All language subtitles for That.Guy.Dick.Miller.2014.WEBRip.x264-RARBG

[**]

DICK:
That's Italian.

You can go pump
or auto.

SCHWARZENEGGER: The .45 Long
Slide with laser sighting.

These are brand new.
We just got them in.

That's a good gun.

Just touch the trigger,
the beam comes on...

Yeah, I remember after
shooting this scene

thinking,
"That guy is good.

He oughta run
for Governor."

LAINIE:
Schwarzenegger?

What Schwarzenegger?
Me!

Friend of mine was
working for Roger Corman.

And he had to go
drop something off

and I said,
"Can I go with ya?"

Dick Miller was
an essential part

of those early
Corman films.

He's in quite a
number of them.

You got a thought,
or do you want to sit here

and play with
your blocks?

I'll play with your blocks.
Here, give him this.

Sometimes he has a small part,
sometimes one of the leads.

CORMAN: Bucket of Blood was
probably Dick's best role.

He played
Walter Paisley.

Oh Walter,
I want to be with you!

LAINIE: Let's call
the character Walter!

Yo, Walter!

MAN: Hey, Walter,
it's your wife.

LAINIE: It's just one
of those things.

It sort of got
attached to him.

MAN: Walter Paisley
is born!

But you did shoot
with naked ladies.

No, I don't remember
naked ladies.

Dick did his share
of gangsters,

and he did policemen -

You know,
working stiff parts.

I don't know an actor who
has been in the business

as long as Dick has
been in the business

who isn't hiding
a million wounds.

Dick came out here
as a writer

and that's what
he wanted to do.

Our childhood was probably
like everybody else's.

Who knows?

You hear stories,
you don't hear stories.

I've been mistaken
for him several times

and I always thought I was
better lookin' than him.

Ah, sorry pal, you're over
the limit on this card.

SAYLES:
He's that guy.

He's the guy that when
you're watching a movie

and you see him,
you say, "There's that guy!"

He's in everything.

He's like the
Washington Monument of actors.

You can't turn on the TV
or go to the movies

without seeing this man's career
spill out before you.

Listen to me, punk,

I've handled jaywalkers
who were tougher than you.

I do hope you'll
write my book.

I grew up with Dick Miller.

I mean I really did.

INTERVIEWER:
Ever flub a line?
No.

I take Master Charge,
American Express -

I blew the fuckin' line!

Yeah, maybe once
or twice...

Dick Miller is the
quintessential character actor.

Lets get outta here.

I hate cul de sacs.

There's only one way out
and the people are weird.

FELDMAN: He's in every
Joe Dante movie, isn't he?

What was he in Innerspace?

BOTH: Would you shut up!
Get back in your cab!

I never thought about
being a filmmaker.

I was going to be a cartoonist.
I was just a film fan.

But then when finally I got
a chance to make a movie,

I couldn't do it without
Dick Miller.

I had to have
Dick Miller in it.

Joe seems to adore Dick.

They seem to get
along fantastically.

What's so great
about Dick is -

It's the fact that
he's so Dick Miller.

He's so himself.

Completely,
100 percent,

undiluted,
pure Dick Miller.

He's so completely
authentic.

You're never going to
steal a scene from him.

Because how can you
steal a scene from

somebody who's so real?

You're never going to
steal a scene from reality.

No, that's what I said.
No, that's what I said!

No, I said forget it.
I said...

[**]

[**]

We're in New York because
Dick is doing a film.

I'm so excited!

DICK: Back in New York -
This is my stomping ground.

I started out here,
a Bronx boy.

I haven't been here
in a couple of years.

It's nice.

This one is
with Abe Vigoda

and it's called
Cutaways.

I've never worked
with him before.

He's a nice,
quiet old gentleman.

My friends are
still amazed -

and the people
that I work with -

that my brother's an actor
and he's been in so many films

and he's such a
well known face.

You look at him and you say,
"I know that guy."

GENE: But he made
so many films...

Somebody told me
he made about 300,

which is an
awful lot.

Can we have the check?

It's on the house.

Really?
Sure, what the hell.

Different rules apply
when it gets this late.

Know what I mean?
It's like after hours.

KAPLAN:
I love having him around.

I love working with him.

Cause Dick's got a New York
accent, you know?

You feel at home.

Dick is a dyed in the wool
kind of New Yorker.

He's a super authentic guy.

He's a no bullshit guy.

This is my first
professional picture...

"Sorority Girl,

featuring
Dick Miller."

Here's some more junk.

This is from
Gremlins.

This is a Walter
Paisely sign.

I've got Walter Paisely
signs all over the house.

The Undead...

INTERVIEWER: You played a
leper in that movie, right?

Yeah, he cleared up
my skin nice.

Ahh, this is War
of the Satellites...

Rock All Night...

INTERVIEW: How many movies
did you do for Roger?

Do you remember?

I've been associated
with him in about...

49 pictures...

That's he's either
directed or produced,

or something
or the other.

The first film Dick and I worked
on together was Apache Woman,

a two-week western.

I think it was my
third or fourth picture.

I was just learning
how to be a director.

I was five when he
made his first movie -

Apache Woman -

where he plays Tall Tree.

I would've made a
great Apache Chief...

Wouldn't I have,
Tall Tree?

Mmm, Good Chief.
You Chief now.

SADLER: And I think
that's really the secret

to his longevity
in the film industry -

is his height.

Because there's always room
for somebody who is that small.

You'll have to ask
Dick about his secret.

I have no idea
what his secret is.

DICK: I was playing an
Indian in my first picture,

and I felt good about it.

He says, "When you
finish your work here,

how would you like to play
a homesteader for me?"

I said, "Yeah, sure.
When does that start?"

He says, "Tomorrow!"

So I played a cowboy and an
Indian in my first movie.

I think part of the
success of Corman

was that everything was
well planned in advance.

Roger Corman was a
well-educated young man

who sort of stumbled
into the movie business.

Corman was his own
director and producer,

and knew how to make these
films quickly and efficiently,

and had no pretense
of them being great art.

Won't be laying that track
for two weeks yet.

We're all waiting for
that big letter.

Yeah, and I'm waiting
to carry it.

DICK: Roger was on
a Western kick then.

I played cowboys for him.

I played a Pony Express
rider for him.

I was making a buck.

Dick came out as an
actor from New York

and started getting cast
in all those movies

and became
this presence.

Frankly, at the time
of those movies,

I wasn't aware of Dick.

But looking at it
in retrospect,

he's a thread that you see
throughout those movies.

He's like the everyman.

Jonathan Haze,
by the way,

was the one who introduced me
to Roger the first time.

What do you do, kid?

I'm here to keep
Mr. Johnson healthy.

I don't even
think we had

each other's phone
numbers in those days.

No, who had
telephones?

I want to rustle some cows.
Don't be stupid.

Who's stupid?
You're stupid.
Who's got any cows out here?

Alright, I'll go rustle
some chickens.

HAZE: That was all
pretty much ad-libbed.

But it was the first
time that Dick and I

got to work together
as a comedy team.

It's not here?
Si, way back in there.

It's too big for this
little squad, I think.

HAZE: And it gave
Roger some ideas

about us playing comedy

that paid off later on
with Bucket of Blood

and Little Shop of Horrors.

Jonathan Haze -
Dick calls him Jackie.

But he's Jonathan Haze.

They've been together as
friends since New York.

They've known each other
longer than Dick knows me.

DICK:
When Jonathan Haze said

he was going to
introduce me to Roger,

I thought, "I'm gonna sell him
some science fiction if I can."

Didn't happen.

Roger at that time,
he said, "What do you do?"

I said,
"I'm a writer."

He said, "We don't need writers.
We need actors."

I said,
"I'm an actor!"

The State Theatre
in Boonton, New Jersey.

That's where I saw my
first Dick Miller movie,

which was
"Not of this Earth".

Mornin'. I represent the
Air Wave Vacuum Company.

You the gentlemen
of the house?

This is my house.

Crazy. I'd like to
show you the product.

DANTE:
I didn't know Dick,

because I hadn't seen
any of his other movies.

But the vacuum salesman

definitely made
an impression on me.

So when I saw him again
in another AIP picture -

"Oh, that's the guy!
That's the vacuum cleaner guy."

I know that better
than you do, sergeant.

How well are
you doing?

Half my men are dead.
Nothing can stop that thing.

In Not of This Earth,

Dick plays a
door-to-door salesman.

This, they say
in the vernacular,

is the darling of the
vacuum cleaning world.

ROGER: And it was really
one of the high-points,

if not THE high-point
of the picture.

It's a vacuum cleaner.

You purchase,
you don't wanna purchase.

You wanna purchase,
you purchase.

I don't want ya
to purchase, mister.

I just want to give you
a free demonstration.

You wanna purchase,
you purchase.

You don't wanna purchase,
you don't purchase.

I ain't gonna force
you to purchase.

ROGER: It was a
well-written scene,

but Dick re-wrote
it just slightly,

just changed a little
bit of the dialogue.

Crazy.

I said,
"Wait a second..."

Among my many occupations,

I was also a
door-to-door salesman.

I said,
"And I didn't have a spiel.

I just spoke naturally."

It's a very simple operation.

MALTIN: When people try to do
homages to these B-movies,

they do it sometimes
with a wink.

The actors who worked
for Corman never did that.

There's no condescending
to the material.

It's done with
conviction.

I must have met
a thousand cops

and every one
of them is stupid

Tangling with punks like you
for the money they draw,

maybe they are.

"Got a picture here
called Rock All Night."

I said,
"What do I do in it?"

He said,
"You're the lead."

CORMAN:
In Rock All Night,

Dick played what we used to
refer to as The Little Guy.

Let go of me,
you big ape!

Now beat it!

Dick's a very real guy.
He doesn't cut you any slack.

Fill it, will ya?

And he's got that
sort of New York

attitude in his
performances

Say somethin' nice,

or I'm gonna bounce you
right off that wall.

Now start talkin'!

I'm talkin'.
You listenin'?

What he was
was the underdog

who rises to the occasion
and conquers.

LAINIE:
Roger started his career.

All of the people who
grew up in the Corman camp

wouldn't be using Dick

if Dick hadn't been an
actor for Roger Corman.

DAVISON:
I grew up in New Jersey

and was a big fan
of Roger Corman's.

I went to see Attack
of The Crab Monsters

and Not of This Earth
when I was eight years old,

and I don't think I've ever
been as scared since.

He was able to get the money
to make those little movies.

I guess little by little,
he got better at it.

People liked them...

which surprised
the hell out of me.

But in high school, I learned
to appreciate Dick Miller.

I learned to appreciate how
he was able to give life

to even the smallest
of roles.

We don't have
much time, Dave.

We've got
plenty of time.

They're just calling
for Rocket One.
I'm going on Rocket One.

Dick Miller's first 10
feature film acting jobs

were all for Roger.

Dick is top billed in
War of the Satellites,

and he tries hard to
suppress his Bronx accent,

and is pretty
successful with it.

Is it fantastic that there's
an intelligent race out there

that stops at nothing to keep us
quarantined on our own planet?

Is the Sigma Barrier
fantastic?

But he plays it more
like a leading man

than the character
actor that he is...

And manages, I think
quite convincingly,

to play against his
blue collar persona

and portray a scientist.

It's harder then anything we
have yet been able to devise.

And it has a fantastic
thermal resistance.

Hm. I didn't know that.

I think the first
movie I saw

was War of the
Satellites.

I remember, years after,
my brother Gene said,

"You know, where did Dick
learn all those big words?"

Now the gentlemen here
ask themselves why

these aliens are so
concerned that we do not

penetrate the
Sigma Barrier?

If Lenny Bruce
could've acted,

he would've been
Dick Miller.

Especially the young
Dick Miller,

'cause Dick
had this kind of

hipster quality
about him.

Hello?

Hello, Sybil?
This is Dave.

BEHR: One of my
favorite moments

in the Dick Miller
filmography

is in War of the
Satellites,

where he plays this
absolute hipster scientist.

They never identify
him as a hipster,

but you know he's off boppin'
at night, smokin' reefer.

And there's one moment

when he comes in to
see Richard Devon...

I was wondering if I can ask
you a question, personally.

Certainly...

BEHR:
Dick sits down

and he does this little
thing with his head

that he sometimes does.

Which is the
exact same thing

that Lenny Bruce used
to do in his act.

That's the coolest
guy in movies, guys!

So that's why when he gets
to play Walter Paisley,

people use that
as a reference

to who Dick Miller is...

That's not
Dick Miller at all!

DICK: For a while I was
writing in New York.

So I came out here
with a bunch of stories,

science fiction things.

GENE:
I knew he was writing,

but I really thought that what
was going to happen in the end

would be his acting,

because he's gone to
a theatrical school

and he seemed to have
a lot of talent.

But I knew he'd
been writing.

But I didn't know is he was
successful with that or not.

DICK:
I got out of the service,

so I went to an
upholstery school.

I went down there and filled
out all of the papers.

He said, "We don't have
any night classes anymore,

just the day classes.

Start at 8 o'clock
in the morning."

I said, "That's no good.

I don't go to sleep until 3
or 4 o'clock in the morning.

Right next to the New York
School of Upholstery

was the New York Theatre
School of Dramatic Arts.

I called them - "What time
do your classes start?"

BILL: He was on his own
at a young age.

He always learned
to rely on himself,

and I think
that's good.

I really didn't know
much about acting.

I didn't care
to be an actor.

I had fooled
around a little -

Played drums,
sang a little.

So maybe the
formative years

and the separation
from the parents

had more of an
affect on him than,

psychologically,
he wants to admit.

GENE: My mother,
she was an opera star.

She was soprano
and very good.

And we were raised, really,
on that type of music.

But she was very talented,
quite talented.

DICK: Oh, I was about 8
or 9 years old, I guess.

I came home to just one
of the usual arguments.

Of course, my mother
and father divorced.

I think all of his
interest in show business

stemmed from his mother.

DICK: My mother was prepared
to give up everything.

He just couldn't
understand

why she wanted
to sing

and wanted
to be happy.

It had a big
affect upon Dick.

And I think Dick,
overall, felt

my father wasn't
fair to his mother.

DICK: I didn't know
why they got divorced.

My father was living
someplace else -

and that was it.

So he went out to California,
sort of alone.

You know,
Gene was going his own way

and we had a big family
in California.

So they took care of
him to a large extent,

but mostly he took
care of himself.

I was busy living life.

And I came out
to California...

Unfortunately...

my mom died before

she could see
any of my films.

MAN:
I will talk to you of art.

For there is nothing
else to talk about -

For there is nothing else.

Life is an obscure hobo,

bumming a ride on
the omnibus of art.

Burn gas buggies

and whip your sour cream
of circumstance,

and hope.

And go ahead and sleep
your bloody heads off.

SCHLESINGER: When you
talk about quintessential

Dick Miller roles,

the common agreement is that

it's Walter Paisley in
A Bucket of Blood.

Yes, man, yes!
Hi!

The image we have
of Dick Miller

was created in
Bucket of Blood.

ARKUSH:
Bucket of Blood, I think,

is maybe my favorite
Roger Corman movie.

Hey, that's a pretty
far out name for a statue.

I saw a statue once -
It was called

'The Third Time Phyllis
Saw Me She Exploded'.

It's a role where he does
play kind of an idiot,

even though he's
kind of good natured.

You alright, Franky?

Dick is in no sense

like that
character in life.

He is much more
like the character

in Rock All Night.

I thought you said that life
was like an obscure hobo,

bumming a ride on the -
I do believe
in that Walter,

but I also believe
creative living.

He could play
a comedy role

and bring
a depth to it,

and a seriousness to it,

that gave it an
added dimension.

The artist is -
All others are not.

That's most intriguing.

Are you a painter?

His ambition
is to be an artist.

What's it called?

Dead Cat?

He takes the cat,
and he covers it in plaster,

and he shows it to people,

and they think it's
a great sculpture.

Man, you are in!
Oh, Walter...

Then he has to do more
and he kills a man.

So there's interesting
levels of one killing

for the sake of beauty,

and is that the right
thing to do, you know?

Is that fraudulent?
Is it not art?

Yeah, you're a
real artist now.

I think people do relate
to Walter Paisley.

We've all been through that -

Trying to break in,

trying to get started.

A canvas is a canvas,
or a painting.

A rock is a rock,
or a statue...

ARKUSH: Like in all
other parts of life

and in social settings,
there's a hierarchy.

People respond
to hierarchies,

whether it's
professional sports

and you're the
quarterback,

or, in the this case,
instead of the quarterback,

you're the poet
or the artist

who is the center of
beatnik life in the coffee shop.

Bring me an espresso,
Walter.

ARKUSH:
Walter is on the fringe.

He's got no
artistic talent,

he's got nothing
going for him,

and he can't get girls -

which is kind of a big
motivating factor for him.

Crazy, what did he say?

Didn't you hear him?
No man, I'm too far out.

KARASZEWSKI:
A Bucket of Blood is a hoot!

It sort of takes

what would be a generic
drive-in picture

and, all of a sudden,
gives it an odd spin.

Its really a sophisticated,
brilliant little satire

for a low-budget,
quickie B-movie.

For some reason,
Chuck Griffith's writing,

which can be very dark and
funny at the same time,

was the perfect
match for Dick.

CORMAN: Chuck Griffith and I
went out and had dinner,

and I said to Chuck,

"Let's spend the night going
from beatnik coffee house

to beatnik coffee house,

and we will put together
an outline from which

you will do
the treatment."

I don't want you to
make any more statues.

Do you understand?

No more statues!
Why not?

If you do the lead
in the picture,

you do the lead
in the picture.

They're all
pretty much the same.

But that's the one
that I like the best.

It really is, I think,
his best performance,

and he's been known for it
in sort of a cult way.

Did you call me,
Mr. Mushnik?

No, I was calling
John D. Rockefeller

for to make a loan
on my Rolls Royce!

JACKIE: Oh,
I'll tell you something.

But it's the first time
I really saw Dick.

He was in a movie called
Bucket of Blood,

and I knew Antoney Carbone,
who was in it -

we went to school together.

So, naturally,
I went to see the movie

and Dick was the star.

So that's how
I felt on the set.

Look, here I got
a new customer.

JACKIE: When Dick
stepped on the set,

you just know that
he's somebody special.

Now what can I
do for you, sir?

My name is
Burson Fouch.

Excellent,
I'm Gravis Mushnik.
Oh, that's a good one.

Who's gonna
get my roses?

The Little Shop of
Horrors went so fast,

nobody had time to have
small talk, really,

'cause you're running
from scene to scene.

It was a two-day movie.

AUDREY II:
Feed me!

HAZE:
We had to shoot it fast,

and a lot of the times we
would just have to ad lib

because we'd
lose ourselves -

we didn't know
where we were.

Little Shop of Horrors
was the next picture

after Bucket of Blood.

By the time Roger
was getting ready

to do Little Shop
of Horrors,

I'd heard that
he had Chuck Griffith

writing a comedy
for Dick Miller.

Now came Little
Shop of Horrors.

I said, "This is the
same character."

HAZE: Dick read it and decided
that he didn't want to do it

because it was similar
to Bucket of Blood.

In those days,

there weren't
any sequels.

I resented
doing the part.

I said, "I don't
wanna do this.

Give it to Jonathan Haze."

I said, "Well, I'll do
anything in it to be workin'."

Are you crazy?

Who, who?
You, you!

So I felt that it was
a good payback time

by giving him a lead
in this picture.

Dick was in scenes with me,

'cause I worked
in the Flower Shop

and he came in and
ate the flowers.

Of course,
what else?

DICK: I said,
"Get me clean flowers."

I think he got them from a
funeral house or something,

'cause they
tasted terrible.

You didn't mean it...

ROGER: I did have,
to a certain extent,

a stock company,
as much as you can.

Dick was one of
my favorite actors.

I always thought he was
a brilliant actor.

One of his best friends,
Jonathan Haze,

was among them,
as well.

HAZE: Well, I mean,
I've heard that story.

I've heard all about
stock companies

and the Corman Acting School
and all that stuff.

There wasn't any
kind of any of that.

There was no stock company.

There was no unified group of
actors that were his group.

If you worked for him
and he liked you,

he'd use you again.

Except for Jackie
and Jack Nicholson,

we'd all worked
together before.

Is this Doctor
Forbes's office?

DEL VALLE:
Dick Miller...

I thought his performance
in A Bucket of Blood

was every bit as good

as Jack Nicholson's in
The Little Shop of Horrors.

Oh, my God,

don't stop now!

Hollywood is not
based on talent.

It's not based on anything
other than being

in the right place,
at the right time,

and having within you whatever
that is that someone wants.

It's all a matter of luck.

Little Shop of Horrors is
interesting because, originally,

Roger wanted Dick to
play the lead character

and he felt,
"I've already done that.

Let Jonathan play it.
Give me something else to do."

In a way, it seemed like
a missed opportunity.

But maybe it sort of,
in some peculiar way,

confirmed his decision that
being the star of the movie

isn't necessarily always
the best thing to be.

DICK: There wasn't
a large pool of actors

that were ready to work
for Roger Corman.

He worked like lightning.

The only reason Roger
did a second take

was if the camera fell over.

He did his best work

in casting his pictures.

And I think
that when

a newcomer
comin' along

did a good job
for him,

he'd say,
"Let's use him again."

In the name of the
government of France,

I order you to
open this door!

Your pardon, young sir,
I was at my devotions.

I did not hear you.

I'm sorry, sir.

But surely I made enough
noise to awaken the dead.

I don't what Jack really
wanted to do at the beginning.

Yes, Baron?

Cognac,
for our guest.

Yes, Baron.

DICK: He was ill-suited
for the part.

Right after that,

he did some other pictures
that he was marvelous in.

The legend goes
that Roger wrapped

The Raven three days early.

So he still had Karloff under
contract for a couple of days

and the sets were
still standing.

So he decided to
shoot another movie,

right then and there.

Even as a kid, I had no clue
what that movie was about.

They didn't have a script.

They would just scribble
down a bunch of stuff.

You know,
Roger would have Boris

walk across the room,

change his jacket,
and walk back.

Karloff just walks through
this movie in smoking jackets.

[Imitating Karloff]
"Where do you want me, Roger?

Three days is
too much time."

None of this was
cutting together.

DEL VALLE:
When Karloff did The Terror,

he said, "I never want to hear
that man's name again."

And I always thought
that was funny.

Because Vincent Price said,
"Well, I hear it all the time,

and I don't have
a problem with it."

But Boris was
kind of cranky.

Plus he had guys
like Monte Hellman,

and Francis Coppola,
and Jack Hill

out shooting
second unit stuff.

Allow me to show
you something...

One of the problems with
the movie also was that,

for a horror movie,

it didn't really have
the kind of scenes

that you want for
a horror movie.

So I added in a scene where
the Jonathan Haze character

is up on top
of the cliff.

Somehow I got the
role of a deaf mute!

HILL: This falcon comes
down out of the sky,

flies into his face,

and tears his eyes out.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

So Jack Nicholson
grabs Dick -

"Alright!

Tell me everything that's
going on around here!"

The Baron did return that night
to find Eric with the Baroness,

and he did kill her.

SCHLESINGER: Then Dick spends
the next minute and a half or so

literally summarizing the
entire plot up to that point,

including things he could
not possibly have known!

But it got the
audience up to speed

and made the picture
half-way sensible.

Ahhh!

HAZE:
I liked that picture.

I liked wearing all the weird
costumes and being crazy.

And it was good working
with Boris Karloff,

who was an old hero of mine.

My thrill of a lifetime

was working with
Boris Karloff.

I think Karloff,
Gable, and Cagney

were the three big giants
I met in this business.

You meet actors today,
they're nice guys,

but they're not giants.

KAPLAN: As much film history
as he's seen,

and given
where he started -

with Jack Nicholson
and that whole gang -

You would expect to see some
bitterness or something in him

that a lot of
the people around him

went on to make it big,

and Dick is still playing
the smaller roles.

Write your thoughts down here
and he will read them to you.

Just by pressing them
against his forehead.

Anything you want to write.
Anything at all!

How about my
mother-in-law's will?

KAPLAN: He's a throwback to the
studio system actors, you know?

LAINIE: I knew about whatever
he was he was doing at the time,

but we were so involved

in starting our relationship,

I didn't really
get involved

in knowing
about his work.

I saw my husband in

War of the Satellites.

I was in the movie theatre
with a fella I was dating.

I made one of those
unforgivable,

embarrassing,
glib remarks at the time.

I said, "That guy can put his
shoes under my bed any time."

When I was 16,

I wound up in California.

And Dick came
a little bit later

and started working
on his own career.

And then he met Elaine,

and he
got outta my house. [Laughing]

Carla...

I don't wanna make
statues anymore.

I wanna get married...

to you.

LAINIE: I came here when
I was 17 and a half.

Another actor introduced
me to Dick in Schwabbs.

I almost fell
flat on my face

that I was
meeting this guy,

that I had seen
a couple of years earlier

in a picture.

I met Dick

in May 1959

and we got married
the following October -

Five months.

GENE: It's a terribly
good relationship.

It's shown
over the years.

She was in show business
at the time.

I'm trying to remember
when I met Lainie.

I think I knew that
Lainie was in The Graduate

before I met her.

I think Dick had told me
that that was her.

What do you want to know
about The Graduate?

I mean, I'm not
Mike Nichols,

so I can't answer
from his perspective.

He had seen
something I did

where I played
a voodoo witch.

He asked his production
coordinator who that was

and she looked
and said,

"Oh my God,
that's my neighbor!"

And the next
thing I know,

she's knocking
on my door saying,

"Mike Nichols wants
you for The Graduate."

MAN:
Sit down!

LAINIE:
That's how it happened.

I asked Dick, "Do you mind
if I play a stripper?"

It seems that I've gotten
known for this

little, itty-bitty role
I did in The Graduate.

Because, for its time,
I suppose it was rather racy.

But by today's
standard,

it's just
another dancer.

This is a portrait
I did of Dick

in 1966.

INTERVIEWER:
What inspired you to do it?

Me!

Who do you
think?

BILL: They love
being with each other.

They love bickering
with each other.

They can have
their own radio show.

What do you mean?
I don't know
what it is.

That's what the trouble is
for 55 years or whatever.

What was our
first argument?

That's what I'm trying
to argue about.

Of course I understand that
these two would be together.

You didn't like what
I made you for diner.

I wouldn't even
call it bickering.

It's just sort of...

Pork chops!

Pork chops!
Alright.

No, it wasn't
pork chops was it?

DANTE:
It's very funny,

in a sort of
sitcom way.

She's never cooked
anything since then.

And you
deserve it!

She has trouble
boiling water.

She doesn't know what
temperature it boils at.

INTERVIEWER:
What temperature does it?
I don't know.

LAINIE:
As all actors can tell you,

it's not a gravy train
all the way through.

The foibles of
being an actor -

You just don't get
that much work.

DOEL: The first film
that I actually worked on

was in fact The Wild Angels.

And that, I believe, was the
first time I saw Dick Miller.

Hey, what's the matter
with you guys?

You're supposed to be doing
some work around here.

Cool it, I'm just
talking to my buddy.

Yeah?
Yeah.

What's with the Iron Cross?
You one of those dumb angels?

ANNOUNCER:
Their intimacies -

A rape of decency...

DOEL:
Defiance of authority...

Not trusting people
over 30...

I think Roger
responded to that,

because, even though
he didn't hang out

with the counter-culture -

really except for
purposes of research -

I think he had some
instinctive sympathy

with the idea of
mistrust of authority,

which is something he
had very strongly.

ANNOUNCER:
Their emblems -

Those of the defeated,
the despised...

I didn't see it happening.

To me,
a job was a job...

Kasch, Kasch.
This is Paul.

How you doin'?
Good to meet ya.

LAINIE:
At that particular point,

he was more playing
the establishment roles

and they were playing
the anti-establishment roles.

I don't know whether
it amused him,

I don't know whether it
interested him at all,

but he definitely wasn't
part of it, I never felt.

Listen, I'll tell
you something now.

The pay in those
days was, I think,

300 or 350 dollars a week.

I remember telling
my daughter once -

We were talking
about money,

and I said, "I've gotten by
on 15 for the year!"

She said that $15,000
was a lot of money.

I said, "Wait a second,
wait a second -

$1,500."

She said,
"You made five pictures!"

I said, "That's right."

There just wasn't any money.

LAINIE: There were
a couple of years

when so little came
into the house

from Dick's acting

and from me
going to school...

BILL: I remember,
in those days,

when I first went out
to California,

Dick never wanted
to leave the house.

I had a lot of agents.

They didn't do a thing for me.

BILL: And he never even wanted
to go 10 or 15 minutes way,

because he was afraid
he'd miss a call.

When I got a call,
I got a part.

Tell us,
Miss Campbell,

did you ever dream of being
a star in those days?

I used to dream
about getting away

from Fitzwilliam,
New Hampshire.

BILL: I remember,
maybe 40 years ago,

35 years ago maybe,

he wasn't getting as many
parts as he deserved.

Gene was the coroner
of Orange County

and he got him
some interviews.

Dick resisted it
in the worst way.

Eventually, he said, "Alright,
I'll go to the interviews."

And they set up the interviews

and Dick just never showed up.

[Laughs]

I don't know whether I
should laugh at that or not.

Dick is the type of person
that does not want to do

what he doesn't want to do.

Not that he didn't do
what he didn't want to do,

but he knew what
he did want to do -

And he wanted to be an actor.

And he didn't care if he was
going through a dry spot

or he wasn't getting
called upon in those days.

He was just going
to wait it out,

and do what
he wanted to do,

'cause he knew what
was best for himself.

GENE:
It wasn't easy.

And it never is, I think.

I think the fact
that he was liked

by producers and directors
helped him, though.

We couldn't afford
vacations, the truth is.

The very first
time we did

anything that
resembled a vacation

was when he making
The Long Ride Home and I came.

You've hurt yourself more
than once on a picture,

doing stunts.

DICK:
I get hurt.

On The Long Ride Home,

I busted my tailbone
early in the picture.

Did some very, very
fancy riding after that.

DOEL: Roger had
a deal at Columbia

and was preparing to
shoot a western,

with Robert Towne
re-writing the script.

This script was not
The Magnificent Seven.

[Laugh]

It soon turned out that there
were some very serious people

who thought they were
doing Shakespeare.

The company broke
into two camps...

There were
the Union soldiers

and the Rebs.

And that's why,
to this day,

I'm friends
with Dick Miller.

We stayed in a town that had
as many churches as bars

and there were about 20
shootings every weekend.

The experience was -

How many things on a movie
can be made difficult?

One of the things that
may have been a sign early on -

Every day, there would be
memos sent around

from the Columbia
Production Department

listing such things as the
equipment that would be sent.

And Roger would study
these lists very carefully

and he would
instruct me sometimes

to strike things off.

"Two generators?

I assume if they send a
generator to the location,

it's going to work!"

DICK: I remember
all the suits came out

and I said,
"What's going on?"

And they said, "He's getting
chewed out up there."

PETERSEN:
Roger wanted some freedom.

He didn't want to move
30 pieces of equipment

to get the shot he wanted.

It was a new way
to make a picture,

and, frankly,
I agreed with him.

DOEL: The Columbia guys
were worried that Roger,

from his AIP,

low budget,
exploitation background,

was going to make
a cheap-looking movie.

DICK:
"Don't go up there.

You're gonna pass these
guys in the suits

and they'll
remember you!"

And all kinds of panic.

I said, "Ah, bull!"

And I did pass a
guy on the stairs.

"Are you on this picture?"

I said, "Yeah,
I think so..."

PETERSEN: And we had
the directorial change -

the sudden and abrupt
dismissal of Roger Corman -

which I didn't
support then.

And I still
argue to this day

he was going to make a better
picture than we deserved.

DOEL: He was bent on
bringing in the movie

on time and on budget -

even under budget -

and he simply assumed that

they would like it
if he did that.

DICK: He went off and
did another picture.

Hello, boys.

Something I can
do for you?
Yeah, you can shut up.

He didn't
miss a beat.

[Gunfire]

DICK:
I was writing.

I wasn't selling
too much.

And at that point,

becoming an actor,

I just gave up the writing.

Not entirely,
but I decided,

"I'm concentrating on
something else now."

I sold a couple of scripts.

I remember
"Which Way To The Front?"

with Jerry Lewis -

One of the sore spots
of my career.

One of my first
moviegoing experiences

was being taken
to see a film

called "Which Way
To The Front?"

with Jerry Lewis.

It might actually be Jerry
Lewis' last studio picture.

Yaaa-vwaoit!

It has a great plot -

just really weird execution.

Fuehrer!

An acquaintance of mine,
who was an actor,

he had worked
for Jerry, I guess,

and he bought my script.

And, little by little,
I started hearing about it.

The studio bought it,

and all of a sudden
they announced it

and it was in the trades...

And I saw my name's
not on there.

And I took it
to the guild,

and we had a hearing,

and I got my
credit for it.

I love it!
I love it!

What they did was

they had a re-write on it,

and they changed
the battle from

the Pacific Islands
to Germany.

[**]

KARASZEWSKI: I like to
forgive Jerry Lewis

only because I find
that it's so watchable.

Even when it's a car crash,
it's really watchable.

Well, it was funny for
a Jerry Lewis picture.

BEHR:
It's a tough business,

and its full of hopes,

and dreams,
and disappointments.

I think that Dick has
gone through a lot,

and because of that,

I don't think he
allows himself

to be totally
accessible.

LAINIE: He had a couch
and a Murphy Bed.

When we got married,

we just kept all
of that stuff -

'Cause I came from Canada.

What did I have?

He had his typewriter.

That was his
main possession.

DICK: I was just
staying alive,

making movies.

I think I must have been in
four or five pictures

before I realized
I was a movie actor.

I'm still trying
to sell scripts...

Wasn't selling.

KARASZEWSKI: He seems to have
come out here to be a writer

and sort of ignored
it completely

until, for some reason,
around 1970 -

Which he gets
two writing credits.

He gets a writing
credit on a western

called Four Rode Out,
or something.

It's with Sue Lyon.

He does that and the Jerry
Lewis movie back-to-back.

Maybe working
for Jerry Lewis

makes you give it up
completely.

BEHR: It didn't really
hit me until the first time

that I was invited to
Dick and Lainie's house.

And the two things that
I discovered there

were the photos of Dick,

with the big lions,
and the cats,

and I realized how much
they loved animals.

And then there was
this art...

DICK: That is kind of a
strange little face.

What's this?

Here's an interesting thing...

What have you got?
It's a thing I made!

DICK: They're all made
about 50 years ago, really.

INTERVIEWER:
Did you draw a lot?

I drew constantly.

I drew thousands
of pictures.

These are the few
that are left.

"The Family of Man."

INTERVIEWER:
They seem sexual.

DICK: I believe all my
pictures are sexual.

I just like life
that way...

If I drew girls -

They loved it
when I drew them.

Or else it was strictly
from my imagination.

INTERVIEWER: Was there a
particular part of the anatomy

that you liked drawing?

DICK:
Well, God, no!

I guess, as I got
working as an actor,

the need to draw disappeared.

I got a job once,
The Andersonville Trial,

because I could draw...

Oh God, there -

That was the set.

I'm George C. Scott.

It's my happy
job this evening

to give you an
improvisational introduction

to The Andersonville Trial -

a play by Saul Levit.

I asked George C. Scott -

he was the director
at the time.

I think it one of the
first things he directed.

I asked him,
"Were there many lines?"

He said,
"Not too many at all.

You're playing
a court reporter."

And I drew a picture of him
in about two seconds flat.

I said,
"You mean like this?"

"Oh yeah,
that's good!"

I remember,
when I was a kid,

a guy came over from
Disney to my mother.

He wanted to stick me
in pictures.

I didn't know that.

I thought he was going
to make me an animator.

I said, "Yeah,
I wanna do that!

I wanna do that!"

He told
me, "You're gonna be an actor."

I said, "Nah,
I don't wanna do that."

Who knew?

You want a portrait
of yourself?

He'll make it for you in
pen and ink in ten minutes.

BILL:
Dick and my father had

a little bit of an
interesting relationship.

If you ask Gene about
the early childhood -

"Oh, it was perfectly fine!

It was perfectly fine!"
So...

GENE:
He was a nice guy,

but very much involved
in his own life,

his own affairs.

Both Dick and I would
see him occasionally,

and go to lunch
or something,

and that was
really about it.

BILL: When I was about 17,
18 years old,

my father put me on
an airplane with him.

We were going
to California,

and he said, "You're
gonna meet some people

who are gonna
call me dad."

And I met Dick and Gene.

You know, my father had a
drawer in his apartment.

And he had some
pictures of Dick

in a movie called
Rock All Night

where he was on the
back of Variety.

And there was pictures
of Gene in the Navy.

You know, these guys look
so much like my father

that, even as a young kid,

I said, "Something
weird here..."

But, you know,
Brooklyn has its own vibe.

DICK: I knew about Bill
from the very beginning.

I didn't know that Bill
didn't know about me.

I first saw Bill
when I got out of the Navy

and went home to see
my mother and Dick.

And I went up
to see my father

and Bill was his child,

sittin' in
a high chair...

BILL: But Dick will
never admit it.

He doesn't have
the most positive thoughts

about my father.

DICK: My father,
our relationship was -

I didn't see
him that much.

Me?
I was the perpetual bum.

LAINIE: He really
didn't have any respect

for show business whatsoever,
his father.

BILL: He was born
in Russia in the 1890s

and he came during
World War I.

I don't know if he
was a Socialist,

but times were
different then.

My father was a fighter,

a little bit like Dick,
ya know?

My father had a temper,

and he didn't suffer
fools gladly,

and Dick doesn't
suffer fools gladly.

So sometimes when people
have a lot in common,

there's certainly more
issues between them.

Though, God forbid,

if Dick thought I was
psychoanalyzing him,

he'd think I was
completely crazy.

My father, I know,
was very proud of Dick.

He really was
very proud of Dick.

You know, if Dick came from
the perfect family -

I dunno, maybe he woulda
been an accountant.

Though that's hard
to believe, right?

When Roger started
New World Pictures,

he sort of updated the
exploitation formula

that he first worked
with at AIP in the 50s.

And this is
now the 70s.

So now things were
a little grittier.

The screen was a
little more freer.

The marvel of
all this is that

the young guys
that Roger hired,

they all were fans of
the early Corman films.

They'd grown up
on those films

and now they were
working for him.

Dick Miller had somehow fallen
out of the Corman Universe.

He hadn't been in a Corman
picture for about four years

and he'd never been in
a New World Picture.

I think it was because Roger
had stopped directing

and so he wasn't casting.

I thought it was
really wonderful

that the new young
directors who came in

recognized the guys who
had been working with me,

and they continued
working with them.

And Dick was probably
the most important.

JULIE: I first became
very clearly aware

of Dick Miller
as a presence

when I started making
films with New World.

In fact, I used to read a
treatment or a script

and say, "Wait, where's
the Dick Miller part?"

You know, Dick is sort
of a laid back guy

in the sense
that he never

went out
to seek work.

It either came to him

or he didn't
get work.

I went to film school
with Jon at NYU.

And I knew of Joe

because Joe and Jon
were very good friends.

Jon and I not only went
to film school together,

but we worked at a
rock 'n' roll theatre together,

along with Jonathan Kaplan.

And when Jonathan and Jon
came out to Los Angeles

to work for Roger Corman,

I came out eventually

and lived in their
houses for free,

and slept in their garage,

and all that kinda stuff
you did when you were broke.

Jonathan cast Dick in -

I guess it was
Night Call Nurses.

ANNOUNCER:
Come and spend the night

with The Night Call Nurses.

They nurse patients
the way no doctor can.

From New World
Pictures...

ARKUSH: Essentially,
Jonathan got the first job

and brought everyone
else along.

When Jonathan Kaplan
gave me the chance

to write Night Call Nurses
with Dan Opatashu,

I was thrilled.

I mean, that was the
biggest break of my life.

And I said, "Do me a favor -
Hire Dick Miller.

I'll write him a part
for the picture."

[**]

I don't know
how smart it is

for a young lady to be
hitchhiking alone at night.

KAPLAN: When Dick
walked in the room,

it was like,
"Oh, I know this guy!"

So when he came
in to audition,

he was a little put off.

I don't audition good.

KAPLAN: He said, "I don't
audition. I read terribly.

I'm a terrible reader."

I didn't know who Jonathan
Kaplan was at the time.

I'm gonna read this,
and you're gonna say to me,

when I'm done,
"That was terrible."

Good director.

He was right!

He can't audition.

But you got the part anyway.

LAINIE: Everybody from
the Corman camp, they said,

"If Dick worked for Roger,
he could work for us!"

My ass!

Hey Gallager,
kiss my jolly!

Dick Miller became
their good luck charm.

He's definitely a
good luck charm.

They used him in every
movie they ever did.

If you're
talking about

what I think you're
talking about,

I ain't gonna
talk about it!

WORONOV: They prayed and hoped
that he would, once again,

pull them through
a crappy movie.

He has a Jimmy Cagney kind
of rhythm to his delivery.

Well, he had a gun.

He said he was going to shoot
my ear off - That ain't nice.

Sheriff...

SAYLES:
Most good directors,

the first thing they do is see
what the actors are going to do,

because they may do something
the director hadn't thought of.

He's dumb enough
to get married.
Twice!

You saw the
first one...

DAVISON:
I think Roger has

a genuine affection
for Dick,

as much as he has an
affection for anybody.

Especially if Dick
works for scale -

Then the affection
is definitely there.

DANTE: When I came out
to Hollywood,

Jon Davison was
the head of publicity

for New World Pictures,

and he had raided
the NYU group

and brought them out
to work for Roger.

And so Allan Arkush and I

became the trailer department
at New World Pictures.

They were
kind of wild men

who came up with these
crazy ideas.

ANNOUNCER: Flying out of the
skies and onto your lap...

They battle the flying feet
of kung-fu killers!

DANTE: One of the first
trailers that we did

was for Big Bad Mama.

ANNOUNCER: Angie Dickinson
is Big Bad Mama!

Wilma gave her
daughters everything...

DANTE: Dick is in the movie,
and I thought,

"This is a kind of rough and
tough gangster kind of picture

and Dick's got
that kinda voice.

Maybe we should get him
to do the narration?"

ANNOUNCER:
Big Bad Mama, rated R.

Working at New World Pictures
was a lot of fun.

[**]

BEYDA: There was
definitely structure,

but it was also
very free wheeling,

because everybody
was quite young

and just
getting started.

It was a very
exciting time.

I met Dick Miller in
Griffith Park in 1975.

I got a job from
Jonathan Demme -

Crazy Mama.

It was produced
by Julie Corman.

JULIE: He brought more
than his performance,

which was always
wonderful to look at.

I mean, Dick Miller
arrives in whatever scene.

And he brought a certain
presence to the film.

"He's coming tomorrow!
He's gonna work tomorrow!"

Ya know?

And people who weren't
even working that day

would show up to
see Dick Miller.

The main thing
is the film.

You're all there
to make a good film.

Did you do good?
Were you articulate?

Did you tell the story
in a good way?

Is it new?

Did it extend the tradition?

Every part counts.

It's like poetry -

Each thing adds up
to the whole.

There were very few film
schools in those days,

so, for us,
this was our way

of really learning
our trade.

DOEL: When I realized that
these first-time directors -

It was very
important for them

to have an actor
on the set

who was good,
who they admired,

and that they could
absolutely rely on.

I found myself not having
to direct him a lot.

There was no need
to do other takes.

He made the scenes work.

When he walked in,
I started smiling.

Here was a guy
that I never met before,

and yet I felt like
I knew him for years.

DOEL: When I really had
more to do with Dick Miller

was when Roger hired him

to write the script
for TNT Jackson.

The thing was a stinker.

[Fighting and shouting]

I think Roger and I
had a slight argument -

"Go in to meet with Roger."

It just fell apart.

"Dick, this all just dialogue!

This is terrible!"

I'll pay you hard cash
for raw heroin

any day at
those prices.

And I was supposed
to do the lead in it.

When we wrote dialogue,
dialogue, dialogue,

it was with
the understanding

that you may not
need all of it -

But you may need some.

The re-write was about
90% of the picture.

The reader needs some
dialogue sometimes

to understand why
TNT Jackson is kicking ass.

[Screaming]

I don't know what -

I really literally
don't know what happened

after that meeting.

Except I know that,
of course,

I did know that
the script was re-written.

It was probably re-written
on location or so.

Damn...

DOEL: He was a brilliant
dialogue writer,

absolutely brilliant.

The humor and
the timing...

It was that rhythm
that he got.

I would call it -

It was so
working class,

ordinary-Joe American.

It was perfect.

INTERVIEWER:
Why did you stop writing?

I don't know...

LAINIE:
Okay...

I have several
scripts here.

This is...

"Rock n Roll Killer..."

"Help, There's a
Spy in My Bed..."

"Rancho Bikini..."

"The Assassination..."

INTERVIEWER: Did you ever
think you would go back?

Yeah, continuously.

But each time I did,
something else would come up.

Usually my projects,
whatever they were,

always interfered
with pictures.

They came first.

I would think
that there was

more satisfaction and
enjoyment to be had,

if you were as good
an actor as Dick Miller -

to do that,

rather than sit and
sweat by yourself

and have your work
torn up by other people.

DANTE: Paul Bartel
was a friend of mine

and he made Death
Race 2000, which was a huge hit.

And he did this picture,
Cannonball,

which was based on a
cross-country road race

for an independent producer

named Sam Gelfman
and Run Run Shaw.

They're doing it again.

Well, they're in
for a surprise.

If they're
racing anywhere,

they're gonna race
to the impound lot.

Get me the
Highway Patrol!

Paul was viciously unhappy.

ANNOUNCER:
Cannonball!

WORONOV:
He thought, "Oh God,

I have to work with cars
for the rest of my life!"

ANNOUNCER:
Cannonball!

You're the
outlaw racer!

Geez, a real pleasure,
Mr. Cannonball,

a real pleasure.

ANNOUNCER:
Cannonball!

Allan and I were
persuaded to appear

as actors
in the movie.

If Cannonball
Buckman wins

the Trans-American
Grand Prix in our car,

we're gonna be
two heavy dudes.

Dick had a part as
David Carradine's brother.

Hey Danny,
where you been?

I thought you weren't
gonna show up!

What, are you kidding me?

You think I'm gonna
miss my kid brother's

first big race after
he just got out?

Dick is really
good in this movie.

It's actually one of
the best performances

I think he ever gave.

This is important to me.

Its not just the money -
My life is on the line!

DANTE: And I was privileged
to look at the dailies.

I was just really
impressed with Dick,

at how good he
was in this part.

And I thought, you know,

"This guy doesn't get
enough big parts."

Joe says to me, "You and I
did a picture together!"

If you don't start with Roger,
I don't know where you end up.

I thought Joe
was either

a production assistant
or a producer.

It wasn't quite clear.

And Dick was in
that movie, as well.

And I think we may have met
during the screening of that.

I'd say,
"Hey, Dick!"

I don't think he knew
who I was, frankly.

ANNOUNCER:
Cannonball!

I think I may have known Allan
when I was in New York.

We formed a very close
working relationship,

to the point that when
we got a chance to do a movie,

it was the trailer department's
movie, basically -

Hollywood Boulevard -

Which was made up
of sequences from

a zillion other pictures
that we had done trailers for.

ANNOUNCER:
Hollywood Boulevard,

the street where
starlets are made.

On Monday,
Candy came to Hollywood.

On Tuesday,
she lost her blouse!

On Thursday, she massacred
300 rebel soldiers.

WORONOV:
There they were,

and they were
the directors,

and we were told that
they were a team,

and we were told that this
was a spoof on a Corman movie.

Cut!

I don't think they
told Corman that.

You, fucking fly!

I kept seeing Dick
Miller everywhere.

I saw him
in Big Bad Mama,

I saw him in all the Nurses
movies that he was in.

He was just a
friend of Roger's

who kept getting hired
over and over again.

I guess I met him and worked
with him on Hollywood Boulevard.

I may have met him in
passing before that.

But Hollywood Boulevard,

where he plays Walter Paisley,

that's where I
spent time with him.

DICK: It's a nudie picture
with a $2,000 budget.

No script,
a ten-hour shooting schedule,

and it opens in 22 cities
at the end of the week.

You want it
or don't ya?

I was signed to do this part.

And the character was named
something and the guys said,

"Can we change the name
to Walter Paisley?"

I said,
"That's the same name."

What did you want to
talk to me about, Walter?

DICK: I believe Joe Dante
said, "Yeah, let's us that."

Inside gag.

And that seemed
to be a good idea.

It's not the same character.

People say, "Well, that's
the same character."

No, it's not the
same character -

just the name is the same.

So I think it was out of
the Walter Paisely role

that most of the
affection these

young directors had for
Dick Miller came.

You know, we saw
ourselves as giving a leg-up

to the Walter Paisely's
of the world.

They were so busy
doing things

that they'd
never done before,

like, you know,
looking at sunlight,

that they didn't pay any
attention to me and Paul.

And I have a habit
of ad-libbing.

Your money
or your life.

No feeling Mary -
"Your money or your life."

Your money
or your life!
Terrible, Mary.

Your money
or your life!

Magnificent,
wonderful...

GOLDBLATT: The first time
I saw Dick Miller

was when we shot
the big party scene,

which takes place at the
end of Hollywood Boulevard.

You really handle
that trey nice.

Oh, thank you.

Actually, I'm not a waiter -
I'm a robot.

I was a production
assistant.

This was my
first legitimate

Hollywood feature job.

So I saw Dick Miller in a
scene with Robby The Robot.

500 a piece.
Be reasonable!

Say, man,
who you tryin' to jive?

KARASZEWSKI:
There was a period in the 70's

where he was wearing a
pink jacket all the time.

So, clearly, he's bringing
his own clothing to the movies.

So I could say, "It's the guy
with the pink jacket!"

But I don't know if that
would really help anyone.

Hi there.

I'm Joe Littman and
welcome to Guess Word.

GOTTLIEB:
We had him for a day.

His wardrobe was
a sports jacket -

A pink sport jacket
that I guess he owned.

This is how
he showed up.

Number 7!

Karen, that's really very
good for your first spin.

Hi, Joe.

Ready for the question from
behind the Magic Hole Board?

We certainly are.

This has been in
about ten pictures.

GOTTLIEB:
And there was a wit there.

There was an intrinsic wit.

And probably still is.

That says
"Death Before Dishonor".

Oh, I didn't have Death
Before Dishonor put on it.

[Laughs]

I figured it's
too much to pay.

Those Ramones
are peculiar.

They're ugly,
ugly, ugly people.

INTERVIEWER:
Did you ad-lib your line?
DICK: Yes.

I had a long
speech there

about "Where are they - "
I forget what it was.

But I looked
at these guys

and I thought,
"They're ugly people!"

[Laughs]
That's funny.

I'm sure
he ad-libbed it.

BEYDA: I was there the night
they blew up the high school.

And Dick was there,
of course,

and, you know,
Mary Woronov and everybody.

That's probably the first
time I met Dick, actually.

It was like two in the morning
in South Central LA.

They gave me the uniform
and they said,

"Leave your jacket off
until we're ready to shoot."

I said, "Why?"

They said,
"You may get killed."

Whenever there's a part
that I can fit Dick in,

I try and find
a place for him.

Well, you know, Piranha
was written by John Sayles

and he was stuck in the
role of Buck Gardner.

There were two pictures -

Rock n Roll High School
and Piranha.

Rock n Roll High School

was a much more interesting
subject, I thought,

but Allan had been
living his whole life

waiting to do this picture.

So he got that one and I got
Piranha, the fish story.

Excuse me,
I'm on the phone.

But the piranhas...

I thought I told you not
to even say that word!

But the piranhas...

What about the
Goddamn piranhas?!

They're eating
the guests, sir.

SAYLES: And I just remember
Dick playing this guy,

who's trying to
run the whole show,

and the stupid piranhas come
and start eating the guests

and mess up
all his plans.

I met Dick
in Austin, Texas,

when they were filming
the big scene in Piranha.

And Joe said, "You gotta
come watch this guy.

He's just great."

Look, I want all incoming
calls switched directly to me.

I blew that. I know it.
It stinks.

BALASKI:
He's so fast,

and he's so furious,
and he's so delicious!

In a lot of his roles
he has something like that -

Which is basically a
straight part, in a way.

But he understands
the tone of the movie

and so it ends up
being very funny.

He doesn't have
punch lines, per se,

but it ends up being
a funny performance.

Schmuck...

Joe was a great
mentor to me.

I noticed that both of us

and some of our friends
like Jon Davison,

Allan Arkush,

also loved
genre pictures.

And Dick was right there.

Piranhas!
Jeez...

Dick was making the movies
that we were watching

that were driving us
insane with delight.

LAINIE: Actually,
all of these kids

that came up with
Roger Corman...

When they grew
beyond that

and went to
the studio level,

they gave Dick
his third career...

[**]

FORSTER: Well, the first thing
most people don't know -

certainly I didn't know
when I started -

was that there are
this many of us

and that many jobs.

Every one of those jobs
is politically given.

You don't have a
batting average.

You can't walk in and say,
"Look, I bat 350.

Put me in the line-up."
No, no, no.

Somebody who likes
you has got to say,

"No, no, Dick Miller is the
right guy for this one."

Or, "Bob Forster is the
right guy that part.

We want him."

ANNOUNCER: We return now
to Divorce Court.

Being sworn in
is Jim Breen,

testifying on the behalf
of Walter Higgins.

Well, Walter and me
used to be partners

and we've been friends
for nigh on 40 years now.

I think maybe
I first became aware

of Dick Miller
at breakfast.

There was a breakfast
place that I went to.

And Dick Miller -
if he wasn't working -

he was sittin' there
every single day.

We all met
at this place

about 10:30
in the morning.

We had a pretty good
group of people -

Robert Forster,

Dick, and I...

Every day, he would
eat the same thing.

It would be
a scoop of tuna

with chopped up onions on it,
or egg salad.

Well, Harry was a
part of the group.

I know a lot of
stories about him.

I don't know if he's told
any of these stories.

DICK: There was a picture
called White Dog.

And they said,
"Sam Fuller's gonna direct."

And I said, "Gee, I'd like to
get in on that."

Jon Davison was
the producer.

He says,
"You go down there.

The guy's got
a monkey for ya."

He says,
"He's your monkey.

He's a nice little guy.
Weighs about 30 pounds.

In the event that he
starts to bite ya -"

I said, "What?"

He says, "No, no,
it's not bad.

He'll just nibble
on you a little."

"I ain't gonna work with
no monkey that nibbles."

He says, "Just listen to me.
It works -

Bite the monkey."

Up this road,
on the right, is the arena.

The monkey starts
nibbling on me...

I say, "Stop it!
Cut that out!

Don't do that!
Stop it!"

The monkey looks
up at me like that.

I got it whipped.

Leave it up to me -
I know what I'm doin'.

And they said, "Alright,
get ready for the retakes."

I said, "What retakes?"

He says, "Look at you -
The monkey peed all over ya!"

We get into -

I changed my clothes
by the way.

All of a sudden,
the monkey's biting on my wrist.

He's tearing me up!

"Will you do what I say?
Just bite the monkey.

We're gonna do this
scene once more.

Go change your clothes."

I said, "What?!

The monkey - you should
pardon the expression -

crapped on me."

The monkey
starts nibbling,

the guy's in the
background going,

"Bite the monkey!"

And I bite the
monkey on the neck.

We finished the scene.

The monkey never
laid a hand on me.

I go outside to
find Jon Davison.

"You fixed me up good!

I got a monkey
that pees on me,

that craps on me."

And he says,
"The legend lives!"

So there's two things
that I learned

about this business...

One - The legend,
which is me, lives...

And two - Whenever you
think you know something,

there's always somebody
who knows

a little bit more
about it than you.

"Bite the monkey!"
[Chuckle]

Well, as the years went by,

and Dick took on this
sort of iconic status,

his mere presence sort of
became self-referential.

And I think
probably the key person

responsible for this
is Joe Dante,

who him in every one
of his pictures.

Please, you gonna
purchase, purchase.

Now leave 'em alone,
you'll get 'em greasy.

HORA: The first day
on The Howling

was when we did Dick's
scene in the shop,

where he has
the silver bullets.

And I just thought it
was a magical scene.

Your classic werewolf can
change shape any time it wants.

Day or night - Whenever
it takes a notion to 'em.

That's why they call
'em shapeshifters.

I got a dozen
books on it.

BALASKI: I love the
book store scene,

because, to me,
this is a packed scene.

How to survive
a packed scene -

that's a whole
other issue!

He's the perfect person
to own a store

that sells curios
and odd ball things,

because he doesn't really
believe any of it.

But he'll sell anything.

What am I, an idiot?
I'm makin' a buck here.

You want books?
I got books.

I didn't write it
specifically for Dick,

but in Joe's mind,
it was a Dick Miller-type guy -

"And I know I can get Dick!"

They say he steals
every scene.

The Manson people used to hang
out around here and shoplift...

Buncha deadbeats!

So I think it's
a good thing

it was only one scene
we had together.

I have no idea how much of
the dialog is John Sayles

or how much of it was
embroidered by Dick.

You just know that
no one can pack 30 seconds

with as many words
as he can.

I take Bank of America
Card, American Express, Visa.

You gonna buy that
or what?

In the early 1980's,

Joe Dante was a guy

that we really
looked up to.

And I think that
during the 80s' -

particularly
the Spielberg years,

where everything
was sort of sweet -

Joe came in there,
particularly with Gremlins.

He just really took that
archetype and really twisted it.

When I first
saw Gremlins,

the movie,

Phoebe and I -
I think we were both like,

"What did we just see?"

FELDMAN: You never know
what's gonna hit

and what's not.

You never know what's
going to be a success

in this business
and what's not,

what will have sustainability
and a life after,

and all that
sort of thing.

With Gremlins,
we knew.

All of Gremlins,
for me,

was madness.

We had a tremendous amount
of technical challenges

on stuff that
I had never done before.

The puppet part was
really, really hard.

It was a nightmare
working with these puppets.

WALAS:
Everything about it was insane.

Everything about it was wrong.

Just staring at
these puppets -

That was the most
tedious...

boring...

vile footage

I have ever lived with.

On an hourly basis,

I just kept questioning
my sanity

for taking the project
in the first place.

Gremlins...

DEL VALLE:
If ever there was a movie

that brought the Wizard of Oz
vibe to a movie,

it was Gremlins.

It was a
Christmas movie,

it had a
Wicked Witch...

Deposit this
to my account.

And there was
Dick Miller...

There was someone
that anchored

the movie in our
childhood nostalgia.

W-W-eye-eye.

When we made Gremlins,

I didn't know there were any
difficulties at all making this.

See that plow?
15 years old.

Hasn't given me a
day's trouble in 15 years.

You know why?
Kentucky Harvester.

I think I was
brought in,

and they just said,
"Hello,

we'd love to have you
in our picture."

You have
the thingy.
Huh?

DICK: Jackie Joseph was
my wife in so many things,

I thought I was
married to her!

JACKIE JOSEPH: Knowing
I was working with Dick,

I think these wonderful
producers and director

just thought, "Wouldn't it
be funny to work with

those people from
Little Shop of Horrors?"

Murray, did you hear
from the noodle factory?

Sheila, the noodle factory
is not gonna re-open.

HORA: I really like
the Futtermans.

They're totally
believable.

And limited as they are,
I understand them.

INTERVIEWER: Are you at all
like Murray Futterman?
No.

Murray Futterman is a
man who makes mistakes...

Errors.

I'm perfect.

But he's a guy who's
set in his ways.

Ah...

Well, maybe.

I'm set in some ways.

What?
See, the dog knows.

DANTE: The critical reaction
was surprisingly good.

I mean, it really
put me on the map.

Suddenly, I was this
person made a movie

that got pretty
good reviews,

because it was weird and
also made a lot of money.

So it was like,
"OK, put him on that list."

I stayed on that list until
my next picture came out.

Then
I went off that list. [Laughs]

WOMAN: [Screams]
Look out behind you!

MAN:
It came out of the screen!

HIRSCH:
What I see in his films

is this quality that
I call "density".

It's different from a
lot of people's work.

One of the things
about Joe Dante's movies

that's pretty consistent
is that his movies

are all love letters
to movies.

I don't know -

Somehow he just manages
to capture

the love of
and the fun of

these genre movies

in a way that
nobody else really can.

One of my favorite
Dick Miller scenes

in the Joe Dante oeuvre
is his scene in Explorers.

Look man, I've been having
dreams about this lately and -

Yes, really!

The weird thing is...

I haven't had dreams like this
since I was a kid.

You know,
he's the helicopter pilot,

and when he discovers
what the kids have done,

and you get the sense that
was a childhood dream of his

that they have realized.

In all of his movies that
center on young characters,

there's always a feeling
that the movie is also

gratifying for an adult
looking back and remembering

that part of
their own life.

No way - Wednesday night,
I'm on a league.

This seminar can
change your life, Vic.

The man is
a great healer.

And I'm a
great bowler!

There was a lot of
ad-libbing in The 'Burbs.

Joe would just let the
camera keep running,

and when the actors
finished the scripted lines,

they would
just kind of go.

It had a wonderful cast with
Tom Hanks and Carrie Fischer.

And the scene with Dick
was just hilarious.

What the hell is wrong
with these people?

He has a right
to know, Vic.

Don't start up
with me!

STEVENS:
It was the type of scene where

he could control the situation.

I think Joe Dante
gave him a lot of leeway

as to how
he would go with it.

When I first met Dick,

I really didn't know
anything about him

other than
that he was an actor

that Joe really
loved to work with.

The irony is, for all the
movies that we're together,

we only really share
the screen in The 'Burbs.

Look, I don't want any
of your bullshit either!

The question here is garbage
and who picks up this mess!

I was pretty reckless
by that point.

I know that I was
smoking weed on the set.

I remember being
in my trailer,

and I was friends with
Sam Kinison, the comedian.

I'd open the door
and there would just be

weed bellowing out of it.

He was a
smart-ass kid.

* What else could you
do with those hooves? *

Shut the fuck up, kid.
We're trying to do some acting.

FELDMAN:
"I don't have a problem.

I'm good. I'm fine.
What are you talking about?"

DANTE: It was shot
during a writer's strike,

so I decided that we would shoot
it on the Universal back lot,

where it would be
a little stylized

and wouldn't
look too real.

We could shoot
in sequence.

And then, if people
wanted to improv,

it would be OK,

because we wouldn't be
affecting the ending,

because we'd be doing
it in sequence...

All of you,
go to hell!

Cut!
[Laughing]

DANTE:
It seems odd,

but that picture got
the worst reviews

of any picture
I ever did.

Yet, I'd go to
dentists offices

and people would say,
"You did The 'Burbs?

You made the The 'Burbs?
Oh, I love that movie!"

MAN: They're playing
this thing on Saturday,

unless you people
stop them!

Ask the people that
run this theatre.

Ask 'em why they're
sailing this town's kids -

your kids -
down the river.

HARVEY: I think my
favorite Dick Miller role,

of the movies
I've worked on, was in Matinee.

I'm Lawrence Woolsey,
who are you fellas?

We're from Citizens for Decent
Entertainment, Mr. Woolsey.

He was teamed up
with John Sayles...

I don't know.

You'd have to ask
Joe about this.

I think he was thinking
that I'm 6 foot 4,

and Dick's not.

HARVEY: And they played
the two hucksters

that have been
hired covertly

by Lawrence Woolsey

to drum up
controversy

over Woolsey's movies.

Well, this was a movie
that was close my heart,

in that I was the age
of the kids in the movie

when the Cuban Missile
Crisis happened.

And if you
weren't there,

it's hard to explain
to people

how tense an
atmosphere it was.

HARVEY: I think of all
the things in Matinee

that are probably
autobiographical for Joe,

that's the moment.

I can see Joe as a kid,

watching these
Corman movies,

and going home
and thumbing through

his Famous Monsters
of Filmland Magazines

and figuring out,

"Oh, wait a minute!
This guy!"

And it may be,
out of all the movies

that Dick Miller's been in,

I think that may be
the only time

he actually
played an actor.

I think, if you look back
at all directors,

and you look at
their filmographies,

you see the same actors
popping up in all the movies.

And so I did end
up with a somewhat

Preston Sturges -
Ingmar Bergman -

John Ford-type
group of people

that appear incessantly
in my movies.

Sometimes in smaller
parts, sometimes in big parts.

The great thing about Dick

is that he comes
from this tradition

where you can be memorable
in one scene in a movie,

or you can have the
second or third lead -

either one is OK.

It's always a pleasure to
work with someone like that,

editorially.

Because you don't have to
look for choices

to make something work,
'cause he's right there.

Lobby!

Don't mess with
Murray Futterman!

[**]

Many people who know
Dick through Roger,

and who know Dick
through Joe,

call up and ask
if Dick

will be in
their movies.

Hi, Walt.

Well, well, well,
Detective Cameron.

Son of a gun.
Is that really you?

Yeah, it's me alright,
Walt.

How's about you?
Hey, can't complain.

Cannot complain,
Raymond.

I never considered
anybody else.

I wrote this police
armourer character

and said, "Well, that's
gonna be Dick Miller."

Flamethrower?
Flamethrower!?

Yeah!

Flamethrower, Jesus!

I think it plays to
a general audience,

but it helps if you're
a movie buff.

Most of the people who
really love this movie

and revisit it,

particularly in the
last couple of years,

know who he is
and instantly see him.

And he generally gets
a round of applause

just for being in
the goddamn thing.

By the way, you gotta
watch out for this baby.

Once you light the pilot,

it goes out and it plays hard
to get like a son of a bitch.

You looking
for somethin'?

Yeah, I wanted
to use the phone...

AVIS:
We had a cop car.

We used to go out on weekends
with the cop car,

pull over crew members
who were driving drunk.

Not because Dick wanted
to be in character,

but just because
it was hilarious.

Having someone
like that on set,

who you can ask
questions to,

or they'll just give you
a wink and say "Try that."

Because,
a lot of the time,

you don't want to let actors
tell you how to direct.

'Cause once you open that door,

next thing they're all over you
with their suggestions.

INTERVIEWER:
Could you talk to us about

some of the TV episodes
that Dick has directed?

You know, IMDB has it wrong.

He has not directed anything.

There was somebody with
the same name who has.

He hasn't directed anything
on an official basis -

let me just put it that way.

It's dusty, Dick!

You remember him?

Do I?
Yes.

I'm lucky I remember
who you are!

OLEN RAY:
Dick's a working actor.

That equalizes out
to all of the films

that you may say here or there
are questionable choices.

Oh my God!

OLEN RAY: He didn't like
the way he died in Evil Toons.

He said it was
very humiliating.

You clumsy sonavabitch!
Look what ya did!

I outta turn you into
scrap metal for this.

Whenever these young directors

reference nostalgia,

they get Dick Miller.

And Chopping Mall
was no different...

ROBOT: Thank you.
Have a nice day.

In the past few years,

we've been doing a few
of the conventions.

INTERVIEWER: Do you have fun
going to these conventions?
Sometimes.

Seeing your friends?
What friends?

LAINIE: It's so funny,
because you have people

coming with kids
in strollers -

"Remember, that's the
guy that the Gremlins

ran over with
the snow plow!"

SADLER: You wouldn't happen
to know of a place around here

where I can bed down
for the night, would ya'?

Well, it just so
happens I do...

That's one of my
favorite parts -

was Demon Knight.

LAINIE:
I was extremely pleased

when he was cast
in that movie,

because now was
an opportunity to work,

yet with a different
group of people.

You know, the character
of Uncle Willy -

I'm trying to figure out,
"Who can I get to play this?

Can we get Dick Miller?"

Jeryline...

You wouldn't hurt your old
Uncle Willy now, wouldya baby?

It was a movie that we did
of Tales from the Crypt.

I think it was the
first one that we did.

We were all worried about
it being a feature movie

and if it would hold up.

And Dick was one
of our performers.

It did very well.

I found myself
in a situation -

To work with people whose
work I grew up with.

Ernest Dickerson was
very collaborative.

We worked very closely
on the script.

We worked very
closely on the casting.

I was next to him every day,
shot by shot...

Get the pussy
off the table!

[Laugh]

The great secret,
it seems to me,

to the craft of acting,
is to work,

and work with the
best people you can.

DICKERSON: It was just
a really good ensemble

and they felt very much
at ease with each other.

Whenever you kill
an actor in a movie,

you seem to kind of know
them a little differently.

Yeah, he was a
pain in the neck.

We tried to cut off his head.
He wouldn't let us do it.

Oh, man!

So there was a lot of
togetherness on the set.

It was sort of
like every scene

involved the whole group

running frightened

from Billy Zane
and company.

Fuckin' ho dunk,
po dunk,

well-them-there
mother fuckers!

[Laughs]

Holy shit!

Hi, Uncle Willy!

Poor Uncle Willy...

LAINIE: Demon Knight,
the ladies -
DICK: We shot -

LAINIE: They didn't have
any clothes on!

We shot 17 or 18
takes on that.

What else could Dick do?

I mean, really?

It was kinda like
a dairy farm...

DICKERSON:
He's always been Dick.

I think it is his personality.

INTERVIEWER:
Who is that?
That's my wife.

Lainie!

Lookin' at
your picture!

DICKERSON:
No matter what role he plays,

who he is always comes out.

BEHR: I was looking at
his old school tats.

I was asking
him about it,

and he talked about
how he got them.

He was a sailor
and he was young.

And he looked at me

and he said,
really serious -

with a twinkle,
but serious -

"If I ever find out

that you get a tattoo,

I'm gonna fuckin'
kill you.

Because what's
cool at 20...

is an embarrassment
at 50."

It is wisdom.

When I met Dick,

I thought I'd get,
you know,

a whole bunch of
things from him,

but I never really
thought about wisdom.

You don't think about wisdom
with actors, necessarily.

You don't have any ID.

You don't have
any money,

and you're both
dressed like clowns.

You figure it out.

BEHR: By the time
I was running Deep Space,

I thought, OK, I really
wanted something special.

We had this part
of this camp guard

who could have been
played by a 30 year old,

tall, muscular guy.

And I thought,
"No, no, no.

This is the part
for Dick."

Now sit down,
shut up,

fill out the forms,

and if you have any problems,
don't come to me with them.

BEHR:
The guy carrying this

big-ass futuristic rifle

is not maybe
your first thought

for a Dick Miller role.

But he plays it -

You know, you
never question it.

And I wish
that more people

had cast him in
that kinda thing,

because he
just had chops

to do a wider range
of parts.

LAINIE: Dick used to go to
Theodore's for breakfast.

Quentin Tarantino comes in...

He told Dick
what a fan he was of his.

Low and behold,
the next day,

our phone rings at home

and they're calling
for Pulp Fiction!

He played Monster Joe.

Monster Joe
was a guy

who had a junkyard.

But that's what he did

and that whole scene
was cut out!

Tell ya what -
If you ever need it,

I'll dispose of a
body part for free.

How about
an upgrade?

DICK: Pulp Fiction got
me a little bugged.

If you make
enough pictures,

you're gonna hit all
the stops in the road.

LAINIE: Not that he hadn't
been cut out of things before.

In an actor's life,

I can't tell you how many
times the averages is

that somebody gets cut out of
something that they've shot.

But this was
a big deal for him.

[Laughing]
I could take out an ad
in the Yellow Pages.

I gotta run that past
my accountant.

LAINIE:
Cutaways was a short

that is directed

by a lady named
Agnieszka Kurant.

She is actually an
artist and sculptor.

But she wrote and
directed this short

about people who were

cut out of movies -

Abe Vigoda, who was in
The Conversation,

and Dick,
with Pulp Fiction.

So her premise in
using these people

is they meet somewhere
in the Netherworld,

and it's really
quite interesting.

You know, I didn't
know what to expect.

It has been a long time
since Pulp Fiction came out.

And all of a sudden,

when the director
yells "Action,"

all of the years
peel off of Dick,

and there he is -
again.

BILL: That's one of the
great things about Dick -

that he loves,

loves being an actor.

If you're lucky enough -

and I say this about what
I do to a certain extent -

but if you can have a job like,
or do something,

that's you're so committed to,
that you love so much,

I think that really is

the most important
thing in life.

LAINIE: There were
so many years

we would have loved
to have a vacation.

We never could put the money
together to have a vacation.

We didn't even
really have a honeymoon

until he went to do
The Long Ride Home.

And when I showed up,

we called that
our honeymoon.

Since then,
things have changed.

And we've gone to Hawaii
a number of times...

[**]

BILL: He's always so
committed to being an actor.

He's so focused
on being an actor.

I would say it's an important
part of his life,

I would say,
being an actor, I guess.

Elaine and being an actor
is his whole life.

And I think
the two of them

have gotten along
absolutely famously.

I know that he regards
her very highly,

and I know
she really loves him.

I don't have any
doubts about that.

Because, although I was really
not in show business myself,

I worked in the
film studios.

And getting to know
some of the people

who were there
all the time,

I'm proud at the fact
that he made it.

[**]

LAINIE:
Every role is special.

He just looks
at each role -

that there
is nothing else

and it doesn't matter if
the picture is a big picture,

or if the picture
is a small picture,

whatever it is,

and I think
that's his secret.

Because he gives
everything his all.

One of the words
he uses a lot....

I understand why
he uses it,

but personally,

it's a little bit
of a knife to me.

He goes, "Oh yeah, that was
a nice little part.

That was a nice little part."

That's what he says a lot.

And I hate the little
of it, you know?

Dick did an ER.

I don't know if
you saw that clip.

That's one of his best, too.

Oh, Mr. Ackerman I can't take
you outside to smoke marijuana.

I'm probably not able
to inhale anyway...

"Now this ER thing,
they don't cut.

This is gonna be
on the air, right?"

I said, "Yeah,

you're damn right
it's gonna be on the air.

"Because she's in it!"

"Yeah, it's gonna be on the air
because she's in it."

If you're on screen for a
very short period of time,

you don't have a lot of time

to establish a
character or any quirks,

so you work in slightly
bolder strokes.

And I think that's one of the
things that a good day-player,

a good character actor does,

no matter what size
of the part.

They embody the
character so much,

you feel like when the
camera leaves that shop

or wherever you encountered
that character,

the character is still
there doing business.

And you could have stayed,
and that would have been

an interesting person
to hang around with.

I've always been delighted

when guys who started
with me move on,

and I'm proud of
what Dick has done.

LAINIE: We love going on
cruises and traveling.

We like to
see new places.

We like to meet
new people.

We really like to meet up
again with old friends

that we haven't seen
for a long time.

We'll go
anywhere to dance,

especially if it's
got good music.

How do you like that?

LAINIE:
Like what?

The boating thing.
I could do that.

Dick is one of my
treasured friends

and colleagues.

I would certainly think
that my work over the years

wouldn't have been
quite as much fun,

for me or for the people
who watch it,

if Dick wasn't involved.

That's it.
That's the end of the picture.

Unfortunately,
I think it's my last one.

I really do.
I'm tired...

It's time to retire.

LAINIE: Dick,
you got a phone call.
Just a second.

And I've had it.

I don't think I'll do anymore,
that's the end of it.

I'm through, really.

Hello?

Yeah, I'm available!