Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Welcome to How Betty Davis Saved My Life, Life lessons from classic Hollywood. I'm Moya.
[00:00:08] Speaker B: And I'm Georgia.
[00:00:09] Speaker A: And I'm laughing, Georgia, because as much as I try to do behind the scenes and make smooth transitions, it's just still, I've gotten a little better, but it's still, you know, it is what it is.
And I, I hope I have the right date up here for the King of comedy.
Yeah, 1982. I was hoping that was correct. And so, yes, I already kind of revealed it without revealing it, so I'll move it for the day. Is the King of Comedy, 1982, starring Robert de Niro and Jerry Lewison. And let me, it would help if I got us some visuals. So let me pull that up. And whilst I'm doing that, Georgia, Happy New Year, everybody. And help it. Happy New Year, Georgia.
[00:00:54] Speaker B: Thank you, Moya. Happy New Year, everybody. And to you too, Moya. We're going to start off with a great year and it's going to be a great podcast today with a very interesting Martin Scorsese movie where he really breaks out of the mold on this one. And I think you all are going to enjoy it. And it is, this is a movie that has slowly developed more and more of a following as the years have gone by. Because when, when it was released in 82, like Moya said, it was a flop.
[00:01:23] Speaker A: I know, I could not believe that. I could not believe that was a flop because this movie is just, it's, it's, it's classic. It's just, it's life changing to me a certain degree. But go ahead.
[00:01:37] Speaker B: You know, it is, and you know, it says this movie was way ahead of its time because it's talking about the themes of frank celebrity worship and American media culture.
So it was very prescient to me. And I think that one of the things about this movie is it has some elements in it that are a little bit cringy and make you a little bit uncomfortable about it, right?
[00:02:07] Speaker A: Yes, yes. Let's take a little look at the trailer and, and, and like I said, this movie is what now 42 years and Jerry Lewis is no longer with us. I forgot when he died, like in the 90s or something like that. But anyway, let's, let's see. Do I have it? Let's put the sound up and let's take a look at the trailer and we're going to get into it.
[00:02:33] Speaker C: And I'm thinking as I'm sitting here now, well, maybe this is my big break. This is my big Chance, you know what I mean?
[00:02:39] Speaker D: You don't just walk onto a network show without experience. Now, I know it's an old hackneyed expression, but it happens to be the truth. You got to start at the bottom.
[00:02:48] Speaker C: I know that's where I am, at the bottom.
[00:02:50] Speaker D: That's a perfect place to start.
[00:03:00] Speaker C: So will you please give your warmest greetings to the newest King of Comedy, Rupert Pupkin.
[00:03:09] Speaker D: His name is Rupert Pupkin. He lives in a world of make believe.
[00:03:14] Speaker C: Oh, Jerry, I love this guy. Always coming up with these great lines.
[00:03:18] Speaker B: I love him.
[00:03:18] Speaker A: I love him.
[00:03:19] Speaker D: Nobody can remember his name.
[00:03:21] Speaker B: Mr. Pipkin, Mr. Pupnick, Mr. Puffer.
[00:03:24] Speaker C: Rupert Pumpkin. P U P K I N But.
[00:03:27] Speaker D: By 11:30 tonight, the whole world will know that Rupert Pupkin is the new King of Comedy.
Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis in a Martin Scorsese picture. The King of Comedy.
[00:03:46] Speaker A: And that trailer is just a taste of.
We don't want that.
Just a taste of the King of Comedy.
What do you think about that trailer? What. What can we glean from that, Georgia?
[00:04:04] Speaker B: Well, he's telling him that to get where in this business, you have to start at the bottom and work your way up.
And that is what Rupert Pupkin does not understand. And you see from the trailer that he lives in this fantasy world. He has a mock up like a talk show studio.
[00:04:29] Speaker A: Right.
[00:04:29] Speaker B: And. And he is like pretend. I mean, he's like. He thinks that he's got this acclaim and he already sees himself. He's a celebrity in his own mind. And he's like, got these fake. You know, he's got Jerry Lewis there is playing the talk show host. And then his guest is Liza Minnelli.
[00:04:48] Speaker A: He's.
[00:04:48] Speaker B: He's like. He can't separate reality from fantasy or fantasy from reality.
[00:04:54] Speaker A: Right, Right. Let's take a look at another clip maybe.
Okay, first of all. And I. And I. To show you what Georgia is talking about and just give you. Because I. I've seen this. Georgia, had you seen this?
[00:05:15] Speaker B: No, I hadn't.
[00:05:16] Speaker A: Oh, wow. Okay. Another virginal viewing, if you will.
Yeah, let's see. This is. This is it. Okay. Yeah. I had seen it. Gosh, I was a kid when this came, when I saw it on tv. And it totally mesmerized me for. And I'll get into why. But so to what George is talking about how this guy lives in this other world.
And this movie is so prophetic on so many different levels. So let's take a look at what Georgia's talking about. So look at the mock up and, man, I was out. So he had a job, right, Georgia? Was he like a. A carrier? A courier? He was a courier.
[00:06:03] Speaker B: I thought he was, like, a messenger.
[00:06:05] Speaker A: Yeah, like a messenger or something. But how in the world he afforded all? Well, first of all, he fit all the tropes of living in Mom's basement and incel.
So to speak. And I love. He was dressed to kill, by the way. I was like, where the hell he's getting all this money from? Well, like I just said, he lives with his mom. Well, let's. Let's. So this is his basement where he lived. And here's his studio, quote, unquote. So let's take a look at it.
[00:06:34] Speaker C: Well, Ms. Long, thank you very much for your help at the office and for passing this on to Jerry. I appreciate it more than you know. Now, Jerry, before I begin, I just want to thank you for listening to this material and for the opportunity you've given me. You know, lots of people think that guys like you, you know, people who've made it lose their feeling for struggling young talents such as myself. But now I know from experience that those people are just cynics, embittered by their own failure. I know, Jerry, that you are as human as the rest of us, if not more so.
Oh, well, I guess there's no point going on about it. You know how I feel. So let's get on with the show. The Best of Rupert Pupkin. Jerry, I've sketched out this little outline in order to save you a little bit of time, okay? It's a little introduction. So close your eyes and imagine it's exactly 6:00. You're standing in the wings, and we hear Lou Brown and the orchestra strike up your theme song.
[00:07:30] Speaker A: And now, from New York, it's the Jerry Langford show.
[00:07:34] Speaker C: With Jerry's guest, Richard Pryor, Ben Garzara, Elizabeth Ashley, Carol Burnett. And the comedy find of the year, making his television debut, Rupert Pupkin, the new King of Comedy.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: Rupert, are you crazy?
[00:07:51] Speaker A: What's the matter with you?
[00:07:54] Speaker C: People are sleeping.
[00:07:55] Speaker A: Lower.
[00:07:59] Speaker B: What's the matter with you?
[00:08:02] Speaker C: Mom, take it easy.
[00:08:04] Speaker B: Lower it.
[00:08:04] Speaker C: I'm not gonna lower it. I have to do this.
[00:08:06] Speaker B: Now, I don't mind you playing it, but lower it.
[00:08:13] Speaker C: Now, you come on, Jerry, and you do your monologue. And then when the time comes, this is how I see you introducing me. You could say something like this. Will you please give your warmest welcome to the newest King of Comedy, Rupert Pumpkin.
[00:08:31] Speaker A: And I'll just stop it right there to give you an Idea. So, Georgia, what, what is your take on. On this, this whole setup? This man has not just the studio thing, but his life. What do you, what do you think about? And like, we will get on. Get on to get into how prophetic it is. But what do you, what, what was your first, your first reaction to seeing all of this?
[00:08:55] Speaker B: I felt such profound embarrassment for him.
[00:08:58] Speaker A: Because he has secondhand embarrassment.
[00:09:03] Speaker B: You're thinking, oh, my God, he's trying to be this like this big celebrity person. His mother is like jerking him back to reality. Keep it down.
And of course, you never see her. She's kind of like the voice on, like the, the mother on the Big Bang Theory where you hear her, but you never see her.
[00:09:29] Speaker A: Okay, that's funny.
[00:09:31] Speaker B: So that's what it reminded me of. Some thoughts were going through my mind. But he's like thinking that he's like friends with Jerry. He can tell him like, oh, well, why don't you reduce. Introduce me this one. Your show. And like, you can tell him like, he's in his mind. He has such a grandiose idea in his mind, such delusions of grandeur. He's this big. He calls himself king of comedy, you know, And I'm just like taken aback by his amount of chutzpah.
[00:10:08] Speaker A: The reason why this movie fascinated me as a kid when I first saw it, because I was really young looking at this.
Maybe I don't remember, but I was. I know I was still in, in grade school. And it fascinated me so because I. Because I had, first of all, Jerry Lewis and we got to talk about his performance and it's just so sad. This was a flop. And I guess you can get into why. I have my theories. And I try not to. I should have did a little bit more research, but I try not to prejudice myself looking at stuff. But I, I had only seen Jerry Lewis. I'd. Acting seriously and in a dramatic roles up until that point, I don't think. And so I was like, this is really Jerry Lewis, you know, no way. And I don't think I knew who Robert De Niro was. I'm pretty sure I didn't. And then Sandra Bernhardt's character, because she has, she has an unusual look and you don't. She's not the typical Hollywood glam glamour puss who would normally be in this mood. So I was like, they let her be in the mood. So I just was mesmerized by that. And of course, I was too young to realize all the psychological angles from this, but yeah, it was Jerry Lewis's performance that really snuck me, you know, took me in. But I was so kudos to Scorsese and De Niro and the writers. But it was still, I still was able to understand that this guy was a schmuck, a loser. And he, he had the nerve to call Sandra Bernhardt a schmuck or pot, meat, kettle, you know, But I, I, I did understand and, and they just had the great acting, the writing and the production of how this guy was a total loser.
[00:12:00] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, yeah, George.
[00:12:02] Speaker A: Hell yeah.
[00:12:04] Speaker B: Yeah, well, you know, I'm gonna get into the plot just a little bit. So, you know, Robert Dairo plays the character Rupert Pupkin. What a comedic name. Anyway, so he's 34 year old and he's an autograph hound. And so he's trying to confer, I think, celebrity onto himself by, you know, trying to get all these celebrity autographs. And, and as we saw, yes, he's living in his mother's basement and he's, he's really like kind of a failure in life, but he's a celebrity in his own mind. And so he has the goal of becoming a famous stand up comedian. And so Jerry Lewis's character is a late night TV talk show host. He's modeled on Johnny Carson and they've named him Jerry Langford. And so Rupert Pupkin is convinced that going on Jerry Langford's show will give him his big break. And so after getting nowhere with his efforts to appear on the show. So he and this friend played by Sandra Bernhard, she is this psychotic, rabid fan. Oh, God, I was cracking up with that picture.
[00:13:17] Speaker A: Oh, okay, I'll go back to it.
[00:13:19] Speaker B: I was cracking up in chair. So Jerry Lewis is trying to give him a wet willie.
[00:13:24] Speaker A: Yeah. For those who are listening, shout out to all our listeners, audio listeners. There's a picture of Jerry Lewis way later on. Him and Scorsese old tool farts. He's trying to give a wet willie to scarce days. I guess they're at the Tribeca Film Festival and being silly being Jerry Lewis.
[00:13:43] Speaker B: Well, anyway, so getting back to the, to the plot. So he and this like psychotically rabid fan. There she is. There's Sandra Bernhard.
[00:13:54] Speaker A: What did you think about her?
[00:13:56] Speaker B: I thought that she was, in some way, she was way more psychotic even than he was.
[00:14:02] Speaker A: Absolutely. What did you think about the casting of her?
[00:14:05] Speaker B: I thought that it was brilliant casting to put her in it because she was, she has such an offbeat personality and I thought that sometimes I felt it kind of creepy and Sometimes just hilarious.
[00:14:26] Speaker A: She is an actual comedian. Yes, yeah, she is. And she, and she's very talented. She can sing. Beautiful voice.
[00:14:35] Speaker B: Oh yeah. I was amazed at her singing.
I was just struck by her rendition of the Ray Charles song Come Rain or Come Shine. Oh my gosh. Yes, amazing.
[00:14:48] Speaker A: So, yeah, go ahead, go on. What you were saying about.
[00:14:50] Speaker B: Okay, so they come up with this plan and they actually think they're gonna kidnap Jerry Lewis's character, hold him for ransom in exchange for him doing a stand up comedy gig on his show. And so, and this is of course like, you know, Moya said the take, the big takeaway line in the movie is it's better to be a king for one night than a schmuck your whole life.
[00:15:19] Speaker A: Now what do you think about that statement, Georgia?
[00:15:22] Speaker B: I think that a lot of people are, would just love for the opportunity to have their 15 minutes like Andy Warhol said, their 15 minutes of fame. I think there he has something in common with a lot of people out there who would just love, love. They identify with that. I think they relate to it.
[00:15:46] Speaker A: Yeah, I can totally see that.
How they, how they would, especially with, you know, like I said, this movie is so prophetic. Social media in the advent of the smartphone just brought that out.
Just, it's always been there.
And, and we see the influencers quote unquote, doing these crazy, these crazy things already, you know, to be famous. The one clown just spreads, sprayed some food with some. Just basically a poisonous act trying to be seen. People in the stores with licking ice, I mean, licking ice cream. I mean it just goes on and on. So this has always been there. But now, like I said, the people, the everyday people have the meat up the way to be discovered and get an age and impair all these people, you can do it just within the palm of your hand now.
[00:16:44] Speaker B: Oh yeah, that is so true, Moya. And you know, I started when I started to really this movie made me think something. And the question I have for you, Moya, is do you think it could be that YouTubers and podcasters all have something in common with Rupert? Is there a desire for recognition and admiration and fame? I mean, do you think that there is something?
Is that why we feel a little sympathy for Rupert even though at the same time we're kind of little repelled by him?
[00:17:21] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, that's just what I was just saying. I mean that desire to be famous and to be, to be acknowledged, you know, and a fame, there's different levels of fame and different wants and needs. Like The Maslow's hierarchy of needs. But, yeah, it's always been there. Like you. This goes back to the Hollywood rush, when Hollywood, you know, in the early days when it blew up in a. And then, you know, it's a silence to the talkies. But when people made this mad rush to California, I mean, leaving everything behind to be stars. And so. So it's always been there. Like now it's just amplified because you have the Internet. I'm sorry, you have the. You have social media, of course, with the Internet. But, yeah, so. And I. And now, again, like I said, this movie is so prophetic. And. And those of you. I have not seen the. The. Not the last Joker move. Ain't nobody saw that. And who saw it then? Well, sorry, they did, but the first Joker, Joaquin Phoenix, pays an homage to the King of Comedy and what the Joker did in that particular movie. And he talks about this same trope about being invisible. And that movie was so popular and so successful because there's a lot of. Especially young men who are Rupert Pumpkin who feel invisible, and they may. And they don't know how to play sports or they're not too savvy with girls. So what do you do? And so now everybody's a star. You know, whether good, bad, or ugly, everybody's a star.
[00:19:05] Speaker B: So true. And. But, you know, the thing that really struck me about the Jerry Lewis character was you see him with all this fame, and I thought in many ways he was just as lonely as Rupert.
[00:19:19] Speaker A: Yes. Yes. Brilliant observation. Yes.
[00:19:24] Speaker B: So. So money and success and fame isn't necessarily the answer to happiness.
[00:19:31] Speaker A: Why do you think this movie was not successful?
[00:19:35] Speaker B: I think it was because the public wasn't really ready for it.
[00:19:41] Speaker A: What were they not ready for?
[00:19:43] Speaker B: I. I think that they were not ready to see. Well, a couple of things. Okay.
I think there was on different levels. Number one, I think it made people feel uncomfortable and embarrassed by the character. Wow.
Yeah. He plays. He plays like a. More like a nerdy, dorky kind of a guy, you know, And De Niro, usually, up to this point, they've been playing these tough guy characters.
[00:20:11] Speaker A: Yeah, that's what I think, too.
[00:20:12] Speaker B: Yeah. And so I think that was part of it.
And I think that in some ways, I know this sounds really strange, but when I was looking at this movie, I kept thinking of how there was this danger lurking inside of him that could have maybe go. I was wondering if he was going to go off, because, you know, I was thinking of Taxi Driver.
[00:20:40] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:20:40] Speaker B: Because Sexy Driver, you know, you get this guy, it's a, he's also a character who confuses fantasy with reality. He has delusions of grandeur. He's this disturbed, loner, isolated person. And so I kept getting this feeling like, because I didn't know how the movie was going to end, I thought what, how is this going to resolve itself? So you get this feeling of like a little bit of like you're on edge during the movie. You're, you're, I was, I was on edge and I don't know if other people were. And this is so, so different, so divorced from Martin Scorsese's other work. And I think people were looking for something a little bit different in this movie.
[00:21:24] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:21:25] Speaker B: And, and then the ending, some. Jerry Lewis himself felt this movie didn't really have a finish. And so I was really kind of shaky. I was scratching my head at the ending of the movie and maybe other people were too.
So I think this movie, the reason it wasn't received as well is because it, and on some level it was disturbing to find that, you know, what you didn't get, you know, apparently he had like this background where what he didn't get, he was trying to get this affirmation or acclamation from the public because it was missing in his life. And so I think a lot of people, it made him do a little self examination like it did me. And I think it was just uncomfortable, a little bit frustrating.
[00:22:24] Speaker A: Wow, that is so profound. I, I, I didn't go as deep of a dive as you did psychologically, but that is because I figured, hey, they didn't want to, you know, De Niro had just did, I think Raging Bull and like I said, all these really strong characters and kudos to him because he is a brilliant actor. You know, forget about his politics and his personal life. Brilliant act, one of the best actors of all time, hands down. And how he could just flip and just be Rupert Pupkin.
Brilliant. Not, not a lot of actors can do it and just make you forget. And I think people didn't want to forget. To your point about Raging Bull and Travis Bickle and Taxi Driver and guys, check out our video. I'll link it. We did do Taxi Driver. It's, it's on our, you know, in our video library. So take a look at that. We broke that one down. So I, so yeah, that is a great, some great observations, Georgia. The ending, I thought so. What with this 21st century social media brain. I thought, like I said, this movie was so prophetic. That is exactly what would have happened. And it may be it did happen. Because I don't know if you found in your research that the guy who wrote the screenplay, this was based on some actual events, so to speak.
But the ending, like I said, looking at it now, it was 21st century social media brain.
[00:24:05] Speaker B: It.
[00:24:06] Speaker A: He would. He would. Absolutely. Because I don't want to give away too much what happened to him. I get it. Because we are obsessed with fame and celebrities and it's kind of starting to wane, you know, with recent political activities and such. But our own personal narcissism ain't never going away. And our own personal pumping upness, if you will, is never going to go away. And it just. Depending on the person, it go. We all want to be seen and acknowledged. That. That. That goes without saying.
And so Rupert Pupkin went about it the wrong way, but I just want to point this scene out with the young lady, beautiful actress. And I'll try, if I remember, I'll try to get their names. What did you think about him and her?
[00:24:57] Speaker B: Well, first of all, I thought that she, in many ways was out of his league because she is gorgeous. And by the way, just this is a little aside. The two of them married in real life. Dion Abbott.
[00:25:10] Speaker A: Oh, really?
[00:25:12] Speaker B: Yes. They were married in real life?
[00:25:13] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:25:18] Speaker B: Well, they were married for a time.
[00:25:19] Speaker A: Oh, I didn't know that.
[00:25:21] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:25:21] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:25:22] Speaker B: This woman is absolutely gorgeous. And the thing that I felt that was so sad about her character here, she's playing a bartender and she has this like. She's so resigned about her life.
[00:25:31] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:25:32] Speaker B: And that made me so, like, I was. I was so amazed because she's sweet, she's beautiful, she is a. This lovely person. And there's like a scene where he's dropping her off at the end of the day and she's so resigned, she's going, ah, well, I guess you've earned the right to come up and have a cup of coffee.
[00:25:54] Speaker A: Coffee. Quote, now that's. That's cold, guys called quote, unquote. Okay, we know that's cold. Go ahead.
[00:26:00] Speaker B: Yeah, I am going like, ah.
Like, she is just absolutely just. She's.
What's the word I'm looking for? She's resigned to her. She's. She's just become like. She doesn't have dreams beyond, like, what she can do in her potential. And so she hitches her star, I guess, to this guy because he shows her all these autographs and she thinks, oh, my, maybe he's gonna be somebody. Maybe, you know, and so she has hope. Just like all of us women do. She has hope, but she's more, but she's more down to earth and grounded because she goes, hey, you know, she all of a sudden she has the realization that we have, we're here where we're not supposed to be. Let's get out of here.
[00:26:51] Speaker A: Right, right. And we don't want to give away too much. But Rupert is a stalker. Masha, Sandra Bernhardt's character, they are stalkers and they take it to the nth degree. And like I said, it was kind of cringe because we've known people have lost their lives in Celebrity New without you knowing about John Lennon and the young lady from my sister Sam and Teresa Saldan. I mean stalking, I, I don't hear too much about it anymore now. But back then in the 80s and 90s, that was a real, real thing. It was deadly.
But yeah, and he drug her into it, which was in freaking sane.
But I, I, I, I didn't know they were married. And she and I But I like how see Scorsese has these different themes running because she is that shop worn woman we would see in the 30s and 40s Movies like Joan Crawford, Shop Warn or Shelly Winters would have been perfect, you know, back in the day, these Shop Warn women like you say, who are resigned to their fate. And this, she was a former beauty queen. Like she should have had it all. And I would have loved to know her story, how the heck she wound up in that old dingy dirty bar. And a scene in a restaurant where they were eating dinner and a man in the background mocking Rupert. Girl, I was dying laughing. I was wondering was something going to come out of that? I wonder if score says that on YouTube. There's really a lot of great channels that talk about. Let me just show you one really quick some behind the scenes stuff that YouTube has. And I'm not, I'm a not gonna play all of it, but 12 facts you never knew about Martin Scarce. Martin Scorsese, the King of Comedy. And Martin Scorsese does make some appearances in, in the, in the movie. Some cameos is you know, Hitchcocking. And so it does touch on the Joker and so go check that out. Sunnypedia does that. But there's a lot of great channels that get into that as a little bit more background. So here is that scene with a joker is hearkening back to the King of Comedy. And the writers did of the of the Joker. The first one said yes, they were definitely influenced by the King of Comedy. And so, so Just go look at that and give their channel some play. But yeah, I, I love this movie and I'm so glad it's getting some shine and, and now because it totally influenced so many different people, that it's is funny and that it was a flop is just crazy to me. George, I'm gonna let you finish out. I, I did have something about Jerry Lewis before we get out of here and I, I'll play that before we leave.
[00:29:43] Speaker B: Well, you know, one of the things that struck me about Daero's performance was that he actually stalked his own autograph hounds. His autograph hunter. He did a reverse on them so he could get into their minds. And what made him tick. And another thing that I thought was really great was he actually observed and modeled himself after the comedian Richard Belzer. So even though, in my opinion, yes, he did. So if you note when he does, there's like where he does his little stand up thing.
I was so amazed at his mannerism.
[00:30:20] Speaker A: Yeah. Timing, everything, language.
[00:30:24] Speaker B: And it was so spot on. It was perfect. It was absolute perfection for a comedian. I was just blown away by.
[00:30:31] Speaker A: Let me find a picture of Richard Bowser real quick. Here he is. And, and he. Richard Bowser, those of you may know him. I don't know if he's still with us or not because he eventually he went on to do drama and one of those law and orders, I believe.
Yeah, here he is. Yeah. And I've seen a little bit of his comedy, but not a lot. So this is Richard Belzer.
[00:30:57] Speaker B: You know, and another thing, like you, Moya, I, my sister and I grew up loving Jerry Lewis movies. I mean, everything that he did, we had to watch it. We loved it. It brought so much joy to our childhoods, the laughter that Jerry Lewis brought us, you know, I mean, when you're a kid especially, you know, I mean, you're really going to love Jerry Lewis.
[00:31:22] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:31:22] Speaker B: So I was like, you mesmerized. My reason for being mesmerized by the movie was by Jerry Lewis's straight guy performance. And I felt like I was really getting a glimpse into the true Jerry Lewis, what he was really like.
[00:31:42] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:31:43] Speaker B: He wasn't, you know, hamming it up and being silly.
[00:31:48] Speaker A: Right.
[00:31:48] Speaker B: And that was such, such an insight for me after all these years because I often wondered, you know, what was he like when he wasn't on.
[00:31:58] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:32:00] Speaker B: Jerry Lewis, you know, started as a, you know, in vaudeville. He did radio and then he segued into, into movies. And then, you know, he became famous for his muscular dystrophy. Telethons. And we would see him. Yes, he was just such a big part of that time, you know, for all of us. And so I, I, you know, you got to think about the Nutty professor and all those awesome movies that he did.
[00:32:35] Speaker A: And he's influenced so many comedians. Eddie Murphy, that's why he did the Nutty professor over. He loved Jerry Lewis.
[00:32:41] Speaker B: Oh, gosh. You know, can you blame him? Oh my gosh. And then, you know, but for Jerry Lewis, that wasn't enough for him. He was also competitive. He was never satisfied. And so he kept pushing himself and he became a director and he did movies where he himself could. There were starring vehicles for him.
And so like, you know, he was asked, you know, I mean, I think one of the things he felt was he was overshadowed by his more handsome partner, Dean Martin. And so that's, I think, one of the reasons why he wanted more creative control. But he said that he avoided going into therapy because he was afraid it would cure him of his hang ups. That fueled his success. And he said, if I find out what's bothering me, I won't be funny anymore.
[00:33:28] Speaker A: Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant decision.
[00:33:32] Speaker B: Yes, yes. And so one of the things about this movie is he uses his own personal experiences as a celebrity.
[00:33:42] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:33:42] Speaker B: And he includes it in the movie. So if you watch, there's a portion of it where Jerry Lewis himself directs a scene in it and you can see why, about how people respond to him as a celebrity because he is doing this from his own personal experience. It's a gem. You gotta watch this. To me, it just told me so much about how he felt about his celebrity.
[00:34:05] Speaker A: Right, right. And it's. We don't normally plug, we're streaming, but it is free on YouTube. For those of you who did not see it, it is totally free on YouTube.
And so just, so just on that note, I just want to get a few moments of Jerry Lewis and shout out to this channel. I will, I'll put a link in. In it, him talking about the king of comedy.
[00:34:35] Speaker D: The king of comedy was, was a very unique situation because the script was terrific. And Marty Scorsese called me. I was appearing in Tahoe and he said, I'm going to send you a script overnight, FedEx. Please read it.
I think you're going to find it interesting. And I got it and I read it and I called Marty and I said, it's a wonderful script. It's a wonderful idea. He said, will you do it? I said, yeah, I think I'll do it. It Was terrific. I'm in New York for four weeks later, and we were going to prep. And for the next eight weeks, Marty and Bobby De Niro and myself met every day. And their questions to me were related to why I have no anonymity and what's it like being a celebrity. Now, Bobby De Niro was sitting here saying to me, what's it like being a celebrity? And I said, what the hell are you talking about now? This is 1982. Well, Bobby was known for banging the drum slowly. And who could remember that face? Taxi Driver, Raging Bull. He has anonymity. He doesn't know what it is to be a celebrity at that time. And I proceed to tell them things that we incorporated in the script. And it was a wonderful experience to watch the stuff take place. And I was giving them the benefit of some, at that time, some 50 years of experience.
[00:36:02] Speaker A: Wow. Wow. Right, Right. And that's so crazy that De Niro, because he had. Because he had. I think he. He won an Oscar. Was it for Raging Bull or. I think so. Yeah. So he was a celebrity in his own right. But I. Yeah, I guess he. He didn't like. Not like Jerry Lewis. Like Jerry Lewis, we all know it's like a king in France, you know, for his comedy. Love Jerry Lewis, but. And De Niro could switch in and out, you know, it's him.
But he could just switch in and out these characters, you know, because we all know he's a method actor. But that was so funny he was asking Jerry Lewis about that because it's a different level of fame and celebrity, and that kind of plays back to the King of Comedy, that trope and about being famous at all costs. And like I said, this movie was just so prophetic on so many different levels. It was scary. And how now we see the full manifestation. We see people, you know, running up on celebrities and doing pranks. And now you can. With Twitter and like I said, social media, you or X, you can talk to your celebrities, quote, unquote, if it's actually them handling their accounts. But, you know, so nobody's, you know, what is fame now? That's why people doing all this extreme stuff, because what does it mean to be famous? What does it mean to be a celebrity? People, everyday people, are now the social media influencers. You. You wear this, show this, eat that. And. And it's just everyday people, they getting paid and they, like, got these followers. So, like I said, this movie was so ahead of its time. I love it. I enjoy. I hadn't seen it in a million years. I totally enjoyed looking at it. George, I give it a last word.
[00:37:46] Speaker B: Okay. Well, you know, there's an interesting thing about the difference in styles between Jerry Lewis and Robert De Niro. You know, because Robert De Niro, he so convincingly inhabits his characters that he portrays. And he. And like you said, Moya, you pointed out, yes, he was a method actor. And so he refused Jerry Lewis's invitation to have dinner with him or befriend him off the set. He refused to do it because he said, you know, we play adversaries and I want to keep that be convincing the way we do it. And so Jerry Lewis said, hey, you know, De Niro was. Had obviously never heard of Noel Coward's advice to actors about remembering the lines and trying not to bump into the furniture. That's what you're supposed to do. And so Jerry Lewis was not a method actor, right?
[00:38:37] Speaker A: No, no, no, no. He couldn't understand what in the world he was talking about with that.
And I just want to. Like I showed you one of his.
Oh shucks, this page has gone out.
But the, the, the gear, the, the costumes that De Niro wore. Do you, do you know where that that came from? Did you hear that story?
[00:39:01] Speaker B: Yes, I did. He saw a mannequin in the Lou Magram's window and he said, oh my God, that scene suit.
[00:39:10] Speaker A: That is so.
[00:39:11] Speaker B: That's. That's my character suit.
Oh my God, girl, that told me up.
[00:39:19] Speaker A: Cuz he was dressed really nicely. Now the white shoes, I have a love hate relationship with the light shoes because they're so. Used car salesman. So your dad's outfit or whatever. But they, so it's so like so Peewee Herman. Yes, but I, so I, I love it and hate it at the same time. So from the, from the feet up he had it.
[00:39:44] Speaker B: He did have a distinctive way of dressing. You know, the powder blue colored suits and then the red one that he does and all that. Yeah. But it, to me, it did remind me a little bit of Pee Wee Herman. Sorry.
[00:39:58] Speaker A: Oh my gosh. I mean I cracked up.
Let's see if we can find some of his. Just a few images of his fresh gear that he had. And we were showing it early on like this red suit.
Who in the world.
Oh, I didn't mean to do that.
I just, I wanted you to see the suit.
Who in the world would wear that damn suit? A full red, A full red suit looks like, like a comedic. Like the devil does comedy. That's what he looks like. The devil is absolutely ridiculous.
I'll just show you.
Let me share just really quickly, like his, his suit, because it's not the 70s, so take a look. Oh, okay. Of course. Well, anyway, I cannot get this to do what I want to do, but, you know, when we get Our pictures from IMDb if you want to see it, they, they have the. Okay, here we go. They have. I just want to take a real quick. Cuz. What did you, did you like his clothes?
[00:41:13] Speaker B: The only one that I kind of thought was interesting was that one that had the, like, white background. It had, like, had the print on the front. I kind of thought that was interesting. Kind of cool. I, I, I kind of like that for some. I can't explain it, but I liked it.
[00:41:28] Speaker A: Okay, wait, is it this one?
Let me see.
[00:41:41] Speaker B: Yeah. I don't know why.
[00:41:42] Speaker A: No way. What?
I don't know why.
[00:41:47] Speaker B: I kind of like.
[00:41:48] Speaker A: Georgia, you were out of your mind. For those of you who are listening, it looks like when you look under a microscope and you see the, the disease, the chickenpox or whatever, the measles is terrible.
George is horrible.
[00:42:04] Speaker B: I know. It's, it's tacky. I know it is. It is, but it's just some. It's so tacky that it's.
[00:42:12] Speaker A: I don't know, it fit for him because he's out of his mind. Right, but, and, and I know we're about to get out of here.
I don't see that one half of him. Yes, he's cuckoo, but I don't think he's fully. He's just ambitious. So is he really crazy? He's just a narcissist. Like, I'm pretty sure there's a clinical term for him. But again, fast forward to now. Everybody's like this.
So is he really. Something wrong with him? And see, and another thing, ain't nothing wrong. He was just full of himself. Because that's what I wanted to say. Real quick, he quickly. Did you see how he threw the, the girl, the, the ballroom, the barmaid under the bus when they were at Jerry's. When they had crashed at Jerry's and he said, oh, she doesn't know anything. She's a barmaid. He threw her under the bus. Just that quick.
[00:43:10] Speaker B: Yeah, I know.
[00:43:12] Speaker A: So he's a. He was an. That's all he was under that being a little. He was an ass. An.
I'm sorry. So, yeah, see this, this is a great suit because this is something like Richard Gere wore in American Gigolo. Not too far from it. You know, so he. I. He dressed really well.
[00:43:32] Speaker B: He dressed really well.
[00:43:33] Speaker A: Yeah. So well. Girl, that's all I got. What else you got?
[00:43:37] Speaker B: Well, I want to leave you with this thought.
The connection between an autograph hunter and an assassin. One stocks with a pin and the other one stocks with a gun.
[00:43:49] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:43:50] Speaker B: There they want to get you. Either they want to get your autograph because they feel like they got a piece of that celebrity or they. Or there's an assassin. So, I mean, that's a little bit kind of a. One of the creepy things about this movie, but very true. That's what makes this movie so profound in many ways is because there is so much truth to it, but it's like holding up a mirror to our cult of celebrity that we have.
[00:44:17] Speaker A: Absolutely. Absolutely. One last question.
Who would you hound? I ain't gonna say stalk. Which celebrity, celebrity, past or present, would you hound for a picture? Because nobody does autographs no more. You take pictures.
Is there anybody that comes to mind?
[00:44:36] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh.
Yeah. I used to have this teenage crush on Davy Jones of the Monkeys.
[00:44:46] Speaker A: Oh, okay. Yeah. You know, a bunch of other chicks. Yeah, yeah.
[00:44:51] Speaker B: And I just. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. Yeah, I would have. Yeah.
[00:44:57] Speaker A: That is so funny. Wait, let's get a picture of Davy Jones.
I wish I'd have known that before. I would have had him up.
He would have opened the show for us.
[00:45:12] Speaker B: I had a poster in my room and it was kind of like a life size poster. One with the. With a bare chest and you know, I have to cover it up or turn it around when I change my clothes. What?
[00:45:24] Speaker A: Girl, you all.
TMI don't make. I don't want to judge you.
Girl. That is so. But you know what? You and a bunch of other girls. He. He was cute. He was cute. See, we can get a picture of.
[00:45:42] Speaker B: Him, but we like when you're about 12 years old.
[00:45:48] Speaker A: But he was cute.
[00:45:50] Speaker B: I thought he was so cute.
[00:45:53] Speaker A: Let's see him. So this. Let's look at him in his heyday.
Let's get a picture of him. I don't know why it's not loading up. Let's see.
Oh, gosh. Come on.
Let's see.
Okay, here we go.
He was cute.
[00:46:13] Speaker B: I'm not seeing your. The picture.
[00:46:15] Speaker A: No, I'm. I got it. It's coming. Here we go.
There you go.
[00:46:22] Speaker B: Yes.
There he is.
[00:46:24] Speaker A: Baby and Georgia sitting in a tree.
He was cute. He looked, you know, he looked like a little boy. He looked like a cute little boy.
[00:46:35] Speaker B: Yes, he was. And he. And he's saying. And yeah, and I just thought he was.
[00:46:39] Speaker A: So.
[00:46:40] Speaker B: Yes, it didn't hurt.
[00:46:41] Speaker A: The rest of the monkeys were not cute.
[00:46:44] Speaker B: No.
[00:46:45] Speaker A: So that made him shine. Even though he was cute.
He, you know, he looked like a Ken doll. I can't seem like a GQ model next to them. So.
But Georgia, what is our next movie?
[00:46:59] Speaker B: Oh, my goodness. We are gonna treat you to a double feature. So we're going to do the concluding chapter of Crawford. We're going to do Betty Davis discussing Joan Crawford Baby Jane and her film career. It's from 1965. The interview is. And then also we're going to do a piano for Mrs. Cimino.
[00:47:23] Speaker A: Yes, yes. And this is one of her Betty Davis. This is a Betty Davis movie. One of her later movies like in maybe the late 70s, early 80s. And I love this and I, I love looking at her later stuff.
And let me see if I can find it a piano so you all can look at it with us for Mrs. Chami. Here we go.
And let's see if we can pull that up for you. Here we go and let me share my screen.
And so this is also on.
This is also on YouTube.
So this is how you spell it. A piano for Mrs. Cimino. A just a sweet, sweet movie. And it's just so funny how Betty could transition. She was just an actress. Like she said her work meant everything to her. More to her than anything, for better or for worse. But how she could, you know, she obviously she was later on in life but she never played the same old lady, you know, an older woman. She played them differently and, and gave to that character. What because, because we've seen. I've seen several of her later on in life her when she's older and of course she's playing old ladies but plays each one differently and that's why we love her so much. So we got a Bette Davis joint coming up guys so be there for that. And we. So that will take place on the 18th live right here on Facebook Live. We are so happy you joined us today. So make sure you share subscribe and like you can also suggest suggest movies to us on either on our YouTube channel channel or right here on Facebook Live. We would really enjoy that if you let us know what do you want Let us know what you think about this movies. What. What something that we said we really would love to hear from you and we sure would. And we would love to hear from you. And with that, Georgia, my peach, my pl. Plum. That is it.
We are out of here and I enjoyed it with you as always.
[00:49:48] Speaker B: Oh, thank you so much, Moya. Likewise. You made it so much fun for me. And for all of our viewers today, everybody wishing you a very happy, joyous and blessed new year.
[00:50:00] Speaker A: Absolutely. So for how Betty Davis saved my life, Life lessons from classic Hollywood and the and the king of comedy was just pregnant with them. Gee whiz. You could. I could look at it. Probably I could look at it again. I just love that movie. But I'm Moya.
[00:50:15] Speaker B: And I'm Georgia.
[00:50:16] Speaker A: And we can't wait to see you guys again on the 18th because we going to get the tea with Betty and Joan. You know, we got to keep that feud going. And then we're going to talk about a piano for Mrs. Shamino. You guys take care. And we can't wait to see you on the 18th. Bye.
