Name: Remembering Martin Mull | Letterman
Uploaded: 2024-06-29T03:03:24.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Remembering Martin Mull | Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2024-06-29. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Remembering Martin Mull | Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2024-06-29. Transcript available.

Among other accomplishments, he is famous for giving the profession of talk
show host a bad name.
He is also one of the funniest people on the continent.
Please welcome Mr. Martin Mull.
Hello, Martin. How are you, sir?
I was very good.
We're going to go around.
Yeah, we're going around, sir.
Martin, or you could go around this way.
Either way. Fine.
Thank you.
Mr. Martin Mull, one of my favorite performers, entertainers, and I always, as
many as I could,
tried to see your Fernwood tonight and then later America tonight.
I thought it was inspired.
Well, thank you very much. It's expired as well.
It's been off for almost two years.
It's a ghost, as they say.
But you'll find out how that feels.
No, quite seriously, I think this is one of the few good shows on the air right
now.
Well, it's very nice. You don't even...
It may well be the one.
Now, this is...
It's the best comedy NBC's had since Quincy.
Now, when I think of you, although I guess you're originally from New England,
aren't you?
No, originally from Ohio, a small...
Well, I was certainly close.
Thank you.
Really? Ohio?
Or you just like the sound of it.
That's great.
You're talking about New England.
Anyway, somehow I associate New England and you, but I don't normally think of
you being out of California.
Well, I'm completely confused.
What are you doing in New York is what I'm getting to.
I'm out of California.
We left yesterday.
We flew in here specifically to be on your show.
I consider this a great honor.
Thank you very much for doing that.
They wouldn't have me on Quincy, so here I am.
And also to promote things.
Let's face it, a star of my caliber doesn't come on unless they have something
to sell or promote.
I'm here to push an episode of Tattletales, David.
Tattletales, huh?
Yeah, my young fiancée, Wendy, and I did Tattletales last week.
And it's the kind of thing that I think we need more of on the air.
It's an important show.
It doesn't really talk about the freeing of any particular race or the troubles
they went through.
It's not a five-parter over a whole week in terms of episodic, but it is five
parts.
It's a whole week of Tattletales, and I don't want to ruin it for anybody.
I won't tell you what week, but we won on Friday.
No kidding.
Unbelievable.
That's it.
Thank you.
Certainly there will be a lot of people circling the TV guy.
Let me ask you.
Wish I had a clip.
I know.
What's it like working with Bert Convy?
Bert is a very, very nice man.
Yeah, he seems to be.
He tells jokes during the intermissions when they go to commercial, et cetera,
and I found
it enjoyable, and he's an incredible dresser, and a very charming man.
He ate with the contestants, too.
Oh, really?
He ate right there in the same room?
We had food sent in, and he wasn't one of those, no, I'll stay in my room and
eat.
No.
Not Bert Convy.
I know that a lot of people think that that was the downfall of Peter Marshall,
that he
wouldn't eat with the contestants.
Yeah, well, he had that allergy to paper plates, too.
So, is there any chance, I know this is maybe conjecturing, but any chance of
becoming a regular
on this?
I'd like to.
It's usually couples.
In fact, we were kind of afraid that, you know, not being married and
everything that we
wouldn't be able to get on, but, yeah, I know.
But, apparently, they've opened it up so that almost anything can get on the
air if it comes
in twos.
Yeah?
Hi, I'm Ralph.
This is my agent, you know, or something like that.
That'll do, too.
Well, it's 1982, and why not?
There you go.
Go for it.
We're dressed similarly, aren't we?
Somewhat, yeah.
Mine's a little darker, I think.
Can you get that at home?
Yeah, it is a little darker, but this would be a navy, isn't it?
Would you call that a navy?
This is, never been in the navy, not myself.
This is a dark navy woolen.
This is more like a woven, of some sort.
Might be a woven, but I would have said, that's a navy, and then looking at
this, I would have
said, this is a navy.
It's just one of life's little oddities.
Well, it's basically, if someone had said, it's not real dress-up, but maybe
men might
want to wear something dark.
I think we're both fine.
Yeah, that's great.
These wardrobe hints are fascinating, aren't they, America?
Now, what else have you been doing?
I know you are a painter, of some note.
That's why I grew this.
I grew the beard.
Also, it's my rabid dog dispenser broke down,
and I had no trick.
So, I'm still using the same blade I've been using for years, Dave.
It just doesn't seem to do the job it used to do.
Yeah, I'm still painting.
I've got a new house in the Hollywood Hills.
Now, let's back up there a second.
You talked about your fiancée, Wendy.
You mentioned Wendy.
It sounds like a wedding is in the offing.
Yes, it is.
And ironically enough, hers is the same day mine is.
It's going to be great.
We're going to marry each other just to make it easy.
That would be good.
And so, you're going to settle down, and you have a little dream house there?
We're having the wedding right at our house, which is the way America likes it.
You know, get the house first, get the cat, get the dog, that kind of thing.
And so, doing a simple little ceremony in the backyard.
Just family.
Wish I could have you all.
Can't.
You don't seem like a simple guy.
I'm guessing you've got a big, elaborate house.
No, not really.
I don't want it to be too big, even though, of course, I make that kind of
money.
No, I don't want to have like an intercom system or a megaphone system to the
other end of the pool or something like that.
We went pretty modest.
It's in an area called the Swish Alps, which is...
Swish Alps, yeah.
Yeah, it's a place where they break into your house.
They don't steal anything.
They just like redecorate.
You come home from a long trip, you go, my God, honey, someone's dusted.
But a crime nonetheless.
Crime nonetheless.
That's right.
Because maybe I wanted that dust, okay?
Absolutely.
But we've been having some work done on it.
Windows put in and things like that.
Very boring stuff, just kind of day in, day out.
Now, you used to live at the beach.
I always thought of you as a beach kind of guy.
Yeah?
Wrong.
You don't care for the beach.
But you live at the beach.
Well, yeah, not anymore, though.
You moved?
Well, I'm here in New York now, Martin.
Of course.
Well, then so am I.
So why am I talking about my house?
Oh, no.
Let's talk about your place here in my hotel room.
Well, good luck to you.
The festivities.
In the hotel room?
No, no.
The upcoming marriage.
Oh, thank you very much.
Now, tell me about painting.
How's that going?
It's going pretty well.
I set up my studio recently.
I have all my toys on a shelf for inspiration.
What I do is currently, I'm taking small toys.
In fact, if anybody has any unique little ceramic dogs, cats, squirrels, little
dog dishes,
some of your wonderful gifts you were showing earlier today, anything like that,
you can
send them to me, Kara, this show.
And what I...
Because I know that kind of mail overload you could handle in a breeze.
Let's say a rubber cigarette butt.
I'd love that.
Then I photograph these things and blow them up much larger than they are and
airbrush them.
Yeah.
And then try to sell them for way too much.
Have we covered your painting?
Is there anything you want to add to that?
I can't think of anything.
But you're a legitimate artist.
Do you have shows and so forth?
I have one in New York at a place called the Just Above Midtown Gallery, which
is down,
I believe, on Canal Street or someplace.
And that was in December.
And I'm looking to have another one sometime in my life.
Well, good.
You're also, you're still doing motion pictures, continuing to do films?
Yeah, I just, not just, almost a year ago, and it's taking him a while to edit
it, did
a film called Flicks, which the concept, I guess, was to take an entire
Saturday afternoon
matinee.
In other words, there's a cartoon, I think there might even be a newsreel, then
there's
a murder mystery, a ghost story, a space epic, and they put this all into one
film, and
I play two parts in that.
One is just an ordinary wasp, which was kind of a stretch for me.
And the other is the part of, we did a space epic, and instead of Ming the Merciless,
who
you remember from Flash Gordon, they came up with a guy named Tang the Tasteless.
And I play Tang.
You also, you had a project with Mr. Steve Martin?
Yeah, we were doing a pilot for NBC, which may well get on the air again.
You might want to write to NBC.
Myself and Valerie Perrine and Steve Martin.
Actually, Steve Martin and I came up with the idea.
Then we had a couple of writers, wonderful people from Taxi, who probably don't
want to
be named since it wasn't picked up.
And Valerie Perrine and myself, a little domestic comedy.
She's an attractive female, huh?
Yes, yes, she is.
She said it was the first time she'd ever performed in front of a live audience
with
her shirt on.
Darn the luck.
Oh, we're going to pause because, yes, you guessed it, it's time for intermission.
Oh.
Hi, I'm David Letterman, host of NBC's Late Night.
During the commercial break, why don't you enjoy a nice big basket of crispy
golden brown
fried chicken, just like we do here in the studio.
You'll be glad you did.
Thank you.
Now, just, you have hosted The Tonight Show.
Yes, you have.
You hosted your own program.
As you have.
Yes, and you've guested on myriad programs.
Maybe we're the same guy.
Now, which do you prefer?
This sounds like a real talk show question.
I like being here with you, and not just because that's, uh, not just for the
obvious reasons,
Dave, but, you know, you've done it all, you've done it all, too.
Yeah.
When you're a host, when you're a guest, you only have to be interested in
yourself, really.
If you're a host, you have to fake interest in other people.
Right there, you've got one foot in the grave.
Yeah.
Right?
That's it.
Yeah.
That's right.
That's what I'm doing now.
And you're thinking, great.
Well, gee, we'd love to talk longer, but we have, you know, someone who's going
to dance.
Or something, you know, that type of thing.
I would say, being a guest on a show where the host actually has read a book
and can talk
is the best, and this is it.
Yeah.
Well, great.
I'd love to talk to you longer, Martin, but we have somebody who's going to
dance for
us now, and I appreciate you stopping by any time you're in New York, and we'll
be looking
for you on Tattletale, sir.
Well, thank you very much, and as I say, we won on Friday.
All right.
Good for you.
Ladies and gentlemen, the multi-talented Mr. Martin Mull.
Thank you, Martin.
Can I hang around a while?
Okay.
Thank you, sir.
Martin Mull, ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.