Rick Podell (writer, "Nothing in Common", Broadway / TV actor, comedian, singer)

Rick Podell and I discuss his early influences; Jackie Gleason; Ed Sullivan; 50's and 60's standups; Alan King; doing standup for his dog; tap dancing; leaving college to do Dames at Sea off Broadway; getting hired as a Universal contract player; doing Baretta and getting a mentor in Robert Blake; Busting Loose; Garry Marshall; Paramount commissary; Chopped Liver Brothers; how appearing on the Mike Douglas Show makes you crave for new material; how his jack-of-all trades style hurt him; working with Milton Berle in Two by Two and meeting his endowment; Budd Friedman gets roasted; writing the pilots Brothers and Our Time with co-writer Mike Preminger; starring in films "Lunch Wagon" and "Underground Aces"; co-starring in "Hero at Large" with John Ritter; losing out on Chips to Erik Estrada; performing with Richard Lewis, Rich Hall, and Dana Carvey; Jay Leno saying he was too handsome to be a successful comedian; touring Montana with Gilbert Gottfried; guest starring as Jackie Jackerman on a memorable Family Ties; guest starring as a mohel on Cheers; writing the screenplay for "Nothing in Common" about his relationship with his dad; having Tom Hanks and Jackie Gleason star; receiving letters from people with the same situations; the film being perceived as too Jewish; Gleason's ill-health; opening with Ginger Rogers for a year; opening for Cher; working on Sunset Boulevard on Broadway with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Glenn Close; being directed by someone who directed Ronald Reagan and Clark Gable; working and later teaching at the Beverly Hills Playhouse; cell phones; and his one-man show