Episode 48: Funny People
Tina, as you all know, is the creator, writer and executive producer and star of the hit show 30 Rock, says Oprah. The crowd applaud. She has a brand new movie and is on the cover of Vogue. How was the cover of Vogue for you? Asks Oprah. Oprah cried when she saw the Polaroids. Tina says yes, and you keep them. It was really fun, she says. Anything like that she goes into with no pressure- they know they didn’t hire a model so she just goes and has fun. Oprah asks about Esquire magazine, and says that cover was hot. Tina says that was fun, the dirty photo shoot was a little easier for her, she doesn’t know why. More comfortable. Oprah says that now Tina is the thinking man’s sex symbol. Steve says “Say it, you have the best response to this ever”. Tina says that sometimes she’s heard that and she feels like that isn’t a thing, because even the thinking man wants Jessica Simpson. Steve says that she is the sex symbol of the thinking man and the idiot, quite frankly.
Oprah says to Steve that we all know him from The Office, of course “and my Vogue cover” Steve interjects. He’s been called a comic genius- once you have been labelled that is there pressure to live up to it? No, you just go off the cliff, he says. If you ever invited him to a cocktail party, he would go right against that, he says. Tina says that he is very quiet in real life. Steve says that is another way of saying that he is quite boring. Oprah says that is why he is invited to cocktail parties. To be boring? asks Steve. No, to be the comic genius says Oprah. Oprah asks him when he knew that he was funny. He’s never really thought of himself as funny per se, he doesn’t sit and watch himself and say damn that is hilarious. He has no idea, really, no answer. He knows what he thinks is funny- Steve Martin, John Cleese, and Peter Sellers among others are people that he respects and emulates. Oprah asks why he thinks that people are calling him a comic genius? Argh, he err,… Tina asks if she can answer for him? Yes. Tina says that Steve is a comic genius because he is one of the greatest improvisers in the world, yes, that’s it, says Steve. The detail and specificity that he brings to his character in The Office, where it is so painful and embarrassing that you can’t help but laugh at it. He will sink into an awkward and uncomfortable moment so deeply and commit to it so hard, but he is always playing his character, not trying to act crazy, just playing this sad, sad little character.
The movie, Date Night, opens April 9th. Steve and Tina play the Fosters a run of the mill suburban couple whose lives are overtaken by boredom. Determined to spice things up they plan a date night at a fancy restaurant. When they can’t get a table they claim to be another couple, a couple who turn out to be on the run from angry mobsters. This case of mistaken identity turns their romantic evening into the wildest night of their lives.
Well, there is lots of funny scenes in here but the pole dancing scene is the funniest thing that she has ever seen, says Oprah. The whole scene just said on the page that they danced, says Tina. They decided that the characters were not prepared for that so they shouldn’t be either, which was quite clear says Tina. There was no choreographer, there was nothing. They did two takes, says Steve and the director started yelling things at them like “sex robots” so they did whatever they felt that would mean. Oprah asks what caused Steve to start humping the floor. Tina thinks the director called out “sexy worm” or something. Well it’s what you do when you hear the words sexy worm says Steve.
In honor of the movie, they filled their audience with some couples on a date including one who are on their first ever date. Where are you? Stand up, says Oprah. They stand and look embarrassed. Tina asks if they just met today. No they met in October and this is their first date. It’s going pretty well they say. That’s pretty cool says Oprah.
Tina Fey and Steve Carrell, both masters of improv comedy, had fun going off script and ad-libbing through their new movie Date Night. They show some out-takes from the film. They both got their start with Second City in Chicago. To show off their improv skills, the Oprah Show shot some footage of the audience members and Steve and Tina are going to improvise the dialogue. Tina improvises, the crowd applauds. They both improvise, the crowd applauds. Oprah hears that they have questions for her.
Yes, Tina asks if Oprah could have dinner with any person living or dead in the whole world, what would she order? Oprah says that is a good question. It depends on whether she is on a program or not, if she’s juicing or not. She would probably have Jesus over for fried chicken. That would be great, says Tina. Tina asks what is going on with Oprah and Jamie Foxx, because Tina feels that Jamie may be in love with Oprah. Oprah says that there is a good vibe, they are good friends, they email and text. Tina says that she’ll know if they get home and this part is edited out… Oprah says that it is a friend thing, but that is good, a real question. Steve says that his are not real questions. “Is it better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all?” For sure, says Oprah. The second question is “Who let the dogs out?” Make it a date night with Steve and Tina’s new movie Date Night, it is laugh out loud, knee slappingly funny. Thank you.
He’s been called outrageous, unpredictable and politically incorrect. Tracy Morgan burst onto the comedy scene in 1996 when he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live and his popularity soared with his hilarious impersonations from Star Jones to Maya Angelou. Now he is getting Emmy nods for his role as the pampered impulsive TV actor he plays on 30 Rock. Making his Oprah Show debut, welcome funny man Tracy Morgan. They hug, and bow and the crowd goes wild. Oprah says she meant to ask Tina what she should be careful of with him, but he can handle it. Tracy says that Jamie Foxx got problems now, “Oprah Morgan right here”. She heard he said that to David Letterman- yeah, he meant it. She welcomes him to the show and he says he loves her. She says that he has a reputation for being outrageous, is that really him? He’s not like that in real life, he’s a regular subdued guy in real life. His humor is based in reality, based in the moment, so he’s observing but not being funny.
Oprah has heard that Lorne Michaels is Tracy’s Obi Wan Kenobi. Tracy says that he came from a world of black and never did comedy in front of white people, and he would get discouraged, because it’s really hard at Saturday Night Live. And then one night, it was about 4 in the morning, Lorne Michaels called him and saw him frustrated and he said: “‘Tracy, you’re not here because you’re black. You’re here because you’re funny’. And my fangs came down and I began to feed. …and I was like, yo, I didn’t have the burden of having the black community on my.. because sometimes that can just weigh you down. It was just about being funny and free and not worrying and exposing your flaws. Because the writers come from a different world, and sometimes you have to be patient because they don’t know your voice.” That’s why he loves Tina, because she understood his voice, she gets that.
Oprah asks if he always knew that he was funny? He knew he was funny when, he is from where Jay-Z is from- Oprah has been there – Tracy shouts that her street cred is intact. His older brother has cerebral palsy. So when the kids sometimes could be mean in the schoolyard, he couldn’t go get his big brother. So he had to learn how to make the bullies laugh, he says. “I knew I was funny when the bullies were on my side and they protected me.” Wow, says Oprah.
Oprah asks what Tina Fey has meant to him and his career. She is my friend and I love her, he says almost crying. She got your voice, says Oprah. Tina understood his voice, and knew who he was. This whole career is chance and Tina understood that he was making choices on TV, she would write things and encourage him. Oprah asks if a lot of the scripts were written with him in mind- yes he says. Because Tina partied with him and thinks this dude is funny and having a good time, she knew how to use him.
On David Letterman, Tracy said that Oprah is his Valentine. She is his, but they are having some problems because Oprah is always on the phone with Gayle. It’s Gayle this, Gayle that… That was cute, says Oprah. Oprah says she also heard that Tracy and Stedman got into a fight over her at the airport. Yes he says, it goes back to High School when his lady was messing around. Oprah laughs. This is my woman, Stedman knows it, says Tracy.
Oprah read that Tracy thinks he is irresistible to all women. Yes, it is a curse and a blessing he says. Charm, charm. All you have to do is smile he says. Look I got this one right here, he says, look into my eyes I am the black Svengali, he gesticulates to a woman in the audience.
Oprah asks what kind of woman really, really keeps his attention and keeps him stimulated mentally and otherwise? It helps if she has her own talk show, says Tracy. Oprah laughs. He likes a strong woman who is weak enough to need him. He needs to be there, they have to need each other “United we stand divided we fall, we’ve got to be tied with pantyhose two sizes too small.” Oh gosh, says Oprah. A strong woman mustn’t let him get away with too much. He says that he tries to be faithful and monogamous, he’s a man. “Women are God’s greatest creation, it would be Planet of the Apes without y’all”. The most romantic thing that he’s ever done… Wow, bought a puppy, or sent 50 dozen roses, or he might bring home a box of Calgon and let it take all night , with the best of Billy Joel, things like that. Keep it simple. The most romantic thing he ever did was paint his woman’s toe nails. Very good says Oprah, that’s a lovely thing. He tells the man in the audience on his first date, to paint her toenails, she’ll love you forever. Oprah doesn’t know if it’s a first date thing- where I come from it is, says Tracy.
One of the reasons that he is so funny is his honesty, says Oprah, and a lesson that he learned from his father is to be honest. His father was a righteous man and never lied about anything, his drug addictions, the reason he and his mom split up. His great grandmother taught him to be nice and affectionate, she gave him the affection and his father was a very funny man on a level with Richard Pryor. Where he comes from, humor is the knife which cuts through the despair, and he had alot of despair growing up. But his father and Richard Pryor were honest and he learned that he had a story to tell and it was him. His father said one word to him as he grew up, “legacy”. What are they going to say about you when you are gone? Him being honest made Tracy a better man, to thyself be true. Oprah heard that after his drunk driving arrest that he had to wear a bracelet for a while. That was his rock-bottom, says Tracy. “Death is rock bottom for a lot of people because of their addiction and sickness, and for me that was rock bottom because there was a time where professionally things were happening—I’m making a movie with Ice Cube, I’m doing this and I’m doing that and then I’m home one day and I’ve got this thing on my ankle and my oldest son is looking at me and he… ‘What are you doing? What if I started drinking and driving, would that be cool?’ And that was the last time. That was it.”
Tracy says he’s been sober now for three years. The crowd applaud “It’s not even like I try. I don’t even think about it,” he says. “If I go to a club or to a restaurant, I don’t focus on what I don’t want. I don’t go into a restaurant: ‘Oh, I hope I don’t drink. I hope I don’t get drunk.’ No, I’ll go: ‘I want a seltzer water. This is what I want now.’ I focus on what I want rather than what I don’t want.”
The bottom for him was not being arrested but it was his son’s disappointment. Oprah did a show once on fathers, and one man stood up and said something that Oprah has never forgotten: every man has a dream for his family. What is Tracy’s dream for his sons? Tracy says his dream is simple. “I would just want them to have happiness, joy and good health in their life. And to just be respected and respectful,” he says. Respected and respectful Oprah repeats. Are you a good dad? “I’m a great dad. I think I’m number one. That’s what they tell me.” Good says Oprah.
Tracy’s movie is Death at a Funeral- what was it like to play with some of your heroes? “It’s surreal for me. I mean Martin and Chris Rock are my heroes. They’re two of my heroes in comedy, and to be able to work with those guys? It was a dream. I did a movie with those guys! And I made Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence laugh on the set.” Chris Rock is from right up the block from where Tracy is from, so he was inspirational. His next goal is to work with Will Smith and Eddie Murphy. Oprah says wow, I believe that will happen for you. “William Smith and Ed Murph” he says. OK says Oprah. Death at a Funeral opens April 16th, thank you Tracy.
It was the breakout commercial of the Superbowl, and it is making 88 year old Betty White red hot again. Betty has been making people laugh for more than 6 decades. She’s best known as the sex-crazed Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and as The Golden Girls’ sweetly naive Rose Nylund. Betty’s big comeback began in 2009. Playing opposite Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in The Proposal, Betty stole the show as a brutally honest, rain-dancing granny. A whole new generation of fans crated a massive Facebook campaign to land Betty a Saturday Night Live hosting gig. Guess what? It worked, yay Betty. Yay Betty shouts Oprah as Betty joins her live by Skype. Yay Betty. So Betty, hi, how are you? says Oprah. “I couldn’t be better thank you very much and thank you for the invitation” says Betty. Oprah asks how she feels “The silly part about everything is that I didn’t know I’d been away, and then all of a sudden that Snickers commercial kind of turned a lot of other things on,” she says. “Now I’m busier than I’ve ever been.”
You are 88, you look great and you have tons of energy, what’s your secret? asks Oprah, are you juicing or something? No, she’s blessed with good health and she loves what she is doing, and the Saturday NIght Live thing she doesn’t know where that came from. Actually she started it herself, she jokes. Lorne Michaels told her that he didn’t have her on Saturday Night Live because she’s white, but because she is funny. Oprah laughs, that is so good she says. The crowd applaud. Oprah asks if the whole SNL campaign surprised her? Totally, says Betty. “First of all, it’s a young people’s show, and it’s all the young humor and stuff. And I’m a little past that—just a little,” she says. “I think they’ve lost their minds if they have an 88-year-old woman doing the show. But what do they know?”
She’s hosting in May in New York and the very next day, she starts her new series, Hot in Cleveland for TV Land. So it’s going to be a busy kind of May.
Betty has starred in some of the most beloved television shows of all time, Oprah says that her favorite sit com of all time was The Mary Tyler Moore Show and of course she was on Golden Girls, another great show with a great cast. Oprah asks which was her favorite character to play. Betty says that it is a toss up between the “neighborhood nymphomaniac” Sue Ann Nivens and Rose. Rose was not dumb, she was “terminally naive.” Betty would have to say she had the most fun playing Rose on The Golden Girls. “I was on every week there, and with Mary, I just did like six or seven shows out of twenty two,” she says. “So it was more fun to play with those other wonderful gals every week.”
Oprah says that people still think of Betty as Rose, is there a part of her that still has a little of that Rose-ness in her? Betty likes Rose because she thought life was like a musical comedy. It was going to have a happy ending no matter what ever happened. The “neighborhood nymphomaniac” Sue Ann Nivens was great fun to play. She used to ask her husband, Allen Ludden, ‘How close to Sue Ann is Betty?’” she says. “He’d say, ‘Well, she’s actually the very same character except she can’t cook.”Oprah laughs.
Looking toward her future, Betty says she consults her to-do list—not a bucket list. People always ask her if there is something that she’d like to do that she hasn’t yet done. No matter how the question is framed, her answer is always “Robert Redford”. The crowd applaud, and Oprah asks Betty if she wants to do Robert Redford. Betty says that we don’t get technical about it. “Bless his dear heart, he’s heard me take his name in vain for decades. And he wrote me a very sweet congratulation note when I got the Lifetime Achievement Award from SAG. I was thrilled. I haven’t stopped ringing his doorbell since.” Oprah laughs and asks if she has anything else to do on her to-do list. Betty thinks that what she has will keep her pretty busy. Oprah says that doing Robert Redford will keep her tied up for a while. It’ll keep me happy too, says Betty
Her life is blessed “My life is divided in two parts—half animal work and half show business,” she says. “So when you’re lucky enough to be doing the two things you like best, that is my to-do list. It’s such a blessing.” Wonderful, says Oprah, you are an inspiration and a national treasure. We’ll watch you on Saturday Night Live in May. Thank you.
So, April 30th is going to be National No Phone Zone Day. Everyone is going to be talking about it, they’re taking it to the streets and want you to be part of it. Tune in on April 30th for an Oprah event to help stop texting and talking on the phone while driving. Betty White and Tracy Morgan have agreed to take the pledge. Tracy says pull over, Betty says that she couldn’t agree with it more. Thanks everybody.
WHAT WE LEARNED TODAY:
Licking a stripper pole made Steve Carrell nauseous.
When someone shouts “sexy worm”, that means hump the floor.
If Oprah could eat a meal with anyone in the world alive or dead, she’d have fried chicken with Jesus.
Tracy Morgan says that where he comes from, humor is the knife which cuts through the despair, and he had alot of despair growing up.
Betty White really wants to cross Robert Redford off her to-do list.
A VERY QUICK SUMMARY:
Steve Carrel and Tina Fey improv-dance spectacularly well when instructed to be “sex robots” and to do the “sexy worm”.