on
Saturday Night Live
is going real good. Iâm learning how to write sketches, and today we filmed aâ
âSuper. Did you hear about Pat Crane?
âWho?
âCatskills comic. Does this thing about having an Irish grandmother.
âUh-huh.
âYou know who Iâm talking about?
âYeah. I met him atâ¦
âHe died. Was killed in a car crash on his way home from a job.
âOh my God.
âYeah, it happened a few weeks ago. It was terrible. He was only forty-six. Had a wife, three kidsâ¦.
âIâm really sorry to hear that.
âI know. Itâs a real tragedy.
âGod.
âIâm doing his bit about farting in an elevator.
âWhat?
âI asked his wife, Barbara, and she said it would be all right.
âWow.
âWhich reminds me, I must give her a call when I get back to New York. I havenât spoken to her since the funeral, because I left for Vegas the next day.
âWait a second. You mean to tell me that at Pat Craneâs funeral you asked his wife if you could do his bit about farting in an elevator?
âNo, of course not.
âButâ¦
âI asked her on the way back from the cemetery.
âOh.
âLook, my daughter Leslieâs going to be sixteen, so weâre giving her a big sweet-sixteen party.
âUh-huh.
âDo you think that thereâs a routine in that?
âThere could beâ¦.
âYou know, with the invitations, and now sheâs old enough to date, or the records that kids listen toâ¦. There must be some routine in there somewhere.
âSure.
âYou know, if you can think of it, thatâs where I can use some punching up in my act. Like I do that routine about the names of the different musical groups.
âRight.
âLike I do that thing where I say that the musical groups today have the strangest names, like âCrosby, Stills, Nash and Youngâwhat kind of name is that? When I first heard it, I thought it was the name of a law firm.â
âRight.
âItâs a super joke, but it only works to the hipper crowds. The young people like it.
âUh-huh.
âOr I say: âThe Jefferson Airplaneâwhat kind of name is that? Did you ever hear their music? Iâll tell you one thing, thatâs one airplane I wouldnât mind seeing hijacked.â
âRight.
âItâs a super joke. You have to think about it for a second, but it works.
âUh-huh.
âSo thatâs what I could use more ofânames of musical groups. Itâs good material for television, you know what I mean?
âSure.
âItâs clean, and appeals to the young peopleâwhich is the audience that TVâs trying to reach.
âRight.
âLook, I know youâre busy with your show and everything, but could you do me a favor and just jot down some funny names of musical groups for me?
âOkay.
âItâs a funny idea, isnât it?
âOh, yeah.
âLook, Iâll let you go back to sleepâ¦.
âOkay.
âSorry I woke you.
âThatâs all right.
ââ¦but off the top of your head, could you think of a funny name of a musical group?
âUhâ¦the Grateful Dead?
âNoâ¦. Itâs not bad, but the routine works a lot better when I use the names of actual groups.
âButâ¦
âLook, I know youâre tired. So give it some thought, and Iâll call you when I get back to New York.âOkay.âGood night.
FEBRUARY 1980
âI just canât believe that Iâm fifty years old.
âI know. But you donât look it.
âReally?
âNo. No way.
âThanksâ¦. Hey, it was nice of all the boys to come, wasnât it?âSure was.
âThatâs why we made the party today, so most of the boys wouldnât be working.
âRight.
âThereâs very few jobs on Sunday afternoons, unless itâs a special affair or something. The only one who couldnât
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