WEBVTT - I Guess We Exhausted that Conversation!  Norm McDonald Talks to A&G

0:00:01.000 --> 0:00:03.120
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to the Armstrong and Getty Show. We get to

0:00:03.160 --> 0:00:06.160
<v Speaker 1>add to the list of former Saturday Night Live news

0:00:06.200 --> 0:00:07.960
<v Speaker 1>anchors we've talked to, because I believe we've talked to

0:00:08.039 --> 0:00:10.440
<v Speaker 1>Chevy Chase years ago. We've had Dennis Miller on many times.

0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:12.360
<v Speaker 1>I think we talked to Colin Quinn once when he

0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:14.680
<v Speaker 1>had a show out. So now we get to add

0:00:14.680 --> 0:00:17.440
<v Speaker 1>Norm McDonald, who I've actually paid to see do stand up.

0:00:17.520 --> 0:00:22.120
<v Speaker 1>Could not be happier to be talking to comedian, actor, writer, writer.

0:00:22.239 --> 0:00:25.600
<v Speaker 1>Now Norm McDonald is memoir based on a true story

0:00:25.680 --> 0:00:29.840
<v Speaker 1>is out. Norm Welcome. How are you sir? Oh? Great

0:00:30.880 --> 0:00:33.920
<v Speaker 1>stand up? I saw you at Caroline's in New York

0:00:33.920 --> 0:00:38.040
<v Speaker 1>City many years ago and it was fantastic. Thanks man,

0:00:38.360 --> 0:00:40.919
<v Speaker 1>you're in New York City? Yes, I was all right,

0:00:41.159 --> 0:00:45.559
<v Speaker 1>but enough fluffy go ahead? Sorry, Oh no, no, that's right.

0:00:45.560 --> 0:00:48.879
<v Speaker 1>I think we exhausted the conversation. Yeah, that's that was

0:00:48.960 --> 0:00:52.440
<v Speaker 1>my sense of it, and enough enough fluffery. Now the

0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:56.360
<v Speaker 1>tough questions, why aren't you as rich as Seinfeld? Oh?

0:00:56.800 --> 0:01:01.880
<v Speaker 1>Well felt what he did was smart. He created a

0:01:01.960 --> 0:01:09.240
<v Speaker 1>hit television program. Uh, I had a whole different idea.

0:01:10.240 --> 0:01:15.760
<v Speaker 1>I thought, Um, my plan was to watch television programs.

0:01:17.600 --> 0:01:19.440
<v Speaker 1>It's a lot more fun I can tell you that,

0:01:20.040 --> 0:01:24.319
<v Speaker 1>and a lot less stress. Yeah, it doesn't. It doesn't

0:01:24.319 --> 0:01:27.000
<v Speaker 1>pay well at all. I've heard this story million times,

0:01:27.000 --> 0:01:28.880
<v Speaker 1>but I had forgotten you were fired from the news

0:01:28.880 --> 0:01:31.000
<v Speaker 1>anchor on SNL because one of the suits didn't think

0:01:31.000 --> 0:01:36.600
<v Speaker 1>you were funny, which in itself is pretty funny. Um. Yeah,

0:01:36.680 --> 0:01:41.199
<v Speaker 1>that's the That's the tough part is it doesn't really matter,

0:01:41.400 --> 0:01:44.680
<v Speaker 1>like how many people think you're funny if it's just

0:01:44.920 --> 0:01:48.960
<v Speaker 1>one person that have us owned the camera and you're

0:01:49.000 --> 0:01:54.080
<v Speaker 1>in trouble, we know that. Yeah, yeah, how much you

0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:57.360
<v Speaker 1>I've actually read some reviews of of the book based

0:01:57.360 --> 0:02:00.320
<v Speaker 1>on a true story, um, which almost uniform we say

0:02:00.360 --> 0:02:04.400
<v Speaker 1>it's hilarious. How much memoir is it? Really? Are we

0:02:04.400 --> 0:02:08.680
<v Speaker 1>gonna hear about that sort of thing? Well? Yeah, what

0:02:08.800 --> 0:02:12.000
<v Speaker 1>I did was, um, you know, it's based on the

0:02:12.080 --> 0:02:15.639
<v Speaker 1>true stories of seven seven But what is what I did?

0:02:15.880 --> 0:02:19.720
<v Speaker 1>I didn't want to be suped reliable and uh you know,

0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:23.080
<v Speaker 1>so it's very hard to put in anything you know

0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:28.360
<v Speaker 1>true and and not flattering or you'll be sued. So

0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:31.280
<v Speaker 1>I I thought, what if I put true stuff but

0:02:31.520 --> 0:02:34.720
<v Speaker 1>mix it in with all ridiculous stuff, so that if

0:02:34.720 --> 0:02:36.440
<v Speaker 1>the guy tried to assume me, I'd go, wait a minute,

0:02:36.480 --> 0:02:38.560
<v Speaker 1>what about all that's ridiculous? Of course it's not. None

0:02:38.560 --> 0:02:42.360
<v Speaker 1>of it's true. So that's what I did. So there's

0:02:42.480 --> 0:02:46.560
<v Speaker 1>a you know, there's bombshells in the book, but you

0:02:46.600 --> 0:02:48.760
<v Speaker 1>have to find them. I can't tell you what they are.

0:02:48.919 --> 0:02:50.320
<v Speaker 1>So we read the book and try to figure out

0:02:50.320 --> 0:02:52.240
<v Speaker 1>which parts the ridiculous part, in which parts the true part.

0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:56.280
<v Speaker 1>I like that game, and then speculate on the internet. Yeah,

0:02:56.320 --> 0:03:00.079
<v Speaker 1>I had to put the parlor game, you know that

0:03:00.320 --> 0:03:04.440
<v Speaker 1>sweeping the country at the risk of of of turning

0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:09.160
<v Speaker 1>this serious norm am I correct, You're from pretty rural Canada,

0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:14.720
<v Speaker 1>very rural. Yeah, we had two towns, monk Land and

0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:18.080
<v Speaker 1>av and more and it's gonna seem strange, but everything

0:03:18.120 --> 0:03:21.240
<v Speaker 1>is relative. But we live in a fireman between Muggle

0:03:21.280 --> 0:03:24.040
<v Speaker 1>and Amore. Muggle was a hunter people. Amore was two

0:03:24.240 --> 0:03:27.480
<v Speaker 1>d sixty people. And I swear to guy, like the

0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:29.280
<v Speaker 1>town there was two und fifty people. We thought it

0:03:29.280 --> 0:03:32.400
<v Speaker 1>was like a big town. I'm from rural America. I

0:03:32.440 --> 0:03:34.880
<v Speaker 1>understand that I moved to a town to go to

0:03:34.920 --> 0:03:36.960
<v Speaker 1>college with twelve thousand people, and I and my first

0:03:37.040 --> 0:03:38.320
<v Speaker 1>day there, I thought, how am I ever going to

0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:40.680
<v Speaker 1>find my way around a place like this? But anyway,

0:03:40.720 --> 0:03:45.000
<v Speaker 1>the reason I bring it up is terrified. But then

0:03:45.040 --> 0:03:48.680
<v Speaker 1>you're in Manhattan, for God's sake, and you're dealing with,

0:03:48.840 --> 0:03:52.320
<v Speaker 1>you know, some people who may allegedly be complete snakes

0:03:52.800 --> 0:03:56.560
<v Speaker 1>masquerading as human beings. Um, you're getting banged around by

0:03:56.560 --> 0:04:01.240
<v Speaker 1>show business at this point. What's your view of humanity? Well?

0:04:01.280 --> 0:04:03.520
<v Speaker 1>I remember when I first came to New York, because

0:04:04.520 --> 0:04:07.240
<v Speaker 1>you know, you get this idea of New York from

0:04:07.280 --> 0:04:09.839
<v Speaker 1>from popular culture and everything, you know when you're when

0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:14.000
<v Speaker 1>you're from a small place. And uh so I remember

0:04:14.200 --> 0:04:16.839
<v Speaker 1>because I took the train and went to Grand Central Station.

0:04:16.920 --> 0:04:19.839
<v Speaker 1>Then there was a sign on the I was doing Letterman.

0:04:19.920 --> 0:04:21.600
<v Speaker 1>I was going to go do Letterman, And there was

0:04:21.600 --> 0:04:24.320
<v Speaker 1>a sign on the when you got out and said

0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:28.440
<v Speaker 1>do not go into any gypsy Calves. You know, So

0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:32.000
<v Speaker 1>I have my my suitcase and them, so I don't

0:04:32.000 --> 0:04:34.320
<v Speaker 1>know what a gypsy cab was. So then I got

0:04:34.360 --> 0:04:37.400
<v Speaker 1>into the street and like Calves, because I was carrying

0:04:37.400 --> 0:04:40.880
<v Speaker 1>two suitcases down the street. So Calves just kept stopping. Hey,

0:04:40.920 --> 0:04:42.799
<v Speaker 1>you know, I go not out forget it, like because

0:04:42.880 --> 0:04:46.400
<v Speaker 1>I figured they were a gypsy cab and then so

0:04:46.480 --> 0:04:49.360
<v Speaker 1>I walked like like you know, it's like Jethro Bodine.

0:04:49.440 --> 0:04:52.760
<v Speaker 1>I walk all the way. Then Uh, they put me

0:04:52.800 --> 0:04:55.200
<v Speaker 1>up at the Omni Berkship was just across from Central

0:04:55.240 --> 0:04:57.840
<v Speaker 1>Park and Central Park. I thought they you know, I

0:04:57.839 --> 0:04:59.600
<v Speaker 1>thought they put me at the worst place ever, because

0:04:59.600 --> 0:05:02.160
<v Speaker 1>I would has heard that Central Park was just you

0:05:02.240 --> 0:05:03.880
<v Speaker 1>got mugged. You know, you went to the Central Park

0:05:03.920 --> 0:05:06.920
<v Speaker 1>and you got mugged, and uh, you know, people think

0:05:06.960 --> 0:05:08.919
<v Speaker 1>it's kind of crazy, but I would just stay in

0:05:08.960 --> 0:05:11.840
<v Speaker 1>my room and I remember I would like race down

0:05:11.839 --> 0:05:14.120
<v Speaker 1>and get a COVID cola and race back because that's

0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:16.159
<v Speaker 1>that dangerous. I thought it was. Yeah, it's funny because

0:05:16.160 --> 0:05:18.719
<v Speaker 1>I'm I'm from Roald American. I had that view of cities. Also,

0:05:18.920 --> 0:05:20.719
<v Speaker 1>I've been so scared of it. Hey, um, do you

0:05:20.720 --> 0:05:24.760
<v Speaker 1>watch Saturday Night Live? Like, will you watch this Saturday Night? Yeah?

0:05:24.800 --> 0:05:28.400
<v Speaker 1>Well I think this Saturday is the premiere episode, so

0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:31.920
<v Speaker 1>we will definitely watch it this Saturday. I just wanted to.

0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:34.719
<v Speaker 1>I just wandered. Some of the alums seemed to the

0:05:34.760 --> 0:05:36.279
<v Speaker 1>we've talked to over the years seemed to kind of

0:05:36.360 --> 0:05:39.599
<v Speaker 1>you know, not be into it in some of them are. Yeah.

0:05:39.800 --> 0:05:42.119
<v Speaker 1>I mean, you know, I used to watch it every

0:05:42.160 --> 0:05:44.920
<v Speaker 1>single week, you know, because you know as one of

0:05:44.920 --> 0:05:47.200
<v Speaker 1>those things you watched ever since you're a kid. And

0:05:47.240 --> 0:05:50.520
<v Speaker 1>then there's a period where where you get old where

0:05:50.520 --> 0:05:52.520
<v Speaker 1>you're like, well, I don't know who these people who

0:05:52.800 --> 0:05:54.520
<v Speaker 1>who they're doing an impression of you know what I mean?

0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:59.640
<v Speaker 1>Right right, there is that, And I especially that with music,

0:06:00.480 --> 0:06:02.320
<v Speaker 1>even when I was on the show, like I would

0:06:02.320 --> 0:06:05.680
<v Speaker 1>always realize later that there were big music stars, you know,

0:06:05.800 --> 0:06:08.520
<v Speaker 1>Like the first show I was, I was Kurt Cobaine

0:06:09.560 --> 0:06:12.120
<v Speaker 1>in Nirvana, but I didn't know, you know, to me,

0:06:12.200 --> 0:06:14.440
<v Speaker 1>it was just a band. And then later I was

0:06:14.480 --> 0:06:16.719
<v Speaker 1>like I should have said, I don't know what I

0:06:16.720 --> 0:06:19.840
<v Speaker 1>should have done. Yeah, you should have told them, no

0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:22.000
<v Speaker 1>matter how bad things get, don't put a shotgun in

0:06:22.040 --> 0:06:25.680
<v Speaker 1>your mouth. That would have been a good piece of advice. God,

0:06:28.360 --> 0:06:31.560
<v Speaker 1>you're right. Our interview is good because we've got Norm

0:06:31.640 --> 0:06:33.520
<v Speaker 1>McDonald say oh my lord God, which is one of

0:06:33.560 --> 0:06:37.240
<v Speaker 1>my favorite things you always ever say. Norm McDonald is

0:06:37.240 --> 0:06:39.960
<v Speaker 1>on the line. His book is based on a true story.

0:06:40.680 --> 0:06:43.080
<v Speaker 1>Um and uh oh, By the way, I can't forget

0:06:43.080 --> 0:06:45.520
<v Speaker 1>to say this. There are a number of stand up

0:06:45.560 --> 0:06:47.880
<v Speaker 1>dates norms doing in the various towns where we're on

0:06:47.920 --> 0:06:50.960
<v Speaker 1>the air. Uh, just go to Norm McDonald dot com.

0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:54.159
<v Speaker 1>It's mac m ac norm McDonald dot com next weekend

0:06:54.200 --> 0:06:56.040
<v Speaker 1>in San Francisco. Yeah, and we'll have a link in

0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:58.360
<v Speaker 1>our website so people can be sure to find them.

0:06:58.400 --> 0:07:00.680
<v Speaker 1>But you know, and and we got no reason to

0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:07.840
<v Speaker 1>kiss your ass ONRM. But his stand up is fantastically

0:07:08.040 --> 0:07:09.320
<v Speaker 1>I don't pay to see a lot of people, and

0:07:09.360 --> 0:07:13.080
<v Speaker 1>I paid to see him. Yeah, yeah, thanks man. Well

0:07:13.120 --> 0:07:15.280
<v Speaker 1>that's the only thing I'm good at. Yeah, that's a

0:07:15.280 --> 0:07:19.320
<v Speaker 1>funny thing in show biz you're good at, especially stand

0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:21.440
<v Speaker 1>up for some reason. Then they go, do you what

0:07:21.560 --> 0:07:24.440
<v Speaker 1>about this? Would you like to be a bad actor?

0:07:24.520 --> 0:07:28.880
<v Speaker 1>And then you're like, yes, very much, thank you, that'll

0:07:28.920 --> 0:07:33.120
<v Speaker 1>be fun. I'll be a good idea. And uh, you

0:07:33.240 --> 0:07:35.400
<v Speaker 1>end up doing all this stuff. You have no idea

0:07:35.480 --> 0:07:37.400
<v Speaker 1>what you're doing or how to do it or anything.

0:07:37.920 --> 0:07:40.800
<v Speaker 1>But I never stopped doing stand up. So that was

0:07:40.840 --> 0:07:44.880
<v Speaker 1>a good thing. I never I never. I always realized

0:07:44.960 --> 0:07:48.680
<v Speaker 1>I should just keep doing it. Who's everything everything that

0:07:48.720 --> 0:07:51.040
<v Speaker 1>I got by acts, and because of stand up, well

0:07:51.080 --> 0:07:52.840
<v Speaker 1>I was doing that. I kept doing stand up at

0:07:52.880 --> 0:07:54.800
<v Speaker 1>same time, that's a hell of a skill because you know,

0:07:54.840 --> 0:07:56.720
<v Speaker 1>I've heard Jay Letto talk about it. He always feels

0:07:56.720 --> 0:07:58.040
<v Speaker 1>like he could get in his car and drive around

0:07:58.080 --> 0:07:59.920
<v Speaker 1>American support himself if he ever had to. And you

0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:03.360
<v Speaker 1>could do that too, which is cool. Yeah, Letto Letto

0:08:03.800 --> 0:08:06.200
<v Speaker 1>Letto is a kind of kind of guy we all

0:08:06.280 --> 0:08:09.400
<v Speaker 1>took from you. Yeah, we've seen his stand up two

0:08:09.600 --> 0:08:12.280
<v Speaker 1>live and it is it is laugh until you're in

0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:14.680
<v Speaker 1>pain funny, which always made the you know, hosting the

0:08:14.680 --> 0:08:16.480
<v Speaker 1>Tonight show thing a little odd for those of us

0:08:16.480 --> 0:08:18.040
<v Speaker 1>who are huge fans of stand up. But we're not

0:08:18.080 --> 0:08:21.120
<v Speaker 1>here to talk about Jay. Let him. Norm McDonald's new

0:08:21.160 --> 0:08:24.120
<v Speaker 1>book is based on a true story. He would not

0:08:24.280 --> 0:08:26.520
<v Speaker 1>answer my question about what he thinks of humanity. I

0:08:26.520 --> 0:08:30.120
<v Speaker 1>can only assume he dreams of genocide every night. Ladies

0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:32.880
<v Speaker 1>and gentlemen, The fantastic Norm McDonald. Norm is great to

0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:37.720
<v Speaker 1>talk to you. Thanks man, fun alright, good deal, Let's

0:08:37.720 --> 0:08:41.319
<v Speaker 1>do it again sometime. Would really enjoy that. Yeah. I

0:08:41.320 --> 0:08:43.960
<v Speaker 1>couldn't even have told you that's one of his regular lines.

0:08:44.000 --> 0:08:45.679
<v Speaker 1>But when I heard him say it, he said that

0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:54.080
<v Speaker 1>a million times. Oh lord God, I love him, And

0:08:54.160 --> 0:08:57.240
<v Speaker 1>you know what, he's a Canadian. There may be two

0:08:57.679 --> 0:09:01.080
<v Speaker 1>unlikable Canadians on Earth. He's a a Canadian from living

0:09:01.120 --> 0:09:03.000
<v Speaker 1>between a town of one people in a town of

0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:05.199
<v Speaker 1>two hundred people. Yeah, I a little nervous about going

0:09:05.200 --> 0:09:07.719
<v Speaker 1>to the town to two hundred A big city lost.

0:09:09.440 --> 0:09:11.720
<v Speaker 1>Some people just have a funny way of talking, no

0:09:11.760 --> 0:09:15.200
<v Speaker 1>matter what they say. I guess we've exhausted that conversation.

0:09:15.840 --> 0:09:18.680
<v Speaker 1>You're listening to The Armstrong and Getty Show.