The Joe Rogan Experience - Joe Rogan Experience #1305

00:00:01.000 We're live, ladies and gentlemen.

00:00:03.000 What's up?

00:00:03.000 It's hilarious seeing the two of you guys together.

00:00:06.000 When your son told me, when he told me he was your son, first of all, he instantly became my friend.

00:00:11.000 And second of all, I was like, what is it like having John Witherspoon as a dad?

00:00:16.000 That's gotta be crazy!

00:00:18.000 But mind you, I only told you because he was asking me, because I go to the clubs all the time, hanging out and whatnot, and, you know, just kicking it with friends.

00:00:24.000 And he said, who's at the club, Nat Davis?

00:00:28.000 He was like, JD, who is it that...

00:00:30.000 Who the bringer there?

00:00:32.000 Who the funny one?

00:00:33.000 And I was like, I mean, there's a bunch of them.

00:00:35.000 I said, Joe's always there.

00:00:37.000 He's got a bunch of people who come to his show.

00:00:38.000 He's like, Joe Rogan.

00:00:39.000 I'm like, I know Joe.

00:00:40.000 That's my man.

00:00:41.000 My man, Joe.

00:00:42.000 We worked together when I was at the comic store.

00:00:44.000 And he told me to say hi.

00:00:46.000 Yeah.

00:00:47.000 Last time I saw you, I think, was Caroline's in New York.

00:00:50.000 We were doing, I was doing like the 8, you were doing a 10 or something like that?

00:00:54.000 No, I would do two shows, but it probably was on a Thursday, you probably did.

00:00:59.000 Something was happening, we were doing it close to each other.

00:01:01.000 It was a long time ago.

00:01:02.000 It was a long time ago, like maybe 15 years ago.

00:01:02.000 Yeah, a long time ago.

00:01:05.000 Yeah, oh yeah.

00:01:06.000 I haven't been there in a while.

00:01:07.000 I haven't been to New York in a while.

00:01:10.000 I stopped going to New York for about a second.

00:01:11.000 Caroline's a weird one.

00:01:13.000 Have you done Caroline's?

00:01:13.000 I haven't done Caroline's.

00:01:14.000 It's like a touristy place.

00:01:16.000 All tourists.

00:01:17.000 And foreigners.

00:01:18.000 It feels like you're doing stand-up in New York.

00:01:23.000 It feels weird.

00:01:24.000 Oh, yeah.

00:01:25.000 It feels like what people want New York to be, but they're from somewhere else.

00:01:28.000 Like a good percentage of them are.

00:01:29.000 Guatemala.

00:01:30.000 But it's great.

00:01:31.000 It's a great club.

00:01:33.000 Oh, yeah.

00:01:33.000 But it's just, you know, it's different than The Cellar or, you know.

00:01:37.000 Dangerfields is my favorite.

00:01:38.000 Joey Diaz was just down there and he said he did Dangerfields like five, six nights.

00:01:42.000 I never did Dangerfields.

00:01:43.000 Nobody does Dangerfields.

00:01:45.000 It's half full all the time.

00:01:45.000 No.

00:01:47.000 It's amazing.

00:01:48.000 They're still around.

00:01:49.000 Yeah, they're still around.

00:01:50.000 Somebody's got to be selling coke.

00:01:52.000 Somebody, somebody, yeah.

00:01:54.000 Or somebody must be on coke all the time.

00:01:56.000 They keep that place like that.

00:01:58.000 Well, the name alone probably brings people in, but it's an iconic place, man.

00:02:02.000 Yeah.

00:02:03.000 I like New York.

00:02:04.000 I haven't been back since Letterman gone.

00:02:07.000 I don't go do his show anymore.

00:02:09.000 I haven't been to Carolines in about three years, four years.

00:02:12.000 But you do a lot of clubs in the room.

00:02:14.000 We were talking about that before.

00:02:15.000 Oh, I do 40-something clubs.

00:02:17.000 Wow.

00:02:18.000 40 clubs a year?

00:02:19.000 You know, my agents come to my house in January, and they tell me all the clubs I got that year.

00:02:26.000 They tell you what date we go over it.

00:02:28.000 We go over every one of them.

00:02:30.000 All right, June 15th, in case you're going to be in so-and-so.

00:02:33.000 Y'all like the money we're going to get?

00:02:35.000 Yeah, okay, that's good.

00:02:36.000 That's a go.

00:02:37.000 That's a go.

00:02:37.000 So we do 40-something clubs.

00:02:39.000 I said, man, this is too much work.

00:02:40.000 I ain't been 52 weeks in a year.

00:02:42.000 Yeah, that's crazy.

00:02:43.000 I got to have some time off.

00:02:44.000 Yeah.

00:02:45.000 What about me?

00:02:46.000 Y'all worry about this money.

00:02:48.000 But when you have time off, all you do is complain about not being on the road.

00:02:52.000 I complain about people telling me what to eat, what to drink.

00:02:56.000 Oh my goodness.

00:02:57.000 I like to get me a little taste every now and then.

00:03:01.000 Everybody need a little taste.

00:03:03.000 That's what I'm saying.

00:03:04.000 Everybody need to keep the wolf off your back.

00:03:06.000 That's right.

00:03:08.000 So I give me a little taste.

00:03:10.000 The real problem is that travel, though.

00:03:12.000 That's what we're talking about.

00:03:12.000 Oh, that's too much.

00:03:13.000 The air travel over and over and over again.

00:03:16.000 And then we were freaking out about 837s, and you were explaining to us that mostly they use them in overseas and some southwest.

00:03:23.000 And in African countries.

00:03:25.000 And in Asian countries, they use them.

00:03:28.000 Well, they had like two planes that just got lost, right?

00:03:31.000 One from Malaysia and all the other ones.

00:03:34.000 I think that's all pilot.

00:03:35.000 Pilot doing all that.

00:03:36.000 Lex Friedman is a software engineer, and he specializes in AI. He's a professor at MIT. And he was explaining to me, basically, the software glitch was making it nosedive.

00:03:46.000 Yeah.

00:03:47.000 What?

00:03:48.000 That's not something I would want to hear.

00:03:50.000 Not when I paid $2,200 to get in my seat.

00:03:53.000 Well, if you're a software engineer, you would have to up the pilot or co-pilot to let them know, like, hey, someone has to...

00:04:00.000 Obviously, they all know what they're doing in the cockpit, but does someone know what to do if the computer's gone?

00:04:05.000 That's a really good question.

00:04:07.000 Do they have any training in how to reboot computers?

00:04:09.000 Or is there a bypass or a workaround for the computers?

00:04:13.000 Lex does artificial intelligence.

00:04:14.000 That's mostly what he does.

00:04:15.000 He works on cars, autonomous cars and planes and stuff.

00:04:19.000 As these things get more and more updated, you just have...

00:04:24.000 It happens all the time with your phone, right?

00:04:24.000 Glitches happen.

00:04:26.000 You get a new bug, and Twitter will just crash on you all the time, and they release an update.

00:04:31.000 But if you're on a fucking plane...

00:04:33.000 What are you doing?

00:04:34.000 Yeah, and how do you react?

00:04:35.000 How do they practice it?

00:04:37.000 Wow.

00:04:38.000 You'd have to go through a flight simulation of, hey, there's a bug in the plane, here we go.

00:04:43.000 How do they run over all that software before they put it on a plane?

00:04:46.000 You know, they had...

00:04:47.000 The plane that crashed...

00:04:50.000 What was the last plane crashed?

00:04:51.000 That was where?

00:04:52.000 In Africa?

00:04:53.000 I don't know.

00:04:54.000 There was two in short...

00:04:56.000 Was one Russia?

00:04:57.000 No, it wasn't Russia.

00:04:59.000 I think it was in Africa.

00:05:01.000 Anyway, those pilots are trained to the end, to the hilt.

00:05:05.000 They train those pilots.

00:05:07.000 But they don't know themselves, some of the guys who's training people, what the heck's going on.

00:05:12.000 It was a pilot that was off work...

00:05:28.000 Jesus Christ.

00:05:32.000 He's the only one who knew what to do on the planet.

00:05:34.000 Imagine being in that fucking plane, watching that guy, looking down the aisle, watching that guy walk into the cockpit.

00:05:40.000 Yeah, what are you doing?

00:05:41.000 You don't see no one.

00:05:42.000 They protect that.

00:05:44.000 They put the food cart in front of the...

00:05:46.000 Yeah.

00:05:47.000 Is that food cart stopping anybody?

00:05:49.000 But they got a bolt on the door.

00:05:49.000 No.

00:05:51.000 Yeah.

00:05:51.000 All those doors in the cockpit.

00:05:53.000 But the pilot is in the bathroom taking a boo-boo.

00:05:55.000 Yeah.

00:05:56.000 That's what that is.

00:05:57.000 They don't have their own pilot's bathroom?

00:05:58.000 No, no, no.

00:06:00.000 Can't fit it on the plane.

00:06:00.000 They can't fit it.

00:06:01.000 They blocked the area.

00:06:02.000 Yeah, they put that food cart there.

00:06:04.000 See, I've seen that many times.

00:06:05.000 That's a weird move.

00:06:06.000 Like, don't you have, like, a dedicated thing for it?

00:06:08.000 Why is the food cart the thing you...

00:06:09.000 Don't you have, like, a...

00:06:10.000 You should have a gate.

00:06:11.000 Someone will leap that.

00:06:13.000 They should have another door just like they got on the cockpit.

00:06:13.000 Right.

00:06:15.000 Yeah, they should have like some, like a, like, you know, they do one of those metal gates in front of glass windows.

00:06:20.000 Yeah, have one of those.

00:06:21.000 Click, clamp it down.

00:06:22.000 Well, they knew that didn't work because they had the riot in 66 and they tore all them down.

00:06:26.000 Oh, the gates on the doors.

00:06:28.000 I remember that.

00:06:29.000 I was watching them guys.

00:06:30.000 Something they did to the lock.

00:06:32.000 That fucking flew open.

00:06:34.000 Yeah, what could you do to stop someone from bum-rushing the cockpit?

00:06:38.000 Like, those flight attendants are not gonna stop it.

00:06:41.000 Well, they should probably prepare planes with a flight attendant who has training like that in the future, like a female or a male who's just...

00:06:41.000 No, no, hell no.

00:06:47.000 No, that's too much trouble.

00:06:48.000 That's too much money.

00:06:50.000 Too much money, they're not going to do it.

00:06:53.000 The pilot is locked in the bathroom.

00:06:56.000 The other pilot and the stewardess is locked in the booth where they fly the plane.

00:07:04.000 So you ain't getting in there anyway.

00:07:06.000 I guess, yeah.

00:07:07.000 Unless when the party come out the bathroom.

00:07:09.000 Then he's not when he opened the door.

00:07:12.000 But they got the other guy.

00:07:14.000 The steward has got to come out.

00:07:16.000 He got to go in.

00:07:18.000 It's too complicated now.

00:07:19.000 Then the people that sit down are going to know what's happening.

00:07:22.000 They're going to jump up.

00:07:23.000 I know somebody better not try this.

00:07:24.000 That's chaos on a plane if you start seeing all that that you're talking about.

00:07:28.000 Well, don't you think turbulence is chaos?

00:07:31.000 No.

00:07:31.000 I was on a plane once and two dudes almost got into a fight.

00:07:34.000 The lady stopped serving them.

00:07:35.000 One guy was putting his luggage in a spot above another dude's head.

00:07:40.000 And the guy said, that's for my stuff.

00:07:42.000 And he said, no, whoever gets there first is the one who gets it.

00:07:45.000 And he's like, bullshit.

00:07:46.000 And he's grabbing his arm and got physical for a second.

00:07:50.000 I took my bag off to get some out of my bag.

00:07:55.000 I'm on the plane first.

00:07:57.000 Some guy walked past me.

00:07:58.000 I said, okay, excuse me.

00:08:00.000 And then I'm looking for my stuff.

00:08:02.000 He's going to put it.

00:08:02.000 I said, hey, hey, hey, hey, bro.

00:08:04.000 You see this bag here?

00:08:05.000 That going up there.

00:08:06.000 He said, well, you should have had it up there.

00:08:10.000 I looked at this sucker.

00:08:12.000 He said, sorry, sir.

00:08:13.000 He got in his seat.

00:08:14.000 Now, he's sitting next to me, too.

00:08:15.000 For the rest of the flight.

00:08:17.000 Whole flight.

00:08:18.000 He didn't say nothing.

00:08:19.000 You should have had it up there.

00:08:20.000 I said, man, get the hell out of my way.

00:08:24.000 He thought I was a crazy man.

00:08:25.000 Tough guy, huh?

00:08:26.000 I wasn't tough.

00:08:27.000 I just didn't know.

00:08:29.000 The plane is full now.

00:08:31.000 Yeah.

00:08:32.000 One seat next to me open.

00:08:34.000 He's going to put his stuff down.

00:08:35.000 I'm trying to find my earphones.

00:08:40.000 This punk gonna put this stuff up there.

00:08:42.000 Before you just come in, there's a place for you above my head.

00:08:46.000 I'm in my bag.

00:08:47.000 You don't think that's my bag.

00:08:48.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:08:48.000 Because you were going through your bag to put this stuff up there.

00:08:51.000 Yeah, I'm doing like this looking for my thing.

00:08:53.000 Some people just look for an opportunity to be a dick.

00:08:55.000 I think planes are the closest that people get to walking that emulates road rage.

00:08:55.000 Yeah.

00:09:00.000 Yeah, the line.

00:09:00.000 Yeah.

00:09:01.000 It's the closest thing.

00:09:02.000 Like when people get up and they get up too soon and then like they're pushing forward already and you're like, come on, man.

00:09:08.000 Yeah.

00:09:08.000 Let everybody get up in the line.

00:09:10.000 Some people are like, nah, don't push through.

00:09:12.000 I was at the gas station just now, and you know how they have the big oil tankers that have to bring the gas to the gas station?

00:09:18.000 They were blocking in where people needed to go to park, and the guy who was there was telling me that some lady was just there, and she was mad at him because he pulled in a few minutes after she parked to get gas in her car.

00:09:30.000 And he was saying that...

00:09:33.000 She was like, you're blocking me in.

00:09:34.000 He's like, lady, I'm either going to block you in or I'm blocking the street.

00:09:36.000 I can't block the full street with all the traffic.

00:09:39.000 And then by the time she was ready to go, she finally was nudging her way out of the gas station.

00:09:44.000 And the guy was trying to help her, and she's like, don't help me.

00:09:46.000 I don't need your help, all right?

00:09:48.000 And he said, I'm sorry, it's going to be a minute.

00:09:50.000 She's like, I don't got a minute.

00:09:51.000 And then I asked him, I was like, what kind of car is she driving?

00:09:53.000 He was like, a Range Rover, new Range Rover.

00:09:56.000 I'm like, oh, she's got plenty of time.

00:09:57.000 She's got a minute.

00:09:59.000 One guy put his seat back before the plane took off.

00:10:03.000 You know how you get comfortable?

00:10:04.000 He had a seat all the way back.

00:10:05.000 He said, hey buddy, hey, you cannot put your seat back before the plane get up in the air.

00:10:12.000 He said, what the fuck?

00:10:15.000 Got your knees on somebody's legs.

00:10:17.000 I got the back of the chair on someone's knees.

00:10:19.000 He said, buddy, I've been doing this for 20, 30 years.

00:10:21.000 He said, I don't give a fuck what you've been doing.

00:10:23.000 You cannot do it today.

00:10:25.000 They got into a spat.

00:10:27.000 Two passengers.

00:10:28.000 Two passengers.

00:10:30.000 Why is one passenger playing cop?

00:10:32.000 That's just how it is.

00:10:33.000 Seat cop.

00:10:35.000 There's videos of that all the time.

00:10:37.000 I remember I saw one of them out here coming into or leaving Burbank.

00:10:44.000 It was like two guys who either the plane just landed or they were just about to take off.

00:10:48.000 They got into a full fist fight.

00:10:50.000 Mind you, it's a Southwest flight over a seat that didn't belong to anyone.

00:10:53.000 Because over there at that airport, they're probably going from Burbank to Vegas.

00:10:57.000 And the dude was like, hey man, I'm taking that seat.

00:11:00.000 And the next thing you know, it's a fight in between the aisle.

00:11:00.000 No, no, that's mine.

00:11:04.000 It is crazy that they serve you booze on the plane.

00:11:06.000 You can get drunk at the airport.

00:11:08.000 Alcohol is a drug, and that drug is everywhere that's flying.

00:11:12.000 Everywhere that's flying.

00:11:13.000 It's 100% set up.

00:11:14.000 But you can't bring any alcohol through security.

00:11:18.000 No.

00:11:19.000 We're using our security.

00:11:20.000 We're going to use our alcohol.

00:11:22.000 It's hilarious.

00:11:22.000 Yeah.

00:11:24.000 And they'll pour that stuff, brother.

00:11:26.000 They all know me on the plane.

00:11:29.000 So they give me a bottle of the gold.

00:11:33.000 You think I'm mad.

00:11:35.000 Mr. Witherspoon, wrap it up in a towel.

00:11:38.000 Big fucking towel.

00:11:39.000 I'm going to sneak out here with this big-ass bottle in a towel.

00:11:43.000 But I do it.

00:11:44.000 I put it right in that bucket.

00:11:45.000 I put it under that bag.

00:11:47.000 I get it.

00:11:48.000 They don't want liquid bombs or some shit.

00:11:50.000 They don't want you bringing something on the plane.

00:11:52.000 I get it.

00:11:54.000 It's true.

00:11:54.000 I wish that wasn't something you ever had to think about.

00:11:56.000 But if it happens once every few years, it's enough that you've got to...

00:12:00.000 Think about it.

00:12:01.000 Think about it.

00:12:03.000 You know, I had, you can't have ounces, three ounces liquid in your bag.

00:12:09.000 So I had a three ounce bottle of my expensive cologne, but I used half of it.

00:12:15.000 So I ain't got no three ounce.

00:12:16.000 I got one and a half now.

00:12:19.000 We got to take the whole thing.

00:12:20.000 I said, no.

00:12:21.000 What?

00:12:27.000 Sir, I'm taking $150 this cologne.

00:12:30.000 They took my cologne.

00:12:32.000 Did you spray it on yourself before getting on?

00:12:34.000 One more pump for the road.

00:12:35.000 I sprayed this on everybody else too.

00:12:38.000 But they serious about that.

00:12:41.000 Some dudes still rock cologne.

00:12:43.000 I wear cologne.

00:12:44.000 Heavy.

00:12:44.000 Like it?

00:12:45.000 Oh, I get it from Bird Off Goodman.

00:12:47.000 I get this stuff.

00:12:48.000 See, when I grew up, there was a lot of pimps around the neighborhood.

00:12:51.000 And they wore the best cologne.

00:12:53.000 Them dudes were sharp, boy, they had me shiny.

00:12:57.000 And they hit them's hair like this.

00:13:00.000 So when I got old, that's what I would do.

00:13:02.000 I'd get the cologne like this.

00:13:04.000 You'd start smacking yourself with it?

00:13:07.000 Them pimps used to crack me up, boy.

00:13:09.000 They would be so sharp, yeah.

00:13:10.000 Shoes be so shiny.

00:13:29.000 You ever see pimps up, hose down?

00:13:32.000 Yeah, oh yeah.

00:13:33.000 Crazy.

00:13:33.000 Oh yeah.

00:13:34.000 I know what's his name.

00:13:34.000 The doctor.

00:13:35.000 See, the real life?

00:13:36.000 It's like, oh, that's a weird life.

00:13:38.000 It is some clowns.

00:13:41.000 They like clowns who get together and that's what they do.

00:13:47.000 And that's where they live.

00:13:49.000 I used to be around 12th Street.

00:13:50.000 You weren't in Detroit.

00:13:51.000 You were too young.

00:13:52.000 No, I'm not.

00:13:54.000 12th Street, Black Bottom.

00:13:56.000 They call one place called Black Bottom.

00:13:58.000 Hastings Street, all pimps and hoes.

00:14:01.000 They had them big old hats on.

00:14:03.000 They didn't have, back then, they didn't have high-head shoes on.

00:14:07.000 You know them, what do you call them?

00:14:09.000 Back then, Detroit was booming, right?

00:14:09.000 Platforms.

00:14:11.000 Oh, yeah.

00:14:12.000 Detroit fell off quicker than any city in the Western world.

00:14:16.000 Yeah.

00:14:17.000 In terms of, like, it was the richest city in the world during the height of the car.

00:14:20.000 Motor, yeah.

00:14:21.000 Motor city.

00:14:22.000 Mm-hmm.

00:14:23.000 Yeah, because the people, the factories closed.

00:14:26.000 And when the factories closed, people had put their money into the house, the car, factory money.

00:14:26.000 Yeah.

00:14:32.000 They got that loan, see, because you got that, you been in here 15 years, you got a good record, you got a good thing, they give you a car and give you a home.

00:14:32.000 Yeah.

00:14:41.000 But when that's like a fail board, people, oh my God, what am I going to do?

00:14:45.000 What am I going to do?

00:14:45.000 What caused it?

00:14:46.000 Do you know?

00:14:47.000 I mean, obviously, manufacturing moving to Mexico and other world countries.

00:14:53.000 A little bit of that.

00:14:53.000 All that stuff.

00:14:54.000 Everybody were for themselves.

00:14:56.000 General Motors, Ford, they were for themselves.

00:14:59.000 But a lot of companies are still there.

00:15:01.000 It's just the...

00:15:03.000 Not like it used to be.

00:15:04.000 But like a lot of car companies, you know, like Ford, right?

00:15:07.000 Not like it used to be.

00:15:08.000 GM. They're still there, but they're there in a much more limited role.

00:15:14.000 Or they're kind of like the base or kind of like the warehouse.

00:15:19.000 Or maybe they moved that, too.

00:15:20.000 Maybe they're...

00:15:20.000 You know that show Top Gear?

00:15:22.000 They do a new show called The Grand Tour.

00:15:22.000 Yeah.

00:15:25.000 They do it on Amazon.

00:15:26.000 And they did one episode where they went to Detroit.

00:15:28.000 And they were in Detroit.

00:15:30.000 They bought a house for like two grand.

00:15:32.000 Oh, yeah.

00:15:32.000 A whole house for $2,000.

00:15:36.000 Like a fucking whole house.

00:15:38.000 Like a house house.

00:15:39.000 Like you could live in it.

00:15:39.000 That's crazy.

00:15:40.000 Yeah, oh yeah.

00:15:42.000 It wasn't a bad house.

00:15:43.000 I mean, it needed some work, for sure.

00:15:45.000 Everybody moved.

00:15:46.000 But nobody's there.

00:15:47.000 Everybody's gone.

00:15:48.000 When we were there, when we drove through, it was like the amount of giant warehouses that are completely empty with all the shattered windows.

00:15:55.000 It's very depressing.

00:15:56.000 It's very weird.

00:15:57.000 I was there two months ago.

00:15:57.000 But it's coming back.

00:16:02.000 My brother had died.

00:16:03.000 I went to his funeral.

00:16:05.000 And we drove around.

00:16:06.000 I couldn't find my grandfather's house.

00:16:08.000 They tore that shit down.

00:16:10.000 Somebody burned it down.

00:16:12.000 Some of the stuff like that.

00:16:13.000 But it was just like any other city to me.

00:16:16.000 It's coming back for sure.

00:16:18.000 But it's also like there's a lot of young businesses are starting up and craft businesses and You know, when there's enough people around, people have ingenuity.

00:16:29.000 They figure out a way.

00:16:30.000 It's just not going to be what it used to be.

00:16:31.000 And it's a whole new ballgame now.

00:16:33.000 It is a new ballgame.

00:16:35.000 New people.

00:16:36.000 These people are young.

00:16:37.000 My son, what's his name?

00:16:40.000 Alexander.

00:16:40.000 How old is he?

00:16:41.000 23. He loved Detroit.

00:16:45.000 He'd never seen this many...

00:16:46.000 We were downtown Detroit on Saturday night.

00:16:49.000 Warm, hot night.

00:16:50.000 People walking around.

00:16:51.000 There's beautiful women walking around there.

00:16:53.000 My son went crazy.

00:16:54.000 He said...

00:16:58.000 We don't go there and you're from there.

00:17:00.000 We just don't go to where his family's from a lot.

00:17:03.000 So it's one of those things where...

00:17:05.000 My family gone.

00:17:06.000 You got relatives.

00:17:09.000 I don't know them.

00:17:10.000 I don't know my brothers.

00:17:15.000 My brother's daughter's cousin's brother.

00:17:18.000 And neither does Alex or me.

00:17:20.000 That's why Alex was more inclined.

00:17:21.000 Yeah.

00:17:21.000 He was excited.

00:17:22.000 His nieces?

00:17:23.000 Oh, my God.

00:17:24.000 They loved him.

00:17:26.000 And they walked around.

00:17:28.000 I said, look, I'm going back to the hotel.

00:17:29.000 I was getting too much harassment, so I said, I'm going back to the hotel.

00:17:33.000 So I told the driver, take me back.

00:17:35.000 They can jump out.

00:17:36.000 You can pick them up later.

00:17:37.000 And they've got a ride.

00:17:38.000 So they got back to the hotel about two, three hours later.

00:17:41.000 But I was sleeping by then.

00:17:43.000 Oh, but Detroit is nice.

00:17:44.000 When I was there, I'm telling you, man, Detroit was nice.

00:17:48.000 Yeah, I did the Fox Theater, and it's so old that they have these pillars in the wall that are stained from cigarette smoke, like a darkish, orangish stain just from nicotine.

00:18:01.000 That's crazy.

00:18:02.000 A beautiful theater.

00:18:04.000 Yeah, beautiful theater.

00:18:06.000 They had to replace one of the pillars.

00:18:08.000 So they had one pillar that was clean, and then the other pillars, you go, whoa, that's cigarette smoke?

00:18:12.000 And you get to really see it.

00:18:13.000 And everybody sang there.

00:18:16.000 Frank Sinatra got his signature.

00:18:18.000 Everybody got their signature all over the place.

00:18:20.000 Oh, really?

00:18:20.000 Yeah.

00:18:21.000 Oh, yeah.

00:18:21.000 I put my signature down about 20 times.

00:18:24.000 Yeah.

00:18:26.000 I've been there about eight times.

00:18:28.000 It's a great place.

00:18:29.000 I remember watching Temptations down there.

00:18:31.000 Oh, wow.

00:18:31.000 Temptations.

00:18:32.000 Frankie Lyman and the Teenagers.

00:18:34.000 That was a long time ago.

00:18:36.000 Wow.

00:18:36.000 But beautiful, beautiful place.

00:18:38.000 All the other places torn down.

00:18:39.000 The Olympia Stadium where they used to play and sing.

00:18:42.000 And Pistons used to play basketball there.

00:18:45.000 They tore that place down.

00:18:47.000 I saw Elvis Presley there.

00:18:49.000 Elvis Presley.

00:18:50.000 A little kid.

00:18:50.000 Wow.

00:18:51.000 And I saw Elvis.

00:18:53.000 I always wanted to go to see the Cronk Gym, but I think they tore that down too.

00:18:53.000 Wow.

00:18:56.000 I used to play basketball at Cronk's Gym.

00:18:58.000 You see, there used to be a basketball court there.

00:18:58.000 Really?

00:19:01.000 Then they tore it.

00:19:02.000 Might have torn it down now, but they built boxing rinks around there.

00:19:07.000 So all the boxing, when we play ball, they've got boxing around there.

00:19:10.000 I went up there one day with my shoes.

00:19:12.000 What happened here?

00:19:12.000 I said, what the hell?

00:19:13.000 They then closed the doors and everything.

00:19:15.000 Turned into boxing.

00:19:16.000 A lot of great boxers.

00:19:18.000 What's the name?

00:19:18.000 Tommy Hearns and them people came out of there.

00:19:20.000 Lennox Lewis.

00:19:20.000 Sure.

00:19:21.000 Lennox Lewis.

00:19:22.000 Manuel Stewart was the head coach there until he died.

00:19:26.000 Yeah, that was an amazing gem.

00:19:28.000 But it was one of those places, there's a few places where you want to go.

00:19:31.000 Like when you're in L.A., you want to go to Wild Card.

00:19:33.000 You just want to say you've been there.

00:19:35.000 I want to go to the cage where you commentate.

00:19:38.000 Anytime.

00:19:39.000 You tell me.

00:19:39.000 I want to see the people knock the crap out of me.

00:19:39.000 Anytime.

00:19:43.000 Let me know.

00:19:45.000 Anytime you want to go.

00:19:47.000 There's going to be some fights in California.

00:19:49.000 I want to look through the screen like this.

00:19:53.000 Get that motherfucker!

00:19:57.000 Oh, man.

00:19:58.000 We can get you pretty close.

00:20:00.000 We can get you right up there.

00:20:00.000 Oh, my God.

00:20:01.000 We can hear the smacks.

00:20:02.000 I like to get real close and take a look at this boy.

00:20:04.000 I can't believe that dude.

00:20:06.000 That head dude like this.

00:20:11.000 You got to knock the fuck out.

00:20:13.000 That's really serious about that.

00:20:14.000 Have you ever gone to one of them live?

00:20:16.000 No.

00:20:17.000 No?

00:20:17.000 Never?

00:20:18.000 Oh, yeah.

00:20:18.000 Never.

00:20:19.000 Let's hook that up.

00:20:20.000 Yeah, that'd be funny.

00:20:21.000 Just imagine.

00:20:21.000 You should film him.

00:20:23.000 You should film him.

00:20:24.000 I'll stay ready.

00:20:26.000 I'll stay ready.

00:20:27.000 I'll be like, so what are your feelings about the fight?

00:20:30.000 He's almost set up a tripod in front of him.

00:20:32.000 Oh my god, just reacting.

00:20:34.000 Oh man, I see it on TV. Like a GoPro or something.

00:20:37.000 Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:20:38.000 GoPro aimed at you.

00:20:39.000 I love it when they do little...

00:20:43.000 A thing on their background.

00:20:45.000 They do a little piece on the background.

00:20:48.000 I saw one.

00:20:50.000 This guy was woofing, woofing, woofing.

00:20:53.000 Oh, he's talking about whenever I whip your ass, I want your wife to come over and clean my house.

00:20:58.000 I want her to come and cook me a meal.

00:21:01.000 She cooked anything I want her to cook me.

00:21:03.000 This guy was Brazilian.

00:21:07.000 The guy, the opponent, he said, well, man, come on, man.

00:21:10.000 Let's play and let's fight and you ain't got to talk about my wife and stuff.

00:21:15.000 Man, you don't tell me what to do to Italian or something like that.

00:21:18.000 Chael Sutton is his name.

00:21:19.000 The Brazilian is Anderson Silva.

00:21:21.000 Oh, yeah, yeah.

00:21:23.000 He's old now.

00:21:24.000 One guy's old.

00:21:25.000 He's about 43. Anderson's 40. Chael might be a little older than that.

00:21:30.000 Yeah.

00:21:32.000 Anderson's greatest middleweight of all time.

00:21:34.000 First round, this boy put his foot up The foot did like that.

00:21:40.000 Are you talking about the one where his ankle snapped?

00:21:42.000 Are you talking about that one?

00:21:43.000 No, he's talking about kicking him in the head.

00:21:46.000 It was a fight.

00:21:47.000 I've never seen a foot come up that quick.

00:21:50.000 And the toes hit the motherfucker.

00:21:55.000 I've never seen nothing like this.

00:21:58.000 And that boy did like that.

00:22:00.000 Fell asleep.

00:22:01.000 I think you're thinking of a different fight now.

00:22:03.000 You're thinking of Vitor.

00:22:05.000 Vitor Belfort and Anderson Silva.

00:22:07.000 He was woofing, woofing, woofing.

00:22:09.000 Yeah.

00:22:10.000 And he running his fight.

00:22:11.000 That's the Vitor Belfort one.

00:22:12.000 That's not the guy, though.

00:22:13.000 That's the front kick to the face one.

00:22:15.000 That's like a legendary kick.

00:22:17.000 The other one was Chael Sonnen.

00:22:19.000 The Chael Sonnen one, he kicked him and then he dropped him and then he kneed him to the body and took him out with punches.

00:22:24.000 Unbelievable.

00:22:25.000 Unbelievable.

00:22:26.000 How?

00:22:27.000 Unbelievable how he can work that foot.

00:22:31.000 How do you feel about your son's impression of you?

00:22:33.000 It's really good.

00:22:34.000 He doesn't think it sounds like him at all.

00:22:36.000 He doesn't.

00:22:37.000 Give me something.

00:22:40.000 I only know it because this is how he talks to me all the time.

00:22:42.000 He'll always be like, J.D., what are you doing today?

00:22:47.000 You got work.

00:22:48.000 You got to go sit back and talk to all them people.

00:22:52.000 Get it?

00:22:53.000 I ain't never...

00:22:54.000 All the noises.

00:22:56.000 He'd be...

00:22:57.000 Hey, you'd be perfect for ASMR. We should just make that type of stuff.

00:23:02.000 Him just breathing.

00:23:05.000 I was in line at the airport coming from...

00:23:10.000 I think I was in...

00:23:13.000 St. Louis or something like that.

00:23:15.000 And so I'm behind this lady, anybody in line, but two, three people in front of her, and I'm behind her.

00:23:22.000 So I'm back to wait, making my little noise.

00:23:29.000 She was like an old, old Latino woman, Spanish woman.

00:23:33.000 And she looked back, and she went back to looking forward, and then she, I said, well, I don't care, whatever.

00:23:45.000 She said, you make a lot of noise.

00:23:47.000 Wow.

00:23:48.000 She said, you make a lot of noise, sir.

00:23:53.000 I don't remember making any noise.

00:23:55.000 That's funny.

00:23:57.000 You do when you got in the car today.

00:23:59.000 You got in the car and you...

00:24:00.000 Yeah.

00:24:06.000 I gotta express myself.

00:24:08.000 It's noises and questions.

00:24:11.000 Those are it.

00:24:12.000 The moment you get in the car, how far we gotta go to get to Joe?

00:24:20.000 We're driving 30 miles an hour.

00:24:21.000 He's like, I think you're going a little fast.

00:24:23.000 Don't you think?

00:24:25.000 A little quick on the freeway.

00:24:27.000 I'm like, we're on the freeway.

00:24:28.000 It's 60 miles.

00:24:29.000 I'm going slow right now.

00:24:30.000 What is that?

00:24:32.000 But no, his voice is just like one of many I've come across because I do voiceover and all that stuff.

00:24:38.000 So it's one of those things where I'm lucky enough to have that one in my back pocket because sometimes I'll throw it out there and people will be like, I don't know.

00:24:44.000 A lot of people do a John Witherspoon impression.

00:24:46.000 It's interesting.

00:24:47.000 Yeah, we get some practice on it.

00:24:49.000 Yeah, man.

00:24:50.000 It's got to be nice, though, seeing him get in the show business.

00:24:53.000 Getting in the stand-up.

00:24:54.000 I guess so.

00:24:56.000 Do you like it?

00:24:57.000 Yeah, I do.

00:24:58.000 He's funny.

00:25:01.000 I came from 11 kids, so I hope you'll be successful.

00:25:07.000 I'm going to try my best to be successful.

00:25:08.000 He's too busy counting his coins to worry about my career.

00:25:12.000 God bless us all.

00:25:15.000 You're on your own good luck?

00:25:16.000 I mean, no.

00:25:18.000 He's supportive, but he's one of those guys where...

00:25:20.000 Because I didn't want to do entertainment at all when I was younger.

00:25:22.000 I wanted to do art.

00:25:23.000 And when I was drawing, I used to go to college.

00:25:25.000 And then I didn't know how to turn art into a career.

00:25:27.000 So one of my friends was like, why don't you try acting?

00:25:29.000 You're always wasting time in class making us laugh.

00:25:31.000 And I was like, oh, that's an interesting idea.

00:25:32.000 So I started doing commercial acting and whatnot.

00:25:34.000 But...

00:25:36.000 I have friends who are comics.

00:25:37.000 I don't usually bring up, he's my dad.

00:25:39.000 It's something that just randomly happens, usually.

00:25:42.000 And when that comes across, they're like, oh, that's crazy.

00:25:45.000 So you got a well of information in the sense of being a good comic and writing and this and that.

00:25:50.000 I'm like, not yet.

00:25:52.000 Not that I don't, but it's just asking him questions about stuff like that is the funniest stuff.

00:25:58.000 Like he just said, it's very flat out and just kind of like, yeah, JD, be funny.

00:26:04.000 How much more can you tell a guy, though, really?

00:26:07.000 Yeah, you just gotta get your own, you know?

00:26:09.000 We were talking about that last night.

00:26:11.000 People ask me, do you go to the clubs and look at your son and help him write?

00:26:18.000 Hell no!

00:26:22.000 I've featured for him and he doesn't watch my set.

00:26:26.000 I just go up and I do my time and I come into the green room and I'm like, hey, you ready to go?

00:26:30.000 And he's like, oh yeah, JD, they sound like they were laughing, so sound like you did alright.

00:26:36.000 I'm like, yeah, man.

00:26:37.000 What is a father to do?

00:26:40.000 Do you ever give him any criticism or any pointers or anything?

00:26:44.000 You ever give him any pointers?

00:26:46.000 Any tips?

00:26:47.000 Better be funny.

00:26:50.000 I'm usually the one on the opposite spectrum giving him tips about how he can leverage his notoriety in his day and age on the internet.

00:27:02.000 That's my thing.

00:27:03.000 So it's one of those things where if I have a question about stand-up, I'll ask.

00:27:06.000 But he doesn't...

00:27:08.000 Yeah, you should definitely have a very active social media.

00:27:11.000 Yeah, I help him run it.

00:27:13.000 I see him.

00:27:15.000 Who's on there all the time?

00:27:17.000 Kevin Hart is always on there.

00:27:18.000 Here's the thing.

00:27:22.000 Literally creating his social media was just a fluke because one day, like five or six or seven years ago, someone trended that he passed away.

00:27:31.000 And because of that, we had to create social media for him.

00:27:35.000 So when that happened, he's calling me, and I'm getting calls from random people who know him, and also my cousins.

00:27:41.000 I got family calling me crying, like, is he okay?

00:27:43.000 Is everything okay?

00:27:44.000 And he called me, and he's like, JD, you gotta help me.

00:27:48.000 There's something wrong on the internet.

00:27:49.000 They think I'm gone.

00:27:52.000 He's saying, all my family's calling me and I don't want to talk to them.

00:27:56.000 So we created him a Twitter that day.

00:27:58.000 And then through Twitter, I told him, I'm like, well, just tell people you're around.

00:28:02.000 And we tweeted out like, hey, y'all, this is the real John Witherspoon, blah, blah, blah.

00:28:06.000 Don't listen to those phonies making up them rumors.

00:28:08.000 Because it was worldwide trending.

00:28:16.000 Wow.

00:28:28.000 You did just a random thing where he was...

00:28:30.000 Yeah, I talked to Megan and...

00:28:32.000 What's her name?

00:28:34.000 Oh, he was making a joke about Bill Cosby and whatnot.

00:28:38.000 And he was like, Bill, can't mess around with that stuff, Bill, and whatever.

00:28:42.000 But other social media platforms randomly found it, reposted it, and now he's like...

00:28:47.000 He went from like 6K to like 120. He ain't got a lot of people following me.

00:28:50.000 I just don't do anything.

00:28:52.000 Yeah.

00:28:52.000 He doesn't understand how social media is like the future, but I try to keep him in the loop.

00:28:57.000 It's a great way to avoid doing morning radio.

00:29:00.000 You don't like doing morning radio, do you?

00:29:01.000 Oh, God, I hate doing...

00:29:02.000 I get to get up Friday morning.

00:29:05.000 I get to...

00:29:05.000 Listen, I get to Kansas City at 10 o'clock that night, Thursday, tomorrow night.

00:29:10.000 And then I get up Friday morning.

00:29:12.000 I don't know the time or anything like that yet.

00:29:14.000 But I probably do three or four radio stations.

00:29:16.000 Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

00:29:18.000 They drive you.

00:29:20.000 And you're so sleepy.

00:29:21.000 You drive back over here and over here.

00:29:21.000 Yeah.

00:29:23.000 You want something to eat?

00:29:24.000 You go take a nap later and then you're still kind of wrecked when the first show rolls around.

00:29:24.000 Nah.

00:29:28.000 Then you got to do two shows.

00:29:29.000 Yeah.

00:29:31.000 So it's not fun.

00:29:34.000 And I'm, you know, I'm slowing down.

00:29:37.000 But if you build up your social media, you can cut that part of it out.

00:29:40.000 Really?

00:29:40.000 And I'm sure you have, like, relationships with some of those radio stations where you like them.

00:29:44.000 Like, you want to come in and do it.

00:29:44.000 Oh, yeah, they like me.

00:29:46.000 I mean, that's cool if you want to do it.

00:29:48.000 But to have to do it.

00:29:49.000 To have to do it is...

00:29:50.000 To have to do it.

00:29:51.000 It's bad for your sleep.

00:29:52.000 It's just not good for your brain either.

00:29:54.000 And you can post a story on IG, or you can post an Instagram video saying, like, hey, I'm going to be here this weekend.

00:30:01.000 Bill Bellamy does that.

00:30:02.000 Oh, yeah.

00:30:03.000 Cut it in half.

00:30:05.000 Cut the time in half.

00:30:05.000 Yeah, you don't have to do that get-up-in-the-morning stuff.

00:30:08.000 But they want to see me.

00:30:10.000 Yeah.

00:30:11.000 These radio DJs.

00:30:12.000 Right.

00:30:13.000 They want to see Pops.

00:30:14.000 They want to see Pops.

00:30:15.000 Oh, man, this is legend coming in.

00:30:18.000 I said, I ain't no damn legend.

00:30:19.000 I just needed some money.

00:30:21.000 That's why I'm a comic.

00:30:22.000 I go out and work all the time because I need money.

00:30:24.000 Definitely explain that because I did have a question when I first started doing stand-up and I was like, hey, Dad, from a motivational standpoint, I was like, hey, Dad, what got you into stand-up?

00:30:33.000 What is it that motivated you to want to do it?

00:30:35.000 He looked at me and said, Motivated me.

00:30:38.000 I was broke.

00:30:40.000 He's like, I was broke and someone told me I was funny, so I went to California and got on stage and just started making dollars.

00:30:45.000 I was like, so then what are you doing here?

00:30:46.000 You don't even like this?

00:30:47.000 He's like, I mean, it's alright.

00:30:48.000 I do my thing, you know.

00:30:50.000 I'm not a comic who just loves to make people laugh.

00:30:55.000 What do you love to do?

00:30:56.000 Count that money.

00:31:00.000 Count that paper.

00:31:04.000 Oh, my God.

00:31:05.000 Let me tell you.

00:31:07.000 Sometime on the way home, see, if I had a good week, because some of them clubs pay a lot of damn money.

00:31:12.000 They pay over $37,000 for six weeks, six nights, I mean, four, six shows a weekend.

00:31:20.000 And I don't count the money, but when I do one-nighters, they have to pay you half of the money up front and give you money just before you go on stage.

00:31:29.000 So some of them I have $14,000, $15,000 in my pocket.

00:31:32.000 Brother, I'll be on that plane feeling that money.

00:31:37.000 I'll give you a glass of wine.

00:31:39.000 I'll give you a tall glass of that.

00:31:41.000 These are his passions.

00:31:42.000 These are his passion projects.

00:31:43.000 And I'm having a good time.

00:31:46.000 I call the Bank of America to check out my account at 4 o'clock in the morning.

00:31:51.000 I punch you in my thing, punch you in this.

00:31:54.000 You have your balance is...

00:31:56.000 I say...

00:32:02.000 That's so ridiculous.

00:32:04.000 We gotta get you the app.

00:32:06.000 We gotta just get you the Bank of America app.

00:32:08.000 You save the phone call.

00:32:09.000 I don't mind.

00:32:10.000 I'd rather go through the motion.

00:32:12.000 You like to hear it tell you.

00:32:14.000 The last phone number is your social security number.

00:32:18.000 Your balance is...

00:32:22.000 Oh, this is so wonderful.

00:32:28.000 I was broke when I was coming up, man.

00:32:29.000 Where'd you start?

00:32:30.000 Where'd you start doing stand-up?

00:32:32.000 Back in Detroit.

00:32:33.000 In Detroit?

00:32:33.000 Yeah.

00:32:34.000 I was...

00:32:35.000 My brother used to go to acting class on Thursday.

00:32:38.000 He and his wife.

00:32:39.000 So I said, boy, that's pretty cool.

00:32:40.000 I should try to be an actor.

00:32:42.000 So I got in the Yellow Pages.

00:32:43.000 They had a Yellow Pages.

00:32:44.000 They don't have them now, though.

00:32:45.000 Everybody got to go through their phone and get their number.

00:32:47.000 But they had the Yellow Pages.

00:32:48.000 I went to the Yellow Pages and went to an acting class, private acting lessons, and...

00:32:53.000 I called a guy.

00:32:54.000 He said, $25 an hour.

00:32:55.000 Come on over.

00:32:57.000 We can get started.

00:32:58.000 So this teacher at John Binkerman's acting classes put in a comedy show once a year.

00:33:06.000 And he said, I want you to be on the show.

00:33:07.000 I said, I don't know about no comedy.

00:33:09.000 He said, well, this is a very lucrative business.

00:33:11.000 You can make a lot of money.

00:33:13.000 I said, really?

00:33:18.000 I went there and stole the show.

00:33:20.000 I said, wait a minute.

00:33:20.000 Wow.

00:33:22.000 That's funny.

00:33:23.000 I used to do impressions of Nike and Cole, Johnny Mathis, and Joe Cocker and all that stuff.

00:33:32.000 Oh, Mick Jagger.

00:33:33.000 I used to do Mick Jagger.

00:33:35.000 He's so cold.

00:33:37.000 He's so cold.

00:33:40.000 And they had about 500 people out there for the show.

00:33:42.000 I'm bouncing across the stage like Joe Cocker, boy.

00:33:44.000 It was so funny.

00:33:45.000 And I got a stand ovation.

00:33:47.000 And I said, wait, I could probably make some money doing this.

00:33:49.000 So it really was money.

00:33:51.000 Money was your number one motivation.

00:33:52.000 When you're broke, money is, you know, talking about love and affection.

00:33:57.000 That's some bull.

00:34:00.000 He didn't have that luxury.

00:34:02.000 No luxury.

00:34:03.000 Get out of my way so I can count this money.

00:34:09.000 Where did you start out in L.A.? What clubs did you start out here?

00:34:11.000 Oh, I drove from Detroit to L.A. I moved to New York.

00:34:14.000 I moved to New York in 1971. I was about 30 years old.

00:34:21.000 29, 30. I went to New York to be a fashion model.

00:34:24.000 I was a fashion model in Detroit.

00:34:25.000 Really?

00:34:26.000 Fashion, commercials.

00:34:29.000 I worked at Cadillac Motor Car.

00:34:33.000 And my job was plating bumpers, these big fucking bumpers.

00:34:37.000 And so, the bumpers, I need the money, so I'm picking this up.

00:34:41.000 Because, you know, now you're using adrenaline and you're losing endorphins and everything else you've got in your body.

00:34:46.000 The kid can't put that big bump on this fucking line so it'll keep going and get into the plating pit.

00:34:52.000 So I have now the bumper go down, and I had about three minutes.

00:34:55.000 I look at this magazine.

00:34:57.000 I saw a guy standing next to a car and said, I look better than that dude.

00:35:00.000 Damn.

00:35:02.000 I went to the Yellow Pages again and got me a call, the acting lady, called the modeling schools.

00:35:11.000 They said, oh sure, come on in.

00:35:12.000 They gave me a job that weekend.

00:35:14.000 I thought I was hot.

00:35:15.000 I went to New York.

00:35:15.000 Them dudes look ten times better than me.

00:35:18.000 I said, you a model?

00:35:20.000 They said, you a model?

00:35:23.000 I'm a midget model.

00:35:26.000 So I couldn't do that, so I got the hell out of there.

00:35:29.000 I went to New York.

00:35:31.000 I stayed in New York three years, back to L.A. I mean, I went back to Detroit, got a car and drove to L.A. by myself.

00:35:38.000 And when you went to L.A., you went to do stand-up?

00:35:41.000 Yeah, I went to do acting and stand-up.

00:35:44.000 I cut that modeling out.

00:35:45.000 That shit worked.

00:35:47.000 Where did you start out doing stand-up here?

00:35:50.000 At the Comedy Store.

00:35:51.000 The store.

00:35:52.000 Yeah, I was the first one.

00:35:53.000 I was there with Mitzi.

00:35:54.000 Wow.

00:35:54.000 I was there when Mitzi first started.

00:35:56.000 Sammy had the place.

00:35:57.000 Sammy and Mitzi breaking up.

00:36:00.000 Mitzi...

00:36:01.000 Sammy used to...

00:36:03.000 Sammy went on the roll.

00:36:05.000 Sammy was a big time comic.

00:36:07.000 He was working for Sphinx Sinatra and Dean Martin, all the...

00:36:10.000 He opened it for them.

00:36:13.000 Mitzi...

00:36:14.000 Needed somebody.

00:36:15.000 I needed a place.

00:36:17.000 So I got a job.

00:36:19.000 Mr. gave me a job as the emcee.

00:36:20.000 Dave Latimer was the emcee the first show.

00:36:22.000 I emcee the second show.

00:36:23.000 He didn't have no money then either.

00:36:24.000 He had a wife.

00:36:26.000 He had a red truck and a dog named Bob.

00:36:29.000 That's the only thing he came to LA with.

00:36:31.000 I just had this blue Mustang I bought for about $150 to drive to LA. $150 car drove all the way to LA. Wow.

00:36:41.000 You know, I was determined to get out there and get me some of that money.

00:36:45.000 That car leaked all the transmission fluid.

00:36:48.000 I had to get out every 200 miles to fill the car back up with oil and transmission fluid.

00:36:52.000 Every 200 miles?

00:36:54.000 Every 200 miles.

00:36:55.000 About that nightmare, you hear, oh, oh, you hear that shit.

00:36:59.000 And the only light you see is the headlights on the car.

00:37:04.000 At that point, I got my stick.

00:37:05.000 I had a stick with me.

00:37:07.000 I had a little funnel, put that oil in that car.

00:37:10.000 Looking around, you know what I'd be doing.

00:37:15.000 Uh-huh.

00:37:16.000 And got to California.

00:37:17.000 No, I actually went to Las Vegas first.

00:37:19.000 You got stuck.

00:37:20.000 I got stuck in Las Vegas.

00:37:21.000 Yeah, he told me about that.

00:37:22.000 What happened?

00:37:23.000 I blew his money.

00:37:26.000 I had a guy tell me.

00:37:27.000 Try to keep this thing in front of you.

00:37:28.000 Can you grab that?

00:37:29.000 Yeah, man.

00:37:29.000 Oh, here.

00:37:30.000 Please stand in front of the mic.

00:37:31.000 I had a guy tell me.

00:37:33.000 My friend, he rich boy, he said, look, just go to Las Vegas first, see what the comics are doing.

00:37:38.000 Then you go to LA, then you know what they're doing in Las Vegas.

00:37:41.000 That's the comics they work in Las Vegas all the time.

00:37:44.000 I went there, them old ass joke, Jewish joke they playing, they tell it.

00:37:49.000 But Gabe Kaplan, that's so funny, big head motherfucker ain't funny.

00:37:54.000 He's a good actor.

00:37:56.000 But he was...

00:37:59.000 I waste all my time.

00:38:00.000 But he told me to stay there half an hour.

00:38:03.000 I mean, half of 30 days to stay there.

00:38:05.000 So I paid up my rent for 30 days.

00:38:08.000 And I went that night, got my new, my navy suit on, and as sharp as I can be, boy.

00:38:13.000 Got modeling clothes, you know, standing around, you know, hair, big ol' afro.

00:38:18.000 Man, I lost every dime I had at that fuckin' horseshoe casino.

00:38:22.000 I went back home crying.

00:38:27.000 Now I don't know what the hell I'm going to do.

00:38:28.000 Here I've been drove two and a half days across the country.

00:38:33.000 And so I call people in Detroit to try to get some money.

00:38:36.000 But you know, when you call, you're a long ways away.

00:38:38.000 People don't answer the phone.

00:38:38.000 Everybody got no money.

00:38:40.000 They say, oh no, I ain't got no money.

00:38:42.000 Click!

00:38:43.000 So I got some borrowed money from some of my friends and had to stay there for six months.

00:38:50.000 Until I got no money to go to L.A. Well, you said that, didn't you tell me that you hit, you did one of the Salado machines and it hit with like three grand or something?

00:38:58.000 I had $150 left.

00:39:00.000 I saw Diana Ross.

00:39:00.000 See, what I would do, I would go at night and during the weekend, during the week, I mean, you can go to the front of the casinos and the guy in the front there, you say, I'm a comic, I just want to sit in the back here and watch the comic and I'm gone.

00:39:15.000 They let you do that.

00:39:16.000 You sit there, nobody's sitting there, got 2,000 seats in those places or something like that.

00:39:22.000 So I had a dollar and a half left.

00:39:25.000 She had a great show.

00:39:25.000 I saw Diana Ross.

00:39:27.000 So on the way, I said, I'm going to pay this fucking money.

00:39:29.000 I'll just be broke.

00:39:30.000 My check is coming from the unemployment.

00:39:34.000 It'll be here another day or two.

00:39:35.000 I can go without food for a day.

00:39:40.000 My stomach said, you better put some down here, nigga.

00:39:49.000 So, I put that money in the machine.

00:39:51.000 It rung up, I think it was $7,000.

00:39:53.000 Really?

00:39:54.000 Yeah.

00:39:58.000 Oh shit, now what have I done?

00:40:00.000 The guy came, he said, I just got on job.

00:40:02.000 Just hold on, sir.

00:40:03.000 I just got here.

00:40:04.000 You have struck the jackpot today.

00:40:07.000 I said, what jackpot?

00:40:09.000 He came and just put them $100 in my hand.

00:40:13.000 It was like a miracle.

00:40:14.000 It was like Moses came down and handed me some money or something.

00:40:19.000 It was so damn, that money felt so good.

00:40:22.000 I went home.

00:40:25.000 I packed my stuff.

00:40:27.000 I had about two more days on my rent.

00:40:30.000 I got in that car.

00:40:32.000 I got me some gas.

00:40:34.000 I drove.

00:40:35.000 You know how they have, in Vegas, they got this little island in the middle of the street.

00:40:40.000 Drove over that damn thing going back, going the opposite direction.

00:40:43.000 I said, hell with this.

00:40:45.000 And when you go over an island, the car said, boom!

00:40:50.000 Combs come out, dust come out, old combs, old stuff come out all on your seat, on your hands, your feet be dirty, dust be all over there.

00:40:59.000 I drove all the way from 3 o'clock in the morning, 4 o'clock in the morning, whatever time it was, I drove all the way back to L.A. Oh, man.

00:41:07.000 And my friend let me stay at her house for about a month.

00:41:11.000 Candy, she was a good friend of mine.

00:41:12.000 I'm glad she let me do that because that was amazing.

00:41:14.000 She lives in Beverly Hills from an apartment Motel, I mean, no money eating a potato.

00:41:23.000 I know what time me to get some money.

00:41:25.000 I'm eating a baked potato, a white potato now, with a white potato and some old bread and some syrup.

00:41:38.000 And I said, I gotta get the fuck out of here.

00:41:40.000 This ain't going up.

00:41:43.000 This is not good for the kid.

00:41:44.000 I come out here with big plans.

00:41:47.000 I went straight to her house and I got a job at Gucci.

00:41:50.000 And I went to the comedy store and everything.

00:41:52.000 I just stayed there.

00:41:53.000 If you didn't go to Vegas, would you have even got stuck?

00:41:57.000 So that's a six-month waiting game that you had to play because you lost your money on accident.

00:42:02.000 The worst, I was counting airplanes coming in and taking off.

00:42:07.000 Of course, you can see them from my door.

00:42:09.000 You see the plane coming to Le Carre, I think the name of the hotel, the plane terminal.

00:42:15.000 They come in, you see them take off.

00:42:17.000 That's all I did all day long.

00:42:18.000 A plane coming in.

00:42:20.000 That's wild.

00:42:21.000 A plane taking off.

00:42:22.000 A plane coming in, a plane taking off.

00:42:24.000 And you're just stuck there.

00:42:26.000 Stuck in Las Vegas.

00:42:28.000 So I deserve my money.

00:42:31.000 So people tell me, you love money?

00:42:33.000 Yes, I deserve every dime.

00:42:37.000 Because I went through the shits.

00:42:41.000 Oh my God.

00:42:42.000 And that car lasted another four or five years.

00:42:45.000 Really?

00:42:46.000 65 Mustang.

00:42:47.000 That's a great car.

00:42:49.000 It is a great car.

00:42:50.000 Regular gas.

00:42:52.000 I got me some new tires.

00:42:53.000 Like I told you, I got me some new tires.

00:42:55.000 A case of oil and a case of transmission.

00:43:00.000 And I got my old color TV and a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

00:43:07.000 Back then when you were trying to get up in the store, how did the auditions go?

00:43:10.000 What did they do?

00:43:11.000 No, you had to go through the...

00:43:15.000 Potluck.

00:43:15.000 You had to go through that.

00:43:16.000 Oh, yeah.

00:43:16.000 Yeah.

00:43:17.000 Open mic.

00:43:17.000 Oh, yeah.

00:43:18.000 Same as today.

00:43:18.000 Same thing.

00:43:19.000 But there wasn't that many comics.

00:43:20.000 They had to close at about 11 o'clock because there's no comics that go on anymore.

00:43:22.000 How many comics were there?

00:43:23.000 Oh, it must have been about 10, 15. Really?

00:43:26.000 And what year is this?

00:43:27.000 Huh?

00:43:27.000 What year is this?

00:43:29.000 74. So it was the beginning.

00:43:31.000 The very beginning.

00:43:31.000 As soon as Mitzi just started.

00:43:34.000 I was there in the beginning.

00:43:34.000 Wow.

00:43:36.000 She liked me.

00:43:37.000 She would get me.

00:43:38.000 Johnny, come out of here and work the door.

00:43:41.000 You can do anything you want.

00:43:42.000 I said, I need a job, Mitzi.

00:43:43.000 So...

00:43:45.000 I hustled the door.

00:43:46.000 Mitzi, she said, y'all better watch Johnny.

00:43:48.000 He can make some money at that damn door.

00:43:50.000 What I would do, what do you call it, maitre d' or something?

00:43:54.000 What do you call that?

00:43:55.000 Yeah, maitre d'.

00:43:56.000 So I would put reserve signs in the front seats up there.

00:44:01.000 Reserve for the owner's grandmother.

00:44:03.000 Reserve for the mother's, Mitzi's father.

00:44:08.000 And so now the main room and the other room be crowded, packed.

00:44:12.000 I said, we sold out, sir.

00:44:15.000 He said, what are the tables up there for?

00:44:16.000 I said, that's the owner's grandmother to be here soon.

00:44:20.000 He said, well, $500 will put me in that seat.

00:44:22.000 I said, right now.

00:44:26.000 So I would make $200,000 a night, sometimes $500,000.

00:44:35.000 Just at the door.

00:44:37.000 Then she had me go MC and all that stuff.

00:44:40.000 Wait, you said $500,000?

00:44:41.000 You meant $500,000.

00:44:43.000 Oh, no, it wasn't that kind of money.

00:44:45.000 That picture's her.

00:44:46.000 That's Mitzi.

00:44:47.000 I know I recognize that picture.

00:44:50.000 That's when she was younger, though.

00:44:51.000 Yeah, there's a photo that was from the comedy store that was sitting around the back room, and Taylor Boss, he painted it.

00:44:58.000 Yeah, that's when I... That's what I knew her when she was like that.

00:45:02.000 She was a smart lady.

00:45:08.000 Sure was.

00:45:09.000 Let me tell you something, brother.

00:45:11.000 She was a whip.

00:45:13.000 She had her ways.

00:45:15.000 Yeah, she was definitely eccentric, but she's one of the most important people ever in comedy.

00:45:20.000 In comedy, and people don't realize that.

00:45:21.000 A lot of people don't realize it.

00:45:22.000 Mitzi was the shits.

00:45:25.000 She and little Pauly with his crazy head running around that little baby.

00:45:29.000 I know them all.

00:45:30.000 I know Pauly says she's a baby.

00:45:32.000 I know them all.

00:45:34.000 Mitzi, Mitzi Hamichani ain't got to come back.

00:45:36.000 We don't have nobody to work the door.

00:45:37.000 I can get up and go over there.

00:45:39.000 So I'm at the door.

00:45:41.000 I got 8 o'clock show.

00:45:43.000 You know, 8 o'clock.

00:45:44.000 So I'm obscene and working the door and everything and hosting the room and all that.

00:45:49.000 So I'm up there on stage.

00:45:51.000 You've got a little rope you put across the door and close the curtain.

00:45:55.000 And, you know, people come up in the original room.

00:45:57.000 They come up the steps there.

00:45:58.000 You know the original room?

00:46:00.000 So she's in the booth taking money, taking pictures, taking money and selling tickets.

00:46:00.000 Yeah.

00:46:05.000 She and I are the only one there working.

00:46:08.000 And the bar is in the back.

00:46:10.000 So Mitzi, I'm going to stay, ba-ba [...]-ba.

00:46:14.000 Now I've got 10 people in the room.

00:46:16.000 So she said, I'm just going in and I get them, give me the cover and you go ahead and put the rope back.

00:46:23.000 So now I'm up there about, I got 15 minutes.

00:46:27.000 She said about three minutes, four minutes until I'm like, Johnny!

00:46:31.000 There are people that lied!

00:46:34.000 Come down here and let them in.

00:46:35.000 You cannot do no more material.

00:46:37.000 Come on, Johnny.

00:46:38.000 I said, Mitzi, I'm trying to finish my act.

00:46:40.000 Johnny, come on.

00:46:41.000 I want to get this money.

00:46:42.000 That's what I learned from her, too.

00:46:44.000 I want to get this money before they turn around and go home.

00:46:47.000 Oh, God.

00:46:49.000 That was the funniest.

00:46:50.000 She's the funniest lady.

00:46:52.000 She's the funniest lady.

00:46:53.000 Let me tell you, she was hot.

00:46:54.000 She was tough.

00:46:56.000 Mitzi was tough.

00:46:57.000 She told me, you stick with me, I'll make you a rich man.

00:46:59.000 I said, Mitzi, I come here to be a comic.

00:47:00.000 I can come here to be no rich man.

00:47:01.000 I'm coming to be a comic.

00:47:03.000 But she's too much trouble.

00:47:04.000 Too eccentric.

00:47:06.000 Too eccentric.

00:47:08.000 I didn't want to hang around too long.

00:47:09.000 Argus is still there out of his mind.

00:47:11.000 Argus is still there.

00:47:13.000 He was there last night.

00:47:14.000 Yeah, I know it.

00:47:15.000 I go there and see him.

00:47:16.000 I see him all the time.

00:47:17.000 When I go by there, I only go once a year or so.

00:47:20.000 But I see Argus.

00:47:21.000 I like Argus.

00:47:22.000 He's talented.

00:47:23.000 He is.

00:47:24.000 A genius, but he didn't want to leave the comic store.

00:47:28.000 He's got a radio station downstairs, he told me.

00:47:30.000 They have a podcast.

00:47:31.000 Oh, it's a podcast.

00:47:32.000 Yeah, they have a podcast studio.

00:47:34.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:47:34.000 You ever know that?

00:47:35.000 But Mitzi, I've been knowing Mitzi.

00:47:35.000 It's a good studio.

00:47:38.000 I knew her in 1974 when I went over there.

00:47:42.000 And I noticed when I got on Open Mic Night, for people who want to try to become on the regular show, Mitzi used to love Impressionists.

00:47:56.000 She loves people who can do voices.

00:47:58.000 And I just realized that after about three weeks of being there trying to be funny, I'm doing old Red Fox jokes.

00:48:07.000 The horse race was going and the jockey was riding on my dick.

00:48:14.000 The horse name was my dick.

00:48:16.000 This fucking Red Fox used to be...

00:48:18.000 He would come by and he would be so fucking funny.

00:48:21.000 So then the person come out and sing.

00:48:23.000 She love people to sing.

00:48:24.000 Tina Turner.

00:48:25.000 Women that sing Tina Turner.

00:48:27.000 She put two or three of them right behind each other.

00:48:29.000 They do the same song.

00:48:31.000 Jesus.

00:48:31.000 I said, Missy's going crazy.

00:48:34.000 Why do you think she did that?

00:48:36.000 She loved impressionists.

00:48:37.000 But she put them on back-to-back?

00:48:39.000 And she loved the women.

00:48:40.000 Because, you know, the women, all of them got the same impressions.

00:48:42.000 But she put two or three of them on the same show.

00:48:45.000 Wow.

00:48:46.000 Same impressions.

00:48:48.000 I went up there.

00:48:49.000 I started doing impressions.

00:48:50.000 Because I did them in Detroit on the show there with Nat King Cole and them.

00:48:54.000 She said, oh, Johnny, this is so wonderful.

00:48:56.000 I want you to work Friday night.

00:48:59.000 She put me on early.

00:49:00.000 He put me on some nice times and said...

00:49:02.000 But she wanted me to stay with her on that door and emceeing.

00:49:08.000 Help her out.

00:49:09.000 She had me close the place one day.

00:49:12.000 I shouldn't be responsible for this.

00:49:15.000 Close the door.

00:49:16.000 Just lock the fucking door.

00:49:17.000 Well, she's always had comics work there.

00:49:19.000 Yeah.

00:49:19.000 From the beginning.

00:49:20.000 All the time.

00:49:21.000 I wanted to work.

00:49:21.000 All the time.

00:49:22.000 I wanted to work there.

00:49:23.000 Most of them comics live in her house up there.

00:49:25.000 In Crest Hill?

00:49:26.000 Yeah.

00:49:27.000 Yeah, they lived on the hill there.

00:49:28.000 She bought all the property around there.

00:49:30.000 Yeah.

00:49:31.000 Mitzi owned so much money when she died.

00:49:34.000 Oh, my God.

00:49:35.000 The house up on this house...

00:49:38.000 You know the house she had up on the hill there?

00:49:40.000 Cresthill, yeah.

00:49:41.000 That's the name of the house?

00:49:42.000 That was the one where a lot of comics lived in it, right?

00:49:42.000 Yeah.

00:49:45.000 No, no, no, no.

00:49:46.000 The comics lived behind a comedy store up the hill.

00:49:48.000 She got about three or four of those.

00:49:50.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:49:51.000 She owned about three or four.

00:49:52.000 I went over there.

00:49:52.000 She would have a party over there.

00:49:54.000 The fucking party was fabulous.

00:49:56.000 Oh, look at California.

00:49:59.000 And these dudes got the house all dirty.

00:50:01.000 You know, they didn't see why they tried to make the bed.

00:50:05.000 The cover was thrown on top of the bed.

00:50:07.000 You know, just thrown.

00:50:07.000 Nothing tucked in or nothing.

00:50:09.000 And Mitzi owned all that back up in there.

00:50:12.000 I almost bought that Crest Hill house.

00:50:14.000 It was for sale back in the day.

00:50:16.000 I went to look at it.

00:50:17.000 But I had a dog.

00:50:18.000 I was pretty sure he was going to get out of that backyard.

00:50:21.000 I had a crazy dog.

00:50:22.000 I was like, this is not a good yard.

00:50:23.000 It's the one right behind the store, right?

00:50:25.000 I think, does Pauly have it?

00:50:27.000 Pauly's got the one that's up and to the right.

00:50:29.000 Oh, okay.

00:50:29.000 He's got one that's at the top of the driveway.

00:50:31.000 He owns it, I think.

00:50:32.000 Yeah.

00:50:33.000 I saw him the other night at the store in the parking lot, and he was telling me how he used to watch him.

00:50:39.000 Oh, my God.

00:50:40.000 I knew this little sucker.

00:50:41.000 I didn't watch his ass.

00:50:43.000 I watched him run into the wall and stuff.

00:50:46.000 He had Kennison babysitting him, man.

00:50:48.000 Kennison used to babysit him, too.

00:50:50.000 That's crazy.

00:50:50.000 Oh, my God.

00:50:51.000 Can you imagine leaving your fucking child with Kennison?

00:50:53.000 Yeah.

00:50:54.000 Oh, yeah.

00:50:54.000 Kennison was...

00:50:56.000 I told David Letterman, he said, Spoon, anybody new at the comedy store that's real funny?

00:51:01.000 I said, man, you got to see this crazy dude named Sam Kennison.

00:51:05.000 And so he said, have him send me tape or something or give us a call on the show.

00:51:10.000 I said, Dave, you're going to love him.

00:51:13.000 Man, Sam went on that show where Dave just fell on the floor.

00:51:18.000 Sam was so funny.

00:51:20.000 And Sam, I said, Sam, David Letterman, I want to see you on this show.

00:51:23.000 He said, oh, really?

00:51:24.000 It's the first time he ever got on TV. Wow.

00:51:27.000 And he was always been my friend.

00:51:30.000 Sam?

00:51:30.000 Sam Kenneth always was my friend.

00:51:33.000 So I used to work.

00:51:34.000 Mitzi, after a while, she would get these young cats, like David Letterman, to be the emcee of the first show.

00:51:41.000 So I would work at the 12 o'clock show, all the crazy people on the show.

00:51:44.000 Me, Paul Mooney, Sam Kennison, all the...

00:51:48.000 What's the boy's name?

00:51:50.000 He'd do Elvis, and he did...

00:51:54.000 Andy Kaufman?

00:51:55.000 Andy Kaufman.

00:51:56.000 I remember introducing him.

00:51:57.000 I introduced all of them.

00:51:59.000 He said, my name is Andy Cogman.

00:52:03.000 Yeah, I know.

00:52:05.000 They come to me and tell me how they want me to introduce them.

00:52:10.000 Just say, I'm Andy Cogman.

00:52:16.000 I'm looking at this dude like he's out of his fucking mind.

00:52:18.000 I'm Andy Cogman.

00:52:23.000 Lenny Schultz.

00:52:23.000 You ever seen him?

00:52:24.000 Sure.

00:52:25.000 Crazy Lenny.

00:52:25.000 Crazy Lenny with the pigs.

00:52:28.000 He used to bring dolls on stage and punch them.

00:52:28.000 Yeah.

00:52:30.000 Oh, wow.

00:52:31.000 It was so great.

00:52:31.000 Yeah.

00:52:32.000 He had a base to do about, like, remember the only, the bear, Smokey the Bear?

00:52:38.000 Only you could prevent four.

00:52:39.000 He would pull out the bear.

00:52:39.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:52:40.000 Only you could prevent four.

00:52:42.000 Sorry, he was, fuck you!

00:52:43.000 And he punched the bear.

00:52:44.000 It was so ridiculous.

00:52:46.000 And people would come to him just to see Lenny.

00:52:50.000 He would go nuts.

00:52:51.000 He was like really crazy expressions.

00:52:53.000 He was just an unbelievably funny guy.

00:52:56.000 Like a naturally funny guy.

00:52:57.000 He was an East Coast legend.

00:52:59.000 Oh, where?

00:53:00.000 Yeah, he's one of those guys.

00:53:01.000 Then he got, I forget, a lady broke up or something.

00:53:05.000 And they got a divorce or she moved out or something.

00:53:07.000 Oh, my God.

00:53:07.000 Then it was crazy then, boy.

00:53:09.000 He was bears and all that shit that he would beat up.

00:53:16.000 He was whipping their asses.

00:53:20.000 Did you know Bob Woods?

00:53:23.000 Bob Woods is another legend.

00:53:25.000 Another East Coast legend.

00:53:26.000 He's East Coast?

00:53:27.000 Big giant guy.

00:53:29.000 He was like a Long Island legend.

00:53:33.000 So he didn't play in the comic store that much?

00:53:35.000 I don't think he ever made it out.

00:53:36.000 Oh, he didn't make it out.

00:53:37.000 I don't know.

00:53:38.000 There's a few of them.

00:53:39.000 If he did, he didn't stay.

00:53:41.000 I'm hanging.

00:53:43.000 There's Bob Woods.

00:53:44.000 Yeah.

00:53:44.000 Oh, where?

00:53:45.000 Oh, no, I didn't know him.

00:53:47.000 Yeah, he was a Long Island legend.

00:53:49.000 Really?

00:53:50.000 Yeah, back in those days, he was a legend in Long Island around the same time, like those Boston guys, like Lenny Clark.

00:53:59.000 They were all big time in Boston back then.

00:54:03.000 I knew all the Boston guys.

00:54:05.000 They were tough.

00:54:06.000 They don't have a club there anymore.

00:54:21.000 Really?

00:54:23.000 That's what I like.

00:54:26.000 Oh, but they got people.

00:54:28.000 They jammed into each other.

00:54:29.000 People come in late.

00:54:30.000 They come in late and they're trying to get to the front.

00:54:32.000 When they got to see that, they take 30 minutes.

00:54:35.000 I say, bring your ass on up here.

00:54:36.000 Jump over somebody.

00:54:38.000 Jump over the divider?

00:54:40.000 I filmed my last special at the Wilbur.

00:54:42.000 At the Wilbur?

00:54:42.000 Yeah, I loved it.

00:54:43.000 I like the club in Chicopee.

00:54:46.000 Oh, that place way out there.

00:54:47.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:54:48.000 About an hour and a half.

00:54:49.000 You got to drive an hour and a half.

00:54:50.000 And the club at the...

00:54:53.000 What is the mall right there?

00:54:55.000 They call it what the other club used to be.

00:54:59.000 What is the name of that club?

00:55:00.000 In Andover?

00:55:01.000 Is that what you're thinking of?

00:55:02.000 No, it's right there at the mall.

00:55:05.000 You know, where all the stores and things.

00:55:07.000 Oh, Faneuil Hall?

00:55:08.000 Faneuil Hall.

00:55:08.000 Yeah, the Comedy Connection, Faneuil Hall.

00:55:10.000 That's gone.

00:55:11.000 It's been gone.

00:55:11.000 Yeah, that's gone.

00:55:12.000 That was amazing.

00:55:13.000 That was a good club.

00:55:14.000 Yeah.

00:55:14.000 What, about four or five hundred?

00:55:16.000 It was a big place.

00:55:17.000 Yeah.

00:55:17.000 And you do a show there and then drive all the way to Chicken Pea an hour and a half.

00:55:21.000 Then an hour and a half back and do another show on Friday.

00:55:25.000 Oh, man.

00:55:26.000 I can't do this.

00:55:28.000 And then you go out to Chicopee.

00:55:30.000 It's a Chinese-Hawaiian restaurant.

00:55:35.000 And they try to give you enough to last a whole month.

00:55:35.000 Yeah.

00:55:39.000 What?

00:55:40.000 You eat.

00:55:41.000 Then they try to give you enough to take with you.

00:55:44.000 To go box.

00:55:45.000 To go box that's bulging with food.

00:55:48.000 Yeah.

00:55:48.000 They gotta get rid of it.

00:55:49.000 Oh my god.

00:55:51.000 And the food was excellent.

00:55:51.000 Excellent.

00:55:53.000 It's gone, I'm told.

00:55:54.000 Is it gone?

00:55:55.000 The kids.

00:55:57.000 The kids didn't want to stay there.

00:56:00.000 I think that's what it was.

00:56:01.000 The mother and father died.

00:56:03.000 Oh, and the kids didn't want to keep running the restaurant?

00:56:04.000 They didn't want to keep the place.

00:56:06.000 Beautiful place.

00:56:07.000 And then near Hartford, Connecticut.

00:56:08.000 Hartford.

00:56:09.000 Because Chicopee is in...

00:56:11.000 Chicopee...

00:56:12.000 Chicopee is in Massachusetts.

00:56:14.000 Western Massachusetts?

00:56:15.000 Massachusetts, yeah.

00:56:17.000 But those were the days, boy.

00:56:20.000 Long ass flight.

00:56:22.000 But I love the fact that the airport was 10 minutes from the hotel.

00:56:27.000 Get you in, get you out.

00:56:29.000 Get me in, get out.

00:56:30.000 There was a lot of clubs back then.

00:56:32.000 Oh my god, a lot of clubs.

00:56:34.000 It's interesting, there's more comics now than ever, but I don't know if there's more clubs.

00:56:38.000 Well, they got a lot of clubs around, but they only book...

00:56:44.000 They don't have...

00:56:47.000 Showcase nights.

00:56:48.000 Like, they have 15, 20 comics.

00:56:50.000 They don't have that.

00:56:50.000 They have three comics, and that's all they have.

00:56:53.000 So they make their money.

00:56:55.000 It's a whole different ballgame.

00:56:56.000 There's, like, independent shows now.

00:56:58.000 That's how it is nowadays.

00:57:00.000 Like, the club circuit's pretty kind of the same.

00:57:02.000 There's some new clubs, but, you know, I hear, like, most clubs on the road, like, they're not, like, the ones out here or New York.

00:57:09.000 No, they're not.

00:57:10.000 Because you don't get a chance to really showcase.

00:57:12.000 You have to either already be somebody or...

00:57:14.000 They book you in January.

00:57:15.000 Yeah, be on your way type of thing.

00:57:17.000 Yeah.

00:57:17.000 I've been booked, what, Kansas City?

00:57:19.000 I've been booked January 2nd or 3rd in Kansas City.

00:57:23.000 When is it?

00:57:24.000 When is it?

00:57:24.000 Next, this week is 20. It'll be December 1st, December.

00:57:28.000 I mean, June will be, what, Friday or Saturday?

00:57:28.000 June.

00:57:31.000 This weekend.

00:57:32.000 Yeah.

00:57:32.000 Yeah, Saturday.

00:57:33.000 I've been booked six months on this Babel already.

00:57:33.000 Saturday.

00:57:35.000 Jesus Christ.

00:57:36.000 Six months solid.

00:57:38.000 I'm talking about a book in this club six months ago.

00:57:42.000 I'm booked all year for this year.

00:57:46.000 I got dates.

00:57:47.000 I wish I brought my stuff.

00:57:48.000 I have dates that I know I'm going to do in December 12th to the 15th.

00:57:52.000 I think I'm going to be in Arlington, Texas.

00:57:55.000 But I know that you get with Chris Smith and them, but they want 10%.

00:57:59.000 But they book your ass.

00:58:02.000 If you want to get to a club, you can get that.

00:58:05.000 They have you book your book.

00:58:07.000 You be in bed talking about book.

00:58:09.000 I'm booked.

00:58:11.000 I'm booked.

00:58:12.000 I'm booked too much.

00:58:13.000 Do you still enjoy the shows, though?

00:58:15.000 No.

00:58:19.000 I've had enough.

00:58:21.000 I've had enough.

00:58:23.000 You know your fans may or may not watch or listen to this, right?

00:58:26.000 They know that, you know, it's hard work.

00:58:29.000 It's hard work.

00:58:30.000 You're there performing, yeah.

00:58:32.000 Whenever I've done shows with him, the moment, because, you know, I'll hang out, because after every show, he'll try to sell merch and take pictures, but as soon as he gets in the green room, he's like, gee, do you see how hard I work?

00:58:44.000 You see this?

00:58:45.000 You see all this I'm doing right here?

00:58:48.000 You don't know nothing about this hard work.

00:58:50.000 I'm like, okay.

00:58:51.000 Your business is tough.

00:58:53.000 Yeah, it's a grind.

00:58:54.000 You do five, six weeks in a row.

00:58:57.000 That's what I hate.

00:58:58.000 I'm on my second of five weeks.

00:59:03.000 It's the second week now.

00:59:05.000 So I got to go next week.

00:59:07.000 I go to Hartford, Connecticut.

00:59:08.000 Hartford Springfield.

00:59:09.000 That's why you actually fly to that.

00:59:12.000 Then I go to Memphis.

00:59:13.000 So wait, you said you hate it, but why don't you just stop?

00:59:16.000 Paper.

00:59:17.000 Paper.

00:59:19.000 You set him up.

00:59:20.000 He's lobbing his way.

00:59:22.000 The only time I've ever seen him do anything outside, because he's old school, so it's one of those things where he's so used to, like, you know, he's so used to, he's got his agents, his managers, and he's so used to someone giving him work.

00:59:33.000 So it's one of those things where I'm, you know, on the road, you're giving the spots, you're giving the clubs.

00:59:37.000 And I was like, well, what do you like doing?

00:59:39.000 Because you asked that earlier, and like...

00:59:41.000 The one thing that we've made between him doing comedy and now is we created a YouTube channel for him where he does a cooking show.

00:59:49.000 He has his own YouTube channel because I do YouTube and all this stuff.

00:59:52.000 I do gaming videos and a bunch of other random stuff, sketches and vlogs.

00:59:57.000 He was like, well, I guess I got a little time off.

01:00:00.000 He's like, maybe we can do this cooking idea I got.

01:00:00.000 We can do something random.

01:00:02.000 I said, sure, let's do it.

01:00:03.000 We create the channel, we make it, and it's called Cooking for Poor People.

01:00:07.000 Cooking for Poor People because when you're hungry, everything tastes good.

01:00:10.000 Yes, and his channel is The John.

01:00:13.000 So I eat a bunch of crap.

01:00:14.000 I cook a bunch of crap.

01:00:15.000 Like what kind of food?

01:00:16.000 Chicken feet and rice.

01:00:18.000 We did chicken feet, pig feet, oxtail.

01:00:18.000 Chicken feet?

01:00:22.000 Oh, I've had chicken feet.

01:00:24.000 What is chicken feet like?

01:00:26.000 Tough.

01:00:27.000 You gotta be.

01:00:28.000 Asian people eat it.

01:00:31.000 Chinese people eat it every day.

01:00:33.000 He tried to feed it to our dog and our dog ran away from him.

01:00:35.000 So that's like a clip from the video.

01:00:37.000 He don't know what a delicacy it was.

01:00:38.000 That's what that was.

01:00:39.000 And then I recommend wine.

01:00:41.000 I have wine.

01:00:42.000 I have a tall glass of Mad Dog 2020 with them chicken feet.

01:00:47.000 With them chicken feet.

01:00:49.000 And Thunderbird.

01:00:50.000 Thunderbird wine.

01:00:51.000 Thunderbird wine.

01:00:52.000 Cisco.

01:00:54.000 Where do you get Mad Dog 2020?

01:00:55.000 He's good at finding these.

01:00:57.000 That's a place right there on Van Nuys.

01:00:58.000 Really?

01:00:59.000 Some Mexicans sell it.

01:01:00.000 Yeah.

01:01:03.000 And they're hanging out in the, you know, just like an old school.

01:01:06.000 They're hanging out in the front with their bottle.

01:01:08.000 They bring it down here and hide it behind the crate.

01:01:11.000 And they bring it up and hit that.

01:01:14.000 Yeah.

01:01:15.000 Then they go buy some more.

01:01:16.000 I'm shocked that it had it.

01:01:17.000 There you go.

01:01:19.000 So I helped them produce and create, help them work on this thing.

01:01:23.000 But, you know, it gets good.

01:01:26.000 Look at that pig feet right there.

01:01:29.000 Shelly threw my shit away.

01:01:30.000 I can't believe she threw the old pig feet away.

01:01:32.000 It ain't old.

01:01:33.000 I like the kitchen, too.

01:01:35.000 Yeah, that's old school.

01:01:36.000 Whose kitchen is that?

01:01:37.000 It's his.

01:01:38.000 It's the house we have.

01:01:39.000 We bought the house next to us.

01:01:40.000 Oh, nice.

01:01:41.000 So I got the house next to me, and I tore the whole fence down.

01:01:43.000 Guess house, kitchen.

01:01:45.000 And I got all that old kitchen.

01:01:46.000 So I said, I'm going to leave that.

01:01:47.000 I'm going to leave that kitchen away.

01:01:48.000 That's a perfect kitchen for a show on cooking.

01:01:50.000 Yeah.

01:01:51.000 It's tight and old school.

01:01:53.000 It reminds you of growing up.

01:01:54.000 Yeah, and it works well.

01:01:57.000 I think we made maybe 12, 15 of these things, but people watch them.

01:02:01.000 It's just one of those things where he works on the road.

01:02:03.000 So whenever free time comes around, we used to sit back and knock them out and try to shoot them, and I would edit them and whatnot.

01:02:09.000 But now I'm busy, so he has an editor.

01:02:11.000 But I try to help him market it when it's finished.

01:02:15.000 I'm like, alright, post it on the social platforms, get it out there and whatnot.

01:02:19.000 What about a comedy special?

01:02:21.000 I've done that.

01:02:23.000 Showtime.

01:02:24.000 You think about doing one now?

01:02:27.000 I did one.

01:02:28.000 I paid for it myself, but...

01:02:29.000 How long ago?

01:02:30.000 My stomach's too big.

01:02:33.000 I looked at that damn stomach of mine and said, oh man, what the fuck?

01:02:37.000 I would have spent $10,000 with a $15,000 stomach.

01:02:45.000 It was horrible.

01:02:46.000 How long ago was this that you filmed it?

01:02:48.000 Oh, I did it, though.

01:02:49.000 I must have been, let's see, about four years ago, four or five years ago.

01:02:52.000 Did you release it?

01:02:53.000 No, I got it.

01:02:54.000 Oh, you're talking about that one.

01:02:55.000 I thought you were talking about the one that's already done and out there.

01:02:58.000 No, that's called You Gotta Coordinate.

01:03:00.000 Yeah, that one was from Showtime.

01:03:01.000 So you made one, you didn't release it because you didn't like your stomach?

01:03:04.000 I didn't like my stomach.

01:03:09.000 But you also didn't get anybody to finish editing it, right?

01:03:14.000 Did they finish it?

01:03:16.000 It's all finished.

01:03:17.000 It's finished?

01:03:18.000 I didn't know that.

01:03:19.000 What's your friend's name that does animation and stuff?

01:03:22.000 Gabe?

01:03:23.000 Gabe did the album.

01:03:25.000 He did the artwork.

01:03:26.000 The artwork on it.

01:03:27.000 Oh, that's random.

01:03:29.000 I thought you always shelved that because you watched it and you didn't like the way it came out and then you never finished editing and posting it.

01:03:29.000 I didn't know you finished.

01:03:35.000 I didn't like the way my stomach came out.

01:03:38.000 You better take that right now and sell that bad boy.

01:03:43.000 I gotta look at it.

01:03:44.000 I hate to see myself, my stomach be...

01:03:46.000 Why don't you get somebody else to look at it?

01:03:47.000 I'm gonna do that.

01:03:48.000 Just plug your ears and just walk away from it.

01:03:50.000 Why don't you cut that wine and bring that stomach down and do your thing?

01:03:55.000 Everybody need a little taste.

01:03:57.000 No, it never makes any sense.

01:04:00.000 Never makes any sense.

01:04:01.000 Joe should have some wine here for me right now.

01:04:04.000 I'll get some if you like some.

01:04:05.000 Joe, don't get him anymore.

01:04:07.000 We have wine in the back.

01:04:08.000 Oh my gosh.

01:04:11.000 A bunch of liquor on that, a bunch of whiskey.

01:04:13.000 He's just going to shame himself later in the mirror.

01:04:16.000 Oh, look at that joke-ass wine.

01:04:19.000 That big bottle is probably one.

01:04:21.000 Go joke-ass wine.

01:04:23.000 But you don't want to lose weight, right?

01:04:25.000 I want to lose weight, but they say you got to stop.

01:04:28.000 He wants to lose it while drinking alcohol.

01:04:31.000 They want you to stop drinking.

01:04:33.000 Or take it in increments.

01:04:36.000 Break, dude.

01:04:37.000 I do.

01:04:38.000 I get a bottle a day.

01:04:41.000 Do you drink a whole bottle a day?

01:04:42.000 Oh, yeah.

01:04:45.000 You can't...

01:04:46.000 You should get together with Ron White.

01:04:48.000 Dude.

01:04:49.000 No, he drank that hard shit.

01:04:50.000 I don't want that shit he drinking.

01:04:53.000 That shit kill you.

01:04:54.000 He drinks his own tequila.

01:04:55.000 Oh, yeah.

01:04:56.000 I saw that last night.

01:04:57.000 He was in the back bar.

01:04:58.000 Yeah, we had some of his tequila.

01:05:00.000 He drank too much.

01:05:03.000 I know that shit's getting him fucked up on stage.

01:05:05.000 I see him up there.

01:05:06.000 He can act like he's not drunk.

01:05:08.000 That motherfucker drunk as he can be.

01:05:13.000 Ron White goes hard.

01:05:15.000 Yeah, he goes very hard.

01:05:16.000 He goes hard.

01:05:16.000 He goes hard every fucking night of the week, too.

01:05:19.000 Yeah, that's tough.

01:05:20.000 It's tough.

01:05:21.000 Yeah.

01:05:21.000 But it's working out.

01:05:22.000 I drink white wine, Chardonnay.

01:05:26.000 Oh, nice and light.

01:05:27.000 Then I drink a little Cabernet Sauvignon.

01:05:32.000 Nice red.

01:05:33.000 Yeah, red wine.

01:05:34.000 But then you get another one and then maybe one more.

01:05:39.000 And then you get the bottle and pull it up to your mouth and drink your swig and then put it away and go to bed.

01:05:45.000 That ain't nothing bad with that.

01:05:47.000 Till the next day.

01:05:48.000 Till the next bottle.

01:05:50.000 Out of all the things you drink though, give me another swig.

01:05:53.000 There's some evidence that wine's good for you.

01:05:55.000 A little bit of wine?

01:05:56.000 A little bit of wine's not bad for you.

01:05:57.000 A little bit.

01:05:58.000 Two glasses of wine a day for longevity and health.

01:06:02.000 Yeah, there you go.

01:06:03.000 How much wine's in the glass and how big's the glass?

01:06:05.000 Glass, glass.

01:06:06.000 I said, well, what about ten?

01:06:07.000 If you're so good, what about ten glasses?

01:06:10.000 That's even better.

01:06:12.000 Man.

01:06:13.000 It'll get you ready to go to work.

01:06:14.000 You gotta go back.

01:06:15.000 I'm in no rush.

01:06:16.000 I'd say something if I had somewhere to be.

01:06:18.000 I don't want you rushing down that freeway.

01:06:23.000 He's being a dad.

01:06:24.000 Good for you.

01:06:25.000 I'm being a dad.

01:06:26.000 I got money at home.

01:06:28.000 I got a couch.

01:06:28.000 What?

01:06:29.000 It always comes full circle.

01:06:31.000 No, I host a show.

01:06:33.000 Was he always like this?

01:06:34.000 Always.

01:06:35.000 Oh, no.

01:06:36.000 I've got friends who ask me, so your dad, that's who he is?

01:06:39.000 Is that a character?

01:06:40.000 I'm like, oh, no, no, no.

01:06:41.000 He got on for being himself.

01:06:43.000 Yeah.

01:06:43.000 He's one of the lucky...

01:06:44.000 He's professionally himself.

01:06:45.000 Yeah, I told him that jokingly back in the day.

01:06:47.000 I was like, you know you're lucky, right?

01:06:48.000 He's like, what do you mean?

01:06:49.000 I was like, you are where you are because you are who you are.

01:06:53.000 You don't have to fake it.

01:06:55.000 No, you're supposed to.

01:06:55.000 You just go...

01:06:56.000 When you're acting, you should be yourself.

01:06:58.000 You're funny enough.

01:06:58.000 Yeah.

01:07:00.000 Definitely be yourself.

01:07:01.000 You gotta be yourself.

01:07:02.000 Yeah.

01:07:03.000 I'm on the cartoon.

01:07:04.000 What is it?

01:07:04.000 The Boondocks?

01:07:06.000 I didn't change my voice for the Boondocks.

01:07:08.000 I did all.

01:07:08.000 No.

01:07:09.000 I did that.

01:07:10.000 And they're coming back.

01:07:11.000 The Boondocks are coming back.

01:07:12.000 That's a great show.

01:07:13.000 Yeah.

01:07:13.000 It's one of the best cartoons I've ever been on.

01:07:15.000 I met the dude who created it.

01:07:16.000 He was friends with my friend Todd.

01:07:18.000 Yeah.

01:07:18.000 And Magruder.

01:07:21.000 Smart dude.

01:07:23.000 Very smart.

01:07:24.000 He did, but like Jesus also.

01:07:25.000 He wrote that too.

01:07:26.000 Like Jesus.

01:07:27.000 That's another one that you're on.

01:07:29.000 That he fell into.

01:07:31.000 That's the funny part.

01:07:32.000 Because remember, the thing is, I went in for that show to play one of the leads or whatever.

01:07:38.000 It didn't happen, but I remember, because he's friends with Aaron and whatnot, Aaron just called him in to do a one-day role.

01:07:44.000 Yeah, he wanted me to...

01:07:44.000 Remember?

01:07:45.000 He said, John, we need your character to just do the pilot.

01:07:50.000 I said, yeah, I'll try it, man.

01:07:52.000 I don't feel like doing no Jesus.

01:07:54.000 I'm a homeless man, so...

01:07:57.000 I got into it.

01:07:58.000 I thought it was cool.

01:07:59.000 He said, who wants a job?

01:08:00.000 It's yours.

01:08:00.000 I said, well, good.

01:08:01.000 So he went in to do a guest star role, and then they were like, dang, he's funnier than what we were thinking.

01:08:07.000 So they gave him a role.

01:08:09.000 He was a serious writer.

01:08:10.000 You did three seasons.

01:08:11.000 You did two that aired.

01:08:12.000 We finished the third.

01:08:13.000 You did a third one, and it hasn't aired yet.

01:08:15.000 And I used...

01:08:16.000 See, when I did Hollywood Shuffle, I played a man who had lost everything.

01:08:22.000 He was homeless.

01:08:23.000 So I'm sitting out there.

01:08:24.000 And Robert Townsend didn't have any money for wardrobe.

01:08:27.000 So I went to the second-hand store, Goodwill, and bought coveralls and an old shirt.

01:08:33.000 And I had a T-shirt that I tore and put a pin to put it back up.

01:08:39.000 So that was...

01:08:40.000 I thought that was clever.

01:08:42.000 So this happened...

01:08:45.000 20 years ago, I kept that outfit in my garage for 20 years.

01:08:51.000 And I used it on Black Jesus.

01:08:54.000 Same thing I wore on the Hollywood Shuffle.

01:08:58.000 Wow.

01:08:59.000 Not Hollywood Shuffle.

01:09:00.000 What was it?

01:09:01.000 Whole Cake.

01:09:02.000 What's the name of that?

01:09:03.000 Hollywood Shuffle, that's it.

01:09:03.000 That was Hollywood Shuffle.

01:09:04.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:09:05.000 There it is!

01:09:06.000 Yeah.

01:09:07.000 He got all that stuff.

01:09:08.000 But then they, so yeah, so then they took, so then he wore it, they did their thing, and then they were like, well, this thing stinks, so we'll just recreate it for you.

01:09:15.000 They did everything over, got the same outfit.

01:09:18.000 That I had.

01:09:20.000 Look at that one.

01:09:21.000 I got Thunderbird wine.

01:09:22.000 I got my little wine.

01:09:23.000 Look at that.

01:09:24.000 Four cakes.

01:09:25.000 Whatever happened to Robert Townsend?

01:09:26.000 What is he up to?

01:09:27.000 He's a director now.

01:09:29.000 Just directing different movies?

01:09:30.000 A lot of different movies and commercials and things.

01:09:33.000 He used to do stand-up too.

01:09:34.000 Oh yeah.

01:09:35.000 We used to go on tour with him.

01:09:37.000 We worked all the big places.

01:09:39.000 I remember his specials.

01:09:40.000 He always had those HBO comedy specials.

01:09:44.000 Damon Wayans did them.

01:09:46.000 A bunch of people did them.

01:09:47.000 Yeah, Robert Towns.

01:09:48.000 He's still around.

01:09:49.000 I saw a picture on my phone.

01:09:51.000 I don't know how.

01:09:52.000 Where's my phone?

01:09:54.000 I don't know.

01:09:54.000 It's probably in your jacket, man.

01:09:58.000 I don't want to lose my phone.

01:10:00.000 He does that at home.

01:10:02.000 He'll say, hey, I don't live with him.

01:10:03.000 I'm grown.

01:10:04.000 I'm married and all that stuff.

01:10:05.000 I live on my own with my wife.

01:10:06.000 He'll call me and say, JD, you seen my cameras?

01:10:10.000 I moved my camera and I don't know where it is.

01:10:12.000 I was like, I don't live with you.

01:10:14.000 I don't live with you.

01:10:15.000 I have no idea where your things are.

01:10:18.000 He's like, well, you know.

01:10:19.000 And my brother lives with him still, so it's one of those things where I'm like, why don't you ask Alex?

01:10:22.000 He's around, or someone who maybe is at the house more often.

01:10:25.000 He's like, I feel like you might be the one who might know what his thing is.

01:10:29.000 Because I've seen you around here.

01:10:30.000 I know you come around.

01:10:31.000 You come take my things.

01:10:32.000 They take my stuff.

01:10:33.000 I don't get me.

01:10:34.000 They take your stuff?

01:10:35.000 I buy cameras.

01:10:38.000 I buy a camera and put it over there.

01:10:41.000 Because I know where it's at because it's over there.

01:10:43.000 I come back, it ain't over there now.

01:10:45.000 I have no idea where it's at now because I put it over there.

01:10:47.000 That's because you and Mom and Alex and whoever else roams through the house will move things around all the time.

01:10:54.000 I'm not there.

01:10:54.000 I'm not there to move things.

01:10:56.000 But I know where I put things in.

01:10:58.000 When I come back, it's not there.

01:11:00.000 But the thing is, why do you call me when I'm never there?

01:11:04.000 You know where they are.

01:11:05.000 See?

01:11:07.000 It doesn't make any sense.

01:11:08.000 You and your mama know where.

01:11:10.000 Mom will take his stuff.

01:11:12.000 Mom will go shoot her stuff because she produces and does her little independent movies.

01:11:16.000 So when she grabs your cameras, that's where they move to.

01:11:19.000 Did you feel pressure doing stand-up because this is your dad?

01:11:22.000 No, actually.

01:11:23.000 I didn't want to do it.

01:11:24.000 Never.

01:11:25.000 Really?

01:11:25.000 Because I got into acting and I thought that was far enough.

01:11:27.000 I was like, oh, my dad already does that.

01:11:28.000 I don't want to...

01:11:29.000 I don't want to jump in on the rest of that stuff.

01:11:31.000 And acting was just kind of like on a whim.

01:11:33.000 And then stand-up was like a dare.

01:11:35.000 A friend of mine was like, we should...

01:11:36.000 Because we, back in the day, not too long ago, maybe early, 2011 or 12. It's not back in the day.

01:11:43.000 But me and my boys were hanging out one night in our 20s, and we just went...

01:11:47.000 We had come from a club, and we drove past the Laugh Factory.

01:11:51.000 And I was like, you guys want to go watch comedy?

01:11:53.000 I don't know.

01:11:53.000 I was like 24 or something.

01:11:55.000 I was like, I used to know that.

01:11:56.000 I was like, the owner knows me from when I was a baby.

01:11:58.000 If he's there, maybe...

01:11:59.000 He's going to babysit you.

01:12:00.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:12:01.000 Jamie Masada.

01:12:02.000 Buddy, I watch your baby, buddy.

01:12:04.000 I take care of baby for you.

01:12:06.000 That's his introduction.

01:12:07.000 Every time I'm there, whenever I do shows, that's his introduction for me.

01:12:13.000 He'll be like, hey, buddy, I want you to meet Johnny Witherspoon, son.

01:12:18.000 I used to carry him when he was a baby.

01:12:20.000 Buddy, I used to carry him around like a baby.

01:12:24.000 Bring him on stage.

01:12:26.000 Yeah, we went there...

01:12:27.000 We went there randomly one night.

01:12:30.000 That's so fucking funny.

01:12:31.000 That's good.

01:12:31.000 That's a good impression.

01:12:33.000 We went there randomly one night and I remember the door guy, I was like, hey, is Jamie here?

01:12:39.000 And he's like, Jamie who?

01:12:40.000 As if I didn't know him.

01:12:41.000 I was back then.

01:12:42.000 I was like, you know, the owner?

01:12:43.000 And he's like, tell him J.D. Witherspoon's here.

01:12:46.000 I didn't think anything.

01:12:47.000 I don't use my name like that.

01:12:48.000 But then he comes down and he's like...

01:12:51.000 Buddy, what are you doing here?

01:12:52.000 This and that.

01:12:53.000 You're doing comedy?

01:12:54.000 I'm like, no, no, no.

01:12:55.000 Me and my friend, we just won't watch the show.

01:12:56.000 He's like, yeah, come in.

01:12:58.000 Let's get him a bottle of wine, all that stuff, and we're just hanging out.

01:13:02.000 But then later, through the night, he was talking.

01:13:04.000 He was like, so you're trying to do comedy like your dad?

01:13:06.000 I was like, no!

01:13:06.000 I'm good.

01:13:07.000 I don't care to do that.

01:13:09.000 I'm fine.

01:13:09.000 And my friends were with me.

01:13:10.000 He's like, come on.

01:13:11.000 He's like, you should try it.

01:13:12.000 You're probably funny.

01:13:13.000 Maybe even funnier than him, buddy.

01:13:15.000 And I was like, I don't know.

01:13:17.000 But then later on that same week, he was like, well, if you ever want to come by, he said, swing by, do the open mic or whatever.

01:13:22.000 And my boy Henry, whatever.

01:13:25.000 Henry was like, hey, we should do that, man.

01:13:27.000 That'd be kind of funny.

01:13:28.000 You know, maybe we be comedians.

01:13:30.000 I was like, nah.

01:13:31.000 Nah.

01:13:32.000 I don't think so.

01:13:33.000 And then one night we just said, I think I had someone's email from the Laugh Factory and hit them up.

01:13:39.000 It was like, hey, me and my buddy are going to come by.

01:13:41.000 Maybe we can do the mic.

01:13:42.000 And then they were like, yeah, sure, we'll throw you up, this and that.

01:13:44.000 And my buddy Henry, he's the one who pressured me into it.

01:13:48.000 We practiced our jokes on camera at home to see how that would look.

01:13:52.000 It was the weirdest thing.

01:13:53.000 It was so weird.

01:13:54.000 Because I was getting into creating content and I was going to film school and I was making my YouTube videos.

01:14:01.000 I was doing sketch comedy on YouTube.

01:14:04.000 And then we shot a little thing.

01:14:06.000 We watched it back.

01:14:06.000 I was like, I guess.

01:14:08.000 And then we went to the mic that night and we went.

01:14:12.000 I did it.

01:14:12.000 I was at the back end of the lineup so I actually had a decent crowd.

01:14:16.000 It was like, because it starts off, there's nobody there.

01:14:18.000 It's just comics.

01:14:19.000 And then By the time it was my turn, it was close to the 8 o'clock show, so it was like 35, 40 people.

01:14:24.000 I had three jokes for my three-minute set, clean, and I did it, and they did all right.

01:14:29.000 People laughed, and I was like, oh, okay, that's cool, random, you know?

01:14:32.000 And I didn't think much of it.

01:14:33.000 Henry bombed.

01:14:36.000 Yeah, no, but it was just one of those things where after that...

01:14:40.000 Piss.

01:14:42.000 Go ahead, go ahead.

01:14:45.000 Right up there past the werewolf.

01:14:46.000 Where's the camera at?

01:14:48.000 No, the camera's up here.

01:14:49.000 The camera's over there.

01:14:51.000 If you gotta go piss, say it to the camera.

01:14:53.000 He just said it.

01:14:54.000 He just said it.

01:14:56.000 Oh, man.

01:14:57.000 But yeah, no, so we...

01:14:58.000 Shit.

01:15:01.000 Dude, your dad is a trip.

01:15:03.000 He's so funny, man.

01:15:04.000 I got a bit about how when you just get old, you just don't care.

01:15:07.000 You just don't care about what you say.

01:15:08.000 He doesn't give a fuck.

01:15:09.000 No, not at all.

01:15:10.000 But also, that's part of who he is.

01:15:13.000 Part of his business is not giving a fuck.

01:15:15.000 Yeah, pretty much.

01:15:16.000 How funny is he, though, man?

01:15:18.000 He's the funniest dude I personally know.

01:15:20.000 That's how I categorize it.

01:15:24.000 I would think that if that was my dad, I would feel a lot of pressure.

01:15:28.000 I think it's pressure if I, from the beginning, always want to do stand-up.

01:15:31.000 You know, kind of like a Michael Jordan thing.

01:15:33.000 I never, like, it was all, a majority of the stuff I do now is very, like, just happenstance.

01:15:40.000 It's like, oh, I just fell into this, and I'm alright at it, so I'll just keep doing it.

01:15:44.000 Why not?

01:15:44.000 You know, when it comes to things like YouTube, and, like, I know you do unboxing videos and game-related videos, you can kind of do that now.

01:15:53.000 If you're an interesting person, you don't really need much.

01:15:58.000 No, no, definitely not with the internet.

01:15:59.000 Your dad, if you came along today, if he just didn't exist and all of a sudden he didn't have this giant body of work, and you just put a camera on your dad like, this is my dad, your dad could be fucking famous today.

01:16:11.000 If he was a guy that works at the post office, just a regular guy, and you were telling your friends, my dad is the funniest fucking guy alive, and then you put a camera on him, he would blow up.

01:16:21.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:16:22.000 It's interesting and whatnot.

01:16:24.000 I never really think of it because people always ask me when I was growing up, they'd be like, how is it that your dad, how do you feel?

01:16:30.000 I used to get that all the time.

01:16:31.000 Kids would be like, your dad's whoever, blah, blah, blah, famous this and that, Friday, the Wayans Brothers.

01:16:35.000 And I'm just like, yeah, but to me, he's just my dad.

01:16:38.000 He's just a goofball.

01:16:40.000 It's normal.

01:16:40.000 I get it.

01:16:41.000 To you guys, you see somebody who's an entertainer and whatnot.

01:16:43.000 I'm like, he's always like that.

01:16:45.000 Dude, how funny is he shelved his special because he doesn't like his style again.

01:16:49.000 Oh, he does funnier stuff.

01:16:50.000 He does weirder stuff.

01:16:52.000 You gotta find that special and get it out.

01:16:53.000 Oh, I mean, we could post it.

01:16:55.000 It's definitely...

01:16:56.000 Or he could sell it.

01:16:57.000 And nowadays, he could hit up...

01:16:59.000 I'm sure his people could hit up Netflix.

01:17:00.000 Like, we have a body of work.

01:17:02.000 Yeah.

01:17:03.000 People would watch it.

01:17:04.000 That's the thing.

01:17:04.000 Yeah.

01:17:05.000 Could you talk him into doing a new special?

01:17:07.000 Gotta get that stomach down.

01:17:11.000 I'll have to talk him into coming back here and hitting the gym.

01:17:13.000 Does he exercise?

01:17:14.000 He does, but the main thing is the consumption.

01:17:18.000 Alright, let's cut back on drinking and then continue exercising.

01:17:22.000 You'll see the change.

01:17:23.000 I try to tell him, do a drink every other day.

01:17:26.000 Doesn't sound like he's interested in that.

01:17:28.000 No, it doesn't, does it?

01:17:30.000 It sounds like he's 100% interested in drinking.

01:17:34.000 He's 100% enjoying that money and drinking my wine.

01:17:40.000 He's having a good time.

01:17:42.000 He's back.

01:17:44.000 He's living his life, enjoying it.

01:17:46.000 That's how I got into comedy and then I just kept doing it and my friend was like, yeah, I'm good.

01:17:51.000 How many years are you doing it now?

01:17:52.000 I would say I started in 2012, but I want to say I didn't continue in the beginning so consistently.

01:17:58.000 I did mics for the first two years, and then I started getting booked on shows.

01:18:05.000 And then I kind of got lazy.

01:18:06.000 It was one of those things where everything I was doing, I would weigh my options.

01:18:11.000 If something was more of an opportunity, I would do that over trying to get better at stand-up.

01:18:16.000 But now I've been consistent for like three years.

01:18:19.000 Three to four years just like grinding at it because I've made strides doing things and acting and creating content on the internet.

01:18:29.000 So now I kind of have...

01:18:32.000 I guess a little bit of a cushion to just go and get good now, you know, because I've been working.

01:18:37.000 You're doing other stuff.

01:18:38.000 Yeah.

01:18:38.000 You don't have to totally rely on it.

01:18:40.000 Well, it's one of those things where because I don't have to rely on it, it's that much more something I want to approach.

01:18:47.000 I'm like, oh, well, now I can have fun.

01:18:50.000 I don't feel pressured, not with anything about that, but more like I don't feel pressured to get booked, get booked, get on a show, get a special this and that.

01:18:58.000 Get that money.

01:18:58.000 I just feel like, oh, I can just take time and get good now.

01:19:00.000 Yeah.

01:19:01.000 Thumbs up.

01:19:03.000 You were around when Pryor was in his heyday.

01:19:06.000 Oh, yeah.

01:19:07.000 That must have been something.

01:19:08.000 Oh, yeah.

01:19:09.000 So you were just kind of...

01:19:10.000 In 74, when you were just getting there, Pryor, he was in the peak.

01:19:15.000 He was already...

01:19:16.000 He was in the peak, right?

01:19:17.000 Big time.

01:19:18.000 Oh, yeah.

01:19:18.000 He was big time.

01:19:19.000 And...

01:19:20.000 What was that like?

01:19:20.000 It was, he would, you know, when I was around the comedy store, I was basically the host of the comedy store.

01:19:27.000 When I emceed, you know, and I go to the door.

01:19:30.000 If they have a problem, I go to the door and settle the problem and all this stuff.

01:19:33.000 Just missing one.

01:19:34.000 She knew I'd do all this stuff and it wasn't no fighting and I'm just being polite and stuff.

01:19:40.000 And Richard would come in.

01:19:41.000 I look at the back, Richard Pryor's in the back.

01:19:43.000 I said, what the hell are you doing here, Richard?

01:19:44.000 How are you doing?

01:19:45.000 He knew Paul Mooney.

01:19:47.000 Mooney was...

01:19:48.000 and David Banks, all these...

01:19:50.000 Anytime you got all these guys at the comic store, Rich would want to do another album.

01:19:55.000 So what happened is...

01:19:58.000 Richard, the first time I saw Richard in the back, I said, Richard, how you doing?

01:20:02.000 Spoon, I just come about to see how you doing.

01:20:04.000 I said, fine, I'm doing it, Richard.

01:20:05.000 He never come about to see how I'm doing.

01:20:07.000 He's just saying this to set it up for he want to work on his act for a new album.

01:20:14.000 So I said, Richard, everything fine?

01:20:16.000 He said, you want a drink?

01:20:16.000 No, no, Spoon.

01:20:17.000 I'll be fine.

01:20:18.000 You want to go to the stage?

01:20:19.000 No, no, no.

01:20:19.000 I just come about to see how you doing.

01:20:20.000 I said, how you doing, Richard?

01:20:23.000 So I know to go away and come back.

01:20:27.000 And I said, Richie, anything you want to drink?

01:20:29.000 They didn't want to drink now.

01:20:30.000 So he wanted to drink.

01:20:31.000 He'd get a little red drink he liked with olive oil.

01:20:35.000 What do you call that?

01:20:35.000 Cherry in it.

01:20:36.000 That kind of stuff.

01:20:38.000 And so I know to go away.

01:20:41.000 I go away.

01:20:42.000 They told me, Richie's going to drive you crazy.

01:20:45.000 Richie come back.

01:20:46.000 Richie's going to drive you crazy.

01:20:47.000 So I go away, come back.

01:20:49.000 Richie, everything I'm fine?

01:20:50.000 Anything else you want?

01:20:51.000 He said, you want to go stay?

01:20:52.000 He said, no.

01:20:52.000 I don't want to go stay.

01:20:53.000 I said, how are you doing?

01:20:59.000 And so I go away and come back and say, Richard, do two minutes.

01:21:01.000 Some people said, Richard Pryor came by the concert.

01:21:04.000 He said, sure, I'll go up there and do two minutes.

01:21:06.000 He said, when do I go on?

01:21:07.000 I said, you're going on right after this guy get off.

01:21:08.000 I'll put you on right now.

01:21:10.000 And he'd go up there and do two hours.

01:21:15.000 Then he'll have his secretary call me the next day and say, thanks for helping me get on stage.

01:21:21.000 Helping me get on stage.

01:21:22.000 He had to be pushed on stage.

01:21:24.000 That's so weird.

01:21:25.000 Yeah, that's amazing, ain't it?

01:21:26.000 Robin Williams!

01:21:28.000 But Richard would do like two hours?

01:21:31.000 Was that a regular thing?

01:21:32.000 Hour and a half.

01:21:33.000 Regular thing, huh?

01:21:34.000 Well, his album, you know, he'd do his whole album.

01:21:37.000 Then he had his writers in the back.

01:21:38.000 Mooney would be at there writing him, coaching him on stuff to say, you know, all that stuff.

01:21:42.000 He had all that.

01:21:43.000 And then he would have three weeks in the original room where he would work every night.

01:21:51.000 He'd come out every night.

01:21:53.000 Wow.

01:21:53.000 It ain't like some comics, you know, get too high and he can't come out.

01:21:56.000 He'd be better every night.

01:21:58.000 And so Mitzi put me on the show with him.

01:22:01.000 So I would open the show and do 45 minutes and then Rich would come home and do an hour and a half.

01:22:06.000 And then we moved to the main room.

01:22:08.000 After about three or four, about a month in the original room, we moved to the main room.

01:22:13.000 That's when, man, he would draw so many fucking people.

01:22:19.000 Old hoes, they ain't been out on the street for a long time.

01:22:24.000 With fur collars, fur coat on.

01:22:26.000 Fake fur coat on.

01:22:28.000 Pink and yellow and shit.

01:22:30.000 He would have, in the main room, he would have, oh my god, he had Mick Jagger, what's the name, the boy that...

01:22:40.000 What's his name?

01:22:41.000 Willie Nelson.

01:22:43.000 I talked to Willie Nelson to go up on the stage and sing a song in the original room.

01:22:46.000 Really?

01:22:47.000 Yeah.

01:22:48.000 I said, really?

01:22:48.000 You got your guitar?

01:22:49.000 Yeah, I got it.

01:22:51.000 I said, could you go up there and sing a song?

01:22:52.000 I love Willie Nelson.

01:22:54.000 He was so good.

01:22:54.000 He's still around, though.

01:22:56.000 He said, I'm scared, dude.

01:22:57.000 I'm nervous.

01:22:59.000 Don't be nervous with these fucking people.

01:23:01.000 He went up there and sang one of his songs, boy.

01:23:04.000 That was a thrill for me.

01:23:08.000 So then we moved to the main room.

01:23:09.000 But I would kill every night in an audience like that.

01:23:15.000 I would get a standing ovation because I would do Mathis that I learned from Detroit and Nat King Cole and them.

01:23:21.000 I would do Johnny Mathis at my last bit and I would do Elle Green just before that.

01:23:26.000 And I would...

01:23:29.000 I saw Al Green throw roses out to the ladies one time.

01:23:33.000 I was at this theater down.

01:23:37.000 Anyway, he would throw roses.

01:23:38.000 He handed roses to the ladies.

01:23:40.000 So when I was working at the comedy store and I'm in front of Richie, I would get dandelions.

01:23:45.000 A hand in front of the ladies.

01:23:46.000 And some lady did exactly what I wanted her to say.

01:23:49.000 She said, Al Green, give us roses.

01:23:51.000 I said, boy, you lucky these ain't plastic because I ain't got no damn money.

01:23:55.000 I go home and watch these so I can get them back to you tomorrow night.

01:24:00.000 And I did that doing D&J, Johnny Matthews.

01:24:03.000 This is just impressions that I added to my act because there are a lot of ladies out there and they love that shit.

01:24:08.000 And I got the women through the roses back at my feet.

01:24:12.000 I said, damn, this shit is cool.

01:24:15.000 And Richard told me, I said, Richard, everybody said, Richard, you should take Spoon on the road with you.

01:24:18.000 You're going on a tour.

01:24:19.000 He said, I love you, Spoon, but you're too funny.

01:24:21.000 I can't have you out there on the road with me.

01:24:23.000 He said I was too funny for him.

01:24:25.000 Wow.

01:24:26.000 And he took Finaness, you know Finaness Henderson?

01:24:28.000 Sure.

01:24:29.000 And Finaness would do impressions instead.

01:24:30.000 He did all impressions.

01:24:32.000 So he took him on the road.

01:24:34.000 He told you you were too funny?

01:24:36.000 Spoon, you're too funny.

01:24:38.000 I love you, but you're too damn funny.

01:24:39.000 You're open for me.

01:24:40.000 I don't want to have to work that damn hard.

01:24:43.000 You know what I mean?

01:24:44.000 I'm throwing roses back at my feet.

01:24:46.000 Them dandelions.

01:24:48.000 That's hilarious.

01:24:50.000 That was a great compliment.

01:24:51.000 But I have the billboard of the comedy story, Richard Pryor and John Billy Spoon.

01:24:56.000 Wow.

01:24:57.000 I had it somewhere in my phone.

01:24:59.000 Yeah, I think mom posted it.

01:25:01.000 Oh yeah, she did.

01:25:02.000 And then I think I helped you repost it on your IG story and then the comedy store screenshotted it and posted it.

01:25:10.000 Oh, did they?

01:25:10.000 Yeah, they did that like a month or two ago.

01:25:13.000 Wow.

01:25:13.000 But older than David, he probably had his own TV show.

01:25:16.000 You know, he's on NBC at 8 o'clock, and he was so fucking high, boy.

01:25:21.000 Richard, I knew we weren't going to last.

01:25:23.000 I knew that shit.

01:25:25.000 We only did four shows.

01:25:26.000 We had scheduled 22. Richard was too fucking high.

01:25:34.000 Oh, man.

01:25:35.000 What was he high on?

01:25:37.000 Cocaine and vodka and stuff, you know?

01:25:40.000 But I didn't have no money.

01:25:42.000 I probably would have got me something if I had some money.

01:25:45.000 I ain't no damn money.

01:25:46.000 I'm making this little $400, $400 that they're giving me for this week.

01:25:50.000 He said, y'all ain't making no money, but I'm making $250,000 a show.

01:25:55.000 I said, damn.

01:25:55.000 Wow, he's making that much?

01:25:57.000 See, there you go.

01:25:57.000 Look at that.

01:25:58.000 Richard Pryor and John Witherspoon.

01:26:00.000 Wow.

01:26:01.000 I wish I had the year up there.

01:26:03.000 Probably 77. God, that's amazing.

01:26:05.000 77. But I know Richard.

01:26:07.000 We used to go over his house every Sunday.

01:26:10.000 We used to be over his house every Sunday.

01:26:12.000 And he had...

01:26:14.000 He had a barbecue.

01:26:18.000 He had a boxing gym where you box.

01:26:23.000 Tennis court.

01:26:25.000 Swimming pool.

01:26:27.000 He had about four acres over there.

01:26:32.000 Where was it?

01:26:33.000 Where was it?

01:26:34.000 It's on Parthenia.

01:26:35.000 That house there was for sale recently for about $4 million.

01:26:39.000 But I don't think people realize that Richard's probably living there.

01:26:41.000 They don't want to do that because he caught on fire over there.

01:26:44.000 Whoa.

01:26:45.000 Remember the time he got caught on fire?

01:26:46.000 Yeah.

01:26:47.000 That was that house?

01:26:48.000 It was in the house there, yeah.

01:26:50.000 Fuck, I would love to own that house.

01:26:51.000 That's in like Northridge or something, Parthenia.

01:26:53.000 Yeah, it's on Parthenia.

01:26:55.000 North Hills.

01:26:56.000 It's right down the street, North Hills, yeah.

01:26:58.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:26:59.000 We used to go over there every Sunday.

01:27:02.000 Can you imagine owning Richard Pryor's old house?

01:27:04.000 It's kind of cool.

01:27:05.000 I don't want to go in there.

01:27:07.000 That spirit might hit me.

01:27:09.000 He on fire going to run past the swimming pool.

01:27:14.000 Those cocaine days must have been crazy there.

01:27:16.000 Oh, man.

01:27:17.000 And what's amazing about this is it's so cold, boy.

01:27:21.000 When stuff got on radio that Richard Pryor is in the hospital in critical condition from burns from a pipe that blew up.

01:27:48.000 No.

01:27:49.000 What?

01:27:54.000 They put it back?

01:27:55.000 Yeah, they put it back.

01:27:55.000 Richard Price, you're going to steal his stuff?

01:27:57.000 You've been borrowing from him for 20 years, now all of a sudden you're going to steal his watch?

01:28:02.000 That's crazy.

01:28:03.000 Yeah.

01:28:04.000 It's hard to beat the top.

01:28:05.000 But we had so much fun over there.

01:28:08.000 And Sammy Davis Jr. would come there every Sunday in a limousine and a tuxedo on.

01:28:14.000 Really?

01:28:15.000 We got shorts on.

01:28:16.000 You know, the raggedest shorts you can find.

01:28:18.000 Old t-shirt.

01:28:19.000 We playing basketball.

01:28:21.000 Sammy coming to High Martin.

01:28:23.000 High Martin.

01:28:24.000 Sammy, go put some fucking shorts on.

01:28:26.000 How old was he back then?

01:28:28.000 Sammy?

01:28:28.000 Yeah.

01:28:28.000 Oh, I bet he was.

01:28:29.000 This was 76. He must have been.

01:28:32.000 Wow, he was young then.

01:28:34.000 Because he died about 60. He was 62, 63. He must have been in his 50s, 40s and 50s.

01:28:40.000 Tuxedo, huh?

01:28:41.000 Tuxedo!

01:28:42.000 And a limousine.

01:28:43.000 Imagine being a fly on the wall.

01:28:45.000 Sammy Davis Jr. pulls up in a tuxedo.

01:28:48.000 Oh, man.

01:28:48.000 Steps out of a limousine.

01:28:50.000 Yeah, while they're playing basketball.

01:28:52.000 We all so fucking...

01:28:53.000 We all so fucking...

01:28:55.000 Raggedy, stinking.

01:28:56.000 We done played ball all day long.

01:28:59.000 Sammy walked past him.

01:29:00.000 Hi, man!

01:29:02.000 Sammy, wrong house, wrong day.

01:29:04.000 Come on, play some ball with us, Sammy.

01:29:08.000 There he is.

01:29:09.000 Look at that.

01:29:11.000 Look how sharp he is.

01:29:13.000 Wow, look at the bell bottoms.

01:29:15.000 Oh yeah, that's the day.

01:29:16.000 That's the day, brother.

01:29:18.000 Wow, that's crazy.

01:29:20.000 Richard played tennis.

01:29:21.000 Did he?

01:29:22.000 Yeah, he played tennis, yeah.

01:29:23.000 And basketball.

01:29:24.000 We playing ball, Richard.

01:29:26.000 He checking me and grabbing my dick.

01:29:29.000 Richard, this ain't no basketball.

01:29:31.000 I check the only way I know.

01:29:37.000 Richard, back off me, brother.

01:29:39.000 Oh, God.

01:29:41.000 He's a funny man.

01:29:43.000 So when you were around when Kennison came by, when he first started working there, he was a big shift, right?

01:29:50.000 No one had seen anybody like him before.

01:29:53.000 Oh no, even since.

01:29:55.000 Yeah, he was a very unusual dude.

01:29:59.000 What's so funny, one time he...

01:30:03.000 He bought some Chinese food, put a hat on his head, put a long coat on, and some big sunglasses, and ate it in front of this Korean store.

01:30:16.000 Just standing in the window.

01:30:16.000 He's outside standing in the window doing like that.

01:30:21.000 Fucking Sam.

01:30:23.000 Why was he doing that?

01:30:25.000 He's just crazy.

01:30:27.000 He had the same thing on the stage at the Comedy Store.

01:30:35.000 He would be up there with his sunglasses on and he would have Chinese food or Korean food and he'd sit there and eat and tell some jokes and then go back to eating.

01:30:44.000 On stage.

01:30:45.000 In the original room.

01:30:47.000 That's funny.

01:30:48.000 I've seen them crazy.

01:30:49.000 I've seen some crazy ass people in the original room, but they were funny.

01:30:54.000 The Comedy Store has a lot of history.

01:30:57.000 Oh, my God.

01:30:57.000 And Mitzi let them do it.

01:30:59.000 Yeah.

01:30:59.000 Mitzi was so nice to the people.

01:31:01.000 She was brilliant, let me tell you something.

01:31:02.000 She knew to let the comedians run the place.

01:31:05.000 She was smart.

01:31:06.000 She would joke around about it.

01:31:07.000 The island of misfit toys.

01:31:11.000 But you know what?

01:31:12.000 I try to tell her, I say, Mitzi, give the comics $5 to buy some eggs and bacon on the way home.

01:31:20.000 She didn't want to do that.

01:31:21.000 They don't deserve nothing.

01:31:23.000 This is college.

01:31:24.000 This is their college, Mitzi.

01:31:26.000 Anybody paid to get in here, you better go on and get these people.

01:31:29.000 They're going to mess up your...

01:31:32.000 And then when she went to a big stink with the right, I mean, the strike.

01:31:37.000 Big stink.

01:31:38.000 And then you had some people that were, you can tell some people were crazy.

01:31:43.000 What's his name?

01:31:44.000 Jumped off the roof of the Hyatt House.

01:31:47.000 What was his name?

01:31:48.000 I knew his name.

01:31:49.000 I knew the kid.

01:31:49.000 I used to introduce him all the time.

01:31:52.000 Oh, shit, I don't have his name right now.

01:31:54.000 But I said, Mitch, you just give them something, you know.

01:31:57.000 They think that they've done something since.

01:31:59.000 Most of them drove right here.

01:32:01.000 And they all want to succeed at something.

01:32:04.000 She's paying us for eggs.

01:32:09.000 But she didn't want to do it.

01:32:12.000 I don't know how much they get today.

01:32:13.000 You don't know, do you?

01:32:15.000 I'm not a regular, so...

01:32:17.000 You get a percentage of what the take is for the door in the main room.

01:32:23.000 Oh, you do?

01:32:24.000 If the main room's sold out, you can make money.

01:32:26.000 Yeah, they used to do that before.

01:32:28.000 They've been doing that for a long time.

01:32:29.000 $25, $50.

01:32:31.000 I think you get $400 or $500 in the main room.

01:32:34.000 In the main room, you can make some money.

01:32:36.000 But for guys like us, it's more important as a place to exercise.

01:32:41.000 Oh, yeah.

01:32:42.000 I did two shows there last night.

01:32:44.000 I used to love to work with Richard Pryor, one of the wonderful audiences.

01:32:51.000 Everything you say, they're right there.

01:32:53.000 Oh, I'd imagine.

01:32:54.000 Oh, man.

01:32:55.000 They must have realized, too, because before, when you think about real, giant, famous comedians before Pryor, there's like a tiny handful of them.

01:33:04.000 Nobody like him.

01:33:05.000 So he was just one of one.

01:33:08.000 I remember Red Fox used to come through there and he said, I want to get me a double of Cavazier and a Coke, and I ain't paying for none of this shit.

01:33:21.000 Red was so funny, my man Red.

01:33:24.000 I was at a gas station stop one day in the little stores and had cassette tapes of Richard Pryor performing live at Red Fox's Club.

01:33:33.000 Red Fox at a club.

01:33:34.000 They just had a recorder and he's just fucking around.

01:33:37.000 You could tell he's ranting and raving.

01:33:39.000 He's just high, just laughing and talking shit on stage.

01:33:43.000 It's not prepared material, half of it.

01:33:45.000 It was amazing.

01:33:47.000 What a character, Red Fox, that boy.

01:33:49.000 He wouldn't pay his taxes.

01:33:51.000 So the government came there one night when all the people in the room just took everything, everything.

01:33:57.000 Went to his house, took everything.

01:33:59.000 He took a ring off his finger.

01:34:00.000 He took his shoes.

01:34:01.000 They left him a chicken raw to cook in an oven.

01:34:07.000 And so they shut him down.

01:34:10.000 It's the place he had.

01:34:11.000 I think it was on La Cienica somewhere.

01:34:12.000 It was in L.A., yeah.

01:34:13.000 In L.A., yeah.

01:34:14.000 So he crying.

01:34:16.000 He called Sammy Davis.

01:34:18.000 Sammy called Franks and our true name.

01:34:20.000 They took everything they own.

01:34:22.000 I worked so hard to be who I am.

01:34:24.000 I didn't do it.

01:34:25.000 I owe the taxes.

01:34:27.000 It ain't that bad.

01:34:27.000 They took everything.

01:34:30.000 So Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. and some other friends went to his club and worked two or three weeks every night.

01:34:41.000 Two shows.

01:34:42.000 Sold them out to get enough money to get his taxes and get his club back.

01:34:47.000 He was so happy to everybody.

01:34:49.000 He said, oh my God, I want to thank you for doing this for me.

01:34:51.000 Oh, please just take my hug.

01:34:55.000 Let me just hug you, hugging everybody.

01:34:57.000 So they all went on their separate ways.

01:35:00.000 Red Fox.

01:35:01.000 Still didn't pay his fucking taxes.

01:35:03.000 No!

01:35:04.000 They come again with a lien on his ass.

01:35:06.000 You son of a bitch.

01:35:08.000 They weren't coming back now, see?

01:35:12.000 Oh my God.

01:35:13.000 Went and paid taxes again.

01:35:14.000 He ain't paying no taxes.

01:35:16.000 Was this before or after Sanford and Son?

01:35:18.000 It was before.

01:35:19.000 I don't think he paid after Sanford and Son.

01:35:22.000 He didn't believe he paid no taxes.

01:35:24.000 This is my money.

01:35:25.000 I paid my taxes.

01:35:28.000 Uh-uh, uh-uh.

01:35:29.000 Damn.

01:35:31.000 Yeah.

01:35:32.000 You gotta pay them.

01:35:33.000 I had a tax problem.

01:35:36.000 We had an apartment building in Beverly Hills, our own apartment building in Beverly Hills.

01:35:41.000 I said, boy, I'm doing good.

01:35:43.000 I just ride my car past there and say, hmm, that's my place.

01:35:48.000 And I swear, the taxes got bad that something happened to me and they took that fucking place.

01:35:53.000 I had to sell it.

01:35:54.000 I didn't take it, I had to sell it.

01:35:56.000 I hate that.

01:35:57.000 Today I hate that.

01:35:59.000 You hate all that money you missed, don't you?

01:36:01.000 Oh, God.

01:36:01.000 Well, it's just a right pass.

01:36:03.000 And look at the place.

01:36:07.000 And some lady called.

01:36:10.000 We had a person to clean up the place all the time, see?

01:36:13.000 A manager of the hotel.

01:36:15.000 And so my wife was out there watering the grass and stuff.

01:36:19.000 And she called the police.

01:36:20.000 Called him and said, there's a black lady out here watering the grass.

01:36:24.000 And we don't recognize her.

01:36:27.000 Somebody who was a tenant?

01:36:28.000 Or are you talking about the manager?

01:36:29.000 Yeah, a tenant.

01:36:30.000 The tenant.

01:36:31.000 Called the manager.

01:36:32.000 And he said, well, it's probably the owner.

01:36:35.000 And it was Angela I did.

01:36:37.000 That's funny.

01:36:37.000 I used to go back there and sit, because they had the washing machine and dryer outside.

01:36:44.000 In the back, near the parking lot.

01:36:46.000 So it was outside, but it was enclosed.

01:36:49.000 I sat down there, boy, it would be so quiet back there.

01:36:52.000 I said, boy, this beat Detroit.

01:36:54.000 Them dogs chasing my ass down the street.

01:36:56.000 This is much better.

01:36:58.000 I got a pocket full of money.

01:37:01.000 I ain't want to leave.

01:37:03.000 I got a pocket full of money.

01:37:05.000 I ain't want to leave.

01:37:06.000 I ain't want to leave.

01:37:07.000 They got my ass out that damn place.

01:37:09.000 You need to make a podcast, call it the Pocket Full of Money Podcast.

01:37:13.000 That's a sad idea.

01:37:14.000 Have you ever thought about doing one?

01:37:16.000 Huh?

01:37:17.000 Have you thought about doing a podcast?

01:37:18.000 A podcast?

01:37:18.000 What is that?

01:37:19.000 That's what we're doing right now.

01:37:22.000 I don't want this thing to be on the air.

01:37:27.000 You can't.

01:37:28.000 He's in a different realm, Joe.

01:37:32.000 But you can sell out everywhere if you did that.

01:37:34.000 I guarantee you.

01:37:35.000 Sell out where?

01:37:36.000 You can make money off of it, first of all.

01:37:38.000 Comedy clubs.

01:37:38.000 Somebody told me that.

01:37:39.000 Somebody told me.

01:37:39.000 Oh, I don't want to do comedy clubs.

01:37:41.000 I sell out anywhere.

01:37:43.000 I sell out to comedy clubs.

01:37:44.000 I don't have trouble with those.

01:37:46.000 Theaters?

01:37:48.000 If I'm on...

01:37:49.000 They don't pay enough money.

01:37:50.000 You mean sell out...

01:37:51.000 I go up there and do...

01:37:52.000 How many hours do you have to do?

01:37:54.000 For a podcast?

01:37:55.000 Yeah.

01:37:56.000 You just do whatever you want.

01:37:57.000 You could do it every time you're on a plane.

01:37:59.000 Just talking to your phone.

01:38:00.000 Were you talking about how much time you're doing with the podcast or the theater?

01:38:04.000 What were you talking about?

01:38:05.000 Podcast.

01:38:05.000 As much time as you want.

01:38:06.000 Say if I was in the theater and I'm doing a podcast.

01:38:08.000 You've got to sit at a thing like this and talk to people.

01:38:10.000 You're not in it.

01:38:11.000 See, I knew he crossed it.

01:38:12.000 I was like, what?

01:38:14.000 No, no, no.

01:38:15.000 I heard it.

01:38:17.000 No, no.

01:38:17.000 He's saying, can you sell out theaters by yourself?

01:38:20.000 That's what he asked you.

01:38:21.000 I doubt that.

01:38:22.000 Okay, so we established that.

01:38:24.000 You sell out clubs, but then he was saying if you were doing a podcast, kind of like what we're doing right now, that's what this is, you could, as you build up the podcast, you could be promoting it and recording it.

01:38:35.000 You wouldn't have to do it in a theater.

01:38:36.000 You could do it in that comfort of your own home.

01:38:37.000 Yeah, you could set it up.

01:38:39.000 Just like this.

01:38:40.000 Just like this.

01:38:40.000 And then you become popular.

01:38:43.000 Sure.

01:38:43.000 I mean, you've got popularity behind you, so I'm sure people want to hear it.

01:38:47.000 100%.

01:38:47.000 Yeah.

01:38:48.000 Just people listening to this are going to want to hear it.

01:38:50.000 Yeah, I have a podcast with Paul.

01:38:52.000 Me and my buddy Paul.

01:38:54.000 What's it called?

01:38:54.000 The JD and Paul cast.

01:38:56.000 It's just me and my buddy, and we talk like video games.

01:39:00.000 Video games, technology, current events, and also movie.

01:39:04.000 We'll do little mini movie reviews on it.

01:39:06.000 What kind of setup do you have?

01:39:07.000 Do you have permanent microphones?

01:39:09.000 I'm like a tech dude, so I have everything.

01:39:12.000 My office at my house is decked out with a bunch of stuff.

01:39:16.000 I brought him over there recently to help me...

01:39:18.000 I get him to do videos with me just because it's like they're funny and I don't care and like let's just make something random because the other day we played Mortal Kombat and I had him I had him react to the fatalities so I was like that's a funny video my dad reacts to Mortal Kombat fatalities and literally we're watching it literally he's just like oh my look at the head go left and right no this so amazing yeah that stuff is and that's on my gaming channel which is Run JD Run on YouTube that stuff is too serious for me but like our podcast But

01:39:49.000 I've also had him play VR because he wanted to play VR real bad.

01:39:54.000 He's like, I've seen you doing the virtual reality.

01:39:56.000 Let me see you try that.

01:39:57.000 So we did the one with the shark attack.

01:39:59.000 Oh, God.

01:40:00.000 That's another one.

01:40:01.000 This one wasn't even a game.

01:40:02.000 It was just like a tutorial.

01:40:04.000 You just put it on and live through the thing.

01:40:05.000 It was like a deep ocean dive, and he was tripping out.

01:40:10.000 I saw the shark go past me.

01:40:12.000 The shark's in his face and he's screaming about it.

01:40:15.000 Mind you, there was a point in the video where he's not talking, but he's shaking.

01:40:22.000 I thought something bad was happening.

01:40:24.000 I'm like, Dad, are you good?

01:40:25.000 He was trying to kick and or strangle the shark, which was virtually in front of him.

01:40:31.000 He was like this.

01:40:33.000 I'm like, Dad, are you good?

01:40:34.000 He just yells out at the shark.

01:40:36.000 He's like...

01:40:36.000 Fuck out of here!

01:40:37.000 Get out of here, Sean!

01:40:38.000 What's her name?

01:40:40.000 Shelly was standing in the cage.

01:40:43.000 The cage takes you down in the water.

01:40:44.000 I then bought him a PlayStation 4 to play the game at his house.

01:40:48.000 And I don't know what happened to any of that stuff.

01:40:50.000 Your son took it.

01:40:51.000 My brother took it.

01:40:52.000 Because my brother uses it for Netflix.

01:40:54.000 He just watches the play.

01:40:55.000 There we go.

01:40:57.000 Look at him going crazy.

01:40:59.000 Look at my neck.

01:41:01.000 He's bugging.

01:41:02.000 And that's me and my brother.

01:41:04.000 We're dying laughing about it.

01:41:07.000 That damn thing's over my head.

01:41:08.000 Oh, Jesus, look at his face!

01:41:10.000 Look at my neck.

01:41:12.000 My eyeballs are down to my neck.

01:41:15.000 Oh, my God.

01:41:17.000 Oh, man.

01:41:17.000 Oh, my God.

01:41:18.000 This is the show.

01:41:19.000 Yeah, no, but...

01:41:20.000 The show is you and him.

01:41:22.000 We've...

01:41:22.000 I mean, I try to create stuff with him all the time just because it's random and funny.

01:41:26.000 Back in the day, I probably didn't do it because people...

01:41:28.000 It's one of those things where it wasn't a huge deal, but...

01:41:34.000 We're just watching this, but what is the video title, Jamie, for people?

01:41:38.000 My dad freaks out playing VR. Look at that!

01:41:40.000 Look at that!

01:41:40.000 I didn't see this show.

01:41:41.000 Look at that!

01:41:42.000 The YouTube channel is...

01:41:44.000 Get away!

01:41:46.000 It's on my channel, which is YouTube.com slash RunJDRun is the name of the channel.

01:41:52.000 My face is cramping from laughing.

01:41:54.000 You gotta see it in its entirety.

01:41:57.000 It's so goofy.

01:41:58.000 This is a show.

01:41:58.000 You two together.

01:41:59.000 You do it once a week.

01:42:01.000 Get together with your dad.

01:42:02.000 Just go pick him up.

01:42:03.000 Grab him.

01:42:03.000 Make it really easy.

01:42:04.000 Bring him to your place.

01:42:05.000 You do a show with him once a week.

01:42:07.000 Boom.

01:42:08.000 That's it.

01:42:08.000 Might have to do an audio thing.

01:42:09.000 Oh my god.

01:42:10.000 Do an audio thing.

01:42:12.000 Yeah.

01:42:12.000 What's the audio thing?

01:42:13.000 Easy.

01:42:13.000 Audio this.

01:42:14.000 Podcast.

01:42:14.000 Like this here.

01:42:15.000 We gotta find a name.

01:42:18.000 We gotta find a name.

01:42:20.000 I'm gonna go finish packing.

01:42:21.000 I gotta get out of here.

01:42:22.000 Alright, let's wrap this up.

01:42:23.000 Get to my wife.

01:42:26.000 Joe.

01:42:30.000 He's the king of complaining, man.

01:42:31.000 I'm trying to tell you.

01:42:32.000 I tried to tell him on the way over here.

01:42:33.000 I'm like, hey man, don't be weird.

01:42:35.000 Let's just hang out and enjoy it.

01:42:37.000 I'm going to do my thing, JD. I'm going to do my thing.

01:42:40.000 I'm going to pee.

01:42:41.000 I'm going to pee.

01:42:42.000 If I got to take a shit, I'm going to take a shit.

01:42:45.000 My face hurts right here.

01:42:47.000 It hurts.

01:42:48.000 It's like these muscles are cramped up.

01:42:50.000 You a goofball, man.

01:42:52.000 You ain't got no couth.

01:42:54.000 Where your couth at?

01:42:55.000 John, I appreciate you.

01:42:56.000 Ain't no couth.

01:42:57.000 What is couth?

01:42:58.000 It's nonsense.

01:43:00.000 It's for lesser mortals.

01:43:01.000 Yeah, he's a clown, bro.

01:43:02.000 I appreciate you, sir.

01:43:03.000 Thank you very much for being here, man.

01:43:04.000 Were we at Jamie's place when you were?

01:43:08.000 Yeah, sure.

01:43:08.000 Yeah, that's probably when we first met.

01:43:09.000 You must have been young.

01:43:10.000 You were a little kid then.

01:43:11.000 Yeah, I was a little kid.

01:43:12.000 I was in my 20s.

01:43:13.000 Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

01:43:14.000 Yeah, back in the day, man.

01:43:16.000 I was about 60. Wow.

01:43:20.000 That was about 15 years ago, 14 years ago.

01:43:22.000 Probably somewhere out there.

01:43:23.000 Maybe more than that even.

01:43:24.000 Maybe more than that?

01:43:25.000 Yeah, more than that when I met you.

01:43:27.000 Yeah.

01:43:28.000 Maybe late 50s or something.

01:43:31.000 I probably was doing the Wayne Brothers or something back then.

01:43:33.000 Yeah, that's probably what it was.

01:43:35.000 You were in your 40s.

01:43:36.000 Friday.

01:43:37.000 Probably doing Friday.

01:43:38.000 Doing Friday, the Wayne Brothers.

01:43:40.000 Yeah, all that.

01:43:41.000 It's been a long time, my friend.

01:43:42.000 Oh, man.

01:43:43.000 It's amazing.

01:43:43.000 Thank you.

01:43:44.000 You're hilarious.

01:43:45.000 It was a pleasure having you on here.

01:43:47.000 Yep, that's what we're doing.

01:43:48.000 Yes.

01:43:48.000 A podcast.

01:43:49.000 You guys are going to do it, too.

01:43:50.000 We've got to come up with a name.

01:43:51.000 Let me know.

01:43:52.000 I'll have you back on.

01:43:53.000 We can just talk about your dad.

01:43:55.000 We'll figure it out.

01:43:57.000 Oh my goodness.

01:43:58.000 Give your Twitter handle, your Instagram, all that jazz.

01:44:00.000 Oh yeah.

01:44:01.000 At JD Witherspoon everywhere.

01:44:03.000 And if you want to see those gaming videos, it's RunJDRun on YouTube.

01:44:07.000 That's me.

01:44:08.000 And then you got your joints?

01:44:10.000 At John Witherspoon.

01:44:12.000 I have something like that.

01:44:13.000 Oh man, this is so hard.

01:44:15.000 You understand, Joe, he thinks he's in a simulation.

01:44:19.000 He thinks he's in the Matrix.

01:44:21.000 The internet is crazy to him.

01:44:24.000 Thank you, gentlemen.

01:44:27.000 The John Witherspoon is where your cooking show is at.

01:44:30.000 On YouTube.

01:44:31.000 Just type in John Witherspoon on the internet.

01:44:33.000 JD Witherspoon, if you want to see some goofy stuff, we're here.

01:44:38.000 Thank you, gentlemen.

01:44:39.000 Thanks for having us, Joe.

The Joe Rogan Experience - May 29, 2019

Joe Rogan Experience #1305 - JD & John Witherspoon

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