Podcast appearances and mentions of Alan Zweibel

Shelley Herman joined me to talk about about Bess Meyerson and Our Miss Brooks; going to see Elvis with a friend who's mother knew someone at NBC; getting the page job; working on The Tonight Show; giving away prizes on Stump the Band; getting people tickets; being on the Dating Game three times; going to the Rocky Horror Picture Show; Tim Curry; working on the $!.98 Beauty Show;; doing a sting operation for Chuck Barris; Battle of the Network Stars; the tragic life of Freddie Prinze; Jack & Mabel Albertson; Rickles / Carson cigarette box incident; getting harassed by McLean Stevenson'; knowing Jack Klugman from Philly; working on Van Dyke & Company; her friendship with Andy Kaufman; not watching Taxi b/c Andy says it was crap and then marrying one of the stars; Alan Zweibel hellps her clear Gilda Radner material for her book; meeting Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Jamie Farr; being friends with Susan Stafford; getting a meeting with Dick Ebersol; Andy Kaufman on Fridays; being a cast member on Off the Wall; Cynthia Stevenson & Squire Rushnell; hanging out with Richard Dawson; working on The Liar's Club; Alex Trebek and Ruta Lee; working on Love Connection; her love of game shows, especially Jeopardy; the original Wheel of Fortune; secrets of Supermarket Sweep; how she got her book title; introducing me to her husband, actor Randall Carver

Mike Rowe talks about not being the “dirty jobs” Mike Rowe, planning for the future, being funny in high school, becoming an electrical engineer and giving it up for comedy, performing in NY comedy clubs, Alan Zweibel moving him to LA, roasts, jokes, his book “It's a Funny Thing”, Rodney Dangerfield giving him hope, comedy cliques, and why he's moving to Connecticut.  Bio: Michael Rowe is an Emmy Award-winning writer and producer who has worked on many highly regarded comedy and animated shows on television. While still a teenager, Michael began his comedy career as a stand-up comic at such notable New York City clubs as The Improv, The Comedy Cellar and Caroline's. From there, he landed a job writing jokes for SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE's Weekend Update, as well as sketches for shows on MTV, A&E and Comedy Central. Hollywood called, bringing Michael out west to work with Martin Short on his syndicated sketch-comedy show. This soon led to opportunities as a sitcom writer/producer on shows starring George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Ted Danson, and with Eddie Murphy on his groundbreaking animated series, THE PJs. Michael's affinity for the comedic heart and artistic freedom of animation led to a seven-season run as a writer and Co-Executive Producer of the highly acclaimed series, FUTURAMA. From there, Michael joined FAMILY GUY as a writer/producer and soon after, he became the showrunner for Comedy Central's animated series, BRICKLEBERRY. Along the way Michael was awarded 6 Emmy nominations (with 1 win), 2 Annie Awards (with 2 wins), and a WGA Award for his FUTURAMA episode, Game of Tones. He was also nominated for a Canadian Emmy for his work as Executive Producer and Director on Netflix's animated series, THE TRAILER PARK BOYS. In recent live-action endeavors, Michael was a Co-Executive Producer on the hit TV series, 2 BROKE GIRLS for CBS. Michael is currently in development with Supercell creating an adult animated series from their megahit game franchises CLASH OF CLANS and CLASH ROYALE. He is also in development on an animated series with the incredible David Cross, and a separate animated series with Bob Odenkirk. He is also a long-standing, frequent contributor to the ongoing Comedy Central Roasts, featuring such celebrities as James Franco, Donald Trump, Justin Bieber and Roseanne, just to name a few.

Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted on federal charges for allegedly making false statements to Congress. Mark takes your calls! Mark interviews writer/producer Alan Zweibel. It's the 51st season of Saturday Night Live, with many memories of how the show has evolved. Alan has stories of when he was part of SNL.

Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted on federal charges for allegedly making false statements to Congress. Mark interviews writer/producer Alan Zweibel. It's the 51st season of Saturday Night Live, with many memories of how the show has evolved. Alan has stories of when he was part of SNL. Republican Jack Ciattarelli and Democrat Mikie Sherrill are tied in the polls in the NJ governor's race. Charlie Kirk's organization "Turning Point" has been gaining more popularity since his death. Mark Interviews Fox Business analyst Charlie Gasparino. Charlie breaks down the actions media companies can take if affiliates don't renew contracts of shows which they think could cause a drop in viewership due to political opinions. TV hosts may have to be more careful discussing politics on their shows.

Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted on federal charges for allegedly making false statements to Congress. Mark takes your calls! Mark interviews writer/producer Alan Zweibel. It's the 51st season of Saturday Night Live, with many memories of how the show has evolved. Alan has stories of when he was part of SNL.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted on federal charges for allegedly making false statements to Congress. Mark interviews writer/producer Alan Zweibel. It's the 51st season of Saturday Night Live, with many memories of how the show has evolved. Alan has stories of when he was part of SNL. Republican Jack Ciattarelli and Democrat Mikie Sherrill are tied in the polls in the NJ governor's race. Charlie Kirk's organization "Turning Point" has been gaining more popularity since his death. Mark Interviews Fox Business analyst Charlie Gasparino. Charlie breaks down the actions media companies can take if affiliates don't renew contracts of shows which they think could cause a drop in viewership due to political opinions. TV hosts may have to be more careful discussing politics on their shows. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alan is working on a Broadway special highlighting comedian and actor Rodney Dangerfield's life. Comedian and actor Alan King is also a special person to Alan. Mark reminisces with him about his work.

Alan is working on a Broadway special highlighting comedian and actor Rodney Dangerfield's life. Comedian and actor Alan King is also a special person to Alan. Mark reminisces with him about his work. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the premiere episode of Fun for All Ages with Frank Santopadre, Frank kicks off this new adventure with a heartfelt and hilarious tribute to "Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast!" Joining Frank for an hour of stories, memories and laughs are GGACP producing partner Dara Gottfried, entertainment reporter Gino Salomone, and comedy legend Alan Zweibel. Also in this episode: Bob Costas almost tanks his career, Gino runs afoul of Robert Wagner, Dara shares a priceless voicemail from Bill Macy, and everyone recalls their favorite Gilbert moments. PLUS: Dick Cavett saves the day! Gino remembers Ruth Buzzi! Alan reports from SNL's 50th! And Frank lays out his next chapter in podcasting! Be sure to subscribe now on  Apple ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fun-for-all-ages-with-frank-santopadre/id1824012922⁠ Spotify ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/18EQJNDwlYMUSh2uXD6Mu6?si=97966f6f8c474bc9⁠ Amazon ⁠https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/13b5ed88-d28d-4f0c-a65e-8b32eecd80f6/fun-for-all-ages-with-frank-santopadre⁠ YouTube ⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgvlbF41NLLPvsrcZ9XIsYKkH_HvUXHSG⁠ iHeart ⁠https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-fun-for-all-ages-with-fran-283612643/⁠ TuneIn ⁠http://tun.in/pxOWO Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alan tells Mark how in show business sometimes you have to break up two colleagues from going at each other, like the Trump and Musk fight. Everyone has a podcast or a new book out nowadays, what does Alan think of that? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alan tells Mark how in show business sometimes you have to break up two colleagues from going at each other, like the Trump and Musk fight. Everyone has a podcast or a new book out nowadays, what does Alan think of that?

"Comedy writers learn early on that we have a high degree of anonymity," writes podcast guest Alan Zweibel in his memoir Laugh Lines: My Life Helping Funny People Be Funnier. "Our words are spoken publicly by others who often have famous faces. Or by unknown people on their way to having famous faces." As one of the founding writers on Saturday Night Live, Alan's words were given voice by a cast of virtual unknowns, all on their way to becoming famous faces, eventually earning worldwide acclaim as some of the most iconic comic performers of their generation. Over the course of his 50-year career, he has penned jokes for dozens of Borscht Belt comedians and written for some of SNL's most memorable characters (such as Gilda Radner's "Roseanne Rosannadanna," John Belushi's "Samurai," and Garrett Morris's "Chico Escuela"), and helped to craft SNL producer Lorne Michaels's now-legendary appeal to invite the Beatles to appear on the show for the standard artist fee of $3,000.  Alan is the recipient of five Emmy Awards for his work in television, which in addition to SNL also includes "It's Garry Shandling's Show" (which he co-created and produced), "The Late Show with David Letterman," and "Curb Your Enthusiasm." He is the author of 11 books, including the 2006 Thurber Prize-winning novel The Other Shulman, and Bunny Bunny: Gilda Radner—A Sort of Romantic Comedy, and six off-Broadway plays. He also collaborated with Billy Crystal on the Tony Award-winning play "700 Sundays," and with Martin Short on his Broadway hit "Fame Becomes Me," and co-wrote the screenplays for the films "Dragnet," "North," "The Story of Us," and "Here Today." He joins us on the podcast to reflect on a singular career as one of our leading comedy writers and humorists—and a wickedly funny body of work that has earned him an honorary Ph.D. from the State University of New York, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Writers Guild of America, East.  Learn more about Alan Zweibel: Website Facebook Instagram Bluesky Please support the sponsors who support our show: John Kasich's Heaven Help Us (now available for pre-order) Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

Alan Zweibel Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson Live from the Zoom Room, it's Alan Zweibel! It was so great to jump back in with the fabulous, funny, and fun Emmy Winner. Alan took us back to his earliest days in the biz, how he made his way in, the first joke he sold, still funny! The Catskill Mountains, Morty Gunty, Freddie Roman, Rodney Dangerfield, maybe his first collaborator… with whom Alan comes full circle, presently. Doing standup with Billy Crystal, leading to years of collaboration, being discovered by Lorne Michaels… SNL, Alan's game changer. Gilda, a partnership made in heaven - how Roseannne Roseannadanna and Emily Latella came to be, Belushi, Ackroyd, the current film, Saturday Night, where it felt right, where liberties were taken, how it felt to have someone play him. Co-creating It's The Garry Shandling Show with Gary, how they worked together. Writing Lunatics with Dave Barry, long distance, For This We left Egypt with Dave and Adam Mansbach, and a great story about how that friendship and collaboration began. Broadway with Billy and with Martin Short, and the cute, sweet note after their encounter at the SNL 50th reunion. Alan's current collab with Barry Levinson, how that started and where it is today, that full circle Rodney story coming to fruition currently… and through it all, Robin. Alan's love and wife since the early SNL days… and his most fruitful collaborator. Alan's devotion to his family is what stories are made of, as is his work ethic, resiliency, tenacity, and talent. His storytelling is what good conversations are made of, served up with laughs, lots of them. What an inspiration! Loved every minute of this. And I sure did need the eggs. Alan Zweibel Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson Wednesday, 5/14/23, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET Streamed Live Links in the comments Replay on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1uvKClTYdY

Mark asks Alan how come the streaming shows move so slow nowadays? Alan explains the behind-the-scenes action of writing, for upcoming scenes and lines for a show. Alan has something new he is working on, what could it be?

Mark asks Alan how come the streaming shows move so slow nowadays? Alan explains the behind-the-scenes action of writing, for upcoming scenes and lines for a show. Alan has something new he is working on, what could it be?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Writer, director, producer, comedian and actor Alan Zweibel joins Frank Mackay on this episode of The Frank Mackay Show!

Writer, director, producer, comedian and actor Alan Zweibel joins Frank Mackay on this episode of The Frank Mackay Show!

Mark and Alan talk about all the moments from the SNL 50th show this past weekend. SNL's demographic is the same as it's always been.

Dan Vitale joined me and discussed social media presence; attention he got from Marc Maron's podcast; Lorne Michaels seeing him; his audition for The New Show; his fluctuating weight from 1986 - 1991; Cobra Kai; streaming services give more content; Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Bill Burr & Louis CK; being Lorne Michaels protege; being funnier now than when he was "hot" in the '80's because he's off alcohol and drugs and older; being listed above Norm MacDonald as a SNL cast member in Rolling Stone; growing up in Island Park, Long Island; other famous Island Park residents including Al D'Amato and the basis for Tony Soprano; where he did stand up pre Covid; living through Covid and protests; going back to college and feeling like Johnny Lawrence from Cobra Kai; IPhones; Dave Attell, memories of Don Novello and Randy Quaid; wanting to know who from his cast was invited to the 40th anniversary; Joan Cusack; Anthony Michael Hall; Damon Wayans; Jon Lovitz; Nora Dunn; Dennis Miller; Danitra Vance; Terry Sweeney;  A Whitney Brown; Jim Downey; Franken & Davis; remembering the Madonna episode and the horrible week working with Chevy Chase; being with world's largest man Michael Hebrank (1100 lbs.) at the Brookhaven Rehabilitation Center; intermittent fasting; coming back for the Ron Reagan Jr. episode; residuals; current SNL; Baldwin's Trump vs. Carrey's Biden; Taran Killam; Darrell Hammond making SNL a civil service job; Alan Zweibel; and John Murray

There's a new book coming out about Saturday Night Live. Mark and Alan talk about the aspects of the Super bowl that make it great. Alan explains what he has been working on recently.

President Trump is working on 80 20 issues first which one of them includes reworking the federal aid. Each week the democrats lies on MSNBC get bigger. Mark interviews writer Alan Zweibel. There's a new book coming out about Saturday Night Live. Mark and Alan talk about the aspects of the Super bowl that make it great. Alan explains what he has been working on recently.

Once DOGE gets a good grip on the USAID, your taxes may go down. President Trump is working on 80 20 issues first which one of them includes reworking the federal aid. Each week the democrats lies on MSNBC get bigger. Mark interviews writer Alan Zweibel. There's a new book coming out about Saturday Night Live. Mark and Alan talk about the aspects of the Super bowl that make it great. Alan explains what he has been working on recently. It costs about 8 million dollars for a 30 second ad to air during the Super bowl. President Trump will be creating a brand-new commission on religious liberty. Trump believes he is more religious more than ever now because of his assassination attack on July 13th , 2025, in Butler Pa. Mark interviews Restaurant Critic Steve Cuozzo. Steve and Mark talk about what's happening with restaurants and office space in NYC. Steve lets us know which restaurants have the best food. Some restaurants in NYC are making their way to the west coast. 

Mark and Allan talk about how Saturday Night Live and TV shows are performing today. Alan tells Mark about his memories, highlighting his career thru his writing and more. 

GGACP celebrates 2025's Year of the Snake by revisiting a memorable Milton Berle anecdote, as told by Emmy-winning comedy writer and Thurber Prize-winning author Alan Zweibel. In this episode, Alan discusses (among other topics) the evolution of “Saturday Night Live,” the genius of Larry Gelbart and Neil Simon and the 2018 documentaries about longtime friends and collaborators Gilda Radner and Garry Shandling. Also, Desi Arnaz invents the sitcom, Jay Leno offers sage advice, Buck Henry makes a bad investment and Gilbert makes like Willy Loman. PLUS: Praising Kate McKinnon! Remembering Bruno Kirby (and Herb Sargent)! Mel Brooks comes to dinner! And Alan writes the Paul “Bridge Over Troubled Water” Simon Special! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Larry is joined by Emmy Award-winning writer and producer Alan Zweibel to discuss his time during the first few years of ‘Saturday Night Live'. Alan begins the conversation by sharing his feelings about the 50th anniversary of ‘SNL' and detailing the anatomy of a good joke. Larry and Alan then talk about Lorne Michaels' original concepts for the show and detail the inspiration for some of Zweibel's favorite sketches (15:34). Next, they examine some of the iconic performers and hosts who made those first shows so special, including Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Andy Kaufman (24:36). After the break they talk about the lasting influence of ‘SNL's early commercial parodies and pay tribute to the great Gilda Radner (38:11). Alan ends the show by remembering some of the lessons he learned as one of the original writers at ‘SNL' and some of the projects he has lined up for the future (49:17). Host: Larry Wilmore Guest: Alan Zweibel Producer: Chris Sutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom Homan is ready to clean up the migrant issue here in NYC. Mark interviewed Alan Zweibel, Writer and Producer interview: Mark and Alan discussed the changes happening at SNL. There aren't many recurring characters on SNL. Alan will be the subject of a documentary.

GGACP looks back on its 6th anniversary -- and the release of Episode #300 -- by revisiting PART TWO of a live evening of story and song from New York City's Cutting Room, featuring Mario Cantone, Marilu Henner, Richard Kind, Paul Shaffer and surprise guest performer David Yazbek (as well as special guests Susie Essman, Barbara Feldon, Tom Leopold, Jackie Martling, Jeff Ross and Alan Zweibel). Also in this episode: Gilbert and Jeff star in “CSI,” David and Paul pay tribute to Ed McMahon, Tony Curtis puts the moves on Bette Davis and Richard and Mario (finally!) debate the merits of “Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol.” PLUS: Mason Reese! “Wait Until Dark”! The Island of Misfit Toys! The musical stylings of the Gilbert Gottfried Orchestra! And a Broadway icon drops by to join the fun! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alan Zweibel is an original Saturday Night Live writer, has won five Emmy Awards and two Writers Guild of America Awards for his work in television, which includes It's Garry Shandling's Show (co-creator and producer) and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Among his eclectic body of work, Zweibel collaborated with Billy Crystal on the Tony Award-winning production of 700 Sundays, and most recently co-wrote and produced the feature film, Here Today with Crystal. He has written 11 books—his latest, a cultural memoir Laugh Lines: My Life Helping Funny People Be Funnier was published by Abrams Books in 2020. Other books include The Other Shulman: A Novel, which won the 2006 Thurber Prize for American Humor and Lunatics with Dave Barry.

Book a Free Consultation with Peter About Risa: For the past 4 decades Risa has worked consistently as a director, producer, casting director, writer, and teacher. She's had the great fortune to have collaborated with some of the most talented, passionate, and groundbreaking artists in the world. She's continued to move successfully from one arena to another – from theatre to film to television and back. With two feature films in her directorial body of work – the cult classic, 200 CIGARETTES, and more recently, THE CON ARTIST, made in Canada, Risa's also directed in television, including multiple episodes of THE TWILIGHT ZONE for the WB, and several shows for HBO, Lifetime, and Comedy Central. Risa's directed dozens of plays in New York (The Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Second Stage, Manhattan Theatre Club) and in Los Angeles. She calls The Ensemble Studio Theatre her original artistic home, where she's been a member in NY for over 40 years, producing and directing several years of the flagship festival MARATHON OF ONE-ACT PLAYS. And she founded EST-LA, a thriving Los Angeles theatre company. Some of her favorite director-playwright collaborations have been with Edward Allan Baker, John Shanley, Richard Greenberg, Bill Bozzone, Alan Zweibel, and Neil Cuthbert. In L.A. Risa founded and produced ACT ONE, a successful two-year festival of one-acts, in conjunction with Showtime Networks. As a founding Artistic Director of EST-LA, Risa worked with HBO, producing and directing a series of acclaimed one-acts for The Aspen Comedy Arts Festival. In her long association with HBO, starting in the early 80's as a talent scout for comedians, Risa co-produced two years of THE YOUNG COMEDIANS SHOW for the network. She was also a TV producer with The Carsey Werner Company.

SNL Hall of Fame Water Cooler Podcast – Alan ZweibelIn this episode, hosts Joe, Shari, and jD take us on a nostalgic journey into Saturday Night Live (SNL) history, focusing on legendary comedy writer Alan Zweibel and his contributions to SNL's early seasons. From the behind-the-scenes dynamics of writers like Zweibel to iconic characters like Gilda Radner's creations, the hosts delve deep into the essential pop culture moments of SNL.Tune in as the hosts share their insights, sprinkle in celebrity encounters in podcasts, and rank some of the most memorable moments in SNL history.[00:00] - Intro to the ShowjD, Joe, and Shari kick things off by introducing the premise of the SNL Hall of Fame podcast. They discuss how their rankings and segments will break down this episode's focus.[02:15] - Alan Zweibel's Career & ContributionsA deep dive into Alan Zweibel's role as one of the original SNL writers. The hosts discuss his relationship with Gilda Radner, his work on classic sketches like the Weekend Update jokes, and his extensive influence on early SNL.[04:38] - Classic SNL Sketches Featuring Alan ZweibeljD highlights how Zweibel worked on some of the classic SNL sketches, including the Samurai and Emily Litella sketches. Shari reflects on Zweibel's ability to collaborate across the writer's room with people like Gilda Radner and Robert Smigel.[07:52] - Ranking SNL Hall of Famers: Beck Bennett vs. Sherry O'TerryThe hosts engage in a lively debate over the rankings of various SNL Hall of Fame contenders, including Beck Bennett, Sherry O'Terry, and Bob Odenkirk. They also discuss the trajectory of SNL cast members and who deserves Hall of Fame status.[15:02] - Celebrity Encounters in PodcastsA fun discussion about podcast co-host Jeremy Dove's story of meeting Pharrell, sparking a conversation about celebrity encounters in podcasts and how they add flavor to episodes.[18:40] - SNL Hall of Shame MomentsThe hosts critique some of the weaker sketches from a recent SNL episode featuring Ariana Grande and Stevie Nicks. They call out the misuse of cameos and how it limits airtime for regular cast members.[23:02] - SNL Cast Dynamics & CameosShari points out the challenges of balancing SNL cast dynamics with the regular appearance of cameos. They discuss how Heidi Gardner and Eggo Nwodim deserve more screen time.[30:48] - Closing Thoughts on the EpisodeThe hosts wrap up by previewing next week's episode, featuring a discussion with Robin Duke about Joe Piscopo and his impact on SNL.Listen and subscribe to the SNL Hall of Fame podcast for weekly discussions on the essential moments and key players in SNL history. Whether you're a die-hard fan or a casual listener, our breakdowns of essential pop culture moments will keep you entertained.Be sure to follow, rate, and review wherever you listen to podcasts!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/snlhof/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Alan ZweibelIn this episode, we dive into the illustrious career of Alan Zweibel, one of the original writers for Saturday Night Live (SNL). Join us as we explore his pivotal role in shaping some of the show's most iconic sketches, his close partnership with Gilda Radner, and his later collaborations with comedic legends like Larry David and Gary Shandling. Discover why Alan Zweibel deserves a spot in the SNL Hall of Fame. Listen now!Show Notes: • [0:41] Introduction to the episode by JD, kicking off at the SNL Hall of Fame podcast. Shoutout to Gary Seith from the Not Ready for Primetime Podcast, which covers early SNL seasons.Listen to Gary Seith's podcast here. • [2:17] Matt's Minutia Minute: Trivia on Alan Zweibel—one of the original SNL writers, his comedy roots in Brooklyn, and his friendship with Gilda Radner. • [3:51] Overview of Zweibel's impressive writing credits on Saturday Night Live—from Weekend Update sketches to iconic characters like Roseanne Rosannadanna and Emily Litella. • [6:53] Discussion on Zweibel's collaboration with Gilda Radner on Emily Litella and Roseanne Rosannadanna—key figures in early SNL seasons. • [10:32] Analyzing the impact of SNL's Samurai sketches and how Zweibel took the concept and turned it into a classic series for John Belushi. • [13:34] Zweibel's post-SNL career: It's Gary Shandling's Show and his work with Gary Shandling, including writing and producing for the show. • [19:02] Zweibel's close friendship with Larry David and his contributions to Curb Your Enthusiasm, including one of his memorable appearances on the show. • [21:25] The deep connection between Zweibel and Gilda Radner, which led to some of SNL's most beloved characters and a lifelong friendship. • [28:38] Discussing the SNL Weekend Update format and Zweibel's contributions alongside Herb Sargent—crafting some of the earliest jokes for the segment, including the iconic “prostitution stamp” joke. • [36:12] Special moments from the SNL Mardi Gras special where Zweibel's quick thinking saved the show, as he hand-wrote jokes under the Weekend Update desk. • [44:02] Zweibel's impact beyond SNL, including his role in co-creating It's Gary Shandling's Show and working on the adaptation of Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother.Key Takeaways: • Alan Zweibel was a crucial part of SNL's formative years, contributing to the success of the first five seasons. • His collaboration with Gilda Radner on Weekend Update characters like Emily Litella and Roseanne Rosannadanna helped cement SNL's reputation for groundbreaking comedy. • Zweibel's post-SNL career includes working on legendary shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm and co-creating It's Gary Shandling's Show.Listen in as we celebrate Alan Zweibel's lasting influence on comedy, from SNL to Curb Your Enthusiasm.Connect with Us: • Twitter & Instagram: @SNLHOF • Facebook: SNL Hall of Fame Facebook Group • YouTube: Dewvre1974 YouTube Channel • Gary Seith's Podcast: Not Ready for Primetime PodcastSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/snlhof/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on the pod we welcome back our friend Bill Kenney to discuss the CV of Mr. Danny DeVito. Transcript:Track 2:[0:41] Thank you, Doug DeNance. My name falls off a cliff. And now, J.D. Welcome to the SNL Hall of Fame podcast. My name is J.D., and it is great to be here with you all. I am just fumbling with my keys to get into the Hall of Fame. While I'm doing that, I will wipe my feet. Do the same would you come on in as we prepare to go to a conversation with our friend thomas senna and our equally good friend bill kenny is back to join us and they are here to discuss danny devito now before we go any further i want to just make sure everyone is aware of our new you email address. It is the SNL hall of fame at gmail.com. That's correct. I chose the maximum number of letters I could choose for the prefix, the SNL hall of fame at gmail.com.Track 2:[1:44] It might seem trivial to you, but, uh, we love to hear from you. So send us those emails, review the pod and for heaven's sake listen to the snl water cooler it's our brand new show on the snl hall of fame and uh we have sherry fesco and joe gannon joining me once a week to discuss the week that was in the snl hall of fame and we touch upon the current episode of snl as well where we identify the Hall of Shame and the Hall of Fame moments of that particular episode. I am out of breath because I have been racing down the hall to catch up with our friend Matt Ardill, and we should probably do that.Track 3:[2:33] So I'm going to make a confession here. Even though the show has been on for coming up to 20 seasons, and this gentleman has been on most of those seasons, I haven't seen a single flippin' episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. And this week we're talking about one of its actors and somebody who's got a long resume dating back to Taxi, at least. I'm sure there's more before that. But let's go to our friend Matt Ardill and learn some more about this week's nominee, Denny DeVito. Hey, Denny. Thanks. I am shocked. i genuinely you can't jump in with the nightmare nightmare episode that would just be too much of a system shock but if you ever have the chance it's it's it is dark but it is funny so i highly recommend always sunny um but yeah so i'm looking forward danny is a great a great actor um, 4'10", born November 17th, 1944, who shares the birthday with Lorne Michaels. So same birthday.Track 3:[3:49] So he's born in Neptune, New Jersey, grew up in a family of five, and was raised in Ashbury Park, New Jersey. He would frequently eat at Jersey Mike's, which he grew up just down the street from the first location, which is why in 2022, he became the spokesperson for the subway chain, Jersey Mike's. He just loved it. And Danny is a person who follows his passions.Track 3:[4:17] He was sent to boarding school to keep him out of trouble. He graduated in 1962 and then took a job at his older sister's beautician salon. She paid for him to get his beautician certification, which led to him getting a certificate in makeup at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. But to get that, the teacher said he had to sign up because she couldn't just teach him on the side. He had to be a student of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, so he signed up and found his passion for acting after only a single semester at the school. Cool. Wildly enough, one of his sister's partners at the hair salon was a relative of a future colleague of his, Jack Nicholson, with whom he performed on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. That's right.Track 3:[5:23] This eventually became a prolific career, including 154 acting credits, 49 producer credits, 23 director credits, 16 soundtrack credits and four writing credits. I mean, how can we forget his performance of Troll Toll in the Dayman musical on Always Sunny? I mean, it's the weirdest one of his ever, his experience, his performances.Track 3:[5:52] But I do have to say, I was shocked to also see that he performed Put Down the Ducky on the Sesame Street Put Down the Ducky TV movie. His range is truly epic in scope um now after starting as an actor he actually shared a small apartment with michael douglas and they remain friends to this day um during his time uh in new york he actually met his now estranged wife rhea perlman well in the off-broadway play the shrinking bride uh they then went on to get a grant from the american film institute together and write the and produce minestrone a short film in 1975 which screened at con and has.Track 3:[6:42] Since been translated into five languages um he was the original casting choice for mario in the 1993 super mario's movie uh dropping out i'm guessing after seeing the script uh condemning bob hoskins to infamy um now he this is another one of those like i i'm kind of glad they didn't cast make this choice uh because i don't think it would have worked but he was almost george costanza what he almost he was in consideration for the role of george costanza it wouldn't have worked it would it's it's the wrong energy but it would have been wild to see Now he has been nominated for Best Picture for Aaron Brockovich.Track 3:[7:30] Along with NOMS for Batman Returns, American Comedy Writing Awards, Berlin International Film Festival Awards, Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, BAFTAs, Cable A's, Emmys.Track 3:[7:43] And more. He is so award-nominated, it's hard to keep track. But one of his earliest big wins was a 1981 Emmy for Taxi, which revolved around buying a pair of pants. About how he was so short and so round, he had to go to the Husky Boys section to get pants as an adult. And that was the plot in a Taxi episode that won him his first Emmy. Um, he commits, uh, like during his time as the penguin in those scenes where you see him like noshing on raw fish, that is actual raw fish that he is just tearing into, uh, not fake fish. Um, he is very famous, uh, on social media for his troll foot pictures where he will travel around the world and just take pictures of his great old big troll feet. Um, and in fact own, he is such a fan of Lemoncello. He has actually opened his own Lemoncello, uh, manufacturing plant simply named Lemoncello by Danny DeVito. Well, short and sweet, I suppose you might say.Track 2:[9:03] Of course you might not say as well. There's both options on the table. So let's get right to thomas and our friend bill kenny as they continue to talk about danny devito take it away thomas.Track 4:[9:48] Alright, JD and Matt, thank you so much for that. Hello and welcome to the conversation portion of this episode of the SNL Hall of Fame. Season 6 and we are rolling in this season. It's been a really good one. Talking about lots of great hosts, cast members, musical guests, etc.Track 4:[10:07] Today we're dipping into the host category. A six-timer? If you, well, it depends. I'll ask Bill about this. But yeah, so there's maybe a little caveat to this, but he's at least a five-timer. We consider him a six-timer. It's Danny DeVito today on the SNL Hall of Fame. And with that, of course, Bill Kenney, just amazing SNL knowledge with the Saturday Night Network, a man who mingles with the stars, with Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi. So he, yeah, he's he. But he kind of stepped down in weight class a little bit, and he's appearing with me here on the SNL Hall of Fame. Bill, thanks for joining me. Thomas, thank you for having me back. This is always such a good time. Listen, I mean, you're a celebrity in your own right, so let's not bury the lead here.Track 4:[11:01] Dan Aykroyd is fine, but the conversation is going to be great with this. Always a good time to talk to you. I appreciate that, man. So you've done a host before, Martin Short. We had such a blast with that Marty Short episode. And I know you're a Danny DeVito fan, so I had to ask you. He's one of the names that I threw out, and you jumped on Danny right away. So before we get started in that, I'm curious, what's going on over at the Saturday Night Network? We just started celebrating Season 50 of Saturday Night Live, a couple episodes into it. What's going on there as far as continuing the celebration here? Yeah, if you haven't checked us out in a while, please do so.Track 4:[11:44] During show weeks, we have a lot of great content from our Hot Take show, which is right after SNL on Saturday night at 1.10 a.m. We also have our roundtables, which dive deeper into the sketches. And then By the Numbers is every Wednesday, and we talk about the statistics, which is where we made our bones at the beginning of our podcast so and then of course there's lots of other content we do in off weeks uh during the summer we just uh did the greatest host countdown of all time thomas you joined us for one of the last episodes of that we had a lot of fun uh breaking that down and uh i think that's where the danny devito uh stuff started right because he was on the very first episode of the host countdown that we did and uh we all agreed, that it was way too low, and I can't wait to talk about that as well.Track 4:[12:36] Yeah, 100%. And I heard how much love you had for Danny and his hosting gigs and stuff. So I had to kind of like throw his name out there for you in the off season. So I love the stuff that you do in the off weeks in the off season. That's where all of us like dorks can roll up our sleeves and get get into like brass tacks about SNL. So I love that you guys do different drafts. There's different like neat concept shows. That's when the dorks thrive, Bill.Track 4:[13:03] Oh, without a doubt. That's when we have, we've had a lot of great stuff like SNL stories, which we talked to alumni, you kind of referenced Dan Aykroyd. We did a Blues Brothers, we went to a Blues Brothers convention, James Stevens and I, another podcaster, and we got to talk to Jim Belushi and Dan Aykroyd there. So that was a lot of fun. But we've talked to Mary Gross and Gary Kroger, a whole host of people who have had some association with SNL through the years. So that's always a lot of fun, too. So check that out as well. And then, of course, everything you need to know about SNL. And this will be the final plug, Thomas. We don't want to bog it down too much. But John and James have been doing that every week. And it's kind of these 15-minute mini episodes of kind of a starter's guide to SNL. Starting with season one going through. So if you don't have the time, like Thomas and I do, to sit through 30 episodes of SNL in a week, you can go watch this for 15 minutes and kind of satiate your thirst for it.Track 4:[14:09] Now, recently, John was a guest of mine and Deremy's on our other podcast, Pop Culture 5. We did six essential SNL sketches. And I was telling John, like, the everything you need to know about SNL. Those videos are some of my favorite content on YouTube. Just in general. Like, the editing's immaculate. The content is great. It looks great. It sounds great. It's just, like, that's one of my favorite things on YouTube that I look forward to. Yeah, without a doubt. And even people like us who know so much about SNL, it's still good to go back and be able to watch these and remember, what season was that in? Oh, yeah, that's right. So it kind of gives you, you know, jumpstart your brain as far as SNL. If you're not doing it already, make sure to check out all the great content they have over at the Saturday Night Network. Today, we're going to get into Danny DeVito as a host. So a little brief background, Danny did a lot of acting throughout the 70s, mostly playing bit parts. He was in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a decent amount of screen time. He basically said nothing in that movie, but he was just kind of there smiling and grinning while Jack Nicholson did his thing. He got his big break, though, starring in Taxi from 1978 to 1983. Bill, how did you become acquainted with the peculiar and unique person that is Danny DeVito?Track 4:[15:37] Definitely Taxi. And there was a different time back then where we would watch more mature shows like Taxi as kids because we only had three channels. But it was on this killer Tuesday night ABC lineup with Happy Days and Laverna Shirley and shows like that. And it was, you know, if you've liked Cheers, it's kind of the Cheers that people have forgotten about. It was set in this cab company in New York. And Danny played this very kind of volatile role, you know, scoundrel with a heart of gold as the years went on and you got to see. But that was where I met him. And it's still a great show. It's something I like to go back and watch every now and then. And it still holds up after all these years. It's a stellar ensemble. Yeah, it's one that I keep meaning to go back and try to rewatch. I used to catch episodes every now and then on Nick at Night.Track 4:[16:32] And then maybe MASH would come on or something. I'd hear the music and then that was time for me to go to sleep. But I would catch Taxi sometimes on Nick at Night. Probably for me, watching Twins, Throw Mama from the Train, kind of things of that nature. I really started appreciating Danny and his quirks. And he had this presence about him that far exceeded his stature, you know what I'm saying? So the way he was able to command the screen, it was almost like a Joe Pesci in a way, even though Danny maybe was less menacing, but he was still that kind of intense guy who would just take over the screen, I think, Bill. Yeah, I wonder how people view him, younger people view him today, because, I mean, he was a legitimate movie star. You mentioned some of them. I mean, from starting around 84, 85, he's in a hit almost every year for the next 10 years. You know, Romancing the Stone, War of the Roses, gets into the 90s and he's in Hoffa and Batman Returns, gets shorty. So there's always something going on with Danny. He compensates his short stature with just a commanding performance, no matter what he's in.Track 4:[17:45] Well, I'm really happy. I think a lot of the younger folks still watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Philadelphia so they really like enjoy Danny DeVito from that so it's funny to talk to like my niece is a big uh it's always sunny fan and so it's funny I tell her like have you seen Danny in this have you watched this have you seen his SNL hosting gigs like you need to go check out Danny like pre it's always sunny but I'm glad that the younger generation is getting a little taste uh of DeVito on it's always sunny is that something that you've checked out Bill oh my One of my favorite shows outside of SNL. Yeah, still. I mean, that's something that if I just need to have something on in the background, I'm going to Always Sunny and throwing on an episode. Because it's been on for 18 years at this point, almost 19 years. Yeah. And it still holds up. I mean, it really, it's the dirtier friends or Seinfeld or however you want to look at it. people with no soul who just kind of found each other in this crazy world and don't give a shit what they do to anybody else. And Danny is a huge part of that. He probably saved that show because he wasn't in the first season of that and was able to kind of boost it up.Track 4:[18:57] Make it what it is. Yeah, absolutely. It definitely wouldn't be around without Danny. I think the other core guys like Rob and Glenn and Charlie and them, Caitlin, would tell you that Danny probably saved the show. So I'm really just happy that the younger folks, some of whom probably shouldn't be watching It's Always Sunny, but be that as it may, that they get to appreciate Danny. We talked about, obviously, some of his trademarks, like his stature, his offbeat personality. One thing, especially watching these episodes, and it relates back to something that I've noticed or talked about with other hosts who I consider great, is that Danny's a really good actor.Track 4:[19:41] And that serves him well in committing to these sketches. We just talked about on the S&N host countdown and on the SNL Hall of Fame, Adam Driver, who's a good actor and that serves him well. Danny, you know, I think, like I said, his stature, his kind of weird personality sometimes, I think that kind of overshadows that he's a good actor, Bill, and it serves him well in these sketches.Track 4:[20:07] Matches. Yeah, and it's very interesting to see when he came into SNL. You know, you can say a lot about the Ebersole years that didn't work. I think one of the things that definitely did work is that he found hosts that were kind of outside the box. There was no reason in 1982 to bring a Danny DeVito into the show. Now, this predates most of his movies. He is on Taxi, of course, but he's the the third or fourth or fifth lead on that show but ebersole saw something in him and decided to bring him in uh i mean it's one of those seasons in season seven where we get so many unique we get the smothers brothers we get olivia newton john right after this which is kind of outside of uh normal thinking as well uh and so he just kind of fits into this one of the wackiest seasons of snl we've ever had. And he just, he meshes immediately with the people he's working with. They feel comfortable putting him in recurring sketches immediately and some original pieces as well. So right out of the gate, we get to see what Dan does.Track 4:[21:14] Yeah, so he first appeared season seven toward the end, episode 19. That was in May of 1982.Track 4:[21:21] Interesting timing. And I think it's kind of funny. I almost wonder if Ebersole and NBC brought him on as like maybe to brag on ABC. A little bit, a little bit of a friendly competition there because Taxi had just been canceled, Bill. And that was what his monologue was all about, Taxi having been canceled by ABC. This afternoon, my little immigrant Italian mother, she gave me this letter. She said to me, Danny, I want you to read this on the national TV.Track 4:[22:03] Son, you have been besmirched by men so shallow that they do not know the depths to which their deeds have taken them.Track 4:[22:16] And funny enough, about a month after this aired, NBC picked up Taxi for one final season. So that's the funny side of it. But I find this monologue fascinating because you know i can't think of another monologue in the history of the show that's like this it's very very unique so he as you say you know they're kind of giving a swan song to to taxi and he brings out the entire cast now we've we've seen cameos when when tv stars have hosted before uh the most recent i can think of is like steve carell bringing in and Jenna Fisher, and a couple other people from the office, but to have the entire cast of a show from another network.Track 4:[23:01] Come on to the stage to kind of take their final bow. And it's the only time in the history of the show that we see Judd Hirsch, Mary Lou Henner, Christopher Lloyd. These are big names. These are people who go on to do a lot of different things, and they never appear on SNL at any other point. So that is very, very intriguing to me, that they gave Danny the freedom to do this and find a way to make this one of the most unique monologues in the history of the show. Yeah, it totally is. And just seeing who they would become. People still know Judd Hirsch. He just recently appeared in The Fablemans not too long ago. Christopher Lloyd, obviously, who would go on to do Back to the Future. Who framed Roger Rabbit after that? Tony Danza. So Tony Danza did host SNL. Tony Danza does come back and host, yeah. A couple times.Track 4:[23:52] Yeah yeah but he's really the only one he's the only one andy kaufman comes out uh in his neck brace he's still in the middle of the whole wrestling jerry lawler thing so he has to come out sporting the neck brace kind of keep kayfabe alive uh there but this was neat i love danny's calling out like abc the american broadcasting corporation is the one who canceled us and i'm sure nbc had i if they didn't already had signed the contracts they had ideas probably of like, we're bringing in Taxi into the family, so let's do this. No, I agree. It was just so cool to see all those people on stage. Mary Lou Henner. Yeah. Yeah, it was just so cool to see all those people on stage. I enjoyed it. It was simple, but I enjoyed getting to know Danny and seeing the rest of the cast of Taxi. Yeah, exactly. And it was such a great segue into the next piece where you get to see this pre-tape.Track 4:[24:45] With the opening credits to Taxi, basically, until it cuts to danny getting out of the taxi looking at the building at the abc building and kind of mulling in his mind now this is not something after 9-11 we would ever see again i'm sure right but at the time it was very very humorous and still very funny if you if you can look at it in the frame of where it's at and uh he's mulling what he should do and then decides to blow up abc and drives away like are you serious we're we're on a network television show granted at 11 30 at night and we have the star of another network show blowing up that network like absolutely bananas yeah yeah yeah i doubt that would happen today for for a few reasons i mean of course you mentioned the obvious one but yeah network on network crime doesn't seem to be happening much more they seem to be more buddies you had the uh the late night hosts on cbs nbc and abc doing a whole podcast together during during exactly yeah that wouldn't happen yeah yeah that's when there was competition and rivalry no that was great and we gave he they gave the people what they wanted he's coming from taxi he's familiar with taxi so right away let's do a test so let's do something taxi related that's what we saw with adam driver and first thing, in his first episode, he was Kylo Ren, doing a sketch as Kylo Ren. So we're kind of giving the people what we want, Bill. You like that as a viewer?Track 4:[26:15] Sure, absolutely. And to put yourself in the mindset of a 1982 viewer, you know, the.Track 4:[26:22] Network shows where you were attached to them in a way, I think that is not quite the same today. There are shows like that, obviously, that people still attach themselves to and things like that. But when popular shows that weren't quite getting the ratings that the networks wanted were canceled, people would petition, would not riot in the streets, but they would get to a point where they would do whatever they could to try to bring the show back. And I think this is a perfect example of that. And to have this kind of moment in time encapsulated on SNL is really, really interesting. Yeah, 100%. Just like a bygone era of network TV. It's like a really neat time capsule to see. I think he was kind of light, though, on sketches. I think he did really well this episode. Just a little light on sketches. Were there any highlights that you wanted to talk about from his first hosting gig here? Yeah. One of the interesting things, and this has come up on the host countdown on the SNN.Track 4:[27:22] It's hard to explain to people who haven't gone back and watched pre-2000 that SNL didn't lean on its host as much as they do today. Today you'll get them in 10, 11 sketches sometimes or segments. They didn't always do that back then. And you're right. There isn't as much here. In fact, I think the last 20 minutes of the show we don't even see him. Right. He just kind of disappeared. Like, that's just crazy to think about. I don't know if his makeup from Pudge and Solomon was, like, hard to get off, so they just kind of, like, said, take the rest of the night off or something. Yeah, exactly. Like, how did that come to be? But, yeah, he just kind of completely disappears. But, yeah, Solomon and Pudge is a great one to talk about. That's one of my favorite recurring sketches from that era. I think it's just one of those quieter recurring things that we got. It really showcases Eddie and Joe. And when they bring somebody in like Danny to play off of them, I found that very interesting.Track 4:[28:20] I disappeared last December when we had that big snowstorm I'm home I'm home in my room my cold I try to keep warm I drinking some wine get down I looked out at the bottom and it says on the label visit our visions in Sonoma Valley valley. Next thing you know, I'm walking around some valley.Track 4:[28:50] I'm walking in the valley. It's all over.Track 4:[28:54] I look up, I look up. The executive stress test, I think, is probably the best original sketch that we see. He's working for this company, and he's been promoted, but they kind of want to make sure that he's got the bones for it. So he calls his wife, and his wife is clearly having some kind of intimate affair with a gardener. And you know he's he's perplexed on what's happening eddie comes in as a drug dealer who's saying that he owes all this money for the drugs that he's been taking christine ebersol comes in and talks about uh the herpes that that he gave her so and then it just kind of wraps up with ah well we just wanted to make sure you were okay with uh with this job so um it's all an act and as we find out towards the end so i think that's one of the better acting moments that we get to see from danny in this episode yeah he played really aggravated confused like really well in that sketch that's where his acting ability really shines i completely agree with that that executive stress test sketch again light episode he was in a whiner sketch he played kind of like a somebody who was kind of annoyed but showed extra try to exercise some patience with the whiners.Track 4:[30:21] Well, you have to plug them in here. Well, don't kick the china. All right, I won't kick the china. Just let me put... Here. Give me this. Plug it in. Oh, thank you. Let's be honest. That's good acting in and of itself because those whiners are a little hard to take. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I imagine... In the sketch and out of the sketch. On an airplane, I imagine, for sure. So, yeah, that was awesome acting by Danny. But I think even though he was only in a handful of sketches that night, his screen presence was really felt. And it's not a surprise that the show brought him back just barely under two years later, two seasons later. But you could really feel Danny's screen presence in this first episode, even given the light work. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. It's rare to see somebody come back that quickly at this point in the show. After we get out of the original era, Ebersole doesn't seem to like to have a lot of recurring hosts.Track 4:[31:24] So, yeah, to have him come back, as you said, quickly in season nine, pretty much, I think, is it the second episode of that season? It's episode two, yeah. Yeah, and talk of another strange thing, you know, talked about Danny not really fitting the mold of what you would think an SNL host would be at that point because he didn't have any movies coming out and things like that. Well, now he's hosting with his wife, Rhea Permit. And you say, oh, well, she's on Cheers.Track 4:[31:53] Cheers was 77th in the rankings, Nielsen rankings, the year before. It was not a hit. It was almost canceled. So here it is. They're just starting their second season. Danny's not on any show, but they're hosting the show together. So that's really funny to me to see how that matched up. And the episodes where we get married couples, I mean, take it with a grain of salt. Your mileage may vary with Kim Basinger's and Alec Baldwin's of the world but I think this one works pretty good we get them together a lot which is something that is great to see they're not kind of separated, so I enjoyed this episode a lot yeah I thought it was good the monologue was a little flat it seemed like neither of them they were kind of like we're not sure what to do we have some sort of kernel of a thing.Track 4:[32:49] Yeah but it was It sort of fell flat a little bit. I'll give them a pass, though, because Vicky said this is a fun episode. It really shined a light on a reason why I love Danny DeVito. He plays weird. He has such weird energy that he can convey. The two sketches from this episode that I was drawn most toward had that weird quality about Danny. That's what stood out to me for this episode. Which sketches stood out for you? So the Autograph Hounds one, I kind of got a kick out of. And they reminded me of, you've seen The King of Comedy?Track 4:[33:30] So they totally reminded me of, like, Sandra Bernhardt and Robert De Niro's characters from The King of Comedy. Hey, Denise! You screwball! I said you were going to miss it, and you missed it! Yes, you did! You missed it! I struck gold! No, you didn't! You couldn't! I did, I could, and I would even if I couldn't! You know, as Cole Porter said, it's delightful, it's delicious, it's DeWitt! No! Yeah, yeah, yeah, Joyce DeWitt. I saw her coming out of the Burger King, and I nailed her. Look at this. It says, to Herbie, with love, Joyce DeWitt. I don't believe it. Yeah, yeah, what a woman. They're out there waiting. Dick Cavett comes out, and it was really funny. I think there was an ad lib that Dick Cavett made that kind of caught Danny off guard a little bit. He referenced his hat or something.Track 4:[34:21] Yes, yeah. And Danny was like, ah, so he kind of tried to play it off. Danny's obsessed with Ed McMahon. man that's like his white whale of autographs so but the way they they talk about it there's just like he and uh and uh rio perlman's in that sketch as well and tim kazarensky and the way they're playing that is something of the king of comedy it just like he plays weird so well yeah and i wonder if i i think this is about the time that movie was coming out so it might be a kind of an homage to that yeah that's great i had not thought of that yeah i think because i've recently seen the king of comedy so i'm like oh yeah they exactly remind me of he reminds me of rupert pubkin for me uh one of my favorite and i think we get to see uh as you said the wacky side of danny is uh the small world sketch which just really cracks me up and i know you'll get this reference uh you know it's about 12 years later that we get to wake up and smile with david allen Alan Greer and Will Ferrell and, you know, one of the all-time greats. This gets forgotten. I think this is along that lines and is almost like the ancestor to what that would be, where they get stuck on the small world ride in Disney and they're playing that infectious and annoying song over and over and over again. And, you know, cut to three hours later and now Kazerinsky's dead.Track 4:[35:45] And they're trying to figure out how they're going to get him off this, you know, this ride that anybody could easily just jump off of and, you know, jump on the stairs and get out of there. But I love the wackiness of this and the darkness that's kind of under the cover of, of it's a small world after all. So we get to see Danny really shine here with real.Track 4:[36:19] Try and get us out of here you're gonna have to swim for hell don't be crazy Doris the boat's gonna start up any second come on there's no need to panic it is that darkness and I love when uh and wake up and smile is like a great example and I think uh Andrew Dismukes is somebody current who kind of like does things that are similar is when something just like some little thing that happens in life or some little inconvenience that just seems so innocuous and so small at the time just like freaks people out and and it gets built up and like you like you said like tim kazarensky like dies in the sketch and will and wake up and smile will ferrell kills david allen career and the because the teleprompter's been off the weatherman is dead the teleprompter's been off for like 30 seconds and they start freaking out so i love when something's so simple that hat that just like a minor inconvenience or gets escalated to 11 so quickly. Those are some of my favorite sketches, Bill. A hundred percent. Yeah. This is one of those great moments that, again, I think is just forgotten because it's so long ago and it's in this kind of wishy-washy season of SNL.Track 4:[37:31] Yeah, that was a good one. Small World from, yeah, season nine, episode two. Danny also played a weirdo, a stalker in a book beat. He wrote books about stalking a woman named Deborah Rapoport. And he's just like so right at home with these types of weird characters as we've seen for a long time and it's always sunny but kids danny was doing this in the 80s 70s and 80s yes exactly and i love the way that one ends where he ends up getting shot by the woman he was talking to begin with uh yeah he you know it would be very easy to kind of put him in this uh box of of the character that he played on taxi but he finds a different angle to the smarmyness and the and the real like weirdness of all the different ways he can play that he doesn't just do a caricature of another character that he's.Track 4:[38:28] So I think, again, this is just a perfect example of what we get to see from Danny. Yeah, 100%. It's also cool that he was able to do a sketch with Eddie, with the Dion Dion. It's neat, as comedy nerds, to be able to look it back. That's what's so darn cool about SNL, is we have these pieces where you could go back and say, oh, Danny DeVito did something with Eddie Murphy. They're just doing a scene together. and we're out what other show does that happen where we have this treasure trove of material with these two famous actors and this this might be i don't i can't remember honestly unless i'm blanking of the danny devito and eddie murphy doing any movies together but i think i can think of no but but we have this on snl like that's a part of why i love this show see if you can answer this one look at the screen all right frank is talking on the phone to his good friend Then Ronald Reagan, the president of the United States. Suddenly, the president puts him on hold. What would Frank do?Track 4:[39:28] Well, let me see. Back in the 60s, the candidates lightened him and he switched to Republican party. Now, he's a different Frank now, so I think he let it slide, but he let them know not to let it happen again. Maybe so, Dion. All right, for 50 points and a lot of prizes, let's see what Frank would do. Even though it's a less than great game show concept uh danny really ratchets it up again as the game show host you know they don't just go with the obvious person uh in the host role and uh the the whole point is that they're cutting to scenes of piscopo as sinatra and apparently i i don't know if you knew this um i had not heard this before.Track 4:[40:12] But the entire concept of this sketch was that Piscopo would shoot down ideas about Sinatra for sketches because he'd say Frank wouldn't do that. So he was so embodied in what Frank Sinatra would be okay with that they decided to make an entire sketch about what would Frank do. So that's how the entire point of this sketch is to kind of stick it to Piscopo. Yeah kind of like that yeah that's it that's a that's a fun little nugget for snl fans just kind of them ribbing piscopo for his like adoration of frank and not wanting to like go certain places with uh right right i love it so i think yeah especially as far when you said like as far as uh two people hosting together married couple hosting together uh i think this came off really well. Danny came off great. He's looking like a mainstay on SNL. And the next one, we get to see him play with an entirely different cast. So this is awesome. We see what he can do with another era of the show. So it was season 13, episode 6, December of 87. He's promoting Throw Mama from the Train. Bill, SNL nerd here.Track 4:[41:30] I love it when the host is in a cold open. I'm a sucker for that. Oh, yes, absolutely. I do have a trivia question for you. I'm going to put you on the spot. Oh, boy. I know you like trivia as much as I do. So I went back and kind of culled through the archives of it all. Do you know there's only 10 hosts from the Ebersole era that came into the next Lorne era? Now, we're not counting people like Lily or who were on the original era and then went into Ebersole. I'm talking Ebersole to Lorne, only 10 times in the history of the show in the 35 years since that's happened. And Danny is one of those people. How many do you think you could name? Oh, three? I completely... Did Robin Williams? Robin Williams, yep. He was one of them. A couple of obvious ones with former cast. Oh, like Bill Murray. Yeah. Bill and Chetty. Yep.Track 4:[42:26] I think, I swear like Michael Keaton, but I don't know if he hosted under Lorne. Very good. Okay. That's one of the ones I had forgotten. Really? Yeah, I remember Michael hosting during the Ebersole era. Okay, so he did come back for Lorne. I guess I named four. Yeah, that's... So there's also Drew Barrymore, Eddie, Rick Moranis, another one I had forgotten about because he had hosted with Dave Thomas in the Ebersole era, Jeff Bridges, and Kathleen Lane Turner. Okay. Jeff Bridges is one that, that would have somewhat. Yeah. It took, it took a long time for him to come back. I think it was 2010, but yeah, I mean, it's just kind of because Lauren kind of, it felt like he had decided that that era didn't exist in a lot of ways. He obviously couldn't ignore the Eddie of it all. He must have thought an awful lot of Danny DeVito and what he had done the two times he had hosted previous to Lorne coming back to have him come into this new golden era in season 13. So I found it very, very interesting to see this is one of the few people that Lorne was like, okay, we'll give him a pass. He's too good not to bring back. No kidding. Yeah, that's a really cool stat. I love it. Thanks. Thanks for putting me on the spot. Love to do that. You've done that to me. So, you know, I'm just paying it forward.Track 4:[43:47] Yeah, like to my earlier point in excitement, like they must have really, like Lorne must have really seen something and trusted him and the writers must have trusted him. Again, he's in this cold open and you don't often see that with hosts. And I love, like, that's one of those little SNL things that like I love seeing. Well and again to not to keep going back to the host countdown but that's something that we've seen with the people who are really really good being hosts that they trust him so much that they could put them in a cold open and uh you know often i think the reason that we don't see it a lot is because cold open is one of the last things they do most weeks because it's often topical so there's usually a political slant especially these days um so it's not like the game show that they can write on a tuesday night so the host if they're not comfortable or they're having a hard time adjusting to all the stress of doing the show they don't want to add to that stress by putting the code open and as you said like having somebody like danny who you know you can trust and putting him in there with somebody like phil hartman uh in a topical sketch at the time you know, Reagan versus Gorbachev, was really a tip of the cap to what they were able to.Track 4:[45:01] I think it's also too, I mean, obviously the quick turnaround between the live from New York and the monologue and the host has to be ready for the monologue. And usually, I mean, the host is required to be in the monologue. Cast members may or may not be in the monologue. So they have time to dress and stuff, but the host has to change and then go do the monologue. So unless it's a pre-tape, unless it's something like that, I can see logistically why that might not happen. But Danny was so good here. like it's Gorbachev, like getting annoyed at Reagan's little Hollywood anecdotes and babbling, all of that. So just a really fun characterization by Danny. Really inspired casting. But he could have gotten Lovitz or something to play Gorbachev here. It is important that we do not expect too much from this summit, but it is first step. And from first step, many.Track 4:[45:57] Please, Ron, stop staring at my forehead. Oh, I'm sorry I did it again, didn't I? I'm trying so hard not to, but I've got kind of a mental thing about it. Please continue. Never mind. It wasn't important. Anyway, here we are in Washington, D.C. Please give me the grand tour. And Phil's Reagan is so fantastic, probably the best that we've gotten on the show. And to see the two of them play off of each other, and reagan just keeps getting distracted as he's showing them the washington dc monuments and instead of talking about you know the historical value it's you know where jimmy stewart made a movie or where so-and-so stood on the steps and gave this monologue in a movie back in 1940 and gorbachev wants nothing to do with it and i think danny really plays off of phil so well, So cool to see Danny in the cold open. A light little monologue. He's saying that he went to school with Bruce Springsteen from Asbury Park. So he's showing probably doctored yearbook photos of them. But just a fun, just a quirky little Danny thing.Track 4:[47:10] It highlights Bill from this, his third hosting gig. Gig yeah well i mean we have to talk about church chat right because this is uh you know one of those few instances in the church chat history where the host has done it twice now technically he was not the host the first time he did church chat he was a special guest with uh willie nelson's episode in the season before uh kind of like a crutch because they weren't sure how much willie could do uh so they you know they they picked up the bat phone literally and said you know danny can you do and he came in and did two or three sketches is willie's not an actor and how high is he gonna be well yeah exactly yeah i mean it is the 80s and it is willie so so uh so they do the first church chat in this one but this is the one that's more remembered because this was in christmas specials probably until the early 2010s when you'd see these best of christmas snls um where he's you know ends up singing i think santa claus is coming to town correct yeah here here comes santa claus i think yeah so yeah but yeah this was something that everybody even if they hadn't watched this era of the show was really familiar with because you get to see daddy singing with the church lady, church ladies playing the drums. I'm sure that if you have a kid who was watching this in the early 2000s, you'd have to explain who Jessica Hahn was.Track 4:[48:39] But other than that, you've got this great chemistry, again, with another cast member and Danny, with Dana and Danny. I think they were really good together. So church chat has always been one of those things. It's one of the first recurring sketches that really spoke to me.Track 4:[48:55] So I love going back and watching any church chat I can. and this is one of the best ones that they do. All righty. Now, Daniel, you've been very, very busy. I understand you have a new motion picture out, Throw Mama from the Train. That's right. Wow, that's a charming little title, Daniel. And what is our little film about? Well, in the movie, I want Billy Crystal to do away with my mother, knock her off, because she's a pain in the... Oh so it's a family picture we've done a little film about murdering our mother just in time for christmas how convenient.Track 4:[49:34] Come on loosen up church lady i mean it's a comedy yeah i always remember loving this one even when i was a kid like if you're a child of the 80s you were bombarded with jim baker Baker and Tammy Faye Baker, Jessica Hahn, like, uh, all, all those, like all those people, all this, like, so, so if you're an SNL fan as a kid watching the news as a kid, you knew who these people were. I have vivid memories of like Jan hooks is Jessica Hahn. Uh, so, so this was like, yeah, this is like a, something that's etched in my SNL brain and Danny just like playing himself um it's a good vehicle of course for for uh the church lady to shame him and then show obviously she has like sexual repression deep down in there scolding danny about the title of his movie he's promoting throw mama from the train uh so this yeah this is one of the uh very like memorable i think this one and like the sean penn one the rob lowe one those are like the handful of church lady ones that I'll always remember.Track 4:[50:36] Absolutely. Yes. Yeah, that stands out. Another one that I really like from this episode is Mona Lisa. And it's Danny and our girl Jan are this redneck couple living in this trailer. And they've somehow decided to call in this appraiser who's played by Phil Hartman because they're not sure that their Mona Lisa is the real thing. And of course, it's not. But, you know, it's an easy mistake to make for something like that. It's a reprint, you know, it's a blah, blah, blah. And it just escalates. And it gets into, there's Stradivarius, but it actually turns out to be a little kid's plastic ukulele. Right. And Phil just keeps, you know, dashing their dreams, the amount of money. They spent 50 bucks on this. Gold doubloon, which turns out to be, of course, a chocolate candy. Yeah. The gold wrapper on it, until they get to the Orlov diamond, and it is the actual diamond. And Phil sees an opportunity to fool these supposedly dumb people. No, this is just glass. You are a liar. You get out of here. You're a liar, man. That is the Orlov diamond, mister. We had it appraised at the American Gemological Society. It's a certified stone. Serious. Perhaps I can take another look. No, no, no. Get out of here. Get out of here, mister. We don't need those city folks around here. Go on, get out. Get out. Bam. Woo, woo. Out.Track 4:[52:00] You scared me for a minute there. That phony had me thinking we'd been ripped off right and left. I know it. You know what? We shouldn't have let him eat that gold doubloon, though. That's all right. We've got plenty more where that came from. It's just such a great, great work with Jan again. It's never not good to see somebody with Jan, but I think Danny plays really well with that. That Phil playing the smarmy role is kind of a strange kind of turn of the head because he's always not really in that role a lot, but I think he plays it really well. And getting to see the way that they all play off each other is really, really great. Yeah. And seeing Danny play like a Southern, like a Redneck character, like that's like kind of against type of what Danny will usually play. So that was so fun. Yeah, you're right. Like anybody paired with Jan, it's going gonna make for good watching but it just really struck me is how Danny was playing this like southern character he wasn't playing an angry boss or he wasn't you know he just fell right into this like good acting chops man that's like really those acting chops really definitely helped the sketch.Track 4:[53:08] Yeah, and I mean, listen, we're talking about season 13, and you can argue that this is maybe the greatest season of SNL, one of the greatest, for sure, 13, 14.Track 4:[53:21] And when people ask me about this, like, well, how, why, what makes it so special? I think what you see is, and we'll talk about this sketch now a little bit, the doorman, which kind of wraps up the night. Um you know every it's a buzzword especially within the snl community slice of life slice of life but this is actual slice of life and and there's not it's not played for laughs uh danny's a doorman at an expensive uh hotel and uh you know he's talking to nora who comes in and you know none of the people in the building really seem to know each other because you know coming and going and they're all rich and this and that. But obviously Danny is the doorman does. And Phil is moving out of the building that day. And they start to realize that they had never really gotten to talk to each other in a meaningful way. And this kind of really touches Phil. You know, it's funny. It just hit me. I have seen you every day for years. And I don't know anything about you. I mean, I don't know anything about your life or where you're from or your family. It's no big deal. You know, the building is a big chunk of my life, so I'm here. But still, it hits me like that. Well, you know, I live in Long Island City. I commute. I got three kids. Little one, Amy, is still in high school.Track 4:[54:45] The big one, my son's in engineering school. Oh, he's so smart. My Susan, she's at Queens College. And I love this. Like this, you would not see this in modern SNL, for better or worse, and I think for worse, because there's not a lot of laughs here. It's just three people and then two people having a conversation, figuring out, you know, human way to be. And it's just, I don't know, this is something that always gets to me. I love this. And again, getting to see Danny and Phil work together so much this week is fantastic. And this was kind of the cherry on top.Track 4:[55:25] You said it perfectly. Like this is one of those things that I love that touches on shared human experiences is we've all been in that situation where we kind of get one on one with somebody, the co worker, maybe a family member, like some cousin that maybe we should know better, but we haven't. So we get up one on one and it's like, what are we talking about? And then so they're reminiscing about like, because they only know each other's doorman and tenant. It so they're like remember when that package was delivered and it fell back here like so that's the their only common ground that they're establishing right away is that like a one of tenant and doorman so i think that's like funny and it's like it's inherently funny but it's not like played for like comedic heights necessarily it's very relatable but i just i just love that but there's humanity there because you're right like feel like they want to get to know each other but they're just struggling to figure out the common ground that they have outside of the obvious tenant-doorman thing. Yeah, I mean, they're from two walks of life. You imagine this to be probably a fairly low-paying job, and Phil is the rich person who's leaving this building probably for an even nicer place.Track 4:[56:37] So yeah, as you said, the common ground is really, really interesting. Great season. I'm so glad that Danny came back to play with this cast. He's back the next season 14 episode 7 December of 88 he and Arnold did Twins they're out there promoting that movie Arnold makes an appearance here in this episode they had to do Hans and Franz cold open again Danny's in the cold open Bill two episodes in a row Danny's in the cold open with Hans and Franz which by this point was getting a little stale but he injects life into it as an even more more extreme workout partner with Hans and Franz, Victor, I believe his name was. He's taking it past the pump you up into, you should be dead if you're not working out.Track 4:[57:27] Yeah, and then, as you said, Arnold, I think only the one of two times we ever see him on SNL as well. I think he does a filmed cameo at some other point. But yeah, he's sitting in the audience with Maria Shriver. And this, to me, talk about this monologue. We've talked about a couple of monologues that are kind of, eh, okay. We get to see literally behind the door Thomas. And other than Melissa McCarthy on that Mother's Day episode, do we ever really see this? Like, I can't think of another time. Not on the show. Like, the SNL's released videos and we get to see, like, the host waiting. Yes. Or the James Franco documentary, we got to see John Malkovich waiting. But you're right. Like, in an actual episode, we don't see that. Yeah. And it's all because he had such a rush coming out for the first time.Track 4:[58:24] So he wants to do it again, and that's how they get Arnold involved. He gets to see it live from New York, and they're playing the montage, and Danny's just back there, and you can see him getting riled up. I mean, it's such a tiny space, and it's so funny to think about it, because I think in your mind, especially then, when you didn't have as many behind-the-scenes things to see, you're like, this has to be a huge space. They're walking out onto 8-8. No, it's smaller than a closet in your house, like and you know could barely fit two people as they're standing back there but it's just fascinating and i know i know when i was watching this in 1988 that i just i it blew my mind like it's just one of those moments that you're like oh my god did we really see behind the door so.Track 4:[59:11] It's just fantastic it's just such a great way to open probably his best episode arguably not yeah i think it might be and and that's perfectly for for snl geeks like us yeah seeing that backstage i love danny mouthing when like don pardo's like uh because they do the whole intro and i have forgotten that they did that when i watch this again i'm like oh they might just say danny's name and he's gonna know they did like the whole intro i guess back then there were many cast members so so but you could see a mouth like yeah nora dunn and then he i love how the look on his face when he was able to mouth Danny DeVito, he looked all excited. And then the, you can see the, the, the stage director is like, okay, go, go, go, go, go. And then he, and then, then I love it. He's tired. So he does the rest of the monologue laying down.Track 4:[59:59] Exactly. So, so unique. Even at this point, they had done probably 300, 400 episodes of SNL. So to find a new twist on it was really, really great. And again, to this day, we don't really see something like this. So a lot of fun. This episode has in the running for maybe the best sketch that Danny was in throughout his six episodes. I don't know if we're doing parallel thinking as far as what stood out, but I want to hear from you. There's so much from this one. I assume you're talking about You Shot Me? Yes, absolutely. Yes, I mean, oh my goodness. How great is this? How about you, senor? Do you know how to dance?Track 4:[1:00:48] Ow, ow, ow, ow! Why did you shot me? Oh no, I shot you! Did I hit you? Where did I hit you? Where did I hit you? I shot you in the foot. Oh, no, let me see. Oh, no. Oh, no. Are you all right? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you. Get away from me. Are you okay? You shot me. It doesn't hurt. I'm so sorry. I don't mean let me help you. Get away. A nothing concept. A nothing concept. And talk about where host matters. He finds a way to make, and Lovitz too, but basically to set it up, he's a Mexican bandolier in this old west town, and he walks in and they do the whole stereotypical thing with shoot at his feet to make the guy dance, and they don't usually hit them, even in the movies, but somehow Danny hits Lovitz, and.Track 4:[1:01:48] It's into, you shot me. You shot me. Over and over. Over and over and over again. And there's so many other people in this sketch, but who the hell knows that? Because it's just Lovitz and Danny going back and forth. Lovitz is clearly trying to make Danny break, especially towards the end when he's in the bed. You shot me again. Yeah, this is one of those, I mean, all-time moment with Lovitz. But again, if you had an off week and this was, I don't know, Chris Everett, this doesn't work. You need an all-time classic host coming in here to carry a one-note sketch like this and make it into an all-time classic. It is one note, but it's also clever. To me, I don't know what the writing credit on it is, but it has Conan O'Brien's fingerprints on this or Smigel or somebody like that. I don't know if your close personal friend, Robert Smigel, mentioned this sketch to you. I don't know.Track 4:[1:02:50] He has not, but I can ask him next time we have coffee. Yeah, ask him. It feels like Conan or Jack Handy or just that whole writing stable.Track 4:[1:03:00] The cliche of, now dance for me.Track 4:[1:03:03] You see the cowboy shooting. But what if the cowboy actually shot him in the foot? And also what if the cat the guy still maybe felt a little bad about shooting him so that goes to his house the next day yeah exactly that's like one of the things he's like it's almost like i didn't mean to shoot him i was just trying to literally get him to dance so that's like another just like layer to this and then i love how danny tries to convince him that maybe we're both at fault if you really think about it that's right and that's when you see love it's turn and really start to hammer Danny with the shot. And you almost see Danny break. I think, I think he does a pretty good job of, of turning his head. So you can't really see it, but you know, what's happening. We know what's happening there. Yeah.Track 4:[1:03:51] Danny seems like somebody who's just always wanting to stay in the scene as goofy as he can be. He seems like somebody who's like, here's the scene I'm staying in this because it's going to make it better. So yeah, to me, that's like a forgotten classic kind of hard to watch nowadays. Days you kind of have to know where to be a sleuth and know where to look but this was one when i was a kid and the you shot me is like hearing lubbitt say that's just all burned into my snl brain again yeah and it's only done this one time but it is one of those things that you would say with your friends and uh yeah it it held up the test of time for a long time to me that's the highlight of the episode but again you're right like what else like good episode what what else.Track 4:[1:04:35] Yeah, you know, it's funny because you wonder why some of the Christmas sketches haven't carried through. And I think, talk about underrated and forgotten, I think the Scrooge sketch in this is really phenomenal.Track 4:[1:04:50] I mean, last Christmas I gave away so much money and forgave so many loons. I mean, I just barely got my head above water this year. Boy, you gave everyone some great Christmas presents. Ah, tell me about it. Yeah, and then you got New Year's Eve presents for everybody. Yeah, I know. I didn't even realize that you're not supposed to give New Year's Eve presents. They were nice, though. Tell me about it. They were good. Well, sir, maybe you shouldn't have given me that raise. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. The raise was good. But I think I should have just concentrated on you and a little less on the rest of the world. You know, it's been done to death. We've seen it as recently as Steve and Marty. You know scrooge is just kind of hammered into the zeitgeist as far as christmas stuff but yeah they basically it's it's danny as scrooge and uh dana as marley and it's the next year so we've moved a year past you know his realization about the world and and how he's been a.Track 4:[1:05:52] So mean to everyone and he's still nice but he's trying to cut back and that's that's really the genius of this concept to me he's paying for tiny tim's medical bills but he's moving him to a you know a smaller a cheaper hospital still gonna get great care and you know dana's kind of a dick in this like he's just like well okay you know and and like he he offers to get him a turkey and he's He's like, well, last year, you know, he got me the biggest goose in town. So he's being kind of, he's being overextended by this. And he spent so much the year before that he's, again, still being nice, but he needs to. And then it escalates where we get Victoria in one of her better roles, I think, who's trying to collect for drunken sailors who want to stay drunk.Track 4:[1:06:44] You know you donated all this money to them last year mr scrooge like why why can't and he eventually is talked into it but it's it's so smartly written and it's one of those things again that just kind of could have been overplayed it's not it's perfectly done a quieter piece as far as christmas pieces go but yeah this this is something that sticks out to me and something that I've almost forgotten over the years because we don't see it in the specials. So yeah, a couple of like really cool, smart pieces with the Scrooge and the, you shot me. Uh, uh, and, uh, another thing, anything else that kind of sticks out for you? Um, I mean, I think, uh, you know, it's another Christmas piece and it's not as good as the Scrooge one we just talked about, but they, they doubled down on wonderful life here too, where Kevin's, uh, in the Jimmy Stewart role and, and looks like he's going to kill himself and, and Danny shows up as his angel. But he wasn't going to kill himself. He was actually admiring life and kind of just contemplating all the good in the world.Track 4:[1:07:48] Dandy's just never going to get his wings because he can't find anybody who's ready to jump off a bridge and uh you know then we get phil and dana in there as well so that's another one that's that's kind of something that sticks out to me that i think i will put into my christmas rotation along with the scrooge one because i i think uh they just really hold up yeah i like that one little parade of ghosts there right yeah and that all the angels waiting for their wings yeah absolutely so a really great appearance that was his fourth gig season 14 episode 7 january of 93 his uh fifth time though according to danny and the show this might be his fourth time bill i don't know we'll get to that uh here in probably in a few minutes but but this is his fifth time damn it and uh what i'm gonna call unofficially the amy fisher episode of snl.Track 4:[1:08:43] Gather the kids around and explain why the hell an entire episode of snl is dedicated to this one story like almost an entire episode of us oh my goodness like but you know i mean you're younger than me thomas this was everywhere and this was yeah i mean completely this is accurate to the time that it's in and you would never see this we talked about alec baldwin on the episode that you were on with us on the John Goodman episode for the host and how they leaned into the Monica Lewinsky thing. And it was an entire episode dedicated to that controversy. And you wouldn't see this in SNL today because it's more of the YouTube bits. What can we put up online and as a five minute thing to have a runner like this.Track 4:[1:09:37] Uh danny playing multiple roles he's playing butafuco a couple of times uh if if you don't know what we're talking about kids go look it up we're not going to explain it to you uh amy fisher joey butafuco it's a real thing but um yeah and and they do this like what four or five times we get this runner throughout the episode and then they do other sketches dedicated to it as well So the runner is like, they start off with Aaron Spelling's Amy Fisher. It's like a takeoff on Beverly Hills 90210. So they play it like that. Danny's playing Joey Buttafuoco. Amy, you really did it this time. You really banged up your car. Yeah. I'll bet that's not all you could bang. Yeah. The only Amy Fisher story told from Tori Spelling's point of view. You know, I've been with the same woman for 17 years. That's crazy.Track 4:[1:10:42] You don't want to get involved with an old guy like me. And then they do a Masterpiece Theater version of it that Danny was in again. Again, my favorite one, Danny wasn't in it, but it was the BET version with Ellen, Clay Horn and Tim Meadows. So good. Yeah.

Mark and Alan talked about the 50th anniversary of SNL. There's a new SNL movie coming out. When SNL started, it was must-see TV. People our age are not in the SNL demo. Steve Martin turned down SNL's request to play VP Candidate Tim Walz.

It's a huge fall for SNL! Saturday Night Live will be back for its 50th season on September 23rd and Jason Reitman's movie 'Saturday Night', (about the first ever SNL episode in 1975) premieres in October. Christina is honored to have Alan Zweibel on the show. Alan is an original SNL writer and a 5 time Emmy awards winner. (Josh Brener plays Zweibel in 'Saturday Night) Alan talks about seeing a movie about his first episode of SNL and takes us behind the scenes of the American institution that is Saturday Night Live. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark and Alan talk about how network TV has been slowly fading away, due to lower viewership numbers. Mark and Alan also go down memory lane discussing the classic oldies but goodies shows, that are still on the air to this day.

GGACP marks the 30th anniversary of the 1994 feature film "North" (released July 22, 1994) with this ENCORE of an interview with the much-maligned movie's writer, Emmy-winner and Thurber Prize winner Alan Zweibel. In this episode, Alan discusses (among other topics) the evolution of “Saturday Night Live,” the genius of Larry Gelbart and Neil Simon and the 2018 documentaries about his longtime friends and collaborators, Gilda Radner and Garry Shandling. Also, Jay Leno offers advice, Buck Henry makes a bad investment, Gilbert makes like Willy Loman and Lorne Michaels locks horns with Uncle Miltie. PLUS: Praising Kate McKinnon! Remembering Bruno Kirby (and Herb Sargent)! Mel Brooks comes to dinner! Desi Arnaz invents the sitcom! And Alan writes the Paul “Bridge Over Troubled Water” Simon Special! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark and Alan discussed developing and writing a hit show. The best results come when the star has a great relationship with their writers. SNL worked because the show's cast members were also great writers.

Jeff and Susie chat with Alan Zweibel about Curb Your Enthusiasm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode originally aired July 08, 2020.Alan Zweibel is one of the original writers of Saturday Night Live, the co-creator and producer of It's Garry Shandling's Show, and a consulting producer on Curb Your Enthusiasm among many other credits. Alan is also a playwright whose theatrical works include his collaboration with Billy Crystal on the Tony Award-winning 700 Sundays and Bunny, Bunny: Gilda Radner, A Sort of Love Story. He is the author of numerous books including Lunatics (co-authored with Dave Barry), and The Other Shulman (for which he won the Thurber Prize for American Humor). His new book Laugh Lines: My Life Helping Funny People Be Funnier is available as an audio book later this month. Alan's next film project is a screenplay he co-authored with Billy Crystal, Here Today, which Crystal is directing and will star Tiffany Haddish. During this podcast, Alan discusses his career as a writer and reveals what it was like to work on SNL in the show's first years including with Gilda Radner with whom he was in love. He talks about why he and Garry Shandling stopped speaking for years after the end of their collaboration, and he also takes us inside his longtime friendship and collaboration with Billy Crystal.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

By 1975, Alan Zweibel had decided on a career in comedy writing. He'd written jokes for older borscht belt comics and become friendly with young comics like Billy Crystal. But then he faced a difficult career decision between a relatively sure thing and a leap into the unknown. The decision changed the rest of his life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Shakespeare forgot about this one: “some are nudged by the rejection of numerous law schools.” Alan Zweibel has written so many words that have made us laugh, through the voices of Gilda Radner, Billy Crystal, Garry Shandling and his own. He was one of the original writers and creators of Saturday Night Live. The legal world's loss was clearly comedy's gain. Our's too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

GGACP celebrates the birthday of Emmy award-winning writer and friend of the podcast Alan Zweibel (b. May 20) by presenting this ENCORE of an interview from 2015. In this episode, Alan talks about penning jokes for Catskills comics, contributing to the glory days of “Saturday Night Live," co-creating the groundbreaking “It's Garry Shandling's Show” and collaborating with everyone from Gilda Radner to Rob Reiner to Billy Crystal. Also: Alan heckles Larry David, “borrows from” Paul Simon, turns down “Hollywood Squares” and inspires a classic “Seinfeld” episode. PLUS: Totie Fields! Christopher Lee! The subversiveness of “Duck Soup”! Uncle Miltie gets banned! And Gilbert tries (unsuccessfully) to follow The Beatles! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Ackroyd's misguided take on the copaganda classic Dragnet was a huge disappointment when Dennis saw it in theaters back in 1987. Does his opinion hold up? Or is the film even worse than he remembers? Should he have talked Mary out of covering this at all? But at least we finally get to cover a Tom Hanks movie for the show, right? Starring Dan Ackroyd, Tom Hanks, Christopher Plummer, Dabney Coleman, Alexandra Paul, and Harry Morgan. Written by Dan Ackroyd, Alan Zweibel, and Tom Mankiewicz. Directed by Tom Mankiewicz.

Mark and Alan talked about steaming sites giving performers more money and freedom. Alan believes this is the last year CURB.

Mark and Alan talked about how Streaming Services have helped writers, producers, and actors stay employed.

This week, Charles Leerhsen takes us back to the early 1990s and tells us what he learned while being a ghostwriter for a young (and friendless) Donald Trump. Then Alexander Lobrano joins us from Paris with a report on the reopening and rejuvenation of one of the city's most treasured restaurants. And comedy writer Alan Zweibel has some thoughts on Jewish humor now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mark and Alan talked about how comedy has been ruined by the woke crowd. They also talked about what happened to non-political humor on SNL.

The liberal Justice System will try to keep Trump off the campaign trail by keeping him in court. Mark Interviews former SNL writer/producer Alan Zweibel. Mark and Alan talked about how comedy has been ruined by the woke crowd. They also talked about what happened to non-political humor on SNL.

A love of writing, the original cast, and a crippling movie review with Alan Zweibel. *Note: this interview was recorded before the SAG-AFTRA strike took effect. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices