I've seen Rodney on many talk shows from Carson, to Howard Stern, and all the late night shows but this interview is by far the best - Rodney just being himself
My grandmother knew Rodney when he was Jack Roy. She was head waitress at a famous restaurant called Shraft's here in NYC. The restaurant had a room for comics. My grandmother helped book the talent and she often booked Rodney. He really did struggle as a comedian. All those stories are true. He loved my grandmother and was always grateful to her. He also loved her laughter. It was a loud cackle. My mother and me inherited that cackle, and I'm embarrassed by it. A comedian once told me to not be embarrassed by it because stand-ups love it. One night, Rodney asked my grandmother if she would book a friend of his who was also having trouble finding work. She said ok without an audition. The comedian got on stage and started insulting Irish Catholics. After his set, my grandmother (Mary Sheehan) chased the comedian around the kitchen with a chef knife as other waitresses, also Irish, smacked him around a little. Rodney did his best to break the whole thing up. The comedian was Lenny Bruce.
Wow! I have never seen him out of character. He is amazingly soft spoken and very thoughtful and articulate with all his comments. He's almost reserved...it's so weird to see this side of him after all these years.
This interview gives a revealing insight into the man behind the stage act. He appeared on Johnny Carson many times aswell as other chat shows and he would carry on doing his stand up act even when he was sitting down being interviewed by the interviewer! He very rarely broke out of his stage act. That why this interview is a gem. Here you get a glimpse into the real man behind the mask. One of the most unique comics ever to walk the face of the planet!
"I understand you perfectly, Rodney" No, no you don't... that's exactly what he meant by it being rare to find someone who truly understands you. She thought she did, but he was just on a whole other wavelength.
Yeah I dont think she knew what he meant when he said communicate with someone. I liked how he didnt give her a hard time about it and just let her move on with the interview.
It was telling how he said this shortly after he references the line "what's in a name" and went right over her head. He seemed irritated by it but it was awesome to see him as himself.
Great comment. I was thinking the same thing, she thought Rodney meant understanding the words coming out of his mouth, when he actually meant understanding the man himself.
You really don’t appreciate things until they’re gone. There’s no commercialism here or internet topical references of the moment. It’s about people and their personal thoughts. Very intimate and satisfying. This woman is very genuine and engaged if seeming a little old fashioned. Rodney to me after watching several interviews recently seems like a sensitive, giving, committed person. It takes that to be as good at what he does to entertain the public. Very humble as well as America used to pride itself on. Really a great man.
This is one of the best interviews I’ve seen. When he was talking about the value of genuine communication it made me love him even more. It’s usually so difficult to get any sense out of comedians who keep throwing out the one liners. Very honest.
Rodney here, was so prim & proper in this interview. Very respectful in this interview. (don't get me wrong) Just a nice interview with Bobbie. Nice to see the different layers of the man. Miss you, Rodney!
Seeing Rodney Dangerfield out of character is really interesting. I've read that so much of his humor was rooted in pain and a harsh upbringing. He seems so grateful to speak to a female interviewer who sincerely seemed to treat him with such dignity. He deserved to be treated with respect. RIP Rodney💞
Outside of the camera work, this is a great interview! Some good comedy history here. He’s my second favorite comedian of all time. I played his club years ago and it was surreal…another big word.
Bobbie Wygant (born Roberta Connolly; November 22, 1926 - February 18, 2024) was an American television news reporter, film critic, talk show host, and interviewer who worked for Fort Worth, Texas television station KXAS-TV (originally known as WBAP-TV) for over 70 years. She was known for her filmed interviews with celebrities.
its not audio pickups its cam 2 angles, lots shows back then only had one camera on remote location, they recorded the reaction shots and the question shots later and edited the show later
I wonder how much having a female interviewer had to do with him staying out of character. I've read that the true Rodney was incredibly kind and down to earth and sensitive. And clearly he was being a gentleman to this woman.
My guess is that the interviewer has only 1 camera and can't record both the interviewer and interviewee at the same time. Hence they repeat the question again recording the interviewer at the end. Back at the studio they could edit the video into one seamless video shot. This is the most probable explanation.
He had kind eyes, bright smile and a good heart. It sucks that good people are always sad and unhappy in life, better you are, more depressed you are. Pragmatic, shallow and indecent humans enjoy life more, unfortunately. Real man carry pain in the heart and sissies in the butt.
man was always perspiring a lot whenever he was interviewed, makes me think he was terribly nervous when the camera started rolling and he wasn't doing his bit
~ People are asking about the ending. This is obviously a piece of raw footage, before editing. At the end, these are reaction shots to be edited into the finished clip at appropriate moments, as there is only one camera in use. For example, if he says something funny, a closeup of her smiling or laughing can be taken from the end and spliced in at that part of the clip. It doesn't interfere with the momentum of the interview, and since it was from that moment in time, it won't ruin the continuity. It's an old-school trick. The finished product no doubt had the closeups at the end spliced in at different times during the interview.
Jacob Rodney Cohen, más conocido como Rodney Dangerfield y también como Jack Roy (22 de noviembre de 1921 - 5 de octubre de 2004), fue un comediante estadounidense, actor, artista de voz, productor, guionista, músico y autor, conocido por su autodestructivo humor de one-liners, su eslogan "¡No recibo ningún respeto!" y sus monólogos sobre ese tema.
WOW! The footage at the end of the interviewer rehearsing her questions! Get Negativland on the phone...maybe everyone's forgot about the band Negativland from the 80s.
He lived to 83 despite all the vices. You can live like a saint and not make it that far. Not saying live to excess and abuse yourself, moderation is still better than being a slave, but don't beat yourself up, we all die regardless of how pious we are.
Its funny when you consider what he is talking about especially regarding communication and this was from 83 before mobile phones and shit. Im guessing there is not a whole lot of stuff where you get to listen to the real guy talk, and obviously the quality of an interview back then was pretty low
Almost looks like Rodney was coming on to the interviewer. One of my favorite jokes of Rodney's...I don't really know the whole joke but the subject matter is about erectile disfunction and the punch line is..."It's like trying to shoot Pool with a rope"...."what a crowd...what a crowd".
The ending shots really ruin this for me. The whole thing seems so incredibly disingenuous after watching the interviewer put on this bizarre act, smiling and nodding at nothing at all. I DO NOT WANT TO SEE THE SAUSAGE BEING MADE PLZ THX
I’ve never seen any of Dangerfield’s stand up shows but he doesn’t seem like the type to use profanity. Today’s comedians can’t do a single line without using a single curse word.
I fucking know, right? Fuck! Fucking comedians these days, holy fucking shit. Fuck profanity. I miss the old fucking days when people never fucking cursed. Shit.
Wait, you're basing that on this interview alone? You've never seen his standup and you're assuming he never swore? I'd bet loads of money that he cursed like a fucking sailor at smaller clubs and the like. The dude was not a clean-cut momma's boy, he was a bitter and depressive old man.
Topspeed325 You are awfully wrong - don't you see how she was able to make him feel open and comfortable in talking about himself? That's quite a rare thing with Rodney.
