Phil Rosenthal - Episode 1102 - Fitzdog Radio

Summary5 min read

Fitzdog Radio - Episode 1102: Phil Rosenthal

Release Date: July 3, 2025

Hosts:

Greg Fitzsimmons
Phil Rosenthal – Creator of "Everybody Loves Raymond" and host of "Somebody Feed Phil" on Netflix.

1. Introduction and Technical Hiccups [00:00 - 02:07]

Greg Fitzsimmons opens the episode with a humorous account of his struggles with a new computer setup, highlighting the unexpected camera movements and centering effects. He briefly mentions recent events, including attending Jeff Bezos' wedding and humorous observations about conspicuous consumption in society.

Notable Quote:

“We just made out cuz TMZ was there and we figured, hey, let's get in on this a little bit.” – Greg Fitzsimmons [00:00]

2. Transition to Guest Introduction [02:07 - 14:34]

Greg segues into introducing Phil Rosenthal, emphasizing Phil's down-to-earth personality despite his success. He also teases upcoming guests like Larry Charles and shares amusing anecdotes about technology mishaps and personal experiences, such as showing Woody Allen movies to his daughter and encountering unexpected content on social media.

Notable Quote:

“If you want to be in the top 1% financially in this world, guess how much you need to be making. How about lower? No lower. Lower than that. $32,000. You are in the top 1% of the world.” – Greg Fitzsimmons [02:08]

3. Personal Anecdotes and Daily Life [14:34 - 43:52]

Phil shares a vivid narrative of his weekend at Venice Beach, detailing experiences like taking mushrooms, enjoying the ocean, and receiving a memorable chair massage from a skilled masseuse. He contrasts these serene moments with chaotic encounters, such as dealing with a noisy, aggressive patron at the massage parlor.

Notable Quote:

“I wanna live today. I wanna feel the fucking water rushing underneath me as I paddle and catch a wave and fly across the top like Superman.” – Phil Rosenthal [09:19]

The conversation shifts to Phil’s experiences touring with comedian Louis CK, praising his comedic mastery, and discussing his own upcoming shows and performances across various cities.

4. Deep Dive into Phil Rosenthal's Background [43:52 - 33:50]

Phil delves into his family history, recounting his mother's escape from Nazi-occupied France to Cuba and eventually to the United States. He shares the harrowing story of his grandfather, Philipp Auerbach, a scientist forced to aid the Nazis before emigrating to America. This segment highlights the profound impact of historical trauma on Phil’s personal life and relationships.

Notable Quote:

“And so my mom says the happiest time of her life was since she was 12, 13 years old. Two years in Cuba.” – Phil Rosenthal [29:22]

5. Phil's mother's ALS and Advocacy for Morphine [27:07 - 28:23]

Phil opens up about his mother's battle with ALS, describing the slow decline of her physical capabilities and the emotional toll it took on his family. He emphasizes the importance of advocating for morphine to alleviate suffering, critiquing the medical system's reluctance to provide adequate pain management.

Notable Quote:

“Merciful. But they're not going to do it. You have to do it. And somebody told me that. And now I proselytize this because it's the most humane in this, in this absolutely one scenario.” – Phil Rosenthal [27:46]

6. The Intersection of Family and Career [33:50 - 57:49]

Phil discusses balancing his creative work with family life, drawing parallels between his approach and that of his contemporaries like Larry Charles and Norman Lear. He shares anecdotes about incorporating his family into his work, such as basing characters on his in-laws and involving his father in his shows to keep his legacy alive.

Notable Quote:

“You put your wife and your... And everyone lives. Raymond.” – Phil Rosenthal [34:43]

He reminisces about memorable interactions with comedy legends like Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft, reflecting on their enduring influence and the importance of preserving comedic history.

7. Reflections on Comedy and Cultural Impact [57:49 - 73:20]

Phil and Greg engage in a nostalgic discussion about classic comedy shows, the evolution of humor, and the significance of comedians like Mel Brooks in shaping the industry. Phil emphasizes the bravery required in comedic performance, highlighting the difference between fearless, vulnerable humor and the more constrained, conversational style prevalent today.

Notable Quote:

“But every time you tell a joke, it's a little bit of a leap of faith. It's scary because... and I love that style that. He was the bravest at that.” – Greg Fitzsimmons [54:08]

8. Political Discourse and Social Commentary [73:20 - 77:35]

The conversation takes a more serious turn as Phil and Greg discuss the current political climate in America. They critique the polarization, the erosion of democratic norms, and the manipulation of voter trust. Phil expresses concerns about election integrity and the potential for authoritarianism, while Greg shares insights on economic challenges and societal resilience.

Notable Quote:

“If the Supreme Court is giving one guy all the power, which means I will have power if I'm with him.” – Phil Rosenthal [59:48]

9. Light-Hearted Segments and Personal Stories [77:35 - 79:34]

Returning to lighter topics, Greg introduces a segment called "Fastballs with Fits," where Phil answers quick-fire questions. They share humorous stories about first kisses, relationships, and interactions with famous personalities. Phil recounts a nostalgic memory of meeting Mel Brooks and the humorous dynamics of their friendship.

Notable Quote:

“When I met him, the first time I'm introduced to him at a party 25 years ago, I say, hi, Larry, it's nice to meet you. He doesn't say hello. He says, you think it's all right to throw gum in the fireplace?” – Phil Rosenthal [56:41]

10. Closing Remarks and Final Thoughts [79:03 - End]

Greg wraps up the episode by highlighting Phil's achievements and encouraging listeners to watch "Somebody Feed Phil" on Netflix. They share final laughs and affirm the enduring friendship and comedic camaraderie between them.

Notable Quote:

“Ladies and gentlemen, Phil Rosenthal. Somebody Feed Phil is on Netflix. It's the eighth season, the longest running non-scripted show in Netflix history.” – Greg Fitzsimmons [79:16]

Key Takeaways:

Personal Resilience: Phil Rosenthal's narrative underscores the resilience required to overcome historical trauma and personal loss, highlighting the intergenerational impacts of such experiences.
Balancing Success and Family: The episode emphasizes the importance of maintaining strong family connections despite professional success, showcasing Phil's dedication to integrating his personal life with his creative endeavors.
Comedy as a Tool for Connection: Both hosts reflect on the power of comedy to bridge divides, preserve history, and provide a unifying respite from societal tensions.
Societal Critique: The conversation delves into serious social and political issues, critiquing current trends towards polarization and authoritarianism while advocating for human connection and empathy.
Humor and Vulnerability: The duo highlights the evolving nature of comedy, advocating for a fearless, vulnerable approach that engages audiences on a deeper level.

Conclusion: Episode 1102 of Fitzdog Radio offers a multifaceted conversation between Greg Fitzsimmons and Phil Rosenthal, blending humor with profound personal stories and social commentary. Through engaging anecdotes and thoughtful dialogue, the episode provides listeners with both entertainment and insightful reflections on life, comedy, and society.

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Transcript995 lines

[00:00]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Foreign. Welcome to Fitz Dog Radio. If things look a little bit different this week, it's because I got a new computer, which has been a nightmare for the last 24 hours, trying to sync everything up, but I think we got it. It's weird, though. The camera is moving around. That's strange. Oh, it keeps me centered. Oh, that's interesting. All right. I like that they've got a little effect you can put on that makes you look better. So how's that, huh, 59 look? 58. We got a great show for you today. We had an interview yesterday with the great philosopher Rosenthal, who is a regular to the show. He's been on several times, created Everybody Loves Raymond. He's worth so much money, and he acts like a regular dude. Why is that important, by the way? Do is that important? It is somehow. I mean, then you got Jeff Bezos, who I was at his wedding this weekend. And I'll tell you something, Oprah felt ate so much of the buffet that there was barely any room for me and Justin Bieber. So we just made out cuz TMZ was there and we figured, hey, let's get in on this a little bit. No, I guess for some people, we like to see conspicuous consumption. Like Bezos is like Bayes, like the bay's eye. And it was weird. It was gross, man. Somebody juxtaposed some shots of, like, kids in India at garbage dumps looking for food and, like, sub Saharan African refugee camps and people fighting over a handful of grain mixed with, like, the Kardashians eating lobster and stepping off a yacht. It's so. What a fucking world, man.
[02:07]
Phil Rosenthal
How do you.
[02:08]
Greg Fitzsimmons
How do you reconcile these different existences that were each handed in life? You. You know, I mean, I just saw, like, if you make above, if you want, ready for this number, if you want to be in the top 1% financially in this world, guess how much you need to be making. How about lower? No lower. Lower than that. $32,000. You are in the top 1% of the world. So that makes me feel pretty good. I'm in the. Well, it makes me in the top 2%. Anyway, if you like the show, spread the word. Tell your friends, Fitz Dog radio, watch it on YouTube, comment like it, do all that stuff. We're trying to spread the show. We got next week. Larry Charles will be on the show, who is the. One of the original writers of Seinfeld. He directs Curb youb Enthusiasm. He directed Sacha Baron Cohen's movies. He's kind of one of the great Comedic voices of our generation. He's up there. So I'm reading his book right here. You wanna hear something fucking crazy? If you think your computer's not listening to you, which it probably is. I was telling somebody about reading Larry Charles's book and how he talks about a scene from. There was a TV show called Fridays that had Kramer. What's Kramer's name? Michael Richards was on it with. And Larry David was a writer. Anyway, there was a scene where Andy Kaufman comes on an episode of the show, and Andy breaks the fourth wall. And in the middle of a sketch, he just starts saying, this sketch isn't funny. He steps out of character, Everything shuts down. There's nervous laughter. The crew doesn't know what to do. Uh, it's theater. It's. It's crazy. Anyway, so I'm talking about that get on my Instagram the next day, and it shows me that scene that I was talking about from a TV show that was around in 1993. I don't know the year, but it was a long time ago. All right, fine. So maybe then I watched. I'm trying to show my kids Woody Allen movies because I feel like they're some of the greatest movies ever made. And, you know, did he get convicted of anything? Was there any real evidence? I mean, there's. What? I don't want to get into it, but I. So I show my daughter Love and Death, which is my favorite Woody Allen movie, and she's dying. We are. She had just gotten her appendix out. She couldn't even laugh. It was so funny. Uh, so intellectually stimulating and philosophical and. Anyway, so I show her that. All of a sudden, I'm getting Woody Allen clips on my Instagram feed. What the fuck is going on? Is this real? It's all happening so fast. There are driverless cars constantly passing me on the street. If you had told me that, what, one year ago, that there would be a car without a driver, I would have said, you're fucking crazy. And now we're in one of the craziest driving cities in the country, and the city is packed with driverless. I don't know. I sound like an old man. It's all happening too fast. Slow down. Anyway, I had a nice weekend. Fell in love with Venice beach all over again. We went to the beach yesterday. The whole weekend at the beach went with the wife. We went down to the beach. I took some mushrooms with Fitzsimmons, Fitzgibbons, Gibbons and gubbins were all together, rode some waves, water was beautiful. Just good chill, good chill. Hanging out. Rabi was there, lot of fun. Got up this morning. I just love Venice. It's just easy. I had nothing to do today except deal with my computer. But I took a little break. I went down, I put on my headphones, I got my bike, I drive down to the beach. I'm waving at neighbors. Some of them want me to stop, but I got the headphones in. So I just tap the headphone and I wave like I'm on the phone. It just wasn't that day. It wasn't the day to stop and chat. It was a different day. It was an active. So I get to the. And I get to the beach and I'm watching paddle tennis. I didn't bring my paddle, which I should have. So I'm just watching the boys play. I stop at the basketball courts. There's some trash talking. White men can't jump. Basketball going on high quality. I pop over, I get a chair massage. I get a 20 minute chair massage. There's this place that's been on the corner of Windward and the beach for 25 years, and it's Chinese massage. You sit out on the boardwalk with your face in one of those chairs, and this woman who looks like she weighs about 94 pounds, but she has the claws of a fucking reptile. She is like a rock climber. These hands are like the hands of a rock climber. And. And she gets in there, and I'm telling you, she knew my body better than I. Better than my wife does, for God's sake. And she got into all the pressure points on the back and the shoulder. Anyway, $2018 for 20 minutes. Boom. Thank you very. And I'm laying there and this dude come. My face is already down, but this dude comes in real loud. He goes, all right, who's working? Yeah, I want a woman. No, you know what? Give me a guy. I got a lot of pain. I got hit. And so he sits down in the chair next to me and he doesn't stop talking. The whole time. He's moaning really loud. And I can hear he's got the thick, thick Latino accent. And I. And I'm just painting a picture of this guy in my head as he's, as he's talking, it's like, oh, not too hard, not too hard. Oh, no, no. Easy, easy. I got hit. I don't even know what part of the body he's talking about that he got hit, but. Go, go. Soft essay. So I get up and I take a look at him. And there it is. Neck tattoos, Check. Dodger jersey, check. The slip on vans, Check. Shaved head, pants that are. Pants that are too long to be shorts and too short to be pants. You know what I'm talking about? You. He's a Chicano. He's old school Chicano. And I just. I just. I touched him on the shoulder, I said, good luck, buddy. And he goes, thanks, bro. And then I went down to the ocean and I dove in. And people say the water's dirty cause of the Palisades fire. Okay, so what?
[09:19]
Unknown
What?
[09:19]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I'm not gonna live forever. I don't wanna live forever. I wanna live now. I wanna live today. I wanna feel the fucking water rushing underneath me as I paddle and catch a wave and fly across the top with the palms of my hands breaking the water in front of me like Superman. That's what I want. It was. I saw a dolphin go by. And you know, I can live without the boomboxes. I don't. I don't care about your music. Don't. Don't impose your fucking music on me, people. Last weekend I was up in Vancouver with Louis CK did some shows with him, and there's not a better comedian. Hands down, last 20 years, Louis CK is the best comedian that in the world. And his new hour holds up to any of it. It's so goddamn funny. He's just. He's the best. He's total control of what he's doing up there. Facial expressions, pauses, act outs, hard turns, big builds. Every facet of comedy, he's a master of. Anyway, he's got a big tour coming up, so go. Forget my dates, go see Louis CK Instead. Much funnier than me, although I fucking tore it up. Not gonna lie to you. I made Louis work. He had to earn it because I only had to do. I think I did 15 or 20 minutes. So I was just, you know, old school. Try to bury the guy. That's my job. That's why he hired me. Make them work hard. Heading off for Austin, Texas, this weekend. I'll be at the Mothership. And you know what? It's gonna be the four. I'm gonna be on stage on the Fourth of July. I don't know what that means. Who comes out. I think it's gonna be the only night of the year the club's not sold out. It's 4th of July, who knows? They love America there. God, they love America in Texas. It's their America. They've sort of claimed ownership of the flag and the country. And I'm Just visiting. I'm just the guy from California. Uh, but I got. I got some shit. I got some specific Austin jokes I'm gonna be talking about. Elon Musk's new cars just got unleashed in the city. Gonna talk about that. Um, talk about their abortion. Their. I think they're. You know, every state has a. Like, well, well, you can get an abortion here. You just got to get it like immediately. Like, the waiting period before is like, I think a week in Texas. You got to. You got to basically have sex and then sprint to the clinic with the jizz running down your leg still and just get up in those stirrups and be like, get it out. But I don't. We don't think you're pregnant. Just in case. Is this a funny idea? If you're having an abortion, I think you should still have the gender reveal party, but when they pop the balloon, instead of blue or red confetti, it's just empty. It just pops. But then it's a way better party because the couple has that much more money to spend now. They have that much more disposable income. So now the good champagne comes out. Now the lobster tails come out because you're not spending all that shit on a fucking bottle. Onesie. Or a bottle. Get a real bottle. Some 15 year old Scotch. 25. I don't know. I don't drink scotch. Anyway, we should get going. Uh, more to talk about next week, but for now, I will be also in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, at Soul Joel's, July 31, which is our anniversary. So my wife is pretty psyched. Point Pleasant, New Jersey, at Uncle Vinny's on August 1st and 2nd. La Jolla Comedy Store, August 29th through the 31st. Then I'm coming to Denver, Connecticut, Vegas, Chicago, San Francisco. All the dates are@fitzdog.com. get some tickets, come out, see some live comedy. All right, my guest today, I mentioned earlier is the guy who created Everybody Loves Raymond. And he's. He's run a bunch of other shows.
[13:45]
Unknown
He.
[13:47]
Greg Fitzsimmons
He's also been in movies. He was in Spanglish. He was in the Simpsons movie. He's been on Curb 30 Rock. Anyway, real, real smart, good dude. And he's got this show out now. Somebody Feed Phil. Which is in its eighth season on Netflix. It's the longest running non scripted show in Netflix history. And you should check it out. You're gonna love them. Hang out with me and the great Phil Rosenthal. All right, here we go.
[14:35]
Phil Rosenthal
So that's what we do when you come on our show.
[14:38]
Unknown
Yeah.
[14:39]
Phil Rosenthal
The moment you enter the room, the cameras, the. Everything's already going because you never know, you're gonna catch something.
[14:46]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah, like them talking about philandering or their drug use.
[14:50]
Phil Rosenthal
Exactly. I was going to tell you all about my times with Epstein.
[14:57]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Not, not that different.
[15:00]
Phil Rosenthal
Epstein got a bum deal.
[15:01]
Unknown
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[15:02]
Greg Fitzsimmons
You mean with getting murdered or do.
[15:05]
Phil Rosenthal
You think he was murdered?
[15:06]
Greg Fitzsimmons
No, I, I. Yes, yes, yes. That's what I mean.
[15:08]
Unknown
Yeah.
[15:09]
Phil Rosenthal
I mean, how is it not.
[15:10]
Greg Fitzsimmons
How is it not murder?
[15:11]
Phil Rosenthal
I mean, the tape, the cameras just happened to go off for that amount of time. It's like the 18 minutes in the Watergate thing.
[15:19]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Right. And then there happened to be new guards that just took a break as the cameras.
[15:26]
Phil Rosenthal
And the cameras. What a coincidence.
[15:28]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And also, the. The contusions of where he hung himself were not consistent with being hung straight up and down. It was more from being strangled from behind.
[15:42]
Phil Rosenthal
That's good. I haven't heard that yet. Yeah, but you're insinuating that this some foul play. I can't have you. I'm not going to sit here and let you impugn.
[15:53]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I love conspiracy theories, but I love them as a voyeur. I don't love them as a religion like some people. Really. And once you go in, once you start with conspiracy theories, if you go too deep, always ends up with the Jews. That's the last stop on conspiracy theories.
[16:15]
Phil Rosenthal
Bastards.
[16:16]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Who? The Jews.
[16:18]
Phil Rosenthal
Okay. I forgot who I'm with.
[16:23]
Greg Fitzsimmons
That's why my career has never taken off in this town.
[16:26]
Phil Rosenthal
I'm doing everything I can to prevent it. I tell my buddies, look out for this guy. He seems Irish.
[16:34]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Speaking of your buddies, I played golf with Greg Garcia the other day. He says hello.
[16:38]
Phil Rosenthal
He's very. I haven't seen him a long time.
[16:40]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Really?
[16:40]
Phil Rosenthal
Very nice guy.
[16:41]
Unknown
Yeah. Yeah.
[16:42]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Did you guys used to go to that brunch at Victor's? Victor's.
[16:47]
Phil Rosenthal
He came once in a while because he was partners with my dear friend Alan Kirschenbach.
[16:50]
Unknown
Right, right.
[16:51]
Phil Rosenthal
You knew Alan, of course.
[16:52]
Greg Fitzsimmons
No. Very well. He was my mentor when I came out here. Well, Alan's father, Freddie Roman. Freddie Roman.
[16:58]
Phil Rosenthal
We talked about this.
[16:59]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So Freddie was my mentor in New York, and then he switched me over to his son when I came out to la and. Yeah, so I love spending time with Greg because we talk about. And then Alan's child, Molly. Well, yeah, Molly came over.
[17:17]
Phil Rosenthal
I just saw her two days ago.
[17:19]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Did you really? Yeah, she came over. I saw. I went to see her play. She did a Tim Robbins play great. At that Actors Gang Theater in Culver City.
[17:30]
Unknown
Yeah.
[17:31]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And I just went to see the play. Cause I know Tim. And so I'm watching it and I'm thinking, this cast is amazing. You know? And then I look at the playbill at the end, it says Molly Kirschenbaum. And I go, there's not a lot of Kirschenbaums in the world. I go, this is Molly. I hadn't seen her. Well since Alan's memorial where she sang beautifully. And I keep seeing she. It's actually they now. And I went down and said hi to her, and it was just a love bomb. And then she came over the house for dinner with her partner. With their partner. And she's just full of life. Just so great.
[18:11]
Phil Rosenthal
You know, you keep saying she. I know it's hard for old people.
[18:15]
Unknown
It is.
[18:16]
Phil Rosenthal
We. They. They made it. They made.
[18:18]
Unknown
Not.
[18:19]
Phil Rosenthal
They.
[18:19]
Unknown
They.
[18:20]
Phil Rosenthal
They made it hard for us. But apparently the conversation about they. Them versus him.
[18:29]
Unknown
Her. Yeah.
[18:30]
Phil Rosenthal
Is. Is what Is. Is wanted.
[18:34]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yes, exactly.
[18:37]
Phil Rosenthal
Old people's confusion.
[18:39]
Unknown
Right.
[18:39]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Well, because it makes you think about the whole concept. Not just the.
[18:43]
Phil Rosenthal
Yes.
[18:43]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Not just the semantics, but the idea of self identity and how this new generation sees itself as more fluid.
[18:55]
Phil Rosenthal
Right.
[18:56]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And they're not willing to just be saddled with traditional gender identity.
[19:04]
Phil Rosenthal
The confusion, though, is. Is funny.
[19:07]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yes.
[19:08]
Phil Rosenthal
Like, old people get. We can't even, you know, if there's a new remote in the house.
[19:13]
Unknown
It's hard. So.
[19:14]
Phil Rosenthal
So this is, you know, every time a new phone comes out. What did they do now?
[19:19]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I know.
[19:19]
Phil Rosenthal
I just got used to this one.
[19:21]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And our kids are finally old enough to be our hotline on how to figure all this stuff out.
[19:26]
Phil Rosenthal
I think my kids have given up on me. Like.
[19:28]
Unknown
Yeah.
[19:29]
Phil Rosenthal
Yeah. It's too annoying to teach me. So they'd rather I just sit and mumble.
[19:35]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah.
[19:36]
Phil Rosenthal
Which is coming.
[19:37]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Hey, dad. Dad's faxing. Hold on. We get a message from dad from his AOL account.
[19:44]
Phil Rosenthal
Well, it's nice to see you.
[19:46]
Greg Fitzsimmons
It's so great to see you.
[19:47]
Phil Rosenthal
I've been looking forward to seeing you every time. Because we have nice conversations. I mean, we're gonna eat lunch after.
[19:53]
Unknown
Yep.
[19:53]
Phil Rosenthal
We've decided where we're going.
[19:55]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Absolutely.
[19:55]
Phil Rosenthal
Dr. Sandwich.
[19:56]
Unknown
Dr.
[19:56]
Phil Rosenthal
Sandwich with the European Deluxe Sausage. It's the. That's the official name. Right. Deluxe Sausage Kitchen. European Deluxe Sausage Kitchen. It's an old German butcher. His kids run it now.
[20:10]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Oh, the kids run it.
[20:11]
Phil Rosenthal
He's gone. Right. But he was an old German fellow. It reminded me of German Delis. That my. And butcher shops that my parents used to go to in Washington Heights in Manhattan. There was one there called Bloch and Falk. How's that for an appetizing name? And the stuff in the counter look like it came from a place called Blue and Falk.
[20:34]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Everything shined.
[20:35]
Phil Rosenthal
You know that. That mystery meat with the splotches of fat in it where you're like, what the hell? It's like this baloney's gone bad. It looks right, but that. They love it.
[20:45]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I love it. I love.
[20:46]
Phil Rosenthal
You love it too.
[20:47]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah. I mean, even brisket. Like, I love a fatty brisket. I don't mind if I get an entire bite of just fat.
[20:53]
Phil Rosenthal
That's the flavor.
[20:55]
Unknown
Yeah.
[20:55]
Phil Rosenthal
Or the bacon. You're not throwing that. The fat part away?
[20:58]
Greg Fitzsimmons
No, no, I eat the bacon. And then, you know, like, even when you get low fat turkey meat, it's like, no if it. Cause I grill it. If you're gonna grill something, it's gotta have some fat on it.
[21:11]
Phil Rosenthal
Of course.
[21:12]
Unknown
Yeah.
[21:12]
Phil Rosenthal
Otherwise you get dried out, scuffs.
[21:13]
Greg Fitzsimmons
You don't want that. You get like. You ever had venison? Yeah, it's very tough to cook venison. Cause it's so lean.
[21:20]
Phil Rosenthal
Or ostrich.
[21:21]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I've had ostrich.
[21:22]
Phil Rosenthal
Did you have it in south.
[21:23]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I did pretty good. Yeah. We went to this place.
[21:26]
Phil Rosenthal
Who else did you eat there?
[21:28]
Greg Fitzsimmons
It was like South Africa.
[21:29]
Phil Rosenthal
I told my parents, like, going to the zoo. And it's a menu.
[21:32]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah. Well, we went to this place outside the game park that was called Carnivore.
[21:37]
Phil Rosenthal
Yeah.
[21:38]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Because what they do is they have to thin down certain animals in the park to keep the balance. And so you sit there at the table and the waiters come around with skewers and. And they'll just. And. And they just keep circulating with different skewers and they go, would you like some crocodile? Would you like some ostrich? Would you like some. What's the buck called? Spring buck.
[22:00]
Unknown
Yeah, I eat that.
[22:01]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yes.
[22:02]
Phil Rosenthal
And they're so gorgeous.
[22:04]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah, I know.
[22:05]
Phil Rosenthal
And beautiful. And you're like, not anymore.
[22:07]
Unknown
Right, right.
[22:09]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Well, you know, look, it's a happy ending to their life. Appreciate them.
[22:14]
Phil Rosenthal
Well, yeah, it's better. I mean, the way they quote unquote, farm animals there is very different than the industrial horror show that we do.
[22:23]
Unknown
Yes, yes.
[22:24]
Phil Rosenthal
I had to catch a chicken for dinner. I was invited to a dinner in the Basque country in Spain. It's on right now. Not that I need.
[22:31]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I haven't seen that. I've seen a Few episodes. I didn't see that one yet.
[22:35]
Phil Rosenthal
They said, everybody's bringing something. And they told me, you're gonna bring the chicken. And so I caught a chicken on a farm. I had to run around like an idiot and try to catch a chicken. Not easy.
[22:45]
Unknown
Right.
[22:46]
Phil Rosenthal
But if you see the episode, I catch it.
[22:49]
Greg Fitzsimmons
You do?
[22:49]
Phil Rosenthal
I do. It took longer than the time it takes when you see the show and I'm out of breath. I'm an old man. So I catch this chicken, and here's what's interesting. The chicken doesn't want to be caught.
[23:03]
Unknown
Right.
[23:04]
Phil Rosenthal
It's running, it's clucking, it's flapping its wings. You know, you're a little afraid.
[23:07]
Greg Fitzsimmons
It's acting like a chicken.
[23:08]
Phil Rosenthal
Is it going to peck at me? Is it?
[23:10]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Right, yeah.
[23:10]
Phil Rosenthal
So you're a little hesitant. That's why it takes so long. If you. If you were not afraid, you can probably walk right over and pick it up. But, yeah, I'm a little afraid because I'm from the Bronx. What do I know from a chicken?
[23:20]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Well, you're also. That's your tagline for your show, is your Anthony Bourdain. If he was afraid of everything.
[23:26]
Phil Rosenthal
Yeah, that's. That's still somewhat true. Although, I have to say, eight seasons now, you can't help but get a little braver.
[23:34]
Unknown
Right.
[23:35]
Phil Rosenthal
Because if our biggest fear is the unknown.
[23:37]
Unknown
Yeah.
[23:38]
Phil Rosenthal
When you do something, then now it's known. So you're not as afraid. You may not like it, but you're not as afraid.
[23:44]
Greg Fitzsimmons
What's the most afraid you ever were on the show?
[23:48]
Phil Rosenthal
I'll get to that in a second. I'll tell you about the chicken.
[23:50]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Oh, yeah, please.
[23:51]
Phil Rosenthal
Because I was. I was scared of that.
[23:52]
Unknown
Yeah.
[23:54]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Do they peck? Do you even know?
[23:56]
Phil Rosenthal
Didn't peck me.
[23:57]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Okay.
[23:57]
Phil Rosenthal
I don't know. Yeah, I. If I was a chicken, I'd peck the hell out of you.
[24:00]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Right, Right. I know you're Jewish. They're used to being the last one packed. I mean, picked in gym class.
[24:07]
Phil Rosenthal
That is mean. Why. Why are you so mean? Why do you have to hurt people? I just did a flashback to childhood and cried. All right, so the chicken doesn't want to be caught, but when you catch it, something odd happens.
[24:23]
Unknown
Yeah.
[24:24]
Phil Rosenthal
The chicken, instead of flapping around in your hands like, get me out of here. Submits completely, like, okay, you got me. That was a genuine sadness of grabbing this thing that was so alive and now almost knows it's dead.
[24:40]
Unknown
Right? Right.
[24:41]
Phil Rosenthal
Like, I guess that's it for me.
[24:43]
Unknown
Okay.
[24:43]
Phil Rosenthal
Make it quick. That was the feeling I got from this bird. Wow. And I'm sitting there petting this thing and I said, we're not taking this guy. We're not taking this j.
[24:56]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Really?
[24:57]
Phil Rosenthal
I'm a total hypocrite. I say it in the show. I'm a total hypocrite. Yes, I will eat the chicken tonight. It ain't going to be my chicken. And you may catch this chicken later today even or tomorrow and kill it. But I'm not the one who did it because I had a one minute connection to this chicken. And the moment you do that and you see your prey, you see, you connect eyes.
[25:24]
Unknown
Yeah. Right.
[25:25]
Phil Rosenthal
I think if we all had to do that, we'd all be vegetarians.
[25:28]
Greg Fitzsimmons
So there's cage free chickens and then there's fill free chickens.
[25:32]
Unknown
Yeah.
[25:32]
Phil Rosenthal
This guy was free for God knows how.
[25:34]
Greg Fitzsimmons
So I mean, I always think of that because you got these kids that grew up on farms and they have pigs that they get very close to. Pigs are very intelligent people and you really bond with them.
[25:43]
Phil Rosenthal
You have to kill your friend.
[25:44]
Greg Fitzsimmons
You got to kill your friend.
[25:45]
Phil Rosenthal
Imagine having to kill your dog. I know you wouldn't.
[25:49]
Unknown
Yeah.
[25:49]
Phil Rosenthal
You just wouldn't.
[25:50]
Unknown
Right, right.
[25:51]
Greg Fitzsimmons
No, I had to put my two dogs I had to put down in both times.
[25:54]
Phil Rosenthal
You didn't eat them?
[25:55]
Greg Fitzsimmons
No, but I kept them alive way longer than I think their quality of life justified.
[26:00]
Phil Rosenthal
Hey, people do that with people.
[26:02]
Unknown
Yes. Right.
[26:04]
Phil Rosenthal
The moment I'm uncomfortable at all, please kill me.
[26:07]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Have you ever been involved with either your parents? Did you sort of have your time with them at the end? Were they in hospice or whatever where you got to really connect with them?
[26:18]
Phil Rosenthal
Yes, but I was connected with them all the way.
[26:20]
Unknown
You were right.
[26:21]
Phil Rosenthal
Very close.
[26:22]
Greg Fitzsimmons
But did you feel like you went to another level when they were right at the end? No, it was already there.
[26:29]
Phil Rosenthal
My mom had ALS and it was awful slow decline at ALS as your body just eats itself. Right. It just one that now this fails, this fails. They come over here. What's this machine? Oh this? She's going to need this when her motor skills completely go and she'll only be able to communicate by moving her eyes. So you'll need this machine. She's not there yet, but yeah, we know this is coming. In other words, this is a one way street als. There is no cure. There is no getting better. At best you can hang on to this horrible quality of life for a long time.
[27:08]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Right.
[27:09]
Phil Rosenthal
So it was just.
[27:11]
Unknown
Yeah.
[27:12]
Phil Rosenthal
And then I.
[27:13]
Greg Fitzsimmons
You had to.
[27:13]
Phil Rosenthal
You had to advocate for Morphine.
[27:17]
Unknown
Uh huh. Oh, you have to.
[27:18]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Oh, really?
[27:19]
Phil Rosenthal
They don't give it to you. There's all these legalities. God forbid, you know, something happens with morphine, then the doctor doesn't want to be on the hook for that. So they want you to be. And my advice to anybody, somebody going through a horrible one way thing, there is no. There's only death at the end of this road. There is no going back. The quality of life is suffering. My answer to you is morphine.
[27:44]
Unknown
Yeah. Right, right, right.
[27:45]
Phil Rosenthal
Merciful.
[27:46]
Unknown
Yep.
[27:47]
Phil Rosenthal
But they're not going to do it. You have to do it. And somebody told me that. And now I proselytize this because it's the most humane in this. In this absolutely one scenario.
[28:00]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Right, right.
[28:01]
Unknown
Yeah.
[28:02]
Greg Fitzsimmons
So at. How long was she at that state where the machine was keeping her going?
[28:09]
Phil Rosenthal
We never got to that.
[28:10]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Oh, you didn't? Okay. She was good.
[28:12]
Phil Rosenthal
She was breathing very. It was so labored. It was gonna. But you know, you can. She stopped eating. She couldn't eat. So the body. I don't know if you know this. You can survive like three months.
[28:23]
Greg Fitzsimmons
No.
[28:24]
Phil Rosenthal
Without food.
[28:25]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Really.
[28:25]
Phil Rosenthal
Yeah, you could. If you have water.
[28:28]
Unknown
Damn.
[28:28]
Phil Rosenthal
And you can stay barely alive. You shrink down to nothing.
[28:33]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Oh no. I guess the hunger strikes in Ireland, I remember they went for months. That's right. Bobby Sands.
[28:38]
Phil Rosenthal
The body feeds off itself.
[28:39]
Unknown
Right. Right.
[28:40]
Phil Rosenthal
It's just a horrible.
[28:42]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And your mom. Incredible story. Your mom came from Berlin and she emigrated, basically fleeing the Nazis. Right.
[28:53]
Phil Rosenthal
Well, she was caught with her mother.
[28:55]
Unknown
Yeah.
[28:55]
Phil Rosenthal
Put in a concentration camp in France. I didn't even know they had concentration camps in France. But it turns out the. The government was of France was happy to help the Nazis.
[29:05]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Very much so, yeah.
[29:07]
Phil Rosenthal
And so they were there for a year or two and then. And then they got out. But they couldn't get to America, so Cuba accepted them.
[29:15]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Really?
[29:15]
Phil Rosenthal
Yes. So my mother says the happiest time of her life was since she was 12, 13 years old. Two years in Cuba.
[29:22]
Greg Fitzsimmons
No, Cuba.
[29:23]
Phil Rosenthal
Pre Castro Cuba.
[29:24]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah, right, right.
[29:25]
Phil Rosenthal
Mid-40s. Batista still cherished mangoes because they reminded her of Cuba.
[29:33]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Right. Such a visceral place.
[29:36]
Phil Rosenthal
And then her dad, who was separated from them and put in the worst of the worst concentration camps. I'm named after this guy. His name was Philip Auerbach. He created, he devised. Because he was somewhat of a scientist, he devised ways for him to stay useful to the Nazis by making lice powder. Figured that out for them. Roach spray, things like this. Where he became useful wasn't part of Killing his own people.
[30:10]
Greg Fitzsimmons
But he was helping his own people. Right?
[30:12]
Phil Rosenthal
Okay. Now the war is over, and my mom and her mom say, find out that he's alive. That he survived not only Auschwitz, but the famous death march to Buchenwald, where they thought they'd kill, you know, however many hundreds of thousands at a time by marching them in dead of winter from one camp to the other, figuring the march would just take care of them. But he survived that.
[30:35]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Which country was that?
[30:37]
Phil Rosenthal
Where was Auschwitz and Buchenwald? Was it Poland?
[30:40]
Unknown
Right, Right.
[30:41]
Phil Rosenthal
So they. They had this. He survives that, he survives Buchenwald, the war is over. Now they find out he's alive. Come to America. We're going to America. No, my job is here. He was somewhat involved in politics before the war.
[30:57]
Unknown
Right.
[30:58]
Phil Rosenthal
He says, there's this government, and I need to be part of it, and I need to restore Germany. This is my work. You come here. My grandmother said, you're not never going back there. I don't know if you noticed, but they tried to kill us all. So he's like, I'm sorry, but my life is here. So he starts. I mean, terrible for my mom.
[31:18]
Unknown
Yeah.
[31:18]
Phil Rosenthal
Awful trauma on top of the trauma of being separated. Now dad doesn't even want to be with me.
[31:25]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Wow.
[31:26]
Phil Rosenthal
Screwed up. Screwed up for life, really. You know, there's support groups for children of Holocaust survivors just because of this trauma that is then not passed down to you directly, but you're living with someone who has a lot of problems.
[31:45]
Unknown
Right, right, right.
[31:46]
Phil Rosenthal
So there's a whole.
[31:47]
Greg Fitzsimmons
There's a whole world also passed down through your genetics. It becomes actually part of the DNA.
[31:54]
Unknown
That.
[31:54]
Greg Fitzsimmons
That heavy trauma.
[31:55]
Unknown
Yeah.
[31:56]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And your. Your children are born with it.
[31:58]
Phil Rosenthal
It could be.
[31:59]
Unknown
Yeah.
[32:00]
Phil Rosenthal
Could explain some of my mishegos. But listen.
[32:02]
Unknown
Yeah.
[32:03]
Phil Rosenthal
He does do something great. He starts in Germany, something called the restitution program. You might actually know old Jewish people who are still alive from them, who get a check every month to this day from the German government. If your business was stolen by the German government, the German government pays restitution.
[32:24]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Wow.
[32:24]
Phil Rosenthal
My grandfather, Philipp Auerbach, started this. I never met him in the. Yeah, my mom saw him one time in the 50s. He came to New York to give a speech, and my mom saw him that one time. Then back then, the German government, they're not crazy about that restitution program. Some of them were former Nazis in the government. Right. How could they not be?
[32:46]
Unknown
Right. Sure.
[32:50]
Phil Rosenthal
They throw him in jail, say that he misappropriated funds and he killed himself in his Jail.
[32:57]
Unknown
Yeah. Yeah.
[33:00]
Greg Fitzsimmons
That's profound.
[33:01]
Phil Rosenthal
Profound. And the country had a statesman's funeral for him in Berlin. Like, huge hero in that way.
[33:09]
Greg Fitzsimmons
That's what you come from.
[33:11]
Phil Rosenthal
I do, but I never met the man.
[33:12]
Unknown
Yeah.
[33:13]
Phil Rosenthal
But I'm proud to be named after him.
[33:14]
Unknown
Yeah.
[33:15]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I mean, a guy who puts his principles above his family.
[33:17]
Phil Rosenthal
Unbelievable.
[33:19]
Unknown
Yeah.
[33:20]
Phil Rosenthal
I mean, listen, I hear these things. I hear, you know, Martin Luther King, greatest guy in the world.
[33:25]
Unknown
Right, right.
[33:26]
Phil Rosenthal
Maybe not to his family. I have heard.
[33:28]
Greg Fitzsimmons
That's what I've heard. And, you know, and he. And he knew he was going to die. He talked about it the night before he was assassinated.
[33:36]
Phil Rosenthal
I'm not comparing my grandfather to him, but there might be a trait in personality that propels you to do good in the world at the expense of your personal life, of your literal family.
[33:50]
Unknown
Right, right.
[33:51]
Phil Rosenthal
So what. I mean, are you really a complete person if you ignore your family, your kids?
[33:58]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah. I mean, that's what's kind of interesting about you, is you managed to do both, which very few people do. I mean, on Everybody Lives, Raymond famously had nine to five hours so that you guys could have dinner with your families. And so you were able to achieve something that. Not that you're being altruistic, but it certainly was a positive force in the world. That show, and certainly the show you're doing now, Somebody Feed Phil, is. It's about positivity. It's a break from the cynicism. And. And yet you were able to be a part of your family in a way that I know how close you are to your kids and put them in the show. Put them in the show.
[34:41]
Phil Rosenthal
Include your family and your work.
[34:43]
Unknown
Yeah, right.
[34:44]
Phil Rosenthal
Then you're. Then you're getting everything.
[34:45]
Greg Fitzsimmons
You put your wife and your. And everyone lives. Raymond.
[34:48]
Unknown
Yeah.
[34:48]
Phil Rosenthal
Put them to work. These people. By the way, there's another reason why I wanted everybody to go home and have dinner with their families every night. That's where the stories were coming from.
[35:00]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Right. They were mining them.
[35:03]
Phil Rosenthal
Go home, get in a fight with your family, come back in and tell me about it.
[35:06]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Was there ever a time where somebody pitched something like that and then later said, you know what? We can't do that. It's too personal.
[35:13]
Unknown
Yes.
[35:13]
Phil Rosenthal
I said, I'm sorry. We're using it.
[35:16]
Unknown
Oh, right, right.
[35:17]
Phil Rosenthal
I did it to myself. I did it one time. My family, my, my. If you watch the show, there was Robert Culp and Katherine Hellman played Deborah, the wife's parents.
[35:30]
Unknown
Right.
[35:30]
Phil Rosenthal
So the in laws, they. Those characters were loosely based on my brother's in laws.
[35:36]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Richard.
[35:37]
Phil Rosenthal
Richard's wife's parents were the model for Deborah's parents. Ray's wife's parents on the show.
[35:46]
Unknown
Right.
[35:46]
Phil Rosenthal
We brought them in good contrast to our Franken Marie on the show. His parents. Why? Because they have a little more money. They're cooler.
[35:57]
Unknown
Yeah.
[35:57]
Phil Rosenthal
They're hipper. They say words like funky.
[36:02]
Unknown
They go to the.
[36:03]
Phil Rosenthal
They go to Broadway shows. You know, they travel a lot.
[36:06]
Unknown
Yeah.
[36:07]
Phil Rosenthal
So I thought, this is great, let's do that. And then we'll have Frank and Marie hate them and talk about them. Oh, they're going on vacation to Vietnam. They keep bragging about how they're going to Vietnam. Good luck with that.
[36:20]
Unknown
Right.
[36:23]
Phil Rosenthal
So there's no. When the show is on, there's. There, you're watching it. There's no streaming. You're watching it. At 9 o' clock on Monday night, 9:30, I get a call from my mother. Are you out of your mind? We have to see these people. These are their in laws.
[36:40]
Greg Fitzsimmons
My parents. Real trip that they took.
[36:42]
Phil Rosenthal
Yeah. So they weren't snotty about it. I just thought, what if they were?
[36:46]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Right, right.
[36:47]
Phil Rosenthal
So you're loosely basing it on that stuff. And my mother says, I say, mom, we're exaggerating. And she goes, they don't know. You have to call them and tell you that. Do you know how uncomfortable you've made me? I said, ma, your comfort is something I'm willing to sacrifice for the show.
[37:03]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Speaking of your comfort, how's that new house I bought you? You comfortable in the car I bought you?
[37:08]
Phil Rosenthal
That's right, mom.
[37:09]
Greg Fitzsimmons
That's right.
[37:10]
Unknown
Right.
[37:10]
Phil Rosenthal
By the way, you asked me what the worst thing.
[37:12]
Unknown
Yeah, yeah.
[37:13]
Phil Rosenthal
My brother put me in a sports car in, in an F1, not an F1. What do they call it? What's F? F1 is the, is the, is the very middle of the ground.
[37:24]
Unknown
Yeah, yeah. Car.
[37:24]
Phil Rosenthal
What's the car? Where? It's just race cars.
[37:26]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Like, like a NASCAR.
[37:27]
Phil Rosenthal
NASCAR maybe.
[37:28]
Unknown
Yeah.
[37:30]
Phil Rosenthal
I think I was on an F1 track though.
[37:32]
Greg Fitzsimmons
In, I think the F1 track that goes up sideways on the, on the corners. Crazy.
[37:37]
Phil Rosenthal
Yes.
[37:38]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah.
[37:39]
Phil Rosenthal
In Austin, Texas, we did. Oh, yeah.
[37:41]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah, that's F1. That's an F1 track.
[37:42]
Unknown
Yeah.
[37:43]
Phil Rosenthal
But I'm in a Ferrari because someone else is driving.
[37:45]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Okay.
[37:46]
Phil Rosenthal
But I'm strapped in there. You know how fast I get. I went 187 miles.
[37:51]
Greg Fitzsimmons
No way.
[37:52]
Phil Rosenthal
I'm an old Jewish man. I'm not built for this.
[37:54]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I'm like.
[37:54]
Phil Rosenthal
I was. It was the worst. It was you see this on the screen and it just looks like cars zooming around the track like a little kid's, you know, race car track.
[38:05]
Unknown
Right, Right.
[38:06]
Phil Rosenthal
Oh, no, it's the most violent. It's being. It's like being in multiple car accidents.
[38:11]
Unknown
Yeah.
[38:12]
Phil Rosenthal
Have you ever done this? No, don't do it.
[38:14]
Greg Fitzsimmons
So. And the wheel, it seems like the wheel turns like a quarter of an inch and you're dead.
[38:19]
Unknown
Yeah, yeah.
[38:21]
Phil Rosenthal
The stuff comes up so fast and you take off like a rocket. And the G forces, they tell me, are more than a NASA rocket taking off because the acceleration is so insane.
[38:31]
Greg Fitzsimmons
So your neck is getting everything.
[38:33]
Phil Rosenthal
You're being thrown around. And when they go into a turn, it's not easy. They hit the brakes as fast as you have to hit them to make a turn at 187 miles an hour. And then you screech into this thing. Now you're thrown forward, then to the side, then to the other side, then accelerate again out of the turn. This goes on for two and a half years.
[38:54]
Greg Fitzsimmons
That's why it's insane that Danica Patrick is a competitive driver. These are about 5 foot 3.
[39:03]
Phil Rosenthal
These are athletes. They're not just passengers in the car. They are. They. You have to be so attuned to everything in the car, everything on the track, the other drivers. Right.
[39:12]
Unknown
Yeah.
[39:13]
Phil Rosenthal
We were just going alone. Imagine if there's cars.
[39:15]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I know.
[39:16]
Phil Rosenthal
The chance of accident.
[39:17]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Have you seen that show, the F1 show on Netflix?
[39:20]
Phil Rosenthal
I am really not interested.
[39:22]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Well, you think you'd support a fellow non scripted show on Netflix? I mean, that would just be the right thing to do.
[39:28]
Phil Rosenthal
Nope. Don't even watch the other food shows.
[39:29]
Unknown
You don't know.
[39:30]
Phil Rosenthal
They can all go to hell. I don't know. There's some I love. I do.
[39:34]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I mean, so funny. If Phil Roosevelt finally snaps, I snap.
[39:38]
Phil Rosenthal
I'm going to get that Tucci, by the way.
[39:42]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah, that'd be. That'd be a good MMA fight to promote in Vegas.
[39:45]
Phil Rosenthal
A good fight.
[39:46]
Unknown
Yeah.
[39:46]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Should we create a scandal, you and Tucci?
[39:48]
Phil Rosenthal
That's what I need, a scandal.
[39:50]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah.
[39:50]
Phil Rosenthal
Because I'm too, you know, seasons now, people. I don't want you to take me for granted.
[39:54]
Greg Fitzsimmons
You're so funny. You came in today and I go, thanks for fitting me into your. Into your press junket. And you're like, we need it. And you had a seriousness about that.
[40:03]
Phil Rosenthal
I'm fighting for my life.
[40:05]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Every season, number one, every non scripted show on Netflix. It's the.
[40:09]
Phil Rosenthal
It's the longest running.
[40:11]
Unknown
Yeah.
[40:13]
Phil Rosenthal
Proud of that great, wonderful, luckiest guy.
[40:16]
Unknown
You'Re ever gonna be.
[40:17]
Phil Rosenthal
That's how I feel.
[40:18]
Unknown
Right.
[40:18]
Phil Rosenthal
Every season could be my last.
[40:20]
Unknown
Yeah.
[40:21]
Phil Rosenthal
And the longer we're on, the more they could say, we gave you eight seasons. Go away now.
[40:26]
Unknown
Yeah.
[40:27]
Phil Rosenthal
We don't usually give two seasons, three seasons, so I'm very lucky to have gotten this far. But at the same time, you could be dead at any moment.
[40:35]
Greg Fitzsimmons
You hate not working.
[40:37]
Phil Rosenthal
I love. Who wouldn't love what I'm doing?
[40:40]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah. But it's also a lot of work.
[40:43]
Phil Rosenthal
No, it's fun.
[40:44]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Do you do a lot of prep for it or you do.
[40:47]
Phil Rosenthal
I love every second of it, every. Everything about it. And then I do the live tours, which I don't have to tell you how fun that is. So that's great. And half the show is Q A, and I meet the people, and I. I wouldn't do it if I didn't like people. I love it. So I'm so lucky. And listen, I. You said it earlier, especially as things get worse in real life, I think the show is a nice little respite from that.
[41:19]
Greg Fitzsimmons
It reminds me of some of the shows that were huge hits during the pandemic, like Queen's Gambit or that just made you feel good. They weren't cynical. They weren't jarring. And the way it's shot just adds to that. It's so beautifully shot. I mean, the artistic shots and.
[41:39]
Unknown
Yeah.
[41:39]
Greg Fitzsimmons
It really draws you in. And so. So it creates a mood. Every time you watch it, you kind of leave it feeling better.
[41:47]
Phil Rosenthal
Well, that. That's the nicest thing you could say.
[41:50]
Unknown
Yeah.
[41:51]
Phil Rosenthal
I. I have to tell you, that's what we're going for.
[41:53]
Unknown
Yeah.
[41:53]
Phil Rosenthal
We did. We. We're not. And people are saying that the show is somehow subversive or politically astute. Maybe not trying for it or certainly not overtly trying. There's no, like, hard message.
[42:08]
Unknown
Yeah.
[42:09]
Phil Rosenthal
I'm not saying I'm against anything. I'm for people.
[42:14]
Unknown
Yeah.
[42:15]
Phil Rosenthal
But suddenly it's political because I'm hugging folks from other cultures and. And.
[42:20]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Oh, is that right? You've really heard that?
[42:22]
Phil Rosenthal
A little bit.
[42:24]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Really?
[42:24]
Phil Rosenthal
Why'd you get political? What do you mean? I did a Washington D.C. episode. Right. Washington D.C. is a great food town.
[42:30]
Unknown
Right.
[42:30]
Phil Rosenthal
That's my way in, is the food. But the show's not about food. It's about connecting with the people. Just using food and my stupid sense of humor to get you the. The real message.
[42:38]
Unknown
Right.
[42:38]
Phil Rosenthal
Which I'm not preaching. I'm just doing.
[42:41]
Unknown
Just show. Yeah.
[42:42]
Phil Rosenthal
I wanted a report.
[42:44]
Greg Fitzsimmons
They killed Jesus. I mean, you're getting off easy.
[42:51]
Phil Rosenthal
So Netflix may kill me soon. Yeah, we'll see. I don't want. Listen, they've been very supportive so far. I love them. Ted Sarandos especially likes the show, so lucky.
[43:02]
Unknown
Yeah.
[43:02]
Phil Rosenthal
Okay, so I want. In the DC Episode, I want to have lunch with the only somewhat political. Anything. But how do you not. You're in Washington, D.C. this was two years ago. Can I get a Republican and a Democrat to sit and have lunch with me? Not easily.
[43:20]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Really?
[43:21]
Phil Rosenthal
Not easily.
[43:22]
Greg Fitzsimmons
God. Remember in the old days, you would have gotten, you know, Tip o' Neill to sit there with George Bush and.
[43:29]
Unknown
Yeah.
[43:29]
Phil Rosenthal
But I got Brian Fitzpatrick from. From Pennsylvania. Republican. And Pete Buttigieg, who was Department of.
[43:41]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Well, he gets along with everybody.
[43:42]
Phil Rosenthal
Yeah, he's wonderful. And they were both on the bipartisanship committee. I don't even know if that exists today, but it was wonderful.
[43:52]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And did it get political? Did you talk about politics at all?
[43:55]
Phil Rosenthal
Well, you have to, because you're.
[43:57]
Unknown
You're.
[43:57]
Phil Rosenthal
You're with a Republican and Democrat. But the whole point of lunch was, look how we get along.
[44:02]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Break bread.
[44:03]
Phil Rosenthal
When we sit with each other and eat something. Now you're doing a universal thing that everyone does. We're already on common ground. Why? Because we're eating together.
[44:12]
Unknown
Right.
[44:13]
Phil Rosenthal
And if the food's any good, you're in a good mood.
[44:15]
Unknown
Right.
[44:16]
Phil Rosenthal
And if you start talking about anything but politics, like your family, your. Your kids. We're human beings now.
[44:23]
Greg Fitzsimmons
You're seeing a human being over there.
[44:24]
Unknown
Right.
[44:25]
Phil Rosenthal
So I thought they should put a buffet in Congress because maybe that would, you know, calm things down.
[44:29]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah. Like a school lunch table.
[44:30]
Phil Rosenthal
Anything.
[44:31]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Sit with different kids or buffet of good food.
[44:33]
Phil Rosenthal
Not crappy food. Good food. Where they're like. They're happy.
[44:36]
Greg Fitzsimmons
They want to be there.
[44:37]
Phil Rosenthal
They want to be there, and they sit and they eat, and everybody suddenly is, like, not wanting to kill each other. That's all.
[44:42]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Do you ever.
[44:43]
Phil Rosenthal
But I got letters. Not a lot, just a few. Oh, I liked him before he became political. What do you mean, political? I'm just trying to be a human.
[44:52]
Greg Fitzsimmons
You can't win.
[44:53]
Phil Rosenthal
Human.
[44:53]
Unknown
Yeah.
[44:53]
Phil Rosenthal
Just be my advice to everybody. Hey, let's try to be just a little more human.
[44:59]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Right.
[45:00]
Phil Rosenthal
I don't care what your beliefs are.
[45:02]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah. And I think that I've seen it happen with comedians who are, you know, like, my following is a lot of conservatives, even though I'm progressive. But my base comes from the Howard Stern show, which used to be real. You Know, lunch pal, New York Post, New Yorkers and people like that. Blue collar people.
[45:24]
Unknown
Yeah.
[45:24]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And then a lot of Adam Carolla I've been on. I'm his most frequent guest, and I love Adam. He's very. I don't agree with anything he says politically.
[45:33]
Phil Rosenthal
Well, he certainly went. Yes, he went. Right.
[45:36]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yes. But before he went. Right. Yeah. I was very close, and I'm not gonna stop going because we don't talk politics.
[45:43]
Phil Rosenthal
Okay.
[45:44]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And then Joe Rogan, who also has gone to the right, is a guy who. I'm going to his club this weekend.
[45:50]
Phil Rosenthal
No kidding. Have you been on his thing on his show?
[45:52]
Greg Fitzsimmons
25 times.
[45:54]
Phil Rosenthal
I would like to do his show. I will bring you up because I see him bending.
[46:00]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yes, he is.
[46:01]
Phil Rosenthal
I see him understanding that we're in trouble.
[46:04]
Unknown
Right.
[46:05]
Phil Rosenthal
I'm not saying he helped get us there, but I have a feeling he's looking at what's happening and saying, well, this is too much.
[46:12]
Unknown
Right, right.
[46:13]
Phil Rosenthal
So there's a person in there.
[46:15]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah. I think he's seeing the immigration thing as not what the stated mission was, to take illegal immigrants who were criminals out first, of course, and he kind of won the middle on that one. But now he's grabbing kids and nannies and farm workers and people and moms.
[46:34]
Phil Rosenthal
With their kids still on the street with no one.
[46:37]
Unknown
Yeah.
[46:38]
Phil Rosenthal
What are you doing?
[46:38]
Unknown
Yeah.
[46:39]
Phil Rosenthal
That's not politics. That's inhuman.
[46:42]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And it's not what we were told was gonna happen.
[46:46]
Phil Rosenthal
Listen, do we all want criminals off the streets? Of course.
[46:49]
Unknown
Right.
[46:50]
Phil Rosenthal
But these are not criminals. Not only that, they don't care.
[46:54]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Right, Right. And they're the backbone of the economy. I mean, even now, Trump is going like. Well, certain ones will let stay. Like the ones that worked for your hotel and golf courses all these years.
[47:05]
Phil Rosenthal
They're okay to stay.
[47:05]
Greg Fitzsimmons
They can stay.
[47:06]
Phil Rosenthal
That's exactly what he's saying.
[47:07]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yes.
[47:08]
Phil Rosenthal
He doesn't have an agenda now other than pillage.
[47:12]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Pillage? Well, he understands that creating chaos allows the people in power to grab even more power and money.
[47:21]
Phil Rosenthal
Listen, here you go getting political again.
[47:23]
Greg Fitzsimmons
All right. I didn't mean to get political.
[47:24]
Unknown
All right, stop.
[47:25]
Greg Fitzsimmons
There's so many things I want to ask you.
[47:26]
Phil Rosenthal
Just be a human being, people.
[47:28]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Did you ever. I wanted to ask you this because your parents, but did you ever go to Cuba for the show?
[47:33]
Unknown
Not yet.
[47:34]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I'd love to. Have you tried and met resistance?
[47:37]
Phil Rosenthal
No, no, I would love to go. We just, you know, we do eight shows a season, and it's like a year or so between seasons.
[47:43]
Greg Fitzsimmons
It Might be interesting to find where your mom was. Would she have remembered?
[47:48]
Phil Rosenthal
I'm sure we can find that out.
[47:50]
Unknown
Yeah. Yeah.
[47:51]
Phil Rosenthal
But you know where she was born? In Hamburg. I've never been there. I'd like to go there. My dad's from Berlin, so my dad got out. Remember the Kristallnacht? You know what that was? So he was there for that. And then his dad had some connections to get them a visa to leave.
[48:07]
Unknown
Right.
[48:08]
Phil Rosenthal
But by Kristenacht, it was almost too late.
[48:10]
Unknown
Right.
[48:11]
Phil Rosenthal
They. They wanted you to leave earlier. You know, imagine being told, here, listen, you should go. We don't like what you said on the. On the podcast, so you need to go. You're like, yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't believe that's really gonna happen.
[48:25]
Unknown
Yeah.
[48:25]
Phil Rosenthal
And then it does, right? And then. And then now, you know what? It's too late for you to go. We have other plans for you.
[48:31]
Unknown
Yeah.
[48:31]
Phil Rosenthal
Scary.
[48:32]
Greg Fitzsimmons
It was literally. That was the pivot point where it turned crystal.
[48:35]
Phil Rosenthal
Knock was like, oh, they're literally smashing kristenach night of broken glass. They're literally smashing windows and setting fires in Jewish businesses and synagogues. And any Jewish people they saw on the street, they'd beat up.
[48:48]
Unknown
Right.
[48:49]
Phil Rosenthal
A sign that maybe society is breaking down and that we're not long for this world. People who could still manage to get out got out. Other people freaked out and didn't know what to do.
[49:01]
Unknown
Yeah.
[49:03]
Phil Rosenthal
And then we know what happened. So he got out. He came to Washington Heights, Manhattan, when he was 12, didn't speak a word of English. And his bar mitzvah was coming up, like the next month, so he had to learn English, he had to learn his haftarah. He had to learn for his bar mitzvah.
[49:23]
Greg Fitzsimmons
No kidding. Wait, who did he stay with when he came over?
[49:25]
Phil Rosenthal
My dad. Yeah, with his parents. They were. They all made. They made it out, his family. And then my mother met my father later, in the 50s.
[49:33]
Unknown
Yeah, as.
[49:34]
Phil Rosenthal
As, you know, 20 something year old. And. And she went to. On a date with a guy to a. To a amateur night club in New Jersey. And this skinny tailor who worked at his father's garment center. His father's been a tailor. It's like generations of tailors. My. My dad.
[49:56]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And how old are they at this point?
[49:59]
Phil Rosenthal
In their early 20s, mid-20s. And my dad's up there telling old jokes.
[50:03]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Get out of here.
[50:04]
Phil Rosenthal
And she falls in love with him.
[50:06]
Greg Fitzsimmons
No way.
[50:07]
Phil Rosenthal
So I'm. I always say I'm only here because of my dad's sense of humor.
[50:12]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Oh, My God, that's crazy.
[50:15]
Phil Rosenthal
And he never became professional. He just like getting up on amateur night.
[50:18]
Unknown
Yeah.
[50:19]
Phil Rosenthal
And telling jokes.
[50:20]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And it's. So he's the family business.
[50:22]
Phil Rosenthal
It is the family business. But he didn't do it professionally. But I gave him the platform on my show to when. When. When my mom passed, to keep my dad active and keep him involved not just in the show, but in life.
[50:36]
Unknown
Yeah.
[50:36]
Phil Rosenthal
Dad, you're going to tell a joke every show.
[50:38]
Unknown
Yeah, I love that. I love that.
[50:39]
Phil Rosenthal
And so now that he's passed, we have my favorite funny people. You should do one. Oh, I'd love to tell a joke for Max.
[50:48]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah.
[50:49]
Phil Rosenthal
You know who we had this from on the Australia episode? Mel brooks.
[50:54]
Greg Fitzsimmons
No. Turned 99 yesterday.
[50:56]
Phil Rosenthal
Yes, he did. I love him so much. And I love the conversation so much. We can only use 3, 4 minutes in the show.
[51:02]
Unknown
Yeah.
[51:02]
Phil Rosenthal
But I talked to him for 20 minutes and I put all that on YouTube.
[51:05]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Oh, you did. Amazing. Is he sharp still? Yeah, he is.
[51:09]
Phil Rosenthal
He's great.
[51:11]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Oh, my God, he's great. Sick.
[51:13]
Phil Rosenthal
He doesn't get out much, but yeah.
[51:14]
Unknown
Yeah, right.
[51:15]
Phil Rosenthal
Does he smell Brooks?
[51:16]
Unknown
Right.
[51:17]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Very cool. Yeah. Where? I just saw him interviewed in something recently and he was so great.
[51:22]
Phil Rosenthal
And he's working still. He's doing Spaceballs too. Yeah, he's doing something else.
[51:25]
Unknown
Yeah.
[51:26]
Phil Rosenthal
What are they? Oh, very young Frankenstein, I think he's working on.
[51:29]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Really?
[51:29]
Phil Rosenthal
Yes. With people.
[51:31]
Unknown
Yeah.
[51:31]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I went to see, he did a one man show about six or seven years ago where he went through his whole life story. It was.
[51:37]
Phil Rosenthal
And the stories that he would tell on the Carson show. He's got. He's got an arsenal.
[51:41]
Unknown
Yeah.
[51:41]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Well, that's essentially what it was. Yeah. It was all of his panel stories strung together in a chronological way. And he did, I want to say, an hour and 45 minutes without a break. And he was probably 93 at that point.
[51:54]
Phil Rosenthal
Q and A too.
[51:56]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I can't remember if there was Q and A at the end, but the show itself was like an hour and 45 minutes.
[52:01]
Phil Rosenthal
You sing a little too.
[52:02]
Unknown
What's that?
[52:03]
Phil Rosenthal
Did he sing a little?
[52:04]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yes, he did.
[52:05]
Unknown
Yeah.
[52:05]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah, he sang High Anxiety.
[52:07]
Phil Rosenthal
He's adorable. He's adorable. And the relationship with him and Anne Bancroft. First time I met him was at intermission of a play in Los Angeles. It was Angels in America.
[52:17]
Unknown
Yeah.
[52:18]
Phil Rosenthal
And now I'm going to be introduced to Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft and I meet them and I go, oh, my God, you're both so terrific. And Mel says, I'm better.
[52:30]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Hilarious. Because he Wasn't when they met. I think she was a bigger star than he was when they met. But his son lives. Is my neighbor and so Max. Yeah, Max is my neighbor. And so who. If you've never. He's got a book called Generation Z, which is the.
[52:45]
Phil Rosenthal
Well, he's a genius.
[52:46]
Greg Fitzsimmons
He's a genius.
[52:47]
Phil Rosenthal
I mean, you see him on Bill Maher and he's. He's so articulate and smart and has so much.
[52:52]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I mean, so my, my son. When my son was little, when he was probably like maybe 7 or 8 years old, we used to listen to the two. I have a great comedy album collection. I've got hundreds of comedy albums. And so.
[53:07]
Unknown
Yeah.
[53:08]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Oh, you do?
[53:08]
Phil Rosenthal
I used to fall asleep, listen to comedy.
[53:10]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Oh, yeah. So. So 2000 year old man. I used to play. We would play backgammon and I would play the 2000 year old man. And it's a double album and he would just sit there and laugh while we played. So anyway, so when he's about 9, we're trick or treating in the neighborhood and all of a sudden I go, oh, and it's Mel Brooks. And he goes, someone's dressed as Mel Brooks. I go, no, it's Mel Brooks. And he turns around and Mel is there. And he started quoting the part about how he'd rather have a rotten tangerine or nectarine than a good plum. Than a good plum. And he's doing that routine for Mel Brooks. And Mel Brooks is dying and he's like, who? He's like, who the hell are you? So we took a bunch of pictures and one of them is on the mantle of the house.
[53:53]
Phil Rosenthal
Of course it is him dressed as a ghost and maybe world's funniest person.
[53:57]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I think so.
[53:58]
Phil Rosenthal
Right?
[53:59]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I think so.
[53:59]
Phil Rosenthal
Good argument for that.
[54:01]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Well, because he's not only funny, he's macro funny and micro funny. His concepts are funny for his movies.
[54:08]
Phil Rosenthal
His character is funny.
[54:09]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And then his character and his. And his jokes, hard jokes. I miss that in comedy, you know, because every time you tell a joke, it's a little bit of a leap of faith. It's scary because, like, that's why a lot of new comedy, some of it is good, but a lot of it is so conversational, they never make themselves vulnerable to bombing because they're just connecting to you. We're all. It's almost like, hey, we're all together. And I happen to be the one that's talking right now, as opposed to, I'm the funniest one in the room, so shut up. For an hour while I talk and I take these little stunts. Every joke is a little stunt. And then I wait and it either works or it doesn't. And I love that style that. He was the bravest at that.
[54:55]
Phil Rosenthal
Oh, yeah.
[54:56]
Unknown
He.
[54:57]
Phil Rosenthal
Fearless.
[54:57]
Unknown
Yeah.
[54:58]
Phil Rosenthal
That whole laughter on the 23rd floor that Neil Simon wrote.
[55:01]
Unknown
Yeah, yeah.
[55:03]
Phil Rosenthal
He's the main character in that.
[55:05]
Unknown
Right.
[55:06]
Phil Rosenthal
If you watched my favorite year.
[55:09]
Unknown
Yeah.
[55:09]
Phil Rosenthal
That was about the Sid Caesar writing room also.
[55:12]
Unknown
Right, right.
[55:13]
Phil Rosenthal
So you see the Mel Brooks character in there.
[55:16]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And that was. I'm trying to think of who else was on. Neil Simon was on that writing staff.
[55:21]
Phil Rosenthal
Larry Galbart.
[55:22]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Larry Galbart.
[55:23]
Phil Rosenthal
You know, they. They overlapped a little as a Caesar. It became Caesar's Hour.
[55:29]
Unknown
Yeah.
[55:29]
Phil Rosenthal
From your show of shows. Woody Allen.
[55:32]
Greg Fitzsimmons
No way.
[55:33]
Unknown
Yeah.
[55:35]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Wow.
[55:35]
Phil Rosenthal
I mean, it was. It was Danny Simon, also Neil's brother, who got Neil into it. And, you know, the. The Odd Couple is based on the two of them.
[55:44]
Unknown
Yeah.
[55:44]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Oh, is that right?
[55:45]
Unknown
Yeah.
[55:46]
Phil Rosenthal
And God, it.
[55:48]
Unknown
There.
[55:48]
Phil Rosenthal
There was so much.
[55:49]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And those were live shows they did once. Once a week, and I think they were like an hour and a half long.
[55:55]
Phil Rosenthal
It's the precursor to snl.
[55:57]
Unknown
Yeah, right.
[55:59]
Phil Rosenthal
But they had, you know, a star. They had Sid Caesar who could do anything.
[56:03]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Was it Mel Blanc in the cast as well?
[56:06]
Phil Rosenthal
No, I don't. That was Jack Benny Show, I think.
[56:10]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Oh, okay.
[56:10]
Unknown
Right, right.
[56:11]
Phil Rosenthal
Another great.
[56:12]
Unknown
Yeah.
[56:13]
Phil Rosenthal
We got to keep these things alive.
[56:14]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I know, I know.
[56:15]
Unknown
They.
[56:16]
Phil Rosenthal
You can find these shows, everybody. If you go on YouTube, you can see there's a great movie that turned me on when I was like 12 or 13 called 10 from your show of shows. Did you ever see that?
[56:26]
Greg Fitzsimmons
No.
[56:26]
Phil Rosenthal
So 10 from your show of shows was just a collection of the 10 best sketches ever on your show of shows. And they showed them in movie theater in 1973.
[56:36]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Okay.
[56:37]
Phil Rosenthal
I saw. I wonder if you know this sketch, the this is your life sketch.
[56:42]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah, of course.
[56:44]
Phil Rosenthal
Mel. Carl. Oh, Carl was on the show.
[56:47]
Unknown
Yeah.
[56:47]
Phil Rosenthal
Carl Reiner. Everyone living or dead, agree, this is the best sketch of all.
[56:53]
Greg Fitzsimmons
This is where she just gets hysterical every time somebody comes out. Just breaks down.
[56:57]
Phil Rosenthal
Uncle Goopy.
[56:58]
Unknown
Yeah. Yeah.
[57:00]
Phil Rosenthal
I literally fell on the floor.
[57:03]
Unknown
Yeah.
[57:03]
Phil Rosenthal
I couldn't contain my laughter. Imagine seeing this as a 12 or 13 year old seeing the funniest thing that's ever been made. I mean, I just. That that was everything. And then to meet these guys who made that.
[57:16]
Unknown
Yeah.
[57:17]
Phil Rosenthal
And talk about it with them.
[57:18]
Unknown
Right, right.
[57:18]
Phil Rosenthal
I would have lunches with these guys.
[57:20]
Unknown
Yeah.
[57:20]
Phil Rosenthal
I made sure that I had lunches. With these guys. I organized the lunches and dinners with them. Because otherwise, you know how life is. You know, they. They worked together 50 years ago, 60 years ago, 70 years ago. They're not getting together all the time. They need a reason to know.
[57:36]
Greg Fitzsimmons
You get older, you stop reaching out. You get. That's amazing.
[57:39]
Unknown
Yeah.
[57:40]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I mean, Jesus, that sounds like it would be a great thing to film at this point, you know, while too late for a lot of them.
[57:47]
Unknown
Yeah.
[57:48]
Phil Rosenthal
Mel's left. That's it.
[57:49]
Unknown
Yeah.
[57:50]
Phil Rosenthal
From that group. That's it. Larry Gelbart's gone. Norman Lear is gone. They were all friends, too.
[57:54]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Carl Reiner.
[57:55]
Phil Rosenthal
Carl Reiner's gone.
[57:56]
Unknown
Yeah.
[57:58]
Phil Rosenthal
I'll tell you my favorite thing. Larry Gelbart. I'm having lunch with Larry Gelbart, Norman Lear, this, years ago. And Larry says, what's it like dealing with the networks today? And I start to tell him a little bit, and he stops me and he turns to Norman, he goes, we're dying just in time.
[58:13]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah. Good dismount. We made a nice dismount.
[58:19]
Phil Rosenthal
Oh, my God.
[58:20]
Unknown
Yeah.
[58:20]
Phil Rosenthal
I think about that when I watch the news.
[58:22]
Unknown
Yeah, right.
[58:23]
Phil Rosenthal
We're dying just in time.
[58:25]
Unknown
Right? Yeah.
[58:26]
Greg Fitzsimmons
But I would imagine when there was, you know, when everybody was afraid we're going to get nuclear bombed in the 60s, like, I'm sure they felt like that. I'm sure they felt like that during the Depression. You know, I think we're a very resilient country. I think that despite it being challenged right now, we still stand for something that is bigger than any political party. Party. I think it's in the hearts of Americans and I think they'll always fight for it.
[58:51]
Phil Rosenthal
Do you?
[58:52]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I do, yeah. And I say that.
[58:54]
Phil Rosenthal
So if it gets worse, you think there'll be some kind of. I'm not preaching revolution, but you think something the people will take to the streets and make things right again.
[59:02]
Greg Fitzsimmons
They are. I mean, not as much as they could be. But what you're seeing is.
[59:08]
Phil Rosenthal
I see a rally and then it's over.
[59:11]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Right. But what you're seeing is a rally and then the activization of a president ordering the military against the citizens. That's striking a lot of people that might be a little bit on the fence as fundamentally not a democracy. And I think that that's the idea of protest. The protest is not about the number of people that are there. It's about the incidents. It's about the fire hose knocking people down. You know, it's about kids getting shot at. Kent State. Those are the moments that can change the way people vote and change what they will tolerate in the government.
[59:47]
Phil Rosenthal
And what if we can't vote anymore?
[59:48]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Well, that's a very good point.
[59:51]
Phil Rosenthal
What if the Supreme Court is giving one guy all the power?
[59:55]
Unknown
Yeah.
[59:55]
Phil Rosenthal
And everyone who follows him is doing so because he seems to have all the power, which means I will have power if I'm with him.
[60:02]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Well, that's.
[60:02]
Phil Rosenthal
We've seen this in history before.
[60:04]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I've. We've never seen anybody in American history. Control.
[60:08]
Phil Rosenthal
Not American history yet.
[60:09]
Unknown
Yeah.
[60:10]
Greg Fitzsimmons
We've seen the exact playbook in many other oligarchies and dictatorships. Yeah, we have. But I think America is different. I do think that these people that are waving flags are doing it blindly. And I think that as the economy tanks, which it will sell all your stocks. That's what I'm telling all my listeners. Sell your stocks. And as Medicaid is taken away, as they're going to attack Obamacare next, these are the. This is the bread and butter for the people that have voted for him. And that may change. Now, will they change the voting machines?
[60:48]
Phil Rosenthal
They may have already.
[60:49]
Unknown
Yeah.
[60:52]
Phil Rosenthal
There's cases I'm reading where, you know, in Rockland county, where I grew up.
[60:55]
Greg Fitzsimmons
In New York, I heard about zero votes for Kamala.
[60:58]
Unknown
Yeah.
[60:59]
Greg Fitzsimmons
The down the line voting was all Democrat.
[61:02]
Phil Rosenthal
And just her vote.
[61:03]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Just her vote was not zero.
[61:05]
Unknown
Yeah.
[61:06]
Phil Rosenthal
In the whole district. Zero.
[61:08]
Unknown
Yeah.
[61:08]
Phil Rosenthal
How is that possible? Yeah, I mean, that's real proof. Which.
[61:13]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And they had just downloaded a new software to those machines prior to. I mean, we sound like the other side during the 2000. Which has been.
[61:21]
Phil Rosenthal
Election on purpose.
[61:22]
Unknown
Yeah.
[61:22]
Phil Rosenthal
So here's something. Just anecdotally a tell maybe.
[61:26]
Unknown
Right.
[61:29]
Phil Rosenthal
What is one of his things that he does a lot. He talks about other people and it just seems apparent that whatever he says about someone else, he's guilty of.
[61:41]
Unknown
Right.
[61:42]
Phil Rosenthal
What is the number one thing he yells about that election was fixed.
[61:46]
Unknown
Yeah.
[61:46]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Wait, a tell. Dave Attell.
[61:48]
Phil Rosenthal
No, this is a tell.
[61:50]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Like when you're playing Dave Attell. I was like, I've never seen him do anything political in my life.
[61:54]
Phil Rosenthal
He's hysterical. You're a comedian. You never say a tell to a comedian. That's hilarious. So a tell like in poker?
[62:07]
Unknown
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[62:08]
Phil Rosenthal
Somebody scratches his eye or something. He does. Then you know that he's bluffing.
[62:14]
Unknown
Right.
[62:15]
Phil Rosenthal
So what is. What does our president do every single time he's yelling about somebody? It's always something he's doing.
[62:23]
Unknown
Right.
[62:24]
Phil Rosenthal
This is not a subtle tell. This is very obvious. And I'm saying to you, what is the thing he has yelled the most about and will never drop?
[62:34]
Greg Fitzsimmons
The election.
[62:35]
Phil Rosenthal
The 2020 election was fixed.
[62:37]
Unknown
Right.
[62:38]
Phil Rosenthal
Even though 60 plus cases could never prove a thing.
[62:42]
Unknown
Yeah.
[62:43]
Phil Rosenthal
So why wouldn't I think that maybe the last election everything he was yelling about was a smokescreen for what he was doing.
[62:52]
Greg Fitzsimmons
It's like when they went after John Kerry on the swift boat thing. It's like all draft dodgers are calling that, literally that what cost John Kerry the election was the fact that he was a war hero.
[63:03]
Unknown
Right.
[63:04]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And a bunch of fucking flat footed dropouts from the war.
[63:10]
Unknown
Yeah.
[63:11]
Greg Fitzsimmons
That was crazy.
[63:12]
Phil Rosenthal
I'm not saying I have proof this was fixed. I'm just saying if we go by behavior.
[63:17]
Unknown
Yeah.
[63:17]
Phil Rosenthal
He seems to be signaling.
[63:19]
Unknown
Right, Right.
[63:21]
Phil Rosenthal
And suddenly now Democrats, they don't want to be the ones to say it because then we're as bad as them. But what if it's true?
[63:29]
Unknown
Right. Right.
[63:31]
Phil Rosenthal
How do you square the fact that you would look at the rallies for the two candidates and one was packed and enthusiastic and crazy numbers and one looks, you know, as we would call Shfach.
[63:42]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Not only was it schwach, not only was Shrock a little empty, but there were ads on Craigslist for people to come to the rallies and they were paying $1,000.
[63:54]
Phil Rosenthal
And what did he say about her rallies? Oh, they're paying them to come. And what was he doing?
[63:59]
Greg Fitzsimmons
He was paying them to come, but. He was paying them to come. But guess what he paid them with? Bitcoin, the Trump coin, which in order to receive it, you had to fill out all this paperwork and jump through who like you were never gonna get the thousand dollars.
[64:15]
Phil Rosenthal
Well, he's famous for not paying.
[64:17]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Exactly.
[64:19]
Phil Rosenthal
How about his parade? That went away fast.
[64:22]
Unknown
Yeah.
[64:22]
Phil Rosenthal
Why did the media like leave that alone right away? I know, that was a huge thing.
[64:27]
Unknown
Yeah.
[64:28]
Phil Rosenthal
Here's his parade. It was the saddest parade in history.
[64:30]
Unknown
Yeah.
[64:33]
Phil Rosenthal
Isn't that emblematic of the whole thing?
[64:36]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Well, the fact that the military showed up and did it, you know, and they, but they were pretty vocal. A lot of the generals were saying this is a weakness of our.
[64:45]
Phil Rosenthal
Those guys sauntering down the street and not in step. That was a big f. U. Yeah, I loved.
[64:50]
Unknown
Yeah.
[64:51]
Phil Rosenthal
We have to hope and pray that there's more of them.
[64:54]
Unknown
Right.
[64:55]
Phil Rosenthal
Than the other.
[64:55]
Unknown
That's right.
[64:56]
Phil Rosenthal
We'll just, you know, we don't want to hear I'm only following orders.
[65:00]
Unknown
That's right. Yep.
[65:02]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I've heard that before. Yeah. I, I don't want to get you caught up in politics because.
[65:06]
Phil Rosenthal
But look what you did. You got me going now.
[65:08]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Well, it's very hard.
[65:09]
Phil Rosenthal
Listen.
[65:09]
Unknown
People.
[65:09]
Greg Fitzsimmons
To avoid it.
[65:10]
Phil Rosenthal
I want to talk to the people for one second.
[65:12]
Greg Fitzsimmons
That camera.
[65:13]
Phil Rosenthal
It's important to stay informed. It's important to see the news. But we can get consumed.
[65:20]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Right.
[65:20]
Phil Rosenthal
We can get. Look how it takes over every. I always say every conversation ends in Trump.
[65:25]
Unknown
Right.
[65:25]
Phil Rosenthal
Because it's so over us. Right. And so prevalent in the lives. And we're scared.
[65:31]
Unknown
Yeah.
[65:31]
Phil Rosenthal
Okay. You can drive yourself nuts. So once in a while, watch something nice like somebody feed Phil somebody. It doesn't have to be my show, but go outside.
[65:42]
Unknown
Yeah.
[65:42]
Phil Rosenthal
Smell the flowers. Go have lunch with your friends. You know, we still right now, have a beautiful life here.
[65:51]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yes. Extreme. I mean, I don't know of a country that has a better quality of life at this moment than we do.
[65:57]
Phil Rosenthal
Unless you're being picked up by ice.
[65:59]
Unknown
Yes.
[66:00]
Phil Rosenthal
Then you're not. So what do we do? We stay aware. We talk about it. We don't let these people disappear in silence. We make a big stink about it. We call our congressmen, we call our senators. When a big, beautiful bill is gonna.
[66:14]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Take away rights, we talk about it on our podcast. Even though lose a lot of listeners.
[66:18]
Phil Rosenthal
It could be. But there's also nice. And you have to make time for that. Otherwise, what's the point of any of it?
[66:24]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And you need to rest. Your psyche. Your psyche needs to unengage for a little while. You know, meditation is huge for me. I've been doing it for probably 10 years now. And whenever I'm feeling frazzled, I do it. And it's like, not only does it feel like a long nap, I just. Everything shrinks down. All those things that were spread spinning in my head, they just shrink down. So.
[66:47]
Phil Rosenthal
And also in meditation, you have the thought, you see it, and then you let it go.
[66:51]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Right.
[66:52]
Unknown
Right.
[66:52]
Greg Fitzsimmons
You don't keep it out. Everybody thinks meditation is doing the mantra and going, somebody samadhi. Whatever your mantra is. But it's just the object.
[67:01]
Phil Rosenthal
Did you just tell me your mantra?
[67:02]
Greg Fitzsimmons
No, I would never tell anybody. I've never told anyone my mantra in 10 years.
[67:06]
Phil Rosenthal
I've never told mine.
[67:07]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And so what you do is start.
[67:09]
Phil Rosenthal
To make up my own words.
[67:10]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Oh, did you.
[67:11]
Phil Rosenthal
Things to say.
[67:12]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Really?
[67:13]
Phil Rosenthal
Things that are literally, you know, let that one pass.
[67:19]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Oh, so you have.
[67:20]
Phil Rosenthal
Literally saying that to myself. And sure enough.
[67:25]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Because mine is just like a Sanskrit. Yeah.
[67:27]
Phil Rosenthal
Mine is a. Is a. Is a word. And that's fine.
[67:30]
Unknown
Yeah.
[67:30]
Phil Rosenthal
But whatever works People.
[67:31]
Unknown
Yeah.
[67:32]
Phil Rosenthal
All it is is shutting off the phone and sitting for 20 minutes.
[67:36]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Let whatever thoughts just do own.
[67:38]
Phil Rosenthal
Let whatever thoughts come in.
[67:39]
Unknown
Right.
[67:40]
Phil Rosenthal
Acknowledge you have that thought. Acknowledge you have that feeling about that thought.
[67:43]
Unknown
Right.
[67:43]
Phil Rosenthal
And then. Okay, I'm done. I'm done with that thought. Next. Anything else there. And eventually you get to. Just nothing.
[67:52]
Unknown
Yeah.
[67:52]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And then you. You gently bring yourself back to your. You just go, I'm having my thought. And then like you said, you process the thought. You observe. Observe it. And then you come back.
[68:04]
Unknown
Yeah.
[68:05]
Greg Fitzsimmons
To. To it. And then you. And then thoughts come in.
[68:07]
Phil Rosenthal
But sometimes you get a great idea.
[68:10]
Unknown
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
[68:11]
Phil Rosenthal
That's good too.
[68:12]
Unknown
Yeah.
[68:12]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I know.
[68:13]
Phil Rosenthal
Without. Because you. You. The mind wasn't trying to think of a great idea. Something pops in.
[68:18]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I also yesterday took magic mushrooms and then spent like an hour in the ocean riding waves. Really helped too.
[68:25]
Phil Rosenthal
Do you. I worry about. Because it is a. Is it fair to say it's a drug?
[68:29]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Oh, yeah.
[68:30]
Phil Rosenthal
Okay. Are you afraid that you do something like that and you forget how to breathe and you drown?
[68:35]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I think just the opposite. I felt completely in tune with the ocean. Really? I think if you were to take like an LSD type of drug, I think you might lose motor skills. But mushrooms are from nature. Never did it. I also didn't take a lot.
[68:50]
Phil Rosenthal
I've never done it.
[68:51]
Unknown
Yeah.
[68:51]
Greg Fitzsimmons
You should try it.
[68:52]
Phil Rosenthal
Come on. Here we go. It's magic mushroom day.
[68:56]
Greg Fitzsimmons
We should do one where we take it and then we do like a three hour podcast.
[69:02]
Phil Rosenthal
How's that?
[69:02]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And we color. We watercolor while we're doing the podcast. Yeah.
[69:06]
Phil Rosenthal
The people watching or listening are going, that's better than your political shit.
[69:12]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah. Talking about kittens is amazing. Yeah. And how we're all just.
[69:17]
Phil Rosenthal
But I'm halfway there anyway. I'm very happy guy.
[69:20]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Usually you're very happy guy. But I'm just. We're all just waiting for you to snap one day. Everybody is.
[69:26]
Phil Rosenthal
It's going to happen here.
[69:27]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Is this the place?
[69:28]
Phil Rosenthal
I'm saving it for your show because I like it.
[69:31]
Greg Fitzsimmons
I just got to keep poking you.
[69:32]
Phil Rosenthal
You just poked the bear.
[69:33]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Well, I bring up the Nazis. I figure maybe that'll get them there.
[69:36]
Phil Rosenthal
Remember Martin Short, the character?
[69:40]
Greg Fitzsimmons
He does Jiminy Glick?
[69:42]
Phil Rosenthal
Jiminy Glick with Mel Brooks.
[69:44]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Oh, yeah.
[69:45]
Phil Rosenthal
What's this obsession you have with the Nazis? What is it about you and the Nazis? Nazi this, Nazi that. What they ever do to you?
[69:57]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Has there ever been a better character than Jiminy Clay?
[69:59]
Phil Rosenthal
I think it's the greatest character. Interview, interview, Parody. That I've ever seen. It's part Merv Griffin, part. There was another guy that he's a little bit like. And then just his. And it just allows his ID to just be freeforming.
[70:14]
Greg Fitzsimmons
That's what it is.
[70:15]
Phil Rosenthal
And be as mean.
[70:17]
Unknown
Yep.
[70:17]
Phil Rosenthal
Actually. And say the truth about people.
[70:21]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah.
[70:21]
Phil Rosenthal
Under the guise of this big fat suit.
[70:23]
Unknown
Yeah.
[70:24]
Phil Rosenthal
Hysterical.
[70:25]
Unknown
Yeah.
[70:25]
Phil Rosenthal
Really hysterical.
[70:26]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Just saying now, I don't know who you are, but. And then he'll take a call from his wife in the middle of the interview.
[70:33]
Phil Rosenthal
And the fact that he's, you know, pretending to be straight is. It's just hilarious.
[70:36]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And falling over the chair backwards. It's another.
[70:40]
Phil Rosenthal
Another candidate for funniest person.
[70:42]
Unknown
Yes. Yes.
[70:45]
Greg Fitzsimmons
All right, so.
[70:48]
Phil Rosenthal
Just looking at his list.
[70:50]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Well, you know, because this. I don't want to keep you that long.
[70:53]
Phil Rosenthal
What else can I.
[70:54]
Greg Fitzsimmons
All right. The other thing I'll ask you about is this is called Fastballs with Fits, where I just ask you some quick questions.
[71:00]
Phil Rosenthal
We'll see how fast I am.
[71:02]
Greg Fitzsimmons
When's the last time you apologized?
[71:05]
Phil Rosenthal
I apologize every. I wake up, I turn to my left and I say, is there anything I've done to piss you off yet, darling? That's an old Catskills joke. I love that joke. That was. I think it was Malzy Lawrence, that joke. Catskills on Broadway with Freddie. Yeah. So. Yes. You know, if you're married, you're in a constant state of apology.
[71:28]
Unknown
Yeah. Right, Right.
[71:30]
Phil Rosenthal
Apologize.
[71:31]
Unknown
Yeah. Well, yeah.
[71:31]
Phil Rosenthal
I listen. Apologize quickly and often.
[71:35]
Unknown
Yeah.
[71:36]
Phil Rosenthal
I believe. Well, it avoids. But I mean it when I do.
[71:41]
Unknown
Yeah.
[71:41]
Phil Rosenthal
I'm always gonna assume I did something wrong.
[71:44]
Unknown
Right.
[71:44]
Phil Rosenthal
I'm not that smart, so it probably was me. But it's also a very good disarmament.
[71:49]
Unknown
Yeah.
[71:50]
Phil Rosenthal
And de. Escalation of an argument. Just apologize. Who the hell cares?
[71:54]
Unknown
Yeah.
[71:55]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And it also, like, when you're together, so much stuff can start to build up that you're not talking about.
[72:01]
Unknown
Yeah.
[72:01]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And it. And then as soon as you apologize, you realize, oh, that wasn't a big deal. It's just that I was not expressing it.
[72:08]
Phil Rosenthal
But also you looking for the. For the resolution to come faster.
[72:11]
Unknown
Yeah.
[72:11]
Phil Rosenthal
The problem is when the apology is not accepted because they think you were just apologizing quickly to get this over with and get me to stop talking.
[72:19]
Unknown
Right.
[72:20]
Greg Fitzsimmons
It's got to be a quality apology.
[72:22]
Phil Rosenthal
You have to mean it. Yeah, I do mean it, but sometimes that doesn't work either.
[72:26]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Well, there's people. When people qualify an apology. I'm sorry that I blank.
[72:33]
Phil Rosenthal
But you can't have a but.
[72:35]
Unknown
Yeah.
[72:35]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Or I'm sorry that you're upset that I did this.
[72:38]
Phil Rosenthal
Lose your butt.
[72:40]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Lose your butt. Go to the gym. Lose your butt.
[72:43]
Unknown
Yes.
[72:45]
Greg Fitzsimmons
There's two types of people in the world.
[72:46]
Unknown
Yes, Go.
[72:49]
Phil Rosenthal
People who voted for him and people who didn't.
[72:51]
Unknown
There you go.
[72:52]
Greg Fitzsimmons
See, I want to. I want to change that, though.
[72:54]
Phil Rosenthal
Okay.
[72:55]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Because I work comedy clubs. Deep south conservatively said that.
[73:00]
Phil Rosenthal
Because it's on our minds. Right.
[73:02]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Because it's what?
[73:02]
Phil Rosenthal
Because we were talking about it.
[73:04]
Greg Fitzsimmons
But I will.
[73:05]
Phil Rosenthal
Really. True. These people are people also.
[73:06]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yes.
[73:07]
Phil Rosenthal
And some people. Yes. Did they have nefarious intentions, maybe, or selfish intentions? Misguided. And some were duped. And some were good, hardworking, honest people who were duped.
[73:21]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Well, they were. Basically, a lot of people are facing loss of jobs, they're shrinking income, higher. Higher cost of living, and they're looking at that. And here's this guy who comes along who is one of the great salesmen of all time.
[73:35]
Phil Rosenthal
I don't want to say salesman. I want to say con men.
[73:37]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Right.
[73:38]
Phil Rosenthal
Because, listen, it's not that I'm making that up.
[73:41]
Greg Fitzsimmons
He doesn't believe in the product, but he also.
[73:44]
Phil Rosenthal
He's a convicted con man. He had to pay restitution to everyone who enrolled in Trump University. You would think that would have been disqualifying.
[73:57]
Unknown
Do you.
[73:57]
Phil Rosenthal
They interview these people. They gave their life savings because they saw him as the guy on the Apprentice who really ran a business.
[74:04]
Unknown
Right.
[74:05]
Phil Rosenthal
And could teach them about business. They were completely ripped off. He didn't give a shit about them. That's a little tiny microcosm of what he's doing now.
[74:14]
Unknown
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[74:14]
Phil Rosenthal
Now you got me mad.
[74:15]
Unknown
Yeah.
[74:17]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Who's your best gay friend?
[74:19]
Phil Rosenthal
Oh, I don't really like. I have a lot. I love. I. I don't. Is it right to out people on the show?
[74:29]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah, that would be funny.
[74:30]
Phil Rosenthal
My favorite is Greg Fitzsimmons, everybody. He's the best.
[74:35]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Stop it.
[74:37]
Phil Rosenthal
No, I have. I come from theater.
[74:39]
Unknown
Yeah, right.
[74:39]
Phil Rosenthal
So if I didn't have gay friends, I wouldn't come from theater.
[74:42]
Unknown
Sure.
[74:42]
Phil Rosenthal
You have to. We're. We're. We're. We're filled with the gays. Yeah, we love the gays.
[74:46]
Unknown
Yeah.
[74:47]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Love the gays more.
[74:49]
Phil Rosenthal
Listen, I would vote for Pete Buttigieg in Heartbeat.
[74:52]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Do you think that that's a deal breaker for America, that he's gay?
[74:56]
Phil Rosenthal
Sadly, at this moment in time, yeah, maybe.
[74:58]
Unknown
Yeah.
[74:59]
Phil Rosenthal
I. I wish it wasn't. But look, people got behind Barack Obama.
[75:04]
Greg Fitzsimmons
It's true.
[75:05]
Phil Rosenthal
But they couldn't get behind the lady.
[75:07]
Greg Fitzsimmons
No. Twice now they've not gotten behind a lady. And the crazy thing is, not only is he a strong family man who's got kids and is a long marriage.
[75:18]
Phil Rosenthal
Brilliant.
[75:19]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Brilliant. And also he goes on Fox News. He converses with the other side.
[75:24]
Phil Rosenthal
Well, yeah, that's why I got him for my show, because he was willing to talk to. I couldn't get. There were people I couldn't get from both sides not willing to be seen as talking to the other. That's how low it's gotten.
[75:36]
Unknown
Yeah, right.
[75:37]
Phil Rosenthal
This is the most I've talked about the political situation in America.
[75:42]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Well, I mean, I see that you're active in supporting different causes, and I know you did something where you were feeding meals to people online who are voting.
[75:53]
Phil Rosenthal
You know why? Cause it's inhuman not to. I'm not trying to be political. I'm just trying to make people understand this is not about the left and the right and politics. Republican, Democrat.
[76:04]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Human. You were feeding everybody.
[76:06]
Phil Rosenthal
Human.
[76:07]
Greg Fitzsimmons
You didn't ask who they voted for before you gave them the meal.
[76:09]
Phil Rosenthal
Human.
[76:10]
Unknown
Right.
[76:11]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Now, was that the genesis of Larry David's episode where he's giving. It was really. That was a. But not only an episode. That was a season long arc.
[76:22]
Phil Rosenthal
But I. I gave him another one too. This first season, he. I had a restaurant and he said, hey, can we have dinner one time? I'm sure Larry, he pumped me for information. And then that was his season. Was he at a restaurant?
[76:33]
Greg Fitzsimmons
No kidding.
[76:35]
Phil Rosenthal
And then he didn't. Never called me or told me about it. And I see him later, he goes, hey, did you see? I did the thing. Yeah, I saw. Then he had me in the show a couple times. He wore a maga hat to keep me away.
[76:47]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Oh, I saw that episode. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[76:50]
Unknown
That was great.
[76:50]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Oh, that's great. That's right. I remember that. Well, look, he mind you. You mind your family. So that's how it works in this business.
[76:58]
Unknown
Yeah.
[76:58]
Phil Rosenthal
Nobody funnier. He also could be one of the funniest people who ever lived. Every word. You've met him. Honestly, every word out of Larry David's mouth is an episode of that show.
[77:10]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yes.
[77:10]
Phil Rosenthal
Every. When I met him, the first time I'm introduced to him at a party 25 years ago, I say, hi, Larry, it's nice to meet you. He doesn't say hello. He says, you think it's all right to throw gum in the fireplace? An episode.
[77:29]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Right, right, right. Yeah, Every.
[77:32]
Phil Rosenthal
That's he. That's who he is.
[77:34]
Unknown
Yeah, right.
[77:36]
Phil Rosenthal
Great. So my show is who I am.
[77:38]
Unknown
Yeah.
[77:39]
Phil Rosenthal
So he was the guy behind Seinfeld. I'm the guy behind Raymond. His show. I would call My show why Curb youb Enthusiasm.
[77:45]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Right, right, right. Let out your enthusiasm. All right, final question. I've never asked this one before. What was your first kiss? Rosenthal.
[77:55]
Phil Rosenthal
Wow.
[77:56]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Scandalous. I know.
[77:58]
Phil Rosenthal
Lauren Lizinsk, 12 years old. The YMYWHA Camp in Rockland County.
[78:04]
Greg Fitzsimmons
What does that stand for?
[78:05]
Phil Rosenthal
Young Men, Young Women Hebrew Association Camp.
[78:09]
Unknown
Okay.
[78:10]
Phil Rosenthal
Day camp.
[78:11]
Unknown
Yeah.
[78:11]
Phil Rosenthal
12 years old, kiss goodbye at the end of camp. Didn't kiss her the whole time. So held hands once.
[78:16]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Was there an attraction all summer?
[78:18]
Phil Rosenthal
Oh, we were boyfriend, girlfriend.
[78:19]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Oh, you were. But you never kissed.
[78:21]
Phil Rosenthal
No, that's for older people. But I thought, I'm not gonna. Maybe I don't see her again. This is the end of camp. Kiss her goodbye.
[78:31]
Greg Fitzsimmons
It was the speaker on the lips.
[78:33]
Phil Rosenthal
Lips, Baby, come on.
[78:36]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Baby, come on. Who are you?
[78:38]
Phil Rosenthal
All of a sudden, I'm a stud.
[78:40]
Greg Fitzsimmons
We bring up your 12 year old kiss, and all of a sudden you're like, hey, baby.
[78:44]
Phil Rosenthal
It was as chaste as it could be.
[78:46]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Yeah, I love it.
[78:47]
Phil Rosenthal
And I was nervous wreck.
[78:48]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Did you ever see her again after that?
[78:50]
Phil Rosenthal
Nope.
[78:51]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Perfect. That's how it should be.
[78:53]
Phil Rosenthal
Nope. That was my last great relationship.
[79:03]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Don't forget to.
[79:04]
Phil Rosenthal
I'm married 35 years.
[79:06]
Greg Fitzsimmons
All right, don't yell it.
[79:08]
Phil Rosenthal
35 years. I haven't. I haven't spoken to her in 25 years. I don't want to interrupt. That's the Good night.
[79:17]
Greg Fitzsimmons
Ladies and gentlemen, Phil Rosenthal. Somebody feed. Phil is on Netflix. It's the eighth season, the longest running non scripted show in Netflix history.
[79:26]
Phil Rosenthal
Isn't that nice?
[79:27]
Greg Fitzsimmons
And just. We're gonna go get some lunch, we're gonna keep talking.
[79:31]
Phil Rosenthal
I love a man named Greg Fitzsimmons.
[79:34]
Greg Fitzsimmons
It's.