Carson Lecture 2011: Bob Uecker

from New York my memories of Johnny always revolve around my dad wearing his green check robe he would always say I have to go to bed I have to go to bed we watch his monologue and then we're going to bed we watch the monologue and say we'll just see the first guy he might do Carnac tonight he might do Carnac let's see if he does Carnac oh let's see if he does Floyd turbo or and then we'd watch technical like okay okay first guess we'll just see the first guess and my dad was always up to the end of the show my first experience of Johnny Carson was he made my dad laugh that was at an age when you really want to make your father laugh and here's this guy who routinely makes my father laugh on TV what I always saw with Johnny Carson was someone who tried to make the guests look good and tried to to the best of his ability helped people now that last number is very catchy really know what is it's got a dump there's an old saying that what's in you comes out on television I said it before when you were first on this show and I mean it I said you are you're going to be something to contend with you're going to be a big star in this business because you are unique and you're different and that was Johnny Carson he listened and he was curious and that made him a good interview his education enabled him to speak with all those people and and be comfortable he was comfortable talking to those people because I think he had a respect for his own intelligence so he had no insecurities about talking to whoever it didn't matter just to make him laugh made you feel good because whether you'd accomplished it but also he just laughed so outrageously he just lost control of himself let's see Johnny bent-over was just something special he just loved jokes he didn't try and second-guess if he even if he thought something was bombing but he thought it was funny he would do it he was a student of comedy and a master of it and but he was he was the total package it's like the famous show with the big guy through the axe remember you know the famous Ed Ames tomahawk thing is or the great lines of all time and television that way you break the microphone you know you keep your arm extended and put only one revolution on the around once around on the way but that's indefinite next using the man's crotch basically Ed Ames walks toward he was so embarrassed and walks toward the tomahawk to get it Johnny takes his hand holds him back because Johnny knew he had two or three lines that would dynamite and he didn't want to spoil he always had that timing and the playfulness and the sense of delight of the unknown of putting one past people he knew how long does it take he doesn't time it he didn't tap his foot and set up a rhythm for himself it's just saying the line when it should be said in the way it should be said I didn't even know you were doing I benefited so much from Johnny Carson existing because I unconsciously for lack of a better word I unconsciously subconsciously consciously steal from him left and right all the time people talk a lot about Johnny Carson and he's become such a icon and he's so revered that sometimes everyone's talking about how amazing he was but they're not telling you why and if you really look at the nuts and bolts of it he kind of oozed the complete package he's physically a great he's great physical comedian a lot of grace great at playing comedic moments the way any great improviser Will Ferrell or Steve Carell would he could play those moments perfectly with the what you know what the Jack Benny takes great at coming up with one-liners off-the-cuff a great ad liver but he was also an intellect I was born in the Midwest I was born in Iowa raised in Nebraska and are you from Nebraska we're from I know Valentine Nebraska what small it is where most towns in Nebraska small how small is it he never forgot his his good friends from his youth ever and our is his Nebraska ties I know that he was one of the most generous man I ever met but all in kind of secret we never heard about it - we read in the paper picked up the paper and say Johnny Carson he never told us he just did it and that exemplifies Johnny Carson the man he didn't show off he was a showman but he didn't show off he just got the job done and you know here it is and the same way about his generosity he didn't want a lot of people to know about that it worked that way because he wanted it to and that's the same thing I think with his relationship with the university is in that he never forgot where he got his beginnings I mean that's part of his part of his heritage I'm sure that's something he wanted to see carried on Nebraska the arts the culture the whole thing I think it's wonderful and it'll do a lot of good and all of you are going to benefit by it all of us are going to benefit by it well let me try to explain it if I could magically somehow that tape you just saw make it run backwards I'd like to do the whole thing all over again I bid you a very heartfelt goodnight good afternoon welcome to the Johnny Carson school theater and film my name is Paul Steiger I'm the director of the Carson school and I'd like to welcome you to the Johnny Carson lecture series the series was created to celebrate the contributions of entertainment icon and UNL alum Johnny Carson when you think of great baseball players a lot of names come to mind Bob Uecker is not one of them is the voice of the Milwaukee Brewers he used to play Major League Baseball rather badly huh Bob Uecker does have some outstanding credentials in professional ball he he played 14 years playing for such teams as Milwaukee st. Louis Philadelphia and Atlanta he does not happen to be in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown he is not allowed to visit Cooperstown as a matter of fact but he's given a lot to the sport some something will occur to me in a moment he was a catcher I don't know if he played for just one team of teams I think a lot of teams for reasons a delta he moved around a lot he moved around quite a bit and he is not one of baseball's immortals but he did play in the major leagues which in itself is something and after hanging up his baseball glove which was mostly unused my first guest by his own admission was not the most successful baseball player who ever lived but he has had big success in his television series mr. Belvedere which is on Fridays at 8:30 is he announcer for the Milwaukee Brewers and he does many many beer commercials would you welcome mr. mr. baseball mr. baseball mr. baseball mr. baseball mr. baseball mr. baseball mr. baseball mr. baseball mr. baseball Bob Uecker thank you very much very nice Wow hey pop thanks so much it's really a great pleasure to have you here something that's really nice our best Wow dessert you know during those introductions Johnny didn't seem to have any end too crazy how and when did you first meet Johnny the first show I did with with Johnny was in 1969 actually before they moved to LA it was in New York and I met Johnny I actually got on The Tonight Show through a through a friend of mine at that time by the name of Al Hirt one of the world's great trumpeters jazz trumpeter out of New Orleans and yeah really beautiful he's a good one and Al and I became friends and he opened a he opened the small nightclub in Atlanta and he asked me if I would come up on stage during his little break that he took and I had been doing speaking stuff and dinners and all that kind of stuff I had never done any big time television I was doing baseball TV for the Braves at that time in Atlanta so uh I go on stage with Al and do my thing for about 15 20 minutes and after the the show was over that night Al and I spent the rest of the evening in a freezer backstage it's a true story at walk-in freezer and Al every once in a while you said take a hit on a you know a bong or something so we we talked in that freezer until it got coal enough where we you know maybe we ought to get out of here and so he told me I was wasting my time doing what I was doing doing these dinners a small dinners and stuff he said I'm gonna get you out of tonight's show sure well about three weeks later I get a call from New York and I went up there and I met one of Johnny's coordinators guy by the name of Craig tennis and he told me they'd be in touch with me and called me back the next week and told me to come back to New York and so I did my first show and we were talking earlier I was telling mark at Tennessee earlier that at the end of that first show I heard Johnny we shook hands to say goodnight and I heard Johnny ask Edie he said that that guy really played baseball I was telling these fantastic stories about how great I was and I you know I really sucked you know but I always tried to make it I made it sound good like I was really good and Johnny at that time wasn't you know he wasn't really in the baseball I mean as we got as we got more and more involved with each other in the shows he actually started to you know pick up a little bit on some of the baseball teams and wins and losses and stuff like that and it went on from there and you know I think the first after the first show I came back three times in the next month and and did three more shows early you know and the one thing that the one thing that Johnny was so good at I mean I'm standing backstage watching that stuff let me brought back so many great memories of some of the shows I was on with some of those guests that you saw he had that knack of you know the facial stuff that he did was so unbelievably funny we were talking earlier tonight or today I should say about some of the bad material that Johnny would do purposely he would he would have these writers these guys would write such crappy stuff for him so he could go on stage he'd go out there and he'd tell these stories that you know he he's looking for a laugh not really but people never laugh and he that gave him the opportunity to do those great that he had you know I mean there were it was truly unbelievable the way he could get an audience and look his eyes up and down back and forth and for about maybe I don't know maybe the first 20 times I was on the show 25 times he had a script you know questions that you know you want to talk about things you've done a little lead-in stuff and one night this is after they had been in California for a couple years um he asked me one night he said do you need this stuff you know I said no I thought it was for you so from then on from then on we pretty much went you know let her go and you see how easy he is I mean to work with he's unbelievably easy to work with great ad-libber and it made it easy for me too because I'd do the same stuff that's the way I operate to and he always gave me that opportunity to let her run you know let it go and I was talking with Paul earlier today about of all the shows and things that I've done I mean I had more fun on The Tonight Show with Johnny doc and and Ed McMahon I a matter of fact a lot of the band members would come over when we were out there playing I would I would be an N I'm doing a game for the Brewers against the angels and I could actually get over to the Tonight Show do the show because it taped earlier than we started the game and get back over to Anaheim and time to do the game and sometimes the band members I'd get those guys with me and jump in a car we come back and they'd sit up in the booth and it went that way for all that time I mean it was one of the great experiences I wish everybody had a chance to be around Johnny to meet him and hang with him you know I mean he was to stand backstage while he's getting on on one of those you know ugly outfits that he used to wear the car salesman guy you know the Incredible Hulk Denis yeah he did the Incredible Hulk the big green guy and I mean to watch him put that stuff on it was funny enough you didn't have to watch him on stage please just be backstage with you well we have a clip from one of your earliest appearances on it's 9:00 show can we can we run that clip somebody gave me some pictures tonight are these some of the highlights sir yes of your career right 14 years how many teams you play with I was with four everybody wanted to take a chance on winning the pennant of course so you get going right team to team right okay I just said I haven't seen these myself I tell you what I'll do I'll hold them up and maybe you can tell us what they're up they see the monitor up there obviously it's a locker room celebration there no this is actually a picture of me getting ready for a game you know no don't believe in waiting too long no I hadn't played in a couple days and to get me ready why they kind of cry me a little bit huh try me up right is that was that actually a penalty and at winning team at all uh no not after that picture was no oh you you were you were you were catcher yes I was chaser chaser that is you down here yes that's me that's my hidden ball trick what happened in that in that particular well I'm sure you've heard the phrase he had his bell rung yes chime for a while so what was it like being a guest on The Tonight Show at that point in your career and what was it like well first of all the first time I went on the show I was scared to death not not nervous about being on the show itself nervous about being good I mean I had done you know other stuff before as you know big dinners at that time you know I did a dinner in front of a thousand people I thought that was pretty good but when you're standing backstage at the Tonight Show and and he's out there doing that mr. baseball stuff and the guys ready to open the curtain and you go you know you're out and I knew I wasn't going back to being a catcher after doing that but but he as I said before he made you feel comfortable all the time no matter what I was talking earlier today about you know there's a lot of times on The Tonight Show which we as an audience don't get to see when certain guests they run out of time and you don't get out you don't you don't you don't do the show now you either stay overnight which I would have had to do because I came from out of town all the time or if somebody is an LA resident or a closeout there you come back the next night never ever did Johnny ever knock me off of one of the shows for somebody else you know somebody that was a movie personality whatever they were anytime that ever happened it happened once were a fairly decent star Billy Barty but he was supposed to be out and I was still backstage and Johnny told Freddy DeCordova at that time that he wanted me out there instead and never ever not one time did he ever ever even come close to to making me come back tomorrow or wait til next week I mean I I had such a great rapport with Johnny I really did we had not only out onstage I'm you know his backstage too you know where we had such a great time and he was he was an easy guy really an easy guy to get along with I mean he could get upset I mean he got upset I remember one particular night I was on with a a woman she was the female Euell Gibbons remember you'll Givens you'll Givens was a guy that ate trees and dirt you know everything else wasn't nailed down or painted he ate it granola it was the beginning of the garden yeah and this woman she smoked a corncob pipe and she had all these things she had picked up outside her motel where she was staying overnight all these pieces of grass and leaves and bark and everything else and on the show that night George Peppard was a guest so he was out first she came out next and she started telling Johnny how much better-looking George Peppard was than Johnny and I'm thinking man this ain't going too good you know and she's got she's got her plate of leaves and everything else that she wanted Johnny to eat which he didn't do but she kept it up you know she kept kind of jabbing at him and she was an older older woman after they went to another commercial break I came out did my thing went to another commercial break and he told me you'll never see her on his show you know I mean he got that upset at her that she tried to I don't know what she was trying to do she wasn't it wasn't very funny what she was trying to do but he got upset her but I mean that been infrequently with Johnny I mean he he pretty much got along with everybody I mean he had such great rapport with with you know big star he didn't care Johnny never cared about stuff like that he was just he was Johnny I mean he was he was Johnny that was it I mean look here Johnny that was how was it that's what you have a another clip from 1973 I'm surprising you with all of these yeah I didn't see this stuff if if you would can you run that clip baseball never seems to change like basketball so much they change the rules all the time are there been significant changes in the game well baseball baseball is making changes every year they have the in the American League now they have the designated hitter I don't understand that well they use a hitter instead of the pitcher hitting John the pitcher never hits as they use a man to hit for the pitcher all the time and I think this would have hurt me too had I been playing now because I guess it's kind of embarrassing to be in the on deck circle and have the manager send a pitcher up to hit for you one but they've made a lot of changes you can't leave your gloves on the field anymore they well I remember the guys that invented the bat I guess 1888 everybody laughed at them too because they changed I used a baseball bat and after about a year there was only about 10 or 12 guys who were still using their fists so that speeded up the game about that oh it did and I think going from the from the leather supporter to a cloth type support I think that speeded up the game no but it changed a lot of things I think years ago years ago the old-timers wearing that leather supporter when you sweat it would expand then when you son a bench would contract again I think this is why like after the game when you you know used to interview these old-timers they have such high pitch boys that's probably why a lot of them retired early so you appeared on The Tonight Show something like a hundred times you did films major league major league - mr. Belvedere a few syndicated television show yeah do you attribute any of that success to your appearances of Johnny having you on the show well I mean anytime any The Tonight Show is the number one show I mean when Johnny was there The Tonight Show was the show I mean any comedian any singer actor actress when you when you made the Tonight Show that was a big deal I never did it as a show business guy I did it for laughs you know I was involved in baseball all the time I was doing all those other things I was doing play-by-play baseball for the Brewers this is going to be my 43rd 44th year coming up now next year it'll be my 57th year in baseball overall next year so but I when I when I went to do the Tonight Show I would fly out there and fly back take a red-eye back to Milwaukee in time to do a game the next day you know so when when I came out there to do the things I did with Johnny I wasn't promoting anything until we got to the mr. Belvedere thing I don't know if you had any clip on that but I actually the first time ever sang on on the mr. Belvedere show the premise of the show I was a sports writer and I was going to change my MO and I was going to become a lounge act so I I go on the show to promote I go into tonight's show to promote our show mr. Belvedere and so Johnny asked me if I could sing give us you know a little sample of what you're going to sing on the show so I said yeah so I song I'm singing is my kind of town Chicago is but it's Pittsburgh because that's where our family and the show was was from so I sang really flat I mean really bad I I mean I really stunk I doing it on purpose so he stopped me he actually stopped me from singing because it was that bad so he said now when is when is a Shogun air I said Thursday so he may believe he had a paper here Thursday bowling he wrote so so then I blamed it on Doc I blamed it on Doc that we didn't have a chance to rehearse and he was playing off-key but that was the only time that I went on there and I did anything to promote something that I was going to do you know with that Belvedere stuff other than that I mean it was it was just let her let her rip you know whatever you wanted to say go ahead and it wasn't as spicy as TV is today you know you had to kind of be careful what you said some of the when I talked about that supporter thing jeez am I going to get you know censored for doing this you know talking about a supporter which was I told a story on there one night about my first game in the major leagues and our manager coming up and asking me if I was nervous or uptight about the game you know as my first game in the big leagues and he's I know your family is here and your relatives he said I don't want you to be uptight you know just go out and do your job I said hey I'm you know I've been in the minor league six years waiting to get here I'm ready to go and he said oh you're in there today I'm going to put you in the lineup and he said by the West by the way the rest of us where that where that supporter on the inside so that was one of the stories that I told I told what Johnny you know and I think all the stuff that I did the stuff that I always tried to do was not laugh you know when I talked to him not to not to laugh myself and I know I could break him up I knew I could get him because he had it you know he loved to laugh and he told me one night on the show he said one of these one of these days one of these nights I'm gonna make you laugh you know not on the show you won't you know backstage anytime but not out here and I think when he looked at you you know he had that you know that look he had in his face all the time but even when I had the chance to sit with him next to him and look face to face and I looked at him like you know what are you laughing at you know I'm trying to tell you a story about my career and you're laughing at so that that meeting laughs more you know and when you look like what you know what do you laugh at oh I'm trying to talk to you you're laughing I mean I play in the big leagues you know so that those were the things that anytime anytime I went any time I went I sit backstage with him before the show started and tell jokes you know we tell stories to each other it was it I had a great relationship with him I really did I enjoyed every time I went out there I don't care if I had to take a red-eye back and work as soon as I got back to wherever we were on the road to do a game I didn't care well I had a chance to be with him and and have some laughs and it was one nice Doc Severinsen who I understand is coming to Lincoln to conduct the Symphony I feel I still see doc once in a while yeah he's a great guy too you guys uh you and Johnny actually started looking a little bit alike there's your that jacket on and now we did things happen yeah we have another clip from a appearance in 1990 can when we run that clip I mean I uh when I broadcast yeah they're a lot of times I work naked in the boots I didn't and you don't want people I don't want I don't mind if a guy comes sure sure but I don't want a lady coming in there and it's it's uh it's a little tough are you gonna watch out when I work like that July and August really hot yeah of course so I want to be comfortable I want to be comfortable right but you have to you got to watch out there in a national anthem and well maybe maybe the seventh-inning stretch otherwise your hurry otherwise you're home yeah that's okay can see so uh okay how about the World Series were you disappointed were you surprised no I picked the Reds Johnny I actually picked the Reds I picked the A's last year come on you pick him in the for game I picked the Reds in four after the series was over and I think a lot of this comes from you you know you stuck that handle on me mr. baseball right so rather than embarrass myself by making a pick a pre-series pick oh I'll wait till after good well very often name kind of holes you know that's right sure so what what did the winning players get this year do you have any idea I'm we share I think a winning share in the series now is around 85 thousand dollars for just 85 85 grand now when you were playing were you in the World Series I didn't mean that to embarrass you I didn't you well you know in 1964 1964 what was what was the share among the players how did well I didn't get one I I heard they got eighty six hundred apiece I thought all the players shared in they well they're you're supposed to but you you have a wonderful wonderful sense of timing and keeping a straight face through all those funny funny lines Johnny had a way of pitching the ball to you and letting you have the punchline and getting the big laugh and then he would do his little reaction to it and get just as big a lie oh yeah now that that's what made Johnny so good that's what made him what he was he never stepped on you never stepped on you he you know what you know the thing about Johnny that was so great Johnny wanted you to be good he wanted you to be good on the show and as I said earlier once we started doing the end living stuff where you just it's like we're sitting here right now shooting the breeze that's what it was with him and you know when you when you hang around a guy like Johnny for as many times as I did you know you kind of get to know each other and sense of timing and everything else and you know one word leads to another one word leads to another thought it's funny sometimes how how weird things come to your mind I mean my mind I know I have a weak mind which which allows a lot of room for idle thought you know but I do the same thing on our broadcasts as as mark will tell you depending on what the game is I mean if we have a good game going I don't I don't mess around you know I I do a straight broadcast and and get excited do the whole thing that you're supposed to do but when when you know it's eight to nothing in the first inning and we haven't hit yet you got a he got to come up with something to keep people listening you know so that's that was the one thing about him that that mean he made you easy you know he made you comfortable really easy yeah it was it was a generous community that's what I'm saying I mean he he wanted you to be good he really did the more the better you were and and the more he laughed you know I mean he genuinely laughed really hard I remember one show that I did we were talking about injuries he asked me about being injured and I told him about this doctor we had that was kind of cheap you know with the team you know even have to pay him a lot of money and I had a hernia and he fixed it and I think he tied me a little tight because like when I go to shake hands with people my leg I said you know I tell them don't know people at staying close to me I don't like to shake hands with people you know because of that I told him one time I know we were talking about a knee injury that I had and I told him there's no scar you know I said the guys today are unbelievable the way they they do the knee surgeries you know years ago and he's telling you know he's doing this thing yeah I know how that was and he saw how what do they do now that you don't have a scar I said they go through your rear end the huge star back there but here there's nothing perfect I'm sure that folks would love to hear about your early times in baseball you signed Pro contract in 56 yes how old were you then I was I just come out of the service I joined the service on our side I signed for a very modest $3,000 bonus at that time which kind of aggravated my dad because he didn't have that kind of money to put out but I actually I actually started my career as a pitcher and I remember my first game that I was pitching that my parents came to it was an old Claire Wisconsin and you know they're excited to see me and I you know having a little bit of a rough time and the manager came out he was going to take me out of the game and I said let me let me pitch to this guy one more time because I had struck him out the last time I faced him and he said I know but it's the same inning yeah you you tend to make light of your career in baseball I did have a little career though you an interesting point you were traded from Milwaukee to the Cardinals st. Louis for two catchers yeah catch her for two yeah Gary Kolb and Jim Coker was the other guy and I remembered going into the the Cardinal clubhouse I went from Bradenton to st. Petersburg as where the Cardinals were training and red chain DS was one of the Cardinal coaches at that time and he told me that Branch Rickey it was the GM of the Cardinals wanted to see me so I go into his office with red and I'm telling you a true story Frank's Rickey he didn't even say hello to me he said I wouldn't give one Gary Kolb for a hundred Bob Uecker I think that's the first thing he said so I called him I said well you're a decrepit old man and I left I walked out you know I read said what would you say that for he's what'd he say that for you know but he he didn't want to make the trade Tim McCarver the other catch of the regular catcher and and Branch Rickey really didn't want to make the trade I think they got me cuz I could throw I couldn't hit that much you know I wasn't I wasn't all that great hitting I always thought a swing and a Miss was or foul tip was really good but what I wound up that was in 1964 what a year to come to the car yeah we won the the world's championship that year and I contributed to that you know finally finally something positive I remember being divine who was the cards general manager at that time told me for the series that he wanted me to do a favor for the Cardinals where he thought I could really help the club and hey you know I'm in what do you want and he said we'd like to inject you with hepatitis so we can bring up another player's I said um you know will I be able to sit on the bench he said oh yeah you know having those plastic things you can sit in there I mean the yellow color of my skin on that white Cardinal uniform I've looked really good but yeah that was we got our World Series rings I think that's the one thing that every player I don't care what the sport is you know a championship ring a world's championship ring and I remember the following season they handed out the Rings at home plate everybody goes up there and he get your ring and they threw mine in the left field I found it like in the fifth inning I kept going on it was different a little different than the other guys rings which I thought made me special too had a little compartment on the top you could open it up picture of Roy Rogers in there pretty cool you got to play with Bob Gibson in Omaha Nebraska native one of my favorite all-time people yes tell me a Gibson story uh I tell you one story with Gibby Tim McCarver as I said was the the other catcher Gibby was mean he was one with meanest guys I've ever been around in my life only on days when he pitched when he worked he didn't want to talk to anybody and especially opposing players I mean he was unbelievably tough and I remember one particular game where Tim McCarver walked out to to talk to Gibby and give him a little bit of a breather and when he got to the mound Bob Gibson said what do you want out what are you doing out here what do you want the only thing you know about pigeons you can't hit it get out of here you know okay so I I talked about an incident that I had with Gibby where I went out there to talk to him and he said you know he growled at me he's always grumpy what do you wanted nothing I'm going out to centerfield to see Curt Flood he didn't like the other teams either be opposed I'm telling you on days he pitch he didn't like anybody his family he didn't like anybody I mean he was he was an unbelievable competitor he's a great athlete Gibby was a great athlete yeah mm-hmm Willie Mays he said really oh yeah will remains well because Givi threw so hard and and back in those days things have changed a little bit I don't I don't ever like to see anybody get hurt bad you know made by a by a pitch you know we we talk about knockdown pitches and and things like that today you and I were talking about this earlier today if players did back then what they do today when they hit a home run stand there and watch it I guarantee you the next guy up is going and that guy with the home run the next time he's going and I mean they did it that was just the way baseball was back back in the you know the 40s 50s 60s and Don Drysdale who was one of the great Dodger pitchers of all time Don Drysdale had had a theory if you hit one of their guys two year guys were going I mean it was two of you for one of them and not that's the way it was and Willie Mays Willie Mays always wanted to talk to Gibeon days at gibby pitched he'd always want to talk to gigging hey how you doing yeah they're big hi boy maybe give me wouldn't even talked it wouldn't turn around wouldn't look at him nothing cuz there was going to be a time in that game when Willie was going down I mean he was rushing back high and inside that way that was just part of baseball at that time you know it and again I don't I don't want to see anybody get hurt really badly but there are those times when you know you're you getting your brains beat out out there and you got to do something part of home plate belongs to you as a pitcher you know whether it be the middle to the outside and when you have guys reaching out and hitting balls that are on the outside part of the plate hitting four home runs the right-field somebody's got to be moved you know you have to guys off the plate and the way to do that is to throw up and in and and that's that's the thing that's changed a little bit in baseball today where sometimes got out of hand I knows a lot of a lot of the scuffles and fights that happened in baseball back in those years happened because somebody got hit and it was on purpose they still do it today I mean though they deny it managers denied pitchers deny they do it I mean it's human nature when you're getting beat up as badly as some pitchers get beat up sometimes and the teamers is getting really knocked around human nature says you got to do something about it you know and that and for the most part it's brushing somebody back or hitting somebody than the other team retaliates it and it's the umpire coming out and saying the next guy who throws at somebody or hit somebody is out of the game there are those times when you see guys come in and hit somebody because they know they're going out anyway and they that's the way they do it football you've got these defensive backs I mean they're they're trying to tear you apart these wide receivers that run out there and and catch these passes in in in areas that are covered and if they keep doing it I mean that guy's going to try and wipe you out I mean he really wants to hurt you to get you out of there that's just the nature of sports I mean you're you're being paid these tremendous amounts of money today as mr. Antonov I will tell you and you know there's a lot of money involved in sports today and you have it happenss that's just the way it is that's human nature as I said before so you go from catching Bob Gibson to catching Phil Niekro yeah that was a throw the knuckleball unbelieva Phil Niekro is a knuckleball pitcher and you know it's really funny people make such a big deal out of catching the knuckleball I found the easiest way for myself to catch it was to wait until it stopped rolling and then just pick it up yeah that was that was a feat in itself he went on to become a hall-of-famer and that was my job Joe Torre didn't want to do it and couldn't do it he was the other catcher with the Braves at that time and I had caught Phil Niekro in the minor leagues when I first came up with with the Braves in Milwaukee that was a long time ago Phil was a minor league pitcher I was in the minor league so we knew each other and and not that I was a great knuckleball catcher but I at least knew him and when I got traded back to Atlanta from Philadelphia my second time around with the Braves that that was why I was brought back to specifically catch Phil Negro and and save Joe Torre the embarrassment of doing it you know how did you get into commercials I mean you're perfect you do everything you did was wonderful uh you know I this this is story that happened in Milwaukee with with our owner at that time who's now the Commissioner of baseball Bud Selig the the Miller Brewing Company had put together that series of commercials with ex-athletes you had to be an ex-athlete you couldn't use an active guy because of alcohol so the brewery had come to me a couple of times I had already you know I've been doing it tonight shows and stopped making other appearances and they wanted to use me in one of the commercials and our beer sponsor at that time was taps blue-ribbon so I said no to the brewery three times and then the fourth time they asked me I thought I don't think they're going to do this many more times ask me so I went to bud and I talked to bud and I said if I can't do these spots I'm ready to leave you know I'll go someplace else but I think I'm making a mistake if I don't do this so he told me to go and he went with me we talked to the people at paps and they said that they didn't use you know any kind of celebrities in there which I wasn't at that time anyway but they didn't use them in their commercials he said they'd be willing to have me call on beer distributorships as we moved around the country oh wow man what a great so bud told me to go ahead and do it and he and he said we'll see what happens with with with Miller and paps and I go do the first spot I did was the where I couldn't get in the bar I got locked out and couldn't get in and Miller eventually became our number one sponsor we have Miller Park in Milwaukee it's not Pabst Blue Ribbon Stadium it's Miller Park you know so I went on and did those and and I did a lot of stuff with Johnny Bench we did paint commercials and but the Miller spots were those were those were really fun it was like being on a team again speaking of those yes speaking of those we have a small collection of those and just if you're not familiar with them in one of the more popular ones Bob you're walking it shows you walking to your seat and an usher and you're very excited about watching the game from a 5th row aisle and and the usher comes up and says look I'm sorry sir you must be in the wrong seat and Bob looks to the camera and says oh I must be in the front row well then they cut away to information on on beer and then the next time we see him he's sitting up in the farthest seats away from the feel and and basically way way way to heck up in the nose museums so from then on basically any arena you go to any ballpark you go to they basically refer to those euchre seats yeah so and even now Miller Park it's one dollar right to get into the uterus yeah they have seats for a dollar yeah well I know that that we have some people up there in our euchre seeds and for being well for being a special guest up there in the u k-- receipts we wanted to provide you with the ultimate collection of carson DVDs so you all will receive a DVD I hope you enjoy that there were a few though that were more serious and and literally tried to focus a little bit more on making a difference and you and Johnny were very similar in that way and supporting causes that helped individuals that might not be or that may be less fortunate than us we put together a few of those so so can we please run those commercial clips we're here at the 18th hole of this light beer open and we've seen some real unusual shots today you said it I'll see I must want to hit it through this tree some problem bird are you gonna get on this with that calls for another light beer for Miller take it two three four it's a good thing lights less filling John the less players approaching the tee when it goes for a hundred yourself I won't be long girl hold my calls Rhea hit the water way it turns it's right this comes out strong on the green like beer familiar everything you always wanted in a beer unless this open ought to be closed well did you ever in your wildest dreams imagine that those commercials would be so so popular you know it was like being on a team again with all those guys the the shoots were unbelievably funny and long and you know as I said being back with a team and with these guys who are all X players some Hall of Famers a lot of Hall of Famers it was a week of insanity as what it was that's how long is take to shoot a reunion spot they did one reunion spot every year and then you would do your individual stuff but a reunion spot that that that diving scene when we did it that I don't know a lot of you ever saw the movie the Poseidon Adventure that tank where we shot the underwater stuff was where they had all of the superstructure work for that ship and I saw you had a clip of Shelley Winters on here earlier with Johnny her swimming through all that's up that's what we did that spot where I was underwater and I had three divers down there with me and each time when we first started first started when I first came to the to the shoot I get out of a limo you know the driver doesn't even open the door for me you know same old stuff you treated like crap I walk up to you know where I'm supposed to go in nobody pays any attention to me I go over to where we're going to do the shoot the divers are betting that I'm going to die oh this stuff is all Norwood use these little film vignettes to add a function where you wouldn't have to talk as long so when I get down there in the tank each time I'd go to swing the golf club and I had weights on each time I I'd start to go up in the air and I mean I'd start to go up in the water so they put stuff down on the bottom where I could stick my feet in and stay down that way then the divers would swim out of the shot I would suck air for a little while you know get enough air and then do the shot again and we were down there I don't knows man or maybe a half an hour 40 minutes something like that to to do that thing but any any of the stuff that we did like that I always wanted to do it myself I didn't you know to use a double I don't want to do that I I'm I'm I could do it I know I could do it I enjoyed doing that kind of stuff and any any of the things that I did I always did it myself you know I didn't didn't want anybody doing something I didn't think they could do it the way I would do it that basically what it boiled down to what we have on there's another series of two commercials that I want to run kind of together and this is one that's a little bit more serious and then that one that you're just talking about yeah so can we run those two commercials together one right after the other Thanks light beer all stars have all had their ambitions like going to Super Bowl are the World Series but Jay and Joey have an even greater ambition they'd like to do the things other kids can do but they have cerebral palsy so we're helping them and others like them you can too every time you buy light beer from Miller in February light will make a donation to United Cerebral Palsy to give them a chance the rest of us is take the first step look for this display wherever Light beer is sold and help us fight cerebral palsy one of my bigger day will be buy a beer sure how these fans I love them when I came in they didn't recognize me at first but then when I told them who I was next thing you know they're buying me my favorite beer Light beer familiar they know our sex big leaguers drink light because it's got 1/3 less calories than their regular beer it's less filling and it tastes great thanks hey it's a pleasure to buy a beer for a great pitcher like whitey Ford so I lied like beer from Miller everything you always wanted in a beer unless hey what if thought you were lefty oh that's right yeah thanks that that ad campaign it's the longest-running ad campaign in advertising history that ran for 17 years those uh those Miller Lite spots there were there were a lot of fun at a good time you also became involved with the World Wrestling Federation tell me about that I I did WrestleMania three and four and Vince McMahon who's a good friend and runs the WWE or WWF whatever it is and Dick Ebersol the governor been BC sports for such a very long time worked with Vince on the wrestling part of it and in the in the first match that we had that was at the Pontiac Silverdome it's the largest indoor crowd ever for a sporting event ninety-three thousand people they had for that thing and I got a chance to be choked by Andre the Giant which was kind of fun he I had let's see I had Mary Hart she was my ring girl in WrestleMania 3 and then WrestleMania for was Vanna White but in WrestleMania 3 Jesse Ventura who became governor of Minnesota I don't know how what a shop that woman she he me and him are having a fake argument of course as to who's going to take out Vanna White I think it was a second one anyway I'm to I'm to be downstairs and Andre the Giant is down there raving about Hulk Hogan and you know he's going to beat Hulk Hogan in the whole nine yards and so I walk up and I asked him if he's seen Vanna White because I was looking for ban away and he starts talking to me about he don't care about Vanna White you know you don't do it and all of a sudden II grabbed me he choked me it was really funny because I wasn't expecting it he wasn't supposed to do that but it turned out to be one of the funny things in that whole wrestle me anything and it's it's you know it's on their website and everything else it's funny but he was such a giant that guy was he was like almost 8 feet tall 7 7 whatever he was weighed 560 pounds just a huge huge guy and the Wrestling Federation at that time he was going to getting kind of old and he in alcohol and wrestled for the championship and Hulk you know one and beat him and then Wrestlemania for was Randy Savage I mean these guys are unbelievable athletes no matter what you think about wrestling they're unbelievable athletes huge strong and last last last winter I I wind up being inducted into the World Wrestling Hall of Fame and when I went out on stage Dick Ebersol introduced me he was my guy to introduce me and before I went out there I didn't know what I was going to talk about I mean it's like we're talking here today to shooting the breeze and Vince McMahon asked me what I was going to talk about I said I don't really know so before I went out they inducted a Japanese wrestler his name was a okie I believe and he talked 99% Japanese you know and they were showing it on a screen what he was talking about man here's my out you know I'm going to go out there and say I can't believe this guy used all my stuff and it worked but it worked I can't believe he did that I can't believe he said that how do you know that you know so it worked good but that was one of the I don't know if a lot of people now you couldn't know this I got inducted into the sausage Hall of Fame a couple years ago mark knows one of our big sponsors in Milwaukee I've been promoting sausage for a long time so yeah I got inducted into that and I walked on stage wearing a casing sausage casing looking Pike - looking real good but uh yeah no I I'm you know what I like to have a lot of fun I have a good time no matter what I do and um I'm thankful that you know I had a couple of health problems last year that you know I encourage people to to go get checked out I had you know something that you're never aware of because if you're if you're a workout kind of a guy you're doing your health stuff and you know you go for a checkup and somebody tells you something that's a little bit shocking Wow and then when you have to do it twice and then three times you know it gets you know you start wondering how long you got to got to go but you know I did a good job great job and I'm back feeling really good and working a full schedule know I'm doing great I'm doing good were you were you a bit like me I for 40 years I got up every morning well nearly every morning and said I'm going to work and I love what I do I just absolutely love it I just such a wonderful break to be able to do that for that yeah I it I'm a swimmer and I developed a leaky valve a valve that wouldn't shut on my aorta and the doctors encouraged me to keep swimming and they said eventually it's going to have to be taken care of which they did did that got a staph infection later on that ate a hole in one of the valves that they put in so they had to go in and do it over again but again it what are you gonna do about it there's nothing you can do about it not a thing I mean either you do that or you take a dirt bath you know one of the what do you what are you most proud of I would think the Ford Frick award would be yeah the Hall of Fame was nice I mean that really is I mean um I'd still think I should have went in as a player but that you know it lets you know that that people recognize you for for something other than being a player or being funny that you're pretty good at what you do as far as a broadcaster goes I it's really funny when they told me that I was going to do this thing you only have so many minutes to talk anyway when you're up there so they asked me the Hall of Fame people said we want you to do what you do you know I said well how long do you have for me he said six minutes ice I can't do it in six minutes I can't I can't do that hey so how long do you need I said give me 12 13 minutes I you know I can I can well when I did it I don't know I talked for like 20 and and I mean I did just what I'm doing here you know and I mean I President Bush was sitting down in front of me and I mean I was breaking his chops and this is telling all these all these stories that made me sound really good when I wasn't you know just just doing the same thing I mean if I would talk about ordering bats from Louisville Slugger and they'd come back with a handle or each end I wanted flame treated flame treated bats they'd send a box of ashes or you know the tremendous amounts of money that sporting goods companies would pay me not to be seen with their equipment all all of those things you know when I when I'm when I'm working when I'm working and you know doing my thing that's that's what I talk about I mean it's last year we're mark and I were talking on the ride over here today and I'm thankful to him too for coming along with me here today and being here last year at we had the dedication ceremony for a statue for bud selig was that last year last year before yeah and lesson so I know it was summer yeah yeah summer of 2010 right so we're we're having this dedication ceremony at the ballpark and I'm emceeing and Mark is up there going to introduce a buddy and talks about bud and his education and ownership and I believe I referred to him it's the Commission Commissioner become he refers to his buddy I called how buddy al but a yeah when when he got mark introduced him he mentioned buddy had a bachelor's degree in whatever it was history history so when I got back up there and you know stuff like I said before weird things come to my mind I don't know why what they do and I got back up there to continue on with the show and I turned around I told mark that I had two bachelor's degrees two divorces so that put me one up on buddy you know but no I mean it's it's the whole scenario there with he's one of the great friends that I have he really is and a great owner and and I mean a great guy for the City of Milwaukee and I'm not blowing smoke at him no I feel this and everybody in Milwaukee does too he's a he's one of the best people that I've been around I mean charitable whatever you whatever you need when when we first talked about this coming out here early in season I don't know June May or June whenever it was summer he was he was on he said I want to go with you you know I said God that would be great so I mean this morning he flew over from LA and jumped on with him in Phoenix and we flew here today and we're going back tonight but he he's one of the best he really is good a great family guy and you know when it's not hard to be good when you hang around with with people like Mark Richt I'm not blowing smoke at him I told us many many times I want to be I want to be like him someday I really do I we just we just mark we're chatting about this on the airplane on the way over here we just bought a team in Milwaukee myself Robin Yount a few of our other players bought a minor-league team it's going to be an independent team they're called the lakeshore Chinooks and start playing next season and as I became an owner I told somebody the other day I said the first thing I did I got a charter airplane it's an ultralight okay it only carries myself I can't take anybody with me but I can't wait to ride that baby around yeah well we have to close this part of the entertainment today so I want to thank Dave Weber from WOWT in Omaha helped me out it's been great to have you here on campus with us thank you i especial and I want to thank Mark for getting Bob here for wrangling him in keeping track of them okay great I agree and I especially want to thank Bob Uecker for being here for the course Carson lecture it's been such a pleasure talking I did want to let you know though that we have a rather special recognition for you and we hope that you will accept this with great pride excuse me just second I have to get it this proclamation states the great Navy of the state of Nebraska nohe that reposing special trust and confidence in the patriotism valor fidelity and abilities Bob Uecker and knowing you to be a good person and a loyal friend and counselor I have nominated and do appoint you an admiral in the great Navy of the state of Nebraska you are you are therefore called to diligently discharge the duties of animal by doing and performing all manner of things here - belonging and I do strictly charge and require all officers semen tadpoles and goldfish under your command to be obedient to your orders as Admiral and this commission to continue in force during the period of your good behavior and at the pleasure of the chief Admiral at the great Navy of the state of Nebraska given under my hand this 4th day of November 2011 signed and sealed by governor dave Heineman state of nebraska we have one more special item of business to take care of and at this point I'd like to ask it is to be patient and to welcome Chancellor Harvey Perlman to the stage good to meet you Frankie this is a big day for the Nebraska Navy the I guess so the governor just gave five of them to actual Admirals in the US Navy about a half hour ago you're in good company but thank you Paul in November of 2004 I stood on this very stage to help announce a very special gift from a very special alumnus of the University of Nebraska mr. Johnny Carson at that time the department of theater performing arts was renamed the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and film this historic gem of our campus the temple building was renovated and expanded and a special endowment was created to give students wonderful new opportunities in theater film in broadcasting little did we know back then that just how transformative mr. Carson's gift would be UNL theater program dates back more than a hundred years and has a strong tradition of training actors designers playwrights and directors in 1999 we created a film and new media program within the department to develop the next generation of filmmakers screenwriters directors and special-effects artists Johnny Carson's generous gift to the University that gave him a foundation in speech and radio right here in the basement of the temple building has taken the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and art and film to a whole new level of excellence in just a short seven years recent accomplishments of our students include earning national fellowships from the Kennedy Center's American College theater festival and Landing prestigious internships in both theater and film our Carson school faculty include two Emmy Award winners and an Oscar nominated production designer one of the unique projects funded by the Carson endowment has been the creation of the Carson film theater series which pairs professional filmmakers with our students and faculty to create a short film the project literally involves the entire Carson School it's 125 students as well as the Department of art and art history the School of Music and the College of Journalism and mass communications the Carson School recently completed the first film in the series and has begun pre-production on the second film in this series no other school in the country is doing anything like that this summer the university of nebraska-lincoln officially became a member of the Big Ten Conference and the Committee on institutional cooperation I can tell you that the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and film and its resources through the Carson endowment are the envy of our Big Ten counterparts today we celebrate the next chapter in this story and to tell us that chapter I'd like to introduce Terry Fairfield vice-chairman of the University of Nebraska foundation Thank You Chancellor Pearlman Johnny Carson enjoyed a long and loyal relationship with the University of Nebraska starting with his undergraduate days and culminating with the naming of the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and film we have always enjoyed claiming Johnny as one of ours it's been even more exciting when he claims us as his by naming the University the place of his largest and most consistent philanthropy over the years we have enjoyed many memorable moments with Johnny certainly one of the most exciting was the Kennedy Honors Program in Washington DC in 1994 the university was asked to participate in the celebration and as you will tell from this film Club Johnny was surprised and delighted this has been a pretty good year for the state of Nebraska the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers are the nation's top ranked football team and one of her sons was named to receive the Kennedy Center Honors Johnny Carson has been very quietly revealing it here tonight very generous to the University over the years and a few of the students just wanted to come here tonight and say Thank You Johnny as wonderful as that moment was nothing can compare to the October day in 2004 when I received a call from Johnny that forever changed the theater program at this university it was an exciting call an exciting day and I looked forward to sharing Johnny's message to all everyone as you could tell from this clip as all of you know Johnny Carson came from Norfolk Nebraska and attended the University of nebraska-lincoln while here he very quickly became known as the Entertainer on campus as he studied theater arts comedy and radio in fact his very first radio broadcast was right here from the temple building throughout his life he has commented often on the value of his education here and its importance in his success and he has expressed that appreciation in many ways initially in 1977 when the foundation conducted its very first capital campaign Johnny Carson endowed a scholarship fund to this date over a hundred and seventy nine scholarship grants have been awarded from that fund again in 1987 he and his wife Alex and brother dick and sister kit and their spouses attended a football game and we then toured the then under construction lead center performing arts that was Johnny's second major gift and for that gift the black box theater was named in his honor our recent conversations have focused on a third project and I'm delighted to share with you this morning the Johnny Carson has made a gift commitment of 5.3 million dollars to the Hickson League College of Fine and Performing Arts this gift will be used to expand and renovate the temple building and to create a 1 million dollar endowment for the theater following Johnny's death just a few months later from that event the University received an additional five million dollars from his estate its purpose was to endow the program of theater of film and of broadcasting all of Johnny's interest and as Chancellor Perlman mentioned earlier it truly can't transform the program today we are especially pleased to have members of the John W Carson Foundation with us I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce Jeff shot saying who is Johnny's nephew and president of Carson production and also Larry Witt sir who is Johnny's longtime friend and an advisor a third member Allen Alexander was not able to be with us Jeff and Larry are here to share another historic moment today I'm delighted to announce the John W Carson Foundation has made a gift of 1 million dollars to create endowed scholarships for students enrolled in the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and film continuing Johnny's commitment to students and loyalty to the University I'll ask him to stand together when we get the house lights on a Jeff and Larry you weren't able to be with us when we celebrated the tribute to Johnny in Washington DC at Kennedy honors or when we announced the extraordinary gift that resulted in the naming of the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and film but we're delighted you here today to share with us this great announcement of 1 million dollars to support endowments and we appreciate the trustees votes to to generate that support for us it gives us an opportunity though to give you a taste a bit of Husker magic if you will Johnny certainly always felt it and he always believed there is there was no place there is no place like Nebraska both Oh I Jeff Thank You Larry for your continued support these scholarships mean so much to us I'd like to thank the UNL marching band and all of you for coming today for the public who are here today we are having a reception out in the lobby right now if you'd like to take a few moments to head on out there you can have a chance to thank Jeff and Larry for their kindness to the school for the students and the faculty and the staff of the Johnny Carson school I ask that you all remain here in the room we'd like to get an opportunity to take a picture it's rare that we get a chance to take a picture of all the students and this is an opportunity to get us with the marching band and everyone else so please the public please enjoy the reception will be out in just a few minutes thanks so much for coming

Channel: University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Views: 700,799

Rating: 4.6646318 out of 5

Keywords: Johnny, Carson, University, of, Nebraska, Bob, Uecker, Carson School, Hixson-Lied

Id: Wy5T--L9g-k

Length: 86min 37sec (5197 seconds)

Published: Thu May 10 2012

Reddit Comments

[u/orangutan9]

follow that with his best radio bit ever......the time they realized they were staying at the same hotel as a furry convention....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T291jwBFLvA

[u/[deleted]]

My favorite story about Ueck. NSFW.