Mark Price on Hollywood past and present

I'm Vic Cohen and it's a fair question. It's a fair question. It's a fair question. I'm Vic Cohen and it's a fair question. It's a fair, it's a fair, it's a fair, it's a fair question. I'm Vic Cohen and it's a fair, it's a fair, it's a fair, it's a fair quest, quest, quest. Hello, this is Vic Cohen broadcasting once again live. Yes, this is totally live. It's very exciting. From Skid Row Studios in historic, glamorous downtown Los Angeles. The name of the show is It's a Fair Question because on this show, every question is a fair question. That's right. There's absolutely no question that is ever too personal or ever off limits. And tonight, oh, I have some very personal questions for our guest. He's actually a very good friend of mine, and he'd probably be a friend of yours too, like if you've watched Family Ties ever, either in its original form in the 80s or maybe in reruns, you're going to know this guy. He's kind of famous from that show and from a lot of other stuff he's done since. He's a great guy, and he's known as Skippy from the show. His name is Mark Price. Hello. I don't want to say I was enjoying the dance music we were listening to first more. Yes. Could you put it in one ear or something? Yes. It kind of got me into a groove. No, we can't. Which you immediately removed me from with my credits from 20 years ago. Looking at you dancing is not fun. Did my man boob shake a little? Yes, everything was shaking. Your man vagina was as well. I don't even know what that means, but a lot was going on. So how have you been, Mark? Speaking of man vaginas. Yes, speaking of man vaginas. This is the last show. We were just falling into the section. It was on before us. That's true. Now, a lot of people have not seen you since 1989, and I know there was an Amber Alert out. Did you get them on your phone? They send those out on your phones now. Yes, so please put us at ease. What has been going on? Where has Mark Skippy priced them? I look the same thanks to Just For Men. You know what? The truth is you do look the same. I'm looking at them now, and the childlike essence is still there. They call the product Just For Men, but really nobody wears it for other guys. They should call it Just Together. I'm looking at it late. Just For Men? Yeah, just for pussy. What is Just For Men? It's the hair coloring, right? That's correct. It takes the gray, but you wouldn't have to know about that. You don't have any gray hair. I do on my chest. Do you? Yeah, and every now and then I'll catch one in my ear. Just one? Yeah, and that's upsetting. The lone gray hair? It's an insult to injury when the only hair you have starts turning gray. It's uncomfortable. You know you're getting old when you're at the barber and they go, should I get your ears and nose and eyebrows? No, I do that myself. I do that myself. It's a hobby. You know you're getting old when it's a hobby. But you have your full head of hair. I'm fortunate. I was ruined by my father in many ways, but he managed to give me the full head of hair. And I'm appreciative. Let's just get right down to the chase here, okay? I don't even know why you're here. I don't know why you're doing this because in my mind, you should be filthy rich. You were on a hit sitcom in the 80s with Michael J. Fox, Justine Bateman, and then The Parents. And as far as in my head, and probably many of you listening, I'm sure this is in your head, Mark Price is just living on the high on the hog. 80s sitcom. Well, I can't complain. You did well. I mean, you must have done very well. Are you kidding? I've lived one of the greatest lives imaginable. I mean, that was the height. It's the future I'm worried about. The past has been sensational. Well, you know, a lot of people would, I would say, kill to have your life. To have my future? No. Or my past. No, to have your life. I believe that is true. I believe even today, my life just today, you know, let alone 20 years ago. Right. Well, this is the truth is I am- I've got one of the great lives. You do. And it's true when I said at the top, I wasn't trying to be all like that Hollywood fake show business thing good friend. But we are good friends. We are. And I did pick Mark up today. And he was a little bit uptight. I picked him up. He's up from his beautiful- He has a, let's say, a beautiful view. An estate. An estate. I mean, it really is gorgeous where you do live. Thank you. I mean, it's fantastic. It's probably the prettiest view I've seen in Los Angeles. It's up there. I like to say that I've got Madonna Beat. Who was the famous producer that had the biggest house ever in LA? Oh, it was- Aaron Spelling. Right, yeah. I've got Aaron Spelling's Beat. I've been saying this for a long time. I sourced references from 20 years ago. But yeah, I don't think anybody- I don't think there's anyone else. I don't think Ashton Kutcher. I don't think anyone in Hollywood has a better view than I do. No, it's incredible. Now, is that where the family ties money is? Is it very- Literally. Yeah, I mean- I don't mean there's a briefcase of money in the dirt. I mean, the dirt itself is the money. Right. I mean, you were a young kid when you were on that show. You were about, what, 14 to- Well, you became a man, really. Weren't you like 14 to 20? Yeah. Years old? That's right. I was kind of like my bar mitzvah. Yeah, what a bar mitzvah. You did become a man. But that must have been challenging growing up in Hollywood like that. Yeah. Michael- You're setting me up for- What? Michael Jackson never touched me. It's okay. I grew up in the 80s in Hollywood. Are you talking about the radio announcer Michael Jackson? Yes, the radio announcer Michael Jackson never touched me. There is one out here locally. That was more of a local reference. But a lot of my 80s child star friends aren't as lucky. Because they're dead. I went to a party recently and it wasn't a party. It was a seance. Yeah. Yeah, it's a good joke. But it's the truth, right? Many of them are dead and that's not funny, of course. I never pick on them or feel like, you know, I actually feel sorry for anybody that was popular in showbiz or whatever that's got serious life problems because I relate. Well, let me ask you this. Were you a virgin when you started that show? Yes. Family Ties? And I'm assuming you still are. Yes. No, but you started as a- Virgin from having an actual relationship with a girl? Yes. Okay, so would you say that that show got you laid? No doubt. Okay. A lot. And tell me the first person who that was or the circumstances. I don't kiss and tell, but- No, the circumstances. Well, I don't- And honestly, I don't remember the first- Well, I definitely don't want to hear about the last. I remember the first time I got laid, but I don't remember it being Family Ties related. Actually, come to think of it, you know, I hadn't really- I'd only done like one episode. I'd only done one episode of Family Ties the first time I got laid, now that you mention it. Really? Yeah. So it had nothing to do with that at all? It really didn't. No, I swear. But once that show became a hit- Yes, once it became a hit, I was known as Michael J. Fox's friend on a hit show. It was like 1987 or whatever. Perfectly timed. I'm like 16, 17 years old by that point, you know? Right. I mean, is there a possibility there are little Skippies running around? No. You were very diligent? I was very careful to make sure that there's- Right, but you were telling me about that one woman with the condom. What was that? Well, she was pretty crazy. I had a girlfriend. She was- She was an ex, you know, and they can be crazy, those crazy exes. And she would take a needle and poke holes in my condom while I was wearing it. Oh. I like that joking clubs gets a wrestling response. I love it, but- Oh! Well, I always say, right what you know, and I kind of believe that. I don't even, you know- I don't want to say it's been a while, but my emergency condom has made a permanent ring in my Illuma wallet. Well, let's- What was it like in the 80s? By the way, it turns out that if I let myself go to my own, like without editing, and I just do my favorite jokes, like if I'm cut down, they go, do 10 minutes. And for my whole one hour show, I just pick my favorite jokes. They are all jokes about not getting laid. Yeah. Like 10 minutes. Like I say, right what you know. Right what you know. And trust me, it's not going to happen tonight. And it goes from funny to sad. I actually have to edit some of them out, so it's not just 10 minutes of that. Anyway. Well, what was it like? I mean, were you getting- Women and teenage girls, I would assume. I was a teenager too before- Right, yeah. Before someone calls the police. So what was going on? Were you, like, I mean, what was that like exactly? I'm trying to get my head around it. Because I was just into, the best I could do is, you know, maybe a hustler, you know, a magazine, but you were out there doing the real thing. Yeah, I don't want to sell myself as too much of a playboy though. Well, I did fine. I can't complain. I was still, you know, the nerdy kid. Like I lusted after the girl on the show and she rejected me. Justine Bateman? Yeah, we kind of played like our characters in real life. Did you ever kiss her? Not in real life. On the show, they had an episode or whatever, but I did go out a couple of times. Didn't really turn into much, but with the beautiful girl from the Cosby show. Which one? There were many. Lisa Bonet. Did you make out with her? We don't kiss and tell around here. Did you Bonet Bonet? No. Did you Bonet Bonet? No, answer the question, please. Did you Bonet Bonet? I wish I, I should just say no. You didn't? Did you try to Bonet Bonet? Yes. You tried to Bonet Bonet? I'm just going to keep saying that for the entire hour. What did that look like? I mean, when you say you tried to Bonet Bonet, what was it like? No, it's a fair question. I mean, were you on a date or did you just corner her somewhere? We actually went to a wedding together at one point. Oh, that's romantic. I know. Usually it's not the guy who gets amorous, you know. It's usually the girl at the wedding? Yeah, yeah. Were you like, maybe we should do this? Did you say that? I think it was implied. Whose wedding? Was it a Hollywood wedding? It was a Hollywood, it was in Brooklyn or New York somewhere. That is New York. You're great with geography. But it was. It was a Hollywood, it was a very Hollywood wedding. Whose wedding was it? And they're still together, which is great because I've been to a couple of weddings and they're not together anymore. Who was who? And I feel. But who was this, whose wedding was this? One of the producer writers from Family Ties, who's now a big shot director and stuff, directs movies with Sandra Bullock and stuff like that. Okay, so. And writes them. Now, did you ever make love in your dressing room when you were on Family Ties? I'm curious, I'm curious. It doesn't matter now. It's old news, so. I was. I went to school on the set, so I actually, my dressing room was my school room. Right. I'm not quite sure how this ties into whether you had sex in your dressing room. Well, you can't have sex in your school room, kid. Well. Well, with your teacher, with my French tutor, actually. Oh, really? And your French is beautiful. She did a great job. I don't know a word of French. Just to give you an idea of how that works. Yeah, how does that work with your teacher in the room? Okay, you have two choices. When you're a kid on the school set, you have two choices. You can totally get into it, read, and become a great student, like go to Harvard or get accepted to Harvard. Yeah. And I'm assuming you took. I took the second route. I didn't finish my GED. You didn't even get the G. I just would look at scripts all day and stuff, and I was into the jokes, and I would study the comedy. Comedy was my school. Right. Well, how do you, do you feel you missed out on kind of a foundational type growing up period? Like normal high school kind of thing? Well, yeah, like, I know your dad is a very famous comic. He was on the Ed Sullivan show. From the old, old school. So very famous. He was a very famous comic. He was one of the greatest comic artists amongst our grandfather's parents. Right. Different generation. And I know that's where you kind of got your, it was in the blood, right? Would you say that's true? I would say I was born into the business. My mom was a singer, and my dad was a comic, and they would take me out on stage. I was a cheap device for applause. That's how I began. Oh, that's cool. As a baby, yeah. You get hooked. Yeah, so you were a prop. I was. We need a hook in our act. Let's do this. So, I was a hook. So, your dad, Al, was the first name. Last name's Bernie? Two first names, correct. Because they had to have a stage name in those days. His real name was Al Price. And usually they changed your name so you'd sound less Jewish. Right, but Price doesn't sound Jewish. But in his case, he went, he became Al Bernie. That's more Jewish. He actually went more Jewish. Yeah. I don't get that. Rumor has it, lure, if you will, in our family that his mom, my grandmother, who I never met, changed his name from Al. Price to Al Bernie. So, he didn't have the same name as my grandfather because they had like an early divorce, by the way. Like, before divorce was fashionable. Who had the divorce? My grandparents. Really? Now, speaking of divorces, weren't you emancipated as a child? Yeah, I divorced my parents. My parents got divorced. My grandparents were the first people in America to get divorced. How old were you? By the way, did they even have divorces back then? And what is back then? I don't even know. The 30s? I don't know. When they got divorced. Oh, I think they did. Yeah. And your grandparents. Yeah. Yeah. Your grandparents might have been pioneers in that area. They were hating each other. Well, what happened? How old were you when this divorce happened between you and your parents? Maybe, well, they fought from two to nine. Over you? No, they fought for me from nine to 12. Oh, they fought with each other. Okay. They fought with each other from the age of two to nine. But they did fight over me. It was Kramer versus Kramer. Really? Very much as that movie came out. I'm amazed anyone would fight for you. I'm just kidding. That's so cool. But now imagine. But when your parents. But now imagine you've got your mom on one coast who's remarried to a doctor, right? Your stepfather's a doctor and she wants you to become a doctor or a lawyer and go to college. And I should have listened. How old are you? I should have listened to her. How old are you? I'm 12, 13 years old. Living out in Los Angeles? Not yet, but that's the idea. I've got my two options. Okay. Stay with my mom, go to college, have a career, have a life, have a family. Right. Do the right thing. Okay. Or move to Hollywood and hang out at the comedy store and become a comedian and get on TV. And we know which one you chose. Was there any question? Come on. Who would choose anything but that? Right. Don't even live with your parents. Get emancipated. Move out. Who's with roommates when you're 16? Come on. So when you were 12 and you moved to Los Angeles, where was your dad living, Al? Where was he? He was out here. He had just removed out west, yes. And he had a little apartment. Get right on that mic, Mark. Really tight. You can twist it. You can twist it around. I want to make sure we get all of you. So yeah. That would be the anal part of Vic actually where that we're not picking up. No, that sounds better. Actually, it does. I totally hear a difference. So where were you? Okay. Maybe it's a little in. Your sound guy doesn't even wear earphones. Yeah. Your sound guy's not even listening. No, our sound guy is actually deaf. A lot of people don't know that. Jeremy cannot hear. Yeah. It's a beautiful story. Actually, how he could be like the engineer, producer, whatever. No, can't hear a word. It's crazy. Can't see either. Yeah. It's a beautiful story. It's going to be made for TV movies. I'm going to make a movie about it one day. It's just going to be called Jeremy. All right. So let's get back to you. Isn't that a famous song? No. And by the way, I'm just joking. You can't hear very well. I was just joking. But Mark. What's the... Okay. Well, hold on. What's the reference? Mark has a very short attention span. Then add something to Pearl Jam. Thank you. Pearl Jam, Jeremy song. Let's get back to you. Okay. 12 years old. I'm at Pearl Jam. Where was your dad living in Los Angeles? Near the improv on North King's Road near the Mayfair Market. Yeah. I don't know. In an apartment? In a building that I think Jerry Seinfeld had an apartment in and stuff like that. One bedroom? Yeah. In the 80s? Early 80s. That was the first time I came to town. He was still alone, but he met my stepmom and they got married pretty quickly after that. And that was a great thing because she was pretty cool. And where did they... Did they move and get a house or something? I miss them both very much. And they got a place on the west side over by the Mormon Temple over by Westwood, which became my home. Yeah. Okay. And so what? Like a three bedroom, two bedroom? Two bedroom, but very... It was a very beautiful neighborhood. I remember my walk to school compared to New... Well, New Jersey was a pretty beautiful neighborhood too. So I have just... I just lucked out. We just had... Like the walk to school was like unbelievably pretty. So you had... Trees along the streets. You had incredible love in that family. You're 12 years old, 13, something like that. Did you have a bar mitzvah? I did. You did? I did not know that. Really? Let me hear a little bit of Hebrew. Maury Amsterdam was there. Was he really? I love that. Maury Amsterdam, for those of you who don't know, is probably most famous for the Dick Van Dyke show. He was one of the writers, the short Jewish guy, always with the, they say wisecracks, I guess would be the right term for that. It's funny you should refer to him as the short Jewish guy because they made the original Dick Van Dyke pilot without Dick Van Dyke. Did you know that? Carl Reiner played the star in the original pilot. Wow. Make Room for Daddy. Wow. And the network came back and said, we really like it, but it's too Jewish. I'm serious. And Carl Reiner had the foresight to remove himself mostly. I'm sorry. He replaced himself with Dick Van Dyke. That's a great story. Very interesting. See, that scolding in the studio did pay off. This is what you learn, stuff like that. That was good. Good factoid. I used to watch, I used to sit in the booth. Like that. The booth where? At the Family Ties show when they would direct the shows and watch the monitors and watch the director at action. And then I'd go sit under the window where the writers would do their rewrites and they'd be punching things up and stuff. You just loved it. I did. I ate it up, all the whole studio thing. Just walking around and watching, you know. Fun, right? Cheers and the different shows. Oh, it was on that lot? Yeah, we had, well, a friend of mine had keys to everything. Right? He was the guard. He was a guard, like a renegade guard. Okay. And he got the night shift at one point. Okay. And we would just ride bikes around the lot and he had keys to everything. Which lot was this? Paramount Studios. Okay. So is there a tour there? I can't remember. They might have little tours during the days, but I had the ultimate tour at night with my friend, the guard. Right. So for you, this wasn't like work. It was play. Truly. Now, I've had the opportunity, when I've had some auditions, you'll run lines with me. And I have to say, I think you are a great actor. I mean, you just really are natural. Don't you feel you are? I appreciate that. It's the truth. I think you really are good. And you must have a photographic... In order to be a good actor, I think you have to act. Well, you have a natural ability. Other than running lines with you, I don't think I've done that in the last 20 years. Well, I appreciate the self-deprecation, but the truth is you are a very good actor. And I can tell when I'm running lines with someone whether they can act or not. And the other thing I was really blown away by is how quickly you remembered your lines. I'm the guy doing the audition. You're just running lines with me and you pretty much had it down like nothing. Do you have a photographic memory? Not about other things, but when it comes to scripts and stuff, I'm not the best at it, but it doesn't scare me. I could take a script and learn it. People go, oh, could you do that play or whatever? How did you... What was your... What was your training like as an actor? Did you ever take classes before you got Family Ties? I'm trying to remember. It was before? Yeah, I guess it was before. Huh? Because right when I came out here, you know, my dad had cool friends, right? Because he'd been in show business a lot of years. Okay, so now's the time to do the... Well, let's do some name dropping. Okay, so like... His cool friends were... Well, like the grumpy... Well, Maury Amsterdam was at my apartment. But do you really know... Did you know Maury? Maury Amsterdam was like my uncle. Whatever. He'd come over and hang out and stuff. Was he funny in real life or was he serious? Actually, all those guys were really funny, yeah. Was it always a joke or did he have a serious side to him? I'm sure they all had serious side, but I didn't see that side. I saw the Friars Club and telling jokes and lunch. And they'd hang out in Brentwood at the place? At your dad's place? No, it was... Well, yeah, it was Westwood, but also the Friars Club out West and then there was the New York Friars Club, which was famous. Friars Club, for those of you who don't know, is a particular club that was comedy-based, comedy-oriented. All the members were comedians. Well, actually, all the members, all the paying members were doctors and lawyers and rich people. Who liked to hang out with comics? Exactly. Okay, but you had Milton Berle was I think one of the last presidents, I think. Yeah, yeah, he was like, you know... Or heads or whatever. Big shot kind of guy. Right, I don't know if they're... I think the LA one isn't as healthy or it may not even be around. I don't think it's there anymore. I think New York's might be. Oh, yeah, the New York one is still there. New York might never go away because it's a classic piece of history. So you would go to the Friars Club? You would hang out there? That's correct. You would run around like a kid? They had a bar, right? You go to events? Nobody would ever work out, but they had like a spa and you would like sit in the steam room and there was a guy would dry you off when you got out of the steam room. No, Mark, there was never a guy who did that. You were just 12 and taken advantage of. No, there was a guy who would actually dry all the guys off. And there was a napping room. Like there was a workout room, but nobody ever even opened that door. That door never even... Nobody even considered working out. But the napping room was very popular. Yeah, they'd wrap you up and shut you down. And it was the perfect temperature and the TV was playing. It was great. So do you remember any comics or A-listers in that wrapping room? The old school guys, but the young guys would show up there too a little bit. But I remember, you know, Milton Berle and George Burns and Jackie Mason. These were some of the great guys. Did they know you by name? They knew me as Al Burney's kid. You're Burney's kid. Okay. Never went for a skippy with one of those guys. How about Henny Youngman? Was he ever around? He was around that whole circuit or world. I don't remember, but I remember him personally. Henny Youngman, if you're not familiar with him, his most classic... If you're not familiar with him. Well, there are some who aren't. I know. There's a whole world of people who are. Yeah, he's a comic. Ooh, the violin. And he'd have some stuff around that on stage. And he also... His famous line is, you know, take my wife, please. I like the way you play that. You actually timed it and gave a different emotion on the please. He didn't even do it. He didn't even sell it. He just says, take my wife, please. Take my wife, please. Yes, that's true. Well, so why did you... You have this... You have this great life with your dad. He's probably on the road a lot, so you're with your stepmom, correct? Sadly for her, I was. I left with her quite a bit, which drove her crazy. Because you're rambunctious? Because I was out of control. I was a teenager, comedy business, and I just wanted to do... I didn't want to go to bed. I didn't want to wake up and go to school. I played hooky all the time. I wasn't, you know, like... I didn't have a gun. I wasn't a gang. I wasn't doing anything, you know. Yeah. I guess technically playing hooky is illegal, but I wasn't like a crime guy or a... I wasn't a drug guy, but I was a typical teenager in Hollywood who figured out how to not go to school. But why would you want to get emancipated when you've got such a cushy life? You loved your stepmother. You loved your dad. You're hanging out with all these comedians who are... That benefited me when I moved out on my own as a young teenager because you could sign a lease or whatever. You know, you didn't have to be an adult. You could actually rent a place at 15, 16 years old, which is what I did. But the original reason for getting emancipated was to not have to have a guardian on the set all the time to save the money of having to hire somebody to be there all the time with me. So somebody could just drop me off and pick me up, but I didn't have to have like a person there all the time. Because you were considered an adult? Correct. So whose decision was that? Your parents were good with that? Yeah. Now I'm an adult. I'm not even considered an adult anymore. I know. But so you're... Is there some sort of reverse emancipation? Can I go in there now and say, okay, look, I'm an adult, but I've... But how did your... Why... Why would your dad and your stepmom or even your biological mother in the East Coast, why would they agree to this? Because it seemed like a good idea at the time. Even to them? Everybody did not have to... Well, my mom, not my mom. She didn't want me to be in show business at all. But my dad and my stepmom felt like to hire somebody to be there with me, it was a lot of time on the set. You know, that was an expensive endeavor and there was nothing... They weren't doing anything. They were just people... I was being watched by the show. Weren't you being schooled? Wasn't that a teacher doing that? And there was a school... Oh, there was additional. You had to pay for an additional, technically, to be your guardian on the set. So this was... But once you're emancipated, were you still living at home even though you were technically emancipated? For a few minutes. Then I... Once I was emancipated, it was hard to keep me home. Did they know that that was going to happen? I don't think we realized that was going to happen. And you said there's nothing you can do about it? Well, I said, if you want to live under my roof... Did you really say that? No, no, no, no. You're going to have to do what I say. I think what happened was is that I took off and it didn't... It freaked out my stepmom completely. She was a very loving mom and wanted me to... Much like my real mom wanted me to go to college and have a wife and a career and all kinds of... Not too late, Mark. ...good things. Right. But my dad had been through comedy and the... My dad was much older, so he grew up in the 30s and 40s and stuff. And it just was no big deal to him at all. He was on his own when he was a teenager. So he didn't... I think twice about it. And your mom, your biological mom on the East Coast... Hated it. But why did she sign off on it? She didn't. So it happened anyways? Yeah. Somehow they got around it? She didn't have to sign off on it, I guess. Wow. Was that always a problem later in life? Did she hold that against your dad, Al? Or... Yeah. This emancipation thing? Not the emancipation thing, but the whole idea of holding up a Hollywood option for a youngster who... Hmm. Who was going to school and living in suburban New Jersey and pretty much on a normal track. So when you were emancipated... Because how could she compete? Right. It's very sexy and fun for a boy, young man. Literally. Have you been to Hollywood lately? Yes. It blows away... A trip to Ralph's supermarket blows away the best strip club in New Jersey. Or that coffee bean, although they weren't there then. That coffee bean on Sunset in Crescent Heights is quite a show. Or any Whole Foods. We could go on and on. Forget the tours. Sure. These are the secret places if you're visiting Los Angeles you need to go to. It's much more interesting than the tours. So you end up... Who were your first roommates? When I go to the supermarket, it's the only time I'll ever walk down the aisle with a supermodel. I had a joke like that. Yeah. Okay. Well, they're not all winners, folks. You're getting a look inside the process. It's very exciting. They can't all be gems. No, they can't. So who was your first roommate as this emancipated young man you were at that time? And how old were you? You were like 14 when you moved out? No, I was at least 15. Okay. So who did you first live with? Honestly, my first roommate was... He was like 19, right? His name was Peter Tompkins. He's a young actor. A stand-up comic? He wasn't a comic. He was just an actor. And he did like a Skittles commercial and stuff. He was actually really cool. I looked him up on Facebook recently. I didn't see him, but I wouldn't mind touching base with him again. You're looking for a roommate. You guys could relive the big circle. We're probably moving to the same place. We were on Sunset Boulevard right across the street. Across from the Central, which became Johnny Depp's nightclub, whatever that's called now. I don't even know where that is. So like rock and rolls? By the way, I only know the nightclubs from what they were in the 80s. I'm like, hey, want to go to the old Carlos and Charlie's? Let's go. Let's go to the new thing, wherever the hell that was. Okay. So you're living with this guy Tompkins. Was he a normal guy? He was an actor too. How'd you end up hooking up with him as a roommate? He was 19. He was 19. It made sense that he was going to get a place and I needed a place and it just kind of worked out. Okay. Okay. So do you ever look back and regret? But right after that, I moved in with the comedians. You know, that was the next book. Oh, really? Comedy store guys. And who were you living with then? Well, the Todd, Todd Lemish, who was good friends. Why do you call him the Todd? That was his name. That was his stage name, the Todd. Okay. So we used to call him the Todd. Okay. Great spirit, great energy, wonderfully warm and funny and just so nice to me. Oh my God. He was so supportive and cool. And then he introduced me to the gang at the time, which was unbelievably tempting. Talented people, most famously Sam Kinison, Freddie Asparagus. A lot of people don't know him and he's no longer with us. I remember Freddie Broccoli. You remember Freddie Broccoli's cousin? But yeah, but I don't remember Freddie Asparagus. Joey Gaynor, the list goes on and I could mention everybody. What was Kinison like? I thought, I love him. He's one of my favorite comics of all time. So when I showed up into the scene at 81, 82, the Westwood Comedy Store was a thing and it was- No longer around. For a long time, no longer around, but it didn't have to be 21 to get in. It was for UCLA, the college kids and stuff like that. I don't know how their liquor license worked, but they served burgers. And Westwood then was hopping. Oh yeah. It's not the way it is now. I don't think it's unhopping now. I'm sure it's hard to find parking for this day. I remember years ago, well, they did have some like violence around there and rioting. Yeah, that's long gone now. But I think, this was before that, I think. No, no, no, no. What I'm talking about was before that, right? Right. And then they had gangs for a while. And then that kind of killed the vibe. Yeah, but I think they got rid of all the gangs and stuff now. But I don't know if they ever came back to what they probably were. But go on. So you're, you're. Yes and no. I mean, culturally, yes. But in terms of finding parking, it's the same. Okay. So. But yes, it was the hub. It was cool. Is that where Kenniston was? It was like exciting. At the Westwood Comedy Store, he would go on last. He wasn't even pulling spots in Hollywood that much yet. And they would put him on last because he would scare the audience to leave. Really? People didn't know he was hip yet. It was just scary. It was terrifying. He was the guy in a trench coat going on. I know. People would just be like, I gotta get out of here. And that's, and then I remember watching that evolution. I remember watching it slowly. People started to get it. Then the comics were all laughing in the back of the room. And then there was like, you know, rock stars and people like hanging out just to see him. And then slowly but surely, everybody got in on it. And before it was over, he was the work in Madison Square Garden. He was never a roommate of yours. No, but he was very tight with this group of comics that I got in with. Now remember, I had a place to stay if I wanted to. I could go stay with my, The Skittles guy. My stepmom. Or the Skittles guy. Or the Skittles guy. But even before this, before I had the roommate, while I was still living at home, I would go to these comics places and they, one guy would have a, half an apartment or something. And then eight guys would, you know, couch around and, Sleep on the floor. Yeah, that kind of thing. And I would join them because I would have, I would have to sit in on those conversations and on those comedy jams and learn about the business and be a comedian. But I was, I actually had a room. I had parents. These guys had nowhere to go. It was that or the car for them. They were doing that out of desperation. I was doing that out of desire. Survival. Yeah, well that's great. The whole thing was weird because I was on a sitcom and that's all they all wanted. That's, that's one of the reasons why I got to know all those guys. That's all they wanted to do was be on a sitcom that was a big deal for them. And all I wanted to do was be a club comic. Was Freddie Prinze around then? No, I missed that. I missed that. Okay, a little old. A little older. Yeah, what an experience. Now, how have you avoided doing hard drugs? I, yeah, didn't at first. What drugs have you done? Well, we don't need to go into it. No, I think it's important. It's a witch hunt. What is this? It's important. I asked, it's a fair question. These are the questions we ask. I started doing drugs when there was a thing called Quaaludes. I think they still exist. I was far too young. I was doing cocaine and stuff as a teenager. It was, it was too young and it was wrong and it was crazy and some of the adults that let me do that were just wrong. How old were you when you did cocaine? Too young. Honestly, I don't get too much into it. I was too young. Well, okay. Let's talk about some of the celebrities you did cocaine with. But, this will be very specific about this. Have not done it since the mid 80s or 80s at least. Haven't done it since the 80s. That's a long time. It's okay, Mark. You don't have to. I think it's important though. We get it. You're a Hollywood guy. No, because I get amped. I get a little excited and people think I'm on coke right now. Right. I just think, I think you're ADD. I think you're ADHD and any other letter. But I don't think you're, you're on drugs. What is ADHD? You've like ADD. You have no, like your attention. You're very hyped up and sometimes you get very excited. I mean, you know, you lose focus quickly. I'm looking forward to the AARP. This isn't an insult. I just say, I never thought it was from drugs. I just think you get, you get excited. And some of it, I think, I think you do have a touch of ADD without being a professional. You know what I'm saying? Like you'll be into something and then you'll- I used to shop at the A&P. Then you know what I'm talking about. Yes. So, when you came to doing cocaine, cocaine. Would you stop now? Keep going on that. No, no. It's a fair question. Everybody did it. It was the 80s. I'm not, it is not a witch hunt, Mark, is your question. But who are some of the celebrities that you might have partaken? I don't kiss and tell like that, but you could guess from the previous stories. So, I mean, Sam Kinison was a very well-known drug user. A lot of the comics were. And you know, it's funny because my dad came from that old school world of comedy and he always considered it an unfair advantage. To him, like doing cocaine before you went on was like steroids. Oh, that's funny. That was his attitude. It was cheating. That's hilarious. I never thought of it as that, but that's really funny. I'm afraid of drugs. I mean, I've tried marijuana, but other than that, I'm just scared of dying. You're pretty straight edge. You're pretty straight edge. I'm scared of dying. Yeah, I get you. I get you. People do die from this stuff. I was then. When you're 17 or 15 or whatever, you don't even think about that. But now, yeah. So, did you ever see any comics shooting heroin? No. I've never. No. It never got that ugly. I've never seen. I've never seen. I've never seen heroin. I don't even, I don't see cocaine these days, although I hear it's back again. I've never seen meth. I've never, there's a lot of drugs. It's funny. I've never seen cocaine either or meth, but I did see a homeless man's penis last week. I think we saw one together on the walk over to the studio tonight. That's true. And it was, it angered me because I didn't, one, I didn't ask and two, it was so big and it made me feel so small. No, honestly, you're kidding, but it angered me and I did feel small because if you remember, we saw the guy, it was a homeless guy peeing just on the side of the street. We're doing the show from downtown Los Angeles and I was complaining to you about my life and my world, right? And I said, I think I've had some sort of a, I said, things could be worse. No, I said, never tempt worse. Let's talk about that. You think that life is tough. Do you want to give us a scent of that? A little, how much do you want to share? So you're saying you're not feeling like you're on top of the world like you were back then, right now. You've had some good highs. And I don't mean, I don't mean drug wise, but like what's going on now, Mark? That's a fair question. It is a fair question. It's a fair question. Well, I live this great life. So, and I am on top of the world literally with my property in the Hollywood. Right. And yeah, I want to drive home. I mean, before you start to feel bad for Mark, which I know is going to happen very shortly. No, no, no, nobody's allowed to feel bad for me. Honestly, there's nobody here. Nobody. But he has a view from the ocean, to the Hollywood sign, to the Hollywood sign. Okay. And he's very high up in the air. I mean, like the land, you know, because there are mountains here in Los Angeles. Yeah. Of course. And that's a lot of rock and roll history where I live in Laurel Canyon. Right. Okay. Now, after we've said all that nice, fun, uplifting stuff, how's life, Mark? So, like the birds used to live where I live, the rock group, Right now, that's all that's, we've got a lot of birds. Okay, go on. There's a bird house. I currently live in a bird house. You're living in it. But, there's a lot of lore about anywhere in Hollywood. You can hardly ever find a car that Jerry Seinfeld didn't own or Queen Latifah used to poop in that toilet or you know what I mean. Right. There's always like something connected to somewhere. Let's get to you, Mark. I know you. Okay. So, what's going on? So, I bought this property years ago. Which has got to be worth at least a million dollars now. I don't think technically it is, but maybe it's just priceless because I never intend to sell. Did you try and make a funny joke because your last name is Price and you said priceless? No pun intended. Okay. Sorry, go on. Go on. Go on. No, that's going to cost you five cents. Hey, come on. That's not my best stuff. Go on. here I live high atop in the Hollywood Hills and I didn't do the, I don't do things normal. I'm an absurdist, Vic. Okay. I think if there is a philosophy where you can live your life and choose the absurd. Yes. I often do. Yes. I'll go on. For right or wrong, for good or bad, that's, I often, I'm an absurdist. I would say you're an eccentric. So, instead of building a house and, and having a mortgage and doing like everybody else and making a zillion dollars in the real estate boom of the last 30 years, I moved into the property in a trailer, a 1940s trailer. Very beautiful. You snuck it in in the dark of night, correct? Technically, it was there when I bought the property. Oh, yeah, right. But, yeah. Okay. It went in, what do they call it while the, while the property, when you're buying something, it's an escrow. While it was an escrow. It showed up. Okay. So, this, this cool camper just suddenly popped up on this. Not a camper, like a mobile home. Mobile. 40 by 8. Right. Very long and skinny. I would wake up in the middle of the night. That's feet, not inches, right? And go bowling. Yeah. It was nice. I feel privileged. Now, now I'm in the 40 by 8 feet. Okay. So, what happened? whatever, inches. Crazy, you know, I have two neighbors. One, I have a lot of neighbors. I'm very close with my neighbors, but I have one set of neighbors that I'm, they've become my surrogate family. Okay. I've been next to them now since I'm a teenager and I've really become, they are my family, really. Since my dad and my stepmom passed, I can't think of anybody I'm closer to really. Okay. And, they are above me and it's so symbolic because they're like angels from heaven. They're religious people and they're the most fun people I know. And they're kind of like your family. They've become my family. Yeah. And they're, so they're up above me, angels above. And I've met them. They are, amazing people. Below me, moved in a developer. Okay. I don't want to be rude. I don't want to be racist or stereotypical. Okay. But he's Israeli. That's terrible. You're going to get letters on that one. No, you are. I have nothing to do with that. It's markprice.com. But it's a cultural thing. It's a culture. It's a Middle Eastern cultural thing. It has nothing to do with Israeli. What is? The way that he behaves. Well, first of all, there are a lot of Israelis who are wonderful people. I know that. Who don't behave the way you are. I understand. What did he do? But I just want to say that when I tell people an Israeli developer moved below me, they go, but it's, I better think that through before my position on that officially. Okay. But go on. He's made my life a bit of a hell. He's opened up a hotel. He's turned the house into six units. Wait a minute. And he rented out each night. He opened up a hotel in the middle of Laurel Canyon. Very small neighborhood. A residential neighborhood where there's no parking. There's no parking? There's no parking. Laurel Canyon is an Indian word that means no parking. Well, okay. So what's the problem? I mean, it doesn't sound fun. American Indian word. So on top of everything else, we were getting along. We're not getting along and I kind of took him on a little bit about blocking me in because he was always blocking my driveway and stuff. And I took him on a little bit and I got trounced. He basically, he turned my trailer into the city. And so January 1st of this year, I got a 30 day notice to comply. Trailer's gone. He's still running the hotel, by the way. Wait, so you're telling me you don't have a trailer to live in? That's correct. So what's going on on that land? I used to live in an airstream. Now I live in air. It's a good joke. Thank you. I thought I'd get 10 minutes out of it. Instead I got one half a joke. No, that's funny. That's a good joke. But what is seriously going on? I know I get the joke. I have no overhead. Hey. Literally, there is nothing over my head. So are you like living in a tent? No, I have to. I have to figure out how to build a house is my next move, honestly. And that's really why Mark's here. You can give us a call at 800-893-9562. No, I'm not asking for anything. Mark wants a house. I'm not asking for donations. This is a bad telethon. I'm not selling t-shirts. There's nothing like that going down. I'm not even sorry for myself because I've got this great life. Hey, by the way. I look at it like my trailer was, you know, taken out in a, you know how many storms take out trailers, right? Right. Tornadoes. So like a tsunami or something? They're like storm magnets, trailers really. Yeah. And I thought, you know, what if, you know, thank God everybody's okay. The trailer went away, but you know, nobody was hurt. I was able to get all this stuff out, my pictures and my stuff and my things. Right. So in some ways, this is a blessing. I think eventually it will show itself to be that way and I certainly hope it does. At the moment, it doesn't feel that way, but it never does. So are you like, are you able to live on the land or what's going on with it? I have to figure out a way to build a house. Let's just leave it at that. Okay. It is a fair question. Yes. If you do want to give money to Mark, the numbers- No, would you stop? Hold on. No, no, I'm not taking any money. Okay. I can give it to you. But the number is 800-893-9562, 800-893-9562. And if you want to feel like- You have done everything right who saves your money. You save everything. Oh, what? You don't? You don't save your- I try. You do everything right. You are gallant to my- My goofus. Well, I somehow, somehow feel bad about it now. You know, I feel like you're doing fine, Mark. It's just a little bump in the road. You're going to be fine. Especially after we help you financially at 800-893-9562. Stop it. Stop it. Would you stop it? This is not a telethon for me. No, I'm going to- No. No. I'm not. At a time you asked me, I'm going to do it. Stop it. He didn't ask me. He said, I don't want to come off as needy. And now I'm totally turning it on him. Well, listen, just so you know where your investment's going, why don't we play that first clip? This is from a while ago, Mark. So you can see, you know, he is also a very talented stand-up comedian. This is from 20 years ago. Jeremy, can we play that first clip from 20 years ago? This is what your money will be investing in. Go ahead. I want to warn you all right away now. I am a former sitcom kid. So if you don't laugh at my jokes, I'll buy drugs, beat up a transvestite hooker, and rob a video store. I'll outdo little Dana Plato, who- Oh. Oh, shit. That's so rude. He robbed a video store in broad daylight. You can't do Dana Plato jokes now. He's a TV series. Hard copy. Why not? Because she's no longer with us. We're having a problem with the clip, actually. Maybe it's God intervening. It's terrible. I used to do a joke that different stroke kids went from shooting a series to a series of shootings. She's a regular. See, okay, now all the former sitcom kids getting into trouble with the law is really starting to make my life miserable. Like, now I walk into 7-Eleven, and it's all over. The guy behind the counter goes, hey, aren't you the kid from TV? I go, yeah. He goes, don't hurt us. Please don't take anything you want. Don't hurt us. So the guy behind the counter and I play into it. I go, slurpees now. Lots of them. Hurry. Natalie Tooney, cover me. Urkel, start the car. Shortly after that clip, your testicles dropped, right? My voice is so high there. You still sound very young in that. I love that. You know, what's funny is I talk just as fast now. Like, I haven't learned how to control my speech patterns any better than that. Let's go to clip three, Jeremy. This is marked more recently in Atlanta, the Atlanta Improv. I think Orlando, but yeah. Orlando. My mom growing up was a cop. That's what kept me on the straight and narrow. When your mom has a gun in her purse, you learn to respect your mom. Other kids would come home drunk and stoned. Their parents wouldn't have a clue. My mom was swapping Q-tips inside my mouth, sending hair samples directly to her lab. It was like CSI my mommy. She'd come into my bedroom when I was a teenager and look it over with one of those blue lights. What's this? Hold on. Hold on. It looked like I was painting. I was a teenager. I love that joke. That was great. Thank you. So any, now the truth is your stepmom is or? No, my mom was a cop. The one on the East Coast. My stepmom was a, owned a business and was into, she was a part of a, not a flower store, but like a guy that did flowers for weddings and things like that. Okay. Ran his business. So there was truth though about the cop thing. She didn't really. It's total truth. My mom, who was a singer in show business, hated show business so much and the bookers and the craziness we have to go through to get to the gig and deal with the bookers, the club owners, which is a world I'm still in. She hated that so much. Let's talk about that. What are you doing right now? Besides talking to me. She retired from show business and became a cop. Okay. Sorry. And so that people would shoot at her and she preferred it. Yeah. Over that life. Over dealing with show business. Yeah. And being on the road. Okay. Well, that's a real interesting thing. I love that you talk about that in your standup, you know, that you actually pull from real life. I think that's, for me, I always love hearing standups talk about their life. Things that are true to them. Yeah, but not, but then building on it, of course, because if we just stay true to the truth, true to the truth, it's not interesting. But as I've, I don't know if I ever shared this with you, but what I like to use in my writing and I think that's true for all great comedy, writing, is to use the truth as a springboard, but not as an anchor. So you use the truth in this joke that your mom's a cop and then use a springboard into how she's swapping you and the light, which I'm guessing wasn't true, but you use the truth as a springboard, not as an anchor. You gave yourself the liberty to go anywhere with it. And I like that. The truth will set you free. Yeah. Well, I think that's, that's, I think that's how you get to the front. As an artist, there is, there is truth to that. Yes. Now, what are you doing today? And I don't mean just talking with me. What are you, and fighting your Israeli developer and trying to find a home other than those things? I think you just nailed it. I think you just summed up my day. Well, you've been producing, right? Yes. I've been fortunate enough to work behind the scenes, writing and producing over this past many years for Disney Channel, TBS, E, Game Show Network, Food Network, Food Network, a bunch of different things. None of, and I've sold some shows, which is hard to do, as you know, very hard to sell a show. It is very hard. And you've made some money doing it. But none of them hit big. A couple of them got even picked up for a second season. You've been doing this a long time, too. Way too long. It's so funny because my life was and has, has been, I almost used the word has been. I don't think I'm allowed to say it. Your life has been? No, I can't say has been. I don't, oh, okay, there we go. That's a joke because, you know, he doesn't want to be called a has been. He's washed up. It's sad when I have to, it's sad when I have to diagram the joke. Because when you Google him, washedupcelebrities.com is the first thing that pops up. I wish that were true. That is not true. Not. It's on the first page. There's several other, Leave it to Beaver, that guy's there. So what's the question again? Eddie Haskell, the guy. I'm too, I'm way too ADD to move on to what the original question was. I was asking what you've been up to. It's okay. And I know you, how's the stand been going? So, no, I was telling you that my life has always been about achieving goals, right? Setting my sight on a goal and then achieving it. Right. I wanted to be a standup comedian like my dad. And you started as a kid doing that too. 14 years old on the Merv Griffin show. Boom. You know, it was a couple of years after I set the goal. Boom, there I am doing it. I wanted to be on a sitcom. I want to act on a great sitcom. I want to be like my favorite actors, you know, like Don Knotts. And you were. I wasn't maybe as good as Don Knotts, but there I was playing the silly character on a great show. I got so lucky. I got into that. And it was a goal. And I set my sights on the goal. And there it was. I achieved it. Yes. 15 years old. I said, I want to be in movies. I can do that. I've seen the great movie stars. Michael J. Fox is a great actor. He's making movies now. I want to make movies. Boom. 17 years old. I'm making a movie. Gene Simmons, Ozzy Osbourne. Going overseas. I did a couple of movies. I went to Paris, New Zealand, and China. This is great. I'm not even 21. I go, I'm one of these people. I set my sights on a goal. I achieve it. Right. I'm just one of those people that's always going to have money. I had a manager that told me that, by the way. What a bad manager. He goes, you know how you're one of those people that'll just always have money? The last thing you tell your 19-year-old client. Was not the guy ripping you off? No. He never ripped me off. He never ripped me off. But that is the, he ripped me off by giving me that advice. But the highlight of the story is that it's been more challenging selling shows. Selling a TV show has just kicked my ass. It's trounced me more than my Israeli developer. Now, here's the deal, Mark. Okay. In all seriousness, this interview is an intervention. Okay. No, it is. It's not about drugs or alcohol. It's not that kind of intervention. It's a show business intervention. It is. I'm not kidding you. And you were going to bring it on my family and my friends. No, no. And everybody's going to go, act again, you idiot. No, it's just me and you. That's all it is. All right. Now, before I get into the intervention, well, this is part of it. You, Mark Price, need to go back to acting. That is what you are great in and you've excelled in. And I have no idea why you are not pursuing it full throttle. You need to be doing reality shows. You need to, and I'm, don't take this, don't take this the wrong way. Reality. You need to get out of the tent and into the, back into what you do so well. I know you don't live in a tent. I'm just being dramatic. You need to take- Move to my car. You have, right, you live in your car sorry but you and you have that thing why what is wrong with you why are you not just going out and doing what you can do well i think i recognize that that decision to give up the acting and make it first as a writer and a producer and stuff might not have been the best decision but why are you like why don't i'm stubborn i have trouble cutting the ties that bind you know cut and run like sometimes you need to just cut and move on right that's part of life the universe i'm being serious here the universe was saying yes to you as an actor okay it was what is going on get back i'm serious like the beatles it frustrates me well you know this year um in addition to now needing to uh make some income to build my house on my property actually there's a need which oftentimes you know a need can kick in your ass into making sure right okay right propels you forward right because i became lazy over these years i had a nice setup right my trailer there and the property going on the road pretty so yeah i mean you like that i wouldn't i couldn't handle living in a trailer i love that lifestyle i could take 10 minutes in there if you notice i walked outside a lot when i came to visit i used to i used to walk around pace outside then i call the agent i go i'll be in my trailer all i know is you had an outside shower and the last thing i needed to be doing was i had to go to the bathroom and i was watching you scrub your balls while i'm sitting on your couch well now come on now i wasn't taking outside showers while you were sitting there okay you had a shower that was outside in nature yes and i'm sitting on that couch and i look through the screen glass and i'm looking at you scrubbing your balls no way how you're not supposed to look man well i'm just telling you that that's not my lifestyle that's your lifestyle and okay you liked it but it's gone now you've got just a bucket of water and a sponge scrubbing your balls the trailer is gone in a card for your guests to stare and watch you so we need to take action i've been telling you for years and you just won't listen no i did i i got an agent this year for the first time what have i been saying about the reality stuff you should be on a biggest loser i'm not saying you're that fat no don't take me on celebrity rehab hey you know what you tried to get me to go on celebrity yeah that's right i would have you let me tell you something if i were mark skippy price whole different story you should a kardashian you know what i would do everything i would do everything to get back back to where you excelled the most yeah because you want to be famous and you're like everyone else in america wants me to be famous you want me to be famous you want to be famous no i'm it has nothing to do with being famous that's your head okay there's nothing to do with that this is what it has to wait you you agree that america is fame obsessed i don't care about america i'm talking about you all right all right and this is saying and you're going to listen back to this tape okay i'm going to send you a link to this later you're going to listen to the show i mean you can use it like a meditation don't count on that no well you're going to because i'm going to make you a tape or i'm going to make you a cd they don't have to actually i felt more comfortable with the tape ironically let's let's not get let's not get unfocused add let's get let's get focused here okay if i'm you i'm doing everything i can it has nothing to do with fame mark that's where you're you're so off the mark what i'm talking about is you have a god given talent it's been recognized by gary david goldberg on family ties it was recognized by the um archie's that archie's place that sitcom you did if you can check it out he mark was on a sitcom uh spin off of uh the fam uh all in the family people in the business who know talent have recognized you and cast you and it's not a charity event uh hollywood this is they did it because they saw talent and i've seen it in you as well when we've been running lines you still have it in you and i think it's a big mistake you know we all have talents your talent is in acting and it's a gift forget about the fame go be woody allen and and don't go to award shows and and and just have nothing to do with the fame but use your skills we all have god-given skills we you know and i think that this is one of yours and i think that doing the warm doing uh reality would be great for you too because we just need to get you out there that's i'm telling you i know i do know you need to you want to build a big house on that piece of property take my advice you could be acting and feature films right now is not the time let me tell you something mark this isn't the time to do what you want to do we are in emergency mode you need to do what you have to do to make money and this is it welcome to that's fair advice no with no i'm telling you you listen to me and you talk to your agent you come up with a plan and you start acting you're going to get cast you're really good actor you're just naturally very good you've got a great mind for you know like you said taking in scripts forget about the pitching of shows it takes a long time to make money with that the odd part is which i don't know if you realize but i'm going to remind you of this the more acting roles you get and the more you're known as a uh money-making commodity through your acting guess who suddenly got production deals mark price yeah no i have to get something going again there's no i'm telling you that's how it will happen you want to be a producer they put your credits when you go to the local comedy clubs and you know they say seen in chelsea lately or whatever the different things for me they put like as seen on the tv land awards okay whatever that it doesn't matter that's fine that's actually legitimate and they're probably and there are people who are excited about you still there are and they come to the clubs and watch you do stand-up still but i'm talking can i plug my no labor day no you can't let me finish i'm not done i'm not done this is important it might seem you know like i'm just talking here about so i'm really trying to help you want me to seriously and aggressively get back into acting and use that to move on that will parlay you want to be a producer look at all the big stars who are also producers on films tv shows look at howie mandel my hero my idol right and you know that how he's producing big shows i'm on one of them i've been on many of them but how he didn't start as a producer you're how he's bitch well please no we have a very nice relationship but i wouldn't call it that no but boy but my point being that there are a lot of big stars who have made it they they put you know they're they hang there or whatever you call it and how he made it shingle up on as not even in a comedy show remember saint elsewhere right well he he also did something that was a good thing and he did something that was a good thing and he did something that was a good lesson for everyone he said yes to deal or no deal and he you know has publicly said he didn't really want to do it people do take all kinds of jobs and they never know where it's going to lead and i'm telling you mark price you start pursuing your acting everything else is going to blossom say yes okay yes that is my advice to you i told you this is an intervention you didn't know it it snuck up on you no because i've already had this intervention with inside my own soul or whatever you want to call it good then i'm just i'm they're backing it up i'm just supporting what you know in your gut tell me about where they can see you that was you backing it up i got it tell us where you can see because we unfortunately have to wrap it up where can we see you we can see me at the improv at harris harvey's in south lake tahoe and that's the week right after labor day i think it's the fifth through the eighth okay of september where else and then i head up north and i'm going to be in oregon in eugene oregon and in longview washington and in milton washington all these little places i used to go to seattle i used to go to cool cities portland you're headlining i'm gonna be in milton mark you're diminishing yourself let me help him let me help you out here i'm going to be headlining that's right i'm gonna be headlining in milton i know i could be doing dinner theater it could be worse you could you could be doing um late afternoon snack theater or something i mean it could get even worse than dinner theater i like to say i could be playing tevye and fiddler on the roof opposite bull from night court don't knock that i could be doing somebody's i could be doing my buddy's podcast downtown at midnight how dare you that is so low well i want to thank you mark uh i consider you a great friend and i hope all of you listening have gotten a sense of what an amazing heart mark has he is just the sweetest guy he's got you know he's just like the nicest person you've ever met and i hope you've gotten a sense of what an amazing heart is and that's why i want to see him again at the end of the day at the end of the day at the end of the day at the end of the day at the end of the day at the end of the day at the end of the day at the end of the day at the end of the day at the end of the day at the end of the day at the end of the day at the end of the day at the end of the day at the end of the day at the end of the day at the seeing you on the big screen. Do you take my advice and follow your own gut? Or the little screen because TV, well, everyone's got a big screen these days. Do you feel better now? The big flat screen. But do you feel better now? Well, I look skinnier. Do you look skinnier on a flat screen? You don't look skinny on anything. You said I look like I lost weight. I did. I did say that. You're right. But I didn't say you looked skinny. There's a difference. A 600 pound man can lose 500 pounds. That's true. A hundred pounds can still. I am down to 498. No, no, you're not that big. You're not that big at all. I know you really are busy. So thank you for making the time to come down here. And I want to thank all of you for listening. As always, it's great to have you and I can't wait for you to join me again. We're going to have another very special person joining us again right here on Vic Cohen's It's a Fair Question. Love your guts. I'm Vic Cohen and it's a fair question. It's a fair question. It's a fair question. I'm Vic Cohen and it's a fair question. It's a fair. It's a fair. It's a fair. It's a fair question. It's a fair question. I'm Vic Cohen and it's a fair. It's a fair. It's a fair. It's a fair question.