Jeff Garlin Talks Watches, Cameras, & Comedy¶
Published on Mon, 29 Jun 2020 10:00:25 +0000
An actor, comedian, photographer, musician, and collector – what more could you want?
Synopsis¶
In this episode of Hodinkee Radio, host Stephen Pulvirent sits down with comedian and actor Jeff Garlin, best known for his roles in HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and ABC's "The Goldbergs." The conversation, recorded in late May 2020 during the early pandemic period, explores Garlin's many passions beyond comedy, including photography, music, watches, and collecting.
Garlin discusses his philosophy on collecting, emphasizing the joy found not just in acquiring items but in learning about them and eventually letting them go. He reveals he's been pruning his collections of guitars, cameras, baseball cards, and other items during quarantine, keeping only what brings him genuine joy. The comedian shares intimate details about his life in Los Angeles with his dog Sage—who was actually his on-screen dog from "The Goldbergs" before becoming his real pet—and his contentment living alone after his divorce.
The conversation delves deep into Garlin's photography work, which he approached without professional goals until his recent gallery show "Big Bowl of Wonderful" at Leica in January 2020. He explains his approach to behind-the-scenes photography on set, seeking introspective, quiet moments rather than performative poses. Garlin discusses his love of Leica cameras, particularly the MP film camera, and his preference for 35mm and 50mm lenses. He shares touching memories of the late Bob Einstein (Marty Funkhouser on "Curb") and reflects on the intersection of comedy and death, including performing stand-up the night his mother passed away.
Garlin also opens up about his 38-year stand-up comedy career, his improvisational approach to performing, and his behind-the-scenes work helping other comedians including Jerry Seinfeld refine their material. He discusses his emerging interest in watches, which began relatively recently, and his appreciation for timepieces as markers of significant life moments. The episode concludes with Garlin sharing his plans for future creative projects and his decision not to return to live stand-up until audiences can gather maskless in crowded rooms again.
Links¶
Transcript¶
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| Stephen Pulvirent | There's something nice about like you get the experience of accumulating all of it and like learning about it and the hunt and whatever, but then you can just like you can let it go. Like you've you've had it, you've had your enjoyment with it, and you just you let it go. No kidding around |
| Jeff Garlin | . You just simplistically put it per you just made it simple. That is exactly it. The joy is in it's acquiring it, learning about it, and then going, okay, I don't need this anymore and by the way and I know your readers know this and your listeners it's all about joy yeah what brings you joy |
| Stephen Pulvirent | Hey everybody, I'm your host Stephen Polverin and this is Hodinky Radio. This week we've got a super special guest for you. You're gonna hear my conversation with comedy legend Jeff Garland. You might know Jeff as Jeff Green from HBO's Kirb Your Enthusiasm, as Murray Goldberg from ABC's The Goldbergs, or just from his storied stand-up comedy career. Jeff and I were introduced through a mutual friend in the photography world, but we quickly realized that we had lots of other passions in common too. We love music, we love comedy, we love collecting, and of course, we love watches. He's relatively new to the Wchatld Wor though, and he got into it through an interesting backstage encounter with a comedy great, but I'm gonna let him tell that story. And just as a note, this conversation was recorded back at the end of May. Obviously, a lot has happened between then and now, and the general mood in the air is a bit different, so if my tone or Jeff's tone sounds a little weird for right now, that's why. It's still a fantastic chat, and I know you're gonna love it. So without further ado, let's do this Are you in your house? Where is your apartment? Uh I am on the Upper East Side. I'm all the way by the East River. Oh. Delightful. Yeah, it's good. You know? It's a uh it's a very New York apartment. It's a fifth floor walk-up studio. It's uh Oh |
| Jeff Garlin | , you don't get but well no there's only one thing that could make your apartment more |
| Stephen Pulvirent | New York is the bathroom in the hallway. No, it it is it's like in its own corner. It's not in the kitchen. Okay, so you have a bathroom in your apartment. We do have a bathroom, yes. We have an actual bathroom. Yeah. Okay. But you know you've se |
| Jeff Garlin | en those. Oh yeah. I remember a friend of mine, she had a fifth floor walk up and the bathroom was in the hallway. |
| Stephen Pulvirent | So no. That's the ultimate. That's like we have our own bathroom, thankfully. Uh we have friends who live in the East Village whose shower is in their kitchen. Uh right. No, by the way, the same person who had the bathroom in the hallway, she had her shower in the kitchen. Yeah, can't can't do that. Too old for that shit. Can't can't swing it anymore. But remember though when you were young and |
| Jeff Garlin | that was not a problem. Yeah, it would have been fine. Yeah. Would've been fine. Yeah. Yeah. You're you're a ma |
| Stephen Pulvirent | you're a man, you had to move on. Exactly. Mostly that's for boys. Mostly I have a wife who I I think would really not tolerate that. That would not go over well |
| Jeff Garlin | . Well no, but that but that's that that goes to show how much and this is the truth, women are much smarter than we are. Even when we aspire to be enlightened, inspire to be great men, we're gonna do something stupid because we're men. True. That's it. Nothing more. Yeah |
| Stephen Pulvirent | . I love podcasts. I love podcasts. They're delightful. Glad to hear that. You had your own podcast for a while, right |
| Jeff Garlin | ? I did. I'm I I believe when I can I'm gonna start up again. I've got uh my agents working on it. The same I've got two podcasts planning, one about curb your enthusiasm and one called By the Way, which is what I used to do. I'm bringing it back. That's awesome |
| Stephen Pulvirent | . That's great. Yeah. Cool. Well yeah, we'll uh we'll talk about photography, we'll talk about watches, we'll talk about it. Don't tell me anything. All right. Don't tell me anything. Perfect. Go. Great. Go. I'm ready. Let's do it. It's good to see you, Jeff. Great to see you. Things are uh things are good out west out in LA? |
| Jeff Garlin | Things are great in LA. Yes. I'm I'm I'm uh I'm quite content in my home. I'm content not leaving. I have plenty of things to keep me occupied, and I have my delightful uh little dog. I don't know where she went, but she's she's saved, she's been saving my life. She's the dog. She's my dog. This is crazy. My dog is the dog from the Goldbergs. I she's she was sitting on my lap for seven years. And then I say to her trainer, can you help me find a dog? I'm living by myself. I think I I love dogs. I think it'd be great if I she goes, what about Sage? That's her name. And I said, What are you talking about? I've been asking about her for years. The woman who owned her, I guess, got another dog that fought with Sage, so she got rid of Sage, but she still gets the money when Sage works, whatever. Long story short, I my dog on the Goldbergs is actually my dog and lives with me. That's amazing. I' |
| Stephen Pulvirent | ve never by the way, I have never heard that before. Ever. Ever. Yeah. That's pretty well. So you so the dog was your dog on TV for seven years and then became your dog? Became my real dog. That's incredible. |
| Jeff Garlin | Incredible. And by the way, the dog s because my character's always in his underwear sitting in a bark a lounge or my dog has had plenty of practice of sitting with me in my underwe |
| Stephen Pulvirent | ar. So other other than sitting with your dog in your underwear, what do you what do you do when it stay busy these days? Well, let's see. I aspi |
| Jeff Garlin | re to get good at guitar. I aspire to prune my guitars. I've done a good job of that. Still in the middle of a little pruning. I um uh uh aspire to clean up all my clothes and be real specific. Not clean up as in put away. They're put I'm very clean. I just sometimes can't might not be neat, but I'm pretty neat too. Um, which was not me as a boy, but as a man, when you have a home I feel responsible. I keep it very clean and um so I'm really I I collect baseball cards. I collect uh uh um um guitars cameras because i'm a photographer so i have a lot of cameras i actually prune my cameras i got rid of lenses and cameras that i don't use anymore i i um i actually have a shelf in my living room, a series of shelves that I'm putting stuff on to give to people. That's great. And that's to give the people and other ones I have I have friends who own photography shops and friends who own guitar shops, one in particular guitar shop, uh Imperial Vintage, and I just sent them my guitars and I said, You pay me what you wanna pay me for them. I want you to stay in business. It's tough times and I'm good. I just need to clear these out. Because in order for me to enjoy anything, it has to be simple and minimal. I'm a mi I I I aspire to be. I'm a failure, but I aspire to be a minimalist. I have comic books too. I just started with watches. So um yeah I'm really and I'm playing the guitar. I'm writing comedy, I'm pitching comedy shows, believe it or not. I have five shows that are in various stages of development that pretty much got developed all w during this period. That's incredible. So you're keeping you're keeping busy. I am keeping busy. Good. I am unfortunately alone. I mean, fortunately, a lot of times. I'll never live with anyone again. I'll never, I'll never by the way, I love my children. I have two boys, 20 and 24. I actually love my ex-wife. Love her so much. But I am now at a point and I have a home, not an ostentatious, a very it's a 1962 home, so it's kind of modern architecture, but it's simple and it's the perfect size for me and everything about it. So I'm happy living alone. Um uh it was really funny. I I've been I don't want to say courting courting somebody on on uh this, but I've met somebody during this period, which is so weird. And she we don't even well, I don't want to even get in there, but I I I wanted to say it's very nice to develop a friendship with somebody and see how that goes. But I was telling her about my house and giving her like a tour. This is recently, and she said, I hope you don't take this personal, but I don't ever want to live with anybody again. And a big smile hit my face. I said, I don't want to live with anyone again. I don't mind staying. Someone staying over, even a week or two, whatever. But I love having your own home is pretty delightful. However, when I had what when I was living with my wife and my boys, so much of that was delightful too, and I don't have any regrets about that. I love that. I love my family. Yeah. It's good to know it's good to know what works for you. Yeah, it's good. By the way, this is a great time to go, hey man, this is what works for me. These guitars I play, these watches, by the way, I'd have worn a watch during this whole period, but these watches are the ones I'm going to keep. These are the ones I'm gonna give to my sons now. These are the ones I'm gonna give to friends. Um I don't I don't really have anything now in in my collection which will be so disappointing for your readers, um where I would sell it. You know. I I mean I do well. I love giving stu I love giving stuff away. Oh, also, by the way, I have a room that's not only filled with my guitars, but all my record albums. I collect vinyl. I have a nice stereo system that I that I really enjoy. So I've been pruning the albums too. It' |
| Stephen Pulvirent | s it's so much fun. There's something nice about like you get the experience of accumulating all of it and like learning about it and the hunt and whatever, but then you can just like you can let it go. Like you've you've had it, you've had your enjoyment with it, and you just you let it go. |
| Jeff Garlin | By the way, no kidding around. You just simplistically put it per you just made it simple. That is exactly it. The joy is in it's it's a fewfold. It's acquiring it, learning about it, which is huge, learning about it, and then going, okay, I don't need this anymore. This is not necessary to bring and by the way, and I know your readers know this and your listeners, it's all about joy. Yeah. What brings you joy? It's not about like I also collect photography. And I was sitting in my living room the other day looking at all my photography and I have some very nice photography and I'm like going, you know what? I'm just wanting to get a random picture going, yeah, that one I don't need. That one I bought is a collectible piece and it's worth a lot, but it's not something I feel like gotta have. |
| Stephen Pulvirent | That's that's a good thing to know about yourself. I think that's something like we we hear all the time and I talk to collectors and and people in this world all the time who can't get to that stage. Like they they need to hold on to stuff and they they don't know why, they just like need it and they never get to that stage where they can say like okay we're gonna bring some things in we're gonna let some things go and then kind of like repeat repeat the process. It's so by the way, that |
| Jeff Garlin | is part of the process for me. That is so damn joyful, yeah. To go through that and know, because then it lets you really focus on what you have and enjoy that |
| Stephen Pulvirent | . That's true. Yeah. All right, let's let's get into photography. I want to talk about photography because that's that's how we got connected is through our our friends at uh Leica. Shout out to Kieran who uh connected us, who connects me to most great people I know. But um how did you Kieran Kieran's fantastic, but everyone |
| Jeff Garlin | at Leica, by the way, you know how like look, I got I have a lot of camera equipment that I paid pretty much full price for. Occasionally I get this much of a discount, not an exaggeration. And life is expensive. Um, but it's beautiful it's beautiful it's like a Gibson guitar whereas uh Fender makes great guitars and my favorite guitar of all time is probably a Fender telecaster but Gibson their works of art Leica their cameras are works of art and I I I also I I have the Hodinki uh camera yeah which is I love that's incredible yeah I love that camera. It's beautiful. So interesting. |
| Stephen Pulvirent | I never knew watches fade that way. I didn't know that. Yeah, yeah. It was pretty cool to see uh when we launched the camera, we had the watch that inspired it side by side with the camera in a little glass case for people to see. And Leica did an incredible job like really nailing that match. It's not an easy thing to do. And they they really nailed it. Well the magic of being handmade. Yeah. Like from you know. Yeah. How did you how did first get interested in photography? I actually don't know your your sort of like origin story |
| Jeff Garlin | . Oh yeah. So you meet somebody in a corporate environments sometimes of events or whatever. Every person I've met from like uh is uh from the stores to the people that work here in New Jersey or they work in Germany, the best people. And they're passionate. They're passionate, which is what I love about something like that. Now, it works for me as a tool. What I did was look, I always love photography. My mother used to tell me. Well, I knew this. Two of my uh uncles, my grandfather's brothers on my mom's side were photographers. Oh um, they weren't uh photojournalists, but they were photographers. And um I always love photography. Love photography. Um love magazines. Big into magazines. And my collections gone down. But I all different types, look and life and uh just anywhere for photography. I just sit for hours. Love it. And then um I decided uh I was in my uh uh early forties, which is later in life, you know, and I'm like, I'm getting a camera. Well the first camera I got was a Nikon camera. I love to take the photograph, you know, all because of the pi Paul Simon song. Uh there was no codachrome or there were down to very few, so I didn't never use codachrome. Um actually I I I um yeah, so I got a Nikon F-100. Okay. That I still have. I'm looking for the proper person to give it to, I swear. Um, who will get, you know, what so anyhow, over time, I used every other brand of camera, meaning I'd have a connection here, a connection there. Oh, I I'm using uh Olympus, oh I'm using Panasonic, oh I'm using Canon. I've gone through all of them. Sony, because uh the goldbergs is a Sony show okay so early on when they started doing cameras the right way uh they would give me cameras or or or I get them at a great discount all that but Leica is shooting with a Leica is unique in a unique experience that connects you. Whether or not you're shooting film, digital, doesn't matter. The way you approach and I'm talking most specifically with an M, an M camera, which is their model that they've had since I think 1953. Um you're involved, and there's a simplicity that's completely unique to it. And it's a feeling that's unique, and it connects you. So I started shooting with Leica. I moved my way through like their auto camp like all sorts of different and I worked my way to an M nine. Um I I never I wasn't around during the M eight period. But M nine I started shooting like uh around the beginning of M nine but I didn't get one right away. Took me a couple years to get my first M9. And my favorite camera of all time is the Leica MP, which is a film camera, black paint. And then I discovered from i mean i discovered from using lots of lenses on an m camera i'm a 35 and 50 person those are my favorite lenses i have a 75 and i have a 24 and those are um pretty delightful. Um yeah, so um but not um yeah not um uh not I don't have to use the 24 and the 75. I got a loss in it. But 35 millimeter and the simplicity of it. And here's this here's the joke of the whole thing, man. I have no goals. Like when I became a comedian, I wanted to become a famous comedian. That was like, I want to be great. Great was number one. Respected by my peers. Great and respected by my peers. And then a comedy star per se. But when I started photography, and even after I got an M9 and I started doing it and going, you might be good at this, like in the back of my head, never had goals. Truly, I did a workshop at Leica, a black and white film workshop. And that we were looking at our work, and it was the first time my work was ever seen amongst any people. Like I didn't even show my wife. I I just I didn't show people my work because I'm learning and I'm developing but I had no goals. So I'm in this class and I'm a wreck. Now I can go on stage in front of a thousand people, whatever, with nothing prepared and know that I can do an hour and be and be funny. Well hopefully be funny. I uh I I'm confident in that way. Well I felt like throwing up when they were about to show pictures after the weekend. And then I got applause from my pictures. Applause. No one got applause in the classroom. What the hell? Are they doing this because I'm a famous comedian? Like what's going on? And then I get told by the people that work in the shop, including the woman who runs the gallery, who says, we'd be very interested in doing a show with you. Now I do know it helps them draw people in if the person who has the show is well known for sure. But I wanted to earn any stripe that I got. Yeah. Earn, earn, earn. And then I didn't know until I did my show this past January at Leica that I would even be a photographer that people would dig. Yeah. People were buying my pictures. You don't hang a picture in somebody's house because they're famous. Right. I mean except, you know, if I'm Rodney Dangerfield or Robin Williams, like you'd have to be like the top of the top to hang a mediocre picture in your house. And then as a talking point you go, oh, that's Richard Prior's photograph that he took |
| Stephen Pulvirent | . For me, I have to earn if I'm hanging in someone's house. And the work the work is great. I'm personally a a fan of the work. I mean, it's the the show was called Big Bowl of Wonderful, right? Yep. Where did that uh where did that name come from |
| Jeff Garlin | ? It came from uh Paris Chong, who runs the gallery, telling me I had two minutes to come up with a name that I hadn't spent the past uh month that she's been asking me for a name. So I sat at her desk and I went Big Bowl the wonderful. Perfect. It's like a thing I say big bowl uh is something that I've been saying for years and then I've been saying I said it on curb. I say it on curb on occasion my character. And so it just worked. And I love the title. And that'll be the name. I'm doing a book too. So that'll be the name of my bo |
| Stephen Pulvirent | ok. And you you were the it was the last show before kind of everything everything closed up, right? Oh my god. You got pretty pretty lucky with the timing |
| Jeff Garlin | . Another show went up after me. Okay. Um, but they didn't last long. Yeah. I mean, no offense to them. I actually bought one of the prints. Um yeah. So |
| Stephen Pulvirent | yeah, I got lucky. Yeah, that's pretty wild. The the thing I like about your work is it's it, you know, for people who aren't familiar, we'll link in the in the show notes so people can go check it out. But it's it's behind the scenes work in a certain way, but it's not what I think of when I think of like, you know, an actor on set with a camera taking like fun, cute behind-the-scenes photos. There's something a lot more sort of introspective about Introspective. Introspective is the ke |
| Jeff Garlin | y word because I'm quiet when I approach them. The um uh like a camera can be so quiet, not only in sound, but in the way it looks. Which is the problem with the Hodinki, because that one does create interest. I actually have when I when I shoot it, depending on the situation, I have a nice black cover that I put over my hodinky. I do because I don't want people looking. But other times, like if I'm having a party, well, I I never have parties, but if I'm somewhere where I I'm cool with people seeing it, I'm happy like to have it out. Yeah. But sometimes it's like I want to be more discreet. Discreet that's the word that um so when I'm on the set, um if they're making contact with me with their eyes, the other actor, director, whoever, um, I'm okay with that. But I also look for moments where they don't even notice me. Those are the two. What I don't want and what you see in lots of photography is people sort of putting on a performative uh type of attitude. The only person whose picture I take or took uh was Bob Einstein, who played Marty Funkhausen. He never he never gave me uh a moment of privacy. Like he purposely made faces, purposely. So I have one in my show where he's making a face and it might be the least face he's ever made and it's a pretty big face It's a pretty good picture. He just loved do |
| Stephen Pulvirent | ing that to me. Um is he is he as funny in person as as it comes off? Oh, he um |
| Jeff Garlin | he would make me laugh so hard that I cried sometimes. And the hardest I ever laughed on the set of curve was um we were filming a funeral scene and as we're s we're standing amongst all the it's Bob's character Bob Einstein's character's mother, I'm pretty sure. And uh we're all standing around getting ready to shoot this scene where someone throws a 20 Larry throws a $20 bill on the ph ground and everyone dives for it. Anyhow, we're standing at this funeral. Now, as we're standing there getting ready to shoot, I look over and I see where Bob's standing and next to him are like these four or five background extra people, you know. And they are so strange looking. I don't know what to say. I'm like our our A D uh had to have uh um Dale uh had to have put this together, put those people there. And I I look at Larry and I signal him to go look at Bob Bob. And he looks at Bob. He's like, and then he sees the people. He goes, Oh my God, because we're both thinking the same thing. What's going to happen when Bob notices who's standing next to him because we're standing there. So literally they say, you know, uh sound speed, like um we're getting ready to yell action. Okay, you know, yeah uh uh everything the next word is action and then Bob suddenly yells out. He looks at them, you see him look at them and he goes, These are my best friends, my best friends, my mom died and they came to the field. Well anyhow, it took us 20 minutes to collect ourselves. That's incredible. And it was really difficult, you know, not only is he uh was he a very close friend of Larry and ours uh and mine, but he was so essential to the show that losing him this past year on a season that we got so many accolades on is so strange because we literally felt his absence every day. And early on, you know, he was in the hospital for pneumonia and uh serious pneumonia though. He was very sick. And um I got a call from him. I'm all good. I'm gonna be back in a few weeks. And we were all very happy. And then he got diagnosed like the next day with cancer and he was dead in two weeks. Wow. And so that was a very you know, filming comedy. But the thing is, when you're doing comedy, it's like so it's so close to death. I know that sounds crazy, but the the dealing with using comedy is like um is like is so absurd in in in times of death that it goes hand in hand. It just it works because you're trying to it's a great place to go. Even when you're doing real comedy, it's a great place to go. I performed and I'm not saying this I was stuck and I didn't cancel. The day my mom died, which was f going on four years ago, um that day, um no, three years ago, that day, um, it didn't occur to me. She died in the afternoon and it didn't occur to me that a few hours later I had a show. I could have easily called up and said, uh, you know, I can't do it. And I was heartbroken. But um and I also went and I improvise. Like that's what I do. I go up. All I have when I walk on stage is a song and it's always a different song. So it reminds me to start talking about the song. I'll even just say who the song is. And that night, the night that my mom passed away and I went on stage, um, it was one of my best sets I ever had in my life. And I didn't talk, I mean, I don't think I talked about it. You know, I'm very honest on stage. You know, I'll talk about what's going on. I probably did. I don't remember. But I don't remember any of the set. It was it's it's actually, I think I may have a recording of it somewhere, but I it was death and I was really funny |
| Stephen Pulvirent | . Yeah. I I think you know this this reminds me of something I wanted to make sure to to talk about uh with you, which is your comedy is so off the cuff and it's improvised and it's in the moment and you're engaging with your audience and you're you're sort of known as somebody who does you don't have a script, you don't have stage direction, it's not all mapped out, but you are somebody who other comics bring in to help them with those things, to help tighten up writing, to help stage direction. And I wonder like how how you split those two sort of parts of your brain, being able to tightly structure things for other people, but when it comes to your own work, it has to be kind of loose and and off the cuff. Well, I guess I would look |
| Jeff Garlin | at rock and roll people or jazz people that play that are also producers. How I play is not necessarily how I produce. It's how I direct my style in terms of for film or television. But stand-up, I have to respect whoever I'm talking to. I do that stuff so behind the scenes now. Not that I wasn't behind the scenes at four, but I did it with Dennis Leary and John Stewart and Larry David, which was curb. Um so I'm respected that way, but I'm more than happy anytime sitting in a club, someone says, Will you watch my set? I've had I actually one night, this is probably half a dozen years ago, uh, Jerry Seinfeld was coming here to play the Pantages, and I wrote him a note and I said, I want to come see you. He goes, come backstage, we'll say hello before. And I said hello. He goes, do me a favor. He goes, I never get this. Will you take notes on my set? And I did not many trust me but we sat backstage afterwards and talked about comedy for over two hours me myself him and uh Jerry and George Sapiro his manager who's the coolest guy and I could talk he talked that we talked about the differences between us and all sorts of stuff. Um and uh he actually suggested that I wear a suit on stage, which I had done, you know. I at that point I had been doing comedy more than 30 years. And as a matter of fact, next month it'll be 38 years that I've been doing stand-up. Um but I do now and by the way like my favorite all-time band is the Clash. I have uh I I I I love the blues, I love jazz. I but when I go up on stage as a comedian, there's something that feels so good and so right in wearing a suit. Now mind you, if I go work out at the improv or the comedy store, I'm gonna wear a t-shirt and jeans, no problem. But a show that matters, like my special on Netflix. Um, there's something about wearing a su not only a uh a suit, but having a nice watch. And by the way, my suits, the ones that I have that are really nice are made. Um is it Seville Row? Is that a Samville? Savile Row? Yeah. Yeah. Savable row. So were my shoes. I had shoes that were handmade. I had two suits and I picked one, the tie, all of it. And then I had I had a a a tag you or watch. Yeah. Yeah, tag hoyer. Yeah. Yeah, Tag Hoyer. No, it's not right. I didn't know. It's close. Come on. It's close. It's all right. I know, but you but you could have corrected me. I'm not going to give you a hard time. Tech tech Hoyer? Yeah. Hoyer. Hoyer. Yeah. Yeah. I had I have a that's my like my nicest watch. It's a dress watch. It's a black one like the Steve McQueen one. Oh yeah, yeah. The Monaco. Yeah. The Monaco. I but I have a I have a black Monaco that's m it's like a dress Monaco |
| Stephen Pulvirent | . Ugh that's a lot. I like uh one of the through lines I'm seeing is you know, whether it's music or photography or comedy or even just like getting yourself ready to do comedy, right? Like you seem to be interested in in process in a certain way and in craft, and and is that is that something you've always been aware of? Hold on. Now rem |
| Jeff Garlin | ember, I've been doing this 37 years. So the answer is no. It's not something. I'm a man. Okay? I'm gonna be 58 at the beginning of the month. I'm a man. I have learned I've aspired to those things and I have learned those things. But you also know, as you said, hey man, you go up and you improvise, you know, you you you off the cuff. Uh when I act, I learn my lines if they're not improvised. If I have that there's written thing, I learn my lines like Spencer Tracy and I don't bump into the furniture. So in terms of approach, that may sound like not much craft, but to get to that craft as an actor, that I can do that naturally, to get to the point where I can go up on stage as a stand-up and uh uh be able to be in the moment. Well, damn right I had to learn about process and craft. And what process and craft does is it frees you. It makes things very specific, but it also frees you. For example, when I go up, I learned a craft to doing what I do. But if it all falls apart, I have to rely on my craft to have a good set, that the audience has a good time, that I've accomplished something. They don't know, the audience doesn't know whether or not that's a great show or not. I mean, I've had people tell me great shows and I'm and I thank I say thank you. I'm not an asshole, but I do think to myself, well, that was okay at best. You know, and then other times I'm on fire and the audience stares at me. But that's a chemical thing with audiences. But even the craft of acting, I had to learn so much in order to be free enough to be a naturalistic actor. And so there's so much craft. And then that preparation with the craft. When I did David Letterman for the first time, I literally went to the clubs and did my six minutes every night, as many as I could. I'm in New York driving around who was I driving around with in a taxi who also was doing Letterman? Oh, he's a brilliant comedian. He passed away. Um he always had these really fun way of saying things. Um young guy died of heroin. I'm trying to think of his name. Bugging me. Oh, is it uh Mitch Mitch Hedberg? Mitch Hedberg. Yeah. So Mitch Hedberg and I, Mitch and I were never great friends. We knew each other, really liked each other. So before it was actually before his the night before his appearance, uh two nights before my appearance, he and I went around New York and did sets everywhere, each dinner six minutes, as many times as we could. I actually kept going. He actually stopped. I couldn't do it enough. Then the night of his appearance, after it was over, I stayed in the Ed Sullivan Theater and I went out on my mark and did my set. Okay? Did it in the dark. I didn't dark in the Ed Sullivan Theater. I did my set. Thank God for uh Zoe Friedman who was one of the producers who allowed me to do that, you know? And so when I did the spot, you would think I'm making it up. You would think, look how loose that guy is. I put my craft and my work into looking like I was riffing and I was grooving. And I had the best set of oh my God. I don't I don't think you can have a better set. It was a dream set. I'm so happy that I experienced that |
| Stephen Pulvirent | . So you you said you've been doing comedy stand up for thirty-eight years. When every thirty eight years in June, yes. Also acting all of them. Did acting come simultaneously with with doing that? No, acting actu |
| Jeff Garlin | ally came came before I was a I was a film and theater major in college. Well, I was a film major, but I took theater classes. Okay. And I knew like acting was a possibility and stuff. But once I auditioned, which was the week after my twentieth birthday for stand-up, it was over. Like even though I continued school and all that, it was like, no no no. This is it. But I knew when I was eight years old, my parents took me to a nightclub in Chicago and I saw Jimmy Durany perform. And um on the way home, I asked my parents if that was a job. I'm eight, mind you. They said yes. I said That's a pretty good question for an eight year old. Yeah, well I told him that's the job I want when they told me yes. And they laughed, not knowing that |
| Stephen Pulvirent | you know, that's what was gonna happen. So Curb has now been on for 20 years. So about half that, about half your career, right? |
| Jeff Garlin | Yeah, yeah, about half my career. But the thing about Curb is it's done, we've done 10 episodes in 20 years. |
| Stephen Pulvirent | Yeah. Right, which is in 20 years. I mean, I remember, you know, we we've talked about this before, but I I've been watching the whole time. My dad's a big comedy comedy fan. And you know, I remember I'm gonna date myself here as as being stupidly young, but uh when Curb first came on, it was a big deal that I was like allowed to watch this show with with my dad and and it's funny that through that and now still you know my wife and I'll throw old episodes on on a on a Friday night and have a bottle of wine. But it's funny how the show has has maintained certain things like there's certain things about the show that feel exactly the same, but the world is a completely different place and so much has changed. And I wonder how you guys navigate that and think about that. Producing a show for 20 years is no joke. Well, to tell you the truth, I |
| Jeff Garlin | don't think about stuff like that. I don't. Um we we only we only really thought about that to be really honest, one season the fatwa season when we've been off the air for so many and i know that the fellas larry and and and jeff schaefer who um jeff schaefer holds our show together.' Hes a miracle worker. He's a our director and directs most of the episodes. And he really holds the show together and a delight. And Larry's a delight. But I know that, I mean I'm being really frank here, we clashed a little on the Fatwa season because I felt that we were too conscious of our show. We were trying to it just a lot of it's great, but it just wasn't for me, which is ironic because this past season, before we even shot a word, I already knew it was gonna be my favorite season. I was like, wow, this is what I'm talking about. Yeah, you know, when Larry told me the idea and everything, I'm like, this is the most pure beautiful idea because everyone's gone into a store that they go to, restaurant store, and they're treated poorly, and you go, how the fuck are you treating me poorly like this now? And they're like, I wish I could get you. Well, Larry David opens a spite store. And to me, that was gold among gold. I was so happy with that. So in general, we don't think about that stuff. And I don't know years from now how if the um fatwa season um uh if if if uh season number nine, if that will not hold up or hold up. I don't know. Because I I also don't I don't try figuring out why I'm funny. I don't try figuring out why Larry's funny, why the show's funny, why I don't try figuring anything out except for making it through my life on a personal basis, through my writing, through my stand-up, through whatever it is I do, that journey is what's interesting going through it. But in terms of the work, I don't analyze. I don't analyze. I don't like it. It's just not it's not me. D and that's any aspect of work, including my photography. Like I told you, I I I just took pictures for joy and little did I know that people would go, Oh, I love that picture. It's all I don't I don't get caught. Like even my process for shooting is literally I look at something and I go, or someone, usually someone and I go, oh I want to take a shot of that. And all I care about, the only thing I'm thinking about is the framing. The feeling of wanting to take it, and then the framing to make sure the framing is the way I want it. Other than that, I'm not thinking of how the picture is going to turn out. I'm not thinking anything. As a matter of fact, even with digital photography, see a lot of people shoot I shoot film too. I love them. I touched my every camera's the MP. But when I shoot film, by the time I take it in and by the time it's developed the roles, it could be six months. Well, I don't go that extreme with it with SD cards, but no kidding around. With SD cards, I'll wait two to three weeks at least before I look at what I've shot digitally because that takes away the emotional connection to whatever photo I took. Yeah. Any emotional connection. 'Cause I want to eliminate that. Even so in even in photography I try and do that. I try and be as a human being and as an artist pure, like as pure as I can be. Yeah. And and be be humble. I'm very confident. I'm more confident in other skills that I have, you know, but um I I I like the I like the |
| Stephen Pulvirent | aspirations to be pure and humble. I I think you know as as we talk about this, I think it's interesting that you know we're we're talking about curb and and it flows pretty seamlessly into your your photography. And that's something I've noticed about a lot of your passions is they they tend to overlap and kind of cross with one another. So, you know, your your love of music and your love of photography, I know you're a big Jim Marshall fan. You know, your love of photographs. Jim Marshall's my my biggest inspiration for sure. Yeah, and and your love of photography and obviously filmmaking, you know, you produced the Vivian Meyer documentary a couple of years ago. You know, music and collecting, you collect guitars, like these things tend to kind of like overlap and and weave with one another. Is that something you're doing consciously at all, or is it just kind of a byproduct of your your process. I I'm just me |
| Jeff Garlin | and it's a byproduct of whatever my process is. Like I've already I already know how I'm going to play guitar in when I play guitar in my stand-up. Now, I won't be doing I mean I came to this realization and it kind of depressed me about a month ago. Not terribly because I've been okay without doing stand-up for the first time in my life, but that's because I was burnt out. I had filmed Goldberg's Curb Your Enthusiasm, put together my photo show, and uh prepped and shot a stand-up special all within like one year of complete work. So I was ready to take time. I was planning on taking time off anyhow. It's gone far longer than any of us wanted, but I'm well rested and I'm ready to do creative things. Um but I I I I have to say that everything that I do sort of I'm just true to me and if it interests me and makes me feel good, then I go with it, you know? No, that's that's perfect. Um we've also got to there's no conscious oh the music in my show. That's I knew that I I always know when I forget something. So what I'm going to do, and I don't care if anyone this is the only place I'm ever gonna talk about it. I'm not talking about because I'm a big fan of just doing stuff. But it's fun to just tell you and whoever your listeners are can be on the secret. If oh so there were two things. One is I came to the real realization about a month ago that I won't be doing stand-up for probably at least six months, maybe a year, because I cannot perform with people with masks that are sit separately. I understand that's how it has to be. So I'm not someone who goes against that. And I am aware of from now until the end of time, there's always going to be a few people everywhere you go who will be wearing masks. Just it's gonna be someone will be paranoid, someone will be ill. There's many different reasons. People were gonna be are gonna be, that's okay. And I'll never judge that or make fun of them. But for my style of comedy, I need a crowded room and I need to see people's faces and hear them laugh. So until that happens, I won't do stand-up. So I won't do stand up again until we're at that place. Which will be, but we just don't know when, but I'm comfortable with that. Um but when I do uh because I had my Netflix special like I'm due actually it won't be now till next summer. I'm due to do a t a tour of some sort. And when I do what I've decided to do for my next tour, whenever that is, I have plenty of time to learn. But I'm going to uh there's uh uh I'm gonna have on stage probably one of my favorite Lefender telecaster. Uh Gibsons are are don't take a beating. Like I said, they're works of art. They also don't take a beating. Whereas not Likers take a beating. Gibson's they're not super sensitive. You can travel, but but truly a fender is like a weapon. I mean idiot a telecaster, don't fight somebody with a telecaster, you're gonna lose. So anyhow, I'll have my telecaster uh on stage, little amp, and I'm gonna do my stand-up set. I'm never gonna refer to it. Even during Q |
| Stephen Pulvirent | I I love I love when you say that you your style of comedy requires being able to see people's faces and being able to interact with people and being in a crowded room. And I think that's something that in your photography we see how you do that on on a set. It's very clear from your photo. I mean I've never been on set with you. I've never seen you act in in you know with cameras. Uh but it's really clear that you're you're interacting with people. It's a very interactive thing. You're not up there on your own doing a monologue. You're you're playing off of people. You're interacting',re you're you kind of reading what's going on and you're engaged in it. It's kind of like I mean photography is kind of like a dance. |
| Jeff Garlin | Yeah. And either the person wants to dance or they don't want to dance. If they don't want to dance, you've got to catch them at the right time. And if they do want to dance, you've got to make sure that they don't go too crazy and embarrass you on the dance floor. I just want everyone around me to just be the way they are. But the advantage that I have. See, I used to want to be I used to want to be like Brisson, be this great uh uh street photographer. Well, I go out on the street, my head is gigantic, and a good portion of people are gonna know who I am. It's no good. Yeah, it doesn't work. When I'm on the set with I'll use Larry David as an example. Larry David, you know, he doesn't really love set photographers, doesn't hate him. He's okay but when I have my camera considering I have it all the time he's just calm he's not doing anything or showing me anything that's not uniquely 100% him. And I just take the pictures and it's he's got a comfort level, which most people who work with me have a comfort level because they know me. I'm friends with them. Or if I'm not friends, I'm their co-worker. It's not unusual. And it's um and I show everyone great respect. I don't get into their uh what their work I don't wanna catch see what I don't wanna get is what a behind the scenes photographer wants to get which is the scene from behind the scenes or the um or uh the process of like an actor getting ready or discussing I mean I've taken those pictures but I don't have much I want to just capture a moment that no one else will see. And not that I mean other people do see them preparing for a scene, an actress and and a director, what have you. But I want just this moment, this moment in time. And so funny, I you know, I was uh Christy Brinkley did an episode of the Goldbergs. Yeah. And I loved her, loved her. She is as sweet on the inside as she is beautiful on the outside. And she's just remarkable. And I had the best time with her. Well, whenever I pulled out my camera, she did something I've never seen before. She was Christy Brinkley. She'd move her head. She she was supermodel Christy Brinkley. And then I it occurred to me after I'd looked at the pictures and taken all the pictures, that's her place of comfort. You know, that's where that's when the camera's up, that's who she is. Yeah. And and that was one hundred percent unique for her. And I have a picture for her on the old uh uh um because the episode we were filming the uh National Lampoons Vacation, the red car. Oh yeah that she drove in the movie. We'll have her on the front road and the way she's looking is almost like a pose, but that's her being natural. Very natural. So anytime we were near a fan, man, I pull out the camera where other people aren't even noticing, she starts using the fan to blow her hair. It was like, but that was her in a natural, it sounds like almost like I'm doing like uh a national geography. That's her natural setting. Yeah, right. But that's what it is. That's where she's comfortable. And I was happy capturing her where she was most happy and comfortable. That' |
| Stephen Pulvirent | s awesome. Um Yeah. So so you're you know, before we wrap things up, there's there's a couple things I want to make sure we cover. You know, you we talked about what your collecting sort of like ethos is uh and you and your process of collecting, but I wonder, you know, you you said you collect guitars, you collect watches to a lesser extent, cameras. What are sort of, you know, in your various categories, what what are sort of the dream things that you're still still searching for? The things that keep you kind of motivated to keep searching? Okay. Well, uh I can do um |
| Jeff Garlin | see there's not much look baseball cards, I love old Chicago Cubs, I love Sandy Koufax, I love Hank Aaron. So for me, buying it's not as much, although prior to the whole Jordan piece thing that was on TV, I actually said, screw it, I'm gonna get a Michael Jordan rookie card. I bought a Michael Jordan rookie card, Mint. It went up from I don't even know what it is now, but it went up $3,000 in only a few weeks. And but that one is not one that I because I lived through that in Chicago, that's all good. That it went up, but I'm not. I have other cards and other guitars and stuff that are worth more that emotionally I'm cool with selling. But my dream guitar I already own. That's a 1953 Fender Telecaster, a blackguard. Um Gibson's making me a copy of the ES335 uh guitar that Eric Clapton played uh for a thing that I hosted them for them. So I'm I'm excited about that. I have uh behind me here here. I'm gonna does it do the reverse thing here? Yeah. All right, hold on. In my room here, right over there, that guitar, uh Buddy Guy uh signed that for me at it at his club legends. We had a great I mean I I I'm not friends with Buddy Guy, but I know him and he told me I expect you to play that. So and he signed it. And so that I treasure. As far as watches, I have that beautiful tag viewer. But for me, for me, I want to get some Rolexes, old Rolexes. That's that's like, do I want a goal? Yeah, that's a goal. And I happen to have a great friend that um uh collects them and has them, he'd he'd be very helpful. Um yeah, I I I w I want like the best in in uh um some submariner yeah you know what we can we we can have there. |
| Stephen Pulvirent | Oh really? Yeah, well we'll uh we'll I'll help you find something good. Oh really we'll talk after we turn the mics off and I'll I'll help you find something. Oh look at you and your good looks. Yeah. |
| Jeff Garlin | Wow. And and to me, by the way, one of the things about watches that I love is not just buying them randomly because I doing well, you know, um, but I like to say I like to celebrate by buying a watch. A watch to me is of all the collectibles. I bought that watch when I you know, when I filmed this, when I sold this, when I met her, or whatever. I love that about watches. So you can tie in something beautiful with something beautiful. Yeah. Um yeah, and my cameras, I I now am 100% in the I got rid of my last Leica M4, which was my favorite all-time one, because I I don't like using a um light meter in my hand. I like that it's built in the camera because everything else is manual. So um I don't collect uh cameras anymore. I mean the Hodinki one is kind of a collectible. It is a collectible but it's more a tool that I'm using. Okay. So for me, it's all about tools. Same with if I get a Rolex. Um it's gotta be, it's gotta work. Yeah. And it's gotta serve the purpose of what I'm wearing it for. Yeah. And I'm not wearing it for people to come over and look at. I'm wearing because it'll look good with what I'm wearing. It'll serve the purpose of what I'm doing. Like I wouldn't want on my wrist a little watch where I can't really read the hands without looking at it on stage because I want to be able to look at it |
| Stephen Pulvirent | . Yeah. Um yeah. Cool. Well I we we do a little uh questionnaire usually to wrap things up. So I'm gonna ask you a couple uh quickfire questions and then uh we'll give people some directions on what they can go check out of yours after uh after they're done listening. So uh Okay. I guess the first the first question would be are there any watches that have caught your eye recently? Anything you've sort of noticed and been interested in oh yes it was |
| Jeff Garlin | it was beautiful it was a anniversary of some sort and I may have seen it in the new Hodinki magazine. I don't remember what it is offhand. Um yes, |
| Stephen Pulvirent | but yes. Always. Yeah. Uh what's the best place you traveled in the last year |
| Jeff Garlin | ? Hmm. Did I travel in the last year? That's the question. Um I traveled all over uh I didn't do a lot of traveling this past year compared. Always my favorite place to go is New York or London. I love living in Los Angeles. I love Chicago because that's where I'm from. But New York and London are my two favorites. I obvious I love going to Paris. I love going to any I mean, with my photo show, what I'm hoping is because I know the next showing of the show I just did in Los Angeles is going to be in Chicago, then I believe Boston, maybe Miami, but I want to go to Europe with it too. Yeah. I want to go to Germany. I want to go to France. Like I wanna go all over with it. So that'd be great. I um yeah. Cool. But specifically maybe my bed was the most interesting place I visited. Uh what's your uh what's your guilty pleasure? I have no guilty pleasures. For example, I don't eat sugar, so there's no pleasure in that. Um I guess all right. If there was a guilty pleasure, it's watching um mediocre action movies. Okay. Bad action movies, unless they're horrible and they're funny, not fun. But I'll enjoy a good mediocre action movie. Not even good, I'll enjoy. Uh that would be a guilty pleasure because I'd rather be doing something more productive. My favorite thing to watch is English procedurals. I love any English move English TV show that you know is based on a cop or a detective figuring out just the way the English do it, I love it. Love it. Perfect. So but that's not a guilty pleasure. That's I've like studied all of them. And I my next TV show that I'm gonna do for me, I'm gonna be a a a detective. I've got one which it may be along that line is called Handsome. It's on Netflix, a movie that I made. Gre |
| Stephen Pulvirent | at. Uh what's the what's the best piece of advice you've ever been given and who gave it to you? H |
| Jeff Garlin | mm Well uh I've made up here's the thing it's gonna sound so egotistical. I've made up some that I'm very proud of. Uh like I tell my children, I tell my well that's not what I'm gonna do. Uh but I tell my children take what you do seriously, don't take yourself seriously. That's one that I'm very proud of, per se. And someone else I'm sure throughout mankind has said that. But my father don't believe the hype. My dad was a big believer in not believing the hype. Don't think you're great. As a guy who just quoted himself for the best advice. But my dad said, Don't believe the hype. Do not. Great. So I I don't. I don't believe the hype. Great. Uh and that makes me every time I do something like this, I'm honored to be here, even though we're separate and we're not even the same room. I'm honored to be on with you. I'm honored that you wanted to spend even a minute with me. And I thank |
| Stephen Pulvirent | you. Yeah, thank you. I mean this is this is a ton of fun for me. I'm uh I'm very happy to be here too. So uh all right the last thing I'm gonna ask you actually I'm gonna I'm gonna ask you two more. The last standard question is uh what did you have a cultural recommendation, a T V show, a book, a movie, something you recommend people go check out? Something you've really enjoyed lately |
| Jeff Garlin | ? Well, I'll just come up with something that I really enjoyed lately, like just randomly. A movie called Arkansas, which is on pay-per-view, uh, which I just |
| Stephen Pulvirent | adored. I loved it. Arkansas. So there you go. Great. And then the last question I'm going to ask you is is a special one because I know you're a Chicago guy. And as somebody who's lived in Chicago, I feel like this is an an appropriate question. Do you have a favorite dive bar in Chicago? Oh, well that's interesting. Well, first off |
| Jeff Garlin | , yes and no. Me uh I don't drink. Okay. Well actually I shouldn't say that. I have probably two to three beers a year. Okay. I have two to three glasses of wine a year. I swear it just and these are not things I even plan for. They come up, whatever. And I only had this past year, no exaggeration, my first cocktail. Okay. So um but in terms of dive bar, uh there's only one in Chicago that is the real deal. And it's been there since the fifties. To me, I'm talking about for someone, a comedic person, and that's called the Old Town Alehouse in Old in Old Town in Chicago. It's on uh it's on um uh North Avenue uh near Wells Street right by Second City in Zanies. Um and I'll find myself when I go back to Chicago, even though I'm not a drinker, I'll find myself at least once at the old town alehouse. That is the best quote dive bar in Chicago to me. Perfe |
| Stephen Pulvirent | ct. Great. Well then the the last thing I want to do is is we'll do a little bit of log rolling. Um, you know, uh people people should go check out your special on Netflix, which we've talked about. It's our man in Chicago. Uh fantastic. Um they should go watch the latest season of Curb, uh, which is available digitally on every one of HBO's like nine million platforms that they have now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's gone all over now. Yeah. Yeah. Uh and then the last thing I want people to know about is that they can get uh prints of your photos through like a gallery LA and your side of the proceeds go to your charity, which is fuck cancer, right |
| Jeff Garlin | ? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Um yes, to fuck cancer, which makes me I'm on the board. I have a board meeting tomorrow. Amazing for fuck cancer. It's fun to say I have a fuck cancer board meeting. Um but I also want to say, because I just built this with I have a marketing person. I have a website, JeffGarland.com, and you can sign up on there. Just put your email in, and I'll write once a month. The first one's coming out this June. Great. Um, next week, actually. I'm sending out my first like letter of what's going on and what you can look forward to and so if you dig me everything's at jeffgarland |
| Stephen Pulvirent | .com. Perfect. We'll uh we'll link that up in the show notes so people can can go right there. They can just click right through. Thank you. Awesome, Jeff. This was great, Jeff. I really appreciate it. I'm glad we were able to connect and uh we'll have to do this again soon. We will. We have no choice. Awesome. Thanks, Jeff. Have a good one. Thank you., too Thanks. This week's episode was recorded remotely by Thank you for listening and we'll see you next week. |