#307 Laugh-in with George Schlatter

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Jeff Dwoskin 0:28

All right, Martha, thank you so much for that amazing introduction. You get the show going each and every week, and this week was no exception. Welcome, everybody to Episode 307 of classic conversations. As always, I am your host, Jeff Dwoskin. Welcome to what's sure to be the most classic episode of all time, we're going to be laughing from the beginning to the end with my guest, George slaughter. That's right. The legendary George slaughter is here best known for creating Rowan and Martin's laugh in the American Comedy Awards and author of still laughing a life and comedy that and so much more coming up in just a few seconds. And in these few seconds. Eve Sutton was here last week. That's right show runner for cheers episode 306 awaits you so many great stories, but because you love great stories. I've got some teed up. We are right now George slaughter is sharing a lifetime of memories with us. And that's coming up. All right now. All right, I'm excited to introduce you to my next guest, the legendary television producer and director brought us Rowan and Martin's laugh in real people. The American Comedy Awards. This Cher show Judy Garland Show those and so many more of the greatest events ever on television now author of still laughing a life and comedy coming to us from beautiful downtown Burbank, please welcome to the show, George slaughter. Hey,

George Schlatter 1:59

glad to be here. Thank you. It's good introduction.

Jeff Dwoskin 2:03

I could have gone on and on and on and on. But I wanted to kind of save some time so we could actually talk. That's

George Schlatter 2:08

why it was a good introduction. And some of its true. So let's go.

Jeff Dwoskin 2:13

So loved your book. And I gotta say I was watching, still laughing on Netflix the other day with my mother in law, who I will say while I'm excited to speak with you. I don't know that I match the excitement that my mother in law has. When I mentioned to her that I was talking to the creator of laughing she just started going on and on and on about all the memories.

George Schlatter 2:38

I've always been big with mother in laws. That sounds wonderful. Tell her Oh,

Jeff Dwoskin 2:44

I will I will tell her Hello. I'm from Detroit couple of Detroit connections. And Lily Tomlin Artie Johnson from Michigan.

George Schlatter 2:52

That's right. Two of my favorite people. Lily Tomlin. How

Jeff Dwoskin 2:55

did your relationship begin with her because I know she loves you, Lily

George Schlatter 2:59

Tomlin had done a couple of projects that did not work. And so she was very discouraged and was leaving to go back East. And she came in for one more interview. And she came into my office sat down. We were there for three hours. And she became all of these different people right in front of my eyes, right? I couldn't believe it. I fell madly in love as she saw. What do you want to do? You want me to do the shots that I want you to do all of this? And only in that format where we did bits and pieces? Could she be one character and then become another character and another character. And she became a main main main part of the success of laughing?

Jeff Dwoskin 3:34

Yeah, she's amazing. It's just amazing how many iconic people things catchphrases, everything, the impact. I think still today, Artie Johnson, also, who after leaving laughing was back in Detroit and did the first season of a local show called Hot Fudge

George Schlatter 3:51

already was also another mocha character person. See, it was fortunate that that format allowed us to do all of those same people doing different people and becoming different characters. So it was very fortunate for us to have that format. And then to find rd, and Ruth and Joanne and Lily and Goldie. I mean, it was an amazing, amazing period of my life to have found all of those people and have them all get along. And they all got along. They all liked each other. So they played off of each other. So it was quite an adventure.

Jeff Dwoskin 4:23

That is amazing. I loved reading about and kind of learning about the origin of laugh and kind of grew from the time and I guess we could talk about how you were doing the very first Grammy Awards, and then it sort of became kind of a pivot to yeah, I'll do it one more time. But you gotta let me do my thing. That's right.

George Schlatter 4:42

Well, the Grammy Awards didn't exist. We call it the best on record, and there was no receptacle for it to celebrate all of those careers. So I said, I'll do a an award show. We won't call it the Grammys. We call it the best on record, but I wanted to do one more show my way and that became laughing and we didn't know what it was freefall because they didn't want it was opposite the Lucy and Gunsmoke, which were the number one and two shows. And here we came with this barrage of new talent and new ideas and political, semi political, lightning fast that first they looked at it, they didn't really like it. They said, this isn't a television show. I said, it's a new television show. And so by the third week, the public caught on to it. And they said, Well, this is not just a show, this is an adventure that we had a good time. So

Jeff Dwoskin 5:27

originally, they kind of put you up as a sacrificial lamb in a way right up against Lucy and Gunsmoke. They're like, alright, well, we'll let you have this, they put

George Schlatter 5:37

laughing in there until, until they could get a real show ready. They didn't even have the facilities to edit it or to shoot it because it was so many bits and pieces. But a wonderful woman by the name of Carolyn Raskin developed many of the editing techniques that we now have just those bits and pieces. And some of the cuts were so fast, there was no way to edit that when she developed a system, which is now the way they edit. It was a time when, when the public was ready for something new somewhat like now by the way, we're hungry now for something other than what we have something. It's colorful, all the colors now you see are black, you know, a black and white, because it's easier to shoot, we need something colorful, we need music that's happy. And we need shots that are so short, that they grab your attention span. All of that is ripe for a new adventure now, and I'm thinking about it. So I may give it a shot.

Jeff Dwoskin 6:28

If anyone can do it. I'm sure it is you. Alright, so you have this new show up and it's all going great. Eventually you replace Man from UNCLE, right. So eventually, you're not going shows right away, they

George Schlatter 6:40

had nothing to put on. Because really what laughing was

Jeff Dwoskin 6:43

was an experience, right? You're creating this new experience for people to enjoy, what were the inspirations and some of the things that you were drawing from and then growing from, to just even create this washlet

George Schlatter 6:55

came from my own minimal attention span. And there was a vacuum. I mean, it was all the same thing, that same colors, the same people the same music, the editing techniques didn't exist. So it was my own minimal attention span, which I'm pushing right now with you had to be careful. But we needed an adventure. And I think we do now too. Because now when you think about it, late night is all the same colors, all the same people all the same subject matters. And we ready now Jimmy Kimmel does some great things, but we're ready for an adventure. We're ready for something that expands your mind that doesn't just feed on what's there now. And it's going to happen because out of that vacuum, comes new comes creativity comes the experience that comes excitement, and Gamble's I've been with a big gamble. There was no way that show was going to work said people won't understand it. I said Look at this. We took this to a grade school and ran it for the kids and they laughed. They didn't get it all but they got some of it. Running it for a grade school was part of what got me the permission to run it on the air. politically. You know, I mean, come on, you can't get funnier than Richard Nixon, you know, unless you go to Donald Trump or anybody but that for a cartoon, right? Hey.

Jeff Dwoskin 8:09

So I know you joke about getting Richard Nixon elected for having him come on and say socket to me. socket

George Schlatter 8:15

to me. And it was it was disbelief. And we had to get like six takes. Yeah, this this comedy thing maneuver me they were stuck to me talking to me. Yeah, that's right was when he came and did it. And he said that it helped get him elected. And I've had to live with that.

Jeff Dwoskin 8:30

I was watching an interview with you as well talking about Richard Nixon, and how well you got him elected. It also was part of the downfall of the show later, when they didn't like how political your show was, and it was becoming a threat to him.

George Schlatter 8:45

This is true and what you see when you say they didn't like you start any success starts out with words like they didn't like the vacuum was interesting. When a child is born. You don't have to teach him how to eat, sleep, cry and laugh just automatically laughs We don't know what he's laughing at. But we knew that child laughs Why the brightest ones laugh more than the dumb ones. So part of our culture. It's part of our physical makeup that we must laugh. And I'm not just talking about my honeymoon but comedies a major major is Norman Lear. What was the phenomenal success of Norman Lear presenting people that had never been political viewpoints that have not been on? And Norman Lear. It was a big part of our success because he knocked out a lot of walls that were still up when we came on. They wouldn't Norman came on. What we were doing became more acceptable.

Jeff Dwoskin 9:38

In the Netflix special. You're sitting with Norman Lear. He's watching the Estelle Laffan rest in peace Norman Lear.

George Schlatter 9:45

I absolutely idolized Norman Lear. And that hat was great, right. And Norman Lear was a very serious fellow. We don't recognize it behind all of those jokes behind all of those outrageous political nonpolitical carry To the lurked a very serious, serious mind. I love to hear him talk because when you realize that man was responsible for so much common for knocking down walls, barriers that hadn't been there before, we'd never had a character like Archie Bunker. And here came Norman Lear with this guy. Shut up. He didn't. I mean, it was because it was nothing there. We gravitated towards it. And he got those enormous numbers. But Norman Lear was very brave, was one of my idols. And

Jeff Dwoskin 10:25

between the two of you, you did a lot of groundbreaking, and

George Schlatter 10:29

it was dangerous. It was dangerous. And because they had a meeting every week, I had a meeting every week with the sensors that were there with the network and with Herb slicer, and they call up and they had a meeting with Herb sloths, and he's hurt. He's doing this. He did this. He did this. He said, I'll talk to him. And I go in and herb slushy said, I've had another complaint, a lot of complaints from the sensors. I said, What do you want me to do? He said, do just what you're doing. At that time, when we got the permission to try all of that stuff, try all the psychedelic colors and was fast cuts, you would do cuts were so close together, it was impossible to edit it with the technology they had then, Kellen Rasca developed all kinds of new devices and new techniques that allowed us to have those cuts that fast. See, we we can accept that, because we know are used to being bombarded with information. And so we really want more information. We want it faster. We want it. I'm surprised it or not more shows reflecting the minimal attention span, and the hunger for information. I'm surprised that people are being more adventuresome.

Jeff Dwoskin 11:33

But you're right. I mean, what you are inventing with laughing is now what is they call hooks and everything on social media. If like, you don't get someone in the first seconds, then you lost them and even like to a fraction of a second. So the whole style of that would look like it was just matching what today is even though you were inventing it back then. But yeah, I imagined like it would be blowing up on Tik Tok and all that kind of stuff. It'd be like laugh and clips would be made for social media now, take

George Schlatter 12:03

the phenomenon of your own popularity, whoever thought you would have that kind of an audience that kind of popularity in Detroit, Detroit, manufactured cars, they didn't manufacture humor, or comedy or jokes or so there was a vacuum there and into that vacuum. You came with all of these shows and all of this airtime? Because we were hungry for it?

Jeff Dwoskin 12:23

What do they when you're talking about the quick edits that reminded me of a story in your book, where you talked about having the first nipple on TV, Janet Jackson's got nothing on you?

George Schlatter 12:32

Well, well, what happened was, we were shooting out in the park. And in order to get all of that stuff done, we were shooting in different areas in the park. And this is we area, we were doing one thing and then on the other side, and they'd finished what they were doing on one side. And Judy Kahn was impossible to have Judy keep her clothes on all the time. She was truly an outrageous little performer. And so she took off her top. And so the artist at that point, Painted Petals around her nipple, right? And they put it on and I said, Hey, guys, what you can't do that. And they said, Well, what why? Don't tell me what you can't you can't have a nipple on television. So they said, Okay, sorry. But you can't if you do it faster than that shot got tighter and tighter part of the network looking they said, What is that what I said, I don't know what that is. So eventually, when you could stop frame television, they figured out that it was indeed a nipple, but I didn't know that. But they must have gotten one by me. It was that feeling of naughty that feeling of adventure that feeling of we were getting by with something. And the same with the political humor. You know, I did a show, Lew Wasserman, who was head of MCA called me one day and I used to book the shows at the frontier hotel in Vegas. I was part of my blog and shady career before I became respectable. I was working in Vegas, and he said book, Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan wasn't even in politics at that point. So I booked him into the frontier hotel, and he didn't do anything. So we booked him in with his act five guys. And he was hosting it. There was he'd done a movie with a good bedtime for Bonzo when he worked with a chimpanzee. So I found this act of five chimpanzees. And we put it on Ronald Reagan with the five chimpanzees. And what happened was one night we had to hold the show because of some people arriving late. So we locked the door and finally they said, Okay, now, well now meant that these chimpanzees had already completed their act. And now it was playtime. So they got loose in the frontier hotel. You can imagine a five chimpanzees in the lights on stage and, and one of the chimpanzees had developed a romantic attraction to the bandleader. So he was ready to consummate that relationship on stage. And it was absolute pandemonium owner of the hotel and I said, that's great. Let me just do that. I said, No, no, no, no, no, no, you don't understand. That was not an act. They were five gorillas loose in a saloon. You can't you know, so he said, we'll tell the actor to do last time. Ronald Reagan never really forgave me for booking him into a show in five gorillas. Ronald Reagan did not see the humor I'm having to work for two weeks with five girls. And then when he got into Washington, he realized how many girls he had to work with. See adventure, there's no adventure to doing something again. The adventure comes in doing something for the first time doing something that wasn't expected and was particularly unpredictable. That's what I'm looking for more intelligent. We're doing that a lot now, but not really. With humor. Humor is the last frontier because humor is dangerous. You can tell a story and if no reaction to it, you're okay, but you tell a joke and there's no reaction. You're in trouble. It was just hanging up there. Silence and silence is the worst reaction you can get right

Jeff Dwoskin 15:39

islands is a slap in the face to the comic one disappointing story in the book while you are successful getting the first TV nipple, you are unsuccessful getting Barbara Eden's navel on laughing,

George Schlatter 15:52

we for some reason, there are certain body parts that are out of bounds. And again, there's nothing wrong with seeing a nipple or a navel or whatever, right? But just seeing it when you would expect to see it. In the surprise. Surprise is something we're lacking in television. Now. You can see a Donald Trump interview and you know exactly what he's gonna say Biden, exactly what he's gonna say. There's no surprises. But if you walk in the Donald Trump doing a monologue, he put a drummer in there with him. When he when he says a joke, you do a rimshot you realize the man is a comic. He's not a president. He's not a politician. He is a comic. I don't think he's funny. But I think the I think He's so weird that he's almost funny. But Biden Biden is a lovely, lovely man. He's not funny. The danger was Biden getting reelected. You need to joke writer I think I'm gonna get you cancelled, right?

Jeff Dwoskin 16:48

No, no. Where's your political? Because I know you did. George W. inaugurals, too. Right. You've already talked about Ronald Reagan. So are you just an equal opportunity? The right guy is the right guy.

George Schlatter 17:00

See, it's like it's like putting the enemy in the fort. I mean, they came to me and he wanted me to do the inauguration. I said, I'm not even crazy. But the man Why would I do the inauguration, please. And so my agent Tony Ventosa. He said, Please, Mr. Wasserman and asked for me to do it. So I said, Okay, so I did a bit of reluctance. We wanted it to be funny. And, and it was and so then I got Mohammed Ali, Muhammad Ali was to get the world's champion, come on a presidential inauguration was unheard of at that point. And so they asked Dolly, they said, Why are you doing this for George Bush, he said, I'm not doing it for George Bush. I'm doing it for George slaughter, well, that rang. But we won't have great friends. See, if it's predictable, you're in trouble. If it's unpredictable, you get their attention. That's the secret. That's the secret Comedy Awards came on. There was no Comedy Award, Comedy Award, but there was no show. So we had to go. And we had traveled all over getting people in different parts of the country where they were working to accept the award. Then after we did it a few weeks and few shows, I mean, a few years, then the best on record, was what we did. And that became the Grammy Awards again, break the rules, break the rules, have fun, the only emperor. And that's what that's what we long for it now.

Jeff Dwoskin 18:14

Dan Rowan and Jake Martin. How did they become the namesake for the show?

George Schlatter 18:19

Well, what happened was the original format, the original concept I had for laughing was that it was without a host that just happened to Jimmy all the time. A bright bright man said he would buy it when he said we had to have a host because it was just too unusual. We went to Roland Martin with a great nightclub act. And they just really opened the show, close the show, and did like the news in the middle of the show. And that made Timex comfortable. And by the way, it worked for the show, too, because they were the only and the same controllable element in the show. And it had worked. They were great nightclub. Dan was straight and Dick was silly. What Dick would go out there and talk for 1012 minutes. And we take about two minutes to that and say Meanwhile, in another part of town, come to the cocktail party. They did work. And I've always been grateful to them for not having to do too much. Making not making sense because that's what work nonsense is a great appeal.

Jeff Dwoskin 19:14

Yeah, definitely. Definitely all worked. Did they get along? Did those two get along from your buck? I kind of frenemies

George Schlatter 19:21

they weren't really friendly. They never wouldn't read finish on stage. They we wouldn't talk to each other see each other until he walked on stage the next week. And hi Dick, and they would go whatever work is what you focus on. I would love to take the credit for it. But I wasn't I was against it. But I built it anyhow. And and when they came out, it worked and they were attractive and they were straight. They were tuxedos where the rest of the cast was in silly clothes. It was a barrage of great colors and music and when I did unusual instrumentation and unusual music, and if you go for what doesn't exist and put that in and give it a shot, experiment with it, we hunger for that. We have hunger for adventure. Laughing was like a freefall and when you think about Norman Lear is a phenomenal success. He did people who were really unappealing on attractive, unacceptable Archie Bunker was a mean nasty, ugly, but we needed it and what he was saying half of the country agreed with Archie Bunker and into that vacuum exploded this phenomenal success and into that men came all the other Norman Lear successes. I I worship Norman Lear. He was great. He was the best. Yes, yes, he was. Yeah, I long for that. Now. I love for somebody to walk in now. It's Oh my god. Did you see what he did last night? Oh, long has it been since you heard anybody say, hey, wow, did you see what happened last night? No, we know what happened last night. It's hard

Jeff Dwoskin 20:45

now with like Twitter and everything or x or whatever you call it. The social media. Things come at people so fast. They you don't get it as a communal moments like that anymore. Things go viral early, and then nobody's experiencing things at exactly the same time. And there's so many things to experience now.

George Schlatter 21:04

Speed helps, because we're bombarded with so much information that we can absorb much more it takes speed. And couple that with humor. Then you've got something really because we're hungry. We're hungry for something, you know,

Jeff Dwoskin 21:18

question Goldie Hawn question. Goldie Hawn was a Go Go dancer. When you hired her. Talk to me about the relationship you had with her. And then basically season three. She's an Oscar winner, Carolyn

George Schlatter 21:29

Raskin came up and she said, There's a girl dancing on the Andy Griffith Show. You got to see her and I said, I'm not using dancers. I'm using community. You've got to see this girl. And I went down. And I called up Goldie. And she came and I remember she sat in this big red leather chair. And it was this little blonde person. And she said, Well, I'm not a comedian. I'm a dancer. So we gave her an introduction to do and she screwed it up so bad. And it was hysterical she Oh, I'm so sorry. I'll do it again. No, Goldie. That's going to be just fine. And from there on, we never let her rehearse gold. He's one of the brightest people you've ever met. But what we did to made her appear to be dinghy. We had more fun confusing, Goldie. She was a magical magical personality. She still is. She's the but we had funny with Goldie and Ruth and Joanne and Lily had put all of those people in a room and they all complemented each other. And you saw a combination of people. When you think about it with all the television we have now that doesn't exist that relationship between people in the in the sense of fun and a sense of adventure. I long for

Jeff Dwoskin 22:30

it. Your idol Norman Lear, I think went to the day he died. That's right.

George Schlatter 22:34

Yeah. And Norman Norman was an adventurer up until the day he died. We went to his wake. And there were people there was such an adoration and such love. Why? Because he was an adventurer. He had the walnut career that the guts to try it. I missed that today. Do you see it anywhere else that Norman had what he was doing?

Jeff Dwoskin 22:54

I doubt I doubt hopefully that I'll start like you said hopefully, it'll start to emerge again.

George Schlatter 22:58

Well, it has to see out of that out of that comes creativity. Panic breeds creativity. And disaster beats humor. That sounds like a weird theater. What he just said disaster breeds humor. Okay. Yes, it does. There's very little funny in the earthquake, but maybe a week from now he'll fish things elaborate. We must laugh. Laughter is a panacea. laughters release. And I don't see it today. I see it in politics, but that I put it there. We need to laugh. We need to not make just make fun of we need to have fun with and it'll happen because out of that out of a desert comes well, creativity and, and fun. Adults must laugh. It's part of our body, part of our body function. You have to laugh, otherwise you will shrivel up and die.

Jeff Dwoskin 23:48

I agree. I just I think if the word I think that issue right now is people aren't laughing at the same things. We all have to kind of start rowing in the same direction and there's a fine that universal stuff and realize that we're not making fun of the other person when we're laughing at situations and sort of just see the craziness in the world together and and that'll help us all move forward.

George Schlatter 24:08

We don't we don't all have to laugh at the same thing. We all have to laugh at something buying something and you see the guy walking down the street. Not funny with a hat on. You see a kid with a snowball not funny. When you see the guy with the hat and the kid with a snowball you say oh, there's gonna be something that reads humor and a pratfall. Why is it prideful people falling down? He's not funny. Yes, it is. It depends on the given person falling out the big old fat guy. You watch him full, automatic laugh.

Jeff Dwoskin 24:40

I think there's nothing funnier in the world George than somebody walking into a glass that they didn't see. Like a glass door. nothing funnier in the world, isn't it? My daughter did that once at a restaurant I love anyway, but I totally agree. I totally agree. We all need to start laughing together.

George Schlatter 24:58

We must let go Right now good fingers, I can think is funny, because I'm not too sure we're getting too many left for this interview,

Jeff Dwoskin 25:06

the interview is about exploring and talking about the amazing things he did. So don't worry about that. Sorry to interrupt, but we have to take a quick break. I do want to thank everyone for their support of the sponsors. When you support the sponsors, you're supporting us here at Classic conversations. And that's how we keep the lights on. And now back to my interview with George slaughter. We're gonna talk a little American Comedy Awards, and we're back.

George Schlatter 25:30

Well, we do love to do we did the Comedy Awards, when they said, I want to do a show just comics. They said, What, I want to salute comedy, and they went, well, was that gonna work comics introduce comedy, no, comics, do comedy. And eventually, we did the Comedy Awards and just relaxed. And eventually, a woman called me up and she said, We're opening this museum in Jamestown. And could I send her of anything from laughing? I said, Yeah. And she looked, he said, This is great. Do you have anything else? And her name was Jordan journey. And I said, Elson, Lady, I have a warehouse full of else. What do you mean? So I started sending her material, you know, jokes and Comedy Awards and off balance comments and off color and whatever. She said, Wow, this is great. And I kept sending things. Eventually, I sent her a million isn't all of my comedy. So now in Jamestown, there's the theater there. And there's the George blotter at Jolene brand slaughter Comedy Theater in Jamestown. And all they present in this 38 Acres is comedy stand up comics and sight gags and whatever. Everybody ought to take a visit to it because it's the only place in the world devoted entirely to the celebration of the people who made us laugh, and we must have it so people should visit Jamestown, and I'm proud of what we did because it was the only place devoted entirely to God. You can imagine now building an entire theatrical complex devoted to stand up comics sight gags. And down in the basement. They have the blue room where the comedy that cannot be done on television devoted entirely to Blue humor. Sounds weird. It is weird, but it is funny. I'm proud that we got involved in that before I decided to take my dirt and so in there in Jay was touted as one entire community devoted entirely to celebration of people who made his lap. It's not old politician. George

Jeff Dwoskin 27:15

that that is amazing that you created that with your wife. Is it true and it's her Jolene came up with or convinced you to use soccer to me?

George Schlatter 27:23

Yeah. And Joe join. We met Ernie Kovacs at a party and Ernie Kovacs fell in love with my wife, Joey, and he wanted her on all the shows, and she never knew what she was going to do. He just called it C colon over at nine o'clock, 10 o'clock at night, and she get all dressed up and never had any idea what she was going to do. And Ernie gave her all kinds of crazy things to do. She was in a bathtub, and she's sitting in the bathtub and a periscope came up in the bath guy. I always loved that. But she did that and then she did Xaro and guess we're holding a lot of other series but her relationship with Ernie Kovacs is one that I cherish and Jolene is a major part of my success and my security. And we have two daughters AJ and Maria AJ trains kids to ride horses and Rhea teaches actors with devoted CAMI she's working with Dolly Parton. I'm proud of both of my daughters and I'm proud of my wife Julie and Julia and I would not be where I am or do what I do. I have enjoyed the success I have as Julian can always look at me and say George this time he went a little too far. So I back off a bit to the major part of our Hi there. Hello. This is Mark to the other reason for my success. Jolene, we should have had Jolene on here because she she looks great till looks like my child bride because we're married 65 years, Jesus can be 60 flabby. Who ever thought I live that long? Nobody. It's

Jeff Dwoskin 28:41

amazing. I tell you reading the book. It's clear like just how much you love and treasure your relationship. So I thought you don't see that a lot. Did

George Schlatter 28:50

I just I did a joke. I said I just finished my first book. And next year I'm gonna read another one. We put together this collection of just memories. And I just talked and talked and talked to a Dictaphone and this woman just walked in Martha started typing all of this and then remember that I mean John Max is one of the comedy writers of best comedy writers in all of showbiz and took all of those stories and cut them down into readable chapters, I took out the stuff that had to do with my shady past to call that out so that I don't appear to be a gangster. Like my my early My early life, I knew some colorful people, but the book is not about them. It's about the people that have made us laugh. Some of them made us laugh too. But the book is a celebration of the things I did where I had a good time. It's

Jeff Dwoskin 29:34

an amazing book, just let me give that are still laughing a life and comedy. I'll put a link to it in the show notes. Thank

George Schlatter 29:40

you. I'm surprised at the reaction because they wanted me to write somebody a serious book about comedy and a serious book about something like colorful relationships. And it's not when it came out. It came out just funny recollections and let's face it when you live this long, you have to have run into some funny situations. And and Julian helped me enjoy put up with me tolerated this long and shady career. Luck had a lot to do with it. But luck and God's combined properly you can come up with the stiletto.

Jeff Dwoskin 30:11

No I loved it. It's it was written like I love it wasn't it was to the point not very long chapters and you kind of cut your head and then you had another story. It was it was definitely a fun read me gave when somebody asked me a question. I don't know if I read this. I don't know if this was in the book or not. But I read this is I'm laughing right? So you had Judy and Joanne and Ruth and Goldie and Lily, lot of people that would now be considered comedy divas at the time. I know they were they were just announcing and becoming household names. But it was already Johnson that needed a special placement and the credits.

George Schlatter 30:47

Oh sure. Well, RT RT would show up and it didn't want to come out of the dressing room until we were ready for him. So he said the dressing room and did crochet right. And then he would come out of the dressing room is different characters. And each one of them was a true creation of an original, but didn't when he came out. Bob Hope was the show hadn't come on yet. And Bob came in to do cameo line, sell his show, he would go to all the different shows and appearance to sell his own specials. And so we set out to Johnson out there. So here's hope coming back from all of the armed forces all of the political or the military installations. And he walking and he had come to this little Nazi and he had never seen it before. And he said, Mr. Hope every Christmas, we waited for you in the bunker and you never came and hope or looked at your body and said what are you in a foxhole? And he stood there for five minutes? Open Artie Johnson, ad lib some of the stuff that we thought Bob was doing all the time. And it was hysterical. And from there on the hope one and rd and all the time. But Artie came in as all different characters. You'd be French, he'd be a German, he'd be a termite everything, any character and each one every time he came out of the dressing room was a different character, as was Ruth buzzy, by the way, and Lily they all every time they come out of the dressing room. They came out as different characters. And either we had written something or when they were on stage we invented something. And Lily Tomlin was that phone operator she'd call and people were really scared of getting a phone call from Ernestine just Lily would snort and say as Mr. Vito she called go over doll, Mr. Vito, and so people people were very nervous about getting a phone call from Ernestine Tomlin and delighted to get a call from Goldie. Goldie was just absolute warm. We had a we did a discussion once about Goldie and Dean Martin sitting on a bench arguing about which was the dumbest Dean says, well, golly, they think I'm dumb to go Listen, no, but I really amped up and they'd sat there for five minutes and discussed Goldie Hawn and Dean Martin, two gigantic stars, discussing which one was the dumbest, unpredictable season accident and celebrated and then you can maybe hit joke. Amazing.

Jeff Dwoskin 32:58

So six seasons of laughing you left after five? Yeah, that to do turn on?

George Schlatter 33:05

Yeah, well, it was to do any one of the other adventures I my attention span is somewhat minimal. And I them to do other things and turn on turn. It was one of my favorite shows, because when laughing hit the networks that we want to do another show. It's different than unusual is it? I've got a show for you. So I said, this is a show that makes no sense at all. And we're going to call it turn on and they said great. So what we did, we wrote eight scripts. We taped two shows. And when Bristol Myers saw the first show they absolutely loved it. This is crazy. This is wonderful. Guy in Cleveland wanted to keep Peyton Place on he went on here started calling stations when his first show went on here. He called stations that we can't allow this show to go on. He wanted to keep Peyton Place. So he kept calling stations and they must get rid of this new show turn on. And so from New York to California, but tell me got to California, it had been canceled by all of these stations. And so only the first 15 minutes was ever seen some kids going through the archives just found some of the turn on tapes. And now I understand on the internet you can look at it doesn't seem to be that wild today. It's still pretty wild. But it was the sense of adventure. Where do you see adventure today? If you can find it on the internet, you can see turn on. It still seems like a bit of an adventure. But I really miss today is the feeling of accident feeling of adventure. It's something that had not been tried before. And you want that to go to Lily go to gold route Busey, Jo Anne Worley those people came on as different characters that would try anything I do kind of miss that I miss that kind of I miss that a lot. The feeling of accident the feeling of a guy walking down the street and a kid with a snowball you know what's going to happen just can't wait for it.

Jeff Dwoskin 34:50

Oh, by the way, turned on is on your YouTube channel. There's two the two episodes I watched a little bit of the first one with Tim Conway. Yeah, and yeah, it's it's crazy. I mean, it's very fast cutting and

George Schlatter 35:03

Tim Conway trying to commit suicide. Now that doesn't sound like the premise for great humor. It was funny. You see Tim Conway trying to commit suicide and he didn't make it. Where do you see what do you see that kind of adventure? Where do you look at television today and see what's going to happen next? I think maybe this desert that we're in right now creatively think is going to be solved by some young guy sitting watching this thing. I think I can be funny, fat old man. And come on, give it a shot, take chances and enjoy the process. You know, partially because I was married to Jolene. It was a okay George you going to find out going to work in the morning was always a thrill for me because it wasn't a work. And we were surrounded by all of these Greenberg, Gary necessary and Luke buzzy and Joanne and Ruth and Artie and they were waiting in the office and we would come in and let's try this and we would tape until two three o'clock in the morning. And right next door was Jolene taping with Ernie Kovacs. Where's Ernie Kovacs. Today, we need Ernie Kovacs, we need those outrageous, creative people who see life on it tilt. We need it right now. George.

Jeff Dwoskin 36:17

So laughing was obviously a huge impact on just the world and entertainment, but real people is another one of your creations that also basically the start of reality TV, the invention of reality TV.

George Schlatter 36:33

Yeah, I'm slicers said, George, we just did a show in New York, on the streets of New York using these new that point EMG cameras, there were cameras that were not tied to a tape machine. They said, Can you do anything like that? We just went out on the streets and talk to real people. They said, Can you do anything like that money? So I was staying with Skyn, Stein Erickson and see me ski realized why I chose a field in comedy. So anyhow, I came back and I said, that's the show and we can do it. He said, Okay, let's do a pilot. I said, I can't do a pilot. I need a commitment to do six shows to try out all of these things. And now can you imagine today, a guy, bad skier skiing with Dynamics and telling the President of the network, I can't do one show, I need six. And he said, Go ahead. That doesn't exist today. But he did. And so we started taping on the streets and put that together into this thing celebrating the people out there who are more interesting than the people who are in here, either. So that's what we call the show. And we went out and we shot these people on the street and realized that the people out there are funnier, brighter, or interesting, or involved, more exciting than the people we were taping on television. So that's what happened with real people. And it became a huge hit. And then we did also every week we did, unfortunately, we did one show a week, one episode a week of military, which is now the backbone for CNN, with the heroes but we did a hero every week, we felt that the heroes had not been celebrated. And then we had them all. Everybody came in the studio sat down, and we took chances. the only the only real gamble on television today really, is you interviewing me now how did that happen? I don't know. But they won't let it happen again, but I'm having a good time. I hope you can hear some of this.

Jeff Dwoskin 38:19

Now this is this is amazing. The American Comedy Awards because you created which are awesome. So one of the big there were two big winners. The first one I got was well Bette Midler and Robin Williams and Lily Tomlin one Woody Harrelson why, but Robin Williams, you have great story with Robin Williams as well. You weren't connected with Robin Williams, in the very beginning with Robin

George Schlatter 38:40

Williams. I saw Robin Williams on the streets in San Francisco. I was doing something else, right. We're using all young comics. And Robin Williams was on the street barefoot with a straw hat coveralls and a fishing pole. And he was hanging the fishing pole out out of the audience. He said I'm fishing for asphalt. Now. That doesn't sound like funny to me. But every now but it wasn't I said this was every time he said something, he became a different person. So I said, I want you to do this new show. And he'd never been on television I said, but I want you to take a shower clean up getting some regular clothes. And so he came on we put him on with Frank Sinatra. And more they touched me like he know me my and Rex and under looked at Robin Williams and it was in awe. And he just cracked up with Frank Sinatra. The endorsement of Robin Williams helped launch that career. And we went on and I was crazy about Robin every time he came on stage. He was a different person. We got lucky with Robert we got lucky with Artie with Goldie with Ruth, all of those people. And they were not. The reason they were available is because there was no place in television for them. There was no place where you're going to put a man in a straw hat doing jokes to Frank Sinatra, but take a chance and we did. That's when I miss television a day. Mr. Gamble. I missed the risk. I missed Mr. Guy on the high wire and you come in close by the way, if any of this airs you come as close to the gamble as we did you know

Jeff Dwoskin 39:59

Joe Ah funny thing you mentioned Robin Williams is barefoot. But is that what originally drew you to Lily Tomlin? She was tap dancing barefoot. There's something about you and barefoot you can be

George Schlatter 40:11

barefoot and this pose, it's like the gamble take a chance. And with Lily Lily, who had was coming with leaving New York because she was unsuccessful in these three shows is what do you want me to do? I want you to do those characters here. Which one I said all of them. And goalie, say about goalie. She goes he was super bright. But her attention span was somewhat minimal. So anything we could do to distract go goalie wound up with her laughing and that became a huge accident. See? See, we must treasure our accidents. We have to not predict them but allow accidents to happen. I mean, like this interview, I mean, some of this may air. But it's so funny.

Jeff Dwoskin 40:53

You know what? So with Robin Williams, you had a reboot called laughing? Yeah. And then from there, you also had George slaughters Comedy Club featuring comedians and the same kind of quick edit vibe. I I watched some clips of that. I love that. Right? You went out,

George Schlatter 41:12

we went out we sent all the way across the country. We sent cameras. And we taped funny people who were funny in different areas of the country. And that became the comedy club. Again, see, you must laugh and then we as a society must live that may be our salvation that may be what can cure the dilemma we're in now bright colors, bright people and funny subject matter Funny People funny sound effects, and that will pull us out of the doldrums we're in now. I think it if it doesn't Ben blame it all on me. I've been to blame before.

Jeff Dwoskin 41:52

I will blame you 100%. I love the stories about Sammy Davis Jr. By the way in the box. There is such a rich history, helping them get a home and the special

George Schlatter 42:04

Sammy was the wilderness and feel with Sammy Davis. And Sammy, he was his little black kid tap dancer. And so we started booking him at Ciro's. The frontier hotel and gradually became Sammy Wilmoth a trio starring Sammy then Sammy Davis and the will messenger that just became Sammy Davis. But he was just enormous ly talented, not well educated young man, this enormous talent. And so we put him together with Sinatra. Sinatra loved Sammy, and Sammy made Frank laugh. If secret to Sinatra was making him laugh, and Robin Williams could make Frank Sinatra That was dangerous. They want to make him laugh and he doesn't laugh. A problem, but we could make him laugh. And Robin could make him laugh and goalie made him laugh. Laughter is the panacea left is the thing that makes us get up in the morning, or go to bed at night depending on whether or not you're married to Joey.

Jeff Dwoskin 42:58

You hung out with quite Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Dean, Judy Garland, doing The Judy Garland Show the Cher show, I also

George Schlatter 43:09

left with Sidney Poitier and also happens with a John Wayne. Those were people who didn't expect to be funny. And that's the soil from which comedy can come. And Sidney Poitier when he left the world lab, John Wayne with the thing was he when we started doing laughing, nobody knew what laughing was nobody wanted to do this show. And we didn't have any money. And we would go out in the hall and stop people. And so went out in the hot dogs January. So we did do the show in January, so I'm not gonna do that. So those crazy people, I'm not doing the show. Next thing you saw was him on the show saying I'm not doing the show? Well, it sounds crazy. It sounded crazy. Then he said, You got John Wayne, what did he do? I said, he said he wasn't going to do the show. Now the network today. Then he looked at me. They said, You got John Wayne on the show saying he's not going to do the show. I said yes. Well, we put that on the air to became one of my most famous I'm not gonna do that show. It was brilliant. And he eventually showed up wearing a blue bunny suit, unpredictable, do what they don't expect. And then once you have people's attention, then you can risk being funny. We must have more laughter We must have more comedy. And that if we're going to pull ourselves out of this sewer that we're in now, we're going to have to have some comedy. Out of all of this. It's difficult. It's difficult sometimes to be funny because it's dangerous. Because when you do a joke and it doesn't get a laugh, you are in trouble. Hopefully some of what I'm telling you now will make people chuckle

Jeff Dwoskin 44:44

Georgia life is so fascinating. But Sammy Davis Jr. Then came on and and how it's kind of by the fourth episode of laugh and how kind of blew it up.

George Schlatter 44:54

Sammy came on and he came by the studio one night and we were doing a thing in the courtroom. He said George you pigweed markup I said, Well, was he still alive? pigmeat is still alive and pygmy did a thing with her coming to judge. So Sammy put on a white wig. And he came across the stage do it and here comes the judge. Quiet, y'all. You're gonna judge right. And we, and it caught on that night. Sammy was leaving the studio people in the hallway, were saying, hey, Sammy here coming to judge that became a catchphrase that flooded the whole country. They and two days after that show aired, the Supreme Court justices came in on the way to the bench. And somebody the back of the Supreme Court said, Hey, you're coming to judge. And the court laughed. And it was the only left the supreme court had ever gotten up until recently. I go back to that again. When they sit here come the judge with the Supreme Court coming in, and they realized it was funny, making fun of the unfunny making fun of the problem we can fun of the disaster and there's more fun and love and romance and humor in the unpredictable.

Jeff Dwoskin 45:55

Sorry to interrupt, have to take a quick break. And we're back and headed to Motown, George, one more Detroit connection. Talk to me about Smokey Robinson.

George Schlatter 46:03

He spoke he was smoking Robinson, you know, and he was we had fun with him and see all of those people when when smokey came in, to do the show. We had trying to remember what was it we did with Smokey,

Jeff Dwoskin 46:18

I think was your consultant and one of his shows very

George Schlatter 46:23

well, I worked with all of those people. And then Stevie Wonder Toki came in to do the show. And we introduced him to Stevie Wonder, Stevie Wonder as you know, the blind. I've heard. He's what we got to do. And I said, Well, you got to work with with Smokey Robinson is gonna work with Steven and he said what? I said he's the new makeup artist. I said he's the NBC makeup artists worry. I said no, be careful because we don't know where he's gonna put that makeup. And Stevie immediately saw the humor in his when all your well he put makeup on his face on his nose on his air. And it was Stevie Wonder is the NBC makeup artist was a receipt of my great healing. He had makeup all over it. You know? Again, a blind makeup man.

Jeff Dwoskin 47:06

Brilliant.

George Schlatter 47:06

Well, it's what will you present an idea and a network examples. network executives as you're gonna do what? You know, you got a good idea.

Jeff Dwoskin 47:18

So many good ideas. Oh, I random trivia true or false? At one point. You were involved with a Muppet Show?

George Schlatter 47:25

Yeah, yeah, we did. We you know, and then that didn't work for a while, you know, because it was, but I had great fun with the Muppets. I mean, the idea of working with puppets appealed to me. So we did a special with the Muppets. The I did. I did specials with everybody because of my own minimal attention span. I never went on it really pursued it. But we did the pilot for the Muppet Show. With Jim Hanson. It was great. And they went on to become the Muppet series. But I my attention span was such that I couldn't continue doing it because it was funny for me to work with puppets for a week or two. But to do that as a whole career was to challenge the attention span. But Johansson did very well with it. But we did. I mean, a major nighttime show being hosted by puppets with a guy's hand up there, you know, was was a bit but it worked. And it became a moped series.

Jeff Dwoskin 48:13

That's amazing. Yeah, I mean, you've done specials and Elton John called the Liza Minnelli, Michael Jackson, Jonathan Winters, Richard Pryor, Jackie Gleason goes

George Schlatter 48:24

on and on and on. It goes on and on and on. Okay, who I love was Cher I had more fun with Cheryl because she was not. She was, you know, a singer with Sonny wanted to share to do different things. So we came on it was the first appearance away from sunny and she was used to sunny telling you what to do. So we came in, we read the script, and sunny and she had never seen the show, so it hasn't been on yet. And Sunny, we noticed was very uncomfortable. Because he was looking for shares. He said this was the share song. And I suddenly realized Sonny didn't realize there were not going to be any songs. It was all comedy. So I said to Billy, Billy, where's share song? Well, Billy just heard for three weeks and we're going to do any straight songs and Billy's it shares song so you know, the Mountie routine. And Billy minds like I mean, are you crazy? So we come up with you. I want you to hear this is a great mind. We went in the other room and I said, Billy, write me a mounting number for shear. He said, What the hell is when do you actually need it now? So Barry Bonds in 15 minutes came out with Sheriff Boehner was singing a Mountie song and Cher loved it and from that on Cher would do anything I was asking her to do it. And she was always late for rehearsal because she was having her fingernails done. So I called her nails and she called me hammer and she okay hammer I'll do it but the advances would show she's an enormously talented woman. It's great to see her her career went on to become but the beginning of it was due the mounting number George

Jeff Dwoskin 49:46

I mean Your stories are amazing. Your book is amazing. You spending time with me. I can't thank you enough for sharing these enjoying

George Schlatter 49:55

this. I don't know who those people are back there but I'm enjoying it. I hope they are to you. Yeah, how long have you been doing this? A few years. Well, congratulations. I think you do it very very well. And you're putting up with a long and boring interview with the hammer. The chair was here called me hammer that kind of caught on because people were aware of the fact that I was somewhat strong in my convincing people to try things they hadn't done before. Okay, hammer, and I love her. She's She's a magic magical personality. And as was Goldie as some of the people we did with Liza Minnelli, it was great with Liza and Goldie together was wonderful. So it's just been it's just been a long and laborious career populated with jokes, with failures with pratfalls, some success. And the audience kind of waiting to see what was going to happen next, or was it going to be good, bad, funny, not funny. And we must treasure those moments, we must treasure our failures as much as our successes. And I've had that I've had the abundant abundant buttons of both. You did the first show done in every Radio City Music Hall, when you couldn't shoot it was non union. We lined up the rockets and everybody and we did the interview, Radio City Music Hall, we did on the streets of New York when that was impossible to do. And we did that with the Rockettes on the streets of New York. And we did well heard out they wanted one more number in this show, and I said I'm shooting everywhere Rockefeller you could shoot so I said I'll give me Albert's I got Albert to come in to New York to do a song number right. Now it says okay, what studio is it? No, meet me on the corner to Albert met me on a corner with his trumpet. We went up seven flights and of stepladder up the eighth flight. We were on the lip of the new Sperry Rand building. And it was bitter, bitter cold, and owl who was going to be South rampart street parade. And so we were rehearsing this address, because there was no place else for me to shoot Rockefeller Center. And we were rehearsing this, I looked over here in the back of the background of the rehearsal. There's a guy lying down, and it was the night watchman, and he come up to see what was the commotion on the seventh book, and he'd had a heart attack. And so he died. And I said, Well, losing light here. How are we going to get him down? He said, we can't move him until the quarter comes. I said why? They said, Well, according we've got to come and pronounce him. Goodness Look at the man is blue. He's not going anywhere that could you just move him four feet because he didn't a shot. They said, No, you don't understand. You can't move the room until the corner comes. I said, okay, cool. Can you come in with a blanket because he's got an amazing shot. So Albert's play soft ramparts read parade. The family's there crying and praying the corners on his way. And Ba ba ba ba and it's freezing cold. So we did sell for around price three prevent, but for Chrysler. And so demand from Chrysler camis What's that? I said this body sir? What is the body doing an L hurts number I said he's just lying that it's always going to do it. So anyhow, we covered him up and they said, well, the man from Chrysler wants to see this. So I realized that the shot had al hurt in the shot, but in the background there were these two feet sticking up, right. So for men for Chrysler men, so I put my arm out and my arm covered the two feet so you couldn't see but the two feet Sure enough we're in the shot right? And so the man from Chrysler came and my arm covered the shot. And but when it went on the air here South ramparts three parade Albert with the man Christ man these these two feet sticking up in the shot. l hurt next time I wanted to book him he said the contract said Mr. Hurt will be indoors. temperature will be above 50 degrees. Everybody in the shot will be alive. Right? It will be indoors. My successes and my failures are filled with accidents. l heard was an accident Sammy Davis was an accident that same Frank Sinatra I mean, all of those things. We must cherish the mistakes and the accidents and realize that mistake and accidents only that far away from success. And sometimes I was further than that. But an occasion we came close. I've had a good time. I mean, even today, I mean if you're gonna air any of this, I don't know what any of this up on the air. But I've had a good time with you. And in Detroit, you know, I mean, I've had good times in Detroit, which we're even going to talk about now. But, uh, you have a good time. I had a great time. If you have a good time, people around, you will have a good time. We were starting to celebrate Celebrate our failures, which, which certainly will cause me great cause for celebration. I look at television today. And it's too perfect. And it's too much the similar. I mean, Saturday Night Live is the exact same show every week. Well don't do it different to surprise. And I think now because we're kind of immersed in a desert forest creativity and ideas. There's more shows. But there isn't any adventure. There isn't anybody trying something dangerous and there will be be born out of, you know, out of desperation when ratings dip. People will say well, I'm going to try something new. That's what really got got me out of the valley that's what really caused Julian to stay with me thinking I was gonna go to improve I was gonna get better taking the chances having fun. We would show up for work like it was a gigantic playpen out of that feeling of adventure out of that feeling of accident out of flying close to the flame came some pretty funny stuff. I'd

Jeff Dwoskin 55:20

say. So, I'm sure in the Guinness Book somewhere that the most funny stuff created. I mean, I tell you, between you and your idol, Norman Lear the gift say you've given to us is tremendous. So thank you so much.

George Schlatter 55:33

idolize Norman, because he, he was taking chances. And he was the he was gambling. I mean, mod. You know, can you imagine VR to this enormous woman coming in? It was Archie Bunker's enemy. Whoa, boy, Sanford and Son red fox was not allowed on television. Because he was his act was too dirty. I did red foxes first show to visit How you going to do it. You can't put red fox on. I said, I'm gonna tape an hour with red fox. And I'll get out of that hour. I have five minutes. It's usable, because the rest of it was dirty. And so I read fox came in he did an hour and sure enough, it was five minutes it was usable. We interviewed the first black president. And so that it red fox interviewing a black president was itself you can imagine now what that was like, Right? Absolutely. See what the rules are. And then break them. Then you'll get somebody's attention and be funny but

Jeff Dwoskin 56:26

be funny because it'd be fine if you can put it out there be

George Schlatter 56:29

gotta be and if it doesn't, if it doesn't get there's nothing worse. I mean, like I'm proving in this last interview you do something hope is funny. And have it not get a laugh that's that's dangerous because that's painful. silence can be very painful. But the adventure taking the chance the risks flying close to the flame. That's that's worth it. When because when you hear that laugh, whoa.

Jeff Dwoskin 56:50

You know, amazing words,

George Schlatter 56:53

George, come on stage with your fly open in the eyes and say you and you'll get a laugh.

Jeff Dwoskin 56:59

Every time I walk on stage. I think my fly's open. It is a bit

George Schlatter 57:03

dangerous way to make a laugh, but we must laugh. We have to learn to laugh again. It was my relationship with Sinatra was well worth it because I made him laugh. When Sinatra laughed the world laugh. But if Sinatra didn't laugh now you have a problem because you are in trouble. You get to know Julie better than you ever wanted to know anybody.

Jeff Dwoskin 57:26

eulogize Frank Sinatra. That's how close you were.

George Schlatter 57:30

Oh boy. When his funeral, Barbara Sinatra said what I do one of the eulogies and they said no, Barbara, no, no, I don't want to do that. No, me and the church. I'm not too sure about me, Tony. He said, please do use this and Okay, so long as they don't have to follow Gregory Peck. Okay, here goes a eulogy showing up Gregory Peck. Right. And now, next after the after Gregory Peck had me, introduced by the bishop. I run. I read a lot of songs. He had not met a lot of bishops. And so the bishop introduced his George letter. And I don't know why I didn't know what to say. So I said, Thank you, Your Honor. Well, the police cracked up because I've talked to a lot more judges and bishops, right. So when I called the bishop, Your Honor, the police cracked up and I was home, you know, and I thought Frank was going to sit up in the box and say, Come on crazy. Let's get on but they're calling the bishop, Your Honor. Made the whole Sinatra funeral cheer up a little bit because nobody ever called the bishop, Your Honor. It's just one of the many adventures I had. People see that's a mistake. It's a big mistake that you have trouble leaving that mistake. Calling your bishop Your Honor, is something you will never recover from. But if you do recover from it, that it was worthwhile.

Jeff Dwoskin 58:39

But you know it making someone laugh at a at a funeral. In that sense. I bet a lot of people their feeling was you helped us get through this because that's exactly what they would have needed at that moment,

George Schlatter 58:51

including Frank. Frank Frank love to laugh. He was a comedy junkie. But it was dangerous. But it'd be funny. Until he you know, Julie was a piece of work. My long and suspicious career had been dotted with a lot of very colorful, funny people. Cary Grant. I had more fun with Cary Grant, you know, because that facade was very thin. And he said Cary Grant one night we were at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and he when he said, I'll go get the tickets. And he goes up to the table and the woman says your name, Grant, first name, Cary, Cary Grant. She looked up she says, You don't look like Cary Grant. He said, Nobody does. Right. Well, Grant grant denying that he was Cary Grant. The room were cracked up Brian Cary Grant didn't get a lot of Lastly, he did that night. Again, again, take a chance, have fun and know that laughter may be the second best feeling you can have. We'll get into the first best feeling because Mrs. Slow doesn't prove it. My laughter is the panacea laughter is the cure all it's the Novocaine of life. It's so funny. I I Open Air, I hope you can hear some of this funny, George, you might even air part of this. So some of this, you ought to be able to take five minutes, at least

Jeff Dwoskin 1:00:07

five minutes, I'll find the red fox algorithm to get at least five minutes.

George Schlatter 1:00:12

Five minutes, at least we'll work out of this. George,

Jeff Dwoskin 1:00:16

thank you so much for Thank you everything. This

George Schlatter 1:00:20

was fun. And I hope some of it worked. And I hope that you can air some of it. And if I ever get to Detroit, which we used to call Detroit, Detroit City. We had fun in Detroit, which is another subject of another interview,

Jeff Dwoskin 1:00:34

we'll do a whole different we'll do a follow up interview.

George Schlatter 1:00:36

You can have fun in Detroit, if you don't mind risking getting arrested.

Jeff Dwoskin 1:00:41

It's amazing. Now I don't know when the last time you were in Detroit, but there's it's a pretty cool place.

George Schlatter 1:00:46

These days. I had no sense of humor when I was there.

Jeff Dwoskin 1:00:51

Now it's rocking pretty good. It's rocking pretty good. Well, that's pretty

George Schlatter 1:00:53

good, then congratulations, you've cured it. Okay, I hope you're gonna share some of this and let's do it again some time if your career ever recovers from Congress.

Jeff Dwoskin 1:01:04

All right, let's end this. I think I need to end in one particular Say goodnight, George.

George Schlatter 1:01:09

Thank you. This was great fun. Thank you. See you again. Bye. Bye. Bye.

Jeff Dwoskin 1:01:13

All right. How amazing was George slaughter I know so amazing. So many great stories. If you want more great stories, grabbed George's books still laughing a life and comedy you will not be disappointed. We just scratched the surface here. All right. Well, with the interview over can only mean one thing I know another episode has come to a close I can't believe it. Huge thank you to my special guests, the legendary George slaughter. And of course, a huge thank you to all of you for coming back week after week. You know, it means the world to me, and I'll see you next time.

CTS Announcer 1:01:47

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Transcribed by https://otter.ai