 01:00:19,740
Martin's audience was
tuned into Martin Mull

1072
01:00:19,741 --> 01:00:23,118
and the level of sarcasm
that he was doing.

1073
01:00:23,119 --> 01:00:25,412
- Check!
- There you go, hon.

1074
01:00:25,413 --> 01:00:28,040
- Wait a minute, nobody ordered tax.
- Funny, honey.

1075
01:00:28,041 --> 01:00:31,877
I loved that, I loved being
part of that all-American family.

1076
01:00:31,878 --> 01:00:33,629
- It's what we grew up with.
- Exactly.

1077
01:00:33,630 --> 01:00:35,757
- We're both Northern Ohio boys.
- Yes, exactly.

1078
01:00:38,426 --> 01:00:40,719
I can't imagine how isolating that was

1079
01:00:40,720 --> 01:00:44,807
to grow up in the world he grew up in,
and to know that, like,

1080
01:00:44,808 --> 01:00:48,770
"This isn't a place
where I can be who I am."

1081
01:00:49,354 --> 01:00:53,108
And I think that's something
he's struggled with his whole life.

1082
01:00:54,025 --> 01:01:00,073
While also saying, "This is the culture
I grew up in, and what do I do with that?"

1083
01:01:00,740 --> 01:01:03,617
And I think
in <i>History of White People of America,</i>

1084
01:01:03,618 --> 01:01:06,955
in his artwork,
my dad is looking for color.

1085
01:01:07,455 --> 01:01:09,331
That's kind of his hunt,

1086
01:01:09,332 --> 01:01:13,335
which is funny because,
you know, we're talking about

1087
01:01:13,336 --> 01:01:18,049
his looking at white people,
and I think he's seeking...

1088
01:01:20,635 --> 01:01:22,095
seeking something more.

1089
01:01:25,890 --> 01:01:29,477
So much happened to you
artistically in the '90s.

1090
01:01:29,978 --> 01:01:32,896
- There's a huge...
- A sea change, yeah.

1091
01:01:32,897 --> 01:01:34,273
Oh, my God.

1092
01:01:34,274 --> 01:01:37,192
I started moving
back into all these photos,

1093
01:01:37,193 --> 01:01:39,571
revisiting my life through photography

1094
01:01:41,197 --> 01:01:43,616
and making collages of various things...

1095
01:01:46,786 --> 01:01:48,829
and then started working from those.

1096
01:01:48,830 --> 01:01:53,334
And that's something I've been doing
for the better part of the last 15 years.

1097
01:01:56,629 --> 01:02:00,550
It was amazing how just some of
these pictures would just spark me.

1098
01:02:01,718 --> 01:02:06,222
I would deconstruct them
and then reassemble those parts.

1099
01:02:09,768 --> 01:02:13,396
A lot of the paintings come out of,
quote, "the American Dream."

1100
01:02:13,980 --> 01:02:16,857
But it's also a promissory note, saying,

1101
01:02:16,858 --> 01:02:20,278
"If you live your life well,
if you follow the rules,

1102
01:02:20,862 --> 01:02:22,238
you will do well."

1103
01:02:24,741 --> 01:02:26,910
And yet it's not all true.

1104
01:02:27,786 --> 01:02:31,246
There are blemishes,
there are the peripheries,

1105
01:02:31,247 --> 01:02:34,626
the fractures, the hairline fractures
in some of the bones.

1106
01:02:43,885 --> 01:02:47,554
Martin's showing you
where the promises and the failures

1107
01:02:47,555 --> 01:02:50,558
are happening on a moment-to-moment basis.

1108
01:02:52,560 --> 01:02:56,481
You don't go to the terror,
you don't go to those places...

1109
01:02:58,274 --> 01:03:02,821
unless you desperately want
somebody else to see it and connect to it.

1110
01:03:05,990 --> 01:03:10,245
Well, I think that most genius
does come out of some kind of wounding.

1111
01:03:11,621 --> 01:03:16,584
And I think those things drive us
in ways that are part of our success.

1112
01:03:19,379 --> 01:03:21,673
I think I... I'm gonna have to, uh...

1113
01:03:23,049 --> 01:03:27,970
kind of drift into the dark side here
a little bit of our, uh... childhood.

1114
01:03:27,971 --> 01:03:30,014
Uh... my dad was awful.

1115
01:03:30,682 --> 01:03:34,393
Um, he showed, uh, no affection, emotion...

1116
01:03:34,394 --> 01:03:36,520
beat me... you know...

1117
01:03:36,521 --> 01:03:39,732
He... was not a... not a nice guy.

1118
01:03:42,110 --> 01:03:45,904
It actually got pretty ugly.
There was a lot of violence.

1119
01:03:45,905 --> 01:03:48,407
And David got the brunt
of my father's anger,

1120
01:03:48,408 --> 01:03:51,411
and I think he just got
the short end of the stick.

1121
01:03:52,328 --> 01:03:54,204
And I think it was hard on Martin,

1122
01:03:54,205 --> 01:03:57,375
having to see David be
the scapegoat of my father's insecurity.

1123
01:03:59,294 --> 01:04:01,753
And to Marty, my dad was just distant,

1124
01:04:01,754 --> 01:04:06,718
and he never got any feelings
of affection or closeness.

1125
01:04:07,218 --> 01:04:10,512
In fact, Marty used to say... he said, uh...

1126
01:04:10,513 --> 01:04:13,016
"Well, at least Dad loved you
enough to beat you."

1127
01:04:15,393 --> 01:04:18,479
Which, that's pretty, uh... condemning.

1128
01:04:19,981 --> 01:04:24,235
Martin held a lot of resentment,
which was coming out in his artwork.

1129
01:04:28,072 --> 01:04:29,991
Oh, it looks like it would be, uh,

1130
01:04:30,950 --> 01:04:33,286
our father going to work.

1131
01:04:33,912 --> 01:04:36,830
Not even having any awareness
of the accomplishment

1132
01:04:36,831 --> 01:04:39,167
of the guy up there hanging from the wire.

1133
01:04:40,668 --> 01:04:44,880
That's what, uh, it would have
been like for my, uh... brother.

1134
01:04:44,881 --> 01:04:48,343
You know, trying to get recognition
from his father, which he never did.

1135
01:04:50,720 --> 01:04:53,014
If you look at his paintings...

1136
01:04:53,723 --> 01:04:56,351
there's always a little boy in it.

1137
01:04:57,185 --> 01:04:59,979
And it's not Martin, but it <i>is</i> Martin.

1138
01:05:00,605 --> 01:05:02,273
I mean, they're all self-portraits.

1139
01:05:09,072 --> 01:05:12,574
As I get older,
and especially when I quit drinking,

1140
01:05:12,575 --> 01:05:16,954
I realized... the <i>making</i> of my paintings

1141
01:05:16,955 --> 01:05:19,415
is me letting go.

1142
01:05:21,459 --> 01:05:24,711
And there's a reason why there's
a wood frame sometimes around it.

1143
01:05:24,712 --> 01:05:26,004
It's a casket.

1144
01:05:26,005 --> 01:05:27,881
It's a... It's a grave.

1145
01:05:27,882 --> 01:05:31,677
It's a box that you put it in, because it...

1146
01:05:31,678 --> 01:05:34,764
It died... when it... when it left me.

1147
01:05:36,265 --> 01:05:38,934
And that's how I see all these paintings,

1148
01:05:38,935 --> 01:05:42,021
that this was a life
that I was allowed to walk through.

1149
01:05:43,606 --> 01:05:45,483
It's the one I was led into.

1150
01:05:46,693 --> 01:05:47,986
And I realized...

1151
01:05:49,153 --> 01:05:51,154
if you're not putting your...

1152
01:05:51,155 --> 01:05:55,159
your deepest, innerest parts,
et cetera, into your work...

1153
01:05:57,120 --> 01:05:59,163
then you're not doing your job.

1154
01:06:02,667 --> 01:06:04,085
It's all right

1155
01:06:05,128 --> 01:06:07,046
to paint like that.

1156
01:06:14,178 --> 01:06:17,514
I just know that
I'm going to be in the studio

1157
01:06:17,515 --> 01:06:21,560
from seven-thirty, eight o'clock
in the morning until four o'clock,

1158
01:06:21,561 --> 01:06:23,770
or whatever time a game comes on,

1159
01:06:23,771 --> 01:06:25,313
and work straight through.

1160
01:06:25,314 --> 01:06:30,110
I don't know what I'm gonna do that day,
I don't know what I'll work on,

1161
01:06:30,111 --> 01:06:33,572
but I know something will happen,
and I'll just start going through...

1162
01:06:33,573 --> 01:06:36,241
tear sheets and old photos

1163
01:06:36,242 --> 01:06:38,368
until something strikes me.

1164
01:06:38,369 --> 01:06:41,956
And then something
<i>will happen</i> that I didn't expect.

1165
01:06:42,457 --> 01:06:43,374
And when...

1166
01:06:44,375 --> 01:06:47,586
When that happens,
when you do something you didn't expect,

1167
01:06:47,587 --> 01:06:48,838
that's... that's heaven.

1168
01:06:50,298 --> 01:06:53,217
You're just following orders,
you're at work.

1169
01:06:55,136 --> 01:06:59,222
I always thought
that you have an artist's solitary aura.

1170
01:06:59,223 --> 01:07:00,432
Yeah.

1171
01:07:00,433 --> 01:07:03,226
You're very happy up there
painting all day.

1172
01:07:03,227 --> 01:07:04,895
I am until I'm not.

1173
01:07:04,896 --> 01:07:08,232
- Mm-hmm. And then what happens?
- And then, what's been great is...

1174
01:07:09,233 --> 01:07:12,278
then I get to go be on a TV show
or in a movie.

1175
01:07:15,698 --> 01:07:18,200
{\an8}Did you hear that?
Roseanne will plan it for free.

1176
01:07:18,201 --> 01:07:21,036
{\an8}Of course, we'll have Roseanne
plan our wedding.

1177
01:07:21,037 --> 01:07:23,163
You know, I've always
dreamed of a ceremony

1178
01:07:23,164 --> 01:07:25,124
that would culminate in a hog fry.

1179
01:07:26,834 --> 01:07:29,712
I loved being your lover
on the <i>Roseanne</i> show.

1180
01:07:30,296 --> 01:07:33,215
Yeah, I think I said,
"Let me look at my daily planner."

1181
01:07:33,216 --> 01:07:35,301
- "Yep, I'm free for the next year."
- Yeah.

1182
01:07:36,511 --> 01:07:41,556
{\an8}To play an out character
on a top-ten TV show

1183
01:07:41,557 --> 01:07:43,934
was certainly not a safe bet.

1184
01:07:43,935 --> 01:07:46,895
Some people might have balked
at doing it, but not Martin.

1185
01:07:46,896 --> 01:07:48,688
- Didn't Roseanne tell you?
- Tell me what?

1186
01:07:48,689 --> 01:07:49,899
That I'm gay.

1187
01:07:53,653 --> 01:07:57,697
I said, "I don't want
to play him as a caricature."

1188
01:07:57,698 --> 01:08:01,244
Because to me, one's sexual preference
doesn't mean a shit.

1189
01:08:02,370 --> 01:08:03,870
We played it dead straight.

1190
01:08:03,871 --> 01:08:06,498
It would've been easy
to camp it up and make fun of it.

1191
01:08:06,499 --> 01:08:10,044
But I remember, we were
the first gay marriage on television.

1192
01:08:10,795 --> 01:08:13,172
And that show really meant a lot to me.

1193
01:08:15,049 --> 01:08:19,637
But I've been very lucky in that
almost everything I've done has been fun.

1194
01:08:20,847 --> 01:08:24,724
I'll never forget my prom,
dancing with Stacey Williams.

1195
01:08:24,725 --> 01:08:28,562
That girl could move her body
in ways I've never seen before.

1196
01:08:28,563 --> 01:08:30,398
She was epileptic, but still.

1197
01:08:32,567 --> 01:08:37,487
And one of the charms of working
in show business, as well as doing this,

1198
01:08:37,488 --> 01:08:40,157
is that one is a therapist for the other.

1199
01:08:40,158 --> 01:08:44,412
{\an8}I can't remember the last time
that I felt this free and happy.

1200
01:08:45,496 --> 01:08:47,622
I could be thinking about painting
while I'm acting.

1201
01:08:47,623 --> 01:08:50,501
{\an8}Look at Martin Mull, sitting there.

1202
01:08:52,336 --> 01:08:55,505
And I'm fortunate enough
with my other career

1203
01:08:55,506 --> 01:08:57,507
that if I never sell this,

1204
01:08:57,508 --> 01:09:00,178
Wendy and I will still have food tonight.

1205
01:09:01,095 --> 01:09:05,432
Martin has that career that I aspire to.

1206
01:09:05,433 --> 01:09:09,978
He was professional, he was on time,
and then he was like a comedy assassin.

1207
01:09:09,979 --> 01:09:11,771
{\an8}Yes, Pam made a cake.

1208
01:09:11,772 --> 01:09:14,609
{\an8}Or as we like to think of it,
a desperate cry for help.

1209
01:09:15,818 --> 01:09:18,695
He would do a scene,
people would lose their minds,

1210
01:09:18,696 --> 01:09:21,615
and he'd calmly walk back
to his dressing room and paint.

1211
01:09:21,616 --> 01:09:25,619
{\an8}I'm just-a findin' the supplies,
because I'm a... private detective.

1212
01:09:25,620 --> 01:09:28,079
{\an8}Gene Parmesan. How are you doing?

1213
01:09:28,080 --> 01:09:30,498
Ahh! Gene! Oh, Gene!

1214
01:09:30,499 --> 01:09:32,083
Isn't he the best?

1215
01:09:32,084 --> 01:09:34,461
{\an8}And he said to me,
"Am I here for one line?"

1216
01:09:34,462 --> 01:09:36,714
{\an8}And I said, "Yeah,"
and he said, "This is fantastic."

1217
01:09:37,298 --> 01:09:38,215
Oh, is it?

1218
01:09:38,216 --> 01:09:40,175
Ahh! I knew it!

1219
01:09:40,176 --> 01:09:42,719
Screaming is a good way
to make something stick.

1220
01:09:42,720 --> 01:09:44,763
Gene Parmesan. How you doing?

1221
01:09:44,764 --> 01:09:47,557
Ahh! He got me again!

1222
01:09:47,558 --> 01:09:52,104
Martin's character is so easily
stuck into millions of stories.

1223
01:09:52,813 --> 01:09:56,650
I'm sure what every casting director
said is, "I want a Martin Mull type,"

1224
01:09:56,651 --> 01:09:58,611
and it ended up being Martin Mull.

1225
01:09:59,111 --> 01:10:00,570
{\an8}- Hey, Bob?
- Yeah.

1226
01:10:00,571 --> 01:10:03,323
{\an8}You don't remember me,
I was an intern way back when you...

1227
01:10:03,324 --> 01:10:06,409
Of course I remember you.
Ben Cafferty, all growed up.

1228
01:10:06,410 --> 01:10:08,662
We used to have a nickname for this guy.

1229
01:10:08,663 --> 01:10:09,579
Butt Fucker.

1230
01:10:09,580 --> 01:10:11,082
Butt Fucker, that's me.

1231
01:10:11,666 --> 01:10:14,709
With somebody like Martin Mull,
you were just in great hands.

1232
01:10:14,710 --> 01:10:15,752
You wrote a joke,

1233
01:10:15,753 --> 01:10:19,297
and you knew it was going to be
at least as funny as it was on paper,

1234
01:10:19,298 --> 01:10:21,091
and likely funnier.

1235
01:10:21,092 --> 01:10:24,219
{\an8}- How can you say no?
- We need sick kids we can package.

1236
01:10:24,220 --> 01:10:26,805
{\an8}You know, like that one
we put on <i>Hollywood Squares.</i>

1237
01:10:26,806 --> 01:10:29,392
Martin Mull,
from <i>Sabrina.</i> Hi, Martin.

1238
01:10:30,393 --> 01:10:35,605
{\an8}He was on time, knew his lines, do that--
and he was in his seventies.

1239
01:10:35,606 --> 01:10:37,941
{\an8}I'm not sure
I've ever seen you this happy.

1240
01:10:37,942 --> 01:10:39,693
{\an8}Well, that's the point of the drug.

1241
01:10:39,694 --> 01:10:40,903
{\an8}What do you mean?

1242
01:10:41,529 --> 01:10:42,738
I'm on ecstasy.

1243
01:10:43,239 --> 01:10:47,451
Dare to dream we all have
the long career that Martin has.

1244
01:10:51,122 --> 01:10:53,665
One day on set I said,
"What are you gonna do this weekend?"

1245
01:10:53,666 --> 01:10:56,626
He's like, "Oh, I'm locking myself up
in my art studio."

1246
01:10:56,627 --> 01:10:58,295
I was like, "Oh, you do art?" Ha-ha.

1247
01:10:58,296 --> 01:10:59,629
I was such a dick.

1248
01:10:59,630 --> 01:11:05,386
Do you know how many shitty painters
there are in SAG and AFTRA as we speak?

1249
01:11:06,262 --> 01:11:08,431
Johnny Depp "paints."

1250
01:11:10,057 --> 01:11:12,475
Next time I saw him, he brought, like,

1251
01:11:12,476 --> 01:11:15,396
this brochure of his art, and I was like...

1252
01:11:16,772 --> 01:11:19,942
"Martin! I thought
you were just fucking off."

1253
01:11:22,278 --> 01:11:26,823
Making paintings was not
a contributor to my financial well-being

1254
01:11:26,824 --> 01:11:28,326
until I was in my sixties.

1255
01:11:31,495 --> 01:11:36,041
The real turning point was
a gentleman named Donald Rosenfeld

1256
01:11:36,042 --> 01:11:38,586
who had a gallery
in New York called Spike.

1257
01:11:39,337 --> 01:11:43,340
{\an8}I was out in Los Angeles,
and Dave Hickey, the great critic, said,

1258
01:11:43,341 --> 01:11:45,842
{\an8}"You gotta see my friend Marty Mull,
he's a great painter."

1259
01:11:45,843 --> 01:11:50,097
I said, "I didn't know about his work."
And he said, "No, you'd really love it."

1260
01:11:51,098 --> 01:11:53,475
He came up here, to this very studio.

1261
01:11:53,476 --> 01:11:56,269
Within ten minutes, he told me
when the show was gonna be.

1262
01:11:56,270 --> 01:11:58,688
He said, "This stuff is amazing."

1263
01:11:58,689 --> 01:12:01,524
He said, "Nobody does that.
You don't even know anything about me."

1264
01:12:01,525 --> 01:12:04,445
I said, "I'm looking at the paintings
and I want to have a show with you."

1265
01:12:06,447 --> 01:12:09,616
You're actually in New York now,
making arrangements for...

1266
01:12:09,617 --> 01:12:12,369
An art show. It's my... my life's work.

1267
01:12:12,370 --> 01:12:13,787
Anyone who's seen my films

1268
01:12:13,788 --> 01:12:16,831
and other work knows that painting
<i>must</i> be my life's work.

1269
01:12:16,832 --> 01:12:20,753
- We can go there and purchase the work?
- And bring your checkbook. Yep.

1270
01:12:21,670 --> 01:12:24,214
It was the calm before the storm,

1271
01:12:24,215 --> 01:12:26,424
and there was no one
in the gallery but me.

1272
01:12:26,425 --> 01:12:29,511
I'm just kind of walking around,
saying goodbye to my babies,

1273
01:12:29,512 --> 01:12:31,846
hopefully, you know, that they will sell.

1274
01:12:31,847 --> 01:12:33,556
Then... two, three, four.

1275
01:12:33,557 --> 01:12:36,018
Doors open, and there's,
like, four or five hundred people.

1276
01:12:37,228 --> 01:12:39,396
This show sold out in three hours.

1277
01:12:39,397 --> 01:12:41,064
An old friend of mine called, he said,

1278
01:12:41,065 --> 01:12:43,149
"How did it go?
No one really knows that artist."

1279
01:12:43,150 --> 01:12:46,487
I said, "Well, they sure liked it."
He said, "Then you didn't charge enough."

1280
01:12:49,448 --> 01:12:51,741
And that's when the doors blew open.

1281
01:12:51,742 --> 01:12:54,537
The prices just doubled
and then tripled and then quadrupled.

1282
01:12:56,080 --> 01:12:57,622
I stumbled upon them.

1283
01:12:57,623 --> 01:13:01,334
They were visible from the street,
and I was kind of taken aback by them.

1284
01:13:01,335 --> 01:13:04,462
{\an8}And then I walked in,
and I noticed it was Martin Mull.

1285
01:13:04,463 --> 01:13:06,757
{\an8}And I thought... <i>"That</i> Martin Mull?"

1286
01:13:08,384 --> 01:13:12,470
From the craft to the imagery,
there's such a totality, all in sync.

1287
01:13:12,471 --> 01:13:14,514
It's like all the bullshit
had been taken out,

1288
01:13:14,515 --> 01:13:17,684
and he was able just to put it
into some kind of coherent form

1289
01:13:17,685 --> 01:13:19,812
that had this kind of intrigue to it.

1290
01:13:20,813 --> 01:13:22,981
So I wanted to tell the world about it,
and I said,

1291
01:13:22,982 --> 01:13:25,359
"Okay, this is work that's very credible."

1292
01:13:26,485 --> 01:13:30,322
"This is an artist who deserves
to be better known <i>as a painter</i>."

1293
01:13:32,700 --> 01:13:35,243
The show at Spike Gallery
was very well received,

1294
01:13:35,244 --> 01:13:38,455
and that was kind of highfalutin
to be in that kind of company.

1295
01:13:38,456 --> 01:13:43,042
{\an8}From there, a series of other galleries
were each time sold out before it opened,

1296
01:13:43,043 --> 01:13:44,836
and so did the next one,

1297
01:13:44,837 --> 01:13:47,506
and it just went bonkers from there.

1298
01:13:49,425 --> 01:13:52,553
Once he was established,
when your paintings are selling,

1299
01:13:53,137 --> 01:13:54,722
it was fantastic.

1300
01:13:55,389 --> 01:13:58,392
I learned something
from every show he ever did.

1301
01:14:00,019 --> 01:14:02,145
{\an8}One of the pieces from one of those shows

1302
01:14:02,146 --> 01:14:05,399
{\an8}went to the Whitney Museum in New York,
courtesy of Steve Martin.

1303
01:14:05,983 --> 01:14:10,653
{\an8}He has been so instrumental
in my various successes.

1304
01:14:10,654 --> 01:14:12,907
He has I don't know
how many of my paintings.

1305
01:14:14,241 --> 01:14:16,951
Steve has been
not just supportive financially,

1306
01:14:16,952 --> 01:14:19,787
but emotionally and artistically.

1307
01:14:19,788 --> 01:14:21,165
He <i>got</i> the paintings.

1308
01:14:21,707 --> 01:14:24,084
He made it feel like
this stuff is worthwhile.

1309
01:14:26,212 --> 01:14:29,297
The incredible thing
that's happened over the past decade,

1310
01:14:29,298 --> 01:14:33,719
we arranged gallery shows in London,
Korea, Tokyo, with great galleries.

1311
01:14:34,512 --> 01:14:37,639
Incredibly, the critics,
the buyers, you know, the collectors,

1312
01:14:37,640 --> 01:14:39,808
could not get enough
Martin Mull paintings.

1313
01:14:41,268 --> 01:14:44,604
Once these things
started selling to these major collectors,

1314
01:14:44,605 --> 01:14:47,774
I actually was able to,
for the past few years,

1315
01:14:47,775 --> 01:14:50,903
enjoy the status of being "a painter,"

1316
01:14:52,363 --> 01:14:55,449
untethered by other descriptive phrases.

1317
01:14:58,536 --> 01:15:02,831
When it really struck me that
I had done it, that I had made the bridge,

1318
01:15:03,332 --> 01:15:06,627
I had been doing a movie,
and I had to change my flight.

1319
01:15:07,795 --> 01:15:11,047
And I got this lady on the phone.
I said, "I'm in Minneapolis."

1320
01:15:11,048 --> 01:15:13,883
"I need to change my flight..."
She said, "What's your name?"

1321
01:15:13,884 --> 01:15:17,054
And I gave her my name.
She goes, "Oh! The painter?"

1322
01:15:18,472 --> 01:15:21,349
And I about fell off the bed.
I couldn't believe it.

1323
01:15:21,350 --> 01:15:25,228
I couldn't believe it. Yes, oh, my God,
someone actually said it first!

1324
01:15:25,229 --> 01:15:28,231
Not the actor, not the comedian,
but they said "the painter."

1325
01:15:28,232 --> 01:15:30,734
And how she knew, I have no idea.

1326
01:15:31,402 --> 01:15:34,612
She may have gotten it mixed up
with a guy named Martin Muller,

1327
01:15:34,613 --> 01:15:36,990
who actually was
a house painter in her town,

1328
01:15:36,991 --> 01:15:39,576
and that's... that's more than possible.

1329
01:15:39,577 --> 01:15:40,744
But, um...

1330
01:15:41,370 --> 01:15:43,413
But that really just kind of let me go,

1331
01:15:43,414 --> 01:15:47,126
"Yeah, I got my... My visa was stamped,"
and I thought, "Yeah, I did it."

1332
01:15:50,588 --> 01:15:53,215
- Things certainly have changed.
- Yeah.

1333
01:15:53,799 --> 01:15:56,050
It's such a body of work,

1334
01:15:56,051 --> 01:16:01,265
and you can feel the same soul
coming through into all of it.

1335
01:16:02,349 --> 01:16:04,475
Um, I adore you.

1336
01:16:04,476 --> 01:16:08,187
- Thank you.
- In a... In a true and genuine way.

1337
01:16:08,188 --> 01:16:11,900
Thank you for your...
for your talent and your time.

1338
01:16:12,484 --> 01:16:13,485
Bless you.

1339
01:16:14,445 --> 01:16:17,405
I didn't sneeze, but when I do, I will...

1340
01:16:17,406 --> 01:16:18,616
I will accept that.

1341
01:16:20,117 --> 01:16:22,036
Funny.

1342
01:16:37,926 --> 01:16:40,012
Okay. Uh, take four.

1343
01:16:49,688 --> 01:16:52,858
When Bob passed away,
it was just astounding.

1344
01:16:53,359 --> 01:16:56,277
And I realize
I'm getting in that age bracket now

1345
01:16:56,278 --> 01:16:58,530
where your friend list goes down,

1346
01:16:59,323 --> 01:17:01,742
and your grief list goes up.

1347
01:17:02,242 --> 01:17:05,578
In fact, I was thinking last night,
I'm not a terribly social person.

1348
01:17:05,579 --> 01:17:08,998
I was thinking, when I die,
I'll have to be cremated

1349
01:17:08,999 --> 01:17:12,461
'cause I don't know if I have six friends
that could carry the casket.

1350
01:17:13,545 --> 01:17:16,255
It's seven o'clock,
and he ate dinner at 4:00.

1351
01:17:16,256 --> 01:17:20,510
Can you imagine what it was like
working 130 shows with this guy?

1352
01:17:20,511 --> 01:17:23,221
Jeez Louise.

1353
01:17:23,222 --> 01:17:26,432
It was just good being
in your neighborhood and, uh...

1354
01:17:26,433 --> 01:17:28,309
And good being in yours.

1355
01:17:28,310 --> 01:17:32,772
You are my favorite comedian,
funny man, bar none, Mr. Willard.

1356
01:17:32,773 --> 01:17:34,315
- Thank you.
- You make me laugh.

1357
01:17:34,316 --> 01:17:36,276
{\an8}And you were my inspiration.

1358
01:17:38,987 --> 01:17:41,407
- So kind of you to do this.
- Oh, Jesus.

1359
01:17:46,036 --> 01:17:48,163
{\an8}There are times when I feel like...

1360
01:17:49,456 --> 01:17:52,000
the opera is over.

1361
01:17:52,626 --> 01:17:55,129
The actors and singers
have left the stage.

1362
01:17:55,754 --> 01:17:57,714
The set's been taken down,

1363
01:17:57,715 --> 01:18:01,135
a new set for an opera
that I don't understand has been put up.

1364
01:18:01,844 --> 01:18:05,013
And for some reason,
I'm still sitting there in that chair.

1365
01:18:05,764 --> 01:18:09,017
And I should have been gone
with all that stuff, and I'm not.

1366
01:18:11,311 --> 01:18:12,312
And...

1367
01:18:13,313 --> 01:18:14,565
I think about that.

1368
01:18:17,818 --> 01:18:21,571
"Remember me, remember me,
when I have passed away."

1369
01:18:21,572 --> 01:18:25,700
"Remember that I lived and died,
as you will too, one day."

1370
01:18:25,701 --> 01:18:29,996
"If I can write these few short lines,
it will not be in vain,

1371
01:18:29,997 --> 01:18:33,666
if after I am dead and gone,
you still recall my name."

1372
01:18:33,667 --> 01:18:36,669
- "Remember me." I think it's...
- Wow. Jerry, that's actually...

1373
01:18:36,670 --> 01:18:38,588
- It is nice.
- That's actually very pretty.

1374
01:18:38,589 --> 01:18:40,673
- Who wrote that?
- Well put. Who wrote it?

1375
01:18:40,674 --> 01:18:44,427
I don't know. Who knows? It's an old poem.
Probably some old guy dead and gone.

1376
01:18:44,428 --> 01:18:46,054
The point is...

1377
01:18:55,898 --> 01:18:58,983
Did you get a shot
of his studio from here?

1378
01:18:58,984 --> 01:18:59,985
Yeah.

1379
01:19:02,488 --> 01:19:06,784
Wendy has been there for 42 years.
I've known her for almost 50.

1380
01:19:08,827 --> 01:19:11,330
Wendy lets you be who you are.

1381
01:19:13,415 --> 01:19:14,917
I think we're almost done.

1382
01:19:16,543 --> 01:19:18,336
- Wenner?
- Yeah.

1383
01:19:18,337 --> 01:19:21,506
They said they need an insert shot
of your hands on the keys.

1384
01:19:21,507 --> 01:19:22,966
Oh, God, no!

1385
01:19:24,676 --> 01:19:28,055
That's a no-go. Oh, God.

1386
01:19:39,775 --> 01:19:42,068
Our marriage is not about two people

1387
01:19:42,069 --> 01:19:44,153
who went out and ruled the world.

1388
01:19:44,154 --> 01:19:46,823
It's just two people who made it through.

1389
01:19:46,824 --> 01:19:48,115
Yup.

1390
01:19:48,116 --> 01:19:50,994
And that's... there's a heroism in...

1391
01:19:51,703 --> 01:19:53,789
sometimes in tiny steps.

1392
01:19:56,124 --> 01:19:57,584
<i>Dishes done</i>

1393
01:19:59,545 --> 01:20:02,381
<i>And put away</i>

1394
01:20:03,549 --> 01:20:09,680
<i>A red line drawn through another day</i>

1395
01:20:11,515 --> 01:20:17,145
<i>Slippers go on
Yeah, the same old pair</i>

1396
01:20:19,106 --> 01:20:24,527
<i>There you sit in your favorite chair</i>

1397
01:20:24,528 --> 01:20:29,282
I wouldn't be physically present,
let alone mentally present,

1398
01:20:29,283 --> 01:20:32,327
let alone healthy if it wasn't for Wendy.

1399
01:20:32,911 --> 01:20:34,829
I wouldn't be alive without her.

1400
01:20:34,830 --> 01:20:35,914
I really wouldn't.

1401
01:20:37,541 --> 01:20:40,501
I mean, that's a pretty big statement,
when you think about it.

1402
01:20:40,502 --> 01:20:42,754
I would not be alive without her.

1403
01:20:44,381 --> 01:20:45,883
I'm convinced of that.

1404
01:20:49,845 --> 01:20:50,888
Aww...

1405
01:20:51,471 --> 01:20:53,765
Oh. That... Don't make me cry.

1406
01:20:54,266 --> 01:20:58,020
That's sweet.
I didn't save his life, but that's sweet.

1407
01:20:58,979 --> 01:21:00,856
Okay, now I have to stop.

1408
01:21:04,902 --> 01:21:06,987
I don't know why he'd say that.

1409
01:21:08,488 --> 01:21:09,906
Maybe I did.

1410
01:21:09,907 --> 01:21:14,745
Maybe I did, you know, in some aspect.

1411
01:21:15,495 --> 01:21:18,707
<i>Me and you</i>

1412
01:21:19,917 --> 01:21:23,003
<i>Waltzing through</i>

1413
01:21:24,254 --> 01:21:27,673
<i>- This crazy daze</i>
- <i>This crazy dance</i>

1414
01:21:27,674 --> 01:21:31,094
<i>Two people do</i>

1415
01:21:32,220 --> 01:21:37,809
<i>And when the day has faded away</i>

1416
01:21:38,685 --> 01:21:40,938
<i>We beat the odds</i>

1417
01:21:41,939 --> 01:21:43,231
<i>Me and you</i>

1418
01:21:44,858 --> 01:21:47,486
<i>Me and you</i>

1419
01:21:49,696 --> 01:21:51,448
Yeah.

1420
01:21:52,157 --> 01:21:53,575
I agree, buzzy.

1421
01:21:59,831 --> 01:22:02,333
<i>Voilà!</i>

1422
01:22:02,334 --> 01:22:05,753
She has about 150 great songs.

1423
01:22:05,754 --> 01:22:09,341
- Well, I wouldn't say that.
- And they seldom leave this room.

1424
01:22:11,343 --> 01:22:14,387
- Well, I'm a bit reluctant.
- Jesus, that got to me.

1425
01:22:14,388 --> 01:22:15,681
Don't cry.

1426
01:22:16,807 --> 01:22:19,893
It's one of those years
where we're all crying.

1427
01:22:20,519 --> 01:22:21,645
Do a lot of crying.

1428
01:22:22,771 --> 01:22:25,940
Yeah, we'll bring that...
We'll resurrect that, Mr. Mull.

1429
01:22:25,941 --> 01:22:26,858
Yeah.

1430
01:22:35,283 --> 01:22:38,078
I'm in the process
of morphing into an old man.

1431
01:22:39,621 --> 01:22:43,041
Which is one that
you can see daily in the mirror.

1432
01:22:44,543 --> 01:22:46,335
There's no question about it.

1433
01:22:46,336 --> 01:22:49,256
You wake up knowing
you are driving a used car.

1434
01:22:53,719 --> 01:22:55,470
At one point, I was adept.

1435
01:22:57,139 --> 01:23:00,141
But now I'm finding
that my borderline arthritic hands

1436
01:23:00,142 --> 01:23:02,352
aren't doing what they used to do.

1437
01:23:04,312 --> 01:23:06,480
So, when I have thoughts of mortality,

1438
01:23:06,481 --> 01:23:09,651
more often than not,
they turn very pragmatic.

1439
01:23:12,154 --> 01:23:15,364
Like, "Okay, what am I gonna
do with all this shit in my studio?"

1440
01:23:15,365 --> 01:23:18,160
I don't want Wendy
to have to go through all that stuff.

1441
01:23:18,785 --> 01:23:22,204
I don't want her to have
this big house all to herself.

1442
01:23:22,205 --> 01:23:23,290
She'd hate that.

1443
01:23:25,625 --> 01:23:28,753
So I start thinking
about the nuts and bolts of it,

1444
01:23:28,754 --> 01:23:29,755
of not being around.

1445
01:23:31,757 --> 01:23:33,841
I don't walk down the street
just wondering

1446
01:23:33,842 --> 01:23:36,552
if today's the day I'm gonna have
my massive heart attack.

1447
01:23:36,553 --> 01:23:38,221
I don't... don't think in those terms.

1448
01:23:40,974 --> 01:23:42,601
But even if I did,

1449
01:23:43,727 --> 01:23:45,854
would I feel shortchanged?

1450
01:23:48,190 --> 01:23:49,691
And the answer is no.

1451
01:23:53,695 --> 01:23:56,698
I don't have a one-man show
at the Museum of Modern Art.

1452
01:23:57,407 --> 01:23:59,075
I don't have an Oscar.

1453
01:23:59,076 --> 01:24:00,827
I don't have a Grammy.

1454
01:24:01,578 --> 01:24:03,370
But I did <i>make</i> the records,

1455
01:24:03,371 --> 01:24:05,456
and I <i>am</i> in a museum,

1456
01:24:05,457 --> 01:24:07,209
and I am on TV.

1457
01:24:08,919 --> 01:24:11,379
I think I was given every opportunity.

1458
01:24:12,255 --> 01:24:13,465
I took a few of 'em.

1459
01:24:14,132 --> 01:24:16,051
And I had a really good time.

1460
01:25:06,184 --> 01:25:08,520
The whole house has changed a lot.

1461
01:25:10,522 --> 01:25:12,149
It's like a ghost town.

1462
01:25:16,778 --> 01:25:18,947
I emptied Martin's studio...

1463
01:25:20,532 --> 01:25:22,868
and then put him in the dining room.

1464
01:25:25,495 --> 01:25:26,872
He was coughing a lot.

1465
01:25:28,165 --> 01:25:30,834
I think he knew before we did.

1466
01:25:33,086 --> 01:25:34,754
His body had quit the fight.

1467
01:25:39,342 --> 01:25:41,469
I miss hearing him.

1468
01:25:42,470 --> 01:25:43,638
I miss that.

1469
01:25:46,892 --> 01:25:48,059
Yeah.

1470
01:25:51,229 --> 01:25:53,607
Yeah, it took me a while to come up here.

1471
01:26:00,739 --> 01:26:03,200
And this was his view of his castle.

1472
01:26:03,700 --> 01:26:04,701
Look at that.

1473
01:26:07,037 --> 01:26:10,081
And this is what he worked for.
This is why.

1474
01:26:13,043 --> 01:26:18,089
I think he did what he had to do.
I'm feeling pretty good about that now.

1475
01:26:18,673 --> 01:26:21,343
Mr. Mull.

1476
01:26:22,844 --> 01:26:24,512
Yes, Mr. Mull.

1477
01:26:30,560 --> 01:26:31,561
Come on.

1478
01:26:41,821 --> 01:26:45,824
- Sounding all right?
- Yeah. Yeah. That sounds great.

1479
01:26:45,825 --> 01:26:47,077
Okay, let's see.

1480
01:26:53,917 --> 01:26:57,629
<i>If I woke up to find
That it's all been a joke</i>

1481
01:26:58,838 --> 01:27:00,757
<i>That I was deaf, dumb, and blind</i>

1482
01:27:02,217 --> 01:27:03,760
<i>Homeless and broke</i>

1483
01:27:06,638 --> 01:27:10,684
<i>Hope I've learned
Not to be too concerned</i>

1484
01:27:12,686 --> 01:27:15,021
<i>It isn't as if I died</i>

1485
01:27:16,648 --> 01:27:18,608
<i>But let's say I had</i>

1486
01:27:19,442 --> 01:27:21,569
<i>Would it be all that bad?</i>

1487
01:27:23,947 --> 01:27:26,116
<i>I've had a hell of a ride</i>

1488
01:27:29,494 --> 01:27:32,747
<i>I've had the time of my life</i>

1489
01:27:33,248 --> 01:27:36,042
<i>It's all been milk and honey</i>

1490
01:27:39,337 --> 01:27:41,213
<i>A walk in the park</i>

1491
01:27:41,214 --> 01:27:43,967
<i>A stroll down Easy Street</i>

1492
01:27:47,220 --> 01:27:49,180
<i>Had a beautiful wife</i>

1493
01:27:50,098 --> 01:27:52,392
<i>And pockets full of money</i>

1494
01:27:55,770 --> 01:27:59,399
<i>Me, oh, my, did we get high</i>

1495
01:28:00,191 --> 01:28:02,444
<i>Life has been so sweet</i>

1496
01:28:04,404 --> 01:28:06,698
<i>I never had a problem</i>

1497
01:28:08,366 --> 01:28:10,535
<i>I never had a care</i>

1498
01:28:12,287 --> 01:28:15,289
<i>Still can wear my high school jeans</i>

1499
01:28:15,290 --> 01:28:18,043
<i>And I still have all my hair</i>

1500
01:28:18,918 --> 01:28:23,130
<i>So when they pull down the lid
On all that I did</i>

1501
01:28:23,131 --> 01:28:26,092
<i>Well, I promise you, kid
That it's true</i>

1502
01:28:28,345 --> 01:28:31,431
<i>I've had the time of my life</i>

1503
01:28:32,223 --> 01:28:34,517
<i>All my dreams came true</i>

1504
01:28:44,569 --> 01:28:47,654
<i>Every morning when I wake</i>

1505
01:28:47,655 --> 01:28:50,700
<i>There's a smile upon my face</i>

1506
01:28:52,410 --> 01:28:58,083
<i>I take a look around and say
"Man, I fuckin' own this place"</i>

1507
01:28:59,376 --> 01:29:03,295
<i>And when they lower the lid
On all that I did</i>

1508
01:29:03,296 --> 01:29:06,508
<i>Well, I promise you, kid
That it's true</i>

1509
01:29:08,468 --> 01:29:11,638
<i>I've had the time of my life</i>

1510
01:29:12,389 --> 01:29:14,682
<i>'Cause that's what dreamers do</i>

1511
01:29:19,020 --> 01:29:23,566
<i>All my dreams came true</i>




