Only Murders in the Building co-stars Steve Martin (Charles-Haden Savage) and Martin Short (Oliver Putnam) have an epic conversation over a few swigs in Beverly Hills, California. The pair chat through working Father of the Bride & Three Amigos and their love of comedy, to potential different career paths and regrets.Season four of "Only Murders in the Building" premieres on Hulu on August 27, with new episodes weekly!
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00:00No, I saw that there were only two buttons were open and your stomach was up, but it was cool.
00:04It's the new look. It's a brat.
00:07It's brat.
00:08It's brat, yeah.
00:12So, I have a question for you.
00:14I have a question for you.
00:15Your name?
00:16What's my name?
00:19Marvin.
00:19What's my middle name?
00:21Hater. H-A-Y-T-E-R, as opposed to the internet version of hater.
00:27What is that?
00:28Well, that's, you know, people who troll people, yeah.
00:30It's an interesting connection, because haters are trolls,
00:33and you have worked as a troll in Ireland living under a bridge.
00:37That's true, and it's so great to be out in the open.
00:40And do you, you know, when you go to a leprechaun bridge, before you cross it,
00:45you're supposed to stomp three times to let the troll know you're there.
00:50Four times if it's a foreigner.
00:51Is that true?
00:52Yeah.
00:52Oh, is that from...
00:54Schmigadoon.
00:55Schmigadoon.
00:56Schmigadoon, yes.
00:57So what was the first time we ever, no pun intended, hung out?
01:04Well, that was when we were swimming at the Y.
01:06Oh, no, I don't mean that.
01:07No, no, you don't mean that.
01:08We were making three amigos. I mean, he started bonding.
01:10Bonding through humor, I would say.
01:12Yes, one-sided humor.
01:15Then I remember we would have amigo-ettes dinners with our wives.
01:20By the way, we don't say amigo-ettes anymore, just, you know.
01:23Why not?
01:24We don't say kitchenette either.
01:26We don't?
01:26No, this implies a lesser of a kitchen.
01:30I see.
01:30So anyway, we used to have these dinners, and we would laugh and laugh.
01:34Yeah, and I remember thinking, God, I really like this guy.
01:37And I remember when you had your first child, Catherine.
01:39Yes.
01:40You presented her, and I thought, oh, I'm not going to see this guy less,
01:46because we're going to have this kid to attend to.
01:48I know, and you had that bitterness and anger.
01:50Yeah, I still have it.
01:51And then we just continued on, because I always have said,
01:53we've talked about this before, that you make movies.
01:56You're in Yugoslavia with a bunch of people for three months.
02:00Everyone knows everybody.
02:02You get intimate with everybody, and then you never see them again.
02:04That's right.
02:05So we made a conscientious effort, I believe, to not have that happen.
02:08But you really sparked something.
02:11I have a real question for you.
02:13Do you do?
02:13These Yugoslavian movies you've made.
02:18Yeah, I haven't seen them.
02:19Did they come and go?
02:21They were never released.
02:22Or maybe just in Yugoslavia.
02:24One was called Spartan Two.
02:26I was like a warrior.
02:28Wow.
02:28A little warrior.
02:29So you were miscast.
02:30Yeah, a little bit.
02:31But the point of it is, you make a decision.
02:34Will you continue on with something?
02:35You know, I think we've made five films together.
02:37I think probably my favorite are The Father of the Brides, one and two.
02:43That's meant so much to so many people, especially when they're about to get married.
02:47What is a typical fan statement that someone says?
02:49Well, a lot of times, not a lot of times, sometimes, a young woman will come up and
02:55will say, you know, my father was having a very difficult time.
03:01I was getting married.
03:02He was having a difficult time with it.
03:04And we watched Father of the Bride together.
03:06And they said, we would watch it like this.
03:08And I go, what do you mean watch it like that?
03:10Oh, we'd block out Marty Short.
03:14No, and they say that that movie helped them bond.
03:17But, you know, I, we can't take full credit for that movie.
03:22We're actors.
03:22I can, actually.
03:23Yeah.
03:23Oh.
03:24Franck brought joy to people, you know.
03:26Well, you know, the original remake script was very different than what it ended up to be.
03:34The original script, they had made the young woman kind of a motorcycle girl.
03:40And she had a very—
03:41Because I understand, I thought that it was written by Nancy and Charles.
03:44Yeah, I am telling that story right now.
03:46Yeah, but you know what?
03:47I have a flight tomorrow.
03:48Oh, I know.
03:48I can't, you know, most people tell a story.
03:51Well, if you're so proud of this flight, can I see your ticket to verify?
03:57Or are you just saying that?
03:58No, no, no.
03:58It's an e-ticket.
04:01It was pitched by the studio that Charles Shire and Nancy Meyers had a great interest
04:06in doing Father of the Bride.
04:08And so they came in and completely rewrote the script from scratch,
04:13made it much more touching, and I think absolutely did the right thing.
04:17And when Chevy Chase said no, is that when they went to you?
04:21Kieran Culkin was in Father of the Bride 2, I believe.
04:25And 1.
04:26And 1.
04:26And he was 11 or 10.
04:29And, you know, he was a kid, so his acting was new.
04:34And then when I saw him on Succession, I thought he was so great.
04:38You know, and he went from this rough-hewn, you know—
04:42Whatever that means.
04:43Like from—
04:44Rough around the edges.
04:44Chaucer's era?
04:46No.
04:47Anyway, I'm not even going to go there.
04:49I found him refumed.
04:51You asked me about— I use the word shamefacedly.
04:54Then I started to think, I don't know that there's a word shamefaced.
04:57I know there's shamefaced, because I see it on you all the time.
05:01That's right.
05:01We have to mention the stellar Diane Keaton.
05:04The brilliant Diane Keaton.
05:06And I was talking to Meryl Streep just last night, as a matter of fact.
05:09Well, so you know everyone famous.
05:11Well, and I was saying there are two actresses I've worked with who never do a bad take.
05:17One is Meryl Streep, one is Diane Keaton.
05:20There's always something real, unusual, new in every take.
05:24Totally agree.
05:24And I'd like to say that about you.
05:28Well, why don't you?
05:31Oh, I see.
05:32Anything else?
05:33I have always found my experiences with people coming up to me,
05:37I can always tell what they've seen.
05:40Like if it's a 45-year-old guy, if I'm in an airport, I know it's Three Amigos.
05:45If it's a young lady in her late 30s, she will talk about Father of the Bride.
05:50And if it's a guy who's 28 who looks like he's on meth, it's Clifford.
05:56I can always tell when someone's complimenting you and they haven't seen the movie.
06:01Yeah.
06:02For example, when I did my second film after The Jerk was Pennies from Heaven.
06:08And it is a dark, dark drama.
06:11And people will come up and say, I saw Pennies from Heaven.
06:16So funny.
06:19Well, I think maybe just your face exudes comedy.
06:23Well, at that time.
06:24Yeah.
06:24I'm very curious because you've kind of always been interested in show business
06:29that I know from your past and stories you've told.
06:32But I know there was a fork in the road at one time
06:35because you also had an alternative possibility of a career.
06:39Well, I grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, which is about 50 miles from the border.
06:43And so we would only watch American television through Buffalo.
06:47And therefore, all these shows that I would see and was influenced,
06:51it never seemed real that I could do it because I was in a different country.
06:54So I wanted to be a doctor.
06:56And not because I cared about science.
06:59I was just a fan of Chad Everett's work on Medical Center.
07:03And then I went into pre-meds for two years and realized this is a mistake.
07:07So I switched to social work and then had more time to do theater in university
07:11and left an actor.
07:12It was kind of a perfect four-year experience.
07:14And your first little hint that you might be funny or...
07:18Well, I grew up in a funny family, but certainly...
07:21Like I did.
07:23So you actually had like a hand mic at the dinner table.
07:26Yeah.
07:27Who likes dating?
07:29Did you ever do that act?
07:30Now, what about you?
07:31Did you always want to be in show business?
07:34You're a magician.
07:34I didn't know anything about show business.
07:37I didn't even know what that was.
07:38But I did know I liked comedy.
07:40You know, you could do all kinds of psychological reasons of being a show off
07:44or getting attention, but I just like comedy.
07:46And I love Laurel and Hardy.
07:48We both loved Jerry Lewis.
07:50Right.
07:51Lucy.
07:52I love Dick Van Dyke.
07:53Dick Van Dyke was unbelievable.
07:55For geniuses.
07:56Even as a young actor, I used to put DVD beside a certain speech.
08:01Do Dick Van Dyke.
08:02Or I put SL, Stan Laurel.
08:03Wouldn't that be D-D-V-D?
08:06Do Dick Van Dyke?
08:07No, Dick Van Dyke.
08:09Okay.
08:09D-D-V-D-W.
08:12Do Dick Van Dyke well.
08:14Oh, yeah.
08:15Now, I know one of the earliest things that happened in Toronto was momentous.
08:20The production of Godspell.
08:21Yes.
08:22Well, I was still in university.
08:23I now decided to take a year off to try acting.
08:26And I auditioned for a show, Godspell.
08:29It was 1972.
08:30It was March 25th, the day I got it.
08:33And I remember it was very interesting.
08:35You'll like this part.
08:36That they only hired 10.
08:40And it was Gilda Radner.
08:42It was Andrea Martin.
08:43It was Eugene Levy.
08:44Paul Schaefer, myself.
08:46And Victor Garber was Jesus.
08:48So I remember that was a day that stands out in infamy, as FDR would say.
08:53How do you pronounce that word again?
08:54I don't know.
08:54That's fantastic.
08:55Oh, great.
08:56And tell me about your first big job.
09:00My first big job.
09:02I've had several first big jobs.
09:03Really?
09:04So this is a long story.
09:05No, my first big job was getting work at Disneyland.
09:10And then in that little parentheses was getting a job at the magic shop at Disneyland.
09:15Because then, no, Marty.
09:18Then, you know, I was able to perform for people.
09:20I was demonstrating card tricks and doing that sort of thing.
09:23Then I got a job at Knott's Berry Farm.
09:25Oh, that's where Knott's came in.
09:27You can't do my bit.
09:29No, I'm not.
09:30Okay, right.
09:31No, I would say Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
09:33I was 21 and I got a job in a complicated way working at the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
09:40Boy.
09:41That was great.
09:42And you've always been a communist?
09:46Comedy writer.
09:47A comedy writer.
09:48A comedy writer.
09:49I do have a regret.
09:50What?
09:50About the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
09:52I was 21.
09:54I was a young writer and the mantra of the age was never trust anyone over 30.
10:01Right.
10:02And so in this fluke situation, I got hired as a comedy writer.
10:07And I'm like the young writer.
10:08I'm 21 years old.
10:09There were the older writers who had been there for years working with them.
10:14And, you know, there was a little bit of animosity toward us, the younger writers.
10:21But there were two writers on there, Hal Goodman and Al Goldman.
10:25And they were, you know, old-time comedy writers.
10:27Years later, now I'm listening to some of my favorite old-time radio shows like Jack Binney.
10:33And they go, written by Hal Goodman and Al Goldman.
10:35Wow.
10:36And I go, wow, how stupid was I that I didn't go to them and say, talk to me?
10:42I think it's completely natural, though.
10:44I mean, it is stupid.
10:45You know, and you are stupid.
10:47Yeah, thank you.
10:47But no, I think that, I mean, I was the same person.
10:51When I was in my 20s, I didn't trust anyone over 30.
10:55Now I don't trust anyone over 90.
10:57Nope.
10:58Because you don't know they're going to be there the next year.
10:59Well, I can't imagine.
11:01Jiminy Glick has had a revival.
11:04He has.
11:04It started as you would do interviews as this character, Jiminy Glick, who is kind of the
11:11most ignorant, offensive interviewer who really didn't know his subjects.
11:18When did that start?
11:18How many years ago did that start?
11:20I had a talk show for King World, and I wanted to create a character that would go to junkets.
11:24And then you got the Jiminy Glick and La La Land, which was a show that you did.
11:28No, that was a movie.
11:30A movie.
11:31It was?
11:31Yep.
11:32And you were in it, by the way.
11:33I know I was in it.
11:34Yeah.
11:35But I thought it was also a half-hour TV show.
11:37No, no, there was a, boy, you've really done your homework.
11:41I have.
11:42It was a half-hour TV show on Comedy Central.
11:46And then you did a movie and everything.
11:47Yeah.
11:48And then we do it in our show in sort of an ad-libby way.
11:52And then you had a big comeback with it on Jimmy Kimmel.
11:55Well, I don't know if it was a big comeback, but I certainly was on Jimmy Kimmel.
11:57And there was not a disagreement, because you were hosting the show for four nights.
12:02Question came up, should I do the whole show as Jiminy Glick?
12:05And my opinion was, well, once you get out there, you're kind of stuck in the outfit.
12:10So I would recommend doing it in little pieces.
12:12But you did it as all of Jiminy Glick, and there was this huge support and rebuttal.
12:16You've always been there to give me suggestions.
12:19To steer you wrong.
12:20And to steer me wrong.
12:21And it's been one of your great films.
12:22But anyway, so now it's back.
12:23So what, in your long history with Jiminy Glick, is your toughest interview?
12:30Or no, your most delightful, a present company accepted.
12:34They were all great.
12:35We did a great one, Spielberg.
12:36I loved the one we did with Mel Brooks, where I was able to ask him,
12:40what's your big beef with the Nazis?
12:43But they were all delightful.
12:44And yours was hysterical.
12:45I found the less the interviewee does, the better for the show.
12:51Is that kind of accurate?
12:52Because you don't try to top Jiminy Glick.
12:54I remember interviewing Alec Baldwin, and we did it eight minutes.
12:57And then we took a break.
12:58And I said, so what should we do now?
13:00And he said, ask me about women.
13:03And I said, OK, it's how you work with Hillary Clinton.
13:05Oh, and she's banging on your door at 2 in the morning.
13:09He was saying that?
13:09Yeah, needing it.
13:10Really?
13:11What about Meg Ryan?
13:12Same thing.
13:13Anyway, Dianne Feinstein.
13:15Oh, my god.
13:17He's a funny guy, actually.
13:18Hilarious.
13:19So Only Murders in the Building was co-created by you.
13:22Yes.
13:23And you are involved in the creative of each season.
13:29And we've had these brilliant guest stars.
13:31Which guest star has either shocked you or delighted you the most,
13:36other than Meryl Streep?
13:37You know, as you know, we have had a roster of guest stars,
13:42especially comedy guest stars.
13:45I consider Meryl Streep a comedy guest star, too.
13:48Absolutely.
13:49Because she is absolutely hilarious.
13:51And kind of each one better than the other.
13:53I mean, you work with Melissa McCarthy, and she's being hilariously funny.
13:57And then suddenly you have this kind of dark, intimate scene with her.
14:01Yeah.
14:02Personal scene.
14:03But she's a brilliant.
14:04You realize why these people are stars, because they're really, really good.
14:09Right.
14:10Can't really name one.
14:12I didn't know much about Eva Longoria, and she came in and killed it.
14:15Killed it means good.
14:18No, Eugene Levy, my god.
14:20Yeah.
14:20Kamil Najani.
14:21How about Molly Shannon?
14:23Molly Shannon is staggering in this episode, because she has this...
14:28Now!
14:30She was making...
14:30We had a screening last night.
14:32She was making me laugh everything she said.
14:35Now, I know as a kid, you were very interested in show business,
14:39and you had an inner life, shall we say, up in your attic.
14:43Tell us about that.
14:44Well, this is a long story, but sure.
14:46So I'm like 15, I'm 16, and so I had this imaginary show...
14:55Steve?
14:56Steve?