June Squibb

Don't ask June Squibb to do a Polish accent. Amy hangs with the actor and talks about living in New York in the 1950s, Squibb doing her light bulbs onstage, and dating in her 80s. See June Squibb on Broadway in 'Marjorie Prime,' opening December 8. Host: Amy PoehlerGuests: Will Forte and June SquibbExecutive Producers: Bill Simmons, Amy Poehler, and Jenna Weiss-BermanFor Paper Kite Productions: Executive producer Jenna Weiss-Berman, coordinator Sam Green, and supervising producer Joel LovellFor The Ringer: Supervising producers Juliet Litman, Sean Fennessey, and Mallory Rubin; video producers Jack Wilson, Aleya Zenieris, and Chris Wohlers; audio producer Kaya McMullen; video editor Drew van Steenbergen; and booker Kat SpillaneOriginal Music: Amy Miles Walmart.com/shop/giftsGet 40% off your first ALDI order on Uber Eats. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Amy Poehler?

  This episode is brought to you by eBay Live. Here's how it goes. First, you're watching the eBay livestream telling yourself, I'm just looking. And then boom, you see a vintage Rolex go for an absolute steal. Suddenly, a rare Beanie Baby pops up. Adrenaline hits and you're bidding. You might lose that first one, but you bid again and win. And that winning rush? Incredible, because you beat everyone to it. Meanwhile, on eBay Live, you don't just watch the action, you're in it. Download the eBay app to stream and shop live. eBay Live, things people love. Hello, everyone. This is Amy Poehler. Welcome to another episode of Good Hang. I'm in a different studio today, but don't worry. I have my fake food with me, so no need to panic. But I have the great June Squibb here today.

• 0:45Amy Poehler?

  June is a legend. She is an incredible artist and wonderful person. And we talked about a lot of things today. We're going to talk about Eleanor the Great, her new movie that premiered at Cannes. We're going to talk about what it was like being an actor in New York in the 1950s. Her love of sketch comedy, the fact that we were both an Inside Out. And we're going to just talk about her incredible career and what it's like being 95, which June makes it look real good. So I always like to do this at the beginning of every episode. We talk well behind our guests' back. And we have someone who has worked with June in a great film called Nebraska. He is SNL alum, an incredible actor and dear friend, Will Forte, joining us

• 1:28Amy Poehler?

  from a trailer somewhere on the set of Something. Hi, Will.

• 1:38Amy Poehler?

  This episode is presented to you by Walmart. I'd like to say that I'm a pretty good gift giver. And for me, it's about making the extra effort to find the perfect gift. Walmart has the top brands we all love in one place. Nespresso, Nintendo, Apple, you name it. That's why it has to be Walmart for all my gifts this year. Guest Best Gift Giver Award goes to yours truly. Get the brands everyone loves at prices you'll love at Walmart. Who knew? Go to walmart.com or download the app to get all your gifts this season.

• 2:15Speaker 01

  Hello, how are you?

• 2:16Amy Poehler?

  Will Forte, it looks like you're in a trailer.

• 2:19Speaker 01

  I'm in a trailer.

• 2:20Amy Poehler?

  Where are we talking to you from?

• 2:23Speaker 01

  I don't even know. I'm outside of Atlanta somewhere. I'm like an hour south. McDonough, I think it's called. McDonough, Georgia.

• 2:31Amy Poehler?

  We are talking to June Squibb today.

• 2:34Speaker 01

  Oh, get ready. Very excited for you.

• 2:37Amy Poehler?

  I'm very excited.

• 2:38Speaker 01

  You've met her before, right?

• 2:39Amy Poehler?

  You know what? We only met once briefly at a Pixar event because we were both there for Inside Out 2.

• 2:45Speaker 01

  Wait, you came... Didn't you come to the Nebraska screening in New York?

• 2:50Amy Poehler?

  Will, I don't remember. I don't remember things. If you say I was there, sure, but I don't have any memory of that.

• 2:58Speaker 01

  I think you might have been there, but it doesn't mean you ever met her. Like, in fact, she might not have even been there. In fact, she wasn't there.

• 3:06Amy Poehler?

  If someone tells me something happened, I have to believe them because I... If someone could come up to me at this point and say, like, "We were roommates in New York," and I would say, "Okay."

• 3:15Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 3:16Amy Poehler?

  Because I cannot remember.

• 3:17Speaker 01

  Somebody asked me the other day if I met Oprah Winfrey. I couldn't answer. I'm like, I love Oprah. You would think that I would know if I met her.

• 3:33Amy Poehler?

  Do you remember meeting June?

• 3:36Speaker 01

  I met June for the first time about a week before we started shooting Nebraska. We got together to do some little rehearsals and she was just very instantly charming and made me... Put me right at ease because I was very nervous about the experience. She was just so, so wonderful.

• 3:58Amy Poehler?

  What were you nervous about at the time?

• 4:00Speaker 01

  I just had never really done, you know, something that was more on the dramatic side, even though it's kind of a comedy and a drama. But, you know, to do it on that scale with, you know, with the director, Alexander Payne, and then, you know, Bruce Dern and June Squibb, it was daunting.

• 4:23Amy Poehler?

  And how would you say June works? How does she like to work? Does she like to rehearse? Is she loose? Is she...

• 4:30Speaker 01

  From what I remember... June had the entire script memorized before we even started. You can ask her if that's true.

• 4:41Amy Poehler?

  Wow.

• 4:41Speaker 01

  But I'm pretty sure that she had memorized every one of her lines before we even started.

• 4:48Amy Poehler?

  Wow, that's so prepared.

• 4:51Speaker 01

  And I'm like, I'm somebody who really like, I try hard to, to make sure that everything is memorized. That I don't want to be the person who screws that up. But I mean, I was just blown away by that. Like I, that was way over the top.

• 5:05Amy Poehler?

  That's, I mean, when I've been doing research on her, she's such a formidable actress and started out in the theater and just has like a ton of experience and training. So it's not surprising to me, but that is, that's a lot to memorize.

• 5:18Speaker 01

  Yeah. And she just was amazing. It's such a pro and at the same time so warm and just, you, you just love being around her. You'll, you'll see.

• 5:30Amy Poehler?

  You know what I'm finding is so many people, I bet that you've seen this too. Like people 90 and over, non-agenarians or whatever, people tend to either speak to them like they're little kids, like say like, how are you? Like, are you having a nice day?

• 5:50Amy Poehler?

  Or they assume that they've got a ton of wisdom that they want to share. Like they assume like they're, you know, tell us your secrets. Like, and what I've noticed about when I've done some research on June is June does not, you know, she's so together with it and in the moment. Like she's not interested in being like this wise person who's learned all these lessons. She seems very current, I guess is the best way to put it.

• 6:20Speaker 01

  Yeah. I mean, she has that wisdom for sure, but isn't like, she doesn't hit you in the face with it. She's just like, she's just, she's, she's like the perfect person because she's like super sweet, but got a little, a little spice to her also. It's, it's, it's just a, a perfect combination.

• 6:37Amy Poehler?

  Did she ever like, does she ever give you some wisdom?

• 6:41Speaker 01

  Yeah, a few times, a few times. Did she ever what?

• 6:48Amy Poehler?

  Did she ever give you any wisdom? Or did she ever give you, or did she ever like have a little sharp tongued like little spice that you saw while you were working together?

• 6:56Speaker 01

  Well, that's the thing is like, she's so sweet, but then she, she, the part that she plays in the movie is, you know, she's defending the family and, and she gets really spicy.

• 7:07Amy Poehler?

  Okay. So do you have a question you think we should ask June? Anything you think you'd want to hear on this podcast?

• 7:13Speaker 01

  June, my question is, what is your favorite food and why? And will you please tell me in song? Answer the question in song. An existing or made up song?

• 7:31Amy Poehler?

  Well, I mean, hopefully we can get the rights to whatever thing she sings. But that's a perfect question, Will.

• 7:38Speaker 01

  Okay, okay.

• 7:39Amy Poehler?

  Let's, you want to take it one more time? Yeah. And, and just play around with it. Have fun.

• 7:43Speaker 01

  What is the, oh my God. Okay.

• 7:46Amy Poehler?

  And no pressure, but we are, we are getting ready to break for lunch. So let's, whenever you're ready.

• 7:49Speaker 01

  Oh, this was gonna happen. June, hello. I love you and I miss you. You are one of the most wonderful people I've ever gotten to work with. My question to you is this. What is your favorite food and why? And please answer this question in song. And that song must be in the public domain. Thank you.

• 8:17Amy Poehler?

  Perfect question. Um, Forte, do you think you're gonna live to 95 and do you want to?

• 8:22Speaker 01

  I know that I have, the Ouija board has said I will be dead at 73 by stabbing. But I think I'm gonna figure out a way, like whoever makes it through those final destination movies, I'm gonna be that guy and I, I will make it to 95.

• 8:39Amy Poehler?

  I believe it.

• 8:41Speaker 01

  How about you?

• 8:41Amy Poehler?

  I hope so. I definitely want, I want to make it to 100 and I, June is aspirational to me. I want to be like June at 95, working occasionally, having fun, having fun with my friends, like being really sharp.

• 8:55Speaker 01

  Yeah, she is an amazing role model and I'm, I'm with you.

• 8:58Amy Poehler?

  Yeah. I, I, I can't wait to have her. All right. I love you so much. Thank you so much for getting on and doing this in the middle of your workday.

• 9:06Speaker 01

  Have fun with her. I'm jealous. I get to talk to her for so long.

• 9:08Amy Poehler?

  Thanks, buddy.

• 9:09Speaker 01

  But tell her hi for me.

• 9:10Amy Poehler?

  Talk to you soon.

• 9:11Speaker 01

  Love you.

• 9:13Amy Poehler?

  This episode is brought to you by Uber Eats. Big news, Aldi is now on Uber Eats and you get 40% off your first order with code NEWALDI25. So whether your fridge is empty and you're too tired to shop, or you just ran out of essential ingredients in the middle of meal prep, don't worry, fill your fridge in just a few taps and get 40% off your first Aldi order on Uber Eats. For orders over $30, you can save up to $25. Ends December 31st. See app for details.

• 9:45Amy Poehler?

  June, I'm so happy to have you here.

• 9:48Speaker 02

  Well, I'm thrilled to be here.

• 9:50Amy Poehler?

  You know, someone asked me today, they said, have you, have you met June? And I said, well, we've met in that like Hollywood way where we've just like seen each other at events, but we haven't really been able to chat.

• 9:59Speaker 02

  I remember Scarlett and I saw you at the rehearsal for the Oscar presenters.

• 10:04Amy Poehler?

  That's right. That's right, Scarlett Johansson.

• 10:06Speaker 02

  Yeah, that's the last time I think I saw you.

• 10:08Amy Poehler?

  And we, a lot of people don't know that you have to kind of show up for those events and rehearse on stage.

• 10:14Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 10:15Amy Poehler?

  Which is kind of good because you have to see where to walk and.

• 10:20Speaker 02

  Oh, I would have been, you know, I had never done it before. I'm sure she has, but I, I hadn't. And so it was all completely, you know, new to me. About where you go, what you do, everything.

• 10:32Amy Poehler?

  You are in a new movie right now that Scarlett directed.

• 10:36Speaker 02

  That Scarlett directed, yes. Eleanor, the great.

• 10:39Amy Poehler?

  Her directing debut.

• 10:41Speaker 02

  Yes, feature, her feature.

• 10:43Amy Poehler?

  Feature, excuse me. Do you like working with first time directors?

• 10:46Speaker 02

  I do, and I've worked with quite a few. I really have.

• 10:49Amy Poehler?

  What do you like about it?

• 10:54Speaker 02

  I, I find if they're good, they're good, you know, if they know what they're doing. And first time directors so often do. And I think that many of them work hard at finding out what to do, you know, if they're confused or not sure, they try to make sure they find out the answers.

• 11:12Amy Poehler?

  Do you have a? A style or a way that you like to be directed? Do you like more thoughts right away? Do you like rehearsal? Do you like, do you like, do you like? Do you have a way to prep in a way that you like?

• 11:25Speaker 02

  I certainly prep in a certain way, yeah. I, I learn by just going over and over and over. But in doing that, I'm studying the script. So I know that script backwards and forward by the time I get on set. I really do. I, I, I just, I just feel, you know, I know everything about it.

• 11:47Amy Poehler?

  Do you think it comes from your training?

• 11:50Speaker 02

  Yeah, I think, I was in theater for so many years. And the learning process is different because there you usually learn as you rehearse. And of course with film, we learn and then go do it.

• 12:04Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 12:04Speaker 02

  So it is, there's a difference. But basically with theater, God, did we ever learn the on time thing? You know, which is so, everybody preaches in film all the time too.

• 12:17Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, I feel like, I, I, I mean, I don't think enough people know your extensive theater background and where you started. And, you know, you were also married to an acting teacher and you studied a lot and you did a lot of things. And can you tell me a little bit about what it was like in the 1950s to move to New York? As an actor? I mean, I have a.

• 12:39Speaker 02

  It was wonderful. Oh, I loved it. I loved it. I, I felt I breathed really fully for the first time in my life. And I had had five years at the Cleveland Playhouse. So that prepared me in so many ways for New York. But there was nothing like New York. And being young in New York, being in the theater. And I was one of the lucky ones that started working fairly soon.

• 13:07Amy Poehler?

  Where were you living when you first moved to New York?

• 13:09Speaker 02

  Uh, we lived, there were three of us. My first husband and a very dear friend, Jack Lee, who was a Broadway conductor before his career ended. And we lived in a.

• 13:24Speaker 02

  Funny apartment that they took down for Lincoln Center.

• 13:28Amy Poehler?

  Oh, wow.

• 13:29Speaker 02

  Yes, we we lived there for two or three years and then they sort of bought us out. And then we moved, though, to a very

• 13:40Speaker 02

  a duplex in the in the village and it, oh, Albie moved in after we did.

• 13:49Amy Poehler?

  Edward Albie?

• 13:50Speaker 02

  Edward Albie.

• 13:51Amy Poehler?

  The playwright?

• 13:52Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 13:52Amy Poehler?

  Wow.

• 13:53Speaker 02

  It was a wonderful apartment, had a garden and everything.

• 13:56Amy Poehler?

  Do you remember what the rent was back then?

• 13:57Speaker 02

  I think it was about $200.

• 14:00Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 14:00Speaker 02

  And that was humongous to us, of course, at the time. It was like, we can't afford this, three of us, you know?

• 14:09Amy Poehler?

  What was the vibe in being in New York in that time? Because like, what was, you know, the post-war, boomy vibe of the 50s in New York? What did it feel like?

• 14:20Speaker 02

  Um, I I think it I think it was very up. I remember that. And of course, we were seeing a lot of theater. And we saw all the big musical, we saw the original Fair Lady, the original Music Man.

• 14:39Speaker 02

  We saw West Side Story in its second or third week of playing.

• 14:44Amy Poehler?

  Who was on stage then, do you remember?

• 14:46Speaker 02

  Well.

• 14:47Amy Poehler?

  Was it Cheetah?

• 14:48Speaker 02

  Cheetah. And I knew a lot of the dancers at the time and I don't remember their names.

• 14:53Amy Poehler?

  Wow, that's so cool.

• 14:55Speaker 02

  It was it was a wonderful time in musical theater. And many people don't know this, my first 20 years in New York was spent in musical theater.

• 15:06Amy Poehler?

  That's right.

• 15:06Speaker 02

  I did either musical theater cabaret reviews, you know, some nightclub, I had an act with another comic actor.

• 15:16Amy Poehler?

  You did?

• 15:16Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 15:17Amy Poehler?

  A comic actor? What was your, what kind of stuff would you guys do?

• 15:20Speaker 02

  Well, we wrote everything. And I remember we we wrote.

• 15:27Speaker 02

  I wore an ape head and a beautiful blue dress, just a real frothy dress. And he sang about loving his girlfriend no matter what. Well, and then Cabaret did the same thing afterwards, you know. They, and this was before Cabaret and we did it in our act.

• 15:46Amy Poehler?

  What happened to the, that partner? Do you?

• 15:49Speaker 02

  Barry Denon. Well, we actually broke up the act because he was offered Cabaret in London as the emcee and I was offered Happy Time for Broadway. So we both felt we wanted to keep working singly, so we, we broke up the act.

• 16:09Amy Poehler?

  Wow.

• 16:09Speaker 02

  But we did very, we did some television. We did a little.

• 16:13Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, what did you do? What television did you do back? I mean, your IMDb June is incredible. I feel, I feel like I could shout out a million shows to you. And you'd be like, maybe I was on it, maybe I wasn't. But what did you, what television did you do?

• 16:26Speaker 02

  It was some review thing. I don't even remember what it was. I think it was local.

• 16:31Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 16:31Speaker 02

  But we also, we did the, some of the small clubs in New York.

• 16:37Amy Poehler?

  Wow. I, I just, I just feel like it would be so cool to time travel back to that time.

• 16:43Speaker 02

  Oh, it was wonderful. I mean, and I think that everybody was like eager to be there. I mean, it was like the place to be in the world to all of us, you know?

• 16:56Amy Poehler?

  And still feels that way though. I have to say, you know, I moved to New York in 96 and it still felt like when you arrived there, at least for me, it felt like some version of your life was beginning.

• 17:06Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 17:07Amy Poehler?

  Basically.

• 17:08Speaker 02

  Yeah, I felt that. Well, I lived there for 65 years before moving out here.

• 17:14Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, wow. Um, your family, um, your mom had, had a job that is, it's such a great job because it's, it just doesn't exist anymore, which is your mother. What was your mother's job?

• 17:27Speaker 02

  My mother played piano for silent films.

• 17:32Amy Poehler?

  How did she start doing that?

• 17:33Speaker 02

  Well, she was a piano player. And my grandfather owned a music store. So they were sort of into all the music that was happening in the area. He had a store in, I grew up in Vandelia, Illinois, and there was another store in Centralia, Illinois, that he owned. So they were big in the music, and I'm sure that's how it happened.

• 17:57Amy Poehler?

  So was your mom teaching you how to sing and play from an early age?

• 18:01Speaker 02

  Oh, no. She played the piano, and she taught piano. And because she taught piano, played piano, I didn't want to have anything to do with the piano. And she tried to teach me, and it didn't work out. So she sent me to another teacher in Vandelia, and that didn't work out. And so the teacher said, I think June maybe should give up on the piano. So she sent me back to my mother. So my mother said, well, I'm going to try again. So she was giving me a lesson. And she went outside for some reason. She came back, and I was playing the piano with my feet. I never had to touch a piano again.

• 18:45Speaker 02

  I got out of it. She saw me, and she said, this is it.

• 18:50Amy Poehler?

  Yeah. I mean, isn't it funny that it's kind of like the last thing you want to do often is the thing your parents are doing?

• 18:58Speaker 02

  Your parents do, yeah.

• 18:59Amy Poehler?

  And what did they think about you being an actor, moving in? Were they supportive? Were they worried?

• 19:05Speaker 02

  They were not supportive. My father was somewhat supportive. My mother was never. She saw me on Broadway doing a supporting role in a big musical and said, well, do you think you'll come home now? I don't think so. And I was married again. I mean, you know, it was ridiculous. But in her mind, I was, I might decide to come home again.

• 19:30Amy Poehler?

  Well, I don't think people remember that, you know, now in this world where everybody is like, you know, creating content and being, you know, famous and trying to be like, I don't think people remember during that time, acting was a very treacherous, you know, uneven profession.

• 19:49Speaker 02

  And so many people didn't make it. I have been lucky with my career and I would think you feel the same way.

• 19:57Amy Poehler?

  Absolutely, yes, and so many really talented people.

• 20:00Speaker 02

  I don't, I mean, it's a very difficult, you know, it's a difficult career to want.

• 20:08Amy Poehler?

  What I see you do that I feel like I relate to is like I've always wanted, you know, kind of diversity and longevity in my career and half the battle is hanging in there. Like just kind of getting rejected a lot and just kind of hanging in and believing in yourself because it's, it is, it can be a really long runway before you feel, yeah. Who was someone that you worked with when you were young and you thought, I feel like I'm in the right place?

• 20:35Speaker 02

  I think with Ethel Merman with Gypsy and I was with that show eight months on Broadway and then eight months on the road with her and she was an amazing woman, an amazing woman and everybody loved her that was in the company. She was very much a hausfrau. She loved gossip. She loved to hear everything she could about anybody in the show and she used to tell me dirty jokes all the time. She would be, we were getting ready, I was behind a scrim, I was the lecturer, so I was

• 21:16Speaker 02

  doing my light bulbs and she was getting ready to come on and she would sidle up behind me, and then she would tell me a dirty joke.

• 21:25Amy Poehler?

  Right before you were gonna... Quay, what do you mean doing your light bulbs?

• 21:29Speaker 02

  Well, I had a costume.

• 21:32Amy Poehler?

  And you had to do your own light bulbs?

• 21:33Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 21:34Amy Poehler?

  Oh, wow.

• 21:35Speaker 02

  And on the front and in the rear and the crotch. I had bulbs that lit up.

• 21:41Amy Poehler?

  And you did the buttons?

• 21:42Speaker 02

  I did the buttons like this. I'm sure they do it entirely differently now because it's running on Broadway right now. But then, that's what, and these long wires went all the way up and it was heavy because I had this huge battery in my behind.

• 22:00Amy Poehler?

  I mean, that term, doing my, doing my light bulbs, like, sounds like it could be an old Broadway term. Like he was, he was fired for trying to do my light bulbs.

• 22:10Speaker 02

  Do my light bulbs. Well, I had that a few times too.

• 22:17Amy Poehler?

  I mean, I bet you did. I mean, Judy, you have a, I mean, you could probably write a book about how the, how so much has changed in the industry.

• 22:25Speaker 02

  Oh, God, yes.

• 22:26Amy Poehler?

  And I can only imagine that you had to deal with a lot of, you know, inappropriate behavior. It was, it was a completely different time then, right?

• 22:36Speaker 02

  Well, you know, it's funny because I have friends, and we were both dancers. I mean, I danced a lot. And we used, when the Me Too thing started, we, we looked at each other and said, "Me Too." What do you mean, you know?

• 22:50Amy Poehler?

  I know.

• 22:51Speaker 02

  And then we talked about it. And, you know, we both said, "Oh, my God, if we'd had this when we were coming up," you know? But you, we both said the same thing. We both knew when to say no. I knew when it was going to be not good for me. So that was it, you know?

• 23:11Amy Poehler?

  But I, I, I feel you. When I, when, when my generation kind of looks at the generations below and notices the things that they don't put up with anymore. And it really makes you take stock of the stuff that you put up with.

• 23:27Speaker 02

  That you, that you did put up with, yeah.

• 23:29Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, yeah. Who's your favorite dancer?

• 23:32Speaker 02

  Uh, Jacques Dambois.

• 23:36Amy Poehler?

  Oh.

• 23:37Speaker 02

  And I've seen him dance up clo, I mean, you know, real, not just television or film.

• 23:43Amy Poehler?

  You have?

• 23:43Speaker 02

  Oh, yeah. I, I, I saw him. He was a guest at, um, a theater in, I guess it was Kansas City. Or, no, Dallas, too. All these big theaters. I worked a lot in those. And, uh, he was doing a, a leading role in one of them. And I saw, I saw the rehearsal of it.

• 24:09Amy Poehler?

  Wow.

• 24:10Speaker 02

  But I just think his career, I mean, and he's still. Going.

• 24:16Amy Poehler?

  He is?

• 24:17Speaker 02

  He, he, he has-

• 24:18Amy Poehler?

  How old is he now?

• 24:19Speaker 02

  A group, well, I'm sure he's in his eighties or nineties now.

• 24:23Amy Poehler?

  Everybody's in their nineties now.

• 24:25Speaker 02

  Right, yes, they are. I'm glad you said that.

• 24:29Amy Poehler?

  It's really true. So many people in their non, non-agenarians.

• 24:32Speaker 02

  We're all living so much longer, Amy.

• 24:35Amy Poehler?

  I mean, I-

• 24:36Speaker 02

  You can't get rid of us.

• 24:37Amy Poehler?

  It's fantastic. I mean, it's, I mean, there are, there's so many people in their nineties now. It's fantastic. I mean, you know, my, my dear friend who passed, Norman Lear.

• 24:48Speaker 02

  Oh, yes, yes.

• 24:50Amy Poehler?

  He made it to a hundred and one. And he, and Carl Reiner, and who passed, and Mel Brooks, who's still, like, there's just a lot of, I mean-

• 25:03Speaker 02

  It's almost like, oh, to a hundred, okay. I mean-

• 25:06Amy Poehler?

  Do you want to make it to a hundred?

• 25:07Speaker 02

  Oh, sure.

• 25:08Amy Poehler?

  Yeah. Yeah. That's a great number to make it to.

• 25:11Speaker 02

  My agents say I'll still be working, so I don't know about that.

• 25:18Amy Poehler?

  I, I, I know you love Singing in the Rain. You also love Gene Kelly too, right? I know, I, I-

• 25:23Speaker 02

  I loved his dancing.

• 25:25Amy Poehler?

  Me too. I loved him as a dancer.

• 25:26Speaker 02

  I think it's some of the best dancing. And, and I loved Donald O'Connor.

• 25:31Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 25:31Speaker 02

  I thought he was, his dancing was rather underrated, really. I think he was so much better than many people realized. And Debbie was good. Debbie was very good in it.

• 25:43Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 25:43Speaker 02

  They all were. And that wonderful woman who was so funny, who played the actress.

• 25:49Amy Poehler?

  I have a laptop. I can find out who it is. Look.

• 25:52Speaker 02

  I can't remember her name.

• 25:53Amy Poehler?

  I mean, I can't, June, I can't remember anybody's name. So, okay, Singing in the Rain.

• 26:01Speaker 02

  She played, I can't remember her character name, but it was the actress.

• 26:04Amy Poehler?

  Jean Hagen?

• 26:05Speaker 02

  Jean Hagen.

• 26:06Amy Poehler?

  Yes.

• 26:06Speaker 02

  She was so funny.

• 26:08Amy Poehler?

  You grew up in the Midwest. And, uh- Uh, I, people think I grew up in the Midwest because I did a show that took place in a fictional town in Indiana, but what I love about people from the Midwest is this real, uh, you know, a real sense of, um, community and forthrightness. Do you think that that is true? Do you, do you find that to be true? Like, do you?

• 26:34Speaker 02

  Yeah, I think, um, the forthrightness is, I think, because everybody just sort of always says what they think.

• 26:42Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, I think it's a...

• 26:43Speaker 02

  It's true, yeah, I think they do, even to the detriment of perhaps the person listening, but they say it.

• 26:50Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, I think that there's a straightforwardness that is, that's very nice to be, I find it very nice to be around. But do you find, like, as, like, in your life, did any of that Midwest stuff travel in any of your work, or the...

• 27:02Speaker 02

  Oh, very much so, yeah, I think it did very much. I, I think that there's a stick-to-it-ous, to-it-ous-ness, and I, I think that that's very Midwestern.

• 27:16Amy Poehler?

  Agree.

• 27:16Speaker 02

  I mean, it's like, you've got a job, so you do it. And no matter what that job is, if it's yours, then you, you have to do it.

• 27:24Amy Poehler?

  I spent some years in Chicago. I just feel like there, yeah, there was a sense there of, um, of exactly what you just said, one foot in front of the other. There wasn't a ton of, I don't know, complaining.

• 27:37Speaker 02

  You don't complain.

• 27:38Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 27:38Speaker 02

  You just do what you're supposed to be doing.

• 27:40Amy Poehler?

  Do you feel you do that?

• 27:42Speaker 02

  I think I do, yeah. I think, I think that's something that, you know, has been a part of me. And we were very far south. We were on a line with St. Louis, Missouri, which is considered a southern city, really. And I, I, my accent, I still had a southern, I probably still do have a southern sound. And they tried to take, I remember when I went to the Cleveland Playhouse, one actor went out of his way to take the Midwest southern out of my voice, and he did, for the most part.

• 28:19Amy Poehler?

  Interesting.

• 28:20Speaker 02

  So by the time I went into New York, it was more, you know, it wasn't as southern.

• 28:25Amy Poehler?

  It was like, voice, voice lessons to flatten that out, yeah. Or not flatten it out, maybe take...

• 28:30Speaker 02

  Not flatten it out.

• 28:31Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 28:32Speaker 02

  Lemon.

• 28:33Amy Poehler?

  Which one?

• 28:33Speaker 02

  Lemon. That's lemon.

• 28:38Speaker 02

  Gotcha.

• 28:39Amy Poehler?

  Lehman.

• 28:39Speaker 02

  Lehman.

• 28:40Amy Poehler?

  Lehman Brothers.

• 28:42Speaker 02

  I had lemon in my tea.

• 28:44Amy Poehler?

  Lehman, Lehman.

• 28:46Speaker 02

  Lehman.

• 28:46Amy Poehler?

  Ooh, that's a good one. Do you remember any other ones? Lehman.

• 28:51Speaker 02

  Let's see.

• 28:52Amy Poehler?

  I know, I know with my Boston accent, I had a hard time when I would do, when I would, and I had to say it a lot on Parks and Rec where I had to say the word, I still have to swallow before I say it. Government.

• 29:04Speaker 02

  Government?

• 29:06Amy Poehler?

  Something about my Boston accent makes me want to say government.

• 29:11Speaker 02

  Oh, yes, I hear that.

• 29:12Amy Poehler?

  And get rid of that, but it's government.

• 29:14Speaker 02

  Government.

• 29:15Amy Poehler?

  Government. That was a hard one for me. And when you get, does your accent come back at all when you're with people?

• 29:22Speaker 02

  If I get tired, it does too. I get very southern if I get tired. Picture.

• 29:28Amy Poehler?

  Picture?

• 29:29Speaker 02

  Picture, yeah. That's another one.

• 29:32Amy Poehler?

  Do you like doing accents? Are you good at them?

• 29:34Speaker 02

  I don't. I'm not great at accents. And supposedly, if you have a southern accent, it's harder for you to do accents.

• 29:44Amy Poehler?

  Ooh.

• 29:44Speaker 02

  I don't know why. I think it's the slowness that you're, I don't know, but I've been told that or read that or something.

• 29:51Amy Poehler?

  Have you ever had to do an accent in a film or a part that was challenging?

• 29:55Speaker 02

  Yeah. I do, I could do Irish fairly well. I've done that on stage and in film. And, but I'm just not, I don't have that kind of ear. I really don't.

• 30:08Amy Poehler?

  Know what you mean. I think you either have it or you don't. It's amazing to watch, like, real mimics, people who can pick it up fast.

• 30:17Speaker 02

  And I, I mean, you know, it amazes, some people could just read and do it. I mean, you know, what do you want? Polish? Okay. I mean, I can't do that. I mean, I can do it if I work at it a long time, but you know, you can't just throw something like that at me or I can't do it.

• 30:33Amy Poehler?

  I won't. I'm not gonna throw it at you.

• 30:36Speaker 02

  Oh, good.

• 30:38Amy Poehler?

  We're gonna do the rest of this interview and we're gonna pretend we're French.

• 30:41Speaker 02

  French, okay.

• 30:43Amy Poehler?

  Having come from musicals, are you hoping to do more musical stuff? Like, do you want to ever, have you been able to do anything musical lately?

• 30:53Speaker 02

  I did a Glee, and I, I, I think I did three numbers in it.

• 30:59Amy Poehler?

  What did you sing?

• 31:01Speaker 02

  Memories from Cats. Chris Colfer and I sang that.

• 31:05Amy Poehler?

  You guys are buddies.

• 31:06Speaker 02

  Yes, we are heavy duty buddies. And we did another, I don't, I can't even know what, what numbers it was. But Memories was the big one that we had.

• 31:17Amy Poehler?

  What, uh, what do you, what's so great about Chris? What do you, what do you love about Chris Colfer? He seems like a peach.

• 31:22Speaker 02

  Well, I met him on Glee, and he had written a script and was doing the lead. And it was Peter Pan, and I was playing Wendy. It's a whole story, but anyway. So it, it, we worked together so closely, and I think we were shooting. It was big scenes, and I think we shot like a week and a half or two weeks. It was a long shoot. And I just sort of got to know him and liked him a lot. And, um, so we, we started then having dinner together. And he has a great partner, Will Sheridan, who I adore too. So it was just, you know, great fun.

• 32:05Amy Poehler?

  What do you, what do you get, what do you learn from and get out of people who are younger than you? Cause I mean, as an older person, I feel like what happens is people want to ask you for a lot of wisdom.

• 32:17Speaker 02

  Oh, no, no. They know they're not going to get it, so they don't. They don't ask that at all from me in any way.

• 32:25Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, and I feel like people really project on that, on, on people that are older, that, that they have something they want to share. When in my, my experience, younger people teach me stuff all the time. Like, I learn a lot from them. What do you learn from people like Chris and your other? I know you have a lot of younger friends.

• 32:42Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 32:44Speaker 02

  I don't know. I mean, I, I, I, I just, if I like someone, I don't think I ever think in terms of how old they are, you know, if, if I feel an affinity, you know, that there's something here that I want to, to be more a part of, you know?

• 33:02Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 33:02Speaker 02

  I mean, why would I tell anyone what to do?

• 33:06Amy Poehler?

  Well, because I, I think people in their 90s are treated like astronauts. I think people are like, you, you're, you, you got to go somewhere, you're there, and what are you bringing back? Like, I think people really, you know, I mean, it's, people, you know, we're all afraid to die. Mortality is a thing we're obsessed with. And when people are in their 90s, I think there's some, uh, people want to know the secret, they want, they, they think you've got something in your pocket.

• 33:34Speaker 02

  Well, I don't think any of my friends feel that way. Let's just put it that way. We're sort of on an even keel, you know? Keep me happy or forget it.

• 33:44Amy Poehler?

  What age do you feel you are?

• 33:46Speaker 02

  Thirty-five. I always feel I'm thirty-five. I don't know what I felt when I was younger than thirty-five, but as I got older, I kept referring back to thirty-five. I don't know why.

• 33:59Amy Poehler?

  I deeply remember my thirty-fifth birthday, too.

• 34:02Speaker 02

  Do you?

• 34:02Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 34:03Speaker 02

  Maybe that's...

• 34:04Amy Poehler?

  Where were you when you were thirty-five? What year was that? Where were you?

• 34:07Speaker 02

  Well, I was in New York. I don't know. I, I, I don't remember why thirty-five is so important. I think it's because I remember my mother at thirty-five. And there was something very grand about her at thirty-five, which I did not always find as she got older or even younger than that.

• 34:30Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 34:31Speaker 02

  But somehow, her, my mother at thirty-five was great.

• 34:35Amy Poehler?

  I agree with you that when we meet people, I feel like we meet them, and we meet very old, wise, twenty-five-year-olds, and we meet really, like, all over the place, hectic, ninety-five-year-olds. We meet all of those people. Like, age doesn't have a lot to do with where you're at.

• 34:52Speaker 02

  No, it really doesn't.

• 34:53Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 34:58Amy Poehler?

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• 36:27Amy Poehler?

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• 37:41Amy Poehler?

  It makes me think about, what we're talking about kind of makes me think about what we worked on together, this film Inside Out, Inside Out 2, because it's kind of, there's some themes in there too about the idea of time passing. And for people who haven't who haven't recognized June's voice yet, as they've been listening to it, but you played nostalgia.

• 38:03Speaker 02

  Nostalgia.

• 38:04Amy Poehler?

  What I loved about nostalgia when she comes in and she's drinking her tea is that it's kind of Buddhist, what nostalgia does. Because nostalgia kind of says, "Remember."

• 38:16Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 38:17Amy Poehler?

  "Remember," basically, "remember when we were all getting along." But she comes in, she keeps coming in during chaos to like kick everybody back to, "Let's just take a minute and remember." Which is like, it feels very like, I don't know.

• 38:33Speaker 02

  But they keep pushing her out all the time.

• 38:38Amy Poehler?

  I know. It's kind of interesting why they don't want to get nostalgic in that moment. What is your relationship? Are you a nostalgic person?

• 38:46Speaker 02

  Not terribly.

• 38:47Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 38:47Speaker 02

  I'm really not.

• 38:48Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 38:49Speaker 02

  I've always been like, "What's gonna happen?" Even as a young person, I was like that.

• 38:55Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, what's next?

• 38:56Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 38:57Amy Poehler?

  Yeah. And do you think that's one of the reasons why you've worked so much and had such a long career? As you've been thinking it was?

• 39:04Speaker 02

  I think it probably has a lot to do with the career. Yeah.

• 39:07Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 39:08Speaker 02

  And the working so much, I mean, you know, when I started out, I would have done anything. And I think you have to. I think when you're just starting, you know, either out here in Hollywood or in New York, wherever you are, or Chicago, because there's a big group there. You have to do everything. You can't say no to anything.

• 39:33Amy Poehler?

  Mm hmm.

• 39:35Speaker 02

  Because it's working, keeping that thing going that is going to save you, you know, or save your career.

• 39:42Amy Poehler?

  Well, I know you describe yourself as a character actor. And that, and I love the way you talk about how you approach, you know, you're obviously done these amazing films in which you've led them and been number one on the call sheet and been nominated for awards. And you've done so much work where you have been part of an ensemble, part of a like, and you talk a lot about how you treat them the same.

• 40:06Speaker 02

  I do.

• 40:06Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 40:07Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 40:07Amy Poehler?

  Why?

• 40:08Speaker 02

  Well, I, to be honest with you, I feel if I'm doing it, it's the most important thing in the film. I've always felt that.

• 40:15Amy Poehler?

  Mm hmm.

• 40:16Speaker 02

  And that just carries through. I mean, you know, and I, I think too, you know, you've seen films where somebody comes in and does one scene and you, wow, who's that? I mean, you just don't know.

• 40:32Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 40:33Speaker 02

  And, and I just, I like the work. I enjoy doing what you do to get, get it up there on the screen.

• 40:41Amy Poehler?

  When you worked on, your performances in About Schmidt and Nebraska are so good. Your Thelma is so great. You and Fred are so great in that together. And then Eleanor the Great. When you work on films like that with directors, like, and you've got, you've memorized your script, do you like to come in feeling like you know who you are already? Or are you, are you hoping that that gets kind of shaped as you're working?

• 41:11Speaker 02

  I think it's more shaped as, as it goes on. And you know, and I think I know a lot, but I, I also work.

• 41:22Speaker 02

  With no idea of what I'm gonna do.

• 41:24Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 41:24Speaker 02

  I have none.

• 41:25Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 41:26Speaker 02

  So that what happens is what happens hits me and then that's how I react.

• 41:32Amy Poehler?

  Who are some of your favorite scene partners? People where you felt like you were in the scene with them and you, there was a vibe that was really working?

• 41:43Speaker 02

  Well, Richard Roundtree and Fred in Thelma. I think they were both kind of amazing.

• 41:50Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 41:52Speaker 02

  And Eleanor, Erin as the young girl, that we have so much together. And, um, well, Jack Nicholson. He was, he was so great and so wonderful to work with. And he always made me feel like a peer. He never once.

• 42:12Amy Poehler?

  Well, he better, you are a peer.

• 42:14Speaker 02

  Well, but you know, I came in and, uh, he could so easily have been, I'm Jack Nicholson and you're not. You know, that one of those.

• 42:23Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 42:24Speaker 02

  And he never, ever, that, I appreciate that so much with him.

• 42:29Amy Poehler?

  Love to hear that. Did you ever have a, a young actor in their first role or film and you thought, oh, they're very good? And then see them, you know, ascend over, like, does anyone come to mind?

• 42:47Speaker 02

  I did Son of a Woman. And, oh God, what is his name?

• 42:52Amy Poehler?

  We can look it up. We've got Al Pacino, Chris O'Donnell, Philip Seymour Hoffman.

• 42:56Speaker 02

  Philip.

• 42:59Amy Poehler?

  Wow.

• 43:00Speaker 02

  It was so funny because I had a, I had a scene with both Chris and Philip. And I came home and I said, boy, I just worked with this young kid and he is gonna be so big. I said, this kid's gonna be a star. I knew it immediately and I really don't do that very often. I mean, I don't sense that.

• 43:22Amy Poehler?

  What did you see, what did you remember seeing in him?

• 43:23Speaker 02

  I don't know what it was. There was something about him and he, he was, he was, he was never like standing out. He was always a part of, he and Chris, he and the other boys, you know, this. I mean, he didn't push anything. He was amazing. But you knew, I I knew just the minute I worked with him.

• 43:47Amy Poehler?

  He was such a talented actor.

• 43:49Speaker 02

  Oh, God, yes.

• 43:49Amy Poehler?

  Did you get to work with him again?

• 43:50Speaker 02

  No, I never did. They used to tease me because my character's name was Hun Sacker, so they called me the Hun. And they would tease me all the time. And we lived in this motel, all of us, because we were shooting outside of New York. And he and Chris constantly were trying to get me to go have booze and beer in the bar downstairs. And I would go once or twice, but I was a big Knicks fan. And so I would sit there watching the Knicks and they'd be up at the bar drinking.

• 44:27Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, are you a basketball fan?

• 44:28Speaker 02

  I am.

• 44:29Amy Poehler?

  Um, who, what, are you a big sports fan in general?

• 44:32Speaker 02

  Not, not hugely. I played basketball in high school and I loved it. And I started watching the Knicks when I lived in New York.

• 44:42Amy Poehler?

  Were you a guard? I mean, you don't have the height.

• 44:44Speaker 02

  I was a guard.

• 44:45Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, we don't have the height.

• 44:48Speaker 02

  I I could have stopped anything. I was really good at it.

• 44:52Amy Poehler?

  That's cool.

• 44:53Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 44:54Amy Poehler?

  Wow, and and and do you, were you a sporty kid?

• 44:57Speaker 02

  Yeah, I ran. I I was a pretty good runner and the tumbling, you know, that you do in the gym. And I was a cheerleader. You had to be sort of sporty for that.

• 45:07Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 45:08Speaker 02

  And a drum major at.

• 45:11Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 45:12Speaker 02

  And they're all sort of sporty.

• 45:15Speaker 02

  It's more or less.

• 45:16Amy Poehler?

  And like in your, you know, seventies, eighties and nineties, what do you, how do you stay? I mean, you're very physically fit. What do you do?

• 45:27Speaker 02

  Uh, I do Pilates, uh, once a week for an hour.

• 45:31Amy Poehler?

  On the reformer or on the floor?

• 45:34Speaker 02

  Some, some on that, but some just stretching and and weight stuff.

• 45:38Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 45:38Speaker 02

  Um, I have two different massagers and masseuses. And, um, I try to walk. I try not to just sit all the time.

• 45:48Amy Poehler?

  Now, you have a, you, we spoke a little bit about your late husband, who was an acting teacher and who taught, I thought this was really wonderful, taught. Uh, worked with Margot Martindale's husband?

• 46:01Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 46:02Amy Poehler?

  And you got, you and Margot were neighbors?

• 46:05Speaker 02

  Neighbors, yeah.

• 46:05Amy Poehler?

  And are still remain very good friends?

• 46:07Speaker 02

  Mm-hmm.

• 46:08Amy Poehler?

  And Margot is such a terrific actress.

• 46:09Speaker 02

  She's heaven.

• 46:10Amy Poehler?

  And, um, is this a true story that she got the script for Nebraska?

• 46:17Speaker 02

  Yes, it is true.

• 46:18Amy Poehler?

  What's that story?

• 46:19Speaker 02

  I was coming out of my apartment and she was coming out of hers. And she said, "Hey," she said, "have you heard about this new film Nebraska?" And I said, "No." And she said, "You've got to tell your agents about it." She said, "You should be doing this role." And, uh, she said, "They sent it to me." But she said, "I'm too young." She said, "I really am too young." And she said, "It's a wonderful role." So, that sort of started it. And so I talked, I, I talked to my agents about it. And they kept up. And since I had already done, uh, About Schmidt with, with Alexander.

• 47:00Speaker 02

  And the thing was that they didn't, Alexander and the casting director both thought I was wrong for the, for Nebraska. And I said, "They think I'm that little lady from About Schmidt." And that's exactly what it was. And my agents kept at them to the point where they finally said, "Have her send, you know, we'll send the script or send some scenes and have her send a, a tape in." So that's what happened.

• 47:31Amy Poehler?

  Wow.

• 47:32Speaker 02

  And Alexander again said, the minute I saw it, I knew you should do it. But he said, it was so funny because for About Schmidt, he had cast it from somebody out here. And I, I was in New York and my agents kept pushing me, pushing, pushing me. Finally, they again said, "Just tell her to send a tape in." I'm sure they thought that would be the, and Alexander told me, he said, "I saw that tape and knew you had to do it."

• 48:01Amy Poehler?

  Well, we do this thing on this podcast where we have people talk to me before I talk to the guest and give me a question to ask. And we kind of try to talk well behind people's back. So I was talking with Will Forte earlier. Isn't he the greatest?

• 48:16Speaker 02

  I adore him.

• 48:17Amy Poehler?

  I know. And he adores you.

• 48:20Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 48:20Amy Poehler?

  And he was on set of a new movie in a trailer and we got him on Zoom to tell us what it was like working with you and then just to give you a question. To give me a question to ask you. What was it like working with Will?

• 48:35Speaker 02

  Oh, he's great. And he was so scared because he kept saying, "I'm a comic, I'm a comic." And we all know, "You're an actor now, Will. Just shut up and do it." And so that, you know, he was wonderful.

• 48:50Amy Poehler?

  He was so great.

• 48:51Speaker 02

  Oh, God. And then he went to Cannes, the first time I went, he and I and Bruce Dern.

• 48:57Amy Poehler?

  Yeah. What was it like working with Bruce?

• 48:58Speaker 02

  Oh, Bruce is great. This is one hell of an actor. He really is a great actor.

• 49:03Amy Poehler?

  Yeah. Guys were great together.

• 49:05Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 49:06Amy Poehler?

  So Will wanted me to ask you, this was his question for you. And he wanted me to tell you, June, I love you. I love everything about you. What is your favorite food? And could you tell us about it in song?

• 49:31Amy Poehler?

  So, no pressure, June.

• 49:35Speaker 02

  Well, my favorite food are papoosas.

• 49:42Speaker 02

  I have a cook who's from one of the islands that she, her mother makes papoosas for me all the time.

• 49:49Amy Poehler?

  Sounds like a good title of a song.

• 49:51Speaker 02

  Let me see. Papoosas, papoosas, papoosas, I love you. Yeah!

• 50:03Speaker 02

  There, Will Forte.

• 50:05Amy Poehler?

  One of the last songs from South Pacific.

• 50:10Amy Poehler?

  Oh, that's beautiful. That's like the new Peaches song that Jack Black sang.

• 50:18Amy Poehler?

  So the other thing I wanted to ask you about is I'm a mother of boys. You have a son and he is in the business too, right? Writer-director. What was it like? You know, you were a working mother in the 70s. What was it like being a working mother in the 70s? It's much different.

• 50:36Speaker 02

  Well, he was born in 70s.

• 50:38Amy Poehler?

  He was born in 70s, so you were, yeah, so 80s, I guess.

• 50:40Speaker 02

  The 80s.

• 50:41Amy Poehler?

  What was it like?

• 50:43Speaker 02

  Well, by then, he was, I think, at high school. So he was pretty, you know, in New York, he was pretty loose.

• 50:50Amy Poehler?

  Oh, yeah, you guys were in New York.

• 50:51Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 50:52Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 50:52Speaker 02

  And.

• 50:53Amy Poehler?

  Do you ever work together? Do you?

• 50:54Speaker 02

  Yes, I did. I did some films for him. I did in New York and out here, both. And, gosh, he was, I don't know, it was just a little family of three. You know?

• 51:08Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 51:09Speaker 02

  And I went off, but he had his dad there always and.

• 51:14Amy Poehler?

  And your ex-husband, Charles, was an acting teacher. Did you work with him on your stuff? That must have been really interesting. What did you learn from him?

• 51:23Speaker 02

  Well, everything, truly. Because, you know, my work as a performer, really, in musicals, I mean, I considered myself pretty realistic and I was considered one of the more realistic actors doing musical theater. But Charlie, when I met him, and we met doing a musical in stock, and he said, "You could be a really fine actress if you really do what you were doing." And he was right. I mean, and I remember going into his class.

• 52:02Speaker 02

  And it was hard because I mean, it was like tearing down everything that I believed or thought I was doing, you know, and to put something else in there. And I was crying and he was yelling at me and the ca- the, all the kids in the class were laughing. They thought, oh, this is pretty funny. So we went through this awful screaming and yelling and everything. But I mean, truly, I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing if it were not for him.

• 52:28Amy Poehler?

  Well, honestly, it seems very passionate.

• 52:30Speaker 02

  It was. I mean, he was determined, almost more determined than I was to do it. He was determined I was going to do it.

• 52:37Amy Poehler?

  Hmm. That must have been nice to have someone in your corner like that.

• 52:41Speaker 02

  And it was interesting because I, we worked together then for years. And I was auditioning for a, um, regional theater, a, a script that I liked a lot and wanted to do. And, uh, he always helped me at home. And I said, you know, I, I have this audition. He said, I'm not gonna help you. And I said, no, I need help. And he said, no, you know what you're doing. You do it.

• 53:11Amy Poehler?

  This is very exciting foreplay that you're talking about.

• 53:13Speaker 02

  And, yeah, and, no, I know it wasn't. It was like, you know, uh, but we kept, and then I got the role and I said, you've gotta help me.

• 53:22Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 53:23Speaker 02

  He refused again. He died about six months later.

• 53:28Amy Poehler?

  Wow.

• 53:29Speaker 02

  And if-

• 53:30Amy Poehler?

  Do you think he knew?

• 53:31Speaker 02

  I think he knew somehow that he had to like push me out, or out of the nest is what he did.

• 53:37Amy Poehler?

  Wow, June. That's wild. He probably sensed something?

• 53:41Speaker 02

  I think so.

• 53:42Amy Poehler?

  So do you feel like in the early days, you were kind of dependent on his, on him?

• 53:46Speaker 02

  Oh, very much so. Yeah, I couldn't, I, I felt, you know, I couldn't do it if he didn't help me, set me straight.

• 53:53Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 53:53Speaker 02

  And he just, and that was, he just refused. And he never once helped me after that.

• 53:59Amy Poehler?

  And how old were you when he passed?

• 54:01Speaker 02

  Uh, ninety-nine.

• 54:05Speaker 02

  1999.

• 54:07Amy Poehler?

  Right, so.

• 54:08Speaker 02

  How old, I have no idea.

• 54:10Amy Poehler?

  I mean, I can't do that math.

• 54:11Speaker 02

  We'd have to do the math.

• 54:12Amy Poehler?

  Let's not do it, let's not even try it, that's outrageous. And did you ever consider dating, or did you date after that?

• 54:20Speaker 02

  I did date a little bit, but I dated a little bit in New York and I dated some out here.

• 54:27Amy Poehler?

  What's dating like in your 80s?

• 54:29Speaker 02

  Uh, not very interesting.

• 54:36Speaker 02

  It really wasn't.

• 54:37Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 54:37Speaker 02

  You know, nobody came along that really excited me. And I was working all the time, you know, so it just sort of went by the wayside.

• 54:49Amy Poehler?

  Well, you know, and I mean, do you feel like, I ask a lot of my guests this, but you have friendships now, especially female friendships that probably, you know, they span many decades. What do they continue to do for you, even into your 90s?

• 55:04Speaker 02

  Well, I think mentally, I think without them, I would, you know, I need that, I think.

• 55:13Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 55:13Speaker 02

  The mental push, the mental excitement.

• 55:17Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, yeah, and someone who kind of knows your story.

• 55:20Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 55:21Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 55:23Speaker 02

  And we still, I mean, I have two female friends that I'm very, very close to. And I see them all the time, so it's great.

• 55:32Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 55:34Amy Poehler?

  What are you doing right now, what do you listen to, watch, read, that makes you laugh? You know, when you want to laugh, when you want to check out.

• 55:47Speaker 02

  Well, I watch Saturday Night Live or one day.

• 55:49Amy Poehler?

  Do you?

• 55:50Speaker 02

  Oh, yes.

• 55:51Amy Poehler?

  Every week?

• 55:51Speaker 02

  Not every week, but a lot.

• 55:54Amy Poehler?

  So good. Who are some of your fave performers on that show right now?

• 55:57Speaker 02

  Uh, I love Colin. I mean, I just think he and Michael Che together just knocked me out.

• 56:03Amy Poehler?

  But so you like sketch comedy?

• 56:04Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 56:05Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 56:06Speaker 02

  Yeah, and I did it, you know.

• 56:08Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 56:08Speaker 02

  So I really sort of, I have a thing, I understand that, you know.

• 56:12Amy Poehler?

  Were you a big, like, what kind of shows did you like in the comedy? Were you like a Monty Python fan? Were you laughing?

• 56:20Speaker 02

  I liked Laugh-In.

• 56:21Amy Poehler?

  Yep.

• 56:21Speaker 02

  Buzzy was a really good friend of mine.

• 56:24Amy Poehler?

  Ruth Buzzy was a friend of yours?

• 56:26Speaker 02

  We worked together in reviews in New York, actually in Provincetown.

• 56:31Amy Poehler?

  Tell me about that. What was Ruth Buzzy like?

• 56:33Speaker 02

  Well, she and I worked in the same little group.

• 56:37Amy Poehler?

  I love that you called her Buzzy.

• 56:38Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 56:39Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, sorry.

• 56:39Speaker 02

  That's what everybody calls.

• 56:41Amy Poehler?

  I didn't know that. I always called her Ruth Buzzy.

• 56:44Speaker 02

  No, Buzzy.

• 56:45Amy Poehler?

  Buzzy.

• 56:45Speaker 02

  And so we worked together. We did a ship. We did a cruise ship together. And we did some nightclubs in New York together. And then she had gone to Provincetown the year before. And they needed someone, the summer coming, it was a summer job. And she suggested me. So they talked to me and then they hired me. So we had the whole summer together.

• 57:12Amy Poehler?

  Oh, that's fun.

• 57:13Speaker 02

  Yeah. Do you ever watch The Neighborhood? That to me is funny.

• 57:18Amy Poehler?

  With Max Greenfield?

• 57:19Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 57:20Amy Poehler?

  And Cedric?

• 57:21Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 57:22Amy Poehler?

  Yes, so funny.

• 57:23Speaker 02

  They're funny.

• 57:24Amy Poehler?

  They're really funny.

• 57:25Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 57:25Amy Poehler?

  Max is so funny. And I used to watch Cedric the Entertainer. He used to be part of those like comedy Def Jam where there'd be like a bunch of stand-ups together. And he was so funny. That's a good show.

• 57:39Speaker 02

  I'm amazed at him. I watch him on the show.

• 57:43Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 57:43Speaker 02

  Because of how he, he knows he's going to do it and it's comedy. But he's just sort of like, I don't know, he's wonderful.

• 57:52Amy Poehler?

  Did you ever see That Got Arrested on Stage?

• 57:56Speaker 02

  Oh, I know who you mean.

• 57:57Amy Poehler?

  Okay, let's play this game. Let's see how long, okay. I heard that from memory, you shouldn't look things up. You should try to visualize, okay, we're gonna do it. Putting the, um...

• 58:09Speaker 02

  Lenny Bruce!

• 58:12Speaker 02

  Ah ha!

• 58:13Amy Poehler?

  Got it June! Letty Bruce.

• 58:17Speaker 02

  I did see him in Chicago.

• 58:20Amy Poehler?

  I knew you would see him. What was that like? Do you remember seeing him?

• 58:22Speaker 02

  Yes, I remember that everybody, oh, you know, because he would say these things.

• 58:27Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, he was an interesting guy. And that, and I mean, I think that's, going back to where we started our conversation, there's something about, I would have loved to have been, and it must have been so cool to have been in the city during that time in the 50s and 60s when everything was just starting to unravel in an interesting way.

• 58:46Speaker 02

  You know, I keep thinking, I can remember being worried about things. And again, it passed. And I hope that's what happens with us now. It too will pass, but I don't know. I don't know.

• 59:04Amy Poehler?

  Well, I think that is the one thing that a long life gives you is you get to see.

• 59:09Speaker 02

  I've seen a lot pass, let's just say this.

• 59:12Amy Poehler?

  Yeah. Yeah. I loved our time together, June. Thank you for coming and doing this. It's been so great. I mean, I just, I think you're such an incredible talent.

• 59:25Speaker 02

  Oh, thank you.

• 59:26Amy Poehler?

  And I'd love to be your friend. And I know this is awkward, but I tend to bully people into being my friend.

• 59:36Amy Poehler?

  So.

• 59:37Speaker 02

  You don't have to bully me.

• 59:38Amy Poehler?

  Okay, so if it's, if you would accept the invite.

• 59:41Speaker 02

  I would love it.

• 59:42Amy Poehler?

  I would love to be, consider, I'd love for us to be new friends.

• 59:46Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 59:46Amy Poehler?

  And I know it's awkward, I'm asking you on this podcast. I mean, what are you gonna do? Say no?

• 59:50Speaker 02

  No, no.

• 59:51Amy Poehler?

  June just hands me, June hands me her card and it's just 555-5555.

• 59:59Speaker 02

  I'll call you next week.

• 1:00:05Amy Poehler?

  Thank you so much for doing this, June. This has been the best. I hope you had a good time.

• 1:00:09Speaker 02

  I did. I had a great time.

• 1:00:11Amy Poehler?

  Okay, great.

• 1:00:11Speaker 02

  And I got a mocha.

• 1:00:12Amy Poehler?

  Oh, gosh, your mocha. We didn't even sip it. Sip some of that mocha. It's gonna be watery now.

• 1:00:17Speaker 02

  It's still good.

• 1:00:20Amy Poehler?

  Thank you so much, June Squibb. My new best friend. You heard it here. She can't take it back. We recorded it. June, you're the best. So, such a great artist and person. Thank you so much for coming in. And June talked about a lot of exciting musical theater. So for today's Polar Plunge, I just wanna just take a moment to say that West Side Story was so important to me as a young person. And that being able to even picture the original musical and seeing it onstage in its first week or two that June talked about, I just, I don't know. If you haven't seen the film, watch it.

• 1:01:02Amy Poehler?

  I'm sure there are productions, local productions happening right now. The original film with, from the 60s is so beautiful and the music is so beautiful. And I'm sure we can't afford to sing this, but I would like to say. And everything is I am too. Anyway, thank you for listening.

• 1:01:32Amy Poehler?

  And see you soon.

• 1:01:36Amy Poehler?

  You've been listening to Good Hang. The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss-Berman, and me, Amy Poehler. The show is produced by The Ringer and Paperkite. For The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Kat Spillane, Kaia McMullin, and Aleia Zaniris. For Paperkite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell, and Jenna Weiss-Berman. Original music by Amy Miles.

• 1:02:02Amy Poehler?

  This episode is brought to you by Sephora. Holiday gifting can be a tough gig. You're frantically searching, second guessing everything, and accidentally buying your dad eye cream he's never gonna use. Thankfully, Sephora is here to save us from ourselves. Whether you're shopping for a total beauty guru or someone whose whole routine is hand soap, Sephora has the perfect gift for everyone on your list. And if you're still lost, don't panic. Their beauty advisors can guide you to safety. This holiday season, we all Sephora. Shop gifts at Sephora and give something beautiful.

• 1:02:33Speaker 03

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