WEBVTT - Billy Eichner 0:00:09.880 --> 0:00:13.119 Ooh, it's almost summer. I like to think that basically 0:00:13.119 --> 0:00:16.080 the whole year, it's almost summer. That makes me feel 0:00:16.120 --> 0:00:18.360 really happy to say that. I get excited at the 0:00:18.400 --> 0:00:21.479 notion that it's almost summer. I mean, is I'm wearing 0:00:21.520 --> 0:00:23.800 a literal sweater right now talking about it's almost summer. 0:00:23.880 --> 0:00:26.560 It's not that warm outside, but it's got me thinking 0:00:26.600 --> 0:00:29.800 about how much summer makes us go out and meet 0:00:29.880 --> 0:00:34.080 up with friends. And things are expensive right now. Things. 0:00:34.120 --> 0:00:38.040 Have you seen the cost of gas, the cost of eggs? 0:00:39.080 --> 0:00:43.240 I know you see it. So here's the thing. I 0:00:43.280 --> 0:00:45.519 think we should be hanging out. First of all, you 0:00:45.560 --> 0:00:48.440 know that I want us bringing friend like homehang set 0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:52.000 back homehans, bring them back homehangs, bring them back to 0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:54.960 the conversation. We don't have to go out, we don't 0:00:55.000 --> 0:00:56.960 have to spend money. But here's the thing. If you 0:00:57.000 --> 0:00:59.640 want to hang out with your friends and you don't 0:00:59.640 --> 0:01:01.720 want to spend money, you gotta say, hey, I don't 0:01:01.720 --> 0:01:04.280 really want to spend money, you know, just say hey, 0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:06.600 I don't want to spend money on this hang Can 0:01:06.640 --> 0:01:08.320 we go for a walk, Can we go on a hike? 0:01:08.400 --> 0:01:10.840 Can I come to your home? Can I infiltrate your 0:01:10.840 --> 0:01:14.600 pantry things like that, cause it's awkward going out and 0:01:14.640 --> 0:01:16.920 everyone has a different idea of what they're supposed to 0:01:16.920 --> 0:01:20.039 be spending out and I don't want that for any 0:01:20.080 --> 0:01:22.000 of us, and so I feel like it should be 0:01:22.080 --> 0:01:25.080 kosher and above board to be like, hey, I want 0:01:25.080 --> 0:01:26.440 to hang out with you, I want to see you, 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:30.000 but I don't want to spend money, or I don't 0:01:30.000 --> 0:01:32.560 want to spend a bunch of money. Let's do a coffee, 0:01:32.640 --> 0:01:36.440 let's do a smoothie, or let's truly just go outside 0:01:36.440 --> 0:01:40.399 and look at the stars. That's fun too. It's just 0:01:40.480 --> 0:01:42.360 on my mind. I don't want people to feel like 0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:43.959 they have to spend money. And when you don't want 0:01:44.000 --> 0:01:45.919 to spend money, you're like trying to save up or whatever. 0:01:46.040 --> 0:01:48.200 Like you should be able to do that. So that's 0:01:48.240 --> 0:01:50.440 what I think we should do. We should just articulate 0:01:50.440 --> 0:01:54.280 ourselves and say this is what I'm envisioning for the hangout. 0:01:54.520 --> 0:01:57.400 Cause summer is upon us, which means people going to 0:01:57.440 --> 0:02:00.360 be hanging out a lot more. And I think it's 0:02:00.360 --> 0:02:02.920 okay to say what you need. We should make a 0:02:02.960 --> 0:02:05.200 pact with our people and be like, I don't it's 0:02:05.280 --> 0:02:08.720 I'm going to not judge you for saying you don't 0:02:08.720 --> 0:02:11.000 want to spend money, and I'm going to say to you, 0:02:11.080 --> 0:02:12.840 I don't want to spend money if that's the case. 0:02:13.560 --> 0:02:15.280 And I know it's awkward and weird, but we love 0:02:15.360 --> 0:02:18.920 our friends and let's make it safe for each other. Okay, 0:02:19.560 --> 0:02:26.239 come on, There's so many things the museum. The museum 0:02:26.560 --> 0:02:31.400 is free. Often the parks. It's like we rediscovered parks 0:02:31.760 --> 0:02:35.400 back in twenty twenty Christopher Columbus that shit, and we're like, 0:02:35.400 --> 0:02:38.720 oh my goodness, there's parks. I forgot about parks. What 0:02:38.760 --> 0:02:42.639 else is there to do that's free? What else? Library 0:02:42.800 --> 0:02:45.000 is free? I haven't even been to the library in 0:02:45.000 --> 0:02:47.399 my neighborhood. I need to get in there. I mean, 0:02:47.520 --> 0:02:49.639 what else? Minding your business is free? You can mind 0:02:49.639 --> 0:02:51.280 a business your mind. You can mind your business with 0:02:51.280 --> 0:02:54.160 a friend, mind your business with a loved one. You 0:02:54.240 --> 0:02:58.560 could read a book. That's free. In many ways, it 0:02:58.600 --> 0:03:03.160 can be at the library. What else is free? Kissing? 0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:06.280 Kissing is generally free. I had to check in. I'm like, 0:03:06.360 --> 0:03:08.720 are we paying for kissing? I don't know what the 0:03:09.320 --> 0:03:12.240 market rate for kissing is right now? Kissing is generally 0:03:12.280 --> 0:03:17.160 free kiss, kiss somebody, of course with consents, but it's free. 0:03:17.400 --> 0:03:20.200 Generally speaking, there's so many things to do for free, 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:23.960 and spending money can be a lot and things add up. 0:03:24.120 --> 0:03:26.079 But I want us to say, and I want us 0:03:26.120 --> 0:03:28.400 to make it safe for our friends to say. I 0:03:28.400 --> 0:03:30.079 ain't trying to spend money, but I do want to 0:03:30.120 --> 0:03:35.400 see you maybe kiss you, you know. Anyway, up next, 0:03:35.560 --> 0:03:38.120 I'm about to have a really cool conversation. I hope 0:03:38.160 --> 0:03:42.120 it's cool with Billy Eichner, and I cannot wait. I 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:43.560 can't wait to have it. I can't wait for you 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:51.839 to listen. Here it is. How are you doing? 0:03:51.960 --> 0:03:52.760 I'm great? How are you? 0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:55.760 I'm good. Do you have a good weekend coming up? 0:03:56.200 --> 0:03:59.440 I do. I'm I'm throwing out the first pitch at 0:03:59.440 --> 0:04:01.960 the Metsia game tonight a city field. 0:04:02.080 --> 0:04:03.040 This is exciting. 0:04:03.400 --> 0:04:06.000 It is very exciting. Though I'm a little nervous. I'm 0:04:06.040 --> 0:04:08.160 sure by the time people see this it will not happen, 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:11.120 so my career might be over. This might be my 0:04:11.200 --> 0:04:14.760 last interview. But I've been practicing okay, and it's a 0:04:14.840 --> 0:04:17.560 very very exciting invitation to get It's huge. 0:04:17.560 --> 0:04:18.960 Which team invited you? 0:04:19.000 --> 0:04:21.040 The Mets? The Mets it's a city field. It's a 0:04:21.160 --> 0:04:24.480 city in Queen's Yeah, when it was called say stadium, 0:04:24.520 --> 0:04:26.520 city field, and so it's a big deal. And my 0:04:26.560 --> 0:04:29.000 whole book is about growing up in Queens. So it's 0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:29.880 nice synergy. 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:32.640 Yeah, I think. So, I think this is are we 0:04:32.680 --> 0:04:34.320 doing overhand? Underhand? 0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:38.400 I've been practicing, so yeah, overhand? Okay. I was told 0:04:38.440 --> 0:04:41.680 to throw it like a sling shot, like a sling shot, yeah, 0:04:41.800 --> 0:04:42.720 except I do that. 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:46.279 Okay, I don't know. I was asked to throw out 0:04:46.279 --> 0:04:49.200 the pitch for the Orioles oh last year, but right 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:51.560 after I dislocated my shoulder, so I was like, I 0:04:51.600 --> 0:04:55.720 can't really do anything right hand. But I'm now trying 0:04:55.760 --> 0:04:57.159 to steal a lesson from you. 0:04:57.279 --> 0:05:00.200 Yeah you do? You hold it like this? Okay, I 0:05:00.240 --> 0:05:02.920 didn't know. Yeah, and then you you got you gotta 0:05:03.120 --> 0:05:04.599 you know, you're standing and then you have to like 0:05:04.680 --> 0:05:07.960 lean in with your body okay, yeah and look at 0:05:07.960 --> 0:05:10.960 the catcher, look at the ketch. Yeah, make eye contact. 0:05:11.080 --> 0:05:12.200 Oh from a distance. 0:05:12.360 --> 0:05:15.640 Yeah, it's like a week cute. Yeah, I hope. 0:05:15.400 --> 0:05:17.880 Say okay, Yeah, I feel like it's gonna go. 0:05:17.880 --> 0:05:19.880 Great for you, thank you. I just don't want to 0:05:19.920 --> 0:05:22.440 be horribly embarrassing. People keep telling me, well, you won't 0:05:22.440 --> 0:05:25.120 be as bad as like fifty cent when he did it, 0:05:25.640 --> 0:05:28.279 or bab Babu, even Howard Stern, you know, like people 0:05:28.320 --> 0:05:29.360 have really messed it up. 0:05:29.400 --> 0:05:31.760 Okay, Okay, I think I think you're gonna be Okay, 0:05:31.800 --> 0:05:32.839 are you athletic at all? 0:05:33.040 --> 0:05:35.000 No? No, this is I was the worst kid on 0:05:35.040 --> 0:05:37.880 my little league team. I was in the unique position 0:05:37.960 --> 0:05:40.320 of always being the tallest kid in my class. But 0:05:40.440 --> 0:05:43.839 pick Glass for basketball, you know, which is so awkward. 0:05:44.560 --> 0:05:46.520 By the way, they should have They shouldn't have picked 0:05:46.520 --> 0:05:49.240 me any sooner than that, because I was terrible. But 0:05:49.279 --> 0:05:51.400 I think this is a nice lesson to show people 0:05:51.440 --> 0:05:54.279 that you can be the worst at your you know, 0:05:54.400 --> 0:05:56.600 on your little league team and still be asked one 0:05:56.680 --> 0:05:57.920 day to throw out the first pitch. 0:05:58.080 --> 0:06:01.159 Okay, you heard it here for anything awesome exactly. 0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:02.080 I'm an inspiration. 0:06:03.520 --> 0:06:06.000 Yes, okay, I have to do an intro for you 0:06:06.080 --> 0:06:07.960 so the people know if they don't already know. 0:06:08.040 --> 0:06:08.880 Okay, yeah, please. 0:06:08.880 --> 0:06:10.760 My next guest, who have already been talking to for 0:06:10.839 --> 0:06:13.320 some time now, is an actor and comedian who's memoir 0:06:13.440 --> 0:06:16.839 Billy on Billy, an audio memori is out now it's 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:19.000 Billy Eichner. Hello again. 0:06:19.160 --> 0:06:20.160 Thank you for having me. 0:06:20.279 --> 0:06:22.960 I'm so happy you're here, Thank you for coming. Who 0:06:23.080 --> 0:06:24.320 or what do you want to say thanks to? 0:06:25.400 --> 0:06:27.840 Oh I want to say thanks to my parents, even 0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:33.400 though they're dead. I'm grateful for some time we thank 0:06:33.520 --> 0:06:37.279 dead people in this country. No. I wrote a whole book, 0:06:37.400 --> 0:06:41.320 Billy on Billy, which is it started out as like 0:06:41.360 --> 0:06:43.760 the Billy on the Street origin story, and we were 0:06:43.760 --> 0:06:46.440 trying to answer the question what kind of child grows 0:06:46.520 --> 0:06:49.760 up to create a maniacal character like Billy on the Street. 0:06:49.880 --> 0:06:51.760 And really what it became is a love letter to 0:06:51.800 --> 0:06:54.120 my parents, you know, and to growing up in New 0:06:54.240 --> 0:06:56.400 York in the eighties and nineties. But really they were 0:06:56.440 --> 0:07:00.200 so unbelievably supportive and encouraging. They always let me be 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:03.400 me when it came to being gay, when it came 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:06.880 to having this intense interest in the performing arts and 0:07:06.920 --> 0:07:10.840 in show business, they just always encouraging me to chase 0:07:10.920 --> 0:07:13.760 my dream, you know, not knowing what was going to happen. 0:07:13.840 --> 0:07:17.320 And I only I always knew they were great. But 0:07:17.480 --> 0:07:19.520 in sitting down to write this book, and again, my 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:22.240 mom died when I was twenty. My dad died when 0:07:22.240 --> 0:07:24.720 I was thirty two, but a month before Billy on 0:07:24.760 --> 0:07:27.040 the Street became a TV show. Oh wow, So they 0:07:27.040 --> 0:07:30.040 didn't see all the fun stuff happen. They saw like 0:07:30.080 --> 0:07:32.480 the years of really wanting and trying. 0:07:32.760 --> 0:07:33.000 Yeah. 0:07:33.640 --> 0:07:36.480 But they were so encouraging. And I realized when I 0:07:36.480 --> 0:07:39.600 sat down to write the book thinking about this, you know, 0:07:39.800 --> 0:07:42.080 all these stories came to mind from my childhood that 0:07:42.120 --> 0:07:44.040 I really don't sit around and think about very often. 0:07:44.080 --> 0:07:46.080 I don't live in the past like that. Yeah, but 0:07:46.240 --> 0:07:47.920 it gave me a reason to do that, and it 0:07:48.040 --> 0:07:51.760 just gave me such an appreciation for, you know, this 0:07:52.520 --> 0:07:55.400 self respect that they gave me to take my desires 0:07:55.520 --> 0:07:56.680 seriously as a kid. 0:07:56.960 --> 0:07:59.480 Yeah, that is incredible. So I want to say thanks 0:07:59.480 --> 0:07:59.960 to them too. 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:02.240 They're great and I'm so excited for people to be 0:08:02.280 --> 0:08:05.040 introduced to them. And they were so funny and both 0:08:05.120 --> 0:08:08.600 native New Yorkers, a lot of energy. So they were 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:10.280 just remarkable, really very. 0:08:10.120 --> 0:08:12.080 Special, and I'd love to hear that they supported your 0:08:12.200 --> 0:08:16.280 endeavors and your passion for entertainment and theater. Now, what 0:08:16.360 --> 0:08:18.200 was your relationship like with each of them? 0:08:19.240 --> 0:08:22.360 My mom was they were very different in terms of 0:08:22.400 --> 0:08:25.000 how physically affectionate they were, even though they were both 0:08:25.160 --> 0:08:28.280 very loving. Okay, my dad was much older than my mom, 0:08:28.400 --> 0:08:30.440 which is an odd thing, so kind of in our 0:08:30.480 --> 0:08:33.080 head secretly we always planned on like, well, what's what's 0:08:33.120 --> 0:08:35.560 my mom going to do when my dad dies? Oh yeah, 0:08:35.559 --> 0:08:38.480 and then my mom dies first, yeah, you know, out 0:08:38.480 --> 0:08:41.080 of nowhere. So that was just very unexpected. But my 0:08:41.200 --> 0:08:43.160 dad was older than my mom. It was a second 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:46.320 marriage for him. My dad was born in nineteen thirty. 0:08:46.880 --> 0:08:49.440 He was in the Korean War. You know, he goes 0:08:49.480 --> 0:08:51.920 way back speaking of throwing out the first pitch, my 0:08:52.000 --> 0:08:54.199 dad used to tell me he saw Babe Ruth play. 0:08:54.440 --> 0:08:57.199 Oh wow, wow, Okay, that's my dad was alive. 0:08:57.240 --> 0:08:59.640 Now you'd be like ninety five or something. Okay, yeah, 0:09:00.000 --> 0:09:03.040 but he's from the Bronx. If you know the Alan 0:09:03.200 --> 0:09:06.040 Arkin character in Little Miss Sunshine. He was kind of 0:09:06.160 --> 0:09:10.160 like that, you know, kind of very blunt, not very 0:09:11.320 --> 0:09:14.240 physically demonstrative, you know, kind of old school. He didn't 0:09:14.320 --> 0:09:16.360 like hug and kiss me a lot, but you can 0:09:16.440 --> 0:09:19.000 always feel how much he loved me and supported me. 0:09:19.040 --> 0:09:20.680 He took me to auditions as a kid when I 0:09:20.679 --> 0:09:22.920 was trying to be a child actor. We read page 0:09:22.960 --> 0:09:25.600 six together. We read all the gossip columns together. He 0:09:25.679 --> 0:09:28.400 took me to Broadway shows. You know, my parents took 0:09:28.440 --> 0:09:30.959 me to see Madonna at the Blonde Ambition tour in 0:09:31.000 --> 0:09:33.560 nineteen ninety one, where she's like pretending to masturbate on 0:09:33.600 --> 0:09:36.640 stage surrounded by gay men and bras in nineteen ninety one. 0:09:36.640 --> 0:09:38.679 They let me do this and did not make me 0:09:38.720 --> 0:09:42.600 feel at all uncomfortable about it. They loved Madonna right 0:09:43.040 --> 0:09:45.199 and so. But my dad was a little more stoic 0:09:45.280 --> 0:09:48.480 on the outside, but always really defended me and was 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:51.480 very excited when I started to do comedy in my 0:09:51.559 --> 0:09:55.040 twenties and I'm on stage, I'm being so loud and 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:58.120 crazy and I'm ranting and raving about everything from pop 0:09:58.160 --> 0:10:01.480 culture to like gay sex. And my dad would come 0:10:01.520 --> 0:10:05.239 to every show and he would walk around the audience 0:10:06.200 --> 0:10:08.760 and before the show started, I swear, my mom's not 0:10:08.800 --> 0:10:11.080 alive at this point, and he's like a guy in 0:10:11.120 --> 0:10:13.360 his seventies at this point, and he would walk around 0:10:13.400 --> 0:10:16.600 with my baby picture and go up to strangers in 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:18.800 the audience and show them my photo and be like, 0:10:19.160 --> 0:10:23.080 see this, that's Billy. I'm the father right then, And 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:25.320 then the show starts and I am shouting about like 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:27.880 getting fucked yeah, and so they're. 0:10:27.720 --> 0:10:29.439 Watching you and him being like and what is dad? 0:10:30.600 --> 0:10:32.600 It was crazy. I mean it was really lovely. So 0:10:32.640 --> 0:10:35.840 my dad was great. My mom was the opposite in 0:10:35.920 --> 0:10:40.679 terms of how physically affectionate. She was an incredibly warm, optimistic, 0:10:40.840 --> 0:10:44.920 you know, sort of typical Jewish mother and how close 0:10:45.080 --> 0:10:50.480 we were, but more kind of vivacious than that stereotype implies. 0:10:50.480 --> 0:10:52.280 She kind of had a little bit of a sexiness 0:10:52.320 --> 0:10:55.200 about her. My parents met at a disco in nineteen 0:10:55.240 --> 0:10:57.920 seventy six called The Jungle on Long Island. You know, 0:10:58.120 --> 0:10:59.839 they were New Yorkers, they liked to have fun and 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:01.679 they were just fabulous. 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:04.359 People, wonderful and did you have slip siblings? 0:11:04.480 --> 0:11:08.320 I have an older half brother, Steve Eichner, who I 0:11:08.440 --> 0:11:11.200 knew as a kid, but he mostly grew up with 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:14.080 his mom and we didn't grow up together in the 0:11:14.080 --> 0:11:17.520 same apartment, so you know, he was around. I saw him. 0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:19.720 He was he's a photographer and when I was trying 0:11:19.720 --> 0:11:21.520 to be a child actor in New York, he took 0:11:21.559 --> 0:11:24.240 all of my child actor had shots, which I just 0:11:24.280 --> 0:11:27.480 posted recently. They're very funny and ridiculous. So we you know, 0:11:27.840 --> 0:11:31.800 you know we're friends, but I was raised mostly as 0:11:31.840 --> 0:11:33.160 like an only child. 0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:36.480 Really, sure, and your dad was the common denominator between 0:11:36.480 --> 0:11:38.640 you and Steven, that's right. And you say he was 0:11:38.679 --> 0:11:41.400 more stoic than your mother and not as physically affectionate. 0:11:41.760 --> 0:11:44.760 This was your dad one to say I love you. 0:11:44.800 --> 0:11:47.720 No, Okay, he didn't say it out loud. And I 0:11:47.800 --> 0:11:51.480 remember once my mom got mad at him. It never 0:11:51.559 --> 0:11:55.120 bothered me because my dad so clearly loved me, right, 0:11:55.200 --> 0:11:58.840 It wasn't It wasn't cold, you know. He just wasn't 0:11:58.840 --> 0:12:00.840 a big kisser and hugger. By the way, neither was 0:12:00.840 --> 0:12:03.360 his mother. Just his side of the family. They just 0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:06.720 weren't as affectionate, well, weren't as physically demonstrative when my 0:12:06.760 --> 0:12:09.000 mother was all over me and all over everyone. Yeah, 0:12:09.240 --> 0:12:11.320 my mother told the dry cleaner she loved him, She 0:12:11.360 --> 0:12:13.600 told everyone she ran into I love you, love you, 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:15.600 love you, love you, she would say to everyone. And 0:12:15.640 --> 0:12:17.800 my dad was not like that. His love was a 0:12:17.800 --> 0:12:20.160 bit more subdued. Yeah, but you could see it in 0:12:20.200 --> 0:12:24.079 his eyes. But once my mom got mad at him 0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:27.600 because he never hugged me and never actually said I 0:12:27.640 --> 0:12:30.000 love you a lot, And then he came over to me. 0:12:30.040 --> 0:12:31.800 I was in my bedroom watching TV. I was just 0:12:32.080 --> 0:12:33.480 I was like, I was like, can you guys just 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:36.120 shut up and let me watch? Like David Letterman like, 0:12:36.240 --> 0:12:37.640 leave me alone. I just want to. I don't care. 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:39.520 I know you love me. It's fine. But my mom 0:12:39.600 --> 0:12:41.920 was upset about it. Yeah, And he came over to 0:12:41.960 --> 0:12:43.679 me in bed and like leaned over and he was like, 0:12:43.720 --> 0:12:46.080 you know I love you, right, And I was like, yeah, 0:12:46.120 --> 0:12:47.320 of course I do, Like, leave me. 0:12:47.400 --> 0:12:50.800 Alone, get out of here, this what's happening. Yeah, it's 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:52.040 weird when you say it. 0:12:52.120 --> 0:12:54.320 Yeah, I'm just like I know, I know. And I 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:57.120 did know. I did you know? I mean, you know? 0:12:57.200 --> 0:12:59.720 And I also understood even then. He was from an 0:12:59.760 --> 0:13:03.440 old generation of men who didn't say I love you 0:13:03.480 --> 0:13:06.600 as easily. You know, they weren't as vulnerable. He got 0:13:06.760 --> 0:13:11.160 softer as he aged, which which happens with people. Yeah. 0:13:11.200 --> 0:13:13.959 And were you closer to one parent. 0:13:13.720 --> 0:13:19.720 Than the other, as like a young gay child. I 0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:23.199 was closer with my mother when she was alive, though 0:13:23.200 --> 0:13:25.240 there were certain things my dad did with me that 0:13:25.320 --> 0:13:28.600 my mom wouldn't do. My dad got off work more 0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:30.680 easily than my mom, so he would take me to 0:13:30.720 --> 0:13:33.079 auditions in Manhattan. We grew up in Queen's and he 0:13:33.080 --> 0:13:36.000 would take me into the city to audition for commercials 0:13:36.000 --> 0:13:40.200 and musicals. I barely got anything. I was I don't 0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:42.560 know if you know this story. I played John Goodman's 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:44.640 son in a sketch on SNL when I was fourteen 0:13:44.720 --> 0:13:45.040 year old. 0:13:45.080 --> 0:13:47.360 I didn't know that. Oh wow, Yes. 0:13:47.240 --> 0:13:49.280 It was one of the only things I got. Yeah, 0:13:49.320 --> 0:13:51.160 except I got there and thought I was like the 0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:53.920 only one in the like the only son in this sketch, 0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:57.520 like real life, exactly exactly. And then there were twenty 0:13:57.520 --> 0:13:59.760 five kids playing his children in the sketch and we 0:13:59.760 --> 0:14:02.720 were all just glorified extras. But it was amazing, like 0:14:03.000 --> 0:14:05.360 Chris Farley was in my sketch, and like all these 0:14:05.800 --> 0:14:07.720 Mike Myers and this was the year the years of 0:14:07.720 --> 0:14:10.280 like Phil Hartman, so that was very exciting. My dad 0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:13.560 took me to all those things. Yeah, but before my 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:15.920 mom died, I was closer with my mom, you know, 0:14:16.880 --> 0:14:19.680 a young gay boy, like, you're closer with your mom, 0:14:19.720 --> 0:14:22.800 and because she was so affectionate. Yeah, I think it 0:14:22.840 --> 0:14:24.720 was easier to be closer to her. My dad was 0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:27.560 a bit quieter then when my mom died. You know, 0:14:28.280 --> 0:14:30.640 it forced me and my dad. And this actually happened 0:14:30.680 --> 0:14:33.600 with my half brother Steve too, Like we both got 0:14:33.640 --> 0:14:37.080 closer to my dad because now we really needed each other. Yeah, 0:14:37.120 --> 0:14:39.640 and we had to be closer, and you know, and 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:43.000 then he was basically doing the work for two parents. 0:14:43.240 --> 0:14:45.560 Yeah. Oh wow, what kind of work did each of 0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:46.120 your parents do? 0:14:46.800 --> 0:14:49.480 My dad worked for the City of New York. He 0:14:49.600 --> 0:14:53.200 was a commercial rent tax auditor, basically going around to 0:14:53.240 --> 0:14:55.640 companies and saying, you know, you owe tax money to 0:14:55.680 --> 0:14:59.880 the city. Okay. My mom he was an accountant by trade. Ye. 0:15:00.320 --> 0:15:02.680 My mom worked for what was then known as the 0:15:02.720 --> 0:15:07.640 Phone Company, which became New York Telephone and eventually becomes Verizon. 0:15:08.000 --> 0:15:14.920 I just worked in the Atlantic in their summer's exactly right, Okay, 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:17.440 So she worked and it became Verizon. 0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:20.040 Yeah. She worked in the World Trade Center when I 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:22.840 was a kid, So I used to go to the 0:15:22.880 --> 0:15:24.840 World Trade Center all the time for like her office 0:15:24.880 --> 0:15:27.040 Christmas parties and things. I have all these kind of 0:15:27.360 --> 0:15:30.120 interesting memories about the World Trade Center because of my mom. 0:15:30.200 --> 0:15:33.840 But yeah, they were nine to five middle class people 0:15:33.920 --> 0:15:36.600 in Queens. I was an only child. Yeah, so whatever 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:39.280 they had, I got Yeah, you know, that's one of 0:15:39.320 --> 0:15:41.760 the nice things about being an only child. But middle 0:15:41.800 --> 0:15:46.040 class people know show business connections. They loved show business 0:15:46.040 --> 0:15:49.000 from Afar. Sure, my dad read all the gossip commns, 0:15:49.000 --> 0:15:52.120 the New York Post, you know. We watched Entertainment Tonight 0:15:52.200 --> 0:15:54.040 and all those shows, and we'd watch all the award 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:57.840 shows together. They loved it. Started with me really falling 0:15:57.840 --> 0:16:00.760 in love with the theater and then kind of dragging 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:03.440 them or begging them to take me to Broadway shows. 0:16:03.480 --> 0:16:05.960 But once we started doing that, they realized how much 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:09.200 they loved the theater too. They love the theater, you know, 0:16:09.240 --> 0:16:11.000 And we didn't always sit in good seats, but we 0:16:11.040 --> 0:16:14.360 would go get discount seats somehow. And I saw a 0:16:14.400 --> 0:16:17.960 lot of theater growing up Broadway. Off Broadway. They took 0:16:17.960 --> 0:16:20.160 me to see plays about like adult gay men that 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:23.480 like a twelve year old normally doesn't see. Yeah, and 0:16:23.520 --> 0:16:26.560 that all had an amazing impact on me. That's incredible, really, 0:16:26.560 --> 0:16:28.200 I mean, they were so ahead of their time, and 0:16:28.240 --> 0:16:31.479 that's why the book is like a real tribute to them. Ultimately. 0:16:31.600 --> 0:16:34.480 Yeah, that's special. That's so special. And also the notion 0:16:34.560 --> 0:16:36.720 of growing up as an only child that you have 0:16:36.840 --> 0:16:39.720 this half brother at times, did you ever wish for 0:16:40.360 --> 0:16:41.600 additional siblings? 0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:44.040 I tell this story in the book My mother maybe 0:16:44.040 --> 0:16:45.880 when I was ten. I think she started to feel 0:16:45.880 --> 0:16:48.720 guilty that I didn't have a sibling, and she asked me, 0:16:48.880 --> 0:16:51.520 I guess before it was too late. She said, do 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:53.440 you want a brother or a sister? Do you feel 0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:57.240 bad you don't have a sibling? And I really acquired 0:16:57.240 --> 0:17:01.680 my dad's like bronx, New York inspired, blunt and just practicality, 0:17:02.000 --> 0:17:03.480 and I was like, look, you guys don't have a 0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:05.679 lot of money. I'm fine on my own. I have 0:17:05.720 --> 0:17:08.359 a ton of friends. You know, I get to do 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:10.399 whatever I want to do. And the last thing I 0:17:10.400 --> 0:17:13.399 want is some annoying brat to share my bedroom with, 0:17:13.480 --> 0:17:15.720 telling me like what TV shows to watch? And you 0:17:15.800 --> 0:17:18.120 were ten, I was like ten already. It was very 0:17:18.200 --> 0:17:21.800 kind of billy on precocious, very precocious, only child, New 0:17:21.880 --> 0:17:27.119 York City child actor. You know, dangerous combination isangerous. 0:17:28.200 --> 0:17:30.560 I don't want no damn siblings. That's fun. 0:17:30.600 --> 0:17:32.560 And I think they were relieved. They were like, oh, 0:17:32.600 --> 0:17:33.080 thank god. 0:17:33.160 --> 0:17:35.239 I don't want to do that because I just found out. 0:17:35.480 --> 0:17:38.080 Because they don't teach women a lot about their bodies, 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:40.600 you see in school. So I just found out from 0:17:40.600 --> 0:17:42.480 a friend who had a baby that it takes two 0:17:42.560 --> 0:17:47.000 years for a woman's hormones to return to normal, or 0:17:47.000 --> 0:17:50.000 what her norm is. That's crazy to me that you 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:52.040 have no reason to but I just need to say 0:17:52.040 --> 0:17:52.520 it out loud. 0:17:52.600 --> 0:17:56.960 Well, no, I'm happy, I see you. You saved your Yes, 0:17:57.000 --> 0:17:59.719 my mom had the same hormones for all of her 0:17:59.720 --> 0:18:00.760 middle That's. 0:18:00.640 --> 0:18:04.480 Good, Billy. If you ever had any interest in living 0:18:04.520 --> 0:18:07.520 somewhere else, given you're so New York's down. 0:18:07.400 --> 0:18:10.240 Such, well, I actually did live in LA for ten years. 0:18:10.320 --> 0:18:10.680 You did? 0:18:10.840 --> 0:18:14.440 Yeah, I did, and only last year moved back full 0:18:14.480 --> 0:18:15.400 time to New York. 0:18:15.560 --> 0:18:16.320 What made you move? 0:18:16.840 --> 0:18:20.159 At first? It was work Funnier Die. The company produced 0:18:20.160 --> 0:18:23.399 Billy on the Street, and I am very very hands 0:18:23.400 --> 0:18:25.520 on with the editing of the show, because you have 0:18:25.600 --> 0:18:28.160 to be. It's so pivotal to that show, to any show, 0:18:28.200 --> 0:18:31.520 but especially a comedy like that. And I asked them, 0:18:31.520 --> 0:18:33.480 I said, I need to be involved in the editing. 0:18:33.520 --> 0:18:36.000 But it was solo budget when we started that it 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:38.280 was much cheaper for them to have me come out 0:18:38.320 --> 0:18:40.960 to LA to edit in their office. I know this 0:18:41.000 --> 0:18:43.520 is a fascinating story. People are on the edge of 0:18:43.560 --> 0:18:48.720