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All right, this is it. This

0:32

is the Iron wrap for podcast and

0:35

I'm in here with my man G. Moody

0:37

special super guest, a

0:40

fixture of the Iron wrapp Podcast. I

0:42

have to say I'm a little nervous. We're

0:45

about to interview the great,

0:47

underrated and sometimes underappreciated

0:51

Danny I l O, who

0:53

has been exposed to my impressions.

0:56

I have no idea what his his impression

0:59

is going to be of my impressions. I

1:01

am going to tell you that one of my main goals

1:04

of this interview, actually my main

1:07

goal, other than to get a great interview,

1:09

is to possibly get Danny

1:12

i Llo to do his

1:15

famous scene with me

1:18

from Do the Right Thing But

1:20

where I played Danny I Llo and

1:22

he plays Mookie played

1:25

by Spike Lee. So we're gonna bring

1:27

him in soon. And uh, this

1:29

is a big one for the Iron Rapp Reporp podcast.

1:31

It's a big one for the Iron Rapp Coorp podcast

1:33

fans. And what could I say

1:35

this this guy means, Uh, he's

1:38

somebody who I really have, I've stolen

1:40

a lot from. He's influenced me

1:42

as as an actor. Um

1:45

inspired me. Uh.

1:47

I just think he's just one of these, you know, sort of

1:50

treasures that that sometimes

1:52

gets overlooked and forgotten about. And

1:54

and he he just he's a great actor and

1:56

he you know, his work really inspired has

1:59

inspired me, continue us to inspire me. And

2:01

specifically I'll talk about it on the show. But his

2:04

his neutral to

2:07

eighty miles per hour back to neutral.

2:10

Like one of the things that he does really good is

2:12

he'll be talking to you and he'll say, oh, look at

2:14

you. You got on your jeans and

2:16

you think you're fucking big, fucking

2:19

time moody. And then he'll bring

2:21

back bring it back down and he'll be like, but

2:23

it's nice to meet you. That's that's

2:25

that's his things. That's one of his things.

2:28

That's just that's just great. So anyway,

2:30

we're about to bring him in and I'm excited. I'm

2:32

a little nervous, and we're gonna get to

2:34

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3:25

alright, Danny?

3:27

Is that that Mike is good for Danny?

3:29

Right there? One? Two or three full or five, six,

3:32

seven, eight nine? You want headphones?

3:34

No, I don't want to. You know, I don't like headphones.

3:38

Cursing. I don't do that. No, you con curse Danny

3:42

something I have incursed, accepted

3:44

motion pictures. You know. I spoke

3:46

to Ricky. Did I speak to him? Yes? I said, rick did I

3:48

have a curse in the house? He said, no, you

3:50

never did that. I never hit my kids either. Being

3:52

a New York guy from the streets, you

3:55

would think that I was a hitter, but

3:57

I never touched any of my sons. I yelled

4:00

a lot to yell at you. Yelling.

4:03

That reminds me. You know what Bobby and there

4:05

Owns told me. Nobody

4:08

in the show business or anywhere else says

4:10

the word funk like you do. And

4:12

it sounds like a ballet. No,

4:17

absolutely, it's it's it's like ballet

4:20

like. Well, let me just wait.

4:23

So you you have you been exposed

4:25

to my impression of you. Well,

4:28

it had me roaring this morning when I

4:30

got up, and as a matter of fact, Sandy Cole and

4:32

my wife heard it and was hysterical.

4:35

And she's not a person to be,

4:37

you know, reacting to that kind

4:39

of thing, but she was hysteric.

4:42

Everyone who's heard it. But it isn't

4:44

so much that it's me saying, it's you saying

4:46

your interpretation. I mean. And

4:48

of course I text you and I said to you, if

4:51

this is meant to embarrass me, I

4:53

would be very unhappy. Listen,

4:55

and you must have thought there was a mafia threat. It

4:58

was a little threat. I got nervous because let

5:00

me just let me just preface this by saying this. You

5:03

are, you have been and you still

5:05

are. Literally before I started

5:07

acting, and then when

5:09

I started acting, no no, no,

5:11

no, no, no bullshit, You've been

5:13

one of my favorites. And

5:16

and and you know, I mean,

5:18

your work over the span

5:20

of time and and sometimes even

5:22

in Godfather, you know, just your

5:24

your your voice, like your your

5:27

use of your voice, your quote unquote

5:29

instrument, even when I first heard

5:31

you talking down the hallway when I was approached, Like your

5:33

voice is so distinct and it's such an

5:35

instrument, and it's such a tool. I

5:38

mean, And and it's specifically

5:40

the impression, the impression is

5:42

is comes out of it's it's it's not

5:44

like a whole Danny I yell of impression.

5:47

It's really an impression of some of the characters

5:49

you've done, specifically sald

5:51

and also twenty ninth Street favorite

5:55

movie. Actually that's a really underrated

5:58

I love that movie. My license played up

6:00

my jaguash nine Streets. So that's

6:02

how much it And it isn't so much that it impressed

6:04

me that much as emotion picture, but it's very

6:06

much like my life. The character.

6:09

It felt like emotional levels of that character.

6:11

Not that I'm a loser, close in that he's

6:13

somewhat of a loser, but I'm not a loser. I never saw

6:15

myself that right, But

6:17

emotionally no, I got it in the relationship

6:20

with my father and son had the three sons

6:22

of course, and uh it's it's a

6:24

really good film and and you know, and I feel

6:26

like it did well when it came out, but not as

6:28

well as it should have. I mean, I remember I went to the

6:30

theater and so at twice

6:33

I was so moved by it, you

6:36

know, like the whole up and down. You know, if you haven't

6:38

seen the film, it's with Anthony LaPaglia

6:40

and plenty of other people, and it's

6:42

really like the Father and Son and twenty

6:45

nine Streets. It's a good film. I'm sure it's on iTunes

6:47

and it's everywhere. You can't get it. You can't buy

6:49

it because they had limited the prints for

6:52

some odd reason. Not on like it's not on iTunes,

6:54

it's iTunes, but it Colosier. It's tremendous amount

6:57

of money. It's on a bay church

7:00

eight hundred dollars. Some people say, well,

7:02

you can purchase from me.

7:06

It's a great movie, but it ain't

7:13

terrible significant, Well it's

7:15

it's it's a it's a really really good film kind

7:18

of overlooked. And then I wanted to because

7:20

I had all my twenty nine street

7:22

lines that you did for a long time. This

7:24

is before I was doing a podcast. But like I

7:27

would just do them. I would, you know, like

7:29

play around with them. I've stolen from

7:31

you, Danny, like if I went over my

7:34

my work as an actor, like I've stolen

7:36

gestures, I've stolen inflections

7:39

from you. There's another I want to get into

7:41

specific soon and and and

7:43

uh, but there's another great underrated

7:46

performance. I don't think the movie is that good. The expectations

7:49

were so high, which is Harlem Nights,

7:51

but your character and that I used

7:53

to do your impression of that. When I

7:55

don't have it all that, I'm a little nervous. But like when

7:58

you went. You you what I think you you

8:00

great amongst you know things. But as

8:02

an actor specifically, I think something

8:04

that that's specific and

8:06

and and only as as a Danny

8:09

Aello thing is you go from neutral

8:12

to eighties seven miles per hour back

8:14

to neutral in a beat.

8:16

That's the thing I think that you have that like is

8:19

really unique that you do, and I think that

8:21

fans really get it. So me

8:24

doing my Danny I Hello impression, I

8:26

would like the neutral would be like you

8:28

came in here, you got your guys in here,

8:30

Like you want to take a fucking shot

8:32

at me, You want to take a

8:34

shot, take a shot. So that would be

8:37

like my Danny so so so

8:39

so just know like when I'm doing the impression,

8:42

it's totally out of love.

8:45

The only other person, the only other actor that

8:47

I do an impression of is de

8:49

Niro. It's not as good as

8:51

yours, I don't think, and and and

8:53

sometimes I do specifically rocky impressions,

8:56

but your impression because the emotion

8:58

of it, and and for the when

9:00

when I did the pazingis when he got drafted

9:03

by the Knicks, it was just I was just playing around

9:05

and it was like became like this viral thing,

9:07

and you know, the impression was like, how would

9:09

Danny Ilo, because I know you're a Knicks, how

9:12

did he react to this guy Porzingis?

9:14

And what's his name? Pezingis? And where the fun

9:16

is going to be? Great?

9:20

I want to hear what you're saying. No, no, but I mean,

9:22

I mean, you know so anyway, So so

9:24

that's where the origins of the of

9:27

the Danny Ilo impression come from. And then

9:29

I do, what what? What? How would Dan Danny Ielo

9:31

would be a great football coach? Danielo

9:34

should be the coach of the Knicks. And why isn't

9:36

you know if Danny Eelo was the coach and the Knicks, what would

9:38

he be saying when they're losing in a row? So it's

9:41

it's all in great, it's a great

9:43

refund and great respected a tweet

9:45

that said Danny Iello should be the coach of

9:47

the US one of the US Open players

9:51

that just came out recently. That was me said,

9:53

because you know tennis viral, it's all over

9:55

the place. Tennis would because you know tennis,

9:57

they don't have coaches on the sideline. Imagine

10:01

Serena Williams. Okay, you coach

10:03

her. She's about to lose her,

10:06

her, her her chance to win, the to to win

10:09

the she did with Fence. The girl will

10:11

just be all right. You come out the end of the

10:13

sixth set, you know, towards to the end of

10:15

the third set, she's down to breaks.

10:17

You go, what the fuck are you doing?

10:20

You're blowing in, You're

10:23

fucking around this

10:26

for the title. You're in

10:28

New York. Go

10:30

out there and do what

10:32

you need to do. You a

10:35

fucking Serena.

10:40

We didn't see that one. We saw the male thing.

10:42

The kid walk wrink or something. He

10:45

played. This kid, the

10:48

black kid he played. He was terrific

10:51

fun being out there. I have That's the first time I've

10:53

ever gone to the US, and

10:55

I loved it. I truly enjoyed it. An amazing

10:58

the hitting shots on Hunt in five miles

11:01

an hour. I'm saying, how the

11:03

hell do they return that? And they do? It

11:05

was an amazing thing to see. And I see Murray,

11:07

you know, the English kid, he's outside warming

11:10

up. I'm going home. I see

11:12

him and I said, Murray Dannyello New York.

11:14

I said, oh yeah, Danny's Oh

11:16

it's so glad. I said, you're gonna win kids, I go

11:19

home and he lose it. I

11:21

feel I put the I

11:23

feel terrible about that, really I do, man,

11:25

I feel really responsible. But

11:28

in holem nights there's not a black kid

11:30

that doesn't walk over to me and go, you

11:32

know, I'm in a vault and I'm I can't

11:35

breathe, so I take short breaths. And there

11:37

was a pot that red. What you just did.

11:39

It reminded me of because we were speaking

11:41

and as the character, and there was Eddie

11:44

Murphy and he was there with oh god,

11:46

my friend who was the other one? The great

11:51

want I want to hear about. We'll get into the greatest bit

11:54

in the world. And uh, louis what

11:56

what read? What

12:00

we we're talking about? Eddie

12:02

Murphy? Now, when I held out,

12:05

guys, you're coming here, you give me a breaking

12:07

my balls a little bit. And I'm living in a fubble.

12:11

I'm living in the fucking hubble, and you guys

12:13

are walking around with fucking cadillacs and

12:15

lollipops in your mouth. Here the fuck that's

12:18

what you're talking about. Absolutely, that was

12:20

the line right there, walking

12:22

around with your fancy suits and

12:24

I'm living in a fucking ten

12:28

percent will be nice for us. That's

12:30

my cup. What's that about? A week? And

12:33

that was? That? Was that? I mean that

12:35

that was one of the highlights of that film. I mean, there's moments

12:37

in it, but your performance in that. I

12:39

just want to say one more thing about the impression.

12:42

You're here with your friend Louie. And

12:44

in one of my this is in

12:47

one of my impressions, I refer

12:49

to a guy named Louis off camera, go Louie,

12:52

who the fund did they just draft? And it's

12:54

so funny

12:56

that actually has a guy named

12:58

Louie. W I just assumed that was a

13:00

possibility half Irish

13:02

efforts, half Irish effort time, But he said, Louis

13:04

nenetheless all right. So so

13:06

all right, all right, So I'm I'm all. I was.

13:09

I was very nervous and excited about it about

13:11

meeting you. I met you once. I don't know if you remember

13:13

in passing. I think it was on you were

13:16

I was actually doing a Woody Allen film

13:18

and and you had come by and say hello. It was really

13:21

briefly and I really this is when

13:23

uh you know, like I I said hello

13:25

and and kept it moving because I was kind of like, oh

13:28

my God, there's Danny Yellow so like so

13:30

it's I thank you so much for you know, you remind

13:32

me of who A said moment.

13:34

I'll just take it out. I lost my son Danny

13:37

ILove the third. You know it's a big stunt coordinator.

13:39

I think I worked with him one time. Did you ever look

13:41

at yourself and look at him at the same time, I say,

13:44

my same face. He has less head than you because

13:46

he shaved right down to the He's

13:49

a great, great kid. He did all the three hundred films

13:51

yea, and he worked in many of my films.

13:53

Uh, and we missed him terribly. But the

13:56

point is I liked you from the beginning,

13:58

and I had to do even before I met you

14:00

or had any idea who you were. When

14:02

I saw you, I said, Jesus, this kid looks

14:05

like my son Danny My

14:08

wrong, Louis, I swear to gud. I'll take

14:10

a picture out later and show it too. I appreciate

14:12

those who wish to check on the internet. Pick out Danny

14:15

I Yellow the Third and check

14:17

them out with Michael Rappaport. You'll see they look

14:19

very much like Well. I appreciate that, but I didn't

14:21

know you were like six five, I'm six three.

14:23

Yeah, I'm I'm yeah, I'm six

14:25

four, depends on the sneakers. And you

14:27

look told me, I'm shocked. I don't

14:30

like people being told in me. You know, no, I'm

14:32

trust me, Danny. You don't have to be intimidate. I'm intimidated

14:34

by you. I know you're a banger, and I

14:37

know your history.

14:39

I'm sure you do. How can I ask

14:41

you? How old are you now? I don't want to say at

14:43

eighty two two? Yeah?

14:46

Are you to a

14:48

girl for sixty years? My wife,

14:50

Sandy? Are you eighty

14:53

two years old to June

14:55

three? Holy shit,

14:58

you're in excellent. I'm

15:00

in pretty good shape, man. No, you're

15:02

in fantastic. Seeing people look at me

15:04

and they say you're eighty two. But you

15:06

know, for the longest period of time I said, I don't want to admit

15:08

you age because I lied. But you great

15:12

and your mind is obviously sharp, and you

15:14

look like you could throw like a like

15:17

a right no right hook. Okay,

15:21

so so your left hook is the one. To be careful. All right,

15:23

I'm gonna stay on this side. Man. I'm a major

15:25

banker. Let me tell you this. I

15:28

got about one minute of great activity. I

15:30

can throw punchers. After that, I'm a fucking dead

15:32

man. I gotta run like a son of a bitch. Right,

15:34

Well, that's all. But if you throw the right waring and if

15:36

I hit the guy, he's going to sleep. I don't give a

15:38

funk who he is. That could be Mike Tyson, who

15:41

I love deally. He's going to sleep, and Mike knows

15:43

trust me, I'm not driving with you. That's

15:46

I know. I know if I hit, he's gonna go. If

15:48

he don't go, I got serious. That's why Louis

15:50

Bolton there is around problem that he

15:52

can't hit for ship. But Louie's missing a fucking

15:54

tooth day Like what happened? I knocked it out. He

15:57

sucked around me. Performance

15:59

was a cluster, all

16:04

right, all right, So let me let

16:06

me get into some specifics. First of all, you

16:09

gave me some CDs because I know

16:11

you sing, and you do like like essentially

16:13

like a lounge act, like like like a singing act.

16:15

It's maybe a little bit more than that. Yeah, there's

16:18

something we talk about the acting, which is tell stories

16:20

and don't really do too much of that because I'm

16:22

never sure Mike when I go into perform if

16:24

they had to watch me because I was an

16:26

acting I'm sure that's the reason they come originally.

16:29

But I don't talk too much about the acting

16:31

unless they ask a question. I talk a little bit about

16:33

my life and how I got into singing and so

16:35

forth in acting, but it's really a wild

16:38

act I do. I do blues and Blues

16:40

is great because I've done all the standards. Bobby

16:43

Darren Frank's not all that bullshit, and it's nice,

16:45

and I grew up to that, but it doesn't

16:47

move me. What moves me is blues blues.

16:50

You can hit notes that that stink,

16:52

that that are terrible, that you can't hit, but

16:55

they sound beautiful. Sometimes it's about the

16:57

soulfulness attached to it. You're attached

16:59

to it and out and and it really

17:02

inspires the ship out of you when you're on the stage

17:04

singing. I liked the thing because all

17:06

of my life I wanted to and my mother

17:08

wanted me to. I never had the bulls

17:10

to do it. Ten years ago, a guy walks over

17:12

to me, let's do never sung

17:14

before? Only in the streets of New York.

17:17

You know, I was one of those, you know, in the

17:19

backyard with a bunch of friends and sing

17:21

with a group. Never by myself. I

17:23

was fourteen years old, well going on fourteen,

17:27

living in Manhattan with my mother. I didn't have the father.

17:29

Then it was seven children, and

17:31

my mother thought I was a great sing All mothers think

17:33

Italian boys are singing. I wasn't a singer, you

17:36

know, I certainly no Pavaratti. But she

17:38

loved the way I sung, so she set

17:40

up with an uncle in audition with the author god

17:42

Free Show. Now, the other god Free Show was

17:44

tantamount to what American idol is today.

17:46

It was a big show. And I'm when

17:49

I'm sitting in the vestibute with my mom

17:51

and I'm hearing names called, which, of

17:53

course my name will be called shortly. I'm

17:56

anticipating this, and I'm terrified,

17:59

and I say to my mother, the mama, I have to go to the bathroom.

18:02

Mike. I swear to God, I left

18:04

the place, got on the plane on the train and went

18:06

home. And you left your mother, dare. I was a left

18:08

that Mamma came later because she wasn't upset

18:10

because she knew, but she had to get

18:12

out of there. I had to get out. I could not

18:14

do it in all those years until I was

18:16

seventy years old. That's the next

18:19

time of audition. Are you serious? And I

18:21

sing in motion pictures and all of it. I've been

18:23

doing that. But when you do it in

18:25

the movie, either you got a mask, you're you're doing

18:28

takes, and I don't give a funk if I

18:30

mess up, or don't mess up because

18:32

I can cut it and say a cut on a

18:34

live stage. When you're working as

18:37

Danny Hello, it's terrifying. Do

18:39

you get really nervous? Well not now. Now I

18:41

get up and I if they don't like me, I say fuck you.

18:43

I don't say it, you know, I don't say it to them, but

18:45

in my head I say, funck you. If you don't like me,

18:48

that's your focus. I'm great, you

18:50

know whatever. But now they

18:53

do, and I have the courage now to do it. I did not

18:55

have it before. I know. People look at you, what are

18:57

you silly? You've done ninety movies. You're

19:00

it all so different And it's not a

19:02

skill you've been working on for however many years

19:04

you've been acting, no idea. We were sung

19:06

in the place last night to serve club in Neuroschelle.

19:09

We worked at a big place. It was sold out.

19:11

It was a cancer benefit. I opened

19:13

up. They didn't know what the hell I would do in the committee. Of

19:15

course, my knees through it. My niece

19:17

put the whole thing together and she did wonderfully

19:20

and it sold out. But she never had a committee of

19:22

people helping that. She just wanted to do

19:24

something for the cancer people because

19:26

my mom my sister had died, so

19:28

she sets it up. But they didn't know anything about singing

19:31

groups and so forth. They brought a DJ out

19:33

to set up sound. I said, I

19:35

said, you can't do a DJ. We need

19:38

sound with my whole bands in my right,

19:40

Louis, I walk out on the stage.

19:43

The place is sold out, but there's a

19:45

hundred yard blank dance

19:47

floor with no people in front of me. I

19:50

had to work an hour and a half on

19:52

the on the floor, walking from one end

19:54

of the thing. That's all I did was walk. I looked like a rootster

19:57

running around the place and

19:59

I and it killed me because she didn't

20:01

know about the cancer. Thing was a wonderful thing,

20:03

and I get thrilled when I had the opportunity

20:05

to sing and perform special blues.

20:08

Have you ever done uh, significant

20:11

voiceover stuff. You

20:13

just want an Emmy, you know, I

20:15

want an Emmy for Yes Network.

20:18

Oh, I did the the Yankee thing

20:20

about congratulating himselves,

20:23

and for some reason I went there. I was presenting

20:26

for I was presenting for the Emmy is

20:28

that? And I saw I presented six of them and I left

20:30

the place. So I go to yes Neck

20:33

the next day because we want to talk about something

20:35

about celebrity tastemakers. And

20:37

he said, Danny, why did you go? I

20:39

said, what do you mean, Well, you presented,

20:41

then you left. I said, of course I was finished. He said,

20:43

Danny, you aren't the jere Emmy.

20:45

I said, one emmy? What the fun emmy? They

20:48

said, you want an Emmy for a voiceover. So

20:50

I've done a lot of voices. I also did the rat

20:52

pack. I did a four hour rat

20:54

pack thing Franks and

20:57

all of them. I've done so many. Because

20:59

your voice is so it's so I mean and

21:01

and and it's for I mean to be eighty two in your

21:03

voice is like it's just like it's

21:05

so strong. I love I

21:07

love listening to it. You have a great voice. Some

21:10

people something when you're walking on the street. If

21:12

they don't see my face right away to hear the voice, and they

21:15

said, Danny, Yeah, I heard you down the horror

21:17

was like I knew Danny was. I mean, it's so it's

21:19

just distinct and it's basy, and it's New

21:21

York and it's just it's iconic. Yeah.

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22:13

I speak to you, the people. All

22:16

right, I'm gonna throw some questions out, Okay, all

22:18

right, these are

22:21

because I can't ask you everything. Uh,

22:24

the the improvisation you

22:26

work there as as as a bouncer

22:28

essentially, which at the improv in

22:30

those days was it what years was it? Because the im probably

22:34

so this is it. It's Hell's kitchen over there

22:36

was a zoo right like it was just the generator.

22:39

It really wasn't bad that neighborhood. I

22:41

would say to you, probably a little safer

22:43

then than it is now. Really, with the

22:45

exception of during the day of course it's so populated

22:47

with pedestrians walking up and down the street.

22:50

People look like and so there's a protection

22:52

so many people. But then it was

22:55

wonderful. I used to go out at three o'clock in the morning

22:57

after we finished work, never a problem.

22:59

We'd all jump in a bagel truck and go to

23:01

the brasserie on the East side and we'd stay

23:03

up until about six in the morning. That was my life.

23:05

Then. The improvisation was a lifesaver

23:08

for me because I was an uneducated kid.

23:10

I never had, you know, went into

23:12

a place and say I'm educated to do this job.

23:14

So I was doing menial kinds of jobs, and I

23:17

did a lot of stealing and so forth. I

23:19

grew to be the president of Local

23:21

Division twelve oh two of the Amalgamated

23:24

Transit Union. I held a job

23:26

well. I was in Greyhound for ten years. So

23:28

my life was that I lose

23:30

a job as a result of a wildcat strike.

23:33

But before becoming president, I was this guy.

23:35

May I have your attention please? On platform number three

23:37

a coach for Philadelphia, Chester, Wilmington's

23:40

Dova, Seaford law Or Salisbury, Princess

23:42

and Pokemoke City Kip the Peak Beach Little

23:44

Creek in Norfolk. This coach connects in

23:46

a Jersey city of the Mount Clair, Denville, Dover,

23:49

Bud Lake, Cackets Down Stralesberg

23:51

Mound, Polkono to behind this Grant Wilkesburry,

23:53

Clark, some At Nicholson, Holstead, Great

23:55

Ben, Binghamton Court, Lenithaca, Geneva, Cannon,

23:57

Daga, pitcht In to wander Waverley on

23:59

my corning, bat Batavia, Harnel and

24:02

Mount Marris. I was the public

24:04

address announcer at the Port of Authority for

24:06

a long period of time. I became

24:08

the union president. I wanted to supervision.

24:11

I lose my job as a resultable wildcats

24:13

strike. I knew Bud Friedman because I played

24:15

ball in the Broadway show like I was

24:17

an next Apple. He gave me a job

24:20

because he figured I was what what

24:22

do you call those guys? You were a banker?

24:24

I was. I was a switshit and I banged shots

24:26

into the trees. They gave me the goddamn

24:29

job. Okay, so you were just a bouncer at the improvisation,

24:31

which for people don't know it's it's one

24:34

of the first, and it's definitely, to me, one

24:36

of the most iconic comedy. It doesn't

24:38

exist in New York anymore, but it's still in l A.

24:41

And so the improv in the Comedy Store

24:43

to two of the first, and then everyone everyone

24:45

came through that, Richie Priborly, everyone that we're

24:47

talking about have come through there. And I witnessed

24:49

that, you know, something about that I wanted

24:51

to be. I didn't know what I wanted to be

24:53

when I was there. I was hired as a bouncer.

24:56

He recognized my talent that he made me a bouncer.

24:58

But I observed that watching people perform,

25:01

and I said, Wow, he's gotta be bright to do that ship

25:03

to get up there and try to make people laugh,

25:06

and that they don't laugh. It's like a terrible

25:08

bomb. That's something I don't

25:10

want to do. Maybe I can do it, but I doubt it

25:12

very much. But I admired them so

25:14

much. To watch comedians perform, it

25:16

was wonderful, should

25:18

I say, in education for me because I wasn't

25:21

sure what I was going to do with my life. So

25:23

Bud said to me one day, look, we're gonna

25:26

upgrade your job a little bit. When I'm

25:28

not available, I want you to get up in MC so

25:30

I get up in them. So I don't know what the funk I was doing. I

25:32

would announce, you know, if a person was talking to the audience,

25:34

I wanted to punch the ship out of him. That's the kind

25:37

of education I had, is in terms

25:39

of of getting up in m seeing but

25:41

in them seeing. People would come over me. One guy

25:43

comes over to me, he said, big comedy writer. He says

25:46

to me, you know your bow your bow blights?

25:48

I said, my bow blights? What the fund does that mean? He

25:50

said, well, there are some people who do

25:52

things for the public, but they both don't light

25:55

your bull blights. But I didn't know what the funk I was doing,

25:57

Like yeah, I was saying, how many are you? I

26:00

would say, and I introduced that now his mic

26:02

rappaport. That's all I was doing. But

26:04

I learned something about being before an audience.

26:07

Then a guy by name of Lewis LaRusso, the second

26:09

neophyte right and never did ship in his life,

26:12

would right at the bar. He said, Danny, I

26:15

have a script for the stage. I'd love you to do

26:17

it. I said, why are you asking me? I'm not an actor. He

26:19

says to me, yes, you, well,

26:21

you just don't know it now. You literally,

26:23

at this point, you're not even thinking about

26:26

being a You're thinking about being a father, taking

26:28

care of your family and and figuring out a

26:30

way to do that. And when

26:32

you when you went to the impropers of Bouncy, you're not. It's

26:34

not even a thought. And at the point, never

26:37

in my life that I ever think of acting acting. To

26:39

me, it was like people on Mars, which was California,

26:42

because I had never been there. You're just a working

26:44

guy in New York, and a hard working guy

26:46

or a thief. I've done some thievery things

26:48

too. I stole. I did ship, but I did it not

26:50

to It wasn't for self

26:52

outgrandizement. It wasn't for me.

26:55

It was necessity. I had the kids. And

26:57

I'm not justifying it because I put myself

26:59

down on for that is what the fund? Did you do? There

27:02

was something else you could have done? Well, I didn't

27:04

find anything else I could do except that was a

27:06

pool shooter. But you know, and I made

27:08

a lot of money shooting pool and when that wasn't working,

27:10

I went out to supplement my income by

27:12

stealing. And what did I do? Had I see? I

27:15

broke into places that weren't open. We

27:17

go upstairs and we'd find safes. We

27:20

look for safe, empty safe. We

27:22

didn't have open the fucking stay. If I tried to

27:24

open the safe with tumblers, I'd be there for four and a

27:26

half years. If if the fucking

27:28

safe was light enough, we picked the safe

27:30

up. We took it to a window upstairs,

27:32

throw it out the fucking window. If it opened, down

27:35

said, we did it. If it did. If it

27:37

didn't open, Michael, as God is my

27:39

witness, well God probably was my

27:41

witness when it hit the ground.

27:43

If it didn't open when we went down, we

27:45

would take it to a junk guard. I get my friend

27:47

the Eddie's car. We put it in the back, taking

27:50

the junk and beat the ship out of the thing for about

27:52

two days until it opened. The

27:54

most we ever got was

27:56

about thirty five hollis, are you serious?

27:58

And then we robbed. We used to climb

28:01

in skylights and short buildings. There

28:03

was on Whitlock Avenue there was a

28:05

bowling alley where we all hung. And in the bowling

28:08

alley they had pool rooms. I used to hustle in

28:10

that pool room. We robbed the fucking

28:12

place Eddie would go down. Now we

28:14

come down on a rope. Okay, you got

28:17

a visualize this ship. There's a pool table.

28:19

We can't go to the floor. We go

28:21

on the pool table. All right. There's

28:23

no money in a register, we know that. But there are

28:25

machines, the cigarette machines. That's

28:27

solo machine. We break them up and take out Nichols

28:30

quarters. I paid rent for six months

28:33

on Nichols and quarters and Zandi. Where

28:35

you're getting this money? I'm hustling pool Now.

28:38

The next day we go back after dumping

28:40

the place, we go back to shoot pool because

28:42

we're a hustle on the

28:45

fucking green felt, you understand.

28:48

In the Prince,

28:51

my fucking fun prints are on the table,

28:54

me and Eddie that we were like great

28:57

fucking thieves of up. When any brains

28:59

came in, he say, what the funk that's your foot

29:01

size. That's what we did. I wanted.

29:04

That's a great story. This is This

29:07

is my impression of Danny

29:09

and Eddie breaking the safe after

29:11

they threw it down in the Junk'll Eddie get

29:13

the fucking sledge him? I don't have

29:16

it. Where's the fucking sledge? Him? Give

29:18

me the fucking thing. I'll break this

29:20

fucking thing open, you

29:22

cock sucker. Kick the fucking thing, Eddie.

29:25

I bust the mind for you. Bust did your fucking

29:28

foot How much is in it? Edie?

29:30

Dirty five dollars? We

29:33

did all this for dirty five

29:36

fucking dollars, you

29:39

cocksucker Eddie. That's

29:42

a great story, but that was one that's

29:44

a great such

29:47

a few, I mean, that's such crazy

29:49

things. That credit wearing bakeries. And

29:51

they always closed as we always went in

29:53

because we don't want to come to head to head with anyone.

29:56

We saw cops cooping, you know the term

29:58

cooping. They're sitting in the car relaxing, having

30:00

a sandwich parked right outside

30:02

with spotlight, what the lights

30:04

wearing on? That it would be right

30:07

in front of us and we would be in the store

30:09

behind the counter looking at the cubs. Now,

30:11

if I got busted, then it was gone.

30:13

That was just gone. I mean I never got

30:15

busted, So I think, you know, I'm so gratified

30:18

and knowing that you know, I did

30:20

such bad things. I never

30:22

heard anyone. I thought. I was trying to justify.

30:24

Why am I doing this? Ship I'm a great you know, I'm a

30:26

good guy. I don't do this. Then I

30:28

made the excuse, and it was

30:30

a legitimate excuse. I want to put food

30:32

in the table. I want to pay my rent. I don't want to sufferup

30:35

course, all my life, I always

30:37

worried being an uneducated kid when

30:39

I had the children. Right away Sandy and I got

30:41

married, as you know, very young. How

30:44

am I going to support once the reality

30:46

of having children came in? How

30:49

am I going to work? When am I going to get a job? How

30:51

am I going to support these kids? All my

30:53

life, nightmares at my young life of

30:55

thinking we're gonna be homeless,

30:59

We're gonna be home, How

31:01

am I going to stay from being homeless? Now it wasn't

31:03

so much about me because I can live

31:05

in a quarter a day. I didn't give a funk because

31:07

I was a tough kid. I didn't care. I

31:09

could live in a corner. But the responsibilities

31:12

suddenly of having four children

31:14

eventually and my wife and

31:17

wanting to do the right thing. Frightening

31:20

experience when you can't support

31:22

them the way they you know, the way I

31:24

feel they should be supported. Fortunately,

31:26

in my life things that occurred that

31:29

made it possible, with no education, to be

31:31

able to get lucky enough for this guy

31:33

Lularusso I took his play

31:35

and you know what he did for me. Michael, you're an actor,

31:37

and you know how many

31:40

guys. Meets an unknown

31:42

writer who's never done ship and

31:44

he writes me three plays, Knockout,

31:48

Lamp, Post Reunion, and Wheelbarrow

31:51

Close. He wrote all three and all three, all

31:53

of them started off off

31:56

off off off Broadway,

31:59

and the place called that churchild Playhouse.

32:02

It was a converted church. We don't even to this

32:04

day know if it was a church. Were pade noise

32:06

from the you know, from the steam, and yet

32:09

people would come in sixties seventy people

32:12

each one of those plays we had back

32:14

as auditions. They all went

32:17

to Broadway. I start

32:19

in each one of them. And this is what six This

32:21

was in sev seventy two, seventy

32:24

up to seventy five. A lot of

32:26

people don't know I started my life as

32:28

a theater actor. But I did

32:30

not know what I was doing. I didn't

32:32

even know if I could remember a word right.

32:34

I went in somehow instinct Well,

32:37

someone started the instinct. You

32:39

know, Michael, you're a natural actor. I'm

32:41

saying, no, no, no, not study same

32:44

as you. Well here, when Woody Allen came over

32:46

to me and said the New York Time, what do you used to say? He

32:48

said to me once he used to try and say

32:51

things to me to make me feel good about myself,

32:53

because he knew I was someone unsure about my acting.

32:56

He said, Danny Hello, not to me personally,

32:58

to the Times, is one of the sixth

33:00

greatest actors in this world. He

33:03

mentioned Marlon Brando, forgive

33:05

me for what I'm saying, No, no, no, Bobby dou

33:07

Val, Dustin Hoffin, Robert de Niro,

33:09

and who's al Pacino? And Danny

33:12

Illo, and he said, and not necessarily

33:14

in that order. When we were working,

33:17

he would say to me things. Oh god,

33:19

all the films that you did with him, Well, I did Purple

33:21

rosof Cairo with him. I did. I was

33:23

supposed to do Broadway Danny Rose, but the

33:26

funk, you know, he gave it to somebody else. I'm

33:28

non actor, but he does that ship,

33:30

you know, that little dude cutsucker,

33:33

you motherfucker. That

33:35

was one of your best fucking films

33:37

and you give it to that fuck

33:42

you sort of a bitch. I hope they

33:44

know that the

33:47

people listening day no anyway goes,

33:50

so go ahead. And I did so much with him,

33:52

But he's a little strange guy. Little

33:54

guys for some reason, they've always been strange. Mart

33:56

scro you know. Yeah.

33:59

And well I'm not a great fan of his except

34:01

for his directory left. He's a terrific

34:03

director, but in the personal level, which I don't know,

34:05

I thought maybe I didn't do any of his films because

34:07

I was too tall.

34:09

No, it

34:12

ain't over for you when it ain't over for him. No, I don't

34:14

want I don't want to. I'm doing a lot of ship, you know,

34:16

without him, and I don't I feel if you

34:18

read my book, I only know who I am

34:20

when I am somebody else you'll find out exactly

34:23

how I feel about him. I don't cut him in a bad

34:25

way. I just state that it's unfortunately

34:27

that a great director like that didn't

34:30

paint me with one of his brushes. Yeah.

34:32

I got up at the Academy Awards. There's a weird

34:34

thing that happened. I was nominated for Academy Award.

34:36

Denzel wanted, as you know, the following

34:38

year I presented and what

34:40

movie do they give me to present? Good

34:43

Fellas? And what do I say in the stage?

34:45

I'm the only Italian American in

34:47

this country that's not in this film, which

34:50

gave up an idea of knowing the guy never chose

34:52

me Until recently I thought,

34:54

really, well, maybe he thought it was a violent

34:57

guy. Maybe he thought it was tough on you know, on a set.

35:00

Maybe I was dangerous is so maybe

35:02

you know I didn't use I think you know that. Yeah,

35:04

yeah, yeah, I'm one of the most anti drug cats

35:06

that you'll love and meeting, okay, and I

35:09

have no tolerance and they

35:11

know it, and I voiced it my opinion constantly.

35:14

Now I don't know if that's a reason, because

35:16

uh, I don't think that would be

35:18

a reason with Mardi. But the point is I tried

35:21

desperately to find out for a long why

35:23

hasn't they called me? And then it's

35:25

sort of eased up a little bit when I realized

35:28

that Pacino never worked with him either, which

35:31

was shocking to me. I assumed that

35:33

everyone else had worked with him in the industry, but

35:35

I didn't. But still because

35:37

he wanted because he's so great, I I it's

35:39

it's as an actor, it's like there's

35:42

certain people. First of all, it makes sense

35:44

Danny a la Martin Scorsesey movie. I

35:46

understand. I mean, because he

35:49

is, he's so special. He's New

35:51

York. I'm New York, The Narrows New York

35:54

two. You look like you got about thirty more years of

35:56

acting to throw some punches. But the point

35:59

is, if when I'm not

36:01

so listening to the book, it's been out since October,

36:03

but I'm gonna I'm gonna listen, you can't

36:05

solicten about my life. I solicit everything

36:07

on here, Danny. And if you read the book, you're gonna

36:10

be doing interpretation ship. In that book,

36:12

you're gonna learn about my argument, Lauren.

36:15

But cale you're going to go out of you

36:18

when you read that you will go out of you

36:21

be a interpretation good? Something

36:23

have you done books on? Like if you did the audio book

36:25

of it? I have an audio and you you do

36:27

the reading. I do the reading myself, and it's

36:30

bad. The audiobook is the best. I'm sure. I'm

36:32

sure you might be able to if

36:34

you wished to even broadcast

36:36

some of it little pieces. Absolutely,

36:39

it'll give you about a month's worth. Because

36:43

when I do my my impression, like I feel

36:45

like like I don't think I breathe properly,

36:47

so it's like I feel like I'm gonna bust a blood vessel

36:49

in my head because I'll do it with him. Sometimes

36:52

he's like, let's keep going. I go, I gotta, I have to.

36:54

I have to take a break because they said, I'm

36:56

like, I haven't had oxygen in my head. But

36:59

you you have to know because it is the My

37:03

responsibility with the book and the voiceover

37:05

is not so much to act it. They are little

37:08

scenes are do in subtle ways, so you'll see

37:10

them more subtle, Danny. But the situations

37:12

that I'm reading lacious, so

37:14

you might not get the true reading from

37:17

me. You're saying, no, I understand, because

37:19

I have to be articulate enough for the audience can be

37:21

screaming the scene. I could do what you

37:23

do it it's short. There was your first But

37:25

when you when you hear this, you're gonna in

37:28

my right, you'll go out of my mind.

37:30

I'm sure, crazy crazy ship boy.

37:33

What I want to say, what do you work

37:35

with him? I work with him. Go and

37:37

to tell me about what kind of guy? What he is? Great?

37:39

You know, he's a great guy and so for but working with him, everyone

37:41

wants to work on We all work cheap. I think I

37:43

made fifty tho dollars and I'm a guy that was

37:45

making a million dollars a movie seven And I'm

37:48

not blowing wings, you know that. But

37:51

I went with him because most guys work with

37:53

him because they wish to work with him. We

37:55

became relatively close on the set. We

37:58

would play ball with each other. He'd pitched to me,

38:00

you know, we we throw the ball back and forth.

38:04

We got pictures with us throwing punch is not

38:06

really tround playing, And so

38:08

I'm thinking this guy's my friend. Then

38:10

you bump into him on the fucking street. He looks

38:12

at you like, who the fuck is this? What

38:15

are you who are you? You know something like that.

38:17

It is the most the strangest thing because

38:20

when I be and it hurts your feelings in a way,

38:22

because if I be friends somebody, I

38:24

don't be friends many people. I have maybe four

38:26

or five people in my life I got trust. So

38:29

I'm befriending this guy and not because

38:31

he's a fucking director whatever. You

38:33

know, if I work with my work, he's a New York guy.

38:35

He's a New York guy,

38:37

and he's got a good sense like he's

38:40

I think. I think. My my thing with with

38:42

what I think and that people and

38:44

actors get confused by, is that

38:46

I think instinctively and who

38:49

he is. I think if he's a very

38:51

shy he's a reserve shy guy.

38:53

But you know, when you're working with him, you connect

38:56

with him and you I'm sure you could. You're you're you're

38:58

in the same age, and you're both

39:00

New Yorker's, true New Yorkers. Sports.

39:02

He loves sports, he does. But I think who

39:04

he is, he's like kind of an introverted,

39:07

shy guy, and we sort of get we fall

39:09

in love with the persona and in the real season

39:11

we portrayed, but that's not really who he is.

39:14

No, it isn't really because but I'm thinking that's

39:16

who he got you. When I'm with him, this is the

39:18

guy, he says, Look, this is this guy is

39:20

like me. Yeah. I did radio days as

39:22

you know, I said, I did Purple Rose Up. Ye,

39:25

I also did. I did a play with him

39:27

at Lincoln Center as well. So I thought,

39:29

man, me and this guy are tight.

39:32

And then he says to me one day, Michael,

39:34

now you know how important this is. Danny.

39:38

You are my ace in the hole?

39:41

Now what does that mean to me? Ason A hold? He is

39:43

a very secure statement, telling me I'm

39:45

a asan a hole and how that came about.

39:48

He was ready to do Danny

39:51

Broadway Danny right when he hits

39:53

me that you were gonna be I'm

39:56

the guy. He doesn't

39:58

know that. I saying, I have a auditioned, not on

40:00

audition for pause even then, and you had already

40:02

worked with that. He only auditioned. He listened

40:04

to my voice and he said, wow, he can

40:06

sing. I'm thinking, remember

40:08

but the words he used you're my ace

40:11

and hold he never said it your paul I got you.

40:13

So my interpretation, oh solid.

40:15

Now, Bobby, his producer, the

40:18

great cinematographer of begging him

40:20

every day. Danny, I Hello, Danny, I

40:22

hello, no problem. You know the cinematographer,

40:24

Gordon Willis. He likes you to hit the mark, want

40:27

you to hit him money, don't give a ship how you act. He doesn't

40:29

care about art. He just wants to know that his

40:31

pictures look good. Danny hits his

40:33

mark. This guy's you know anyone else that wouldn't

40:35

be Let's do Danny.

40:38

I'm waiting and waiting. Brian Hamill, you know the

40:40

great stuff. Hamill's brother and

40:43

he's one of my dearest friends. He called

40:45

me up two weeks later and he says, Danny, I'm sorry

40:47

I said what he said. He gave the part to this guy

40:50

who's a contained group. He wrote his own

40:52

Italian songs. The guy's not an active

40:54

but he gave him the role. I went in my room

40:56

for two weeks and sulk did

40:59

everything, with the exception of crying.

41:02

I was devastating because I knew

41:04

it was a pot, it was an Academy

41:06

award. This guy didn't get it

41:08

because he didn't know what the fun was. He

41:10

was all right now, he was good, but he wasn't great.

41:12

It was a great part. He I mean, the movie's

41:14

great, that's one of my favorite And he

41:17

says this just at the end. Brian

41:19

Hamill is on a set with him two weeks later,

41:21

and what he had to know? It says, how's Danny?

41:23

And Brian says, very disappointed,

41:27

not knowing what the funk he means. What

41:29

he says, disappointed? What are you for?

41:31

What? He didn't get the pot? Then

41:34

he works all the time. He

41:37

thought he could he could say that Danny works

41:39

all the time and that this meant nothing to

41:41

me. It meant everything I understand, and

41:43

it just killed me. I write about it in the

41:45

book. But again I say, he never offered it

41:47

to me. No, it made

41:50

me think, I I I understand,

41:52

and I mean, you know, and I find it crazy

41:55

as I get older and and and I don't know

41:57

what you must have been like, what that must

41:59

have been. You must have been fifty

42:01

or but with Dan

42:03

Broye Dani Rosen must have been my fifty.

42:05

You must have been a little younger, but

42:07

as a grown man. And I mean every

42:10

actor could attest this as a grown man,

42:12

even eighty eighty two years old. You're

42:14

eighty two. Now I'm forty five years old, Like

42:17

what you the disappointments. I

42:19

mean, it gets less because you get more used

42:21

to it and you process it differently. But it's

42:23

like every single time you don't

42:25

get the thing you want. It's still to

42:28

this day, right, it's still in a

42:30

way hurts. It doesn't hurt as much as when you're

42:32

younger because you have you process it different

42:34

than you've done a lot. You can't be great, but it's

42:36

still like this that it's like that reject. It's

42:38

like going up to a pretty girl and

42:41

asking her for a number and she looks at you like you're

42:43

crazy? Or can I dance with you? And

42:45

she but it's it's still lingers

42:47

and with you

42:50

brought up the girl that I never asked a girl

42:52

to dance at any school dance that

42:54

we went to because I couldn't hear

42:56

us say just in case, right,

42:59

I punched through the bag saying what if

43:01

she says no? And if I thought she's

43:03

going to say no, I fucking

43:05

don't ask. I'll stand in the fucking corner and

43:07

do absolutely nothing. Right, But

43:09

it actually killed me. Another thing about what you're

43:12

a natural actor. Now, I don't mean that as an instant

43:14

I appreciate. He used to call me a

43:16

natural actor, and I considered it a

43:18

fucking insult because if

43:20

you didn't have all the skills, and you don't exactly

43:24

say I'm a natural, luck, you're telling me, oh, I'm instinctive.

43:26

Only I am a instinctive. I

43:29

learned my craft in a natural sort

43:31

of way. But when you say that

43:33

I'm a natural, I think he's telling me I'm

43:35

untrained. I'm a lucky motherfucker.

43:37

Excuse my language of using that, but I

43:41

am Michael. I'm telling you, I understand I

43:44

resented being called a natural. Now

43:46

at this age and going through everything that

43:48

I've been through, I love them when they

43:51

say natural because I know it comes with a lot

43:53

of work, and also the instinct which

43:55

I use even to this absolutely, and I

43:57

mean and and and the you know, they're

43:59

they're you know what the thing is is that you know,

44:01

sometimes I think, you know,

44:03

like I'll have I have my little

44:05

my little you know, beef for

44:08

whatever with you know, foreign actors.

44:10

You know, they'll come over and play New Yorkers

44:13

and and but when there's parts to play

44:16

British people, they're not even thinking about it.

44:18

They're not considered not that we'd ever be able, not that

44:20

I'd be not that Michael Rappaport and Daniello

44:22

would be the best people to play two Brits.

44:25

Okay, but who's the great?

44:28

Can you imagine? But but but

44:31

you know, like because they're like, oh, he went to this

44:33

school, he went to the Juilliard list and

44:35

he's British, And what the fucking do I could

44:37

hear he sounds like he's fucking British. I don't care

44:39

what you know for the most part. I mean, it's been done

44:41

well at times, but I understand

44:43

like that you because you acting

44:46

can be taken so seriously and it's like,

44:48

you know, it's almost like we're the tennis Like the Williams

44:51

sisters. They weren't trained, they didn't go

44:53

to these fancy schools. They're kicking everybody's

44:55

ass. I mean, everybody gets there differently. Like

44:57

de Niro, he's method guy, and

44:59

like he's sort of you know, and Marlon Brandon. You

45:01

hear about the method and the method and they went to the school.

45:04

But the result to the result, and the fans

45:06

don't give a ship. But we we you developed

45:09

these insecurities because you're around these ads. But

45:11

what he's he's not like a trained

45:14

director. He's a natural writer. You do know

45:16

he's a minimalist. When I the

45:18

directors, they are not quite as a minimal as head.

45:20

What does what he do with us? He comes out and be a little

45:22

less angry, right, be a little happier. That

45:24

is that's his intellectual, so

45:27

to speak, approach, and it does

45:29

work. So it's very simple messages,

45:31

not something over an actor's head. He's

45:33

just very simple and off. And he doesn't say that damn

45:35

work. He just firs you because

45:39

here is a fire. He'll

45:42

send you over here. The movie September, he

45:44

cast the whole thing maveren O'Sullivan, which

45:46

is they shot it right shot

45:48

two weeks. The only guy there who

45:51

wasn't Chris walking that he made

45:53

it back walking. He comes out.

45:55

He fired the whole fucking cast up the two weeks they've

45:57

been doing their characters, and Ris

46:00

is doing this character. He fired.

46:02

Everyone walks over to Chris said, Chris, look, I love

46:04

you, just to give me a different

46:06

interpretation of the character that you've established

46:09

in Chris said Wood. He I've already

46:11

given you the character in the manner in which I saw

46:13

he should be shown the

46:16

way I want to present him. I don't want

46:18

the job. And he walked off the movie. So

46:20

he didn't come back. No, he abit early went on

46:22

his own because of what had happened. But he fired

46:25

his mother in law, me, his mother, he fired

46:27

the whole goddam. You never

46:29

know. Then I shoot a scene and Purple

46:31

Rose of Cairo. I'm sitting down. I want

46:34

my road. I'll give me my meat loaf. You know what a

46:36

great scene it was? Like, I

46:38

loved it. I just love to see me and me at the

46:40

table gelling at each other. I

46:43

come back a couple of days later and I find

46:45

out the scene was cut. He walks over and

46:47

said, I want you to redo the scene. Now the scene

46:49

I thought it was terrific, but he thought it

46:51

was too much like street clot named

46:54

DESI the Malon Brando scene

46:56

when he was yelling. He said he needed more

46:58

human, So we went back and

47:00

redid it. Now. Who talked him? And he has six

47:02

people that he trusts immensely,

47:05

and he they sit in the screening room, they go through

47:08

the stuff with him. They make suggestions

47:10

as to what should be done or not. So

47:12

apparently they made suggestions to him.

47:14

I think it should be cut and done in a different way. We

47:17

redid it. It was great, but not as

47:19

good as we originally had done it. But

47:22

that's the kind of guy he is, and he'll talk

47:24

to you. You'll love him. He's a little Guy's

47:26

not dangerous. You can knock him on his ask with a fucking

47:28

pinky, you know, but that's not

47:30

the point. Well, he's you know what

47:33

is five? One who's bigger standing

47:36

up? No him? Who do you think, in their

47:39

prime would win in a fight? Spiker would?

47:41

He? Like? In there? They're both forty, they're

47:43

both forty, they're in shape. Like if you had to

47:45

bed the house, Spike, do you think Spike

47:47

young Spike Lee would beat the young wody? Yeah,

47:49

yeah, I think Spike would. Yeah,

47:51

I think Spike. Do you like Spike? I like Spike.

47:54

Yeah. We got along quite good. We had our little

47:56

problems once in a while. I've had some

47:58

some stuff with him. To everybody, I think everybody

48:00

that loves Spike always there. There's always

48:02

some things. But I like I love way way good friends.

48:04

And for the longest period of time he was begging me to

48:06

do that. I said, I'm not doing that. That's tanned them

48:09

out to a black man doing watermelon. Then

48:11

you put a damn cap on my goddamn head.

48:13

You made me flip pieces. That's what it said.

48:15

At the beginning of the script, I was in Canada

48:18

shooting the last done. I sent it back to me.

48:20

I said, Spike, I love you, but there's no way

48:22

I'm doing the right thing, do the right thing. So

48:24

then we we. He took me Yankee Games,

48:27

he took me Nick Games. Incidentally, I'm not a Knick

48:29

fan. I used to be. I'm

48:31

I was a Net fan, but now since

48:33

I got rid of Cala Perry, I don't

48:35

like any of the Fox One of my favorite team

48:37

was always Boston Celtics

48:39

because the Larry Bird, he's a white man

48:42

that don't jump, is one of the greatest players ever

48:44

that he was out there banging with and

48:46

and me and Spike. We talked about this ship

48:48

all the time, and we'd argue for the say, Michael

48:50

Jordan, I'm saying, you know, the same ship that went

48:52

in, but Larry Bird, Michael Jordan,

48:54

Larry Bird, you know, And for the same reasons

48:57

I said, you like him. I'm sure he's great, but

48:59

he's also black. Guy like him he's great because

49:01

he's white and yeah,

49:03

we got we need something. And is he not

49:05

one of the greatest fun I'm talking about Larry

49:08

for him, Magic Johnson, Michael and

49:10

and birth those are the guys. Yeah,

49:13

but uh, what what was you

49:15

know? We were talking or I want to get to

49:17

do the right things. So we were talking. Are we here?

49:20

Were want to talk to you us? So tell me some of the people

49:23

that came through the Improv at that time. I want

49:25

to go back to the improv and then talk to me specifically

49:27

because I know you you had a relationship

49:29

with him, but with Richard Pryor

49:32

and what was he like? Did you have any idea he

49:34

was going to turn out to be as great as he did

49:36

in seventy He was pretty hot. He

49:39

was doing the downtown clubs. Once in a while. He would

49:41

come up to us at the Improv. We became

49:43

so friendly Richie and I mean I wouldn't not the

49:45

intimate We were hug and friends and things like that, but

49:47

we interpreted each other as a friendship.

49:50

He was going to be the godfather my daughter

49:52

Stacy when she was born. I

49:54

mean, that's how close. And then he was out of town. I was

49:56

out of town. That simply didn't happen. I

49:59

love Richie. She was a great, great comedian.

50:01

And god knows how many women this guy is humped.

50:04

I mean he is. And he went through

50:06

some damaging times. And you know, I saw

50:08

him the first the last time I saw him

50:10

when we were doing Hollow Nights. He was not well. You

50:13

knew that he was almost wheel chair

50:15

you know ready, I mean it was gonna happen, but

50:18

he hadn't. He had his sense, you know, he had

50:20

that that brilliant mind. He was great in Hollow

50:22

n you know, but you knew that was a tremendous

50:25

amount of trouble. Richie didn't

50:27

come in that often. But David Brenner was

50:29

one of my best friends. They were unnamed

50:31

guys, Movin Brabman guys

50:34

that Rodney Dangerfield before

50:36

you and Rodney Dangerville. You know, Michael,

50:39

what he did for me, nobody knew what the

50:41

fund is it? Danny, I hello, I just started

50:43

to act. He would go on the stage or

50:45

on the MERV Griffin show, and who would you talk about?

50:48

He talked about me in a way. The things

50:50

that you're doing the interpretations of me. No

50:53

one knew who the funk I was? When he was doing what

50:56

he would say, Danny I Yellow. This guy takes

50:58

me to throgs Neck, where he says his family lives.

51:00

He said, I'm looking out over the ocean and

51:03

the most glamorous fucking thing I've ever seen

51:05

in my life as a floating fucking

51:08

ti voting when

51:11

my mother and my family I didn't live. That's

51:14

funny, but he would and he would attach me

51:16

to a job. He said, I'm in the car with

51:18

Danny I Yellow, and you

51:21

know you're you're not just saying they don't

51:23

even know who I'm just he

51:25

said, improvisation. He's a bouncer of the improvisation

51:28

becoming an actor. Don't know what the funk anyway?

51:30

Whatever, And he's talking, and he

51:33

was just He would say, I'm in the car with

51:35

him and I'm driving him, and he's

51:37

given me directions out of hit to get to tie

51:40

a beach well you know where he said, a flat

51:42

tie or whatever. And he said, make a straight right.

51:44

He said, what the fund is a straight right? Those

51:47

that's the terminology. I usually make a straight left

51:49

here, what's the straight left? But he would constantly

51:52

make fun But he initially

51:54

was one of the guys that put my name out there,

51:56

because when I started to do things, people

51:59

were putting to gather the fact that he talked

52:01

about me. So I blame him a lot.

52:03

Now, Bud Friedman the single most

52:05

important person next to Louis LaRusso,

52:08

the second who wrote the place. It

52:10

was Louis. There was Bud Friedman, the propriet

52:13

of the improvisation, and uh

52:15

and and the guy that the guy that

52:18

I mentioned, I mean, and and Rodney. They

52:20

were so helpful to me, but again very

52:22

shy. I didn't know what I was doing until

52:24

the guy come over to me and say, you know your

52:26

bow blights. And then Louis Luiso comes

52:29

over and said, do a play. I'm not an act. He said, yes,

52:31

you are. You just don't know it yet. Now

52:33

Brenna. Brenna was a guy

52:35

who was working with a guy by name of Sonny

52:38

Fox. He was producing the show

52:40

with Sonny Fox. He was a television producer.

52:42

That's what David did. He came from Philadelphia.

52:45

He walks in. He was the most together

52:47

comedian I've ever met. Together. He

52:49

would we go up to the apartment and they

52:52

would have these draws and

52:54

he would open the drawers, indexes, lot

52:56

of decks card you'll see a date on a date.

52:59

He will the jokes that he told, and he

53:01

will define for you the reaction of each each

53:04

joke, the time of day, it was every

53:06

set, that was every study ever

53:08

did he the reaction he got, how

53:11

the line was stated. It was the most incredible

53:13

thing that I had ever seen here. Bud Friedman

53:16

hated him as a comedian. He

53:18

would come over to me and say to me, he

53:21

goes on two o'clock in the morning and

53:23

not sooner. He never breaks the cast,

53:25

you know, And they put him in. Oh yeah,

53:27

I got you, but I got you know, buzz of gem

53:30

and I like me, and I'm I'm like him.

53:32

I'll do ship because I think it's right. When

53:34

he Bud wasn't there. I put David

53:36

on Prime Time and he was killing and

53:39

he loved David. He just did not like

53:41

his comedy routine. Bob Klein would

53:44

walk in when Bob Klein came a Robert

53:46

Klein famous. He was one of the famous

53:48

guys that Bette Midler would come in chat saying,

53:51

but Bob would come in and whatever the order

53:53

was, maybe we had five comedians. We had an

53:56

order. Bob was the only one who

53:58

can come in and break the order. He goes right to the top,

54:00

and then he comes and he goes to the top. Bett Midler,

54:03

we had a group called the Untouchables. I was

54:05

one of them. This is one of the things that I did.

54:08

She would do her Manhattan and all

54:10

these songs that she was famous at that

54:12

she just began because she was doing Fiddler

54:15

on the Roof, playing on Broadway, and

54:17

she would come in. Bud was handling, one of the few

54:19

people he handled. She would come in and

54:22

we would sing behind Buddy Hughes,

54:25

this black dude. Myself and Buddy

54:27

Mantilla would sing bullshit behind

54:29

it. We don't know what. We were the background singers for

54:31

Robert Klein, who does improv songs. We

54:33

would go behind him and Bet Midler and

54:36

who knew that Bett was going to be what she's

54:39

That's the stuff where you wish there was

54:41

a video. You wish they had cell falls ship

54:44

they got. And then one guy never gets

54:46

any credit whatsoever, a black

54:48

fellow by a great guy the name of Raymond

54:50

Johnson. Everywhere I go in my book and everything,

54:53

I mentioned his name because he

54:55

disappeared when he was playing piano company

54:57

singers and comedians who needed him, and

55:00

they've mentioned his name and that's all you ever heard

55:02

about him, you know what I mean. It was like he

55:04

disappeared because he was the guy playing

55:06

the music. And I always thought of Ray

55:08

Johnson. He's such He's so much more

55:11

important than just playing to god

55:13

damn piano and having no personality

55:15

with the people. I be talking to the people, just doing

55:17

this, and he was great. Raymond

55:20

Chun. I just want you to know, in the case, Ray

55:23

is still alive. Let's let's take

55:25

it. Let's take a stand up for a second. Alright.

55:28

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dot com. Check it out. We use it at the Iron

56:15

wrap Port podcast. I trusted It's

56:17

safe, secure, they got stated the art technology.

56:19

Check it out. Now. My

56:21

career is pretty solid. I'm doing Capone. I don't

56:24

know if you know that. It's a big musical. We're

56:26

gonna be doing that. I'm off at two Broadway shows.

56:28

One is uh, I don't know if you know who Alan

56:30

Freed is. Yeah, of course. Well I'm playing Mars

56:33

leaving Mars Levies and

56:35

it's a huge fucking that's another play.

56:37

When is that coming? That's on its

56:39

way here? Because those musicals are huge. Yeah,

56:44

but they offer me things television

56:46

series now and I'm saying, Michael's

56:48

doing this, He's using motherfucker

56:50

und the thing you're making me, people of Saint

56:53

Danny. I hello, fucking tweets. Here's

56:56

why it sends me to Tweetsweets.

56:59

They love you. I didn't even

57:01

know that, but you don't know. You

57:03

no communication with them. I don't go tweet.

57:05

No, I have no Facebook. I'm not the social

57:08

man. How could you not love Danny A. Yello?

57:11

No, no, I listen, you might not love

57:14

Danny Yello. But if you you might not know or

57:16

be familiar with Danniello. But anybody, you're

57:18

never gonna hear somebody say I don't love

57:20

Danny A. Yellow. He's fucking Danny Yelle. I mean,

57:23

you're you're beloved. I mean some of the actors

57:25

I used to work with, he said I had that pot.

57:28

Of course, of course there's always

57:30

that. But I'm saying the fans, you're like a guy

57:32

that like, you know, everybody loves

57:35

so all right, so let me let me all right, I want to because

57:37

I don't want to keep you forever. I don't Whatever you

57:39

want, we'll go whenever you just okay,

57:42

okay, So so So talk to me about so

57:45

so your first film and

57:48

and at that at the time, who

57:51

was Robert de Niro in terms of the acting

57:53

world. Was he a good actor? Was he? You

57:56

know, like on the car he wasn't who he is

57:58

now. He wasn't iconic, like did you oh he

58:00

what had he done. He already shot Main Street

58:02

okay, and he did Bloody Mama with Shelley went

58:04

to he he did Godfather too. No, not

58:07

yet. They came out right after this, okay, so he

58:09

did mean okay, so he did John Hancock,

58:12

he directed bang the drum slowe okay,

58:15

and I I saw him in a gang

58:17

that couldn't shoot straight Bobby. Bobby

58:19

was playing a priest who wrote

58:21

a bicycle, had an Italian

58:23

accent, and he was playing the priest. I thought the guy was

58:25

from Italy. So when John Hancock

58:28

gives me the role, how did I get the role? Someone at

58:30

the improv said they're doing a baseball picture.

58:32

So I went over there and figure

58:35

I didn't get the pot because you know, he saw me hit

58:37

the fucking ball, and he said, you got the pot. I said, hold

58:39

my playing. You're playing horse Bird. Now. Horse

58:42

Bird in the book itself was a relief

58:44

picture, which meant I couldn't be on

58:46

the field. I would have to be in the bullpen. So John

58:49

Hancock saw me playing. He said, no, no, you're

58:51

playing first Space. So I played.

58:53

I. I played first Space, which would

58:55

put me, you know, on the fields often right

58:58

to use the fact that you can play and you

59:00

could act. I said, who's playing the catch

59:02

up? Mike Morialty's playing the picture and

59:05

Bobby is playing the catchy. He said Bobby, I

59:07

said, Bobby's from Italy, But how the funk are you going

59:09

to get a catcher, a Southern catcher from Italy?

59:11

Because I saw the guy that couldn't

59:13

shoot. I just he

59:16

was because Main Street didn't come out yet, so

59:18

I had no fucking idea who he was. And what happens

59:21

is uh I say that John

59:23

Hincock, the narrow, isn't he from Italy? Said

59:25

no? So that's when Bobby and I met. We

59:27

became fast friends because he threw a fucking ball

59:30

like this. He couldn't throw. I can't say like a lady

59:32

because the ladies throve better than we do now. But at

59:34

the time, the ladies threw at their elbow attached

59:36

to their ribs. He couldn't throw a ball of

59:39

his fucking life depends, but he knows

59:41

that we joked about and uh

59:44

I worked with him many, many hours, and

59:46

I was nervous because I had about eight lines

59:48

in the whole movie, you know what I mean. And it's the first

59:50

first movie, so you're like freaked out, no

59:52

idea, what you don't know? Blocking? Or the reverse

59:55

was like, you're going bucking football. You

59:57

know you're gonna throw a fucking line A block

1:00:00

got close body blood. I had no fucking

1:00:02

eyea. I'm sitting in the corner. I got my uniform on, like

1:00:04

a half of Paul. I was let to say something I

1:00:06

got Now

1:00:09

you see these things now the political correct

1:00:11

throw in person. But

1:00:14

that was about I'm

1:00:16

talking about a cigarette, right. So

1:00:19

what happens is, h I'm in the corner,

1:00:21

I have my uniform on, mumbling, trying

1:00:24

to figure out how to say eight lines. Okay.

1:00:27

Now, a lot of people like, who don't know what we do?

1:00:29

Michael said, well, what's the big deal? You know? Well,

1:00:31

for me, I'm going on the screen and

1:00:33

I have a major role. Even though it was on the eight

1:00:36

lines. You don't know what. You've never done it. It's a total

1:00:38

foreign environment. It's like, but I did the stage,

1:00:40

not the film. It's different, idea,

1:00:45

it's a whole thing. Absolutely. Now I'm

1:00:47

over there and I'm mumbling, and

1:00:49

who walks over to me? The Great Vince and

1:00:51

Gardenia, who was not a mentor

1:00:53

but pretty close to it. I love them dearly, much

1:00:56

older than me, but trained, wonderful

1:00:58

actor. What's a matter of kid, I

1:01:01

said, Well, Mr Latinia, I, I'm

1:01:05

having great difficulty here. Well what do you mean that? Well,

1:01:08

you know, I'm not quite you how to do the lines?

1:01:11

You know, I know it's forever if I if

1:01:13

I do let's say, let's say I do lines and

1:01:15

and I'm not happy with the lines, and I suck with the lines,

1:01:17

and I go to the movie and I see the movie fifty times.

1:01:20

I'm I'm gonna suck fifty times. He

1:01:22

looks at me and he says, don't worry, kids, you're

1:01:24

probably never going to work again anyway. I

1:01:28

swear to God. But we became.

1:01:32

I mean, that's funny. We leave Bang the drums

1:01:34

slowly, Bobby, you know, we go back home. I'm living

1:01:36

in a project on two Straight and Bro,

1:01:38

that's where I lived with my wife and kids. And I

1:01:42

lived in the project. Bobby comes home with

1:01:45

me. We're

1:01:47

in the house now. Bobby is a non talkative,

1:01:49

fucking guy, and even even

1:01:52

less less. He was interviewed

1:01:55

by Dick Schapp and, uh,

1:01:57

when we're doing bang the drum slowly, Dick Shap was a

1:01:59

big yes, of course, television

1:02:01

guy. He interviewed me, Vince his

1:02:06

his his. His interview with Dick

1:02:08

Shap was so incommunicative

1:02:11

that when they showed three

1:02:13

of us, they didn't show him, so we knew

1:02:15

then he had difficulty doing it. Was he

1:02:17

just was your at the time, he was like, he's just

1:02:19

a quiet because this side of himself totally

1:02:22

inside, totally inside the character

1:02:24

when he's working, totally inside, but that character.

1:02:27

Even when he left the screen, when he

1:02:29

went outside of shooting, he remained

1:02:31

whether it was with the character or not, or just a

1:02:34

private, private mosent, never

1:02:36

communicate, just goes home with me. I

1:02:39

got my kids running all over the house. You know. It's

1:02:41

the fucking projects. That's where I'm living on the fourth

1:02:43

floor, two Street, Marble Hill.

1:02:46

So he's we're sitting there. Are you ready for this,

1:02:48

Mike, there's going to blow your mind now. I want you

1:02:50

guys ready, You're gonna need this one. He

1:02:53

looks and he's not saying the fucking word. He slept

1:02:55

over that night in the couch. My kids, crazy

1:02:57

little boys. At the time, they're taking his watch off

1:03:00

and ship with him. It was like he was

1:03:02

an uncle or something. He's sitting at the table saying

1:03:04

nothing. Sandy's feeding us. I think

1:03:06

Mcaroni's what is Jewish girl cooks

1:03:08

macaronis, and uh, he's

1:03:11

not saying that. I look over and I said, you're talking to me. I

1:03:15

said, well, you must be talking to there's nobody

1:03:17

else here. And then six months

1:03:19

later, Sandy and I go see taxi

1:03:22

driver and she's in the front

1:03:24

row. Sandy loved to sit in the front row. She looks something.

1:03:26

She says after he said, you're talking to me. You

1:03:28

must be talking to me. There's nobody else here. My

1:03:31

wife yells out, he's doing you

1:03:33

Are you serious? Not sure? I'm now keep in mind,

1:03:36

I'm not saying that I communicated that to him.

1:03:39

What do you do? I watched people. I'm a

1:03:41

boy. I pick and choose

1:03:43

things that I want to do, a walk, a hunchback,

1:03:46

different things that people are doing. Bobby

1:03:49

might have collected that from someone else.

1:03:51

So I don't know, because it was streets, Like I said, that

1:03:53

ship all and you're talking to me, Well, you must be

1:03:55

talking there's nobody else here. And that

1:03:57

now the god for them.

1:04:00

Now, when I'm doing with Francis Coppola, I just

1:04:02

want to just things that you never

1:04:05

heard before. It would be interesting give it to me.

1:04:07

All over the internet people ask this question

1:04:10

how they know it. I'm doing Godfather

1:04:12

too. I'm intimidated. I'm

1:04:14

working with a major guy again, small pot

1:04:16

Tony Rossatto, Mine Karini was my

1:04:19

Rosato brother. I had

1:04:21

the Godfather. The Godfather

1:04:23

was a monster huge. So I wanted

1:04:26

to play Sonny. You know Sonny, uh, the

1:04:28

guy that was paid by Jimmy con

1:04:30

I couldn't play it because I wasn't known. Nobody knew

1:04:32

me. But but I mean so it was. It

1:04:35

was a month and now they're doing part two. They and

1:04:38

how did you get that part? Did you just call me? He

1:04:40

brought me in? You just audition I

1:04:42

didn't audition. I don't know. I

1:04:45

never auditioned. Does that Even then, I

1:04:47

didn't give a fuck. If I walked away

1:04:49

from Gone with the Wind, you just didn't

1:04:51

feel comfortable like you were. That was the only

1:04:53

not that I had an ego. Fuck my ego. I

1:04:56

couldn't take the girl dance

1:04:59

well you dancing at me? But so you would need

1:05:01

said no, I would meet you. See

1:05:03

if I'm directing you, Michael, I am

1:05:05

never going to give you a reading. Reading is a bullshit?

1:05:07

Why are they bullshit? Because directors

1:05:10

are trying to find out in terms of what

1:05:12

the interpretation of characterists. Right, they're

1:05:14

using what you're you, They're

1:05:17

using you, and they put you on

1:05:19

tape and they go home and they watch that tape

1:05:21

and out of that they decide not necessarily

1:05:23

who that guy is, but who that characterization.

1:05:26

That's who the character. Okay, so

1:05:29

I I hated doing even

1:05:31

at the time. You just would like you just were

1:05:34

uncomfortable doing before even had been

1:05:37

well, it was that I didn't want to do it. There are little

1:05:39

things that I probably did it with but later

1:05:41

completely knocked it off because of Madri

1:05:44

Scorsese's casting person,

1:05:46

who brought me down to a movie and

1:05:49

I volunteered. I was named I was.

1:05:52

I was pretty well known actor

1:05:54

at the time, and a lot of actors were

1:05:56

volunteering just to be with Marty. I

1:06:00

went there and was volunteering to do a

1:06:02

pot that had no lines a bartender

1:06:04

in which film and I didn't get it about last

1:06:07

night was at the time, and they didn't give

1:06:09

me the part. That's when the That's

1:06:11

why I wanted to break his fucking head excuse.

1:06:15

Okay, how the fund could I be offering

1:06:17

this prick a fucking no

1:06:19

line thing that I would do with him, because you

1:06:21

know, I wanted to be in the family and he

1:06:24

fun He didn't personally turn me down, and

1:06:26

he didn't even get it. No, I didn't get it. And it turns

1:06:28

out to be down the road. You'll

1:06:31

hear it. When we started continue to talk here.

1:06:33

Down the road, he did something to me again

1:06:35

indirectly that person to person through

1:06:38

Bobby de Niro, where I wanted to rip his

1:06:40

fucking head off, but it didn't That

1:06:42

what we're talking about. Before that, Wait,

1:06:44

we were talking Godfather

1:06:47

too. Okay, Bob Godfather two were working

1:06:49

right. We're in the Bard Mulberry

1:06:52

Street. Oh Man will work with some of the biggest

1:06:54

guys. Francis Coppler. Wow, this guy he

1:06:56

did god follow This guy is amazing. I'm

1:06:59

there and he said, what I want you to do? Michael

1:07:02

Gazo is playing pantagily. I want

1:07:04

you come in Careita, your

1:07:06

brother will come in. He will just you

1:07:08

know, distract him at the bar. You

1:07:10

will come behind and put a garat around

1:07:13

Michael Gazo Piantangioli's neck, which

1:07:15

is a metal. What is it? It was that it

1:07:17

was like a metal yet

1:07:19

they call it a garage. It's not metal, it's

1:07:22

it's hardcore, cable

1:07:24

whatever. Yeah,

1:07:29

they said to garage your garat him. That's the turn

1:07:31

might he used, And I said, all right,

1:07:34

now, no lines, no lines.

1:07:36

We're rehearsing the scene. And I come in from

1:07:39

the side. If you remember the scene,

1:07:41

you know what the hat. I look like a jerk of if I come

1:07:43

over, look good. I come behind him.

1:07:46

I throw the garage on him, tightened,

1:07:48

and I said, no lines. And

1:07:50

I'm sitting there because being a fucking pain, and

1:07:52

he has talking like I am. I feel there's

1:07:55

gotta be a fucking line here. I can't

1:07:57

kill a guy in that. Have a fucking line. It's

1:07:59

gonna be a Sionara things. Something in

1:08:02

the rehearsal, I said, Michael Coleon.

1:08:04

He says, hello, now, Michael, trust me. When

1:08:06

I said, I had no fucking idea what I

1:08:09

was saying. It didn't make sense

1:08:11

to me. It just blurted out of my fuck Michael

1:08:13

Collon, he says, hello, I

1:08:15

strangled him. I take him off the boot I saw,

1:08:18

dragging him back to a phone booth, and

1:08:20

I don't kill him because the cop comes

1:08:22

in. And the cop comes and I run out of the thing.

1:08:25

He yells out to my brother, yells Angelo Anthony.

1:08:28

He says to me, I come running out. I throw a cross

1:08:30

body block at the coup and I say

1:08:32

to the guy behind the buck, you open your

1:08:34

mouth, I'll blow your fucking and then we go out

1:08:36

with the gunfight. That was it. Now,

1:08:39

Francis said, what did you say when I

1:08:41

set the line? Now, I'm really

1:08:44

intoim, and I'm saying, because you think you're in trouble. Yes,

1:08:46

I said, because I didn't know. I didn't work with get

1:08:49

it And I said, I I I think,

1:08:52

I said Michael Coleon. He says hello, He

1:08:55

said, good keep it in. And that was

1:08:57

it. One of the fucking lines that

1:08:59

every one the internet keeps asking Daddy, I

1:09:02

was the one that through that line. But Mike,

1:09:04

I write a lot of my ship and only one

1:09:07

being asked to do so. But one of

1:09:09

the only times it might be I'm

1:09:11

not one of the things we do with the Iron

1:09:13

Rapport podcast. We don't fact check, pride

1:09:16

ourselves on that, which means you could just say anything good.

1:09:19

But but I think that might be the

1:09:22

only funck in that movie,

1:09:24

because there's not a lot of cursing in that movie.

1:09:26

Yeah, I mean, we have to check that. But because

1:09:29

it's not it's not like someone I want to

1:09:31

be. It was muffled. There was a

1:09:33

muffled sound and you might be not to be

1:09:35

able to know you could hear it. And I

1:09:38

said, you open, I'll blow you up. I don't

1:09:40

know if you can. But

1:09:42

but the thing is is that because that movie, it's not like it

1:09:44

wasn't one of the modern films. And it wasn't even like main

1:09:47

streetspeare. It was like, it

1:09:50

wasn't a lot of funk. This fun it was. It

1:09:52

wasn't his street as some of the other time.

1:09:54

So I mean, and and honestly,

1:09:57

I when I first saw that movie, and I saw and

1:10:00

I was a kid, I didn't know what I was watching. And then

1:10:02

you know, when I started becoming a movie lover, I

1:10:05

and I had and this is in the nineties, so this is

1:10:07

definitely you know, post

1:10:09

Moonstruck, post do the right thing.

1:10:12

And I went back in unity everybody's watched

1:10:14

The Godfather and because the film

1:10:16

was so darkly lit, go

1:10:19

this that way, and and in that film, because

1:10:22

you you really couldn't see anybody's

1:10:24

facing that team. You come in through so quick. I

1:10:26

only knew. I was like, that's Danny Aello.

1:10:29

This is thirty years after the film came out, twenty

1:10:31

some years after because of the voice and

1:10:34

then but and then I saw, you know so

1:10:36

so I mean that's an iconic film. I

1:10:38

mean, like at the time, like being in a part

1:10:40

of that film that's like a special thing.

1:10:43

And Moonstruck that

1:10:46

was a whole other level. And I hate it because I played

1:10:48

such a wimp. I said that the director.

1:10:50

I said, oh god, I said, I hate

1:10:52

it. He said, what are you talking about. I said, oh my god,

1:10:54

I can't go in my neighborhood. That's not

1:10:56

me. I'm a schmuck. I played this wimpy guy.

1:10:59

But it turned out to be something that was great for

1:11:01

me because it allowed the people that you

1:11:03

know in Hollywood and so forth to know that I could

1:11:06

do situation humor. And

1:11:08

apparently I saw to make bigger money

1:11:10

after that movie. I mean, that's a big film. It's an

1:11:12

iconic movie as well. What was what was? What

1:11:15

were have any memories of share? She was?

1:11:17

She cool? I loved that she was cool. I

1:11:19

loved that when she was not the public persona.

1:11:21

And I didn't dislike her when she was in

1:11:24

public, And it isn't that because I knew that was a

1:11:26

game. But when you got her undressed,

1:11:28

so to speak, not undressed in terms of undressed,

1:11:32

meaning that the regular person, nothing on her

1:11:34

face, just her head down. And

1:11:36

how do I judge that? Because Sandy Cohen,

1:11:38

my wife doesn't love

1:11:40

anybody, not maybe not even me, I don't

1:11:43

know, but she fell madly in love with

1:11:45

you because she met shere as she truly

1:11:47

is. Then we're invited to see Share in Atlantic

1:11:50

City after the movie. I'm

1:11:52

going and I see shares as. I

1:11:55

was so humiliated, I said, because I didn't

1:11:57

even know how to react to it. Sandy said, oh my god,

1:12:00

he's almost her ass was on the stage

1:12:02

right. She had this sheer thing on what you

1:12:04

can see edan. I was so embarrassed. But that's

1:12:06

not her, that's her, that's her, that's

1:12:09

her persona, that's her character. She's a great.

1:12:12

Okay, that's good to know for your people

1:12:14

out there who love shit love her because

1:12:17

there's two sides. As the public true,

1:12:19

that's what the mask is. And then when she's

1:12:21

unmasked, she's gorgeous. She's just

1:12:24

a great girl. Okay, that's good to know, all

1:12:26

right, do the right thing? So

1:12:29

so, so, talk to me about so

1:12:32

you said you were reluctant to take the role.

1:12:34

You throw it with stereotypical and

1:12:36

and and you know, talk to me about

1:12:38

the making of that film. I mean, I've read a lot about

1:12:40

it. It's been well documented. I've

1:12:43

seen interviews you talk about it. But like,

1:12:45

talk to me about like, did you have any

1:12:47

idea? I mean, I guess you never

1:12:50

know. You never know if something's gonna be good great, And

1:12:52

you can certainly say, well, people are gonna still be

1:12:54

discussing this film and this character later.

1:12:56

And then I think that you know this it's

1:12:59

crazy because at the time it struck a chord

1:13:01

because of the craziness and the race and

1:13:03

the tone and and and the crazy

1:13:05

thing now for me about do the Right Thing. And one of the great

1:13:07

things about it, it's because of all the craziness

1:13:10

and it's still the brutality with the cops and the James

1:13:12

Blake getting chased in the cop You know, it's

1:13:15

still relevant to themes and we

1:13:17

want to push them underneath. Uh, you

1:13:19

know, it's and it's gotten better. And obviously in ways

1:13:21

it has gotten better. But in general, if

1:13:24

you when you see James Blake standing there texting

1:13:26

on Times square one is the way to the U s open

1:13:28

get thrown down. So so talk to me about

1:13:30

what you remember about do the right thing, what

1:13:33

you liked it, which what what you didn't like about

1:13:35

it? You know, I know some of it was written,

1:13:37

some of it wasn't written. And at the end of this, I'm

1:13:39

gonna ask you and I brought sides because

1:13:42

I feel like the day after scene after

1:13:44

they burnt you to the fucking ground,

1:13:46

when they burned South, I'm gonna ask you, and

1:13:49

I have the script the week of rehearse it. I wanted

1:13:51

to see if you would do that

1:13:53

scene with me. But you play Mooky. Now

1:13:56

you could play Mooky as Danny Aelo and I played

1:13:58

Danny Alo. So this it becomes no

1:14:01

longer about Danny Aelle and Spike Lee. It becomes

1:14:03

all Danny a Yellow, which I think to me,

1:14:05

I notice you're choosing. Of course

1:14:08

you know who wrote the same who tell me? Okay,

1:14:11

So the scene it is that we're talking about at

1:14:13

the last time I built this place. But but

1:14:16

that's not the one you're choosing, of course, it's the

1:14:18

one I was writing. So

1:14:20

so, so let's talk about that scene. But

1:14:23

the plot that I had written was the plot that you're

1:14:25

going to play, right, I'm playing sal Yeah,

1:14:27

they're playing Mookie. Right, I'm

1:14:29

gonna play Milky now right, you're playing and

1:14:33

we can rehearse it. I wrote the line and I

1:14:36

even I even highlighted him like we're really on the set

1:14:38

because because but I'm I'm I've

1:14:41

been I've

1:14:43

been gearing up to do this scene for

1:14:45

for years. So so, so talk

1:14:47

to me about that film and like you know, like you

1:14:50

know, you know, just the whole

1:14:52

thing, like the experience, like what you thought of it, the

1:14:54

environment, um and then it's just the

1:14:56

the the the Academy Award of it, and sort

1:14:58

of the the pression that it's lost

1:15:00

because it's it's definitely to me, it's Spike's

1:15:03

best film and it's a landmark film.

1:15:05

It goes Down is one of the top one films

1:15:07

ever made. So so, so, did you have any

1:15:10

idea it was going to be there? With the script itself?

1:15:12

Great? Was it good? Did

1:15:15

it get better? I mean, there's everything

1:15:17

is in sync in that film. You know, like

1:15:19

everything is just sort of perfect. Yeah. Well,

1:15:22

well he's first of all, with good friends.

1:15:25

Politically we stand in different areas. You know,

1:15:27

he knows that, and I know that. But that cloes to show

1:15:29

you can be with liberal and conservative in the same

1:15:32

room and they can still love each other. Even

1:15:34

you gotta be able to express a different And

1:15:36

I said to him at the beginning, I said, look, I

1:15:38

said, this character has written. Now, there's

1:15:41

no way I can do it because it was tantamount to

1:15:43

what I had mentioned before, which was what stereotypically

1:15:46

did write stereotypical

1:15:49

because even the physicality of the character

1:15:51

described in the script, he wore a cat

1:15:54

interpret him flipping pieces in the

1:15:56

air. I said, well, god, look, I was off

1:15:58

at a three million dollar commercial, okay,

1:16:01

to do for McDonald's. This was way back,

1:16:04

to do a trial balloon on Pizza's

1:16:06

being made. I turned it down because they wanted

1:16:08

me with a hat, you know, pizza,

1:16:11

and I turned it down. Not at least my agent said

1:16:13

it was three million. I don't know if it was truly that, but it

1:16:16

was a lot of money and I turned

1:16:18

it down. So I, Daniello, as your

1:16:20

agent, you wanna fucking blow three

1:16:22

million dollars. This is Danny Eello's

1:16:24

agent as Danielle Richard. This

1:16:27

is Richard Astor as Danny Yellow talking

1:16:29

to daniel three fucking million

1:16:31

dollars. Put the fucking

1:16:34

pizza hat and tow the fucking

1:16:36

pizza round, you dumb cock

1:16:38

sucker, you Michael.

1:16:43

I could do it, sorry all day. I

1:16:45

could go all day doing it. We had he

1:16:48

we and we went out quite a bit. And how that came

1:16:51

about Madonna. We had just finished

1:16:53

doing uh the movie and I'm Madonna

1:16:55

is doing a party in New York City and I

1:16:58

had already done with her uh poppet

1:17:01

on preach of I didn't want to do I

1:17:04

did it only because my daughter begged me to do it.

1:17:06

She loved Madonna. I didn't know who the funk madonnad

1:17:08

was, but we did it. And uh,

1:17:11

she was throwing the party. A little guy was

1:17:13

sitting in like a

1:17:15

vestibule, not in the main room. I was on my way

1:17:17

out. I stayed ten minutes. The noise was driving me

1:17:19

nuts. I'm walking out and this little guy say, can I talk

1:17:21

to you? Duced of course, he said,

1:17:23

jeez, I wish you'd read my script. I have a

1:17:25

part I'd like you to play. So he

1:17:28

spoke about the Narrow. Now we found

1:17:30

out later that the Narrow was not the one who suggested

1:17:32

me. At least that's someone else.

1:17:35

I think he suggested someone else, but he

1:17:38

didn't want them. The kid didn't want to Spike didn't

1:17:40

want them, and we were going out. I said, well,

1:17:43

look I I can't read it now, I'll give you my

1:17:45

agent's number. You call him

1:17:47

because I'm going out of town, going to Canada, do lest

1:17:49

On. So you don't know who spiked who

1:17:52

the fun he is? You know, he's just a kid, who's

1:17:54

your weak kid which I always stop and talk

1:17:56

to if I can, you know, inspire him in some

1:17:59

way. But he's just I'm kid. I'm doing a movie, a

1:18:01

little you know, very you know, professor,

1:18:04

a real you know what the glasses on looking

1:18:06

set. Nice kid. He said, I have the

1:18:09

script. I said, we'll send it to the agent. We'll talk,

1:18:11

he said. He gave me a rundown very briefly, and I

1:18:13

left. I was kind to him, and he to me, I'm

1:18:16

in Canada. I got a script. He calls

1:18:18

me up in Canada. Apparently got the numbers somewhere

1:18:20

and said, dude, you get the script style, I said.

1:18:22

Called Spike called me Danny. I said,

1:18:25

what script? He said, I sent you a script, but anyway,

1:18:27

he didn't put enough fucking postage on it. It

1:18:29

goes to the fucking border and don't come. I'm

1:18:32

telling you the truth. We left like a savage

1:18:34

about it. Finally I read it and I said to him,

1:18:37

Spike, I can't do this, and I mentioned the reasons

1:18:40

why. So now we go back to New York.

1:18:42

He doesn't stop. He keeps calling me,

1:18:44

calling. He takes me to a Nick game. It takes

1:18:46

me to the Yankee game. We're at the

1:18:48

Yank game. We're talking and talking and talking. I

1:18:50

said, look, this is what I need. I

1:18:53

don't have to write anything, but I need significant

1:18:55

input. I know who the character is, I said,

1:18:58

Spike, maybe you don't. The way it's written, that's

1:19:00

not who I'm going to play. If you allow

1:19:03

me to have significant input, I

1:19:05

would consider doing it. You

1:19:07

got it? Now, lo and behold I find

1:19:09

out what Spike he allows

1:19:12

his actors to to

1:19:15

create. I mean to do a lot of their

1:19:17

own personal passona of who they are and put

1:19:19

it into the script. He did it with Robin.

1:19:22

He did it with everyone in the script. I mean all

1:19:24

the kids who became stars, Samuel

1:19:27

Jackson, Roei,

1:19:31

every one of them utilized a lot of their own He

1:19:33

had, you know, he gave you a little nest there of certain

1:19:36

things to say, and then a lot of them

1:19:38

improved and did improv. But all

1:19:41

of the improvs were accepted

1:19:43

prior to shooting. And

1:19:47

then we get put into that when

1:19:49

you see improv a lot of times now if you work

1:19:51

with the other guy, Robert you know, the guy

1:19:54

who did Nashville for God's sake, Oh

1:19:56

yeah, he throws it against the wall. Whatever

1:19:58

stick sticks. I mean, you say, whatever the funk

1:20:01

you say? People a lot of times when when when

1:20:03

when people say improv, they think it's a free for

1:20:05

all, and you can't. So you'd rehearse

1:20:07

stuff, and he ultimately

1:20:09

would make the choice as to what stays,

1:20:11

what does, and so for all intents, so when you get said,

1:20:14

it's already do the world done. He wrote

1:20:16

it right, It's as if he had written it. So no

1:20:18

one can say, hey, I want to write in criticals,

1:20:20

that's bullshit. He allowed you to

1:20:22

develop out of you know, words that you

1:20:24

could put in that he found acceptable it's

1:20:27

like he's writing and I'm a ghost guy, you know what

1:20:29

I mean, And that he allowed us

1:20:31

to do. And when he said to me, you've got

1:20:33

it, You've got it now there that speech

1:20:36

that what you're gonna do later came

1:20:39

about as a result of this. He's

1:20:41

we're rehearsing and he says something like, well,

1:20:44

what are you bullshitting the bus? How you're gonna get the money

1:20:46

back from insurance? Now we're

1:20:48

just rehearsing. I said to fight, what the funk you kidding?

1:20:51

We're in Vietnam. He you

1:20:53

can't get insurance of Vietnam? Are

1:20:55

you serious? I said, this fucking

1:20:57

guy will reopen the store on his

1:21:00

own money. No one's going to give him money to reopen.

1:21:03

He's dead, he's got nothing happening.

1:21:05

Ain't no insurance company going to give him money?

1:21:08

Spikes. Oh no. He didn't want to

1:21:10

hear that ship, but I said, so I put

1:21:12

it in the way of speaking where

1:21:14

I said I couldn't say. He didn't want me to say, no

1:21:17

insurance company will give This is Vietnam, he

1:21:19

wanted. And what I said, that area,

1:21:22

that area, what I said, this ain't about

1:21:24

money. This is about this fucking place.

1:21:27

I built it with my bare fucking hands,

1:21:29

Every light socket, every piece of fucking

1:21:31

town me with these hands. That's

1:21:34

what the funk I did. Those are

1:21:36

the I wrote all that ship. So

1:21:38

he said, good, keep it in, keep it in.

1:21:41

But it was it all started with insurance,

1:21:43

I said, Spikey, gotta understand

1:21:45

all those people in bed style as star as they can't

1:21:47

get insurance, they can't. They can

1:21:50

get it if you're willing to pay your life, you

1:21:52

know, to get it. So that's where we were.

1:21:54

The only the little argument that we had as

1:21:56

we're going along, as he wanted me remember

1:21:59

the time I'm gonna they dragged me over the county

1:22:02

after I rip up a radio just killed

1:22:05

your fucking that

1:22:08

you can't write, that's

1:22:13

gotta be but also accepted that it

1:22:15

was that improv beforehand, or did you get that

1:22:17

on this I mean, maybe you don't remember that happened

1:22:19

right now. I remember all that you Yeah, And

1:22:21

the thing I just said, I'm sitting with him and he's telling

1:22:24

me how we're going to do the boss scene, the

1:22:26

scene when I'm coming over the top. Suddenly

1:22:29

I'm seeing the storyboard. I never saw it before.

1:22:31

Okay, for the for the stunt, the story,

1:22:33

the story, the storyboard for that particulars

1:22:36

thing. My son is playing me. He's

1:22:39

dragged over the counter, and what do I

1:22:41

see in the storyboard. I

1:22:43

see a guy being dragged on

1:22:46

the top of the table with bottles

1:22:48

bouncing off his fucking head. I

1:22:51

never saw it. We never discussed. I said, Spike,

1:22:53

if you think I'm doing that, I'm out of this fucking

1:22:55

movie. I said, that's fucking comedy

1:22:57

time in the Rockies, and I'm not fucking doing

1:22:59

it. He said, I said, I'm just not doing it.

1:23:02

He said, bottles bouncing off my fucking

1:23:04

it. Now, Spike intermitted that as meaning that

1:23:06

I wanted to be soft treated

1:23:09

nicely. No, I wanted to be viciously

1:23:12

taken off over the counter. I wanted

1:23:14

to be a vicious not about stupid

1:23:16

bottles my head. That's ridiculous.

1:23:18

It's it's a cowboy movie. So

1:23:21

we did it where he dragged me over the counter, and

1:23:24

unfortunately, my my boy who passed

1:23:26

away, Danny was the one who went over on the side.

1:23:29

Now, something terrible happened there. Danny

1:23:33

goes over the side and he's on the floor. Okay,

1:23:35

he's on the ground, and everyone's on top of him.

1:23:38

The only time it was me is when the camera was

1:23:40

in close and you saw my face. Otherwise

1:23:42

it was Danny, one of the actors

1:23:46

spit and my son

1:23:48

Danny's face. Okay,

1:23:51

watch the movie. I'm not going to tell

1:23:53

you who the fucking offer. I wanted

1:23:56

to rip his fucking head off. He

1:23:58

spit on my son, but we couldn't tell

1:24:01

for you. And also when we're standing up,

1:24:03

I got punched in the back. Someone had been

1:24:05

a knuckled thing and I had a pain and my goddamn

1:24:08

kidney forever. We don't know if

1:24:10

that was the guy that did it, but we know the

1:24:12

guy who spit up my son. I go to

1:24:14

see the movie and Aaron is bigger than ship. You

1:24:16

see him spitting. Danny cut jumped

1:24:19

up, he said, they stopped. Cut cut

1:24:21

the scene. He jump you cut almost

1:24:23

there was almost a riot in the place because he started

1:24:25

to get tense. Yeah, I got really tense. But it was

1:24:27

a tense scene. As you know, fire and all over the place.

1:24:30

Wind is broken. But it was one

1:24:32

of the nicest shoots I've really ever been

1:24:34

on. Ozzie Davis, his

1:24:36

wife Ruby. I mean the

1:24:39

way, the way Azzi treated my

1:24:41

two sons. You know, my son Rick played

1:24:43

the guy who killed radio around him

1:24:45

he strangled, and he was the cop and

1:24:47

Danny was the stunt coordinator for the show, and

1:24:50

all all that Azzi would ever say

1:24:53

to me. And we didn't have tampers.

1:24:56

We were working out of a school. We

1:24:58

had curtains operating

1:25:00

us. And it was a great you know, there was no

1:25:02

no money. We got all short money. We all

1:25:05

like it was like a labor of love. All

1:25:07

did it for that reason. And he

1:25:09

would talk to me each day. He'd come

1:25:11

over to me and say, my god,

1:25:14

Danny, he's spoken like biblically,

1:25:17

your sons are such a you did some

1:25:20

job of these young men. And

1:25:22

he made me feel so good. I told Danny

1:25:24

and Rickey they loved him. He was such a beautiful,

1:25:27

beautiful man. Now, Finn,

1:25:29

the movie is finished. I thought it

1:25:31

was a piece of ship. Now, but

1:25:34

when you saw her just doing it, you just had I

1:25:36

never thought doing it. I said, this movie, where

1:25:38

the fund is it going? I'm not hearing people the street.

1:25:40

I grew up in the street. I lived in black neighbors. Did

1:25:42

you know that I was born to prospect Evin

1:25:45

and Wilkins. Evian Boston wrote, that's where I lived,

1:25:47

so there were bordering lines. I remember black

1:25:49

guys lived in my neighbor I'm talking about

1:25:52

I'm talking about the late forties. I'm

1:25:54

talking about the fifties. I grew up

1:25:56

in that neighbor, so I knew the communication

1:25:59

that we had. Black kids used to come

1:26:01

over my house to eat. There was no prejudice standard there

1:26:03

was. It was the prejudice I have. Would you owe

1:26:05

you jew? Fuck? Oh you guinea bastard, Oh

1:26:08

you spick son of a bit? Oh you black? That's

1:26:10

what we did. We cut if we played the dozens,

1:26:13

you know, the dozens are, of course the one

1:26:15

you couldn't get to a guy. You see. My problem

1:26:17

was I was a dumb fuck, and if a

1:26:19

guy verbally abused me, I didn't

1:26:21

have a handle it. So I broke his fucking joy. I

1:26:24

became very physical. That's how I was. You

1:26:26

weren't good at it, doesn't know I wasn't good at You

1:26:30

know what that created in me? I had

1:26:32

to go to the dictionary, Michael,

1:26:35

I'm telling you straight though. Four words

1:26:37

a day I would memorize,

1:26:41

just to try and become a little more articular.

1:26:43

With the English language, because I knew

1:26:46

that if I'm in an argument with a person who

1:26:49

has the ability to undress

1:26:51

me verbally, I wanted to be capable

1:26:53

of doing that, responding in

1:26:56

the way that I think is necessary, instead

1:26:58

of having to hit the fun right. Sure,

1:27:00

there was some self gratification by knocking

1:27:03

a guy in his fucking assept he says something,

1:27:05

you know, there was always that beautiful feeling, but

1:27:08

still doing it verbally it's a

1:27:10

lot better, absolutely and less harmless,

1:27:12

absolutely what I mean. And well, anyway,

1:27:14

we did it, and we did the movie and

1:27:17

I'm in the I'm in uh, I

1:27:19

forget the movie is on fifty four Street, that thing that

1:27:22

that's a big This

1:27:24

is the premier. So you hadn't seen the movie. I

1:27:27

hadn't seen it. And I'm there and I'm watching it

1:27:29

and it's a big deal to like, everybody's excited.

1:27:31

It's just packed, and you know, and

1:27:33

I'm watching and you know,

1:27:35

the interpretation of it by many other

1:27:38

critics and so forth, uh, some

1:27:40

said I was a you know, racist. Others

1:27:42

said I wasn't because I never interpreted

1:27:45

my character as a racist, because I didn't see color

1:27:47

at that time. Even because I grew up my experience.

1:27:50

But if you spoke to Spike even now,

1:27:53

Spike was, oh, he's a racist. I said, no, he isn't

1:27:55

man, he isn't ready. If he's a racist, you still

1:27:57

have that conversation. Absolutely would do. I said, this

1:27:59

guy, this guy would reopen the place at his own

1:28:01

cost. He loved the people. And

1:28:04

in one little scene, I tried to say, these people

1:28:06

that grew up on my food. And I used to think that was

1:28:08

a corny line. Fifteen minutes

1:28:10

before were shooting. Nine were rehearsing it, and Spike

1:28:13

looks at me and I said, they

1:28:15

grew up on my food. I said,

1:28:17

Spike, is that bulls? I mean, it sounds silly to

1:28:19

grew up on pizza. He said, no, keep

1:28:21

it in. Turned out to be the most quoted

1:28:24

line in every review anywhere.

1:28:27

And I truly think that one line got me

1:28:29

an Academy Award nomination because it humanizes

1:28:31

them. These kids grew up, and these

1:28:33

people grew up. I saw the grandfathers get older.

1:28:36

I saw their mothers could turn into grand I saw the

1:28:38

kids. You know, he he that

1:28:40

those whole things that I developed. I even developed

1:28:42

a little scene with his sister the

1:28:45

little thing about we sit down where he says I was

1:28:48

trying to do a number. It wasn't sexually.

1:28:50

Was like a father and daughter thing, and that's

1:28:52

what and I wanted it to be, and Spike

1:28:54

wanted it to be like people would

1:28:56

be ambiguous about it, are they is

1:28:59

he wanting to of the fair

1:29:01

with this kid or is it like a daughter?

1:29:03

So that to me made my character

1:29:06

less predictable. I

1:29:09

didn't want him to be the predictable guy.

1:29:11

I wanted him to be angry. I wanted him to be

1:29:13

happy. I wanted him to be hated. I

1:29:15

wanted him to be loved. I wanted

1:29:18

people to say, what the funk is he? Is

1:29:20

this guy a fucking race or isn't he right?

1:29:23

Right? I think that's what we've accomplished. And I think

1:29:25

that's the why that particular characters stepped

1:29:27

out from the other characters, because

1:29:29

the manner which he was defined, he was

1:29:31

complex, you aren't sure, but

1:29:34

people loved him. So I can only say

1:29:36

from the reaction that I get even into this, and

1:29:40

I saw the movie, I knew it wasn't

1:29:42

real, Michael. It wasn't real because

1:29:45

I grew up in the neighborhoods where ship

1:29:47

was on the floor, drugs, people doing this,

1:29:50

that's bad style less now, but

1:29:53

it's a tremendous place to expect, a

1:29:55

tremendously bad place to expect. People

1:29:58

are actually living there. We

1:30:01

used to walk down the street and we would

1:30:03

step on coke files, needles.

1:30:05

We had to be carefully said when you walk, that's

1:30:07

how bad it was. But that street it

1:30:10

looked pristine. It looked like the

1:30:12

King's Castle. It looked gorgeous.

1:30:14

It looked like a neighborhood that I would want to spend

1:30:16

my life in growing up. But

1:30:18

it wasn't that. So I didn't know that now. Of

1:30:21

like I look at Godfather, Godfather's

1:30:24

bullshit, that's that's that's fucking

1:30:26

Shakespeare. I look at Do the Right

1:30:28

Thing in the same manner fairy

1:30:30

Tale. But it became

1:30:33

required watching in every

1:30:35

college throughout the United States, Europe

1:30:37

and everywhere else. So it

1:30:40

was that important the movie. I went to Spike

1:30:42

one day and n some Mike. I

1:30:44

just wanted to say. After I realized

1:30:46

that he was it was his political point of

1:30:48

view as opposed to reality,

1:30:51

I accepted it. Then I accepted

1:30:53

it. He wanted no drugs in the movie because

1:30:56

he wanted people to be racist or not, not

1:30:59

because of us that they were taking, but

1:31:01

because that's where their heads were, right clear,

1:31:03

without anything, you know, in any

1:31:06

way affecting them. Adversely,

1:31:08

it was just these people not

1:31:11

being racist. So I thought that wasn't real. That's

1:31:13

gonna be drugged. Understand. I saw the movie,

1:31:15

and when I realized that, I said, holy sh it. And I

1:31:18

went to him one day recently, right Louis, and I said,

1:31:21

spite, I got nominated for an Academy

1:31:23

award. You never find any unterview.

1:31:26

You never say, Danny, I don't got nominated for the

1:31:28

fucking Academy When I busted my balls and

1:31:30

I got nominated, you never say. You know what he said to me,

1:31:33

Danny Denzel Washington

1:31:36

when the Academy Awards for Glory right

1:31:40

and Miss Daisy

1:31:42

want some Ship and so forth, the Best Picture

1:31:44

or something. He looks at me and

1:31:46

he says to me, we won

1:31:49

the Academy Award. I saw, What do you mean? He said?

1:31:51

We won? Who the fuck remembers

1:31:54

drive him as Daisy? Who's talking

1:31:56

about Glory two? Piece of

1:31:58

ship movies? What? Twenty five years

1:32:01

later and they're still talking about

1:32:03

do the right thing? Absolutely, he said

1:32:05

we won the Academy was I don't have

1:32:08

to say you got nominated? Yeah, no, I did.

1:32:10

Well, that's that's it's true. I mean

1:32:12

time, time will tell on, you

1:32:14

know, and especially in this modern era with

1:32:16

the Twitter, everything's an instant classic and

1:32:19

then you know it's nothing's a classic.

1:32:21

A bottle of wine, ages

1:32:24

and it looks like, you

1:32:27

know, I feel like I'm talking to my out

1:32:30

of him. We'll we'll, we'll go. We'll get a bunch of pictures

1:32:32

and I want you to see it, a picture of Danny so you

1:32:34

can see what I'm talking. I want to see. Well, I'm

1:32:37

glad. I'm glad you're enjoying talking to him. I love

1:32:39

it. What are your kidding? Weigh here from month? I don't give

1:32:41

a funk. All right, so look here's your size. Okay,

1:32:45

you probably have never read it from this point of view.

1:32:47

Don't don't steal my line. Okay,

1:32:50

you're you're I'm soud, Okay,

1:32:53

I'm not. I don't want you trying to do my line. Don't.

1:32:56

I'm ready to no, no, no, no, no, I'm

1:32:58

gonna kick ass here. I know. On the thing

1:33:00

is is I just don't want you thinking like, oh this,

1:33:02

this is my time to shine. Yeah,

1:33:05

this is like you what

1:33:07

you want? Okay, so what

1:33:09

do you want? I want my money. I want

1:33:12

to get paid. You don't work here no more.

1:33:14

I want my money. Your money couldn't

1:33:16

begin to pay for that window you broke, motherfucker

1:33:19

window. Readio Raheem is dead.

1:33:22

I know he's dead. I was there.

1:33:24

I remember he's dead because of his

1:33:26

buddy. That cock sucker started

1:33:28

this ship. He's responsible for

1:33:30

that kid's death. And you stood there

1:33:32

like a fuck and you watch them

1:33:35

burn me down. Look, I also

1:33:37

watched the cops murder radio Rahim.

1:33:40

Look you'll get it all from the insurance anyway.

1:33:42

Style. What the fund is wrong with

1:33:44

you? They're saying about money. I

1:33:46

could give a funk about money. You

1:33:49

see this place. I built

1:33:51

this fucking place with

1:33:54

my bare fucking hands, every

1:33:57

light, sucking every piece of tile

1:34:00

with these fucking hands. You

1:34:03

know what the funk that means? Yeah, means

1:34:05

pay me my motherfucking money. That's what it

1:34:08

means. Sal okay,

1:34:10

mookie, how much do I aree you? My

1:34:12

salary is two fitty two fitty a

1:34:14

week. One that's

1:34:17

two, that's three, that's

1:34:20

four, that's five. You

1:34:23

got five hundred dollars.

1:34:26

You're a rich fucking man. Are

1:34:28

you happy? You're happy he's

1:34:30

got five hundred dollars.

1:34:33

He's a big man. You're

1:34:35

a rich fucking man. You

1:34:38

never have any more trouble, not

1:34:40

Mookie. He's fucking rich.

1:34:43

The fuck are you yelling at? You're wealthy,

1:34:45

Mookie, You're a real fucking

1:34:47

rockefella. You got your fucking

1:34:50

money. Now leave me alone. Michael,

1:34:55

you should have the rule. No, you're

1:34:58

better than me. That is my twenty

1:35:00

years of practicing. But

1:35:03

you were a good movie. Yeah, I'm

1:35:05

all right. You know what the biggest problem

1:35:07

would do the right thing is. You

1:35:09

know, you should have played movie. You

1:35:13

know they called me to Jackie Robinson of the Black

1:35:15

Movies. You know, because I did holiday nights after

1:35:17

that. It's not a worry, you know, but that

1:35:20

was my I did practicing.

1:35:22

Things gonna go viral. You're

1:35:25

resurrecting me again, man,

1:35:28

you don't need to be resurrected that. You hate

1:35:30

the fact that you did that. I

1:35:32

honestly, that was elation for

1:35:34

me, the fact that you played around and

1:35:36

let me do that. Because to me, now

1:35:39

the scene is really at its best, because

1:35:41

it's all Danny Iolo everything.

1:35:43

So I can't even believe that you let me do they want

1:35:46

to know something that hearing

1:35:48

it like that because I never watched the movie,

1:35:50

right, it brought back stras fucking memories

1:35:54

to hear each line, because I was listening

1:35:56

to the lines, and when I was sitting and

1:35:58

writing those lines, that brought everything back, the

1:36:00

moments that I was with Spike and how we were

1:36:03

doing it standing out there in a

1:36:05

fucking huh. It's just it

1:36:07

brings back memories. It brings a tear to my eye. Years

1:36:11

ago, Mikes, A long time ago, twenty five

1:36:14

years. Where did all the time go? I want

1:36:16

to tell you something about Eddie Murphy. You know what he did to

1:36:18

me? Last shot

1:36:21

of the day. We're twenty miles

1:36:23

out of l A. We're shooting in a

1:36:25

public toilet. All right. He

1:36:27

comes over to me. We have everyone there catering

1:36:31

vans up the st There must have been three hundred

1:36:33

people, extras and so forth all around

1:36:35

the place waiting outside. Comes

1:36:38

over to me, see, Danny, looked, Danny, we're doing something

1:36:40

ms without sound. I

1:36:42

need you to sit on the toilet. Now, we're not actually

1:36:45

going to see you sitting on the total going to close the door.

1:36:47

All we're going to see your shins and your feet.

1:36:50

So all I need from you imagine

1:36:52

music, which we're going to pipe in later. Because

1:36:54

we're doing the MS, no sound will

1:36:56

pipe it in later. What I need from you is

1:36:58

movement in your lay. For instance, we're

1:37:01

gonna have music, So I want you dancing like he's

1:37:03

sitting on the thing. I want your feet moving. You

1:37:06

work with Milwaukee talkie because we can't

1:37:08

get the camera in here. We can't, I can't. There's

1:37:10

no room in this place. You know, he's sitting on the toilet.

1:37:13

I said, all right, cool, his

1:37:15

walkie talkie will communicate he's outside.

1:37:18

I'm on the toilet. He says, all right, Danny,

1:37:20

listen, uh, don't be fat.

1:37:22

You know how to do Lindy Lindy,

1:37:24

Lindy hoppy. I said, yeah, I can give you a leg movie.

1:37:27

Sorry, give me, give me that leg. I'm moving my leg

1:37:29

to Lindy action. He's all right, cat

1:37:31

cut, Daniel, Now give

1:37:33

me a little bit of a rum. But you know how to do a rumbo I said,

1:37:35

you move your legs like a rumpau I'm moving my legs

1:37:37

like a fucking rum. We keep talking. He

1:37:40

says, all right, now a Fox shot, you know Fox, the

1:37:42

old Fox move. You're like, I'm jumping with my

1:37:44

legs, you know, on time with I am and anticipating

1:37:47

the music being laid in. So I'm moving my

1:37:49

legs. Say good. So it's a just a mint.

1:37:51

I'll be right back there. Ten minutes

1:37:53

expire, I'm waiting, and I'm

1:37:55

waiting. I walk out of the fucking

1:37:57

thing. I go out inside in the street.

1:38:00

Every fuckingbody has gone,

1:38:03

the whole fucking company, everything

1:38:05

left. I'm the only guy in the public toilet

1:38:08

in l A, twenty miles out

1:38:10

of l A by myself. He set

1:38:12

me up. That's funny, fun it's funny

1:38:15

when you were there, Trust me, it wasn't funny at the time.

1:38:17

I said, this cop sucker, this fucking

1:38:19

Hamburger has got me. He's

1:38:22

got me standing there. Fucking people know

1:38:25

it's Danny I l and they paid this cracket. That's

1:38:27

that's it. That's funny, dude. What what what you

1:38:29

know? I did a movie with him, and I

1:38:32

have to say, on straight up raw,

1:38:35

just the word in true, in the

1:38:37

true dictionary meaning of talent, was

1:38:40

the most talented person.

1:38:43

I mean dream a Dream Dream

1:38:46

Dream Girl should on the Academy, there's

1:38:49

no question. I mean we never said any like that. And Saturday

1:38:51

Night Live any other fucking place. He was

1:38:53

sensational and he was very disappointed. From

1:38:55

what I hear. He didn't tell me personally that

1:38:58

he didn't get it because he wants it. He should

1:39:00

have never admit because you know he's sensitive.

1:39:02

Guys, it's just you don't know that. But artists,

1:39:05

it's just like we were talking about early, It's like, no matter like

1:39:07

how many accolades, it's always gonna but

1:39:10

just the talent level right at the level

1:39:12

of talent there because we we saw him in Beverly

1:39:14

Hills, Kyle, we saw him a lot of different things,

1:39:17

but all of those things could have been interpreted as

1:39:19

a Saturday Night riff. But

1:39:21

not no, not not dream

1:39:24

Girls. I mean that was James

1:39:26

Brown kind of character came out of nowhere.

1:39:29

And the fact that he sounded like goddamn

1:39:32

saying that, and a character the

1:39:34

way he was And drugs, I mean, he should

1:39:37

have one and he didn't. And even those films

1:39:39

like Norbit when he plays they

1:39:41

were great, Yeah they are, they are. They

1:39:43

showed his salad level. But they those

1:39:46

no, but and all of those things that he

1:39:48

did were great, but they could have been identified

1:39:51

with skits that he did. But

1:39:53

this to me was it was

1:39:56

such a difficult role and he did it so

1:39:58

well. Dancing movie it was

1:40:01

great, and I was sad for him. I love

1:40:03

He's a great guy. And I haven't seen him since. Yeah,

1:40:06

I have not seen because you know that's we're actors.

1:40:08

I see you in New York, we bump in, We

1:40:11

do a fucking movie. Look, Bobby and I are

1:40:13

great friends. The never excuse me.

1:40:16

I see Bobby every five years, and a strange thing

1:40:18

about that. When I see him, it's usually like

1:40:20

we saw each other the day before. We forget

1:40:22

all those five years have passed between

1:40:25

us. Bobby looked My mother loved him.

1:40:27

My sisters loved him because they always felt he looked

1:40:29

like an eyellow, that there's something

1:40:31

about him where he looks like a family. My mother

1:40:33

used to tell me that all the time. I

1:40:35

love Bobby. Bobby. Bobby is a great actor. But

1:40:38

the thing I want to tell you about, Marty Uh,

1:40:41

Bobby was over the house with bang the drum slowly

1:40:43