Name: Steve Martin And His Singing Balls | David Letterman
Uploaded: 2024-08-15T15:00:02.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Steve Martin And His Singing Balls | David Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2024-08-15. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Steve Martin And His Singing Balls | David Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2024-08-15. Transcript available.

*applaudissements*
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream
I'll make you the cutest that I've seen
I'm so alone, don't have nobody to call my own
Turn on your magic beam
Whee!
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream
*applaudissements*
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream
Make him the cutest that I've ever seen
Give him the word that I'm on a rover
Then tell him that it's once and once all over
Don't have nobody to call my own
Don't have nobody to call my own
Please, Sandman, bring us
Please, please, please, Mr. Sandman
Bring us a dream
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
That was fantastic
That was fantastic
Steve Martin and his singing balls, everybody
I don't know what to say
My green socks
That was as remarkable a musical performance as we've ever had on the show
I was concerned because when you introduced me, the audience started clapping
and I'm afraid they didn't hear singing balls
Even if they hadn't heard, it becomes obvious so soon thereafter
Uh-huh
Well, see, I didn't realize
Yeah, no
How long have you worked on that little number?
I, like, minutes
I, I've, you know
Good to see you again
It's a fun thing to do because you don't have to do anything
Yeah
Uh
And the rehearsal must be a riot
Well, you know
This is not what I wear at rehearsal
Yeah
I don't
I don't
Uh, you know, I saw your, uh, movie, Novocaine
You did?
Yes, I got a big kick out of this film
A big kick
Yeah
Mm-hmm
And, uh, Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter
Oh, man, tell me all about that
Well, and Laura Dern, too
Yes, yes, yes
Yeah
I can tell you all about both of them
All right, well, let's go
They're dynamic, uh, women that are fun to be with
Yeah, yeah
And, and, and, in the
What am I supposed to say?
In the case of one, she's, uh, semi-naked
Uh, yes
And I've never done that before
Never had a sort of serious sex scene
And it's a completely awkward
Really?
Yeah, it's very, very awkward
There's a lot of, you know, strapping in
And, you know
Wait a minute
Wait a minute, strapping in?
Well, that's just me, you know
You know, you know
You know
Strapping down
Uh
Yeah, they
I didn't
And it's, it's amazing because every time I burst them
So, um
No, it's, it's a completely awkward situation
You've heard actors say it's an awkward situation
And it is
Yeah, but it looked great is what my, my point is
Well, that's the idea
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, it's, you're supposed to go
I, I wish that were me
Yes, well, I did
I said that to myself
I said, boy, I wish that, that worked
Meaning, Helena?
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
I wish
Now, now you're dreaming
The, the other day
Uh, and the, the, uh, and the movie you, you play
It's a strange part for you, really
Uh
Evil, not evil, really, but you find yourself in an odd situation as a dentist
Yes, he's a, a dentist who makes an erotic mistake
Mm-hmm
And, uh, tries to cover it up
Right
Which is kind of unbelievable that a man would make an erotic mistake
Try and, we're, uh, we're opening against Harry Potter
Yeah
We'll be fine
Well, see, here's what I figured
Harry Potter has a very specific audience
Mm-hmm
Everybody
So, what we have, we have the, the people who do not fall under the category of
everybody
Ah
I think that'll work
Yeah
I think that'll be pretty good
But it's a, I'll, I'll be honest with you, it's a very fun, it's kind of a
psychological thriller
Yeah
Kind of like, uh, usual suspects, but with me in it
Mm-hmm, that's right
And you're not sure what's gonna happen next
You're not sure what's gonna happen
It keeps going around these turns
And you don't know who to trust
Yeah, yeah, it's very interesting, very exciting
Now, uh, I saw you a couple of weeks ago on, on the Emmy Awards
And, and you and I, we didn't talk about this, but we were in, nominated in the
same category
We were both in the same category
Yeah, and we
What a vicious battle that was
The way you campaigned, night after night on this show
I said, I don't have a show, this is so unfair
I'm sorry
Yeah
I don't know what came over me
I just wanted it so bad
Yeah
That, that would have changed your life, you had won that
Yeah
But you know, what was your year?
It was, it was you
It was me
It was, uh, I think Ellen DeGeneres
I think Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
Um, I'm leaving somebody out here
Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, oh shoot, come on
Who is it?
Wayne Brady
Right, and, and Barbara Streisand
Barbara Streisand
Who won?
Yeah
You know, you know how she won?
Email campaign
Is that what it was?
Yeah
You, you were nominated for hosting the Academy Awards
Right
And you did a fantastic job
Oh, thank you very much
I thought you did a great job
Yeah
Nice going
Will you do it again, do you think?
Uh, I don't know
You know who I modeled it on?
No
Really?
Well, Johnny Carson
Ah, well, that's a
You can't, you can't do any better than that
No, you can't
Yeah
And, uh, I thought you were great on the show
No, you didn't
Yes, I did, I swear, I was there that night
You're the one
Yeah, that's right
Yeah, I was there, and I, uh
What do you mean?
Oh, yeah, that's right
Oh, yeah, I remember that
That night when I was hosting the Oscars
I just saw you
That's all I could think about
And it, it's the kind of thing you would like to do more and more of?
It's fun
You know, it's strange to, to look out
And see an audience of celebrities and go, "Oh, they're my friends"
Mm-hmm
You know, they were, they were very kind and nice
And it was a good audience
Yeah, see, I had just a, a little different version of that expression
Well, everyone hated you
Yeah
I looked out, I said, "Oh, they're celebrities, they don't like me"
Yeah
Yeah, yeah
I understand that, yeah
Uh, and, and tell us about the, the book, "Shop Girl"
"Shop Girl" is, uh
Now in paperback
Now in paperback
We have the, we had it in hard, this is the hardcover
That's the hardcover
Then they did a very interesting thing
They changed the color
Mm-hmm
For the, uh, paperback
It's a slim volume
And, uh, sometimes it, it's daunting, you know, for people to, um, to read a
novel
So they, we actually also have the "Shop Girl" pamphlet
What, what is this here?
Oh, no
You're getting
Oh, and he really, it's, it's distilled into the
Yeah
That's an excellent idea
You put it in your back pocket
Yeah
And I noticed here, with a little sticker on the, uh, cover of the paperback
Yeah, well that's, uh, that's not the Oprah sticker, I didn't get that
That's just the, uh
The Taliban book club?
Yeah
Yeah, well, yeah
That's a pretty good endorsement though, I would say
Yeah, it's a, you know, it's changing rapidly
Yeah
Uh, what, what about the, uh, the guy who wrote the, who wrote the book and
then Oprah, uh, was, it was in Oprah's book club
Jonathan Frensen
Yeah
Won the, uh, National Book Award
He won the National Book Award last night
Yeah
And he, uh, he had received the Oprah sticker, the, it's quite an endorsement
and it sells a lot of books
Oh, sure
And, uh, he, uh, I think, uh, kind of maybe naively just said to, you know,
when you kind of first start doing promotion and you're talking to a little
tiny newspaper and I don't want to say because then I'll get letters from Omaha,
you know, uh, and you think you're being quite private, so he said, well, you
know, I thought my book was a little different than the Oprah club
Right
And I wanted a little different aura around it and then, uh, sort of blew up in
his face, but he was very kind about it, Oprah was very kind
They, uh, I mean, he didn't, he didn't appear on the Oprah show
Have you, have you
But he will be appearing on Martha Stewart's Good Morning Wisconsin, so
Have you been on the Oprah show?
I've been on the Oprah show
How many times have you been on?
I think a couple of times, I was on with Goldie Hawn once
Right, for a film?
Uh, I think so, yeah, what other, I can't think of another reason why
I mean, I, I did a film with Goldie and as I recall, I can't think of another
reason we would have gone on together
Now, did, did, uh, do you, do you know of a reason Oprah would not want me on
her show?
Yes
Really? Why, why wouldn't?
What is it?
Uh
Just your fundamental nature, I guess
Really?
No, I have the feeling that Oprah doesn't like me, too
But, but you've been on the damn show
I've been on the show
And then I, I don't know, I just have this vague, I have no reason, you know,
to think that
It did not come up on the show
You didn't say, "Oprah, do you like me?"
Well, I thought she liked me at that point
Oh, you did think she liked you
Yeah
But now something's happened and you think she
I think something has happened
I, I don't know what it is
And you, it's just something you kind of worry about, you know
Because you don't want Oprah
Well, that's, that's the thing, because Oprah is somebody to
You don't want Oprah to not like you
No
Because people like Oprah
And if they like Oprah, and Oprah doesn't like you
People love Oprah, and Oprah doesn't like you
People love Oprah, the most powerful woman in, in this country, if not the
world, Oprah
Really?
Yeah
Do you think in your case it has anything to do with the singing balls?
I would think that she would like that
I'll be honest with you
I, I, I'll be honest with you, I called her up first, I said I like to do the
singing balls
No dice
Yeah
All right
You, you were, they have the millionaire show and uh, Martin Short, your friend
Martin Short
Oh my god
Yeah
Don't mention that
And Paul Schaefer was involved in this indirectly, weren't you Paul?
Yes, I was
All right, tell us
This, this was a disastrous
You, you guys were his lifelines, right?
His focal
Were you a lifeline?
I was going to be a lifeline
I wish he'd called you
I bet you did, yeah
No, to make a long story short, I, uh, Marty Short was on the, I can't believe
I'm talking
about this because it was one of the sickest, I was so sick that day
Yeah
Uh, I was going to be a lifeline for Marty Short in the field of art
You know a lot about art?
Art, I, I, I can pretty much answer, I think any question that, that, uh, Regis
could come up with
and, and, and, so, they called me, uh, with a literature question
Oh, gosh
And, you know, and it was a trick question, because it evidently had a correct
answer
So, and I, you know, I confused myself
Yeah
But, you know, I, I don't criticize myself for missing the question
Because that's, you know, some things you know, some things you don't know
That's right
But I, what I criticize myself for is not saying, I don't know
Uh-huh
Instead of steering them wrong
Yeah, but at that point, they, uh, there's a great deal of pressure on you
They phoned you, you are the font of knowledge at that point
Yes
They want to hear from you the answer
Well, also, I think they coerced Marty into calling me
Because he had a literature person, you know, ready to call
But I think they wanted to talk to Steve about the literature question
Yeah, yeah
And so I could blow it and be humiliated forever
And his, his literature person was like one of his high school teachers, wasn't
that?
I, I don't know, I think it was a professor, uh, professor of literature
Yeah
And Paul, you were gonna be like his music
I was gonna be in music, yeah
Yeah
Luckily, I got off the hook
Yeah
Literature question
Why wouldn't he call, uh, like a college professor of literature?
Though
Because he had stupid Steve
Ah
How nice
How nice
It was the
It was a, here, I'll give you, I think I remember the question
It was, uh, which book, we were down to two, which makes it even worse
Uh
Well, you just had to choose one or the other
Choose one or the other, yes
Yeah
One or the other
The only thing that would have made it worse is if they were down to one
Uh, the question was, who, uh, is, which of these books is, is, uh, written in
the first person
I think it was, uh, The Great Gatsby or The Native Son, or Native Son
Mm-hmm
What would you say?
I would say The Great Gatsby because I know the answer
Uh-huh
Hmm, I'm happy for you
Yeah
But it's misleading
Misleading in what sense?
Well, it's misleading because, you know, Gatsby, you think, well, he doesn't
speak
He doesn't, he never speaks
Mm-hmm
So, then you realize it's the narrator, yeah, yeah, yeah, so
And how much, how much money did, did Martin not get for this?
I would prefer not to talk about it
All right, fine
Well, that's too bad
But, you know, uh, with that kind of pressure, I don't think that I would have
been able to come up with the right answer either
Well, it wasn't that
I mean, I could have come up with the right answer if I had known it
I see
It wasn't that I was so nervous I couldn't think of the right answer
So it's just ignorance then
It was ignorance
I see
But it was, you know, it was, the ignorance was not to say, I'm ignorant
Right
It was to think, it's to think I knew
It's like a roller coaster
Because you're only down to two
Without a bar
But why would it be like a roller coaster without a saloon? I don't understand
Let's, uh, let's show a little bit of the, uh, the Novocaine movie
Okay
Yeah
Let's show it all
Let's break precedent
Well, all right
You're the boss
Do you still, do you still play cards with Johnny Carson?
Uh, sometimes I do
When was the last time you saw him?
Uh, I think maybe two or three months ago
How's he doing?
He's doing great
Yeah, and is, you and a bunch of guys go over to his house every night?
No, they come over to my house
To your house?
Mm-hmm
And Carl, Carl Reiner and Neil Simon
I shouldn't
This is illegal, so I shouldn't really be talking about it
Well, no, what do you mean?
No, we're
It's not illegal
But we're very careful, we say, I'll wager a blue one
Paper, paper being taped
But this has been going on forever and ever, hasn't it?
It's been going on a long time
Yeah
And what, what does Johnny talk about when he comes over?
Does he, does he ever say, you know, he misses being on TV or anything?
No, he, I, you know, I shouldn't talk about his personal
Well, okay
Um
No, I think he's quite happy
He made, he made a decision not to
In fact, I had asked him to appear on the Academy Awards
Sure
And, um, I had a joke
I, I was going to come out and I was going to say, uh
Uh, I've just been looking at the tapes and it turns out
I'm the greatest Oscar host ever
And I'm so excited
And then Billy Crystal is going to walk out behind me
Yeah
And I was going to go, oh
And he was going to go, well, I've been on my tapes
And I'm the greatest host ever
And then Johnny Carson was going to come out
And the place was going to go crazy
Yeah
But, you know, Johnny, once he retired, I guess he, he retired
But he's, he's funny
Like some of us should
He, he must be funny at these card games
He's very funny, yeah
He's very funny, yeah
Very funny
All right, now let's get back to the, uh, Novocaine film
Okay, I've been trying to
It's, uh, you're at the end of this
All right, what are we going to see here?
I don't know, it's a clip
It's a clip of, uh
Is, is Helena Bonham Carter in this one?
I think Helena Bonham Carter is in this one
Hold down yourself
All right, here we go
Uh, Steve Martin, Novocaine
Take a look, kids
There you go
Opens tomorrow
Just, uh
Guess what happens next?
That's when the strapping in took place
You know, it's always, uh, always great fun to have you here
It's great to be here
I hope you come back soon
And I, I mean it
You come back soon
Okay, well all we have to do is write some material
All right, well, pull up a chair
Um, good to have you with us
Great
Have a great holiday season
Thank you very much
Steve Martin, everybody
We'll be back with Earl Struggs
We'll be back with Earl Struggs
We'll be back with Earl Struggs
We'll be back with Earl Struggs
We'll be back with Earl Struggs
We'll be back with Earl Struggs
We'll be back with Earl Struggs
We'll be back with Earl Struggs
We'll be back with Earl Struggs
We'll be back with Earl Struggs
We'll be back with Earl Struggs

Steve Martin And His Singing Balls | David Letterman

*applaudissements*
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream
I'll make you the cutest that I've seen
I'm so alone, don't have nobody to call my own
Turn on your magic beam
Whee!
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream
*applaudissements*
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream
Make him the cutest that I've ever seen
Give him the word that I'm on a rover
Then tell him that it's once and once all over
Don't have nobody to call my own
Don't have nobody to call my own
Please, Sandman, bring us
Please, please, please, Mr. Sandman
Bring us a dream
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
That was fantastic
That was fantastic
Steve Martin and his singing balls, everybody
I don't know what to say
My green socks
That was as remarkable a musical performance as we've ever had on the show
I was concerned because when you introduced me, the audience started clapping
and I'm afraid they didn't hear singing balls
Even if they hadn't heard, it becomes obvious so soon thereafter
Uh-huh
Well, see, I didn't realize
Yeah, no
How long have you worked on that little number?
I, like, minutes
I, I've, you know
Good to see you again
It's a fun thing to do because you don't have to do anything
Yeah
Uh
And the rehearsal must be a riot
Well, you know
This is not what I wear at rehearsal
Yeah
I don't
I don't
Uh, you know, I saw your, uh, movie, Novocaine
You did?
Yes, I got a big kick out of this film
A big kick
Yeah
Mm-hmm
And, uh, Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter
Oh, man, tell me all about that
Well, and Laura Dern, too
Yes, yes, yes
Yeah
I can tell you all about both of them
All right, well, let's go
They're dynamic, uh, women that are fun to be with
Yeah, yeah
And, and, and, in the
What am I supposed to say?
In the case of one, she's, uh, semi-naked
Uh, yes
And I've never done that before
Never had a sort of serious sex scene
And it's a completely awkward
Really?
Yeah, it's very, very awkward
There's a lot of, you know, strapping in
And, you know
Wait a minute
Wait a minute, strapping in?
Well, that's just me, you know
You know, you know
You know
Strapping down
Uh
Yeah, they
I didn't
And it's, it's amazing because every time I burst them
So, um
No, it's, it's a completely awkward situation
You've heard actors say it's an awkward situation
And it is
Yeah, but it looked great is what my, my point is
Well, that's the idea
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, it's, you're supposed to go
I, I wish that were me
Yes, well, I did
I said that to myself
I said, boy, I wish that, that worked
Meaning, Helena?
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
I wish
Now, now you're dreaming
The, the other day
Uh, and the, the, uh, and the movie you, you play
It's a strange part for you, really
Uh
Evil, not evil, really, but you find yourself in an odd situation as a dentist
Yes, he's a, a dentist who makes an erotic mistake
Mm-hmm
And, uh, tries to cover it up
Right
Which is kind of unbelievable that a man would make an erotic mistake
Try and, we're, uh, we're opening against Harry Potter
Yeah
We'll be fine
Well, see, here's what I figured
Harry Potter has a very specific audience
Mm-hmm
Everybody
So, what we have, we have the, the people who do not fall under the category of
everybody
Ah
I think that'll work
Yeah
I think that'll be pretty good
But it's a, I'll, I'll be honest with you, it's a very fun, it's kind of a
psychological thriller
Yeah
Kind of like, uh, usual suspects, but with me in it
Mm-hmm, that's right
And you're not sure what's gonna happen next
You're not sure what's gonna happen
It keeps going around these turns
And you don't know who to trust
Yeah, yeah, it's very interesting, very exciting
Now, uh, I saw you a couple of weeks ago on, on the Emmy Awards
And, and you and I, we didn't talk about this, but we were in, nominated in the
same category
We were both in the same category
Yeah, and we
What a vicious battle that was
The way you campaigned, night after night on this show
I said, I don't have a show, this is so unfair
I'm sorry
Yeah
I don't know what came over me
I just wanted it so bad
Yeah
That, that would have changed your life, you had won that
Yeah
But you know, what was your year?
It was, it was you
It was me
It was, uh, I think Ellen DeGeneres
I think Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
Um, I'm leaving somebody out here
Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, oh shoot, come on
Who is it?
Wayne Brady
Right, and, and Barbara Streisand
Barbara Streisand
Who won?
Yeah
You know, you know how she won?
Email campaign
Is that what it was?
Yeah
You, you were nominated for hosting the Academy Awards
Right
And you did a fantastic job
Oh, thank you very much
I thought you did a great job
Yeah
Nice going
Will you do it again, do you think?
Uh, I don't know
You know who I modeled it on?
No
Really?
Well, Johnny Carson
Ah, well, that's a
You can't, you can't do any better than that
No, you can't
Yeah
And, uh, I thought you were great on the show
No, you didn't
Yes, I did, I swear, I was there that night
You're the one
Yeah, that's right
Yeah, I was there, and I, uh
What do you mean?
Oh, yeah, that's right
Oh, yeah, I remember that
That night when I was hosting the Oscars
I just saw you
That's all I could think about
And it, it's the kind of thing you would like to do more and more of?
It's fun
You know, it's strange to, to look out
And see an audience of celebrities and go, "Oh, they're my friends"
Mm-hmm
You know, they were, they were very kind and nice
And it was a good audience
Yeah, see, I had just a, a little different version of that expression
Well, everyone hated you
Yeah
I looked out, I said, "Oh, they're celebrities, they don't like me"
Yeah
Yeah, yeah
I understand that, yeah
Uh, and, and tell us about the, the book, "Shop Girl"
"Shop Girl" is, uh
Now in paperback
Now in paperback
We have the, we had it in hard, this is the hardcover
That's the hardcover
Then they did a very interesting thing
They changed the color
Mm-hmm
For the, uh, paperback
It's a slim volume
And, uh, sometimes it, it's daunting, you know, for people to, um, to read a
novel
So they, we actually also have the "Shop Girl" pamphlet
What, what is this here?
Oh, no
You're getting
Oh, and he really, it's, it's distilled into the
Yeah
That's an excellent idea
You put it in your back pocket
Yeah
And I noticed here, with a little sticker on the, uh, cover of the paperback
Yeah, well that's, uh, that's not the Oprah sticker, I didn't get that
That's just the, uh
The Taliban book club?
Yeah
Yeah, well, yeah
That's a pretty good endorsement though, I would say
Yeah, it's a, you know, it's changing rapidly
Yeah
Uh, what, what about the, uh, the guy who wrote the, who wrote the book and
then Oprah, uh, was, it was in Oprah's book club
Jonathan Frensen
Yeah
Won the, uh, National Book Award
He won the National Book Award last night
Yeah
And he, uh, he had received the Oprah sticker, the, it's quite an endorsement
and it sells a lot of books
Oh, sure
And, uh, he, uh, I think, uh, kind of maybe naively just said to, you know,
when you kind of first start doing promotion and you're talking to a little
tiny newspaper and I don't want to say because then I'll get letters from Omaha,
you know, uh, and you think you're being quite private, so he said, well, you
know, I thought my book was a little different than the Oprah club
Right
And I wanted a little different aura around it and then, uh, sort of blew up in
his face, but he was very kind about it, Oprah was very kind
They, uh, I mean, he didn't, he didn't appear on the Oprah show
Have you, have you
But he will be appearing on Martha Stewart's Good Morning Wisconsin, so
Have you been on the Oprah show?
I've been on the Oprah show
How many times have you been on?
I think a couple of times, I was on with Goldie Hawn once
Right, for a film?
Uh, I think so, yeah, what other, I can't think of another reason why
I mean, I, I did a film with Goldie and as I recall, I can't think of another
reason we would have gone on together
Now, did, did, uh, do you, do you know of a reason Oprah would not want me on
her show?
Yes
Really? Why, why wouldn't?
What is it?
Uh
Just your fundamental nature, I guess
Really?
No, I have the feeling that Oprah doesn't like me, too
But, but you've been on the damn show
I've been on the show
And then I, I don't know, I just have this vague, I have no reason, you know,
to think that
It did not come up on the show
You didn't say, "Oprah, do you like me?"
Well, I thought she liked me at that point
Oh, you did think she liked you
Yeah
But now something's happened and you think she
I think something has happened
I, I don't know what it is
And you, it's just something you kind of worry about, you know
Because you don't want Oprah
Well, that's, that's the thing, because Oprah is somebody to
You don't want Oprah to not like you
No
Because people like Oprah
And if they like Oprah, and Oprah doesn't like you
People love Oprah, and Oprah doesn't like you
People love Oprah, the most powerful woman in, in this country, if not the
world, Oprah
Really?
Yeah
Do you think in your case it has anything to do with the singing balls?
I would think that she would like that
I'll be honest with you
I, I, I'll be honest with you, I called her up first, I said I like to do the
singing balls
No dice
Yeah
All right
You, you were, they have the millionaire show and uh, Martin Short, your friend
Martin Short
Oh my god
Yeah
Don't mention that
And Paul Schaefer was involved in this indirectly, weren't you Paul?
Yes, I was
All right, tell us
This, this was a disastrous
You, you guys were his lifelines, right?
His focal
Were you a lifeline?
I was going to be a lifeline
I wish he'd called you
I bet you did, yeah
No, to make a long story short, I, uh, Marty Short was on the, I can't believe
I'm talking
about this because it was one of the sickest, I was so sick that day
Yeah
Uh, I was going to be a lifeline for Marty Short in the field of art
You know a lot about art?
Art, I, I, I can pretty much answer, I think any question that, that, uh, Regis
could come up with
and, and, and, so, they called me, uh, with a literature question
Oh, gosh
And, you know, and it was a trick question, because it evidently had a correct
answer
So, and I, you know, I confused myself
Yeah
But, you know, I, I don't criticize myself for missing the question
Because that's, you know, some things you know, some things you don't know
That's right
But I, what I criticize myself for is not saying, I don't know
Uh-huh
Instead of steering them wrong
Yeah, but at that point, they, uh, there's a great deal of pressure on you
They phoned you, you are the font of knowledge at that point
Yes
They want to hear from you the answer
Well, also, I think they coerced Marty into calling me
Because he had a literature person, you know, ready to call
But I think they wanted to talk to Steve about the literature question
Yeah, yeah
And so I could blow it and be humiliated forever
And his, his literature person was like one of his high school teachers, wasn't
that?
I, I don't know, I think it was a professor, uh, professor of literature
Yeah
And Paul, you were gonna be like his music
I was gonna be in music, yeah
Yeah
Luckily, I got off the hook
Yeah
Literature question
Why wouldn't he call, uh, like a college professor of literature?
Though
Because he had stupid Steve
Ah
How nice
How nice
It was the
It was a, here, I'll give you, I think I remember the question
It was, uh, which book, we were down to two, which makes it even worse
Uh
Well, you just had to choose one or the other
Choose one or the other, yes
Yeah
One or the other
The only thing that would have made it worse is if they were down to one
Uh, the question was, who, uh, is, which of these books is, is, uh, written in
the first person
I think it was, uh, The Great Gatsby or The Native Son, or Native Son
Mm-hmm
What would you say?
I would say The Great Gatsby because I know the answer
Uh-huh
Hmm, I'm happy for you
Yeah
But it's misleading
Misleading in what sense?
Well, it's misleading because, you know, Gatsby, you think, well, he doesn't
speak
He doesn't, he never speaks
Mm-hmm