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Know the real cost of vapes. Brought to you by the FDA. Tim Matheson, an actor almost everybody has seen in some movie that you think is the best, is a two-time Primetime Emmy Award-nominated actor, director and author of a brand new book, it is excellent, called Damn Glad to Meet You, My Seven Decades in the Hollywood Trenches. And he gets stories, everything from Jackie Gleason, Lucille Ball to John Belushi.
He is best known for The Animal House, West Wing, Magnum Force, Fletch, Virgin River, you can go on and on and on. But he put it all in perspective. I'll tell you, if you're an actor, there's no way you can't read this.
You have to read it. And if you're interested, the story behind the story, Tim brings you there. Tim Matheson, welcome to the Brian Kilmeade show. Brian, howdy. It's good to be back. How's things going? It's going great. I mean, what a great job you did in this book.
What an incredible career. But I'll tell you, the way it started, anything but easy. I mean, the family of a divorce situation, your dad goes one way, and your mom goes the other, they have one thing in common, they're both drinking too much, and they both need money, and it's just you and your sister trying to make it work. That's a tough way to start, Tim. You know, absolutely. I mean, I think I was hiding out at the movies, and that seemed like a safe place for me. And that's when I first said, I want to be in there. It seemed like, wow, it always has a happy ending, at least in those days it did. And so that's where my escape was, and I've always felt my home was on a set. Once I started acting and performing and going to a movie set or TV set, I've always felt at home there and surrounded by people who take care of you and want you to do your best.
And it's always been great. I mean, there's hard times. We know show business is a full-contact sport, but I'm still doing it, and I'm still thrilled to be doing the thing that I've always loved. So Tim, do you think you would have had the success if you didn't have it so tough when you were younger? Do you think you needed that to develop that thick skin, that grit?
Yes, yes. I learned also that from my friends who play sports and Kurt Russell, who was a semi-pro ball player, and from Lucille Ball when I got to work with somebody who came up through vaudeville, which did three to five shows a day. And it's tough. It's tough. You best really prepare, and like an athlete, some days you're going to hit a home run and a double, and then some days you're going to strike out three times, and you just suck it up and go on with the next day.
And it's discipline, and I think that's what made the difference for me, so I didn't get lost in drugs or alcohol or that kind of thing when things weren't going well. But you talk about different things happening. Everyone's got their own timeline, but your mom's having trouble making ends meet, your dad's not a factor, and he calls up, I think she said she called up her sister, and you go to San Bernardino, and you just get out of the mix. You were hanging out with the wrong crowd, it was a tough situation, and you were bored, but you thought that was so valuable.
Why? You know, it was the most normal part of my childhood. I mean, my aunt was sort of like The Donna Reed Show or My Three Sons. I mean, not My Three Sons, but Leave It to Beaver.
I mean, she cooked three meals a day. My uncle and cousin came home for lunch from work, and she cooked them lunch, and it was the most stable part of my upbringing, and I saw what that was like, and it allowed me to just sort of let go of all the anger I had about my parents breaking up and sort of be more normal and just do the hijinks that kids did, and that's where I sort of fell in love with acting. There was a show, this class I was in, the sixth grade, they did like a mock Today Show skit every Friday or something, and so I played different parts in that. I was like the kid from the farm or the guest or something, or do the weather program, and the audience, the kids liked it, and I got laughs, so I said, you know, I want to be an actor when I get back to Hollywood. And you did it, and you had success, and you started making auditions.
You're living in a small apartment. Your mom's working literally, sleeping four hours a night, working two jobs back to back, no car, taking two buses. At the same time, you start nailing your auditions, getting jobs. What was it like to be able to have the money to maybe help your family? Oh, that was a treat.
I mean, it was nice. I mean, I sort of was thrust into the father role, the role my dad sort of ran away from, and so I could help my mom, and I was working two full-time jobs to take care of us and dig out of a hole she'd gotten herself into while we were sent up to my aunt and uncle's house in San Bernardino. And finally, when I was 16, I was making enough money from cartoon voice works like Johnny Quest.
I actually bought a house for then 29.5, which you couldn't even buy a car today. But I was going to live there by myself, and then I just said, nah, I got my mom and sister. I felt like such a rat if I didn't invite them to come and stay with me. So we all moved back together again, and it was a treat. It was great to do that. You had talent, and you knew how to work, and you were a grinder. I couldn't believe your relationship. You impressed Jackie Gleason.
At one point, you guys were on a set, and he looks at you and says, we're the only two who know what's going on here. And Jackie Gleason was bigger than life. I remember that.
And what was that like? He was, I mean, Jackie was my favorite. I mean, because I loved the Honeymooners. I grew up on that in the 50s.
And also the Jackie Gleason show, which was from Miami. And then I'd also seen him do The Hustler, the dramatic movie with Paul Newman. And so this guy could do anything. And I felt like I was about 12 feet tall when he said that to me. He says, kid, we're the only ones who know what we're doing here.
Let's get this thing done and get out of here. And so that's sincere Lucille Ball, also impressed with you. You're in the Marines, and they want you at the Ed Sullivan show. And you're like, I'm not going to say anything, because you're the Marine.
You felt like if you single yourself out and act like you're important, you'll never live it down, I guess. But the next thing you know, Lucille Ball calls Bob Hope. Bob Hope makes a call and gets you out of Camp Pendleton. They send a car, and they get you to the Ed Sullivan show in New York.
Yeah. And it was so funny because he called a commandant of the Marine Corps. I mean, only Bob Hope could do something like that because he was constantly touring in Vietnam with the USO shows and bringing celebrities over to entertain the troops through all their hardships. And God bless him.
And he'd done that since World War II. And as they picked me up, I was in my civvies at Camp Pendleton, and I had a one dollar in my pocket. So when I got to New York, even back then, a dollar isn't going to buy you much. And I remember going down to Chuck Fulla Nuts to get a breakfast because I couldn't afford to pay for breakfast at the Plaza Hotel where they put us up. So good.
That's unbelievable. And then you were able to do some skits and get out there, but you made your name in there on Leave it to Beaver and My Three Sons. You were there, you were the main star, but you're learning and acting with the best people in the business. So can I bring you through some points in your career and have you reflect on it? You bet. Yeah, I'd love to. Tim Matheson, our guest.
Here's Animal House. You're Eric Stratton, Cut 47. Hi, Eric Stratton, Rush Chairman. Damn glad to meet you. Eric Stratton, Rush Chairman. Damn glad to meet you. Eric Stratton, Rush Chairman. Damn glad to meet you. Hi, that was Eric Stratton, Rush Chairman.
He was damn glad to meet you. And that's the name of your book. Is that in the script?
Yes, yes. You know, it was most everything was written. The guys were so good. We improvised a couple of things here and there. Mostly Belushi was the only one they turned loose and let them improvise. We would do a couple of, a couple of improvs, but it was such a unique script written by young people for a young audience. And it was the first in a series of movies that sort of changed the course of comedy in American movies with John Landis and Ivan Ryman, who later went on to do Ghostbusters, Stripes and Meatballs. And so these people were all there at the same time. And we had a hunch, maybe this is going to work because of Belushi, you know, he was such a big star for Saturday Night Live, which had just started a year before. So we kind of thought maybe this could work, but nobody had an idea that it was going to be as big a success as it was. I mean, it's classic.
Everybody I know from different generations continues to talk about it. Here's more of you, Tim. Here you are defending Delta House. Cut 48. Point of parliamentary procedure. Don't screw around.
They're serious this time. Take it easy. I'm in pre-law, man.
Thought you pre-med. Ladies and gentlemen, I'll be brief. The issue here is not whether we broke a few rules or took a few liberties with our female party guests. We did. But you can't hold a whole fraternity responsible for the behavior of a few sick, perverted individuals. Or if you do, then shouldn't we blame the whole fraternity system? And if the whole fraternity system is guilty, I put it to you, Greg, isn't this an indictment of our entire American society?
You can do what you want to us, but we're not going to sit here and listen to you bad mouth the United States of America. Wonderful case. That is awesome. How did you keep from laughing? That was the trick on that show. I mean, the dialogue was so wonderful. I mean, even the worst one was when I used the excuse I'd seen in the paper that a kiln explosion had killed a young co-ed named Fawn Lebowitz.
And he used that as an excuse to get dates for his friends and himself and use that as a way to get into a young girl's pants. You know, I mean, it was so bad, but so joyous to play that kind of scene. And I mean, that was lampoon.
That was a lampoon humor, so it was just a treat. People play this back to you when you see them. Is this something that they see when they see Tim Atheson and they think of this?
Oh, yeah. I mean, it was sort of a rite of passage. I can't tell you how many people come up to me and say, Oh, my dad, when I was when I was nine, my dad sat me down and told me we wanted to watch this movie together. And it was like a rite of passage. He says, don't tell your mother.
And it's usually from 9 to 12 is when the kids saw it for the first time. And I said, it's perfect. I just want you to hear, I want the audience to hear this. Cut 49. I'm just lying around.
What the hell is supposed to do, you moron? War's over, man. We're going to drop the big one.
What? Over? Did you say over? Nothing is over until we decide it is. Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
Germans? Forget it. He's rolling. And it ain't over now.
Because when the going gets tough, the toughs get going. Who's with me? Let's go!
Come on! I'm not going to take this! Warmer, he's a dead man! Marmalade, dead!
Dead! When I was right, psychotic, but absolutely right. So you were laughing through that.
I mean, oh, yeah. Do you remember? You remember that he improvise that or is that in the script? That was in the script, but Belushi just, he brought such life and freshness to everything. He never did the same way twice, from take to take. And you know he was going back and forth between New York and Eugene, Oregon, where we shot that movie. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, he'd be in Eugene, and then he'd be on a plane Wednesday night back in New York on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and then there for Saturday Night Live.
And they'd finish at 1am on Sunday morning and then party until 5am, and then they'd put him on a plane, let him get some sleep, and come back to Eugene. But he was wonderful. We didn't know whether we'd get a snob or kind of a jerk who thought he was a big deal because he was in a hit TV show. But he couldn't have been more gracious and accepting of me as my first comedy, so he was very supportive of me and what I was doing.
He was great. I'd just like to turn, if I can, to the West Wing real quick. Our audience is still knee deep in politics. This is you as Vice President, Jim Hoynes. Cut 51. We gotta talk politics. I'd like to. I'm glad we had that little talk on Air Force Two.
I think from time to time... We need you to stop shopping for priests and captains. Excuse me? We're days after an election. We gotta govern.
It's too early. Is that what this is all about? Triple horn alone can tie us in knots.
Well, good for triple horn. I've got an obligation to myself here. You've got a constitutional obligation that comes first. Last time I checked, my constitutional obligation was to have a pulse. We need these two years. It's our last chance to govern, John. Mr. Vice President.
There are going to be lots of ways. No zealot. Like a convert, Josh. What's that supposed to mean?
It means you'd have been great at Leo's job. I mean, what a great show. The rapid dialogue. How was that from the actor perspective?
Did it flow? I mean, you can't memorize. Can you? Can you memorize?
You have to memorize it because Aaron wouldn't let you change a word or punctuation. I mean, it was one of those things that I prepped for weeks before I'd go on and do it. Because I wasn't in every episode.
I was just, you know, like in every third episode or so. And that was part of the thing that to get that pace, you had to know that cold so that you could just bounce off each other. And especially they'd shoot those long walk and talks and two people in a two shot without cuts. And so you had to play it fast as it was written because there were no cuts and it was sort of like an old John Ford movie. You had two good actors in a scene, you know, rapid fire back and forth. And sort of compared to Animal House, it was the best script that I'd ever worked on other than Animal House.
It gave you everything and you just went with the material. And Tim, audience loves Clint Eastwood. The country loves Clint Eastwood. What was it like working with him? He was a treasure. You know, I learned, I learned more from him in a day than acting schools for years. I mean, he was so real and so honest and so simple. And his crew loved him and he wasn't directing Magnum Force in the picture I worked on, but he was directing it.
I mean, a guy named Ted Post was a director, but Clint was always running the show and, but he liked things simple, honest, and natural. He didn't like to rehearse too much because he thought it gets too manicured and too studied, you know, and he liked it. If there was mistakes, he liked, he liked it. It was like real life. And he reminded me of what Henry Fonda once said to me about acting. He said, I walk in the room, I hit my mark, I look him in the eye and I tell him the truth.
And that's what Clint did. And it made acting a lot simpler and more honest for me, you know. And which made him a great director.
Tim Matheson, we're just scratching the surface on you. A fantastic career. Hope you're proud of it. And you should be very proud of this book. Damn glad to meet you.
My seven decades in Hollywood. Tim, thank you. Thank you, Brian. I'm proud to be on your show. Thank you. This is Jimmy Fala inviting you to join me for Fox Across America, where we'll discuss every single one of the Democrats' dumb ideas.
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