Timcast IRL - Tim Pool - Sunday Uncensored: Robert Davi & Alex Marlow Member Podcast: Robert Davi Tells Crazy Hollywood Stories And How Pablo Escobar Gave Him Emeralds

00:00:01.000 Robert Davi, legendary actor, movie star.

00:00:05.000 You have some stories to tell us about the deep, seedy underbelly of Hollywood.

00:00:09.000 Well.

00:00:09.000 Spill the beans.

00:00:11.000 Spill the beans.

00:00:12.000 Well, I started to allude to a story of when I did the film with Sinatra in 1977, my first film.

00:00:20.000 And what it was, was I was working as a waiter in New York City at a place called Fiorello's, which was across the street from Lincoln Center.

00:00:29.000 And I was making my nut.

00:00:30.000 I had a railroad flat on 2nd Avenue.

00:00:34.000 It was $175 a month back in the day.

00:00:36.000 Railroads. 1.00

00:00:37.000 They suck. 1.00

00:00:37.000 Railroad flat. 1.00

00:00:38.000 Yeah.

00:00:38.000 You know.

00:00:39.000 It was great.

00:00:40.000 Great spot.

00:00:41.000 For those that aren't familiar, this basically means that all the rooms are connected to each other in a row.

00:00:45.000 So it's like you walk in the living room and there's a bedroom, which is basically a hallway, and then a bedroom, which is basically a hallway, and then maybe a back room.

00:00:51.000 So people might not be familiar.

00:00:54.000 Right.

00:00:54.000 Wow.

00:00:55.000 Yeah.

00:00:55.000 But no, this was cool, actually.

00:00:58.000 You know, $5,000.

00:00:59.000 Same thing I was paying $1.75 for.

00:01:04.000 So I was able to do that.

00:01:06.000 I was studying with Stella Adler, great acting coach at her school, taking my voice lessons from Samuel Margulies and Dan Farrow from Juilliard, and working at a fruit and vegetable stand at 110th and Broadway.

00:01:18.000 17th and Broadway, 110th and Broadway. Now I got fired from Fiorello's and I was

00:01:25.000 making my nut, paying for everything that I had to do, working three days a

00:01:30.000 week as a waiter.

00:01:31.000 I went in one night, the guy says, you're fired.

00:01:33.000 I go, what?

00:01:35.000 He goes, I've got to let you go.

00:01:36.000 I go, why?

00:01:37.000 He goes, you didn't hand in all your checks.

00:01:40.000 No, he said, you didn't hand in all your checks the other night.

00:01:42.000 I said, yes I did.

00:01:43.000 I'm very careful.

00:01:44.000 He goes, check your drawer.

00:01:45.000 And you have a drawer with a key.

00:01:47.000 I went in this drawer.

00:01:48.000 I'm a lefty.

00:01:48.000 This was so slanted the other way.

00:01:51.000 I pulled out the check.

00:01:52.000 I said, well, it's not me.

00:01:52.000 It's not my writing.

00:01:53.000 It's a mistake, Frank.

00:01:55.000 His name was Frank.

00:01:56.000 He goes, I've got to let you go.

00:02:00.000 And I went like that.

00:02:01.000 What?

00:02:01.000 It was like getting hit in the solar plexus.

00:02:05.000 And I was innocent.

00:02:05.000 I don't look innocent, but I was innocent.

00:02:07.000 All right?

00:02:09.000 I didn't know to say to him at that time, well, how much will it cost to keep my job?

00:02:12.000 Because I was making good tips.

00:02:13.000 They found out.

00:02:15.000 And my checks were bigger than everybody else's because people were doing funny things.

00:02:21.000 I got fired.

00:02:23.000 Well, lo and behold, two and a half months later, I get this movie with Frank Sinatra, Contract on Cherry Street, which changed my career.

00:02:34.000 And I'm doing the film, filming during the time, three months.

00:02:38.000 So for making $300 a week as a waiter, I got $3,500 a week all of a sudden for three months doing the film.

00:02:45.000 Sinatra paid.

00:02:46.000 Nice.

00:02:47.000 Right?

00:02:47.000 Nice little payday back then.

00:02:48.000 That's great.

00:02:49.000 So now, I'm doing the film, and I told Harry Guardino, who's one of the funniest guys around.

00:02:54.000 He's been in Dirty Harry's, a lot of films.

00:02:57.000 What year was this, one more time?

00:02:59.000 1977.

00:02:59.000 77.

00:02:59.000 In New York City.

00:03:01.000 And I then go to... One night, Harry, on my trailer door, you know, a little two-banger, not a big trailer at that time.

00:03:12.000 He goes, the old man wants to take us to dinner.

00:03:14.000 I go, okay. He says, yeah, all right. So I go over, get in the car.

00:03:19.000 In the car is Jilly Rizzo, who was Frank's right-hand guy, like his brother.

00:03:23.000 Another gentleman who was the...

00:03:28.000 was a very interesting guy in New York City, okay.

00:03:32.000 And then Martin Gables and myself and Frank Sinatra.

00:03:36.000 So we go, and I'm thinking we're going to go to Patsy's Pizzeria at 117th and Broadway or Patsy's at West 54th Street, two of the great places we would go to.

00:03:44.000 Both called Patsy's, coincidentally?

00:03:46.000 Yes.

00:03:47.000 Is it the same Patsy's?

00:03:48.000 No.

00:03:49.000 I didn't think so, based on the way you were telling the story.

00:03:50.000 Totally different Patsy's.

00:03:51.000 Patsy's Pizzeria and Patsy's Restaurant.

00:03:53.000 Totally different things.

00:03:55.000 So we go to make a U-turn and they park right in front of Lincoln Center.

00:04:03.000 Fiorello's.

00:04:06.000 I look at Harry Guardino.

00:04:08.000 I look at Frank.

00:04:10.000 I look at Harry.

00:04:11.000 He smiles.

00:04:12.000 I look at Frank and Frank goes, come on, let's go eat.

00:04:16.000 We go into the restaurant.

00:04:19.000 Lo and behold, the guy that fired me turned whiter than this paper.

00:04:24.000 I've never seen anybody turn so white. 0.70

00:04:26.000 Not only because I was walking with Sinatra, but the other guy with us was in head of all the restaurants in New York City.

00:04:34.000 He was the one that made sure everyone had their produce and everything was running right and everything else.

00:04:39.000 So we sit down and eat and I'm like, you know, this is a, what an up and comings.

00:04:45.000 And the guy leaves the table for a few minutes, he goes, I'll be right back.

00:04:49.000 He goes, comes back with an envelope.

00:04:52.000 He goes, gives it to me.

00:04:54.000 I go, what's this?

00:04:54.000 He goes, You know, severance pay.

00:04:58.000 They should have never fired you.

00:05:00.000 I had to talk with the guy.

00:05:02.000 Wow.

00:05:03.000 So that was... That's cool.

00:05:05.000 And another thing he said to me that he was very sensitive, I have scarring on my neck and other places.

00:05:10.000 And Sinatra had scarring.

00:05:12.000 He was a forceps baby, meaning back in the day they would use forceps to take you out.

00:05:15.000 Oh yeah, right.

00:05:16.000 Which I was.

00:05:17.000 And he said to me, early on he liked me, he says, He goes, you're a forceps baby, huh?

00:05:23.000 I go, yeah.

00:05:24.000 He goes, yeah, me too.

00:05:25.000 And he showed me his scar.

00:05:26.000 He says, never let them bother you.

00:05:28.000 Wow.

00:05:29.000 And he was that way.

00:05:31.000 And when I did the Bond film, he was very close to Cubby Broccoli.

00:05:35.000 Cubby Broccoli produced all the Bond films.

00:05:38.000 And I used to have lunch with Cubby Broccoli, Frank Sinatra, or dinner, and a guy named Sidney Korshak.

00:05:48.000 Sidney Korshak was the most powerful man in Hollywood.

00:05:50.000 He was a lawyer.

00:05:53.000 And any problem in the world in film, Sidney Korshak could take care of it.

00:05:59.000 Any studio would get... The legendary story of the Godfather is when they wanted Al Pacino.

00:06:07.000 Francis Ford Coppola wanted Al Pacino to show you who Sidney Korshak was.

00:06:11.000 They, uh, Bob Evans, who was the head of Paramount, called a guy named Jim Aubrey, who was called the Smiling Cobra, who I did a TV series for years later, but he was the head of MGM.

00:06:23.000 He had to call him up because Pacino was signed to a picture that MGM had.

00:06:26.000 They wanted to have Pacino released from this picture.

00:06:29.000 So they call him up, Evans calls him up, he says, uh, Jim, I, you got this actor, Al Pacino, I'd like to, Francis Watts, he used him for The Godfather.

00:06:37.000 You got him for this little film, but our book is number one in the world, it's like, Your film will be worth much more money if you let him do The Godfather first, then the guy goes F you and hangs up the phone.

00:06:48.000 Evans calls up Sidney Korshak.

00:06:49.000 Sidney, I've got a little problem.

00:06:51.000 Can you curse on this show now?

00:06:52.000 Yeah, yeah. 1.00

00:06:53.000 Because it's more cocksucker motherfucker. 1.00

00:06:55.000 Alright, good. 1.00

00:06:56.000 So, Sidney Korshak.

00:06:57.000 Evans calls up Sidney and says, Sid, I've got a problem.

00:06:59.000 What's your problem?

00:07:00.000 Well, we want this actor.

00:07:01.000 What's his name?

00:07:02.000 Al Pacino.

00:07:03.000 Al Pacino.

00:07:04.000 I never heard of him.

00:07:04.000 No, Pacino.

00:07:05.000 How do you spell it?

00:07:06.000 P-I-C-I-N-O. 1.00

00:07:08.000 Pacino.

00:07:08.000 Okay, what's the problem?

00:07:09.000 Well, I called up Aubrey.

00:07:11.000 He's signed to do a picture at MGM.

00:07:14.000 I told Aubrey, he says, look, just hold off a bit.

00:07:16.000 Let's do The Godfather.

00:07:17.000 You're filming.

00:07:18.000 He says, alright, I'll get back to you. 1.00

00:07:19.000 Five minutes later, Aubrey calls up Evans and goes, you cocksucker, you son of a bitch, and hangs up on him. 1.00

00:07:27.000 Five minutes later, Sidney Korshak calls up Evans and says, all right, you got your Pacino? 1.00

00:07:32.000 He goes, I figured.

00:07:33.000 He goes, why?

00:07:33.000 Because I just got off the phone with Aubrey.

00:07:35.000 What did he say?

00:07:35.000 He didn't say anything.

00:07:36.000 He cursed me up and down.

00:07:38.000 I go, what did you say?

00:07:39.000 He says, well, I told him.

00:07:40.000 I says, look.

00:07:42.000 You know that thing, I didn't talk to Aubrey, I talked to Kirk Kerkorian, you know who that was?

00:07:47.000 He owned MGM, the MGM Grand, the big casinos and all of that.

00:07:52.000 He says, I called up Kirk, he says, well what did you say to him?

00:07:54.000 I says, you know Kirk, that thing you're building in the desert, meaning the big casino, what decade would you like it finished?

00:08:01.000 And that's how it got started.

00:08:02.000 Wow.

00:08:02.000 Oh wow.

00:08:07.000 Back in the day, people, and look, I don't like crime at all, but we have, our government is worse than the mafia.

00:08:14.000 The mafia in Italy actually came about because of the suppression of the government.

00:08:22.000 Did you know that?

00:08:23.000 Filling a vacuum.

00:08:24.000 Yeah.

00:08:25.000 In Sicily, because the people, you know, and I always felt that, you know, Imagine if they were back on the streets.

00:08:32.000 There wouldn't be no drugs.

00:08:33.000 There wouldn't be fentanyl.

00:08:34.000 Right.

00:08:35.000 There wouldn't be any of this.

00:08:36.000 There'd be much more. 0.99

00:08:37.000 This crap wouldn't happen. 0.99

00:08:38.000 Yeah. 1.00

00:08:39.000 Yeah, it was its own government in a sense.

00:08:41.000 Yes.

00:08:44.000 I've been there.

00:08:44.000 under the government you get less rights but what people don't understand too is

00:08:48.000 um...

00:08:49.000 i went out of brazil and i was covering the favelas in the gangs have been there

00:08:52.000 but people don't realize that they hear gang anything it's a bunch people just

00:08:55.000 like shake you down and knows local government right they could be called the gangs because the government

00:09:00.000 didn't like them and didn't have authority over them but couldn't do

00:09:04.000 anything until they pacified

00:09:06.000 But I remember when I went in there, we were going to do an interview with a gang leader and I was like, do we got to be worried?

00:09:11.000 And they were like, no, it's like walking up to a city councilman.

00:09:14.000 It's just a local guy who lives here.

00:09:16.000 They have different rules from the government wants, but their whole thing is keep the peace. 0.99

00:09:20.000 Ain't nobody got to be fucking with my family or shit like that. 0.98

00:09:23.000 So he was like, Hey, we'll get you an interview. 0.99

00:09:24.000 And he put on a mask and then he explained what was going on.

00:09:27.000 They were basically in these favelas, there was no government, so a gang happened, which became the government.

00:09:32.000 They sold drugs, they partied, but the people there were getting along.

00:09:36.000 That was what they wanted, that's what they liked.

00:09:38.000 The government came in with guns and then cleared them all out and asserted their dominance over the area.

00:09:42.000 At least the gangsters are honest with you, let me tell you something.

00:09:45.000 Yeah, seriously.

00:09:46.000 If you break the law, the government is manipulative.

00:09:49.000 These guys, so I always felt that, you know, I mean, it's interesting, you know, you don't want to, nobody wants crime and anything else, but there was a certain order, you know, there was a Sicilian, and I'm not denigrating, I mean, there was a code of, there was an actual book written in Sicilian

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00:11:24.000 A coat of ethics and honor that these old time guys had.

00:11:27.000 Now what they did is when the young guys came in and they started veering into drugs, that then became another thing.

00:11:33.000 Because You know, I met Pablo Escobar.

00:11:38.000 Oh yeah, how'd that go?

00:11:40.000 Yeah, when I did the Bond film.

00:11:41.000 I'm in the Amazon rainforest.

00:11:43.000 When I filmed in the favelas and I filmed in the Amazon rainforest with the Yanomami Indians, it was the first ecology film with a Finnish film director, Mika Kautismäki.

00:11:52.000 And we went to Manaus, Boa Vista, Tepicang, and we're in Manaus, which is where the rubber barons built this huge Hotel Trapical. 1.00

00:12:01.000 I mean opulent, unbelievable.

00:12:04.000 And the Bond film had just come out.

00:12:06.000 It was getting a lot of attention all over the world and Brazil especially as well.

00:12:10.000 And I'm sitting at this luncheon area.

00:12:13.000 I'm kind of flirting with these Irish dancers.

00:12:16.000 And a guy comes over to me.

00:12:18.000 He goes, Mr. Davi, yes.

00:12:21.000 He goes, we saw Licence to Kill.

00:12:24.000 He says, we enjoyed the film very much.

00:12:27.000 He goes, thank you so much.

00:12:29.000 He goes, a friend would like to meet you.

00:12:32.000 I go, oh yeah, sure, where is he?

00:12:34.000 He says, oh no, no, it's a little drive.

00:12:37.000 You can come with us?

00:12:41.000 And I go like… And I'm interested, okay.

00:12:46.000 Could it be?

00:12:47.000 Okay, all right, sure.

00:12:49.000 Yes, don't worry, you'll be okay.

00:12:52.000 So we drive, about a half hour, 40 minutes.

00:12:54.000 You get in a car with some strangers?

00:12:55.000 Did you actually feel like you had an option?

00:12:57.000 Did you feel like you had an option, or was it a?

00:12:58.000 No, I was okay.

00:13:00.000 I felt, you know, you gotta realize, I'll tell you the other story to this, 1.00

00:13:03.000 because there's a certain point where celebrity feels, invincible, it's stupid. 1.00

00:13:10.000 It's a dumb feeling. 1.00

00:13:11.000 It's very dangerous, but it's a dumb feeling. 0.99

00:13:14.000 And I experienced that, so I understand it. 0.66

00:13:17.000 So what happens is, they drive me to a place.

00:13:20.000 We're in the little dirt road and trees and jungle and all of a sudden this dirt, this tree thing goes like this.

00:13:27.000 It opens up and then there's another long dirt road and we go and now I'm getting a little nervous and then there's a clearing and guys that is watching and we go and I figure okay and they told me yes Mr. Escobar would like to meet you.

00:13:44.000 No way!

00:13:45.000 That's insane.

00:13:48.000 Now, you had heard about me from Beverly Hills because when I did the research, the guy that designed his home in Medellin was a guy that I was researching with.

00:13:57.000 I was asking questions.

00:13:59.000 Hence, loyalty is more important to me than money and some other things like that.

00:14:03.000 So now, I meet Escobar, broken English.

00:14:07.000 He goes, I like the film.

00:14:11.000 Very good.

00:14:12.000 Loyalty is more important to the man.

00:14:14.000 And this and that.

00:14:15.000 And the other thing goes, you know, I tell you a little bit about my personality, which would have been interesting in the film.

00:14:20.000 He says, when I was younger, I wanted to buy a discotheque, Medellin.

00:14:26.000 I had money, and they wouldn't sell it to me, so I offered them more money.

00:14:33.000 offered them more money, they wouldn't sell it to me. So what I did is I built the exact

00:14:37.000 same place across the street and didn't charge for drinks or entrance. I put them out of business.

00:14:42.000 He goes, that was one interesting idea of personality. He goes, and then I had a house

00:14:49.000 and I knew this, the Pasafino horses, the You know what those are?

00:14:54.000 They're the horses that have the gate where the left side, rear, and front go at the same time.

00:15:00.000 So when they're in the mountains, there's no jiggling, okay?

00:15:04.000 So he goes, he says, what's interesting, nice colors.

00:15:08.000 In my house, we would play Lulu, which is like the, I guess, blackjack or card game.

00:15:14.000 We'd drink aguardiente.

00:15:16.000 He goes, and then we hear, And we put the cars down, we pick up a drink, and we watch the gate of the Passo Finors coming through the house.

00:15:31.000 It's interesting.

00:15:34.000 I mean, and then he gives me a little bag and we talked a little more about stuff.

00:15:39.000 What was in the bag?

00:15:40.000 Emeralds.

00:15:43.000 Emeralds?

00:15:44.000 Emeralds.

00:15:44.000 What?

00:15:47.000 Is this emeralds in case the feds are listening or is this emeralds?

00:15:52.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:15:53.000 Literally.

00:15:54.000 Emeralds.

00:15:54.000 No, they were jewels.

00:15:55.000 No.

00:15:55.000 Oh, cool.

00:15:56.000 There were gems, because when I went to... Tim, are you taking notes?

00:15:58.000 When you get really big, you're going to be able to pull off all this stuff.

00:16:01.000 It's going to be great.

00:16:02.000 I'm excited.

00:16:03.000 No, no, no.

00:16:03.000 So, no, this was actually, you know, he says, you have girlfriend, wife, whatever, he says, you can make ring out of.

00:16:08.000 These are raw stones.

00:16:09.000 And he gave me a bag of raw stones.

00:16:11.000 Were they big?

00:16:13.000 Yeah, they were nice.

00:16:14.000 I scored a lot of points over the years.

00:16:16.000 Did you give them to a girlfriend?

00:16:17.000 Is there any concern about receiving that from... Well, just with the I.R.F.

00:16:21.000 Yeah, I guess.

00:16:22.000 Yeah, I'd be more worried about the government than the gangsters every time.

00:16:25.000 No, no, no, but this is actually a great question.

00:16:27.000 It's like, does he expect anything or he's just... No!

00:16:29.000 No, we're just appreciative.

00:16:31.000 Wow.

00:16:31.000 I never saw him again.

00:16:32.000 Wow.

00:16:32.000 Never had anything... Wow.

00:16:33.000 No, no, this was just...

00:16:35.000 Was it a nice place?

00:16:36.000 Was it fun?

00:16:36.000 You're like chilling in a nice chair, have a cigar or something?

00:16:38.000 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:16:39.000 I didn't have a cigar, but it was a nice... I had a drink.

00:16:42.000 Any food?

00:16:45.000 There was some crudité stuff, but I didn't need it.

00:16:48.000 It's funny, because he's like, I see myself in your villain.

00:16:52.000 You know what I mean?

00:16:53.000 Yes, yes, yes.

00:16:54.000 You know, I was very savvy, don't forget.

00:16:56.000 As Sanchez.

00:16:57.000 And then later on, in 2002... That's a good idea for a movie.

00:16:59.000 It was, you know, and then later on, in 2002.

00:17:03.000 That's a good idea for a movie.

00:17:05.000 2003, I met the guys that killed him.

00:17:11.000 Wow.

00:17:12.000 That's crazy.

00:17:14.000 I met the guys that killed him.

00:17:16.000 And I had to tell my friend who knew this story, who was a Special Forces guy, another thing, he says, you've got to tell him this story, that you met Escobar.

00:17:23.000 And these are the guys that took him out.

00:17:25.000 Lauren, I got an idea for you because I've been following Robert around for a couple of days and doing tons of publicity and he has a thousand of these stories.

00:17:33.000 I've heard him tell 400 stories over the last three days and I've only heard him repeat himself once.

00:17:38.000 There was one time.

00:17:39.000 There was one time.

00:17:40.000 But that's it.

00:17:41.000 Just following Robert around.

00:17:42.000 We walked into a Nancy O'Dell with a really hot bar and he walks up to the maitre d and he just comes in says two cappuccinos please and it is like there's no cappuccino this is a place where you go for a martini or something like that you're not you're getting a cappuccino here they produce a cappuccino just magically it's like he's got this way with people it's the voice it's the vibe yeah it's the

00:18:06.000 They know he knows people.

00:18:08.000 I had a modest budget for marketing so I have a nice room.

00:18:10.000 It's like I went to the hotel where I'm at.

00:18:12.000 Yeah.

00:18:13.000 No, it's awesome.

00:18:14.000 I had a, you know, modest budget for marketing, so I have a nice room.

00:18:20.000 I've been to the place before, and the, you know, guy that works there who's from Ethiopia,

00:18:29.000 Great little guy.

00:18:30.000 His name was Angel, in his Ethiopian language.

00:18:35.000 Takes me to my room, brings the bags in.

00:18:38.000 He goes, He goes, you're fantastic.

00:18:42.000 Thank you so much.

00:18:43.000 Gives me my bags.

00:18:44.000 I give him a little tip.

00:18:45.000 Thank you very much.

00:18:46.000 He goes, I'm so, such a pleasure.

00:18:48.000 Can I have a selfie?

00:18:49.000 Of course.

00:18:50.000 We take a selfie.

00:18:51.000 Sweetheart guy.

00:18:51.000 This is, oh, Salt of the Earth.

00:18:53.000 We talk a little bit about Haile Selassie and the Ark of the Covenant and everything like that.

00:18:58.000 He comes back.

00:19:01.000 I'm going to arrange for it.

00:19:02.000 You shouldn't be here.

00:19:05.000 Hey guys, Josh Hammer here, the host of America on Trial with Josh Hammer, a podcast for the First Podcast Network.

00:19:12.000 Look, there are a lot of shows out there that are explaining the political news cycle, what's happening on the Hill, the this, the that.

00:19:18.000 There are no other shows that are cutting straight to the point when it comes to the unprecedented lawfare debilitating and affecting the 2024 presidential election.

00:19:27.000 We do all that every single day right here on America on Trial with Josh Hammer.

00:19:31.000 Subscribe and download your episodes wherever you get your podcasts.

00:19:34.000 It's America on Trial with Josh Hammer.

00:19:36.000 I have the suite.

00:19:38.000 You're going to stay in the suite.

00:19:40.000 That's cool.

00:19:41.000 Wow.

00:19:42.000 I got upgrades.

00:19:43.000 He goes, I want to upgrade you to this.

00:19:45.000 Now I got this huge suite.

00:19:46.000 I'm by myself.

00:19:47.000 Had I known, I would have brought the family.

00:19:48.000 You know what I mean?

00:19:49.000 He did the same thing to me, but he put me closer to the elevator.

00:19:51.000 He said, you shouldn't be here.

00:19:52.000 You should be where you hear the ding, ding, ding.

00:19:55.000 You should be by the bathroom.

00:19:56.000 I'm way in the back.

00:19:57.000 There's no sound.

00:19:58.000 There's nobody else around me.

00:20:01.000 But it's funny stuff like that.

00:20:02.000 They would be good stories to film.

00:20:05.000 What's the seediest Hollywood story?

00:20:07.000 What's the darkest?

00:20:08.000 I mean, meeting Pablo Escobar is pretty amazing, but ultimately you've got a bag of emeralds.

00:20:13.000 What about something like you witness a guy murder somebody or something and they drag the body out?

00:20:17.000 Those are stories you never tell, hey?

00:20:19.000 Yeah, no, thank God I haven't had... But no one's listening.

00:20:22.000 I haven't had like what Burt Reynolds had when there was murder on the set or something like that.

00:20:28.000 I didn't have anything like that, thank God, happen.

00:20:31.000 I'm trying to think because, you know, 45 years of doing this, you know, there's all kinds of... You know who Tully Savalas is?

00:20:39.000 No.

00:20:41.000 Kojak.

00:20:41.000 Kojak!

00:20:42.000 I'm 36, man, I don't know.

00:20:44.000 Oh my God.

00:20:46.000 You see, we have to... This is... Half your age!

00:20:48.000 All I know about Telly Savalas is a ball is a cue ball, right?

00:20:54.000 Yes.

00:20:55.000 Okay, that's it.

00:20:56.000 But he was in the Dirty Dozen.

00:20:57.000 See, I think we have to... He was an iconic figure, Telly Savalas, as Kojak.

00:21:05.000 Who loves your baby? 1.00

00:21:06.000 With the lollipop in his mouth, right?

00:21:09.000 But anyway, I'm doing it.

00:21:10.000 Well, if you don't know who he is and your kids don't know, it's kind of a moot story to say.

00:21:14.000 I won't say that.

00:21:17.000 What can I tell you?

00:21:17.000 Oh, I could tell you.

00:21:18.000 When I was in Brazil, when I told you celebrity feels invincible?

00:21:21.000 Yeah.

00:21:22.000 So, we're in Boa Vista, which is a wild west town.

00:21:25.000 There are murders every night in this town.

00:21:28.000 People get shot up.

00:21:30.000 So, we're shooting outside a bar, and I'm drinking.

00:21:33.000 I have to get drunk, and me and this Finnish actor have to have a wrestling match.

00:21:37.000 Wait, wait, wait, you have to get drunk for what?

00:21:38.000 For the scene.

00:21:39.000 Oh, for the scene.

00:21:40.000 I wanted to, so I, you know, I'm a method actor.

00:21:42.000 You're a method actor, yeah, what do you do?

00:21:43.000 So I drink some cachaça, caipirinha.

00:21:46.000 Caipirinha.

00:21:47.000 You know it, alright?

00:21:48.000 So I'm drinking a little bit too much of these guys, and now I'm lit.

00:21:52.000 And we're wrestling, and we're on the thing, and we're trying to do now, after the wrestle match, the dialogue scene.

00:21:58.000 And you need quiet for that.

00:22:00.000 So the AD is trying to say to this bar that's over there, when I was down, to the people, Please be quiet, please.

00:22:06.000 And nobody's being quiet.

00:22:07.000 And I go, why do we got to do another take, you know?

00:22:10.000 He goes, well, because they're not quiet.

00:22:11.000 I go, oh.

00:22:12.000 He goes, I'm going to, I'm going to go talk to them.

00:22:14.000 He goes, no, no, no, no, you stay here.

00:22:15.000 I said, no, let me watch.

00:22:17.000 Because the Bond film had come out, and I'm thinking, who the hell I am in other films.

00:22:21.000 And I go into the bar, and I see this guy.

00:22:24.000 And he looks at me like this.

00:22:26.000 The guy's look was, And I'm half lit, and I'm going to this face.

00:22:33.000 Silencio, por favor.

00:22:34.000 Para mí.

00:22:36.000 Silencio, por favor.

00:22:37.000 Para mí.

00:22:37.000 Enfermando.

00:22:38.000 Silencio.

00:22:44.000 I leave.

00:22:44.000 I go back down on the thing.

00:22:46.000 Two minutes later, the director, Mika Karusmaki, grabs me by my elbow and goes, come on, we have to go.

00:22:51.000 Why?

00:22:52.000 What happened?

00:22:52.000 He says, no, we just have to go.

00:22:54.000 Let's go.

00:22:54.000 Don't worry about it.

00:22:56.000 So they put me, you know, I fell asleep on the couch in the lobby of the hotel, you know, one boot off, one boot on.

00:23:03.000 Next morning I go, what happened?

00:23:05.000 And they said, you know that guy, Silencio Por Favor, whatever you said to him about me?

00:23:10.000 Yeah. 1.00

00:23:11.000 He said, you better get this gringo out of here or I'll shoot everybody in the ass. 1.00

00:23:18.000 And there was a murder that night. 1.00

00:23:19.000 Every night there were murders there.

00:23:21.000 So not as susceptible to your charms as the Major D at the Hamilton.

00:23:27.000 Not the same, I guess.

00:23:29.000 Some people just want to drink.

00:23:30.000 I don't care what you have to do about it.

00:23:33.000 I don't do that kiss and tell thing.

00:23:36.000 I would never do that.

00:23:38.000 So, without getting into personal stories, we hear a lot about child abuse and stuff like that.

00:23:44.000 Dark stuff happening in Hollywood.

00:23:47.000 That Corey Feldman talked about quite a bit.

00:23:50.000 You know what I mean?

00:23:51.000 I got the Nickelodeon thing about the kids being abused and stuff like that.

00:23:55.000 Yeah, I had not experienced, thank God, any of that.

00:23:59.000 It could have been happening behind my back.

00:24:01.000 I did experience... You know what bothered me about the Me Too movement a bit?

00:24:07.000 And a certain thing, the culture of Hollywood, that in the eighties You could be, and I was never a druggie, I've had family members that had problems but I was never myself, but you could take a date to a club like the Roxbury they had on Sunset Boulevard or another club and you could be there with her and another girl could come over and the girl could say,

00:24:36.000 And, you know, for some reason a girl goes, I'll be right back. 0.96

00:24:39.000 And the girl would go, and you would, the girl would go, there would be somebody that had quaaludes that would be giving, the culture was quaaludes, so when you hear about 20 or 40 years later, he drugged me, he did this to me, he did that to me, all of this other stuff, it's kind of... They knew.

00:24:57.000 There was kind of, some of them did, I'm not saying all of them, but it was an absolute thing that was happening there that the drugs and the and and and it's unfortunate and look at I have six

00:25:13.000 No, no, no.

00:25:14.000 I've got a 3-year-old, 21-year-old, 31-year-old, 32-year-old, and 15 and 17 step-daughters.

00:25:23.000 My goodness.

00:25:24.000 You know what I mean?

00:25:24.000 So I'm very sensitive to women, for Pete's sakes.

00:25:27.000 But there was a culture of that drug abuse stuff in modeling and in the film world back then.

00:25:38.000 Was it hard?

00:25:39.000 You told the story about how you finally got that job with Sinatra.

00:25:42.000 Was getting into that difficult?

00:25:44.000 You could.

00:25:45.000 Why do you bring that up?

00:25:47.000 Here's what it was.

00:25:50.000 Word on the street was Sinatra was doing a first film in eight years, a book that his mother loved, Contract on Cherry Street.

00:25:57.000 I said to my agent, who I was freelancing with, Barry Moss, who became a great casting director for theater, put me in plays and stuff.

00:26:06.000 I says, Barry, what about Sinatra's film?

00:26:08.000 He goes, he's using all his friends.

00:26:11.000 I says, where's the casting office?

00:26:16.000 He goes, well, it's Columbia Pictures, Fifth Avenue, next to Tiffany.

00:26:21.000 I said, I'm going to go up there.

00:26:22.000 He goes, go ahead.

00:26:23.000 What do you have to lose?

00:26:24.000 Yeah?

00:26:25.000 So I go to this Columbia picture, and there was a guard.

00:26:30.000 Today you couldn't do this.

00:26:31.000 But there was a guard, and it was a brother.

00:26:34.000 I go, on Cherry Street, he goes, third floor.

00:26:38.000 Oh.

00:26:38.000 I take the elevator, third floor.

00:26:39.000 There's a woman sitting behind the desk and one on the desk. 1.00

00:26:42.000 Door was open.

00:26:43.000 I go, I don't mean to intrude, but I understand you're casting for Cherry Street.

00:26:47.000 I was told it was all cast, but I figured, Not quite.

00:26:52.000 Do you have a picture and resume?

00:26:54.000 I go, I didn't want to be that presumptuous.

00:26:56.000 They go, bring one tomorrow morning.

00:26:58.000 That was my opening gambit.

00:26:59.000 Wow.

00:27:00.000 I said, screw that.

00:27:01.000 Ran to the agent, came back ten minutes later, guard up there, third floor, they're in different positions.

00:27:09.000 I go, why wait?

00:27:10.000 And they laughed and they said, thank you very much.

00:27:13.000 Good call.

00:27:14.000 They called me the next morning.

00:27:15.000 Back then, though, you had no cell phones.

00:27:17.000 You had to have a pocket full of quarters.

00:27:19.000 And you had Actifone.

00:27:20.000 You had a number where you checked in every day.

00:27:22.000 All right?

00:27:23.000 So you put the number down, blah, blah, blah.

00:27:25.000 And I call in the Actifone number.

00:27:28.000 And it says, Columbia said, call them right away.

00:27:30.000 This is a Friday morning.

00:27:31.000 I call Columbia.

00:27:32.000 They go, Robert, please come and pick up a script.

00:27:35.000 I go there, pick up a script.

00:27:37.000 They give me the script.

00:27:38.000 They go, read these scenes.

00:27:39.000 Come back at 6 o'clock.

00:27:40.000 Go to the park.

00:27:41.000 Learn the scenes.

00:27:42.000 I do that.

00:27:43.000 I come back at 6 o'clock at night.

00:27:45.000 A woman named Renee Valenti was the head of Columbia at the time.

00:27:48.000 Hugh Benson was producing.

00:27:49.000 Billy Graham was directing.

00:27:50.000 And Sinatra was his project, his book.

00:27:54.000 I do the reading.

00:27:55.000 Now, actors, when you do a reading, you tend to sometimes slow down after you close the door.

00:28:01.000 You're waiting for that moment where the light bulb goes off and everyone says, it's you, it's you, it's you.

00:28:07.000 So I slowly was walking away, but the door opened up and she goes, don't leave yet. 0.99

00:28:12.000 Now that means two things.

00:28:13.000 Either they want you to read another part or they have a direction.

00:28:16.000 She came back about five or seven minutes later and she goes, what are you doing this summer?

00:28:24.000 I said, you tell me.

00:28:25.000 Nothing.

00:28:26.000 No, I said, you tell me.

00:28:28.000 She goes, 99% it's yours.

00:28:30.000 Wow.

00:28:31.000 And she says, we'll call your agent Monday.

00:28:33.000 Call.

00:28:35.000 Got it.

00:28:35.000 And you went down there of your own accord.

00:28:38.000 Own accord.

00:28:39.000 That's what I say.

00:28:39.000 I tell kids, people say, be respectful but don't take no for an answer.

00:28:46.000 If you believe in yourself.

00:28:47.000 This is big though, and Tim, I know this comes up in your show a lot because your audience skews younger.

00:28:52.000 I feel like people, we're almost exactly the same age, that our age and younger, I don't see anyone who's a big success who didn't take what they wanted, who didn't go out there, carve their own path, didn't take no for an answer.

00:29:03.000 Lauren killed a guy. 1.00

00:29:04.000 The one that we know of, and who knows beyond that.

00:29:10.000 But this is such a big thing.

00:29:11.000 Just in case people might believe that, I'm kidding.

00:29:13.000 Just a joke.

00:29:13.000 I was actually 200 refugees, if you will, on The Daily Beast.

00:29:18.000 Oh really?

00:29:19.000 I literally can't think of anything I can think of anything in my life that I'm doing that I didn't just take on my own and and of course you got to get people to buy in and believe in you eventually but it's the it does start with why wait let me bring the resume now this is this is my destiny I'm going to see that it is so and I know there are people in the audience who are thinking about that and is just If this conversation gives you that push to go do something you want to do.

00:29:44.000 I mean, it's so big.

00:29:45.000 It's just such a big concept that is lost because you're not learning this in school.

00:29:49.000 No one's telling you to take what you want in school.

00:29:51.000 They're telling you to play by the rules, wait for the establishment to tap you in the shoulder, and it doesn't come.

00:29:56.000 And at the same time, they're strangely enough telling all these kids, oh, you're going to be president when you're older.

00:30:01.000 You're going to be an astronaut.

00:30:02.000 You're going to be this.

00:30:03.000 Meanwhile, setting them all up for failure.

00:30:05.000 Yeah, for Biden!

00:30:08.000 When I was younger, there was a lot of, I don't know what to do, someone's supposed to tell me what to do, and then at a certain point, it wasn't about, someone needs to tell me what to do, I don't know what to do, it was, you're in my way, I'm trying to do something.

00:30:21.000 Yes.

00:30:21.000 And that's exactly right.

00:30:22.000 You have to, yes, you have to, you know what I mean?

00:30:25.000 But it wasn't like, there was a point where I decided, you know what, I'm gonna take, it was like, I'm a young kid.

00:30:30.000 I'm skating.

00:30:31.000 I'm playing music.

00:30:31.000 And I'm like, I have no idea what's going on, what I'm supposed to do.

00:30:34.000 And then as I got older, I pursued the things I cared about.

00:30:38.000 I knew what I was talking about.

00:30:40.000 And then when it came to things, I was just like, I'm going to go do this.

00:30:43.000 You're in my way if you don't want.

00:30:45.000 So like I worked for nonprofits and I'd say, here's what we got to do.

00:30:49.000 I worked for one within my first week. 0.54

00:30:51.000 I was like on probation for fundraising, you know, trying to sign people up and I sucked.

00:30:55.000 And then I actually got the job because I had my friend come and pretend to sign up so that I could get in.

00:31:00.000 And then, but that was it.

00:31:01.000 I was like, I'm getting this job.

00:31:03.000 So I need to get three signups in three days.

00:31:05.000 And on the last day, with like an hour left, I was like, I'm getting this job.

00:31:09.000 And I called my friends like, hey, show up and sign up for me.

00:31:11.000 And I'll tell them I did it.

00:31:12.000 And then signed my front up, got the job.

00:31:14.000 And a week later, I was the best in the office, signing up like eight people a day.

00:31:18.000 And then I said I figured it out. It took me about a week.

00:31:20.000 You wanted people who could naturally do it Well, I figured it out in a week

00:31:23.000 Here's how to make it better and they said we don't care what you have to say do your job and I said

00:31:27.000 I'm gonna quit and go work for an office. I went next door after after a month of working there

00:31:32.000 I went to another company and I said, here's what I'm doing per day

00:31:36.000 Will you hire me and give me a promotion?

00:31:38.000 And they said, absolutely.

00:31:40.000 We're going to steal one of the best people from a rival fundraising non-profit.

00:31:45.000 And all you want to do, of course we want you in the position.

00:31:48.000 We want you to train people.

00:31:49.000 I go to them.

00:31:50.000 Then after working there, I just decided I'm going to do my own thing with my friends because then we don't got to worry about the middleman.

00:31:57.000 And then I ended up moving to LA, went to another non-profit and said, I want to be a director.

00:32:01.000 I want to run the office.

00:32:02.000 And here's what I want.

00:32:05.000 I always tell my friends this, but some people just don't have it.

00:32:08.000 It's not trying to be mean to them, but I tell my friends, I'm like, if you really want it, after you get your job, start looking for another job.

00:32:16.000 Never stop looking for what it is you want to do.

00:32:19.000 Because I was like, you need to understand this.

00:32:20.000 This is what I tell my friends.

00:32:22.000 When I started working for Vice, people were all excited.

00:32:25.000 Like, oh man, you're so lucky.

00:32:26.000 Vice is the best.

00:32:27.000 And I said, I don't work for Vice.

00:32:28.000 Vice works for me.

00:32:30.000 And then when I wasn't getting what I want, I went to the CEO and I said, you promised me this, this, and this.

00:32:36.000 I'm here.

00:32:37.000 I'm waiting.

00:32:37.000 And I'm not going to sit around and wait forever.

00:32:39.000 Am I going to get what I asked for?

00:32:41.000 And then he was like, Shane's a cool dude.

00:32:43.000 He was like, you're right.

00:32:45.000 We're going to get it done.

00:32:47.000 A week goes by, I get a little bit, my salary goes up, they give me more things that I'm asking for, and then I'm like, this is good, but I said three things.

00:32:55.000 So then a month goes by and I go back and I said, you got me this, you kinda got me that, we're still missing this.

00:33:00.000 And they were like, we're gonna work on it, it takes time, I understand.

00:33:04.000 And I'm like, and I do too, I know it's business.

00:33:07.000 And then finally, once I got poached by ABC News and they offered me substantially more money and everything, I went to them and said, I quit.

00:33:14.000 And they were like, what?

00:33:15.000 And then they were like, no, no, no, no, no, no.

00:33:17.000 We're not done yet.

00:33:17.000 And I was like, yes, we are.

00:33:18.000 I've come to you three times now telling you what I wanted.

00:33:20.000 You didn't get it for me.

00:33:21.000 I quit.

00:33:23.000 I'm done.

00:33:24.000 And then one of the C-suite guys is on the phone with me and he's like, Tim, this is not over.

00:33:29.000 And I was like, yeah, it is.

00:33:31.000 I cashed the check already.

00:33:32.000 I appreciate it.

00:33:33.000 Have a nice day.

00:33:34.000 And that was the end of it.

00:33:35.000 Wow.

00:33:36.000 But, you know, my attitude, people were shocked.

00:33:38.000 They were like, how could you leave Vice?

00:33:40.000 They're the big thing.

00:33:41.000 And I was like, because I'm doing something.

00:33:44.000 Vice is in my way.

00:33:46.000 I worked for them.

00:33:47.000 It was great.

00:33:47.000 They got me what I needed.

00:33:48.000 But there's an exchange here.

00:33:50.000 I'm not some dude desperate for their attention.

00:33:52.000 I come to them and say, here's my goal.

00:33:54.000 Can you provide for me?

00:33:56.000 And when they said yes and then didn't, I fired them.

00:33:59.000 That's it.

00:33:59.000 Yeah.

00:34:00.000 Yeah, it's so important.

00:34:01.000 That and preparation.

00:34:03.000 Like I knew I got a scholarship to Hofstra University for theatre, for acting, and I was hungry.

00:34:12.000 I mean, driven.

00:34:13.000 I didn't want to read a book.

00:34:14.000 I wanted to put them in blenders and drink them, so I could have as many as I could.

00:34:18.000 And today's youth, they're consuming social media, but reading, the written word, the classics, they're not teaching them in school.

00:34:26.000 They want to post Instagrams, you know.

00:34:28.000 Yeah, they want to post it.

00:34:28.000 TikToks.

00:34:29.000 TikToks, and all that other quick stuff, when it's really a concern.

00:34:34.000 Who were the best actors, the best directors?

00:34:36.000 What were they doing?

00:34:37.000 What was their process?

00:34:39.000 So you get inspired by, who were the best teachers?

00:34:42.000 So if you get that preparation, then you have the confidence to say to somebody and look them in the eye, and they know right away.

00:34:49.000 I always had a friend tell me, doing the reading is a superpower.

00:34:52.000 And it's gotten so bad today that when I apply that, he's like, any show you go on, doesn't matter where, if you just read the article that you've been asked to read by the news program, nine out of ten times you'll blow the other person out of the water that you're debating.

00:35:06.000 Because there's a good chance they never even touched it.

00:35:08.000 And that's the majority of people today.

00:35:10.000 They just won't even read past the headline.

00:35:12.000 It's wild.

00:35:13.000 That's everybody.

00:35:14.000 Yeah, the bad news is the powers that be are not giving young people the tools.

00:35:19.000 They're not telling them the secrets.

00:35:20.000 But the good news is if you listen to a show like this or if you're paying attention to people who've made it and you're following Lauren online or Robert, then you are going to be so far ahead of everyone else because You now have the tools.

00:35:32.000 We're giving you guys the answers right now.

00:35:34.000 But you do have to deliver the goods, Tim.

00:35:36.000 You're a huge ball of energy.

00:35:39.000 You can't come in and demand stuff if you didn't do anything.

00:35:41.000 You've got to do the tasks at hand.

00:35:43.000 And then, if your bosses don't answer the call, then doors will open up for you.

00:35:47.000 Because I know I hire tons of young people.

00:35:50.000 Anyone who is hungry.

00:35:51.000 Anyone who comes in thinking, I'm going to make my mark.

00:35:53.000 I'm going, I've got to work with this person.

00:35:54.000 I've got to sign them up.

00:35:55.000 I've got to figure out a way.

00:35:56.000 Yeah, and there's something called modafinil and provigil that removes your requirement for sleep.

00:36:02.000 It's used by astronauts and snipers.

00:36:05.000 It's called modafinil?

00:36:06.000 Modafinil.

00:36:07.000 You use it?

00:36:07.000 No, no.

00:36:08.000 Oh, I never heard of it.

00:36:09.000 I'm joking.

00:36:09.000 Oh, okay.

00:36:10.000 But people think I'm on Adderall or something.

00:36:12.000 Oh, really?

00:36:13.000 It's also a great option.

00:36:14.000 I don't drink.

00:36:15.000 I'm not, you know, like anti-drink or anything.

00:36:19.000 I'll drink maybe like once or twice a year for celebrations.

00:36:21.000 But mostly I take vitamins, I slam vitamin C, and cut out the sugars, trying to be healthier.

00:36:29.000 So the only thing that's close to drugs is I have a nitro cold brew in the morning. 0.96

00:36:34.000 I fucking love those things. 0.97

00:36:35.000 That's the secret I guess, and then I stay up all day. 0.99

00:36:37.000 But the real secret is cutting out the sugars and exercise.

00:36:41.000 Because when I used to eat rice, this was only a year ago, after at four o'clock I'd eat dinner, I'd fall asleep.

00:36:47.000 Yeah.

00:36:48.000 And then I would have to wake up at seven to get ready for work.

00:36:50.000 And that's like, it's just draining.

00:36:52.000 But Robert, thanks for hanging out, man.

00:36:54.000 The stories were amazing.

00:36:55.000 Really do appreciate it.

00:36:56.000 Oh, I appreciate it.

00:36:57.000 Thank you for having us.

00:36:58.000 Absolutely.

00:36:58.000 Great meeting you.

00:37:00.000 Great meeting you and you.

00:37:01.000 It's great being on the show.

00:37:03.000 And I'm looking forward to watching My Son Hunter on the 7th.

00:37:06.000 Please, yes, the 7th.

00:37:07.000 Go to mysonhunter.com.

00:37:10.000 Get that show.

00:37:11.000 Go to Breitbart and Unreported Story Society.

00:37:16.000 It was their energy that got the script together and stuff like that and their foresight of bringing it to me to direct.

00:37:24.000 Right on.

00:37:25.000 For everybody who's a member, thanks for making this all possible.

Timcast IRL - Tim Pool - September 04, 2022

Sunday Uncensored: Robert Davi & Alex Marlow Member Podcast: Robert Davi Tells Crazy Hollywood Stories And How Pablo Escobar Gave Him Emeralds

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