Name: Tom Bergeron Talks About His Legendary Career: Hollywood Squares to AFV & Dancing With the Stars
Uploaded: 2021-09-13T17:00:08.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Tom Bergeron Talks About His Legendary Career: Hollywood Squares to AFV & Dancing With the Stars' from Bob Saget on Comedy Buff. Published 2021-09-13. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Tom Bergeron Talks About His Legendary Career: Hollywood Squares to AFV & Dancing With the Stars' from Bob Saget on Comedy Buff. Published 2021-09-13. Transcript available.

Tom Bergeron Talks About His Legendary Career: Hollywood Squares to AFV & Dancing With the Stars

Hi, friends and neighbors. I don't know if my neighbors listen to this. It's
Bob Saget's here
for you, and I got a guest that you're going to love, Tom Bergeron. Tom Bergeron
is my guest.
That's right. We're brothers in videos. We're brothers in nut hits. Anybody can
listen to this.
This is for any age. There's no cursing on this episode. I'm talking to a man
that knows how to
do broadcasting. He's been broadcasting forever, and he is amazing. From his
radio days to his old
game show days to Hollywood Squares to America's Funniest Videos. That's right.
AFV, not AFHV,
which I hosted, of course, to Dancing with the Stars. And now we'll find out
what his next venture
is going to be, and let's get it on the air and make it a giant hit, because he's
just wonderful
to have in your home. So you know what you do with this podcast. You rate,
review, you subscribe it.
You can go to the YouTube page, right? So that would be youtube.com slash bobsaget.
And I just hope you enjoy it. With no further ado, who came up with that? Must
be Shakespeare,
right? For the ado. Anyway, Tom Bergeron.
I'm so happy to see you, Tom.
Same here, buddy.
You were born broadcasting. You were born with a microphone. Did the mic come
out before you?
Yes, it did, actually. My folks thought they were having twins, but one of them
was just a microphone.
And that passed a little easier than my big ass head. So yeah, yeah, pretty
much. I remember
doing mock radio shows when my folks and my sister and I would go out for like
Sunday drives. I'd hang
my head out the back window like a dog and do travelogue series, improvise them
at like five
years old, six years old, something like that.
Right. I would sit on the toilet. It ends there. I would sit on the toilet,
right? And I was going to be
a doctor. That's what I want it to be. But I would hold, I don't know why. This
is really sad. I was
like nine and I'd have a Kleenex boutique. I think it was the beginning of the
Kleenex boutique,
the square cube. And I would hold it up and read the description of it as
though I was doing a
commercial to the hamper, as though the hamper was a camera.
Okay. All right. So our, our venues were different, but the gist was the same.
But you were a pro author. You started doing this in high school. You started
doing, yeah.
Yeah. My first celebrity interviews were talking with Mo and Larry, uh, on the
phone.
Right there. Larry. It's me, me at 14 years old with Larry fine.
No kidding.
Yeah. That is, that was just sent to me by a nice fan and I got scared. I
checked it for bugging
devices. And that's me at 14. My mother drove me to visit him at the motion
picture country house
and hospital in Woodland Hills. Yep. That's exactly where he was when I got in
touch with him, uh,
on the phone. And, uh, and then he gave me Mo's home phone number, which was
incredible. Uh, and over
the next 18 months, I talked to each of them about a half a dozen times. Oh my
God. Yeah. Yeah.
Sometimes just to check in, say hi. I was doing at the high school, um, a
fundraiser, charity fundraiser,
we were showing Stooges shorts. And I thought, what a great opportunity to have
Mo. Address the
audience. So I ran into the principal's office with the cassette recorder,
which I guess I always had
put on me on me. And, uh, and I called Mo's house and he was gracious and gave
this little prerecorded
address. So we stopped the movie. I took the stage. I'm getting booed because
we stopped the movie
500, 600 people booing me. I said, just wait a minute. You might feel better
about this. And then
they hear Mo thanking them for coming and supporting their shorts and they went
crazy, but yeah, it was
pretty cool. Did he, uh, I mean, he was there, right? So he would go, did he go,
come here,
you, or was he, well, he was, uh, he was only on the phone. He did when I told
him in the first
conversation, when he asked me in that very Mo voice, who gave you this number?
I went, uh, Larry did.
And he just kind of paused and went, Larry, I thought sort of that the
equivalent of lame
brain, knucklehead, that kind of thing. Larry told me how he was a bit, uh,
abused because they
were, you know, they were violent, uh, and they were fighting for their lives
and they didn't make
a lot of money. Jules white made all the money and no residuals. Yeah. But you
don't know what that
means. Well, interestingly enough, uh, I remember Vin de Bono said to me, cause,
uh, nine of my 15
seasons of AFV are on Disney plus. And he told me that was going to happen. I
said, oh, that's great.
It'd be great to have them on a streaming service. He goes, the residuals aren't
as good.
Well, okay. You know, I guess you're right.
Vin has always been aware of the money aspect. He's very good. Vin de Bono
means fine wine. And
it also means bank account in Barcelona. There you go. It's a, it's Sicilian
code.
Ah, Tom, you know, it's, it's so interesting. Cause we were, we, we were
connected kind of, and then
we got to be friends and I just feel a real kinship to you. Um, and it's not,
it's not a thank you.
It's purely sexual.
Vin de Bono: Well, that's why I'm at a distance.
Vin de Bono: That's the sound bite we're going to use.
Vin de Bono: That's it. That was the promo.
Vin de Bono: Well, I remember what, what, uh, your viewers and listeners should
know is how
much I had to twist your arm to get you to do, I think it was the 20th season.
Vin de Bono: Yeah.
Vin de Bono: I finally convinced you to come on with me. And, and, uh, it just
seemed appropriate that,
that you would be part of that, that celebration. And we had a, we ended up
having a
Vin de Bono: ball. I mean, it was just basically, I think I told you, let me
introduce the videos.
Vin de Bono: You do whatever you want. I'll be your audience. And you had me
really almost
in tears of laughter throughout the whole thing. It was great.
Vin de Bono: Well, it was mutual. And I believe we went out to dinner soon
after that because it was a,
a kinship to a thing that was pre-YouTube to a thing that started what people
look at on their
phones every second. You know, isn't it weird? Don't you look at people's
Instagram and go,
what, what that, I ran that clip.
Vin de Bono: Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes, sometimes definitely. Uh, and, and, uh,
yeah, there's,
there's a lot of deja vu when I, when I go, when I go on YouTube and see some
of the stuff.
Vin de Bono: So that was a sweet show that you did. Cause you, you, they ran
clips and they honored
my parents. Cause I had them on the video show when I hosted it, but it was
called, um, on Wikipedia,
it says that you hosted America's Funniest Home Videos, but with you, they had
changed the name to
America's Funniest Videos. They took out the home. Didn't they?
Vin de Bono: That's right. I know that's a bone of contention with you.
Vin de Bono: It's a, no, it's a Dabona of contention.
Vin de Bono: It's a Dabona of contention. That's well played. Well played.
Vin de Bono: Well, the thing, but it was an honor to be honored. And, um,
it takes a special person to do that. I mean, I did eight years there and you
did, and I got,
I had my little snarky kind of jokes and I would do dad jokes and puns, but it's
seven
o'clock at night when we were on and you were on an eight o'clock at night,
right?
Vin de Bono: No, seven, seven on Sunday, originally on Fridays,
it might've been at eight on Fridays. Cause I don't think networks are, they
don't,
they don't have a seven o'clock slot on the week nights. Uh, but once we moved
to Sundays,
it was back to, back to seven o'clock. Vin de Bono: It was the original spot
where the pilot,
I did beat a 60 minutes rerun. Yeah. Vin de Bono: And then that was the days
when they said,
you got a Scott picked up for 13 the next day. That I don't think that happens
very often now.
Vin de Bono: No, you know, it was interesting. The w I did, I think it was 2001
or so I did a special,
uh, and that rated well. And then they, it was kind of like that initially they'd
order six and then eight,
and then 13. And then finally it was full season orders, which became sort of
almost expected and
continue with Alfonso. I mean, they're in their what 31st, 32nd year. Now it's
unbelievable.
Vin de Bono: Yeah. Vin de Bono: And he's doing a great job. I mean, he is,
he really is. Vin de Bono: And he's a sweetheart. And we did that shoot
together, which was fun.
Vin de Bono: That was for TV guy. That was a great time. And I know I knew Alfonso
for,
for quite some time. I don't think you two,
he might've crossed paths occasionally. Vin de Bono: He crossed paths just
through the,
the world of TV, you know? Vin de Bono: Sure. But the chemistry amongst
the three of us, that was a great day. It was a lot of fun that day.
Vin de Bono: I just wish I could dance like him because my life would be
different.
Vin de Bono: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There it go. Yeah.
Vin de Bono: We'll talk about that because I have to, I have no choice. I have
to explain many,
many things. Vin de Bono: Oh, okay, fine.
Vin de Bono: One of the things I love about you and I truly,
truly love about you. And I'm the same way is the appreciation for how we all
got here,
how you became a broadcaster, how, what people influenced me to get where I am.
And ironically,
we're both influenced by the three stooges. And, and also I was also influenced
by the Marx Brothers for
a different reason because that was wit and sarcasm and, and that outside voice
of Groucho narrating,
right? Vin de Bono: Yeah. Vin de Bono: What you're thinking.
Vin de Bono: Right. Vin de Bono: And, and yet you also, you have friendships
that are so treasured.
I mean, Dick Van Dyke, you were close with Carl Reiner. Vin de Bono: For years.
Vin de Bono: I mean, these are gifts of, of entertainment, but of humankind.
Vin de Bono: I'm having lunch tomorrow. I'm bringing lunch over to Shatner's
place. We're
going to hang out and we're working on a project together. And I really, I
started to think about
it when Ed Asner, who was also a friend, just recently passed away. And, and I've
tended to,
with the exception of you, you're actually a year younger than I am.
Vin de Bono: I know what's up with that.
Vin de Bono: I know, huh? But, but with Ed and, and Dick and Carl and Bill,
I'm hanging out with these guys in their nineties. I think I'm trying to sort
of like a vampire
take their genetic code from them. So, so I, I live as long and creative a life
as they,
they all have. Vin de Bono: Well, it's also healthy
because a lot of people are, are ageist and they, they look down on, oh, they're
past their prime.
And it's like, they don't understand you're in the room of the legend.
Vin de Bono: Yeah. Vin de Bono: A true one, a true one.
Vin de Bono: Yeah. Vin de Bono: People throw the word around,
they throw around icon, goat, but there's no talent more than Dick Van Dyke or
Carl Reiner.
Vin de Bono: Absolutely. And Carl invited me to be a groupie when they did the
Dick Van
Dyke show revisited back, I think it was around 2004. So I was there and they
didn't shoot it
three cameras with an audience. Like they did the old Van Dyke show. They did
it over several days.
Vin de Bono: And I was there every day. And during one meal break, I sat with
Dick Van Dyke and he told
me about the first time he met Stan Laurel. And after he was finished the story,
I said, you know, Dick,
for me, that's what this is. Yeah, excuse me, let me take that. Let me take
that. Hold on.
Vin de Bono: Hello. Hi.
Vin de Bono: Hi. I'm, I'm on the phone with, uh, I'm on the internet with the
Bob Saget right now.
Vin de Bono: Yeah. The interwebs.
Vin de Bono: Yeah. I'm on the wifi.
Vin de Bono: Yeah. I think it's a telemarketer. He's so fucked up right now. So
yeah. So Bob Saget and
I are talking, uh, for his, for his podcast. Tell him I like, tell him I like
Cohibas.
Vin de Bono: Oh, it's Engelbert. Oh, it's my, oh, I'll call you back.
Okay. I got, I honestly have to go, but this may be your first podcast. Stop
talking. I have to go.
Vin de Bono: No