Burt Reynolds interviews Jimmy Stewart, Mickey Rooney, Ricardo Montalbon, and Van Johnson

mr. Ricardo montalbán is to make me mr. James Stewart [Music] I have six idols and four of them are sitting here today you've conducted your life and your career with class and dignity and I think gallantry a very nice accolade Stuart Jimmy I want to talk about It's a Wonderful Life which is uh we are inundated with every Christmas now and it's it's on cable it's Network it's in black and white and much to your chagrin in color some places it's become the favorite movie of a whole younger generation that didn't have never seen the picture before it's a great movie and it's gonna become identify with you maybe as much or more than mr. Smith goes to Washington and some of your other great pictures when it was released it wasn't that big a hit was one success at all it bankrupt they Frank and George Stevens and company Liberty films and because this picture was already and they did this one first and it went out into the business and broke the company each one of them had had some scripts and stories and they sold everything to Paramount general Stewart was it a great thrill to always work with the great Capra Oh everything everything you can think of it it was more of a thrill than that it's just he had something very special you yeah he had a he had some basic values real bad you know that he could put up in the spring without seeing me seeming to be reaching and he could do that and that's I I don't know if anybody else but he he just it it was something magic Jimmy Henry Fonda was your roommate in college New York as a young actor in yeah and eventually in Hollywood tell us the story about you and Hank together in New York any story what we have a wrap party and I brought my party we're crossing across and time to square to get the subway go down and hard to stop we weren't we were almost stopped and said what what what do you think would happen if we stopped right here and you start playing the accordion do you think that one way to find out find out so I took this doesn't start playing louder in in about four or five minutes there were three people there from some hall some patients but but some more right and I think and pretty there got to be eleven people and I done a couple more maybe maybe ended up with 12 or 13 and I played and suddenly and I did it affected my planning a little but I look down and Fonda was passing the Hat Jenny Stewart Oh Harvey which is a big part of your life the tall rabbit who followed mr. Stewart around him in a picture I I had a theater for 11 years I did Harvey there and there was a lot of mysterious things that happened there's a lot of people to believe that that Harvey his spirit really exists how do you feel about I got a I got a feeling very much for feeling about about Harvey and people people still ask me about him and I'm very honestly I I don't I don't consider him just a part I played in the movie on the stage daya I he's a friend III people say what do you what do you think Harvey looks like fine I've done this I don't know how how many times don't I just made it up usually a mother said the young boy he said now we're going and see a play done and it's about a man whose best friend is a big white rabbit and I know they say everybody said it's a wonderful friendship well evidently quite a few of them because I'm the first the first act I I look around and I see the kids were all over the place not them but the end of the first act I'm there it all started about five minutes before the curtain they couldn't stand on the end you use it always just one boy one boy stand up and said worth the rap a night for excedrin pm I can't sleep knowing the weather in this neighborhood and and so there was a song yesterday and I introduced for baby it's cold outside they came day first but there was a little ballad that I was saying to Esther while moving photographically and singing it was a little ballad that you saw all my heart beats faster okay I can't sing in our face of conscience now I go to they were going to record this thing I'm Georgia stove in front of the motion Metro Orchestra which only the best funny I mean had the best musicians if not in the world Ziggy oh yeah I mean everybody from classical to jazz everything everything so then I am the first time and I arrived and Georgie begins to come back recovers relaxed and Georgia goes he says goes and the beautiful little daughter with a violin and everything s beautiful it's gorgeous and although he goes I go and I go my and one take see very well I think go fine I go for a week later we get it called Georgia stove Ricardo let me tell you something you were overpowered by a by the presence of all those people you were not relaxed so what are we going to do is we're going to go to a set empty you and I or earphones on you you hear the back and you all night I conduct you are you doing they're all relaxed I said well that's good Georgie so I go through the empty set and they had a microphone the thing starts I violins my heart beats fast [Music] something and I do it but still I was more relaxation look I'll bring this stool and it's tool sit on the stool my heart beats faster faster good I think it would be more relaxing sitting down a chair it wasn't gonna chair relax because okay yeah is it Mike for you professor my heart beats faster I mean I can experiment see that counter with it like that Ricardo you did a movie I was crazy about this movie is called a battleground yeah I think it was one of my first sort of dramatic thing John Hodag Van Johnson and you know what I was on the cover of Life magazine because of and I remember that for one week I was a king a week I really think the next week and the next week I think it was a cocker spaniel on the cover than that was the van you got this is incredible to me 40,000 letters a week which was half the United States then he worked with one of my favorite actors in the whole world during the the dr. Kildare dr. Gillespie series senators feet between sittings lighting his cigarettes he used to fall asleep you know Jimmy and he had special cigarettes that would go out he could talk about anything I learned more about glow bear an etching in Rafah at baseballs till he was a fastener this rheumatoid arthritis he was it was in pain mostly all of the time in a picture with him was fortunate enough to do Captains Courageous and he he he would go to sleep in the middle of a seat did you know no that's pretty tough to do yeah what you go to manual most of those wonderfully generations because he'd go to sleep and you know and somebody give him but Clarence Brown came to me one day one of the great directors it was very voter human company and national and he said Clarence whom I adored he said you making a lot of those killed their pictures with Barry maroon so I said yes yes I adore the old man I love me some well you're getting to imitate them without realizing when I adore a worse of somebody I get kind of like Oh June Allyson and I were making a picture call remains to be seen I played the drums I will learn the drum you play the drums and Judaism I don't like this part I don't like it I'm gonna ask him I release I said I wouldn't do that if I were you June because that's already in the test and so you know they're all there waiting so see what else you see top up there she I don't know to cop it to me a pop up man whatever what is that though she's a pop Emir I want my release he said as a matter of fact June I didn't go in I didn't ask of mine so I stayed twenty years longer well you know it's thinking about you getting away from Studios my dearest friend was Jimmy Cagney that night I had worked with during Midsummer Night's Dream at Warner Brothers and it remained a lifelong friend but he had walked in to mr. Harry Warner's office and Harry said yes Jimmy what is it you want just I want ten million dollars in tax free money or I'll never make a woman not a picture for you you mean then Warner was a little bit shocked and started get me sheesh don't get up don't get up out of the sheet Harry hiatus of nineteen months no Cagney pictures of Warner Brothers they're having a big meeting in New York City all the stock brokers of one of the biggest stock brokers at that particular time who was not a Hollywood height called Harry over and they were having cocktails and he said Harry may I speak to you for a moment he said of course max what is it tell me where are the Cagney pictures he said what do you know that that bum came to the my off said he wanted ten million dollars tax-free or he'd never make another picture and I threw him out that's how Jimmy Cagney became I have a kagu story yeah I once had he said something very very nice about me but I I was so flattered that I tried to find his number you know to call him to thank and somebody finally knew somebody who knew somebody who got me them so I called him up and I heard that that voice you know I'm the other yeah and I thanked him for what he said and I said mr. Cagney could I have a picture and there was this pause then he said garrison terrain BRR I said what Paris in the rain I thought yeah it's fine with me I don't any place you want no he thought I was asking for a painting oh and he imagined the foot spa this guy bumped that I love him she sent me Feeny oh this man in the rain in Paris oh it's one of the bottles in the rain [Music] cBS to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Walt Disney World Kodak is offering a surprise instant win date you can only play it Eckhart just pick up your photos and you'll find a 20th anniversary game card inside there's thousands of prizes including unique that cases at the Disney World where you'll find 20 new reasons to visit during Disney's 20th anniversary and what's different about these vacations is that they're all one-of-a-kind you can even design your own fantasy vacation discover why a Florida manufactured home is Florida's best housing value whether you're just tired of renting and want a home of your own a growing family in search of a quality home at an affordable price or newly retired and looking for that certain lifestyle there's a Florida manufactured home for you call one eight hundred four four four F MHA now and receive this free brochure that will show why a Florida manufactured home is Florida's best housing value call now 1-844-452-4051 outfits cost you mom plenty but why do they call it Burlington Coat Factory besides ever try to sink Burlington ladies men's kids suits shirts sportswear linens dresses for a slacks coat factory general Stewart when you did mr. Smith goes to West they talk about actors doing their own stunts you did something that 95% of most actors wouldn't try you put some kind of solution on your throat which was it was incredibly dangerous really to do and to get that sound that sounded I sort of did that after when I've been in their filibuster I've been talking for about five days and I couldn't got to the end and I felt that I was supposed to be loosing my voice and I was trying to do but it after after we finished the day Frank came up to me and said you know yeah you're not you're not convincing me Jim that that you're getting a sore throat you're just doing that that's that's not that's not having a sore throat you're just going that's it this isn't right and it worried me and so I on the way home I stopped the doctor and even still in his office Thank You amen I said gonna see you in just a second and I I said could you give me a sore throat I've always heard that you Hollywood you take the cake and it has taken me 35 years to learn how to cure people from a sore throat and keep them from getting the shot I'll give you the worse Ricardo I thought sayonara was extraordinary performance and and you looked it was amazing the detail the time just just talk a little bit about the preparation for that role they had to have an actor was a kabuki actor Japanese he had to speak English so you could understand him he had to have a certain look because he was the romantic they'd love interest between Patricia Owens Brandon's girlfriend and so they hired now I get to Japan I spent about two weeks at the Kabuki theater in short you're just watching the way they make you so and and and their dances and everything I do this God so now the we both go to Kyoto and I get the stick as I would you know and at the beginning was a little cold you know and she thought you know I'm Mexican actor they demonstrated they danced to me see what I was supposed to do and of course it goes on forever it's a woman who's dancing with it with the Lions mask and also and the lion mask comes life and the lion are stick picture of the stage and that's a woman and then comes back as a lion all this movements and you would try to they were sitting on it just just to begin with the lion mask is here a little stream it like this and you grab it now you think that's it the eyes have to be exactly where your eyes were this is all wrong this finger has to be here on this one parallel to it this is wrong because it should be right there and this should be right below the nipple and this like this and now that's just that's just to begin and I know you have to do the next step which is now you a woman you kind of drop this thing and you walk and you know and it shows me this whole dance and I said I had a translator I said please will you tell the master saya Fujima that I have a limited amount of time to learn this I I should just show me little pieces at a time can we do that I know it's a very traditional theater can you do that I'm a translator said everything said something that sounded like this for me wonderful cigarette holder [Music] I know what's your shop foreman walk with you see if he could cut this thing any finally what do you say Oh says he said absolutely Mickey will you tell us a the first time that you ever saw Francis gum or also known as Judy Garland I saw her at the Pantages Theatre the gun system the gum sisters she was singing I was transfixed at night little did I know that a month later after having first seen her that we'd be going to school together Waller's professional school on Hollywood Boulevard Oh where everybody went Deanna Durbin and Jackie Cooper so finally she was there and I I was there and I said uh your your your Judy gum aren't you she says yes I am and I said I I'm Mickey I'm Mickey Rooney I know I said I don't mean to be fresh or anything but I think you're the best in the world she said do you really only the way she and I said yes I I really do mean it you're the best and the world glad you you think I and she went away and I followed her with my eyes and from that moment onward my eyes never left Judy go I love that lady with all of my heart and soul oh my be I think without any equivocation that she was one of the greatest not only talents but one of the greatest actresses in the world and a great sense of awareness oh great chanting Hubert yeah she was straight out funny and she enjoyed she loved people she loved and gave herself no one even to this very moment as we sit here gentlemen has ever given so much of herself for her profession to everybody in the world as much as Judy Garland gave diversity well said no much maybe we cried made a lot of pictures together like strike up the band babes and I are some girl crazy huh we had so many plans and one day for no reason she just left it's not a day goes by that I don't miss Judy no one but you [Music] Judy my whole life through [Music] as the Chinese like the stars above [Music] he gave so much love [Music] we'll be right back after these men bubbly with em in she's handbag and Johnson I'm sure has some curiosity about I always did tell tell us the story of brick I lay in the gutter for 45 minutes outside the studio an ambulance finally came and I never lost consciousness and the am gonna stop to pull away and I said wait a minute where are you going he said I'm sorry we can't take you I said why not he said you're in the other zone you're not not territory huh I said where's the other zone he said across the street I said back up I'll meet you there and I crawled over hanging on to my brains wealthy with Anna love got back and somebody said to me in Grammy didn't make did you hear about Van Johnson you know right away it had a star of horror of the way the language being read said no one's men ripped its head right off I say that to me again just rip his head right off that's at fairs studio thank God I ran down the stage I see the ambulance and I yes I see and I see over there and I'll never forget that sight but the hot ones that did you both were the windchill of what happened then no I tried to write the car into the car of the car was going over so I leaned forward and those days a clamp when the convertible used to enter the conversation why had you started believing you had started the movie already oh sure a guy named Joe with Spencer under our ain't done Fleming there was a marvelous directive of a tough man but you were like you would shot like no all right two weeks I was not that well-known bird hey you know today they don't wait for you they can't afford to but Irene Dunne in Spencer Tracy went to mr. mayor said let's wait for him why with that sparkling I bet you were 40,000 letters a week did you ever look through the letters for any money I remember when I was under contracting Universal we used to get our fan mail and Ray Milland used to go like this every letter I wanted to answer each one general Stewart very early on either tested or we're in picture good or it started before the picture yeah you know at MGM you don't pick things somebody comes up and hands you a script they said you play the part of Harry and go down from them and get it's better wardrobe and the picture starts next - well that somebody came to me and said you you're gonna test for a picture and the good part the good earth and go up to make up and get it made up I was there for four hours and then then I came on the set and Paul Muni was there but they had finally worked it out and it was a moving shot and they dug a trench a long form and Paul was up there and I was down there and we and we did the test everything and they gave the part to a China [Music] Hey look yeah Stevie Myers friend of ours who's has about 150 horses out in the valley that she rents the movie industry once let you ride a horse that that became part of your life the first Western I did Steve he brought out fearful horses oh here the big lumber and thing to it and all the time the horse just peaking around the stage or not it said is that she said no that's mine I and I said could I just see him and well to make a long story short she said I'll let you I'll let you ride him but I he's my horse I wrote him I wrote him for 19 years the last picture what I did with Hank Fonda and it was up near there in New Mexico Albuquerque and Stevie said I can't take fire there because too high and you have nice and were pleased even just this just this one more time please think she said know what by him talked around doing we took and once we got there I got on PI and started and I knew the minute I got on him and three weeks after that picture finished he died and Stevie called me and I said you're not gonna send him down and chopped up I said and she said no but bury him so I went out and helped dig the grave and we took blind eye I had a to some fun I've found them on his days off and the Sundays ruin everything painted the picture of Pi and when we got back finished the picture he came over and gave it to [Music] see I played a tough little kid called Mickey McGuire it took two days to shoot so anyway at lunch time to make a long story short I wait at lunchtime I walk down and there's a little alcohol very dank little unclean and I see somebody in the back there that's against Melrose Avenue and I I poked him like any five-year-old what and I said hello and a voice came back and said oh hello who are you and I said I'm Mickey McGuire who are you sir he said I'm Walt Disney hmm why don't you come on in so I walked in and he said come on up on my knee Nick I keep my gonna I looked at this easel he had in front of him and here was this mouse and he said you know I've been drawing this mouse from a couple of years now he's in pictures too and he stopped and he took the longest look at me and he said what did you say your name was I said Mickey McGuire no he said how would you like me to name this Mouse Ricardo in my opinion and I think a lot of other people's opinion you give actors more dignity than they deserve your the the class act of this town I want you to talk about this incredible love story between you and George Anna and when did it when did it first start I was in in my home town in a little home Tommy in Mexico didn't speak English at the time and I saw a picture Paul Alexander Graham Bell Don Ameche Loretta Young Polly Ann young Sally blink of the sister and georgeanna I didn't know and as a child I thought that face that face you know I was very impressed with it so my brother sends me to my brother brings me to Los Angeles studies like benefited from education in this country I'm one day I when I was at a Good Shepherd church in the army after after mass and I'm sitting in my car waiting for the cows to move and opposite me on this side is that face again and there's that facing and she didn't she didn't pay any attention but he's got a look at me a gun so I was doing system and I fell and I lost her are they now 1941-42 I go back to Mexico to work in films and all of a sudden I figure Harper's Bazaar and the cupboard is this face again georgeanna when I cut it out and I came to Los Angeles and we went to a cocktail party I made georgeanna and we made a date for the next night dancing or something went out with her and four weeks later we were married [Music] is that is that you know your Jen and I we didn't know one another about each other we're really in two weeks so it was after you're married when you begin to to know each other and it isn't the same as when you're going with somebody and we have a little argument all sweet on the flowers huh now you're married not the argument it's but you because we both shared the same sort of principles and Hume what I think you go through those little periods and you finally you reach a different level that is more meaningful and no after so many years I love my wife more than the first day I married I love her more than ever I love her more than I respected I all the things would burn through and that makes just a wonderful union I'm very a very fortunate man we'd be right not at Burlington Coat Factory all right I'm gonna play a game guys I I say a name you give me an immediate visceral reaction Jimmy John Ford John Ford's by the class by himself I had great respect admiration John money admired and loved by everybody on the set Otto Preminger fan that Ruggiero painter painter junko discipline discipline Jude havoc hysterical make your OD a bundle of talent Ricardo shirley maclaine professionalism Lena Horne you know that's pretty good reaction yeah the ultimates in taste on that stage our cable unassuming centuries centuries a gazelle Ricky lb mere misunderstood William Holden that man Spencer Tracy lonely jackie gleason hmm Wildman buddy heck a wild new game okay you're going to an island and you could only take one piece of fiction and one piece of music what would you take 10 Chopin waltz and c-sharp why not a book yeah anything by Hemingway Mickey Gone with the Wind that's the music piece of music I'd have to take something by Ravel Rick I would think some of the scene are problems I will take Lena Horne I'm Fred Astaire and fiction a piece of fiction Don Quixote by Cervantes I'm reading it for the fourth time now my little bit more of each other general we have you an idea of what you might think I'd go with making your bonding gone where hey what about music well a lot of good Miller oh yeah from touchstone pictures critics are calling Billy Bathgate the motion picture event of the season it's dynamite it's good on you kid its first class all the way terrific movie making you're my prodigy Dustin Hoffman is brilliant let me explain something to you in plain English and the movie itself is a triumph Dustin Hoffman Nicole Kidman Lorne Dean Bruce Willis Billy Bathgate rated R starts tomorrow at a theater near you it takes about a half hour for a good workout it also takes just 30 minutes to do something for your mind something that helps you see things more clearly make better decisions and feel better about yourself watch the world tomorrow it views today's issues from a different perspective a perspective based on the Bible give your mind a 30 minute workout the world tomorrow is seen Sunday at 8 a.m. on WJXT channel full well I can't thank you guys enough for being here tonight and it was a wonderful evening and I could go on all night and okay thank you feel of being [Music] later on Nightwatch face [Music] [Music]

Channel: The Art Of Legacy

Views: 26,455

Rating: 4.9116464 out of 5

Keywords: Burt Reynolds, Jimmy Stewart, Mickey Rooney, Ricardo Montalbon, Van Johnson

Id: 37VxCoSEZfI

Length: 44min 26sec (2666 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 27 2020