Charles Grodin Is Grumpy on Letterman (20/1/2006)

[Applause] it's always great to have our first guest on the show uh he is uh an actor talented actor and also a playwright i didn't realize he was a playwright uh his latest off-broadway production is entitled the right kind of people did you know this about this is what he wrote this place he's written this play it's called the right kind of people and it begins the previews on january 24th ladies and gentlemen here's charles groden charles [Music] uh good to see you welcome back to the show what have you been up to my friend where you been what's going on what's the down low what's the 4-1-1 what's what's happening charles can you hear me you all right you know i had no idea you had that kind of a singing voice oh thank you thank you very much again i've directed musicals the rich baritone kind of thing i hope that later in the show i don't think you have a musical act tonight do you no no all right maybe maybe we'll do a number let's see how this goes listen i want to say two things you first of all you look tremendous you look just great and happy new year secondly you do you look great secondly we've we've we've missed having you on the show and and i know uh you've been busy but i just want to make sure everything's okay between you and me that we're still you know well 33 years ago i was put under a contract as a an exclusive talk show guest wow by johnny carson 33 years ago yes uh let me ask you uh what were you doing 33 years ago i had a paper route i think i think really in 1973 what were you doing uh i was working in indianapolis indianapolis what's so funny about nothing funny but you're considerably older than i am when you eventually came onto television you appeared on johnny carson yeah several times oh yes were you ever under exclusive contract [Laughter] no no no no zero really no no wonder why not no wonder why not i was bad i was too young not a lot of young people oh is that right actually there were only three people were under contract i didn't realize that about you charles that's fascinating the late great burl lives lives was under contract oh we'll see very few people but i was it's paul i thought you were serious under contract to johnny carson but see this is the kind of fun we have missed not having you around the last couple of years it's this kind of good clean fun let me it's like party fun let me explain exactly what happened and this this actually is true i was on 1973 which is uh i don't know i don't know 33 years ago you said 33 years ago and and i followed my opening uh i was on at seven minutes to one he used to be on until one o'clock yes and yeah and uh and and i followed a medley of this i'm not making this up of diana ross singing her greatest hits and i was an unknown actor that's in my first stop what a great please so you see if you mumble while i'm making my point it's going to everything gets blurred when you're doing that all right i'll just lay out here i'll lay out let me know when you need help i'm not going to need any help you know who needs help yeah what do you mean what do you mean what do you mean you know who needs help well you know i heard that yeah well wait a minute well you just said you know who needs you i'm gonna come back to your point in a minute but who needs help be honest i mean how many times you're out here five times five times five times a week you're gonna look at the table how much time are you out here where be honest it's hard to do five what do you do five nights a week for 37 years or something right yeah but you were never under contract exclusively anyway i couldn't do i couldn't follow diana ross doing a medley of her greatest hits and say i'm very excited about this new movie i mean i just so i developed this act this act of this thing i'm doing right now this disgruntle this irritable this unpleasant guy you know and i developed that right away that's what he liked and it and i kept doing it and i have been doing it until i haven't stopped doing it i'm doing it right now but the problem is i do it to to in a way that people actually because i've actually studied my craft you know and uh and i and i and i do it in a in a in a way that people really and i've heard this all over the place so that in the last couple years i haven't been here i said i don't you know i'm paying a price for this every time someone meets me they think i'm going to be this irritable cranky person that i've been for 33 years on television what can i say something now churlish but you know it's an act yeah i'm just adding another word yeah but it's an act yeah well i don't know i'll take your word for it i i i think you're a pretty angry fellow but that's an act right it's a comedy act comedy act yeah i'm not actually like this i'm doing this because if i didn't do this i'd say well i have a new play opening off broadway that i wrote you didn't realize that i was in there yeah yeah yeah yeah and who cares can i get back in i ran into you one time in real life in a in a deli up in connecticut and you were pretty much the same then as you are on the show the only person in my family and this is true that you ever ran into in real life up in connecticut was my son young man you remember that wasn't me of course you were there it was my wife and my small son who walked over to you this is all liter literally true and he said and he said to you this is i'm not this is not made up and he said hi he was like a little boy of eight or nine nicky all right that's right nikki and he said hi i'm charles grodin's son and this guy says good for you [Laughter] [Applause] [Laughter] [Applause] that's true and my wife was there and she said you know i'm sure he didn't need it to come out as churlish as it came out now how old is your son he's two we should all live and be well i'm going to run into him one day i would love it i would love to for you to meet them and he's going to come over to me and say i'm david letterman's son and i'm going to say how are you honey how are you doing depending on his age i might not say honey depending on how old he is you know but i will embrace him i'll say your father's a wonderful person he's a great humanitarian and and a kind of like a sleazy comic but we you know forget that and the man could sing but i don't i don't think that i meant it i i think i met him like well good for you i mean that's good you don't think so good for you i don't think i said it like that i'm sure you don't yeah all hostility is unconscious i have no reason to be hostile to your son that's how i feel all right all right okay well we'll be right back here with charles grotel [Music] [Applause] [Music] but it's nice to have it yeah yeah no thank you very much charles groton is here and uh jordana jordana jordana brewster jordan i see i get all this no i'm not hostile listen here's a deal uh you know you know they've got this king kong movie out now and it's about a giant monkey that comes to new york city and befriends a young boy and and they go through they have adventures now uh in 19 wait a minute wait a minute what are we going to talk about this play i have opening yeah but first i i just something came to me you you and and was it jessica lange and a tremendous cast also were in king kong and back in was in the 70s 76 76 that's just a minute so share some memories with us your king kong memories when this new kong came along they were like going crazy this is going to be the biggest thing ever which it isn't no and they would always refer to the 33 what they called the original the masters and then they would refer to the 76 the one that jessica lang jeff bridges and i did as oh that cost right right and this has been going on for a long time i think my kong as is deserves more respect right then it's gone i mean there's nothing you know when kong saw jessica lange it didn't take a tremendous amount of acting training for him to go right you know now was your king kong was that a tv movie or was that a hey the good news is now wait a minute we have a clip of you and king yeah we have a clip excuse me don't don't don't touch me we have a clip of you and uh the 1976 king kong take a look charles grodin 1976 wow you you you are so hostile no no no i will say i thought you were great that goes without saying but the the the the the monkey looks more like a bear if i came in late with my kong was that the the ape had better posture than you and me put together he stood up really tall let's let's talk about your uh your broadway uh your broadway play i didn't realize you were i guess of course you did i've been on this show for years telling you the right kind of people what's this all about the right kind of people the right kind of people is about a fifth avenue co-op board in new york co-op board is where you have to go and apply to live in the building that's hell and uh and they look you over and it's very hard there's an article in the paper today actually about how difficult it is a person like you for example would never get in i got i got i got in but i know it's oh no no no no no no i got it i got in you were in a co you're in a co-op building yes i know you went in front of a co-op board and you're in yes and i mean are you serious yes and a revered member of the co-worker what uh are you on the east or west side i'm downtown what do you mean what do you mean what does that mean what is i'm talking about fifth avenue in the seventh oh i'd have no interest in them you would never get in yeah i'd get in no i'll tell you what you don't know i wouldn't want them in i don't want them in that building now i'm talking about the park view on fifth avenue right next door to klaus von bulow's building and you would not get in and i'll tell you what i'll let klaus von bulow in and i can't get in right that's awful well no here's the reason you know the people would say about you you know he's very funny on television he looks like a very jolly guy and all this stuff but if you're ever alone in an elevator with him right which i've never been with you thank god but i have crossed your path backstage and it's one of the most chilling experiences because off camera off camera man for one second off camera this guy he's like on camera because he chews a lot of gum before he comes out he's jolly and he's good that's right but you would not get in and this is this is a play that opens at primary stages there it is right there and it's about uh i served on this fifth avenue board and very early on the first thing i that got me to write think about writing a place when they said uh this the one of the people that wanted to buy an apartment got their clothes off the rack no and i said i get my clothes off the wreck and they said we know and that's when i thought that's when i started they thought i was the most you know uh industrial board member now you you're going to turn the table do not get your clothes off the rack you you have your clothes made for you is that right well i i have i have some things that i wear when i'm on the television when you're on television this suit for example was it made for you did you buy it off the rack no no somebody made this suit for me they did but what about your suit where'd that come from i've never had anything made for me are you sure no i'm not sure yeah but you and you're happy with the fit yeah you know what i have to tell you i don't enjoy him as a personality on television but i do notice that his clothes look like they were made for you know we got to get together and uh run out to dinner one night because you know i've had dinner now with regis and uh you and i and regis we're going to go out at the three of us and we never did but now we should the three of us should go out to dinner i'm serious we should why why you know regis and i were talking with you for like 25 years about having dinner and then you had dinner with regionals it's not me just registered you weren't you were what was it like you have dinner alone with registered deadly dull deadly dog i was surprised it was deadly dull i had dinner with regis saturday night i'm not making this up this past saturday night regis like all day long hey how you doing hey wow by the time he shows up saturday night for dinner he's got a couple little kelly ripa anecdotes then he's like i know [Applause] so i started talking a lot and then he enjoyed who joy really enjoyed just don't give me something gorgeous and don't get that he would leave the table that's what i'm saying because this woman with the leather and then she lights up exactly but she is she is right right uh and he is no it's seriously they're my he's a pretty dear next next to you what'd you say he's a dude i say he's a pretty dim bulb you mean in person well at dinner yeah yeah yeah no nothing no but on television he's a great entertainer and in person you know he's got nothing left you know he's like [Laughter] truly just so he knows because he'll probably see this they're a phenomenal couple they're priceless friends of mine yeah not priceless i mean if you get to check i'll come you know sure but but i love them both and i want them to know that because they're going to you know attack me yeah but the three of us still should go out you're not serious no uh now this i'm very excited about it's the right kind of people previews begin january 24th 24th it's about what happens behind the scenes and the expensive fifth avenue park he's downtown somewhere where anybody can get in he would never get into the building in the kind of buildings on the east side east side of new york park avenue fifth avenue i hope it's a big big hit do you really yeah thank you very much thank you charles ladies and gentlemen we'll be right back

Channel: Gregory Papadopoulos

Views: 47,563

Rating: 4.8907104 out of 5

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Id: foYyZifCJAo

Length: 16min 54sec (1014 seconds)

Published: Sat May 29 2021