Episode 771 - Sammy Shore
Marc:all right let's do this how are you what the fuckers what the fuck buddies what the fucking ears what the fucksters what the fuckadelics you know who you are what's happening i'm mark maron this is my podcast wtf i don't know if you can tell
Marc:But I'm not recording from my garage.
Marc:Or maybe you can't tell.
Marc:Maybe the mic is so good and so perfect and my producer is so talented that you think I'm talking from home, but I'm not.
Marc:Are the levels okay?
Marc:Can you hear me all right?
Marc:Are my levels okay?
Marc:I've been having a hard time with levels.
Marc:Certainly in my life, in my real life, my levels are always a little off.
Marc:They're a little too loud.
Marc:Generally, people say I'm yelling.
Marc:I'm not yelling.
Marc:I'm just I'm just talking succinctly and powerfully with impact, not yelling, expressing myself.
Marc:Does this sound like yelling?
Marc:This is not yelling.
Marc:The levels OK.
Marc:But the problem has not been that.
Marc:It's been that my levels are too low.
Marc:Maybe I'm scaring my tape machine.
Marc:Maybe I'm actually intimidating my flash recorder.
Marc:It doesn't know if I'm yelling either.
Marc:And it's making decisions on its own.
Marc:It's like, this is a little too much for me.
Marc:I'm going to have to take this down a notch.
Marc:And it's doing it.
Marc:It's undermining me.
Marc:My flash recorder is being passive-aggressive.
Marc:That's not possible because I got control of the knob right now.
Marc:I could blow it out if I wanted to.
Marc:I could show this recorder who's boss.
Marc:Anyway, I'm in New York.
Marc:New York City.
Marc:I'm looking over 3rd Avenue.
Marc:And looking over a table where Sarah Kane, the painter, is eating vegetable sushi quietly, though we did have to take a minute off mic as she wrestled with the plastic container.
Marc:That's not good audio.
Marc:But she's doing that, gingering the role right now, as they say in the professional sushi trade.
Marc:Some people do the ginger as a palate cleanser.
Marc:Some people, like Sarah, just put it right on the sushi and add to it.
Marc:I personally am a palate cleanser, ginger guy, put a little wasabi on there.
Marc:It's not that I don't have anything to say.
Marc:It's just that I'm sitting here in a hotel room trying to enjoy life.
Marc:It's not easy all the time, the enjoying life thing.
Marc:There's a lot of pressing issues.
Marc:I imagine some of you just got through Christmas and now are entering the Hanukkah element.
Marc:Some of you were involved with the Hanukkah situation.
Marc:Some of you did the Christmas thing.
Marc:I'm actually recording this a day or two before Christmas, so I don't know what we're all going to go through.
Marc:I don't know what happens in the future.
Marc:I hope this goes up.
Marc:I hope you're hearing this on Monday because that means we got through it.
Marc:Every day is like that now, and it hasn't happened yet.
Marc:But, you know, I'm dealing with a sort of mild to intense Trump-related anxiety that is either escalated by engaging with the news cycle or with certain friends.
Marc:Different levels of panic.
Marc:I know some of you are just perhaps not many of you who listen to this sitting at home, just grateful at the change that has happened.
Marc:But many of us not so much aggressively skeptical, vigilantly apprehensive.
Marc:is the uh another way i would put it so today we're going to do sort of a profile and uh in in somewhat uh struggle and sadness in a way it's thematic for this show but i talked to sammy shore in las vegas a few months ago i went out to las vegas
Marc:it always reminds me when i say that of that lenny bruce bit where he's imitating a bad vegas comedy i was just in lost wages nevada anyway that said i went out there sammy shore the patriarch of the foot of the shore family the ex-husband of the empress of comedy mitzi shore the the original owner of the comedy store before it got famous has a story to tell but not a story of success my friends
Marc:He's an old-timer.
Marc:He was a one-time partner to Shecky Green in a comedy team.
Marc:He was a one-time opener for Elvis Presley.
Marc:He was that guy.
Marc:He was a guy.
Marc:He was on the cusp.
Marc:He was an act.
Marc:He was a known quantity in certain circles, a live performer, a showman from the old school, but never surfaced.
Marc:You don't know him, but some of you didn't know Shelley Berman.
Marc:Some of you didn't know Marty Allen.
Marc:Some of you didn't know some of the other old-timers I've had on here.
Marc:But Sammy's a different story.
Marc:Sammy is the father of Paulie and Peter and Sandy and Scott.
Marc:I'm sure you guys know Paulie.
Marc:I know Peter and Paulie.
Marc:But their mother is Mitzi, who comes up frequently on this show.
Marc:Because she is the one that started and built and made the comedy store what it was and the legacy of it lives on.
Marc:Still the best club in Los Angeles.
Marc:I highly recommend you take a trip into the belly of the dark beast that is the comedy store.
Marc:It maintains its integrity as a place of authenticity and risk and adventure on the comedic stages.
Marc:But Sammy Shore's life, Sammy Shore,
Marc:lost the store in a divorce settlement, basically gave it to her.
Marc:I think he might have some regret about that.
Marc:But in my mind, before talking to him, I'd always heard of him.
Marc:I always knew he was this comic.
Marc:It always played into the mythology that Mitzi Shore wrestled away the store from this comic husband who did her wrong and built it into this thing.
Marc:And Sammy was exiled out into the deserts of show business, that being Vegas.
Marc:And a lot of that is true.
Marc:and you're going to hear it here you're going to hear it buttress your hearts hold on to your seats for a tale of not quite success you know i've been entrenched in some way or another either uh uh
Marc:mystically or actually physically in the dynamics of the comedy store for what seems like half my life it's held a a very at sometimes at once dark place in my psyche and now a place of uh excitement and light it's interesting how things change as you get older something's got to be good right something's got it doesn't end well for anybody something's got to be good you got to wrestle and snatch a little bit of peace and happiness out of the jaws of life and
Marc:I'm being dramatic.
Marc:I'm about to go see Othello.
Marc:Maybe I'm just preparing.
Marc:I came out here to go to New Jersey.
Marc:I had some business in Jersey I had to take care of.
Marc:I'm gonna leave it at that.
Marc:You'll hear it.
Marc:What else is happening, you guys?
Marc:I'm eating too much.
Marc:It's the holidays.
Marc:A lot of cookies.
Marc:A lot of fuck it cookies.
Marc:Did anyone else make those?
Marc:Christmas fuck it cookies?
Marc:Someone better call some cookies that.
Marc:What kind of cookies are these?
Marc:Fuck it.
Marc:How many did you eat?
Marc:Fuck you.
Marc:The fuck it, fuck you cookies.
Marc:wait how jesus what'd you eat over the holidays maybe you should start exercising shut the fuck up how about a fuck it cookies fuck you there you go merry christmas happy hanukkah hope you're getting your presents i just went and had uh had some lunch with my uh with my buddy sam lipsite the genius genius writer
Marc:Why not throw a plug out for Sam?
Marc:Go read Sam's book.
Marc:You want some darkly funny, beautiful novels?
Marc:His last book, The Ask, is a wonderful book.
Marc:And The Subject Steve, an early novel.
Marc:Great homeland.
Marc:Amazing.
Marc:I love Sam Lipsight.
Marc:And he's my buddy.
Marc:And we don't see each other enough.
Marc:It's a very weird thing as you get older.
Marc:I don't know how old you are or how many friends you have.
Marc:Me, I know exactly how old I am and exactly how many friends I have.
Marc:I'm 53 years old and I have three friends.
Marc:That's not true.
Marc:I have a lot of friends.
Marc:But you know the kind I'm talking about where you're like, we got to sit down and do the friend business.
Marc:Not the everyday friend.
Marc:You know, not the guy you're sort of like, what's going on?
Marc:You want to have lunch today?
Marc:No, you're doing a thing.
Marc:All right, maybe tomorrow.
Marc:Not that guy.
Marc:I don't have too many of those guys.
Marc:But Sam and I, we go back and we go deep.
Marc:And when we meet, when we hook up, there's things to be solved.
Marc:There's problems to be solved and salved.
Marc:Things need to be solved and things need ointment.
Marc:You know?
Marc:That kind of friendship.
Marc:And when you let it go for a few months, a year, you sit down and you get at it.
Marc:Two men talking about sadness and some joy and some thoughts about things.
Marc:But I guess my point is, as you get older...
Marc:And you're able to sort of see the arc of your conversations, you know, from 20 years ago to now.
Marc:And, you know, when you're younger and you go into a restaurant in New York, New York's very specific like this because, you know, every other dude, every other person in this town is sort of someone who has clearly been here a long time.
Marc:And now they're just old, but they haven't told their clothing that.
Marc:But you go... You cracking up over there?
Marc:Just being an audience of one in the corner?
Marc:I'm talking to Sarah, who's not heckling me, but is trying not to laugh out loud as she looks out the window.
Marc:And she's not easy to make laugh.
Marc:I only make her laugh with my show.
Marc:In real life, very difficult.
Marc:Everything's very serious, very earnest.
Marc:But clearly...
Marc:She enjoys my sense of humor when she listens to me when I'm not around.
Marc:And this is one of those rare times where I'm performing live for her.
Marc:So what was I talking about?
Marc:Saddled men eating lunch?
Marc:That's right.
Marc:Let's get back to that.
Marc:No, but I guess my point is that I hope that if you have friendships, you appreciate them.
Marc:Like I made a point today.
Marc:Because the sad thing about having a friend for a long time is when you don't talk to each other enough.
Marc:And there's absolutely no fucking excuse for that.
Marc:I can text anybody in the world.
Marc:I can tweet people.
Marc:I can email.
Marc:Everyone knows where everybody is at all times.
Marc:Point is, I said to Sam, I said, this is crazy.
Marc:You know, if you got no one to talk to or you want to talk to me specifically for fuck's sake, let's talk.
Marc:I mean, what do you think I'm doing with my life?
Marc:Do you ever think about how many people you actually talk to anymore?
Marc:It's like you text them.
Marc:Maybe you email them.
Marc:Maybe you're in touch with them.
Marc:But, you know, sometimes you got to talk.
Marc:And me and Sam do it in person.
Marc:But like I just told him, I said, look, we got to stay in touch more.
Marc:I mean, just text me and ask me what's up.
Marc:I mean, these are we're heading into tough times.
Marc:We better be there for each other.
Marc:Am I right?
Marc:Now I'm going to share with you the conversation I had with Sammy Shore in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Marc:OK, look, man, here's the thing.
Marc:You might be talented.
Marc:You might be good at what you do.
Marc:You might want things in your life.
Marc:You might have dreams and all that and working towards them.
Marc:But sometimes, sometimes it doesn't all sync up.
Marc:But that doesn't mean that you're a failure.
Marc:Doesn't mean that you didn't try your hardest.
Marc:Doesn't mean you have to be bitter.
Marc:It means two things.
Marc:Be happy with what you do.
Marc:Three things.
Marc:Be happy with what you do.
Marc:Keep trying or give it up.
Marc:Let it go.
Marc:That's my pre-New Year message.
Marc:I'll change it.
Marc:I'll change it for New Year's.
Marc:I'm just going to go back and forth on stuff.
Marc:Hold on.
Marc:Oh.
Marc:Oh, that's nice.
Marc:I got a text from my mommy.
Marc:Yeah, she's been very supportive lately.
Marc:It's good.
Marc:At least she's showing up here in the last quarter.
Marc:She's going to give it up a little bit.
Marc:I love my mommy.
Marc:I hope you love your mommy.
Marc:Is that weird?
Marc:What am I doing?
Marc:Can we just get to the talk already?
Marc:All right.
Marc:This is me and Sammy Shore in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Marc:So where the hell, you know, I've talked to a couple of guys in your generation.
Marc:I talked to Marty.
Marc:I talked to Norman Lear.
Marc:I talked to Jonathan Winters.
Marc:I talked to, who else have I talked to the old time?
Marc:Oh, Shelly Berman I talked to.
Marc:I went to his house.
Marc:I hear his mental health is not what he used to be, but I got him on a good day.
Marc:He likes to collect knives.
Marc:Did you know that about Shelly Berman?
Marc:Knives?
Marc:He's got knives all over the place in cases.
Marc:But he was a Chicago guy.
Marc:You started in Chicago?
Guest:Yeah, I started on Chicago, yeah.
Guest:But not with him.
Marc:Right.
Marc:Before or after?
Marc:Before him.
Marc:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:So what was, like, how did you... Are we on or what?
Marc:Sure, yeah.
Marc:We're on?
Marc:Yeah, absolutely.
Guest:Well, why don't you tell me we were on?
Marc:That's not the way I do it.
Marc:How do you do it?
Marc:I slip it in.
Marc:I slip it in and we're just going.
Marc:But, like, the Chicago comedy scene, I've talked to... Who else?
Marc:Like, what was going on up there?
Marc:How did your family end up in Chicago?
Marc:Well...
Guest:I got married in Chicago.
Marc:To Mitzi?
Marc:Mitzi, yes.
Marc:But before that, before that, your folks, like what was the story?
Marc:What were the Jews like in Chicago?
Guest:What were the Jews like in Chicago?
Guest:They were like Jews like today.
Marc:But what kind of business was your father in?
Guest:My father was in a used furniture store.
Marc:Oh, you did, yeah.
Guest:Hyman Shore and Sons.
Guest:Hyman Shore.
Guest:And Sons, yeah.
Marc:Did you work at the store?
Guest:Yeah, I helped my dad, yeah.
Guest:I was there for a while.
Guest:How many brothers and sisters did you have?
Guest:I had three brothers.
Marc:Did they end up taking over the business?
Guest:No, no.
Guest:My father sold the business later on when he couldn't work anymore.
Guest:And now my brother drove a cab.
Guest:One became a cop.
Guest:And Bernard stayed with my father.
Guest:He was just not well.
Marc:Are they all gone?
Marc:Yeah, they're all dead now.
Marc:And how did you start into getting involved?
Marc:Were you into music first?
Yeah.
Guest:Yeah, kind of, yeah, kind of into music, kind of.
Guest:I got into, I got into music, a trumpet player, and I was a trumpet player.
Guest:I used to go to my dad, I said, Dad, would you give me $2 for my trumpet lesson?
Guest:He said, I gave you the $2.
Guest:I said, Pat, it was for last week's lesson.
Guest:He said, you couldn't learn last week?
Guest:He was just angry, pissed off.
Guest:All the time?
Guest:Always something.
Guest:And what about your mother?
Guest:My mother was just the sweetest lady in the world.
Guest:She got me everything I wanted.
Guest:She stole money out of his pocket so she could buy me steaks.
Guest:You know, she was just a wonderful woman.
Guest:I miss her.
Guest:She was just a great, great, great woman.
Marc:It's good to have that memory, right?
Guest:Yeah, that's it.
Guest:That's the only one I have.
Marc:And when you were doing trumpet, what was the scene, though?
Marc:Were you in the big band music?
Guest:No, no.
Guest:I went, I started, I was 12, 13 years old.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And I started taking trumpet lessons, and I got fairly good.
Guest:Then I was in the high school band, Fourth Trumpet.
Guest:Right.
Guest:And then I became a trumpet player with local bands, and then
Marc:What was it, big band music at the time?
Guest:Yeah, kind of, kind of.
Guest:The high school was a big band.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:And the bands that I worked in were just five-piece, six-piece, you know.
Guest:Playing popular music, like dance music.
Guest:Yeah, just, you know, we'd work a weekend at a joint.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I was always the second or third trumpet player.
Guest:I was never the first trumpet player.
Guest:And I was pissed off at that, you know.
Marc:Did you have the chops to be first?
Guest:Yeah, I had good chops, but I just...
Guest:Couldn't get it together for myself.
Marc:Did you like the jazz life?
Marc:Did you like playing?
Guest:Yes, I liked the jazz life.
Guest:I liked it a lot.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:And I just couldn't get with it.
Guest:I couldn't.
Guest:No.
Guest:No.
Guest:No.
Marc:You're always a ba-da-ba-ba-off.
Guest:One off.
Guest:I couldn't get it.
Guest:I couldn't get the jazz beat.
Guest:I couldn't get it.
Guest:I just had to stay with the corny junk crap that I was given to read.
Marc:Right, right, right.
Marc:You couldn't riff.
Marc:You couldn't riff.
Guest:No, I couldn't riff.
Guest:Not at all.
Guest:so when did you start uh when did you know that you were you were funny what time is it yeah this morning about 10 minutes ago i was in high school yeah and i was in the high school plays oh yeah yeah and i was just funny just a funny kid
Marc:You had the timing.
Guest:Yeah, just the timing.
Guest:I had the timing.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:And I had a good lip.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:And I could read.
Guest:So I worked with, you know, four or five piece orchestras around the city.
Guest:And then once I worked with a Tony Pareto, either Parello or whatever his name was, a great trumpet player.
Guest:He had a band, a big band.
Guest:He put me in.
Guest:I played fourth trumpet.
Guest:And that's where I stayed.
Guest:Fourth trumpet.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Was it for me.
Marc:Yeah, and what about the, when did you start?
Marc:Did you ever do any comedy when you were with the band?
Guest:No, I didn't do nothing.
Guest:I just played music.
Guest:I tried to be funny with the band and told you to lose the same shit up.
Guest:No jokes.
Guest:Just read the notes.
Guest:Just read the notes.
Marc:And what inspired you to start doing comedy?
Guest:Well, I got to be about 20, 19, 20, 21.
Guest:I was just a funny kid.
Guest:Just a funny kid.
Marc:Were you working somewhere?
Guest:Did you have a job?
Guest:No, no.
Guest:I got a job at Oakton Manor Resort in Pewaukee, Wisconsin.
Marc:Now, what is that?
Marc:Was that a Jewish resort?
Guest:That's a resort.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:A regular resort.
Guest:A Wisconsin resort that catered to people from Chicago.
Marc:How'd you get that gig?
Guest:What's his name?
Guest:Lou Pollock was a clothier.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:And I worked in his clothing.
Guest:So I used to make the customers laugh.
Guest:Right.
Guest:He said, Sammy, you're not selling any clothes.
Guest:You're making the people laugh.
Guest:I mean, you know.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Let me see if I can get you up at Oakton Manor Resort.
Marc:And that was the place?
Marc:That was the place, yes.
Marc:Was it mostly?
Guest:90 miles outside of Chicago.
Marc:And it was like a Catskills type of thing?
Marc:Yeah, that was it.
Guest:That was it.
Marc:Like the Chicago version?
Guest:Yes, all Jewish people.
Guest:And I used to hear about Shecky.
Guest:Shecky Green.
Guest:Yeah, people used to come and say, you know Shecky Green?
Guest:I said, no, no.
Guest:Well, he's a funny guy.
Guest:He's a real funny guy.
Guest:You should have him come up here.
Guest:He'd be really funny.
Marc:You used to hear about him at the resort?
Guest:Yes, yes.
Guest:From people that lived on his side of town.
Marc:But you didn't know him?
Guest:I didn't know him, no.
Marc:You had never seen him?
Guest:Never seen him, never seen him work.
Marc:Who were the comics working up there?
Marc:What were you doing up there when you first got the gig?
Guest:I was a social director.
Marc:Oh, okay.
Guest:I did everything.
Marc:Right, right, right.
Guest:The bowling, the this, the that.
Marc:But they had comics coming up.
Guest:No, no, I was the only comic they had.
Marc:But it wasn't a show.
Guest:No, wait a second.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:You're rushing me.
Marc:I'm sorry, buddy.
Guest:Okay.
Marc:Take it easy.
Marc:I'm sorry.
Guest:Okay.
Guest:You want to kiss my ring?
Guest:Yeah, please.
Marc:Oh, you don't have it.
Guest:You forgot the ring.
Guest:I just bought my wife a ring.
Marc:Didn't Elvis give you a ring?
Guest:No, I bought my wife a beautiful diamond ring.
Marc:You did?
Marc:Suzanne?
Marc:No, she left.
Marc:Oh, she left?
Marc:She's hawking the ring.
Guest:Oh, I bought her a $5,000 diamond ring.
Guest:Oh, that's nice.
Yeah.
Guest:Kind of a marriage kind of a thing.
Guest:Anyways, so all I heard was Shecky.
Guest:Shecky Green, Shecky Green.
Guest:One day, the Greyhound bus pulls up in front of the resort.
Guest:Off comes this blonde kid, kind of built with a suitcase.
Guest:I says, oh shit, it's Shecky Green.
Guest:And it was Shacky Green.
Guest:He came over to me and said, where's Sid Shinderman?
Guest:I said, he's in the main lodge over there.
Guest:Are you Shacky Green?
Guest:He said, yes.
Guest:I got to talk to Shinderman.
Guest:Are you going to work here?
Guest:I don't know yet.
Guest:He was always pissed off.
Guest:Already.
Guest:Then all of a sudden, over the loudspeaker, I heard the voice, Sammy Shore, come to the main building to see Sid Chinderman.
Guest:I said, oh, this is it.
Guest:And he says, Sam, I want you to meet Shacky Green.
Guest:Shacky Greenfield, actually.
Guest:Shacky Green.
Guest:I said, hi.
Guest:You two are going to be partners.
Guest:You're teaming up with Shacky.
Guest:And Shakey looked at me like, oh, God.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:He didn't actually like that.
Marc:Right.
Guest:So we teamed up, and we wrote a song.
Guest:We're the boys from Oakton, and we've come to play.
Guest:That Oakton treats you in the finest way.
Guest:You don't want to go to Schwartz's, no pity.
Guest:Right?
Guest:You know, it was just a crazy song.
Guest:Is that the other place?
Guest:Yeah, and then we teamed up, and we wrote stuff, and we went out two nights a week, and we did our show.
Guest:At the resort.
Guest:It was terrific.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:We were just sensational, and people kept hearing about us, and kept packing the resort, and he was doing more business with us there.
Yeah.
Guest:Were you doing a variety show, song and dance?
Guest:It was a variety show, yeah.
Guest:Ladies and gentlemen, Sammy Shaw and Jackie Greenbaum.
Guest:Hey, we're the boys from Oakland, and we come out with this song, and then go.
Guest:And did you set him up?
Guest:Were you the straight guy?
Guest:Yeah, I was sort of the straight guy.
Guest:And then when I did bits, he did straight, and then...
Guest:we just mixed it up yeah yeah and then we met a wealthy lady yeah her name was i forgot her name but she was a wealthy lady and she had a wealthy husband yeah and she said we wouldn't you guys are ready for new york
Guest:We were not ready for New York.
Marc:And what did that mean to you at that time?
Marc:Where would you go to New York?
Marc:They were gonna take you and put you up.
Guest:Oh, no, she was gonna get an agent.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:A big agent.
Guest:Right.
Guest:GAC, she had a friend there.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And he was gonna get me a room in New York for both of us.
Guest:And to appear there.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:So you said, oh, check it, we're going to New York, oh yeah.
Marc:What are you guys, like 25?
Guest:No, about, Shacky was 22 and I was 21.
Guest:Holy shit.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Kids.
Guest:Kids.
Guest:So you go to New York?
Guest:So we went to New York.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Where the boys from Oakton and we've come to say that Oakton treat, no, they were not, they did not treat us in the finest way.
Marc:Get him off.
Marc:You're doing Chicago shtick.
Guest:Yes.
Guest:The thing we did at the resort.
Guest:Right.
Guest:We're doing that there.
Guest:And we bombed.
Guest:And you're young, too.
Guest:Yeah, we're young kids.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:They came over to us and said, you guys stink.
Guest:You guys are, forget about it.
Guest:The worst.
Guest:You're out of here.
Marc:Too bad.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:That was it.
Guest:Then Checky got sick.
Guest:We had a suite at one of the big hotels there.
Marc:Like the plaza or something?
Guest:Yeah, I had a suite.
Guest:He had a suite.
Guest:And Milton, the husband of the lady that took us there, he was with her, you know.
Guest:He came to see the show and all the day.
Guest:Don't worry about it.
Guest:We'll get something else.
Guest:Don't worry about it.
Guest:You're going to be fine.
Guest:And I felt terrible.
Guest:It was just...
Guest:We weren't ready for New York.
Guest:We weren't even ready for Oakton Manor Resort.
Marc:I mean.
Marc:Yeah, you were kids.
Marc:You had a summer job almost.
Guest:Yeah, that's all it was.
Guest:And we did what we had to do.
Guest:And the people liked it.
Guest:They loved us.
Guest:So we stayed about a year.
Marc:At Oakton.
Marc:You left New York.
Marc:You licked your wounds.
Guest:You went back.
Marc:Both of you and Jackie went back?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:and a guy drowned on us.
Marc:What do you mean?
Guest:Well, we were swimming instructors, too.
Guest:We had to watch the pool.
Guest:You had a pool in the place.
Guest:So I would be upstairs doing whatever it was, and Shecky would be watching the pool, and Shecky would go upstairs and do something, and then one day I went up, both of us went up, and we were gone, and the lady kept screaming, someone's drowning, someone's drowning, hurry up, hurry, someone's drowning.
Guest:and so check in i came back down the stairs into the pool he was at the bottom of the pool and we pulled him out and he was dead 28 years old on his honeymoon oh my god he was dead that's horrendous bottom of the pool and that was it we dragged him out i
Guest:I pumped him, and then Shecky pumped him, of course we called him, whatever, whatever.
Guest:Ambulance.
Guest:And they tried to revive him, and it was just, the man died, he was 28 years old.
Guest:His face is so, so, so much in front of me all the time.
Guest:Really?
Guest:I never forgot him.
Guest:Horrible.
Guest:Never forgot him.
Guest:Just a sweet man, just,
Guest:lovable guy, just happy guy at the bottom of the pool.
Guest:What a terrible feeling.
Guest:Heartbreaking.
Guest:Terrible.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:It was that whole time in my life being at the resort where Shecky was, I don't know, it just didn't get any better.
Guest:And then he got pissed off at the band leader, Manuela.
Guest:Why do you know how to play the goddamn music?
Guest:Why don't you play it?
Guest:Shecky, shut up.
Guest:Don't, you know.
Marc:He was always mad, huh?
Marc:Yeah, Manuela was his name.
Guest:And he kept swearing at him.
Guest:I hate him.
Guest:He's terrible.
Guest:He's not terrible, Shecky.
Guest:He's just playing a little music that we have.
Guest:Nah, he's always putting him down.
Guest:So finally, Shecky, I'm quitting.
Guest:I said, I'm quitting.
Guest:What are you quitting?
Guest:Where are you going?
Guest:I'm quitting.
Guest:I said, okay, you're quitting.
Guest:And he quit.
Guest:And I was left out there by myself.
Marc:He quit on stage?
Guest:After the show.
Marc:Okay.
Guest:He quit.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And he says, I'm getting out of here.
Guest:I said, okay.
Marc:And that was that.
Guest:And I was the star again.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:It was great.
Guest:It was great.
Guest:I did the sticks and the bits and the things and the, you know, and he saw me.
Guest:Jackie did.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:He said, hey, you're not bad.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:You know, I kept coughing.
Guest:I got this cold.
Guest:Yeah, I know Shucky.
Guest:I'll be back tomorrow night.
Guest:I'll be back with the show tomorrow night.
Guest:He came back.
Marc:After he quit?
Guest:Yeah, he came back.
Guest:He saw how great I was.
Guest:He just came back.
Marc:He didn't want to let you have it?
Guest:No, he just wouldn't let me get those laughs.
Marc:And how'd you end up solo?
Marc:How'd he end up solo?
Marc:What happened?
Guest:I got a job in New Orleans at a lounge.
Marc:How'd that happen?
Marc:I don't know.
Guest:Through an agent, Paul Guerrero was his name.
Marc:Did it end well at the Oakton Manor?
Marc:No, he quit.
Guest:We left there after that.
Guest:After about a year, we left.
Guest:And I got a job in New Orleans at a lounge.
Guest:And I was the head of the town.
Guest:Everyone was coming to see me.
Guest:The mafia, Bobby the mafia, the young guy, said, Sammy, I want you to come with me on this Sunday.
Guest:I want to introduce you to my brothers.
Guest:You know, hey, you're coming.
Guest:So I got in the limo that one Sunday.
Guest:We went out there and way, way, way.
Guest:In New Orleans.
Guest:In New Orleans.
Guest:at this restaurant and a whole bunch of guys were sitting around like you see the movies yeah and he says say me sit down and just keep quiet you know my brother's talking you know and you guys you know you
Guest:you guys are okay, you're doing all right.
Guest:We gotta make it a little bit better and keep the stuff down and they don't know what we're doing, whatever he was talking.
Guest:I didn't know what he was talking about.
Guest:Bobby, his name was Bobby.
Guest:He'd pick me up every Sunday, we'd go out there to watch and to do whatever.
Marc:Did you eat?
Guest:Yeah, eat, you know, and just be part of that.
Guest:And it was great for me.
Marc:Was that the first time you, like, encountered the mafia?
Marc:Because they ran show business, right?
Guest:Yeah, yeah, they did everything.
Guest:It had nothing to do with the lounge.
Marc:Right.
Guest:And then the owner of the lounge said to me, Sam, you know anybody that can follow you in for a couple weeks?
Guest:You know, I don't have another comic like you, you know?
Guest:You're so great.
Guest:And I thought, well, Shaky Green.
Yeah.
Guest:So I said, Jackie Green, what a mistake that was.
Guest:I put Jackie Green in, and he killed him.
Guest:He killed him in two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, five weeks.
Guest:He was the comic.
Marc:You lost your job?
Guest:Yes, another job, that was it.
Guest:He was the guy.
Marc:What was he doing?
Marc:The improv stuff still at the beginning?
Marc:Was he just riffing?
Marc:What was he doing?
Guest:No, he was, he had kind of an act.
Guest:He would, you know, kibitz and bullshit the people.
Guest:And, you know, he would, he would always just fool around with the people.
Guest:And I did an act.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Straight up.
Marc:Straight up.
Marc:You didn't do crowd work?
Guest:Yeah, a little bit here and there, you know.
Guest:But whatever it was, it was great.
Guest:They loved it.
Guest:I did great.
Guest:And then Shackie went in and he did greater.
Guest:And the owner, three weeks, four weeks, five weeks.
Guest:I said, Bill, how long is Shackie going to be here?
Guest:He said, we don't know.
Guest:He's doing great.
Guest:Look at the room.
Guest:It's packed.
Guest:I said, oh, okay.
Guest:I left there and that was it.
Guest:Then I got him a job.
Guest:Another job.
Guest:I got him another job at the Martha Ray Supper Club in Florida.
Guest:Martha Ray had a supper club.
Marc:You went from New Orleans to Florida?
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:And I got him a job at the Martha Ray Supper Club in Florida.
Guest:And that's where it started for him.
Guest:Everyone was talking about Jackie Green.
Marc:You're awfully nice to a guy that keeps putting you out of work.
Guest:That's the way I was.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And you're still friends.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Guest:He was supposed to meet me.
Guest:I can't trust him anymore.
Marc:oh yeah screw him oh really now now is it at 90 is you finally drawing a line yeah that's it yeah he's but like after so after new orleans like what was the what was the work like because you're now you're a guy you're you're you got an act and like there were no comedy clubs it was all supper clubs no supper and you just what you had a booking agent that would run you anywhere paul paul mar was my booking yeah
Guest:And he booked all the comics and all the guys.
Guest:So Paul booked me in a few rooms at a hotel and different places.
Guest:And I did great.
Guest:Always did great.
Marc:Were you headlining or usually opening?
Guest:Yeah, kind of like semi-headlining with the star who was ever there.
Marc:Like a singer sometimes?
Guest:Yeah, usually a singer.
Guest:And I stayed around there for a while.
Marc:How'd you end up in Florida?
Guest:Well, I decided to, an agent called me from Florida, Michael Morris.
Marc:And you're still in your 20s?
Marc:Yes, mid-20s, 25.
Marc:And there's a lot of comics, right?
Marc:People forget that they're like, you know, they say there's a lot of comics now, but there were hundreds of them, right?
Marc:Oh, God, they're all over the place.
Marc:all over the place.
Guest:So Marvin Morris called me.
Guest:He said, Sammy, I heard about you and all that.
Guest:Why don't you come down here?
Guest:You'll be able to work every night.
Guest:I said, you're kidding me.
Guest:He said, no.
Guest:We got rooms all over the place.
Guest:So I told my wife at the time, Mitzi, and we moved to Florida.
Marc:Did you have kids yet?
Guest:Yeah, we had two kids.
Marc:Now, let's go back.
Marc:So you met Mitzi at the club, at the resort?
Marc:What was she doing?
Marc:She was just a kid, kind of?
Guest:She was kind of working as a secretary.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Uh-huh.
Guest:I said, could you tap up some jokes for me?
Guest:And she said, sure.
Guest:And she got to the, oh, this is at a resort in Wisconsin.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Pine Point Resort.
Guest:Oh, good.
Guest:In Wisconsin before the other resort.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And you were working there?
Guest:Yeah, I was working there.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And no Jackie, just me.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And all of a sudden, we got very close.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I gave her a bongada bingada bongada.
Guest:Uh-huh.
Guest:And, you know, she had two kids.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:And I got married.
Marc:You got married after the kids?
Guest:No, we got before the kids.
Marc:Okay.
Marc:That's Sandy and Scotty, right?
Guest:That was Scotty.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And Sandy?
Guest:It was Sandy and Scotty.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Then Peter and then Pauly.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:But you had two kids when you were moved to Florida.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And now was Mitzi, did she work for you primarily?
Guest:No, she was still at a resort.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:She was still there.
Guest:And then I got a job in Vegas.
Guest:Oh, yeah, Vegas.
Marc:We're in Vegas now.
Guest:We're in Vegas.
Guest:Maybe I can get a job.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Is the owner, is the owner?
Marc:We can introduce you.
Marc:So after Florida, you went to Vegas?
Yeah.
Guest:yeah yeah after florida yeah i went to vegas yeah well she was part of it you know she was like i got to at the riviera hotel yeah i worked there uh about once a month and uh and i started getting hot again i really started getting
Guest:People were coming to see me and they were in a comic you got to see this comic in Vegas Yeah, and then Bill Miller who was booking the International Hotel which hadn't opened yet Yeah, and also the Riviera which I worked.
Guest:Yeah, he was booking in both rooms and he said to me said Sammy
Guest:How would you like to open for Elvis?
Guest:I said, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Guest:So this is in the 60s?
Guest:I'm going to have him come to see you.
Guest:He and the Colonel Parker.
Guest:I was at the Flamingo Hotel with Tom Jones.
Marc:Okay.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:How long did he open for Tom Jones?
Marc:A while?
Guest:Yeah, a few weeks.
Marc:Yeah?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Good guy?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Good guy.
Guest:Still sings, bro.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Still sings.
Guest:So the Colonel and Elvis and Bill Miller came knocking at my door.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I couldn't believe it was them knocking at my door, looking at me.
Marc:What's this, the mid-60s?
Guest:Yeah, I think so.
Guest:Something like that?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Uh-huh.
Marc:And there's Elvis.
Marc:Beautiful Elvis.
Marc:Oh, God.
Marc:Shiny Elvis.
Guest:He was gorgeous.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:You see me?
Guest:I really like it.
Guest:I think you're funny, Sammy.
Guest:You're a funny guy.
Guest:And Bill Muller says, well, how would you like to open for Elvis?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:in three weeks at the new International Hotel after Barbra Streisand.
Guest:I said, wow, I would love it.
Guest:You got it.
Guest:And that was it.
Guest:The beginning of the rest for me, it was like working with Elvis a year after five years.
Marc:Five years you were out here working with Elvis, still married.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And she was out here, Mitzi was with you?
Guest:Yeah, she was here.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I wasn't living here.
Guest:Right.
Guest:I was living in L.A.
Guest:at the time.
Guest:Moved to L.A.
Guest:from Florida.
Guest:Because Sterling Siliphant, who was a great writer, saw me at the St.
Guest:Petersburg Hotel in St.
Guest:Petersburg, Florida.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:He liked me so much.
Guest:He said, Sammy, you got an acting, you got something here.
Guest:Something is like not right here, you know.
Guest:So he wrote me a part in Route 66.
Guest:you know and i did it as a engineer i fell in the water they got me out yeah it was like it was it was a great part and i got that part and i started getting other parts i started getting you know not big parts but parts that
Marc:Right, you did Gomer Pyle, The Munsters.
Guest:Yeah, I did a lot of them, a lot of them.
Marc:Little sitcoms here and there.
Guest:Yeah, just, you know, all over the place.
Marc:And he's the guy that pulled you out to LA, though, to live here?
Guest:And he wrote me that part, and he wrote me another part, and another show I did.
Guest:He was incredible.
Marc:So then you're living, I guess you moved to L.A.
Marc:in the early 60s somewhere?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And you're doing all the little TV, and then you're doing the club dates in Vegas.
Marc:So you're living the good life as a comic and actor.
Marc:Yes, very good life.
Marc:You paid your dues, you did the supper clubs.
Marc:What did I hear, that you were at a supper club somewhere and a guy got shot?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:It was one of my first jobs at Danville, Illinois.
Marc:Oh.
Guest:I was out there doing the girl.
Guest:The girls were coming out later.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:It was a strip joint.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And I'm doing it, and all of a sudden, bang, bang, you know, right in front of me.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:The guy shoots a guy right in his face.
Guest:Oh, my God.
Guest:I said, Mike, that's just what I said.
Guest:Oh, my God.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And I said, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Guest:Stop, everybody.
Guest:And I picked up my horn.
Guest:I picked up my horn and played Louis Armstrong.
Guest:I picked up my horn and played Louis Armstrong.
Guest:Saints go marching.
Guest:Never forgot it.
Guest:And then everything died down and the police came.
Guest:And you stayed on stage.
Guest:I stayed on stage and did the rest of my act.
Guest:I stayed through the whole night.
Marc:That was the right thing to do, huh?
Marc:Yes, it was.
Marc:Yes.
Marc:The owner must have been appreciative.
Guest:Yeah, he did.
Guest:He was very appreciative.
Guest:I didn't even know who it was.
Guest:I didn't know the owner.
Marc:Yeah, but the guy who, it was a mafia thing probably, right?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:$125 a week I got at the, even a supper club, I forgot.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:I don't know.
Marc:But you worked with a lot of people, like the Andrews sisters.
Marc:You worked with a lot of people, right?
Guest:I worked with,
Guest:all of them you name it i've been there yeah diana ross and the supreme oh yeah did the hollywood palace with them oh yeah if you can get the hollywood palace you can just show a clip of me do my brother sam give me an amen give me hallelujah right that preacher bit preacher bit yeah you did a record with that yes an album yeah yes i did a record with that and it didn't do very well
Marc:So you're coming to Vegas.
Marc:Now you got, what, three kids, I imagine?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Before Pauly, the last kid.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:So Mitzi's here living in where?
Marc:Hollywood?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:That's where your house was.
Guest:Big house.
Marc:Big house.
Marc:What a big house.
Guest:$138,000 I paid for it.
Marc:Not the one on Doheny?
Marc:Yes.
Guest:Oh, that one?
Marc:Yes.
Marc:Oh, yeah.
Marc:Big house.
Marc:That was nice.
Marc:Yeah, beautiful.
Marc:Yeah, and so you're living the life, and Elvis is taking care of you.
Marc:What was it like hanging out with him?
Marc:Did you get any sense of that?
Guest:He was kind of with the guys mostly, the guys he hung out with.
Guest:With Rad and Sonny?
Guest:Yeah, Rad, the guys.
Marc:He was insulated, Dr. Nick?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:So he didn't seem like he was going down like he did, did he?
Guest:No, not until later on.
Guest:He started...
Guest:eating and drinking and you know just i said elvis what's going on you know he said he didn't know that you know he just he just fell apart and what was colonel uh the colonel tom parker like he was
Guest:He wasn't a nice man, but he was nice to me.
Guest:Really nice to me.
Guest:I used to sit with him every night at the roulette wheel, all the gambling places, and he wouldn't give me any money.
Guest:I would just watch him.
Guest:He would win and lose and, you know, what's the matter with these brothers?
Guest:Would these dice?
Guest:He didn't see me close to him.
Guest:He said, you better spin him down, Sammy.
Guest:And after about five years, then that was it.
Guest:I had to leave.
Guest:It's like it's the end of the road for me.
Marc:Well, what happened with that gig?
Marc:Why'd you lose the Elvis gig?
Marc:I thought that was a lifetime gig.
Guest:no what happened was i accepted a job in the lounge at the same hotel the star in the lounge yeah while i'm working with them and that was a real stand-up show that was a comic show that was a big i had a tent built i had the brother sam bit the whole thing yeah really you know yeah and i bombed yeah it just wasn't it wasn't for me it was a big 700 seat room and one day
Guest:uh what's his name the curtain the colonel yeah the guy that was the road manager he came to me says sammy he says uh elvis doesn't want you anywhere he doesn't want anyone working the lounge i say motel you're fired that was it i had 16 weeks in the lounge after that
Guest:And he bombed the whole 16 weeks?
Guest:No.
Guest:Oh, good.
Guest:I did well.
Guest:That was a smaller room.
Marc:Oh, okay.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And what did Mitzi say about all this?
Marc:Was she still watching your career?
Marc:Were you guys getting along?
Guest:Yeah, we were.
Guest:I was sorry I got married to her.
Marc:Yeah?
Marc:You had a lot of kids.
Guest:Yeah, four kids.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Throw them out.
Guest:What am I going to do with the kids?
Marc:You're sorry you got married to her?
Marc:Why?
Marc:Was she difficult?
Guest:Yeah, she was...
Guest:She was a pain in the ass.
Guest:Yeah?
Guest:Yeah, she was.
Guest:I mean, she's not well now, but she's just, I don't know.
Guest:It's just, it was a sad ending.
Guest:You know, it was just, she wanted the house in Doheny.
Guest:I gave her the house.
Guest:She wanted this.
Guest:I gave her that.
Guest:And then she says, I want the comedy store.
Guest:i said what yeah just give me give me the comments and i'll take 600 off the child support i said 600 bucks i said i was paying 1100 at the time 600 bucks well yeah well that was okay that was like a schmuck yeah like a schmuck i gave her the comedy store no strings attached nothing didn't make a penny from it
Guest:Could have had 5%, 10% at the end of, you know.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Didn't take anything because I was stupid.
Guest:I was a dumb Jew.
Marc:Well, it made sense so financially at the time.
Marc:Well, let's go to that.
Marc:So you're in L.A.
Marc:What is the birth of the Comedy Store?
Marc:What was it originally?
Guest:I was doing a show for Sam Singer.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:He manages Frank Sentis.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Who owned a club, Lido, owned a couple of places.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:It was well, well known.
Guest:In Hollywood.
Guest:In Vegas.
Guest:Oh, in Vegas.
Guest:Yes.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And I did this show for Sam Singer, and I did well, and he loved me.
Guest:He said, Sam, let me say something to you.
Guest:We've got the Club Lido, you know, it's a big nightclub down the street there.
Guest:There's a lounge in there that nothing's going on.
Guest:We've singers, and it's just nothing happening.
Guest:Nothing happens there.
Guest:So why don't you go in there with your comedy friends and do stand-up and see what happens?
Guest:So I said, Jordan, okay.
Guest:I met Frank Sinis.
Guest:And he said, oh, go, go, go, go, go do it.
Marc:He was the owner?
Guest:Yeah, he was the owner.
Guest:He owned the Club Lido.
Marc:He owned the whole building.
Marc:Which was now the comedy store.
Guest:Yeah, well, the comedy store was part of the whole hotel.
Guest:It was part of the Club Lido.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:That was the smaller size.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Right.
Marc:And the bigger size.
Marc:It was the main room, right?
Marc:The main room was over there.
Marc:It was Club Lido.
Marc:And before that, it was Ciro's years ago.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:And then, like, who knows?
Marc:This was, like, in what, the 60s, late 60s?
Guest:Yeah, probably.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:So he said, look, do something with the lounge.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And you're like, all right.
Guest:Okay, so I said to my friend Rudy, hey Rudy, I got the lounge over at, you know, Club Lido, you know, the loungers, we could put some comics in there and do some stand-up, what do you think?
Guest:He said, I don't know.
Guest:Yeah, that would be fun.
Guest:Okay, let's try it.
Guest:So I said, okay.
Guest:So the next day, Rudy's in the club painting it black.
Guest:I said, what are you painting, Rudy?
Guest:He said, I'm painting it black.
Guest:It's black.
Guest:It's dark.
Guest:It's like, get it dark.
Guest:It's a nightclub color.
Guest:It's perfect.
Guest:I said, okay.
Guest:He painted the whole club black.
Guest:And we had the booths.
Guest:And April 28th, 1972, was the opening of the Comedy Store.
Guest:And that was the beginning of my downfall and away, you know.
Guest:That wasn't before Misty.
Guest:This was like later on.
Guest:But I... Who was on?
Guest:I got...
Guest:I don't remember the guys.
Guest:They were not well-known.
Guest:They were comics.
Guest:We had about four or five comics and a singer.
Guest:We had a piano player.
Guest:Larry played piano.
Guest:And that was it.
Guest:And Rudy invited all his writing friends.
Guest:And that was a big hit that night, April 27, 1972.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And you didn't have a group of guys that was there all the time?
Marc:What, Craig T. Nielsen?
Guest:No, no, Craig came in later.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:All the guys came in later.
Marc:These are just comics.
Guest:After about a year, Art Singer, who managed Johnny Carson, came in to see the show.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And he liked me so much.
Guest:He said, Sam, you got something special here.
Guest:I said, what do you mean?
Guest:He says, you know, the way you're working and the way you're, you know, why don't we do something and I'll bring in people from the Jerry Lester show.
Guest:He's going to close, the show's going to close in a year or so and then maybe they'll like you and you could do the Jerry Lester show.
Guest:That was a big time already.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And I said, oh, okay.
Guest:He hired writers.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:We rehearsed every day.
Guest:I had 10 writers.
Guest:Jokes and this and that.
Guest:For you to host a show.
Guest:I was going to host a show.
Guest:And then we, that night came at the Hollywood Palace.
Guest:He rented it out and all that.
Guest:And had the people from the network
Guest:uh the three guys yeah came to see me yeah we did it from the start the start of the the beginning of the show that had tony orlando and dawn yeah and you know a couple i think one or two comics i don't know so we did an hour and a half
Guest:and after the show the guys from abc yeah no it's not our kind of thing ah and i didn't get it and my kids were there watching it mitzi was there and uh it was the end for me that was it that was your big shot yeah that was it but you had the store though right i still had the store yeah and how was that forming did you was that a popular place
Guest:Yeah, it was starting to get popular.
Guest:It was starting to get a little busier, a little busier, a little busier.
Guest:And then when Mitzi took it over, she changed the whole idea of the place.
Guest:She was at the register with the money coming in.
Guest:And she booked the guys from 9 to 9.30.
Guest:About 9.30, the quarter to 10, 10 to 15.
Guest:She had everything lined up with the names and the things.
Guest:and they went and did it and it worked for her it just seemed to work for her and it got better and better and better and better and this is before you guys split up she was running the place yeah she was running it and i was on the road 16 weeks in vegas you were yeah and i came back and it was like it was over with it was a minty showroom it was yeah now did she take your guys who were the guys that you put in there
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Guest:Some of the guys, nothing was well-known.
Guest:Craig came in later.
Guest:Craig T. Nelson.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:No one knows he did stand-up.
Marc:Was he funny?
Marc:Yeah, he was funny.
Marc:He put you on coach, huh?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And who else was there?
Marc:Burski's father used to work the lot.
Marc:What was that guy's name?
Marc:Alan Burski's dad, right?
Marc:Burski's dad, yeah.
Marc:He parked cars for you?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And Burski was hanging around?
Guest:And my son Scott parked cars, too.
Marc:Oh, yeah?
Guest:Yeah.
Yeah.
Guest:So it was running well.
Marc:It was starting to really... But by the time she took it over, did you get the whole building?
Guest:No.
Marc:How did that happen?
Marc:You never had the whole building?
Guest:No, never had the whole building.
Guest:She took it over, and you got bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And then...
Guest:She finally got the comedy store.
Guest:She finally bought the comedy store.
Guest:Bought the building?
Guest:Bought the building.
Guest:She bought this.
Guest:She bought that apartment.
Guest:She bought that house.
Guest:She bought this.
Guest:She bought that.
Guest:The whole area was brought up by Mitchell Shore.
Marc:After you guys broke up.
Guest:Yeah, she just was bright.
Guest:She had an idea of what to do, and I didn't.
Guest:And she wound up with it, and she became very popular.
Guest:And my name was never mentioned.
Guest:You know, don't mention Sammy Shore.
Guest:My name was put on the outside Sammy Shore with all the names.
Guest:yeah like big deal you know so that was it for me that was the end of the road for me but but was it though i mean you went you kept working right oh yeah i work with all the stars did you open for tony orlando yeah i was working with tony a lot and mostly vegas
Guest:Vegas, Reno, Tahoe, Diana Ross and the Supremes in Tahoe, Diana Ross, you know, at this hotel, the girl that sang, we were only...
Guest:Diana Warwick.
Guest:And I worked with him, and then Joey Bishop put me on his weekly show.
Guest:They do a week, and I did a week.
Guest:It was rough.
Guest:They show every night, doing a bit every night.
Marc:And you're working for a living, doing the comedy.
Marc:And how's your relationship with the kids through all this?
Guest:All the kids wrote, she was like really nasty.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Oh, your dad is... He was like... Why'd she hate you so much?
Guest:I don't know.
Guest:I really don't know why she hated me so much.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:I don't know.
Marc:Let's go back to mention some names because I want to get your opinion of guys that you knew from your generation.
Marc:When you opened the store, did you get guys like Buddy Hackett working there ever?
Marc:No.
Marc:Did you know Buddy?
Marc:No.
Marc:He's a funny guy though, right?
Marc:Very funny guy.
Marc:But you knew Jackie Leonard, right?
Guest:jackie leonard yeah yeah like what he was just a friend yeah yeah but good comic right a lot of people don't know him got great great comic yeah did he help you out kind of yeah yeah he kind of said a couple things to me that made a little sense yeah yeah and then checky came uh at la and then he was you know quite well known
Marc:He did the D. Martin thing.
Marc:He was on D. Martin's show a lot.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:He was, Jakey became a star.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:In Vegas to make $100,000 a week.
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Guest:Yeah, he was like, oh.
Guest:And when I went to see him at the Riviera, I was working with Elvis at the time.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:He whacked me when he saw me.
Guest:he hit me yeah and knocked me down yeah i said what the hell are you doing yeah you son of a bitch you didn't come to see me i've been here for two weeks he said what are you talking about i got a job with elvis i gotta work it every night yeah oh you're full of you know he just ruined it for me just
Guest:Oh, yeah?
Marc:Yeah, he just... It's sad, huh?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And what about Milton Berle?
Marc:You had a relationship with Milton?
Guest:Yeah, with Milton.
Guest:Milton got me into the Friars Club.
Marc:Oh, yeah?
Guest:Yeah, the Friars Club was really something.
Marc:In L.A.?
Marc:L.A., yeah.
Guest:Good time?
Guest:I went there every day.
Guest:Yeah?
Guest:Sat with Milton as he talked to races.
Guest:Yeah, no, not that.
Guest:I don't want that horse.
Guest:I want... Yeah, yeah.
Guest:With the horse.
Guest:Shut up, Sammy.
Guest:Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Guest:And it was just a great time.
Guest:Who else was hanging around then?
Guest:Yeah, I was hanging with the comics, Norm Crosby.
Guest:And all the guys were just wonderful.
Guest:Red Buttons, Jan Murray.
Guest:They were just a great bunch of guys.
Marc:Jan Murray was funny.
Marc:As a kid, I'm 52, but I just remember seeing him on the game shows.
Marc:You would see Red Buttons, you'd see all these guys on the roasts, but they'd already had their time as these great comics, and I don't think people really remember them that well.
Marc:No, no, no.
Guest:but jam did you know uh like freddie roman and those guys not really but later i got to know them later on yeah you know i got friendly with them and you know went to new york and i went to the fries club and yeah i got friendly with freddie and dick dick capri and all that yeah yeah mousie lawrence mousie lawrence was great yeah yeah alan king alan king and oh god he was you like hanging around those comics huh
Guest:Yeah, it was just great.
Guest:It was a great time for me.
Marc:And some of those guys have been around since Hanson's Drugstore.
Marc:They're all the same guys, right?
Guest:Yeah, they were just wonderful.
Guest:They were good to me.
Marc:What about Red Fox?
Marc:Because he had a club, right?
Guest:Red Fox had a club in L.A.
Guest:And he would always come and work for me at the comedy store.
Guest:He'd walk in.
Guest:And I'd say, ladies and gentlemen, we got Will.
Guest:I'd put him on right away.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Cut the comic short and blah, blah, blah.
Marc:Was great, right?
Guest:Funniest guy in the world.
Guest:Oh, funny, funny, funny, funny.
Marc:Oh, God.
Marc:Like a nice guy?
Guest:Great guy.
Guest:great guy just a wonderful man and he got screwed at the end they took everything away from him he did yeah because he owed the government and taxes and they took his house away they took his furniture they took everything away okay and a year later he died yeah he was just fucking show business yeah show business yeah i got it
Marc:Well, at that time, some of the guys... You like show business?
Marc:I'm starting to like it less.
Marc:Less.
Marc:I romanticize it.
Marc:And I'll tell you honestly, me hanging around with comics, I've been doing comedy over half my life, and I love hanging around with comics.
Marc:They're some of the brightest, funniest guys.
Marc:You know when you're hanging around them.
Marc:You got a shorthand.
Marc:You talk.
Marc:You're always going to hear some brilliant shit.
Marc:And I love comics, but the business is brutal.
Marc:It's brutal.
Marc:It's a heartbreaking business for most people.
Guest:You're right.
Guest:And you found it out in 52.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Right?
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:That's good for you.
Guest:You found it out already in your life.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:You know, that you found it out just at the right time.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:You don't know exactly what to do with that information because you're pretty far in already.
Guest:Yeah, you're in.
Guest:But still, there's a way to get out of it.
Guest:There's a step you take.
Guest:Get away from all the bullshit.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:And then come in.
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:Right, right, right.
Marc:And then step out.
Guest:So you have this show.
Marc:Yeah, this works.
Guest:The show's doing well.
Marc:Things work.
Guest:And you're in and you're out and you're in and out and that's it.
Marc:Well, you can sort of be your own guy now a little more.
Marc:Back in the day, it just seemed like it was a smaller business and people could make stars and those guys would stick.
Marc:And then you didn't know what was going to happen with the rest of people.
Marc:That happens now, but there's a lot more outlets.
Marc:There's a lot more ways.
Marc:You work an angle.
Marc:You may not be a big star, but you can work an angle.
Marc:What do you mean by that?
Marc:Well, I mean, like, you know, I got this podcast.
Marc:I didn't know how the hell this was going to make money.
Marc:And then it sort of worked out for me.
Marc:And I don't have a boss and I do OK.
Marc:And I do stand up and I get a nice draw on the road.
Marc:But I'm not a huge star, but I do all right.
Guest:and you got to accept that at a certain point you're right you're right about that you're 52 you're right in the middle of it yeah you're right right there just at the now you got to make that move you gotta i gotta you know try to put some away so i don't yeah it doesn't end too sad it's a tough way it's a tough way with all the comics today there's so many comics and every other kid is a comic right the further
Guest:It's all, you know, you don't know what they are.
Guest:But wasn't it always like that or no?
Guest:In the early days, there was the Red Buttons and Milton Berle and those guys.
Guest:they knew what they were doing uh-huh they had an act yeah and they went out and did their act yeah it was funny yeah and they were they rewrote stuff yeah and did another act yeah and rewrote another act so they were writers too right so they were always writing material for themselves and they got and the guys that couldn't write i i wrote some but i just couldn't really get over the hump to write more stuff for myself right and i just you know
Marc:Just stagnated?
Marc:Yeah, just kind of like... And you never wanted to hire writers?
Marc:You had all these comics around you.
Marc:You could have thrown someone a bone.
Guest:I don't know.
Guest:It just flew away.
Guest:And then I had this operation.
Guest:You have some music you can play here?
Guest:Sure.
Guest:I'll roll it in.
Guest:What's wrong, Sam?
Guest:What's wrong?
Guest:What was the operation?
Guest:You have a valve...
Guest:That is not doing well.
Guest:Uh-huh.
Guest:And we have to go in and replace the valve.
Guest:You're kidding me.
Guest:No, we're not kidding.
Guest:We show you on the screen.
Guest:And they took me in the office and they showed me that the valve was... In your heart.
Guest:Part of the heart.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:So I went in, kibitzed all the way to the operating room.
Guest:Of course.
Guest:It didn't stop a minute.
Guest:Sammy, shut up.
Guest:Then I finally got to the doctor, and he was a good friend of mine.
Guest:Are you going to do it?
Guest:What are you going to do?
Guest:You just shut up, Sammy.
Guest:Whatever it is.
Guest:Well, you're scared, right?
Guest:And I came out of it.
Guest:And then I came out of it, and I never shut up since then.
I never shut up.
Guest:I never became anything after that.
Guest:After everything stopped, no one wanted Sammy Shore.
Guest:He was too old.
Guest:And he's not there anymore.
Guest:He walks with a walker.
Guest:He walks with a walker?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Are you doing Mark's show with a walker?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah, I came up with a walker.
Guest:Where is it?
Guest:Oh, it's right in back of me.
Guest:Yeah, a walker.
Guest:And I walk, I've had it for two years now.
Guest:And it's like my friend.
Guest:It's like, I don't need it.
Guest:I can still walk and do what I do.
Guest:But it's that one time that just fall, I can't get up.
Guest:Really?
Guest:There'd be no way I could get up.
Guest:Once you fall,
Guest:Once I fell, you'd have to help me.
Guest:It was so hard to get up.
Guest:It was the ending for my comedy career, really.
Marc:Did you fall on stage?
Guest:No, I fell.
Guest:Getting out of a car.
Guest:Getting out of the car at the temple during the holiday.
Guest:Whacked my head against the... And they came and they put me in the thing and they took me to the hospital and whatever.
Guest:Then two weeks later, I fell again in front of the comedy store.
Guest:No, in front of the Gold's Gym.
Guest:I whacked my head on the thing, and that was it.
Marc:Well, you're still pretty lucid.
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Guest:Yeah, I'm lucid with people that I like.
Guest:What are those things you're taking?
Marc:Nicotine lozenges.
Marc:are they nicotine yeah yeah do they help you yeah they're good you know they really help you mark i mean i don't smoke i haven't smoked in a decade but i like eating these it's like that's how i medicate that's how you never got into the drugs or the booze huh never that's well you seem you've seen a lot of people around you huh oh god kill everybody kill everybody is right
Marc:Now, how about like I see your son, Pauly, a lot and I see Peter, too.
Marc:I talked to Peter.
Marc:But, you know, Pauly sort of is interesting because, you know, he's really the only one that followed your footsteps.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:And and he seems to have a lot of love for you and you guys get along.
Marc:All right.
Marc:Right.
Guest:When I work with him, a couple years ago, I worked with him a lot.
Guest:In every other room, I would kill the people.
Guest:Sometimes it took him 10 minutes to get going, because that was funny.
Guest:You were blowing him off stage?
Marc:Yes.
Guest:Then as I got sicker, I just couldn't work anymore, so I stopped working with him, and I got the Laugh Factory.
Guest:We're at the Laugh Factory.
Guest:It's the Laugh Factory.
Guest:I used to work here, and I killed here, and then one night I fell.
Guest:I fell around the stage, and I couldn't get up.
Guest:And they came up, and they helped me out.
Marc:Did you hurt yourself, or you just kept going?
Marc:Well, it was just, you know, just... Jarring, huh?
Guest:Yeah, it was just... It was sad for me in front of the people.
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Guest:You know, and they picked me up, and they took me backstage, and I was okay.
Guest:I was just...
Guest:Is this it?
Guest:Is this the end?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And I always liked the Laugh Factory.
Guest:Yeah, Laugh Factory.
Guest:I gave Jamie Masada his first job as a waiter at the comedy store.
Guest:No shit.
Guest:Jamie Masada was my waiter at the comedy store.
Guest:Uh-huh.
Guest:And he loved me, and I loved him.
Guest:And when he opened the Laugh Factory, I helped him.
Guest:I helped.
Guest:when it was like just a hallway almost a little teeny room and then paulie said to me dad i gotta work i'm gonna work the laugh factory because mom doesn't want me to work the the comedy show because i'll bomb and you know everyone was bombing for her so he went worked and jamie masada was very very good to him you know he worked there he did well and he went on from there and uh
Marc:Well, he used to work at the store when he was a kid, but she'd give him a hard time, huh?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:She would just, you know.
Marc:She was hard on people.
Marc:I was a doorman there when I was a kid.
Marc:It was rough.
Marc:She was scary to everybody.
Guest:Yeah, she was like, she wasn't a nice person.
Guest:I found out later she wasn't a nice person with a comedy story.
Marc:But you were married to her for years.
Marc:Yes.
Guest:I didn't see that side of her.
Marc:Really?
Guest:No.
Guest:never saw that that vicious side of her you know there yeah when she became queen of sunset yeah i mean i looked at her like whoa what is that with her feather boa yeah yeah yeah snake yeah you know she was just and she would tell comics you're not funny yeah you know just forget it just forget about it
Guest:Don't come back here anymore.
Guest:You can't say that to a comic who's trying.
Guest:You know, maybe later on he would be funny.
Guest:It happens.
Guest:It happens just the way it happens.
Guest:Sure.
Guest:And she wasn't very... But you didn't have to have any real contact with her, I guess, after.
Marc:No.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:And I gave her the store and she just...
Marc:The rest is history.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Are all the kids in touch with you?
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Guest:Scotty came up on Father's Day last week, and Pauly came up.
Guest:Oh, good.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And my daughter called me.
Guest:She goes, I'm close to my kids.
Marc:So do you do any more stand-up, or is this it?
Guest:I'm looking for jobs.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Hey, hi.
Marc:He's ready to work.
Marc:Ready to work.
Marc:Are you the owner?
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Oh, listen, could you give me a day or two?
All right.
Guest:Oh, he hired me.
Guest:Wow.
Marc:Talk to Harry Basil.
Guest:Yeah, Basil.
Guest:There's a nice man.
Marc:Yes.
Guest:That is a very nice man.
Guest:For him to do this for us.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:For you.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:You know, to put this in this room where, you know, they have a four o'clock show.
Marc:Oh, that's right.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:What time is it?
Marc:It's 3.20.
Marc:See?
Marc:Pretty soon.
Guest:Yeah, we have to end this.
Marc:Yeah, what the hell is it?
Marc:What's the four o'clock show?
Marc:Who the hell wants to do that show?
Guest:oh he has he has people do it yeah stand up huh yeah he has uh stand up and then he does his crazy show yeah do you like vegas yes i like vegas because it gives old people a place to go and i go to the the the red rock hotel and watch the big screen with the with the sports and shit oh yeah
Guest:Oh, you got me.
Guest:I said, Suzanne, you got to take me.
Guest:Okay, what time?
Guest:Okay, she buys me a hamburger.
Guest:What do you mean to sit there?
Guest:And I sit there for two, three hours.
Guest:When basketball was on, forget about it.
Guest:I was there every day.
Guest:Every day to watch the playoffs, to watch this.
Guest:The Golden State of LeBron.
Guest:I was nuts.
Guest:I was crazy.
Guest:But I wanted Golden State to win again, and they lost.
Guest:So that was my love.
Guest:That's my outside activity.
Guest:But I would like to get back into stand-up.
Guest:I could do it, you know.
Guest:But just standing on the stage is like...
Guest:I don't know.
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:Well, that's why you got this, The Last Man Sitting.
Marc:You do it like Don Rickles.
Marc:I saw Don Rickles.
Marc:He sits now.
Marc:He sits now?
Marc:Yeah, he sits with the cane.
Marc:I saw him in Montreal two years ago.
Guest:Really?
Marc:He sat.
Marc:And he sat there and he did it.
Marc:He sat there with the band behind him in almost like a throne.
Marc:And he had his cane.
Marc:And he just told the stories.
Guest:He's wonderful, Don.
Marc:He is something, huh?
Guest:Yeah, he is something.
Guest:Yeah, I liked Don.
Guest:He was a nice man.
Guest:Always a nice man.
Guest:All the guys were nice.
Guest:Freddie Roman was like, I don't know, he's like New Yorkish, and Dick Capri, and those guys were nice guys.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:But Freddie was like, eh, I don't know.
Marc:You can never get the new material, though, huh?
Marc:Never built the act out.
Guest:No.
Guest:Never, never.
Guest:How about I just got a new bit here, a new bit there, though?
Guest:You know, it was always something.
Guest:It was always, if I can go back 50 years, 60 years, start over, where could I work?
Guest:Same places.
Guest:I can't work the comedy store.
Guest:No, you can't work the comedy store.
Guest:All the places that I used to work are no longer there.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:They're all closed.
Guest:They're shut down.
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Guest:It's done.
Guest:It's finished.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:If I could go back to, hey, how about, huh, can I work there?
Guest:I'm hired.
Guest:He hired me.
Marc:Wow.
Marc:Well, you seem like you have a nice wife.
Marc:Oh, she's the best.
Marc:And, you know, you seem pretty good.
Marc:Good spirits.
Guest:Oh, she's good.
Guest:She buys me everything.
Guest:All these outfits that I wear.
Marc:I like it.
Guest:You know, and I bought her a $5,000 diamond ring.
Guest:That's very nice.
Guest:Yeah, it's, you know, sort of a wedding kind of thing.
Marc:Sure.
Guest:You know, and she's just, she gets angry at times, but she's just a special girl.
Guest:She really is.
Marc:Well, they get angry, you know, because old cranky Jews are old cranky Jews.
Guest:She was Miss Alabama when she was 17 years old, driving in the car and the whole thing.
Guest:Miss Alabama.
Marc:You got a Southern Belle.
Guest:Yes, I got a Southern Belle.
Guest:She's a wonderful woman, and all she does is care about me.
Guest:Sammy, don't know, don't know, don't.
Marc:take the walker god damn it I'm not going to pick you up that's the name of her memoir take the walker god damn it I'm not going to pick you up let her write that book that's right that's it
Marc:Well, it was great talking to you, Sammy.
Guest:Hey, Mark.
Guest:I used to watch you at times.
Guest:I never met you until today.
Guest:And I'm really happy for you.
Guest:Thank you very much.
Guest:I'm really happy for what you're doing.
Guest:You're doing a lot.
Guest:You're doing well.
Marc:Thank you so much.
Marc:It was an honor to meet you.
Marc:Thank you.
Marc:Bye.
Marc:All right.
Marc:That was something.
Marc:That was a piece of the puzzle.
Marc:of the dark and luminous, the darkly illuminating history of the comedy store and stand-up comedy in modern America.
Marc:Go to WTFPod.com for all your WTF needs.
Marc:Check my tour dates.
Marc:As it stands now, I am scheduled to do two dates in North Carolina upcoming, and I thought maybe things would shift a little politically there, but it seems like...
Marc:On some level, they've gotten even more heinous.
Marc:So I'm going to be looking for a charity to donate the proceeds of my shows for something proactive.
Marc:I don't know that I feel like denying the fans I have or people that might want to hear me talk down there.
Marc:that opportunity but i will be giving the proceeds to a charity of my choice and i'll figure out what that is before those dates uh i can't do any guitar i can do some mouth jazz which is occasionally what i do uh in hotel rooms let's see if i've got the mojo
Guest:Bye.
Guest:Bye.
Guest:Bye.
Guest:Boomer lives!