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This is The Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody. Can't get enough of The Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck. You can find us everywhere.
Watch us weekdays on Disney Plus from noon to 3 Eastern. Miss the show. We've got a podcast, so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part: our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com/slash rich Eisen Show and you'll never miss a moment.
Now, on with the show. Coming back to do Sports Center after 23 years, part of me thought I'd feel like a fish out of water. Live from New York City. Rich, we're ready for you in the studio. Studio is the other way, Rich.
It's the Rich Eisen Show. Earlier on the show. Emmy Award-winning actor Tony Shaloup. NBC Sports MLP analyst Anthony Rizzo. Coming up.
Actor Andrew McCarthy. WWE superstar Cody Rhodes. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Our final hour here in New York City for our two-day residency is on the air right here on Disney Plus, the ESPN app, ESPN Radio, SiriusXM Channel 80. We've already had a fun two-hour program.
The actor Andrew McCarthy from back in the Brat Pack days, and he's got a new book out called Who Needs Friends. He's about to join us here in studio in hour number three, but joining us here right now before he heads off to WrestleMania 42, which you can catch on the ESPN app and ESPN and ESPN2 this weekend. Ladies and gentlemen, Cody Rhodes is here on the program. Good to see you, man. How you been?
Thank you so much for having me. Oh, come on. This kind of came together last minute. It did. You were in the green room.
That's how we got Joe Tested on it at this very moment yesterday. And you're like, cool. And TJ Jefferson, you're back in Los Angeles. Say hello to Mr. Rhodes.
I know you want to say hello. What's up, Cham? How you feeling, man? I feel good. I feel bad I came empty-handed, though, because as WWE champion, you should always have the title in tow.
But the title was absconded by Pat McAfee, and I'm here empty-handed, so I apologize.
Okay, I have it. I'm not sure.
So, in case you need to borrow that title. Yeah, you got the gold there. Yeah, if in case you need to borrow the no-contest title. Is that the old. Oh, no, this is the old LA studio that I was at back in the day.
Yes, yes. And this is a custom-made day. Back in the day. Back in the day. We go way back, man.
And you're officially being car washed right now because you were on first take earlier today, and now you are here. It's great to see you. It's great to see you. So Pat has what? Like the title.
Okay. Yeah, Pat, the most offensive image probably in wrestling history. And there's been a few along the way. And this is not a knock on any of these. The gobbledygooker, when they did that, David Arquette winning the world championship always upset fans.
I think the most offensive image in wrestling history is probably Pat McAfee holding up the WWE Championship while standing next to Randy Orton, the actual guy that I'm wrestling at WrestleMania. And it's even worse because he's over there in the Thunderdome and it's just sitting there. The richest prize in our game. And could I get another one? Sure.
It's a modern company. Could I get another one? But I think it's important that we get that one back for the fans. And I'd feel I wasn't a good advocate for them if I didn't get this out of Pat's hands. But we'll see.
But I apologize, empty-handed.
Well, it's fine that you're empty-handed. And the last thing I want to do is insert myself into anything that's going on right here. But can't you just go to Indianapolis and take it? That's a great idea. It's a solid idea.
You know, like you physically go. Then you take it. You think there's a lot of red tape to that, or you think just do it? I don't know. Again, I haven't been to the Thunder Dome itself.
No. I have not. I have not. I went to Pat's old studio and he was in downtown Indianapolis.
So I haven't been there. I imagine knocking on the door would be a start. Walking me through it here, huh? Again, I don't know the perimeter that he has set up there. I'm not familiar with it.
I've been. I don't know if there is much of a perimeter.
Okay. So straight up. And I don't think this would shock anyone. The whole place reeks of a certain well, it smells. And, you know, that's as far as I'll go.
But I think walking to the front door, I think that's an easy step. Maybe I bring somebody with me, though. He's got a lot of buddies.
Okay. Real frat house there. You know what I mean? There's like 11 guys on the show, then 11 in a room as well, doing something. Sure.
Being paid to do something. Here, this is a very intimate setup.
Well, we're in the Home of Disney, right here.
So it's not like your car hit a skunk on the way over here. That's not going to. You know, happen here in the home. I mean, Bob Iger's name is on the building. Me and TJ, you know, if you need backup, we're available.
They got that. A lot of people say that, and then when it comes to it, you run first and you're left behind. You know, if you're coming, I'm about that. We're Northeast Kansas. Yeah, we're ready to throw together.
Cody, I got a country. Yeah. I carry a kiddo stick, so I'm ready at all times, Cody. I believe it. Do you know how to hold it?
You do know how. There it is, yeah. Every now and then, somebody grab the other side, and that is not it. Look at that. We're down for whatever.
We're in man style. Steve Blackman. Yeah. Steve Blackman? Yes.
Where's that guy when you need him, right? Let's call him up. Play Metallica, and it is on with this thing, Cody. I'm telling you, I got you, G. Yeah.
You got a question for Cody? I'm sure you do, Mr. No Contest Wrestling, who was all over ESPN promoting things for No Contest Wrestling today? Yeah, who would have thought? Two guys are in the ESPN car wash just chatting it up.
Who the fuck a lifelong love of professional wrestling that got me criticized and made fun of in elementary school would turn into me sitting here with the WWE champion Cody Rhodes? This is amazing. But, bro, you brought up Pat. You brought up his insertion into your storyline, which I got to be honest, I love Pat, but I don't think it was necessary because you and Randy, you have. A tale was old as time, right, Cody?
Like a young Jedi who's now sprouted up and grown into his own man, and now he's got to take snatch the pebble.
So to speak, he's got to take out the old Jedi. And that story was already written. I'd love Drew McIntyre, but I knew it was the right thing for you to win the belt and have this match against Randy because the story told itself. But now you got some interference in the outside. And I think the question is: how are you going?
To handle that, how has your game playing changed now that you know you got some outside forces?
Some people don't want you to have your spot.
So outside forces, you could look at this year and say, hey, Here's Pat McAfee. You could look at the year before and say, here's Travis Scott. You could look at the year before and say, here's The Rock. If you are a Cody Rhodes fan during WrestleMania season, it's a choice. We deal with Outside forces.
We deal with, hey, they want to be part. We're about it. And I can say this: it's a spot I always wanted. If you're going to be in the big moments, you have to be ready for the big jobs. And Pat, Being part of ESPN and the fact that WWE WrestleMania is on ESPN for the first time ever, it's actually a natural fit.
Does it fit in a 20-year wrestler, wrestler, student, teacher, mentor, all that? Does it fit in there? No, but uh. Pat sure thinks it does, and now Pat has the title.
So we can tell that story another time. That story has also already been told. Let's figure out how this unfolds. And listen, Pat McAfee, Randy Orton, that's one thing. But we're getting to this point now where you go through so much as a wrestler, and you, like I mentioned, the previous WrestleManias and all that, and maybe it's time for me to change.
You know, that's a new layer of paint for Andy Orton. He's associated with Pat. He doesn't need that by any means, but that's what he's doing. Maybe I change. You know, maybe you walk that other side.
I've been saying for so long: oh, I don't think I could do heel stuff. I don't. Ah. After a while, it starts to be a little. It feels like it's almost expected.
You're going to keep throwing me all these things. It's almost like the audience would expect, yeah, this guy's going to lose it at some point. You know, he's going to snap. And how does that look?
So it's WrestleMania, though. It's the best thing we do. It's the postseason. It'll be great with Pat McAfee. Or without Pat McInfield.
I think he'll be there Saturday night.
Well, I mean. Don't you think? Yeah, he's on the poster somehow in some way.
So, yeah. He's bad. He's bad. So he'll be there on Saturday night, right? I can say this.
I always, when you get into the burial fest and you make fun of everybody, I always tell my crew around me: I say, let's say something nice about him. You can tell he's a punter. That's for real. He kicked me twice, and that's another level. That's a trained foot.
So that's my nice thing.
Okay. Feel good about that.
Well, you know, I was capping for punters before Pat even went to West Virginia. It's true. I go way back to the Punters are People 2 movement. Yeah. I gave Pat a t-shirt years ago.
Kickers are people too. They are. In today's games, a lot of these games come down to it. They're weapons. Clearly, as you were just pointing out.
And WrestleMania 42, again, Saturday and Sunday night on the ESPN app exclusively for fans with the unlimited plan at 6 p.m. Eastern Time. Night one, first hour on ESPN2. Night two, first hour on ESPN. I've got Cody Rhodes here on the Rich Eisen Show.
What's your first wrestling memory? First wrestling memory. I was at UTC Chattanooga. I was backstage and I heard the crowd lose their mind. And I just needed to go out there and be part of it.
And when I went out there, it was a wrestler, another multi-generational wrestler named Brad Armstrong. And he was doing the most basic wrestling. where you hook another guy's arm in arm drag. But The South and kind of the Bible Belt, and how they always reacted to wrestling. They were just so about their good guy, and it got me hooked.
I never, even with my dad being behind the scenes and the booker and the producer, I never cared for that. I wanted to be out.
So I get this big oversized laminate. And I just, you know, backstage passed, and I'd just go find an empty seat at every show we went to. But I heard it before I saw it. And Dream's career had passed at that point. I didn't really understand what my dad had done until I got to a blockbuster and found the little wrestling segment.
There he is on the cover, bleeding or behind the cage bars, and him and Nature Boy face to face. I didn't know. I was up, you know, Spratt Armstrong, Sting, stunning Steve Austin, long before he was stone cold. That was my childhood. And then finding out that my father was part of that was just a crazy, trippy experience.
No kid, how old were you? Do you remember? When the UTC Chattanooga show, I think I was eight. Eight years old. Yeah.
I got so excited at one of the shows. It may have been that show. I fell down the steps and I busted my eye. And Ricky Steamboat, the legendary, Ricky the Dragon Steamboat, is the one who patched me. Up and put a little band-aid on.
Oh, man. Like, I was one of the boys. Yeah, it was. That's incredible. Yeah.
Yeah. He was working too. He was like in his gear. Like, oh, I got you. Oh, man.
Dragon. Dragon. Did he do a good job? He did. But then we had to go home and explain to my mom, oh, you took the kid out of school for a day and he has a black eye.
Like, was he in the battle royal? Which is a thing. He could have put me in a mask. Yeah, we don't know how old that kid is.
So, yeah. Oh, man. Did you ever like come home from school and half of the world of wrestling was just in your kitchen or something like that? We had my dad was really big on. He never wanted to, I guess, smarten me up to it.
But then there were unique moments. Big Boss Man, for example, we had a big family barbecue, and he was out there and he was actually flipping the stick, the nice stick. The night stick, the police issue. He was actually doing it. And it was come to life that.
And then they had a lot of. Horsemen, the Four Horsemen, and I was really young. I'm in some of the home videos in the background. The Four Horsemen and Dusty big Thanksgiving dinners, big formal dinners when we all lived in Charlotte. And that's wild looking back at it because they were legendary, you know, opposition to one another.
But I'll tell you the craziest. Here's the moment where it's a big fish story. Have you ever seen the movie Big Fish? Sure. Where everything is true, the legends are all true.
At my dad's funeral I spoke and I looked out. And looking out was it was like looking at a comic book. There was, you know, Hogan with the shades and the bandana. It was almost like they were all in gimmick. And everything, there was one of the giants.
There was everything came together in such a Circus-like, unique. Way, it makes me excited of all things thinking about WrestleMania because Randy's another multi-generational wrestler. You know, Cowboy Bob, the original WrestleMania in the cast, all that history. People, whether they, you know, look at what we do as real or they look at what we do as entertainment, one thing about WrestleMania, especially for me, it's real. It's as real as it gets.
The fact that I'm the first Rhodes to have the WWE title, I'm walking into another main event when I would have prayed I thought I'd only ever get one. And to be against somebody with that lineage, it's all real. It's awesome. And because you're about it, obviously, growing up in it, you thought about doing it collegiately, almost went to Penn State. By the way, which just won its fifth in that row with anything, right?
And so clearly you've been around it, you're about it, but I guess. If you could tap that eight-year-old. And that was remembering This big moment, tap that eight-year-old on the shoulder. And tell them about the standing you have as you walk into WrestleMania 42 in the sport. in the world Of wrestling, what would that eight-year-old have said?
Oh, man. What would the eight-year-old have said, or what would I have told that eight-year-old?
Okay, how about both? Oh, then that's getting trickier.
Okay. But that eight-year-old would have to be dreaming of doing what you're about to do on Saturday night, right? I think done to lead up to it, too. I think that eight-year-old would have probably just wanted to watch Brad Armstrong still and probably not believe the ramblings of an older future me. But older future me would tell him.
The probably most important thing I learned in my career, which is difficult because you're in a world where you compete with one another, is the. Greatest competitor you're going to have in terms of entertainment or WWE or however we look at it is yourself. The moment I stopped looking at the rest of the roster, going, well, he has this or she has this, and I just started looking at being the best me, that's really where the whole American nightmare thing came to be. And I felt like reborn coming back to WWE, taking everything I'd learned on, you know, away, whether it was the indies or AEW, everything I'd done and putting it finally together and executing it. But I'd certainly tell him not to worry about the others.
Because you competing with you is going to be the best choice always. You have to tell them who Pat McAfee is, too, right? Oddly, we're in the house that we're in Pat's house. Yeah. So here you don't have to tell anyone about Pat.
But I can tell you this: wrestling fans who are specifically the hardcore wrestling fan, this is the first time they've ever agreed, casual fans, high spot fans, star rating fans, fans who like cinema-style wrestling. Every type of wrestling fan for the first time has ever agreed on the fact that they are so excited about Randy Orton being at WrestleMania and they absolutely don't want Pat McAfee anywhere near it. Wow. In all honesty, he's a pros, pro and a massive entertainer. He's a massive entertainer.
So he's going to bring a certain twist to this thing. But let's be honest. I'm trying to give any type of example.
Okay, the greatest quarterback to ever do it is Tom Brady, right? Tom Brady, Tom Brady wasn't just walking over to New Yankee Stadium, like, I'm just going to take a couple swings here. Pat's great on College Game Day. Pat's great on so much of what he does. And man, I was a fan before this.
But at this point, you know, somebody around Pat, somebody, one of the 55 dudes in that room, say no. One of them say, I don't know. Maybe do the, and maybe announce the attendance. Yeah. You know what I'm saying?
Maybe sing America the Beautiful. Oh, you want to pony up against with Randy Orton? And so far, his choice has been very entertaining. I kind of loved putting him to the fire last week on the mic. And, you know, again, I don't want to go too far without saying something nice about the guy, but he's out of his depth.
We'll see if he can swim. All right, brother. Man. I'm so glad we ran into each other. I love Seth.
I get FOMO. I get jealous from all this time you spend with Seth. Wow. Do you want to host the show when I'm not there? I would, but I can't take it.
If I did that, I think it would end the time. I'm saying yes.
Okay. But I know it will cause friction. I want that. Where though? Where would it be?
Me and Seth.
Okay, Seth.
Well, all you got to do is. He'll be busy. Listen, there's one way that Seth does the show, which is be engaging, be entertaining, and then completely lying. Yeah, lying to us, yeah. Totally lying about his health.
Oh, wow. And then using us as a cover story for him to have a massive moment. In the ring. The ruse of the century. There seems to be some heat over this.
Yeah, the ruse of the century. He faked a knee injury. He came in, he was limping. He limped. He was there.
You were there. We were asking about his mental health. He did that to you. Yeah, he did that to all of you. You old hats in the entertainment game that showed up limping.
Oh, yeah. Yeah. I recorded him walking to the bathroom. Don't lie is a prerequisite. No, actually, do what you want.
Just be yourself. Clearly, he was. Yeah. You know what I mean? So that's all we ask.
Just be yourself. Okay, no. No, but no phone. You can come anytime you want. It's all good.
We've now made the Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire show logo. It looks so great. Seth Rollins right there. We can make one for you. We won't call you a liar if you're just coming and telling the truth.
Well, listen, I have a tendency to drop a hyperbole from time to time. But I'm not just trying to tell bold-faced lies.
So I'll take it. When you have the moment, I'm happy to do my best. We'll reach out and give you some tips. Yes. But in the meantime, I'll see you.
Yeah, thank you so much. We ran into each other. I know you are, that's for sure. And then, of course, there's no contest wrestling with TJ and O'Shea. You're welcome on that show anytime.
We'll car wash it when you come to Los Angeles like we just did here in New York City. WrestleMania 42, one more time. It's this weekend, as everyone knows, in Las Vegas, Nevada, home of the Raiders, but home. Home of the biggest event on planet Earth this weekend, WrestleMania 42, Saturday and Sunday. The ESPN app is how you can watch it.
It's exclusively for fans with the unlimited plan. 6 p.m. Eastern each night. The first hour of night one, which will feature this man, is going to be on ESPN 2. Night 2, first hour on ESPN.
Great to see you, man. Thank you so much. Rich Eisen here. Every time I travel for a major sports moment, whether it's a playoff run or a huge prime-time matchup, I see firsthand what happens to a city. Hotels fill up fast.
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If you've ever thought about listing your space, this summer is a great time as we welcome FIFA World Cup fans. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.com slash host. In a world in need of a hero, one man rises to the challenge in style. He is just driving the kids to soccer practice.
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Um For some of us, personal finances aren't just personal. They include a lot more people than ourselves. Loved ones, neighbors, the communities we call home, and the causes we hold in our hearts. At Thrive Ent, we help plan your financial picture with the bigger picture in mind. Because even though our business is helping guide your finances, our ambition is to make it mean so much more.
ThriveEnt, where money means more. Connect with us at ThriveInt.com. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Andrew McCarthy is here on The Rich Eisen Show on our New York set. The New York Times best-selling author, Who Needs Friends?
An Unscientific Examination of Male Friendship Across America, born out of, as you just mentioned in the TV-only segment, that your 21-year-old son just casually wondered who your friends were, essentially. And then you decided to just go out in your car and try and explore what friendship is between males in this day and age in America. What did you discover?
Well, there's an extraordinary amount of loneliness, that's for sure. I mean, there are all sorts of crazy statistics about how. Um Guys who have only a high school diploma, 25% of them say they have absolutely no friends at all. 19% of men say they have no close friends now, whereas that number was 3% in 1990.
So there's this increase, this rise of men who are sort of more isolated. Why is that? Because it's the phones, devices, and that's... Maybe it's phones, maybe it's devices, you know, but I think guys in general have a certain hard time with certain words like intimacy and vulnerability. You know, that's come to mean weakness.
And the one thing a guy can't be is weak, right? You can't demonstrate any kind of weakness in that way.
So it's a very isolating kind of dynamic. But I think culturally, too, I met so many guys too who would say, you know, my wife is my best friend, but I'm not hers. You know, and a lot of women I met would say, Will you please, yeah, my husband has no friends. You know, and it's it's it's kind of amazing. And so I just I the loneliness out there was sort of shocking to me.
But I also met guys who've been dear friends for a year. You know, I met these two guys in Ohio who were in their 70s, former cops, and they've been friends since they were 10. They're 60 years old. And one of them said, you know, when one of us dies, the other's going to have to go on ice because I don't know what we would do without each other. You know what I mean?
I never had that kind of intimate, close, tight bond with a guy. I've had my dear friends, but that kind of somebody there your whole life, right off your shoulder. You know, somebody I met was saying, I stole this line, they said, Women make friends face to face, guys make friends shoulder to shoulder. And I think there's a lot of truth in that. You know, with guys, there's sort of a bonding experience that happens.
You hear all about it with military guys who are always talking about that, and the brothers for life. I had a neighbor once, he And I'm a good fences make good neighbors kind of guy. And, you know, he would say hi to me over the fence for like 10 months, and I'm like, yeah, how you doing? And then one day I was making, uh, putting together a basketball hoop for my kid in the backyard, and I'm a terrible DIY guy. And he pops his head over the fence and he says, Hey, you need a hand?
And I'm like, Jesus. Yeah, I did. And anyway, it took us two hours to make this basketball hoop. And by the time we were done with that, we were friends. You know what I mean?
There's this bonding. It's like when you go, you know, you go play golf with somebody. It's what happens.
Well, I mean, there's who's the. The comedian who tells the story about how he plays golf with a friend, Oh, yeah, Brian Regan. Brian Regan, the comedian, tells a story. This is perfect for this conversation, right? And his bit is that his friend had just gotten divorced.
I have this exact same story with my wife. And he goes home to his wife and she wants all the tea that he just got on the golf course about what happened between his friend and his wife. And he goes and tells his wife, like, We didn't even talk about it. Yeah. She's like, what are you doing when you're out there playing golf?
Are you dating anyone? He's like, I know he's got a new driver. It's a great, it's a hilarious bit, but in front of his, I think it's totally. And yet you come home from that feeling more connected, less like, less.
Well, you know, my wife had the same thing. She goes, you know, how's Rich's wife? And I'm like, I don't know.
Well, she just had the operation. I'm like, oh, we didn't talk about it.
Well, what'd you talk about? Like, nice putt. I mean, you know, yeah. But at the end of that, I come home feeling closer to Rich, quote, better, you know. Happier to be with my wife.
The whole thing, you know, there's a certain guys are like toddlers, I think, in a certain way. We do parallel play very well. Yeah. You know, by the way, you're not wrong. You're not wrong.
I mean, and I'm sitting here thinking, you know, my core friends, we're still, you know, in contact and tight from, you know, my friends in Staten Island where I grew up, and then, you know, a handful of guys from college, but mostly, you know, my poker group in Los Angeles when I moved 23 years ago. That's basically my friend's base, pretty much. It's great. And guys, you know, like my wife meets somebody and she'll go, and she likes her, she'll go, hey, do you want to go have coffee tomorrow? And they'll go sit and they'll have coffee and they'll look into each other's eyes meaningfully for two hours and have this great bonding experience.
But like, guys, playing poker is the perfect thing. It's this activity. We barely look at each other just to see if they're bluffing. That's about it. You know what I mean?
There's something about that. But I don't think that's to be negated, but I just think it's a different way of sort of connecting. The book is called Who Needs Friends? An unscientific examination of male friendship across America. Andrew McCarthy is here, fifth book, New York Times best-selling author, but of course, obviously, an actor in so many great films.
Films that I can't forget. And sort of to hit you on all of these subject matters, we have a segment that we frequently play with a guest of somebody with a filmography like yourself called Celebrity True or False about what's true or not about the backstories. And we'd love to play that with you right now. Come on. All right, here we go.
Go. Here's the animation. Go and hit it, please. Celebrity true or false? You can't handle the truth.
You can't handle the truth. Here we go. Celebrity true or false with Andrew McCarthy. True or false, Andrew. When you first got to Los Angeles, you were too young to rent a car.
So your co-star in the movie class, Jacqueline Bissette, and her partner took you in and even drove you to auditions. Is that true? True. Yeah. But it's Bissett, as in Kiss It.
My bad.
Well, that's how Jackie told me. She said, It's Bissett, Andrew, as in Kiss It.
Okay, wow.
So I haven't forgotten that. Yes. No, Jackie did drive me to me. We'll never forget it either. Jackie did drive me to my auditions and things early on.
And I was in a meeting with some guy and he said, How are you getting around town? And I said, Oh, well, I'm either taking the bus or Jackie's driving me. You know, I was 18. And he said, Jackie, Jackie, he said, No way.
So we went over to the window to look out the window. Jackie was sitting down there in her old Cadillac convertible, just waiting for me. And the guy's jaw just. I didn't get the job, but you know. But your status jacked up.
How did you get in touch with her when you moved out?
Well, I was doing a movie with her.
So, the movie class, actually. Yeah, the movie class. Yeah, I played her young lover in this movie. And so, when we were finishing the movie, she said to me, Andrew, what are you doing after the film? I said, Oh, I have to go to Los Angeles and get an agent.
You know, I was from New Jersey. What did I know? And she said, Where are you staying? I mean, I don't know. She goes, You'll stay with me.
I'm like, Okay.
Soul.
So I stayed in Jack. And she was then living with a guy, Alexander Gudinoff, who was this Russian ballet guy who just affected this big ballet store. And so I used to just hang out at their house.
Well, I was there for like six weeks. I freeloaded on them. I should have quit show business right then. It was absolutely the most amazing time of my life. I should have dropped Mike and Gone up, but thankfully you did not.
True or false, next one, Andrew McCarthy, while making St. Elmo's Fire, Rob Lowe invited you to dinner at Spago with Liza Minnelli, and you wound up all at Sammy Davis Jr.'s house by the end of the night. Absolutely true. Night of my life. It was crazy.
Insane. We were doing St. Almost when Rob said, You want to go out to dinner? And I'm like, Rob never invited me out to die. I'm like, sure.
So we went out, and then I figured we were meeting his girlfriend, and we sat down at this table at Spaga, which was like the restaurant, right? And I sat down next to this woman, and I said, This is Liza. She went, Hi. And I'm like, I'll have a double vodka, please. And so, anyway, so then we went up, dinner's wrapping up, and Logical is Shall we go to Sammy's?
I'm like Yeah, yeah, definitely. Let's go to Sammy's. I thought it was a club.
So Liza goes off and makes a call, and she goes, Yeah, we're all set to go to Sammy's. Comes back, and we follow Liza up. You know, we carpool up to, following Liza up into the hills, and we're at this house. And I'm like, this is no club. This is a real private, exclusive kind of club.
You still thought you were going to a club? Going to some kind of private thing. And so the door swings open, and there's Sammy Davis Jr. And he's like, cats, come on in.
So we hung with Sammy, and it was fantastic. Sammy was long sober, but I was getting drunker and drunker. Me and Sammy are like splitting cigarettes and smoking. And he's got, I got my eye on you, young cats. I love what you're doing.
I got my eye on you. And I'm thinking, like, which eye? And then the night goes on, and then Liza says, I'll drive you home in my roles. And I'm like, okay, fantastic.
So Liza's going to drive me home. And I'm really drunk at this point. And I'm thinking, I'm going to. I might throw up here.
So I try and put the window down, but the window won't go down.
So I'm trying to distract myself. I can't throw up in Liza's roles if she's driving me home.
So I start I'm drunk, keep in mind, and I get in mind I should just start singing to distract myself.
So I start singing.
Somewhere over the rainbow. Oh my god.
So Liza turns to me, just slowly, I turn, turns and stares at me, and she just goes. Way up hot. And we both of us start singing somewhere over the rainbow in her car and had a red light in West Hollywood. And it was, yeah, another great moment of my early life. Wow.
Maybe never saw Eliza again after that. The only thing they ever saw. That was it.
Well and done. How about Sammy? Sammy also? Never saw Sammy.
Well, I saw Sammy at Radio City performing years later, but that didn't count. Oh, my God. Oh, that's amazing. That may be the greatest answer in the history of Celebrity True or False. We got three more to go.
All right, Andrew McCarthy. I'm trying to keep it true. No, no, please. No, no, no, no. You explore the studio space.
During the reshoot for the ending of Pretty in Pink. You had already shaved your head and lost weight for a different role, so you wore a wig in the final scenes of the movie. Dude, you've got all my greatest hits here. Is this true? Yeah, absolutely true, yeah.
And so we had, because they screened the movie, the audience loved the movie, loving the movie, loving the movie. Then comes the part where my character, Molly Ringwald, played like Girl from the Wrong Side of the Tracks, has a best buddy, and I was like the rich guy. And so we were going to go to the prom together, and then I dumped her because of peer pressure.
So she shows up with her best friend, and the audience hated that. They started throwing things at the screen, so the studio said, We have to reshoot this, and she has to get the guy she wants.
So, as you said, I had a shaved head and we went back to reshoot it. And when you look at the movie, Neha, there's a picture there of me, and it's really bad wig acting. I look so forlorn and sad when I go up to Molly and say, I love you, and all that. And I just look so pathetic, and it's really just bad wig acting. It's like a bird's nest on top of my head.
So when I'm watching Pretty in Pink, which I know you do a lot. By the way, we're showing it to our kids. I mean, my wife, this, she. It's one of her favorite movies. It's amazing how the next generation down.
No doubt. We're showing.
Well, I mean, because a lot of the stuff from those films translates to the current totally. The hairdos I laugh at, but the feelings are exactly the same. Exactly, right? And so, but so you're wearing a wig for the final scene. In that final prom scene, yeah, I have this really ridiculous wig on.
Yeah. And once you see it, you can never not see it. That's what I'm saying. I'm going to watch it very differently. Oh, my God.
All right. Two more. True or false, Andrew McCarthy, originally the lead character in Mannequin. Was written as an older, lonely storekeeper with Dudley Moore in mind, but was rewritten to a young artist when you hopped on board. Is that true?
That's the first I've heard about. I got to make a call. Oh. I only got a career because Dudley turned it down?
Well, I mean, you were already in class, right? That was first. Yeah, that wasn't much of a hit. No, I'd never heard that story. Oh, wow.
Okay. We don't know if that's true or not. No, let's go with that. We can go with that. Technically, with Kim Cattrall as the mannequin, you were the first sex in the city boyfriend of all time.
I'm the that would be right, yeah. Right. Yeah. Back in the day. I remember that.
Kim just was the last. We couldn't cast the person. Kim was the last person who came in and auditioned. And it was just like, yeah. And it was just one of those things.
She just walked in and went, okay, she'll do. She was great. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, and there to pick up me in a motorcycle.
God, I hated that Harley. I could not drive a Harley. Oh my God, it was so nerve-wracking. What do you mean? I was so stressed out trying to drive.
You know, and you have to ride this bike and look like, yeah, yeah, we're cool. And then to go cut and I go, oh, fuck. Oh my God.
So they had to build a a rig and mount so that they could tow me because it's so like I'm like, don't put Kim on the back of this thing. You can't put me killing myself is one thing, but you can't put Kim on here too.
So oh man. All right, last one. True or false, Andrew McCarthy, many of the weekended Bernie's iconic scenes. We're thawed up on the spot with you and Johnny Silverman just keeping asking what couldn't we do with the body. Yeah, that's true.
I mean, there was so much crap that we just made up at the time. Like, what? What'd you make up?
Well, it's like, let's throw him over the balcony. Yeah, yeah, let's throw him over the balcony.
Okay, what if the tide comes in and washes him out? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so then they build a rig to have him wash out of the scene. You know, what if we staple a toupee on his head? What if his hair's fake and we just staple his head?
And all that stuff.
So much of it we just made up. Playing Monopoly? Oh, that was, I have to say, that's my greatest move of all time. Because all that was written there was, I'm just sitting out on the back with Bernie, and a pretty lady walks by, and I wave and say, yeah, there's a party tonight. And I was in a Monopoly jag when I was doing that.
And so I just brought the Monopoly board to work the next day. And I said, Ted, can I do this? And then Johnny came up with the idea of stringing his hand up on the fish line and having it wave when I pulled the thing. And it was like me cheating Bernie, going, all that. Yeah, the Monopoly thing is probably my most brilliant turn in show business.
The tuxedo, too? That was just made up on the spot also? What's the tuxedo? I don't know if he's wearing a tuxedo or anything like that. That?
No? I don't remember anything. But I used to drink a lot, so I don't remember that. All right, anything you wanted to do? And they're like, no.
No, we did everything. Everything we wanted to do. We just did. Most of it's in the movie, too. Most of the time, that stuff you think when you're doing it, if you think you're funny, you're usually not, is sort of the rule of thumb.
But we would do stuff that we thought was hysterical and Some of it's pretty funny. All right. Well, the last one, true or false, Johnny Silverman's rabbi dad married me and my wife, and he signed the wrong line and was married to my wife for 24 hours. That is true. I'm just telling you.
Really? Yeah, that happened. Johnny's dad. The the rabbi to Jack Ruby. Married.
Yeah. That's another true or false. Yeah. Johnny Silverman's dad married my wife and I was married 23 years ago. But he signed the wrong line of the marriage license, and New York City called my wife up and said, Guess who you're married to, pretty much.
I was married to Johnny's dad. My wife was married to Johnny's dad legally for about 24 hours. Poor kind of dad. Nice. Johnny's a great dude.
He is. He is. So those, yeah. He's a very good baseball player. Yeah.
Well, I mean, that's how he. That's actually, that's how I met Johnny at the. Celebrity all-star softball game at the all-star game in Colorado in the late 90s. I owe him a thing. He got me involved in some celeb softball game where I got to be at the Playted Yankee Stadium, which was like the biggest.
Not the original old, but the old one. By the way, I loved the documentary that you can see on Hulu as well, Brat Pack. Oh, that's good. That was awesome. That was awesome.
Yeah, it was good to go back and sort of see everybody again like that. It was really interesting. Yeah, and people really responded to that. I mean, that really captures a moment in time for a certain generation. For you to speak to the journalist who termed you Brat Pack, which was definitely a moniker that was not helpful in any way, shape, or form, do you have that moment with the actual journalist who came up with that pigeonholing was quite moving in the movie?
Oh, good. Yeah, that was quite a big thing for me, too. It was really interesting to talk to him and sort of see how he was. Unapologetic, and yet he you know, he was he was on the fence about it himself, the whole thing. But just you know, we I kind of joke that he's like the fifth Beatle because he's he's a part of the Brat Pak, too.
Bratz is the name of the document. Yeah, right. But it was great to go back and see everybody. It really helped me sort of have so much affection for that time when I didn't for so long. You know, and it made me realize how.
What a blessing that was in my life. Or like the avatars of youth for a certain generation.
Well, you're looking at them. I'm 56, so 100% I was watching a lot of these films and wondering how I could kind of be like you guys and try and live a lifestyle like that. Not going to lie, you know, sitting there and Watching all of these films. No, I hear all that. It just didn't feel you know, like anything when you're on the inside of it, it just didn't feel that way.
It did not. No. I mean, not to me anyway. You're young, you're kind of scared. You're just trying to figure out what's going on.
And all I sort of knew is suddenly Women liked me a lot, where the week before they didn't. You know what I mean? I went into a bar and I was very viable sexually this Sunday. And that was sort of the big change for me. But.
Only in hindsight did I realize how v important it was for a certain you know, your generation. No doubt. What what would you say is the avatar for the Brad Pack films of all of them, if you could choose one?
Well, the best one I think is sort of Breakfast Club. You know, I think that's the most sort of captures them That sort of, you know, because those movies made the romance was friendship. You know what I mean? And so it wasn't boy girl or boy boy, you know, it was about the romance, it was about friendship largely. San Alma's fire is also that way.
It's just a romance of friendship. Were you in the periphery of trying to be in that film, or how come you were not in the Breakfast Club?
Well, my children think I was in that movie. Right. My son, my 12-year-old, came up to me and said, Dad, a friend of mine saw you in the Breakfast Club.
So it was a really good movie. And I'm like, well, I wasn't in it. And he goes, yeah, no, you were. He said you were. Anyway.
Why was it? I never, I think it was, I don't know why West. It just was the way it was shot. It's just the way it was. But you choose that one out of so many.
I think that's the best one. Which one were you in, though, that you think? I think St. Almost Fire, I think, really that was my favorite role of mine in that time because I had that part really suited me, that sort of rotten before it's ripe, sort of cynicism to cover up vulnerability and all that. You know, and he had a longing for this other, this woman that he never told anybody, and that kind of, you know, everyone feels that way when you're 22.
Nobody understands me. I'm in love from afar. And, you know, just great stories, man, and great times. And everybody, check out Who Needs Friends: an Unscientific Examination of Male Friendship Across America, the fifth book by New York Times best-selling author Andrew McCarthy. What a pleasure having you here.
Thank you for coming and sharing stories, man. A lot of fun. We'll be wrapping up this New York show and our two-day residency here in the GetUp Studios when we come back. Oh, no. Check engine, ABS, or maintenance light on?
Take the guesswork out of your warning lights with O'Reilly Veriscan. The service is free and provides a report with solutions verified by ASE certified master technicians. And if you need help, we could recommend a shop for you. Ask for O'Reilly Veriscan today. Oh, oh, oh, oh, Reilly.
Auto parts. Rich Eisen here. The April 15th tax deadline is coming fast, but don't worry. Hand off your taxes to a TurboTax expert today. You know how April feels.
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Visit turbo tax.com and hand off your taxes to a turbo tax expert today. The Rich Heisen Show, the podcast. Yes, sir. We're getting ready to wrap this show up. That may have been one of the best celebrity true and false we've ever had.
Very good. Let's sneak in a phone call. Aiden in New Jersey, you're here on the program. What's up, Aiden? Here we're never.
What's up, Bridge? How are you? You there, Aiden? There you are. What's going on?
Oh. Yeah. Hello? You there? Aiden?
All right. Here we go. We've got to have to put him back on hold. Aiden can't hear us. All right.
We're just having all sorts of stuff today. All good. Call back. Anybody who's on hold, call back tomorrow. We'll be back in studio and for next.
Our next show, Carnell Tate, is going to join us. Nice. First wide receiver taken, right? Of that, there's no doubt. The only question is: does he wind up with the Giants at five?
You know What do you do? Like, what what do you do with um What do you do with also the question of Jeremiah Love? What do you do if you're the Browns at six? What happens?
So, end of the story. We got Carnell Tate on the program. We also have Todd McShea is going to join us in the middle. Todd McShea. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's going to be very fun. We're getting echoes now in our ears. Bottom lines, we do thank everybody here in New York City for the last couple days to open up the in-studio doors. Did I leave Greene a note? I think that you should.
There's nothing like coming to New York. Love this studio, love this setup here. It's as first-class as first-class can be. You're going to write it on a napkin. I mean, what else am I gonna write?
Well, I mean, it's all the other thing that's available. I think you should do this right now. What do you what do you want to say to Green? I need a pen. Honestly.
I have found a pen. Should I do it on a napkin? I think you should do a napkin. Should you say something to or or or uh I resign as HC of the NYJ. That's true.
Do you do something like that? Didn't Bill famously do that on a napkin? Greeny. I resign. Of the NYJ.
Yeah, rich. Pay homage. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you say Rich Eisen or just rich? I think rich is fine.
I think it's fine. I need to sign my last name.
So, you know, is it like just nobody named Rich that's just strolling?
Okay, you should. Yeah, then do your last messages on auto. Do you ever sign your name? You might think it's Rich Kotype.
Well, it's good. You signed it, so he's going to be. Yeah, you might think it's kotai. That's good. That's what I mean.
Yeah, yeah. Better reflect retisal. Thanks for the studio.
Well, that's nice of you. Was that O'Shea? Yeah, perhaps. We're all okay. Thanks for the studio.
All right, very good. There we go. Should I hold it up? Which camera should I hold it up to? There it is, that one?
Oh, we can't remember. Where does Greenie sit? Yeah, which one is right here? Yeah. Straight here.
Right in the middle.
So you can just literally leave it right here. Right here. Yeah, and he'll. Like, right there, it's good. Nobody touch it.
Greeny, I resign as HC of the NYJ, Rich Eisen. Thanks for the studio.
Peace. P.S. Thanks for the studio.
Yeah. Now we can go.
Now we're off to the airport, heading back to Los Angeles. Carnell Tate, Todd McShea, David Spade, No Contest Wrestling is working it. Want to thank everybody here on our set for welcoming us in. We're back in Los Angeles on Wednesday's edition. We'll be back to wrap.
Thanks for listening to the Rich Eisen Show podcast. You can watch and listen to The Rich Eisen Show live weekdays from noon to 3 Eastern on ESPN Radio, Disney Plus, and on the ESPN app, The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.
