Open Culture (via Metafilter) about this 1982 interview (in which Andy Kaufman seems almost to hypnotize Orson Welles into doing all the talking):
Welles was obviously not a natural interviewer, and he did not — despite how this looks — have his own talk show. Orson Welles was a very common talk show guest in his later years, and on this occasion he was subbing for the regular host, a man who was a natural interviewer, Merv Griffin.
I wish I could show you a wonderful example of Merv interviewing Orson in which you'd see comfort and pleasure replace awkwardness and confusion, but — like the way Andy Kaufman wanted to do wrestling — Orson Welles wanted to do magic tricks:
But wouldn't we all be better off quitting our career — whatever it is — and becoming a magician?
And if you were reading this blog in its 5th week, maybe you'll realize why I'm nudging you like that. Here, from February 23, 2004:
I saw Get to Know Your Rabbit when it was shown, pre-release, in 1971, to a test audience in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I and it seemed like everyone else in that theater experienced it as the funniest movie we had ever seen. Somehow, even though it was directed by Brian De Palma and has Orson Welles in its cast, it fell into oblivion. I still have never come close to laughing as much at a movie as I did that night....Here's Orson Welles schooling Tommy Smothers in showbiz magic:
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16 comments:
Welles used to do the paul masson wine commercials in the 70s, as well.
Robin Williams tried to immortalize the late-stage obese Welles by naming Mork’s rotund alien controller ‘Orson.’
Rotten way to wind up such a brilliant career.
JSM
Ron Glass!
We will sell no Tee shirt before its time.
I'd never seen Welles do comedy before.
Andy Kauffman left the wreckage of a 1000 awkward interviews in his wake. It was one of his specialties.
I interview/interrogate people for a living. The best interviewer on TV, hands down, is Brian Lamb. Interviewing is becoming a lost art in our culture because everyone wants to talk, including interviewers. You have to put your ego on the back burner, LISTEN and OBSERVE when you are trying to get someone to open up and reveal themselves.
Booknotes was the best.
Brian asked a Brit, "What is buggery?"
A film director is like a chef. He combines ingredients — script and actors — and applies his craft — cinematography and editing — to produce something appealing to the taste. In the case of that miserable clip with Welles and Tommy Smothers, it's like a case of a chef with nothing to work with but rutabagas and nam pla sauce.
Brian asked a Brit, "What is buggery?"
Do you think Lamb would have enjoyed a demonstration?
"Conflicting edits" is back with a vengeance.
There is a fun documentary right now on Netflix about Jim Carrey behind the scenes while filming Man On The Moon. It shows how deep into character he was as Andy/Tony Clifton during the filming, amusing some and infuriating others. It's a light watch and not earth shattering. The best bit is his trip to the Playboy Mansion.
Do you think Lamb would have enjoyed a demonstration?
Well he was in the Navy.
john mosby: Robin Williams tried to immortalize the late-stage obese Welles by naming Mork’s rotund alien controller ‘Orson.’
I've no doubt the character was named after Welles, but "rotund"? My memory is that we never saw Orson on the show, only heard his voice.
"You have to put your ego on the back burner, LISTEN and OBSERVE when you are trying to get someone to open up and reveal themselves."
Great comment. And that's one reason why Welles' talk show failed. He was more interested in what he was saying or going to say, then the guest. Letterman was the same, you could always see him waiting for the guest to stop so he could ask his next question or make a joke.
I can not watch any of these clips because the people appearing in them (Welles, Kaufman, Tommy Smothers) were likely harassing defenseless women off camera. Makes my skin crawl.
I thought I was the only person in the world who remembered Get to Know Your Rabbit.
One of the sub-channels (over the antenna) was showing Merv's shows once a week. We tuned in, recalling how many hours we had spent watching his show first-run and hoping to marvel at this video pop culture time capsule. We learned, however, that Merv had an uncanny ability to cause unease, awkwardness, silences, grimaces-- all while never allowing us to get to know the interview subject. A trainwreck in almost every way. It made us wonder who, besides Griffin himself, thought it was a good idea to allow him to interview people on camera and then subject others to the process. The Glenn Ford interview is particularly epic, but not in a good way. The Bobby Kennedy-riding-shotgun episode was astonishing(ly bad).
@Brian McKim and/or Traci Skene
Hmm. Maybe I misremember. I'm thinking of shows in the 60s probably. He was around a long time. But you mention RFK, so you must be watching in the same period.
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