Name: Franken & Davis, The Comedy Team that Weighs the Same, on Letterman, June 21, 1983
Uploaded: 2021-03-31T01:42:32.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Franken & Davis, The Comedy Team that Weighs the Same, on Letterman, June 21, 1983' from Don Giller on Comedy Buff. Published 2021-03-31. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Franken & Davis, The Comedy Team that Weighs the Same, on Letterman, June 21, 1983' from Don Giller on Comedy Buff. Published 2021-03-31. Transcript available.

It's unusual for a comedy team to come on.
A comedy team that weighs the same.
That was one of the favorite things I've ever done.
Tom and I came on the show, and we pitched.
That's what we wanted to do.
We wanted to appear as the comedy team that weighs the same.
And Tom and I were within about eight pounds of each other.
And so we worked very hard to get exactly the same weight.
I had no idea you actually had to achieve a steam bath, running, push-ups,
sweatpants,
anything to get to the same weight.
That was me.
I had to lose weight, and Tom had to gain weight.
And we decided to do this a few weeks before, like three weeks before.
And I didn't check in with him until like a few days out, and he hadn't gained
any weight.
And he, you know, Tom was pretty slender, and he just went,
well, how do you gain weight?
I don't know how to gain weight.
Yeah.
And I go, well, eat waffles, eat, you know.
And so, well, we got exactly the same weight.
And so we did a weigh-in.
We wore robes, and underneath we had Speedos.
We did a weigh-in.
We weighed exactly the same.
And you asked us if there were any funny stories from being in the comedy team
weighs the same.
And, well, yeah, we just went to a state fair, and you know the guy who guesses
your weight?
He saw us coming, and he couldn't believe it.
Wow.
Yeah.
That was the kind of joke that you and I like.
In a world which one would think there's room for all manner of comedy, would
anybody do that or that kind of bit today?
The comedy team that weighs the same, you're not going to see that anywhere now,
are you?
I don't know.
I mean, there are a lot of people doing very conceptual comedy, so I'm not sure
about that.
But you just don't see many teams.
There was another joke in this where you go, like, has any other comedy team
weighed the same?
And I said, well, you know, Stiller and Mira claimed they weighed the same, but
they never proved it.
Thank you very much.
Paul Schaefer, ladies and gentlemen, and the orchestra.
My first guests have been on this program several times before.
You may remember them as writers and performers for the original Saturday Night
Live.
They can currently be seen in the motion picture trading places, and in
September, they will also be featured in their own special on Showtime.
They have requested that tonight they be introduced as the comedy team that
weighs the same.
So, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the comedy team that weighs the same,
Al Franken and Tom Davis.
First of all, gentlemen, thank you for being here.
You look good.
How do you feel?
Everything okay?
We're real up.
Very excited.
Very positive about things.
Yeah, because I guess the last time you were here, you were a little...
We were down.
Yeah.
But we're feeling real good.
Really bounce back.
Yeah.
Good for you.
Uh-huh.
Shall we get right to it?
The comedy team that weighs the same.
Right.
What does that mean, exactly?
Well, it means just...
What it says, we weigh the same.
We each weigh about 168 pounds.
Oh, I see.
So, you weigh the same as...
Each other.
Yeah.
Oh.
Yeah.
I lost about 17, 18 pounds, and Tom's gained about...
Thank you.
And Tom's gained about six, so we weigh the same.
Yeah.
And it's our new handle.
Kind of a gimmick?
Well, you know, every really successful comedian has got a handle.
Like, Steve Martin is a wild and crazy guy.
And, you know, Rodney Dangerfield doesn't get any respect.
Uh-huh.
And you're the comedy team that weighs the same.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Huh.
Well, yeah, it's beginning to come together now.
I feel really, really positive about it.
With the movie debut in Trading Places and the new handle,
we just think that our career has turned the corner.
Finally.
Yeah.
So, we're very up.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Now, the reason you're in the robes, I guess, is...
Well, it's one thing to say that you're the comedy team that weighs the same,
but it's quite another to prove that we each weigh the same,
and that's exactly what we intend to do here tonight.
Right.
All right.
It would now be a good time to be over there?
Let's do it.
Okay.
We're going over here to make certain it's kind of their pledge to you,
the audience, that this is for real.
Are there any other comedy teams that weigh the same?
Stiller and Mira, supposedly, supposedly weigh the same,
but they've never had to submit to an on-camera weigh-in.
And ironically, Laurel and Hardy weighed the same,
but that was just the last two weeks before Ollie died, actually.
Right at the very end.
All right.
Tom is 160, looks like 167, right on the money.
Is that what you get, Tom?
Yeah, that's what I get.
Okay.
Well, a little more than 167.
Okay.
Now, I should point out before I get on here...
All right.
167.5.
Yeah, 167.
That by the comedy team weighs the same, we mean within a pound.
Okay.
Of each other.
I think that's fair enough.
Yeah.
That's right, because, David, as you probably know from your own experience,
you can gain or lose a pound with, you know, bodily excretions or additions of
bodily fluids.
Yeah.
So, any time we fluctuate all the time.
So, a pound.
Okay.
Now, Al Franken, ladies and gentlemen.
Okay.
167.
167.
Al Franken is 160, just shy of 167, easily.
We're going to power.
Hey, man.
Hey, man.
Tell me a thing.
Very nice.
Very nice.
That's amazing.
Ladies and gentlemen, the comedy team that weighs the same, they've proven it.
We're going to pause for a commercial.
We'll be back to talk more with them.
Thank you very much, gentlemen.
Thank you, folks.
We're back with Al Franken and Tom Davis.
An historic night for us.
The comedy team that weighs the same.
That was very impressive, gentlemen.
Thank you.
Thank you.
How long have you been weighing the same?
We've weighed the same for about a week.
Yeah.
That's exciting.
And a lot of preparation go into getting the weights down or up or you came
down.
I came down about 20, and he had no idea what is fattening, so I was his
trainer, and we got him up about six pounds.
That's exciting.
You know, I've been full for two weeks.
Do you have any interesting or funny stories that have happened to you since
you've been?
Well, as a matter of fact, we went to a carnival last weekend, and you know the
guy who can tell what your weight is just by looking at you?
Well, when Al and I walked up, he just about fell off his stool.
True story.
True story.
That's great.
We had those silly grins on our faces, you know.
Yeah, that's great.
Couldn't handle it.
No.
Now, you guys are in this motion picture, the runaway blockbuster hit of the
decade.
Evidently, it's a big hit, Trading Places.
It's gross.
Well, 20 million so far.
It hasn't even been out two weeks.
Yeah, that's very impressive.
Yeah.
And a lot of times when guys are in films, they'll get a piece of the gross?
Right.
It happens a lot.
Uh-huh.
And did you have a piece of the gross?
No, we have kind of small parts in this.
But in the next film, we'll have a piece of it, yeah.
Oh, that's good.
Is that all lined up?
Do you know what that's going to be?
No, we have nothing lined up.
Yeah.
But we're sure we'll get some piece of the action.
Yeah, well, yeah.
Like you said, it looks like you really have turned the corners with it.
Yeah, due to the success of this, yeah.
That's good.
Now, do you want to talk a little bit about what you play in the film or the
film itself
and working with the folks?
Well, as you know, it stars our good friend Danny.
That's Dan Aykroyd, of course.
Dan Aykroyd, yeah.
And Eddie was just brilliant in this film.
I think Eddie Murphy.
Eddie Murphy, right.
Yeah, and it was a great opportunity to work with someone as talented as John.
It's John Landis.
John Landis, right.
He would be the director of the film, sure.
Yeah.
And now, do you guys, do you have a, what do you call it?
We have a clip.
Of our, the first scene that we're in now.
When we first got the scripts, in the script it said, stoned baggage handler
number one and stoned baggage handler number two.
So, in this scene we're going to show, we're supposed to, in the script
originally said we're smoking a joint.
So, anyway, so, we figured we play at stoned, which we could do.
And the call, there was a 7 a.m. call for us every day and we had to be in
costume and makeup at 7.
So, we get there at 6, which is early, very early, especially for Tom.
And we'd get there and get in the costume and at 7 a.m. we'd go to our trailers
and go to sleep.
You see, we figured that when they needed us, they'd just come and wake us up
and then we'd be sleepy, which is like being stoned.
Yeah, well, that's, sure, that's great.
This is our professional acting approach to, to being stoned baggage handlers.
Yeah, yeah.
And it, it, so, we'd go to sleep around 7 and then about noon they'd knock on
the door and say, lunch.
And we'd eat lunch and then we'd go back to sleep after lunch.
And then at 3 or 4, they'd come and wake us up and then we'd shoot whatever
little scene that we were doing before everybody went home.
Yeah.
So, then, method acting.
This is great.
This is like actor's workshop kind of stuff.
Yeah, well, any of you are going to have minor parts in films, this is
something to know.
Yeah.
So, we were shooting at a sequence.
By the time we got to the scene we were about to show, they had already, John
decided that there already was a scene
where someone was smoking a joint, it was Eddie, and that he didn't want too
many scenes like that.
So, we aren't smoking a joint in the scene.
So, instead of stoned baggage handlers, we're just dumb baggage handlers in the
movie.
So, you kind of added that, well, a little bit.
It was also the director's decision.
Now, do we want to look at this now, sir?
I think we can.
Yeah, we'd be happy to see a portion of you guys in action in Trading Places.
This would be the comedy team that weighs the same, ladies and gentlemen, in a
fine motion picture.
Oh, boy.
That's very nice.
The comedy team that weighs the same.
I think I should mention that we did not weigh the same.
At that time, no.
At that point.
So, you could be confused.
Also, you can probably see why we didn't get a piece of the gross.
That was a...
A fine job.
A fine job.
And it was Paul Gleason in there making fun of the ape.
Fun of the ape.
And thanks for sharing your new handle with us, ladies and gentlemen, Al
Franken and Tom Davis.
The comedy team that weighs the same.
We'll be right back, folks.