WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:06.839 From Workhouse Connect and aj Benza fame. Uh, he'd liked 2 00:00:06.839 --> 00:00:09.119 to be walked on a leash and play really dirty 3 00:00:09.279 --> 00:00:12.519 kinky sex games. Is uh the guy put the cock 4 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:18.600 in the peacock network. Okay, bitch, Hey, everybody aj Benzi 5 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:20.640 here with fame is a bitch. This is your daily 6 00:00:20.719 --> 00:00:25.320 Unfiltered podcast for July second, twenty twenty five oh seven 7 00:00:25.399 --> 00:00:30.000 O two two oh two five two is a wild 8 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:33.799 can't believe it's July second, orready? I can't believe it 9 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:39.640 this weekend we're talking about fourth of July. Like I 10 00:00:39.719 --> 00:00:45.399 kind of intimated on yesterday's show, it just doesn't feel 11 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:48.719 like Fourth of July when I'm out here, you know, 12 00:00:48.759 --> 00:00:51.200 I just think about the old days on Long Island, 13 00:00:51.640 --> 00:00:54.799 living in New York, and the fourth of July was 14 00:00:54.840 --> 00:00:59.960 always a huge holiday for my family. My father's bird 15 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:03.280 days July fifth, so naturally the fourth of July that 16 00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:06.560 weekend was always a big party for him, and we 17 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:11.519 had so many parties for him, and oh god, it 18 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:15.079 was just a different, different time. Before I continue, let 19 00:01:15.079 --> 00:01:19.359 me just say listen if you want, if you want 20 00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:21.879 to know what's going to happen in life in Hollywood, 21 00:01:22.359 --> 00:01:24.920 just fucking listen to me. Tell your friends to listen 22 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:28.239 to me. I need more listeners. This is ridiculous. I 23 00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:31.280 told you guys months ago that Elon Musk and Donald 24 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:33.959 Trump would eventually have a big falling out, and here 25 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:37.239 we are. Nobody believed it when he was up there 26 00:01:37.239 --> 00:01:40.799 with a chainsaw running doge, which I love those moments too, 27 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:46.359 but I knew can't have these two men the way 28 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:48.560 they are. There's going to be a clash of the titans. 29 00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:52.519 And I know Trump. He likes the spotlight. He doesn't 30 00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:54.959 one bringing you into the spotlight, but the minute you 31 00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:58.000 might get a little more light than he does, it's curtains. 32 00:01:58.599 --> 00:02:01.879 And Elon Musk was getting too much like did know 33 00:02:01.920 --> 00:02:06.920 how to play the part of the co pilot, the deputy, 34 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:10.360 You know what I mean. Donald Trump is the sheriff. 35 00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:13.520 Elon Musk was playing the part of the deputy that 36 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:16.719 got too close. Maybe he held to Griff's keys too often. 37 00:02:16.719 --> 00:02:21.360 You can't do that. You always gotta gracially bow away, 38 00:02:21.400 --> 00:02:23.879 walk away, bow out. He's the man. It's the man. 39 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:26.400 You can't act like you're there too. You weren't elected. 40 00:02:26.439 --> 00:02:29.199 Elon Musk. As much as I admire him and love 41 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:34.080 the fact that he bought Twitter and then did what 42 00:02:34.120 --> 00:02:37.280 he did with Trump and the first one hundred days. 43 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:39.360 What have you. No, I have nothing bad to say 44 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:41.680 about it, but I knew there was going to be 45 00:02:41.719 --> 00:02:45.360 a falling out and it's bad right now. I'll get 46 00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:48.199 into more of that on politics as a bitch this weekend. 47 00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:51.199 If you didn't hear last Sunday show, you're missing out. 48 00:02:51.280 --> 00:02:54.199 You just are. You gotta. Like I said, there's more 49 00:02:55.080 --> 00:02:58.800 crazy things, more dramatic things happening in politics than there 50 00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:02.039 are in Hollywood. Don't worry. I don't get mired down 51 00:03:02.120 --> 00:03:06.000 in the little fucking details of politics because I hate 52 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:09.000 that shit. I give you an overall view of everything, 53 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:12.520 and from a from a from a regular guy's perspective. 54 00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:15.000 You know, I can't sit there and talk on these 55 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:19.680 paddles on Fox or seeing that I could. That's not 56 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:21.599 what I like to do. I'd like to give you 57 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:27.759 my vantage point, which is regular guys. You'll get it anyhow, 58 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:33.919 I was right. Let's continue with this story. Yeah, you know, 59 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:37.199 fourth of July weekend to me like Moorial Day, like 60 00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:40.879 Labor Day. Those are those are such seminal moments in 61 00:03:40.960 --> 00:03:44.240 my childhood and even my adulthood growing up on Long Island. 62 00:03:45.080 --> 00:03:48.520 When I was younger, my cousin Anthony CONIGLIONI not really 63 00:03:48.599 --> 00:03:52.400 a cousin. We lived in the same apartment building in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. 64 00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:59.960 My grandmother was the landlord because she owned two brownstone 65 00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:03.360 in Brooklyn. I don't ask me how a woman comes 66 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:07.840 from Italy, speaking very little English and ends up owning 67 00:04:07.879 --> 00:04:14.599 two beautiful brownstones in Brooklyn, but she did. And before 68 00:04:14.639 --> 00:04:18.720 she died she stopped doing that. And you know, she 69 00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:22.000 didn't want to be a landlord anymore. So she turned 70 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:25.879 it over, not to her sons, because my uncle Liar 71 00:04:25.959 --> 00:04:28.399 was too busy becoming a doctor. My uncle Philly was 72 00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:30.480 too busy. My father was a cop. He had no 73 00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:34.639 time to be So she appealed to the lawyer down 74 00:04:34.639 --> 00:04:40.920 the hole, Carline Kniglione, great guy, great family, and he 75 00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:45.839 took it over. Man, those fucking brownstones would be worth millions. Now. 76 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:49.759 God bless grandmothers like that, right, They come over from 77 00:04:49.800 --> 00:04:52.439 the old country and they just figure shit out. Oh 78 00:04:52.519 --> 00:04:58.759 my god, just doing menial things like making pasta for 79 00:04:58.839 --> 00:05:03.480 the mafia, you know, gardening, making rock walls. She was 80 00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:07.120 a great seamstress, as I've told you, but and then 81 00:05:07.199 --> 00:05:12.319 to do something so magnificent, owning buildings, owning real estate. Man, 82 00:05:12.360 --> 00:05:14.160 I wish I had that kind of business sense. I 83 00:05:14.240 --> 00:05:20.040 just don't. Anyhow, KENNIGLIONI had his son, two sons, Robert 84 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:23.519 and Anthony, and his daughter Sally. It great friends of 85 00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:26.519 ours lived down the hall. Anthony was my age, is 86 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:29.519 my age. He went. As he got older, he went 87 00:05:29.519 --> 00:05:31.759 to work on Wall Street, made a ton of money. 88 00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:34.879 And after I left college and didn't want to jump 89 00:05:34.920 --> 00:05:38.839 to some other city to become a journalist in Alabama 90 00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:43.160 or Jersey or Baltimore. I was looking for money. He 91 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:44.720 invited me up to where he worked. I think it 92 00:05:44.759 --> 00:05:48.399 was Merrill Lynch. I knew nothing about money, and stops. 93 00:05:48.439 --> 00:05:51.480 I still don't, can't be bothered. He goes, come in. 94 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:53.199 You know, maybe I get your job here. So I 95 00:05:53.240 --> 00:05:54.920 went there to meet them. I put a nice suit on. 96 00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:58.759 I went to meet the people I'm talking about. It 97 00:05:58.839 --> 00:06:01.439 might as well have been shiny arithmetic. The shit that 98 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:03.800 was going on in that office, the screaming, be yelling 99 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:07.360 to ticker tate, the numbers, the stock fry. You might 100 00:06:07.399 --> 00:06:10.199 as well have put me on Pluto, I said Anthony. 101 00:06:10.279 --> 00:06:13.199 I can't do this. Meanwhile, he's got one hundred thousand 102 00:06:13.199 --> 00:06:18.040 dollars bonuses for Christmas. This is thirty years ago. Anyhow, 103 00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:22.759 Anthony would come over every new every Fourth of July 104 00:06:22.800 --> 00:06:26.160 holiday with a big box of fireworks from Brooklyn. There's 105 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:28.839 always a guy in the neighborhood who walks, who drives around. 106 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:32.240 Go hey, yo, how you doing. You want some fireworks 107 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:34.399 for the holiday? Come here, come close. I got some 108 00:06:34.439 --> 00:06:36.759 great stuff for the trunk, you know, and you go 109 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:39.399 over and look at it. You want match? I got 110 00:06:39.399 --> 00:06:42.480 black Jack, I got pirates, I got the silver jets, 111 00:06:42.519 --> 00:06:46.639 I got the bottle rockets. And Anthony would come over 112 00:06:46.639 --> 00:06:48.439 with a big box of fireworks and he bring it 113 00:06:48.480 --> 00:06:54.319 over me him, my cousin, Philly Mittera, my neighbors, Richie Tissula, 114 00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:59.199 Peter Descoli, Perry Underhill, and we light fireworks all day 115 00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:02.839 while the grown ups frorem backyard, having food and going 116 00:07:02.920 --> 00:07:07.160 to the pool. Music was playing and it was just 117 00:07:07.199 --> 00:07:10.079 a great time. And at night everybody would come outside 118 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:13.839 and watch us through the beautiful rockets at night, and 119 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:16.319 we looked across from the school, so everything we lit 120 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:18.480 would fall into the school yard and we'd go pick 121 00:07:18.519 --> 00:07:21.759 it up. Our father's insisted, when you're done, you go 122 00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:24.240 pick it up. If it looks like it didn't explode, 123 00:07:24.360 --> 00:07:25.920 kick it with your foot, don't. I don't want to 124 00:07:25.959 --> 00:07:28.319 fucking lose a finger. Don't let you lose a finger. 125 00:07:28.920 --> 00:07:31.000 I'm not going to the yar tonight, you know. Kick 126 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:38.879 it away. Such a great time. Always fights on Fourth 127 00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:43.279 of July weekend. Always arguments with neighbors. One year, my 128 00:07:43.319 --> 00:07:46.879 brother in law, Frankie's father, Nick Mattera, was all a 129 00:07:46.959 --> 00:07:50.399 big white Cadillac, always the Cadillac with the pool queue 130 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:53.920 in the back. His son Philly, a year older than me. 131 00:07:53.959 --> 00:07:57.920 He was a wrestler, high school state champ. Everything, toughest nails, 132 00:07:58.399 --> 00:08:04.800 Nikki PAULI, just tough brothers. We see this kid crouching 133 00:08:04.839 --> 00:08:09.360 behind Nick's catalet. Looks like he was letting air out 134 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:12.639 of the tire and he was, so we follow him 135 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:15.680 down the street. It's this kid called George Schmidt. Looked 136 00:08:15.680 --> 00:08:20.560 about fifteen houses down on Marinerths Circle. We run back 137 00:08:20.600 --> 00:08:24.839 in the backyard, tell my father, Philly's father, this father, 138 00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:27.920 that father, Hey, George Schmidt was letting air out of 139 00:08:27.959 --> 00:08:31.879 the car at the attire. Yeah, where's he lived? Come? 140 00:08:31.920 --> 00:08:36.639 In and we take him down the street. George Smith's 141 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:40.000 father was six foot five, big coal fireman. I think 142 00:08:40.039 --> 00:08:43.679 it was a captain even not volunteer New York City 143 00:08:43.720 --> 00:08:47.639 firem A tough guy. My father and Philly's father. Nick 144 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:51.720 goes over there, bang bang bang on the door. Can 145 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:55.440 I help you? Yeah, gosh, this is how it bends 146 00:08:55.600 --> 00:08:57.399 down the street. Yeah, how are you doing now? This 147 00:08:57.480 --> 00:09:01.720 is my my friend Nick Mttera, our son. Say that 148 00:09:02.279 --> 00:09:04.240 your son was letting the out of the tires out 149 00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:07.759 of his cadillact. No, no, my son would never do that. Well, 150 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:09.840 you know he did it, George. So maybe we should 151 00:09:09.879 --> 00:09:12.000 talk to him together and figure out what we're gonna do. 152 00:09:12.519 --> 00:09:14.639 What do you mean by that? You don't have gonna 153 00:09:14.679 --> 00:09:18.639 do shit? Oh, forget about it. Nick says to him, 154 00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:22.200 how tall are you? Cock? Sucker? He says, I'm six 155 00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:25.720 foot five, you fucking runt. And Nick says, I didn't 156 00:09:25.759 --> 00:09:29.080 know shit piled that high, opened the door, was gonna 157 00:09:29.120 --> 00:09:32.919 run in the fucking the hallway this guy's house and 158 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:35.279 beat the shit out of him. Of course he put 159 00:09:35.320 --> 00:09:37.639 his hands. Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa Wait, contact, come and 160 00:09:37.679 --> 00:09:41.200 get myself, George, George, you commit did you do it? Yeah? 161 00:09:41.279 --> 00:09:44.639 I did. Guys. I'm sorry. I'm gonna discipline him right now. 162 00:09:44.679 --> 00:09:48.600 He shuts the door hard. A few years later, my 163 00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:51.399 father turned fifty years old. Big party in the backyard. 164 00:09:52.519 --> 00:09:54.919 I tell you the story. A couple of kids, kids, 165 00:09:54.960 --> 00:09:57.679 twenty one twenty two year old guys are blowing fireworks off. 166 00:09:57.720 --> 00:10:01.120 My nephew Jackie was a baby sleeping and the fireworks 167 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:05.919 were loud, and I uh, as a kid, I said, hey, 168 00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:07.840 get out, guys. Can you walk down the street and 169 00:10:07.879 --> 00:10:11.559 do little Maybe do it behind the school. Hey, go inside, kid, 170 00:10:11.799 --> 00:10:14.799 Just treat me like I was nobody. So I go 171 00:10:14.879 --> 00:10:19.639 to the back dad. You know, my uncle's my neighbor, 172 00:10:19.679 --> 00:10:23.080 Bill Rizida. All these tough guys. Listen these guys, they say, 173 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:25.840 go fuck yourself. They're gonna blow fog. Oh yeah, really. 174 00:10:26.679 --> 00:10:30.039 My brother in law, Jack was brushing his teeth. He 175 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:34.480 had the toothbrush in his mouth. Frankie was wearing big 176 00:10:34.519 --> 00:10:38.159 platform heels because that was the style back then. And 177 00:10:38.200 --> 00:10:41.000 they run out to the front yard. Jack has bare 178 00:10:41.039 --> 00:10:43.720 feet with a toothbrush in his mouth in his hand. 179 00:10:43.919 --> 00:10:46.519 Frankie's got the platform shoes. My father's got a sandwich 180 00:10:46.519 --> 00:10:49.240 in his left hand, and they unload on these two 181 00:10:49.279 --> 00:10:52.360 guys and they and these guys were not small, ye, 182 00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:55.360 but they were tough kids. Twenty two, twenty one years old, 183 00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:58.720 beat the shit out of them. I climbed the tree 184 00:10:58.759 --> 00:11:01.399 in my house and looked down on it, and I 185 00:11:01.480 --> 00:11:03.679 was almost crying because it was I couldn't believe what 186 00:11:03.720 --> 00:11:07.159 I was seeing this the cuffs. Frankie was throwing kung 187 00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:09.559 fu kiss because he was a black belt. He knocked 188 00:11:09.559 --> 00:11:12.879 his heel off, his shoe. Jack stepped on a broken bottle, 189 00:11:12.960 --> 00:11:16.360 ripped his heel up. We beat. They beat these guys 190 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:18.639 so bad they left. They came back. The cops came 191 00:11:18.679 --> 00:11:21.799 toward door. My father let them in. They knew he 192 00:11:21.879 --> 00:11:23.279 was on the job at one point, so they were 193 00:11:23.360 --> 00:11:25.639 nice to my father. The kids come in with the 194 00:11:25.679 --> 00:11:28.159 black eyes, the swollen heads, and knots on their head. 195 00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:31.399 I mean figure, they looked awful. My family had no 196 00:11:32.120 --> 00:11:36.759 mocks on their body and uh cops said, okay, you know, listen, 197 00:11:36.759 --> 00:11:38.279 you did what you have to do. These guys should 198 00:11:38.759 --> 00:11:41.000 they threw the first punch. That kind of shit. My 199 00:11:41.080 --> 00:11:44.120 family got away with it. Two years later, that guy 200 00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:46.639 blows his head off in his house around the corner 201 00:11:46.679 --> 00:11:51.360 of the shop. Crazy stuff always happened around four pagely 202 00:11:51.440 --> 00:11:56.759 in my family, this fight crazy stuff. People ask me Aki, 203 00:11:56.799 --> 00:11:59.639 why it's always talking about violent I don't know. I 204 00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:03.639 was brought up around it. I was always around it. 205 00:12:03.639 --> 00:12:07.000 It was almost romantic. I hate to say that. But 206 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:10.039 to see your father throw punches, your brothers throw punches 207 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:15.159 and kicks, and then celebrate, I don't know, not for nothing, 208 00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:18.600 but those guys were the sweetest men you could find. 209 00:12:19.320 --> 00:12:23.200 And they'd rescue puppies. They'd treated my sisters like golden. 210 00:12:23.559 --> 00:12:27.320 But don't make them med, don't make them mad. It's over. 211 00:12:28.759 --> 00:12:34.440 You've been warned. Speaking of fistes. I thought I was 212 00:12:34.440 --> 00:12:36.919 gonna talk about Jane Mansfield today, but I'll save that 213 00:12:36.919 --> 00:12:40.279 for tomorrow. This ELF is something else I want to 214 00:12:40.279 --> 00:12:44.399 talk about tomorrow. I'm very, very sad about this. I'll 215 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:46.559 get into it tomorrow. But the hotel I used to 216 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:52.159 stay at when I was first beginning to see Andrea 217 00:12:52.600 --> 00:12:57.039 was on the California Nevada border. There's those three hotels. 218 00:12:57.080 --> 00:13:00.840 If anybody knows, Whiskey Peats, Buffalo Bills, and prim Valley. 219 00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:04.240 They were all together. If you're drive them from LA 220 00:13:04.279 --> 00:13:07.080 to Vegas. You always feel good because you see those casinos. 221 00:13:07.080 --> 00:13:09.799 You know you're close to the strip, maybe forty minutes away. 222 00:13:11.159 --> 00:13:14.440 And I would stay there for weeks and weeks and 223 00:13:14.480 --> 00:13:16.240 weeks at a time. I know all the people, the 224 00:13:16.279 --> 00:13:18.759 girls behind a desk, the bartenders, the guys who ran 225 00:13:18.840 --> 00:13:22.159 the crap table, your name, I knew everybody. It was cheap. 226 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:25.000 It was like seventy five dollars a night, so it 227 00:13:25.039 --> 00:13:27.399 was great to stay there. There was a Denny's in there, 228 00:13:27.960 --> 00:13:30.039 you know. It was like they were shopping at the 229 00:13:30.039 --> 00:13:33.159 Prim Valley casino. You can go downstairs with a big mall. 230 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:37.080 Then it slowly began to get empty. COVID happened, and 231 00:13:37.080 --> 00:13:40.919 then all of a sudden, Prim Valley shut down. Just 232 00:13:40.960 --> 00:13:43.440 the mall was open downstairs, but it was like desserted. 233 00:13:43.480 --> 00:13:46.559 It was scary. It was a bath and body where 234 00:13:46.600 --> 00:13:48.639 it's I get candles down there. There was nothing else 235 00:13:48.679 --> 00:13:53.480 going on. Whiskey pets. You see a lot of old 236 00:13:53.480 --> 00:13:56.399 people gambling their social security. It's kind of sad, you know. 237 00:13:57.600 --> 00:14:02.039 I stayed there many times too. And there was this 238 00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:07.799 black girl behind the window. Her name was Vantage, Hey Vantage, 239 00:14:08.120 --> 00:14:12.879 big old black girl, maybe twenty five, twenty six very nice. 240 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:15.600 I started to be sweet to her, and every time 241 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:19.159 she would check me in, I gave her a twenty 242 00:14:19.200 --> 00:14:22.279 dollars because I like to get the good room. I 243 00:14:22.320 --> 00:14:24.399 had a dog with me, I had toutsy with me. 244 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:28.240 They technically didn't allow dogs, you know what I mean, 245 00:14:28.600 --> 00:14:30.799 only on the first floor. That kind of bullshit. But 246 00:14:31.159 --> 00:14:35.039 Fantasia always found me a good room. Up above. There's 247 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:38.720 a big roller coaster there that Andrea would take her 248 00:14:38.759 --> 00:14:43.320 son to many times. It's a roller coaster that goes 249 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:47.039 through the goddamn casino and outside, no, I'm sorry, the 250 00:14:47.120 --> 00:14:49.840 roller coaster goes around casino, but inside there was a 251 00:14:49.879 --> 00:14:52.399 log flume ride that went through the casino. It was 252 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:58.840 a big thing. Kids loved it. Shit it's closed that 253 00:14:59.000 --> 00:15:02.519 they closed with Keep Peach closed in December of last year, 254 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:06.799 and yesterday I read that Buffalo Bill's no more. They're 255 00:15:06.799 --> 00:15:09.480 gonna keep the casino no more room. She can't stay there. 256 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:11.759 July seventh is the last day you could stay there. 257 00:15:12.360 --> 00:15:14.360 I almost wanted to go just for old time's sake, 258 00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:18.159 you know, I don't think they'd like to have me. 259 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:19.799 Last time I was there, I went to the kitchen 260 00:15:19.840 --> 00:15:21.879 at Danny because they weren't getting my ice cream sandwich 261 00:15:22.039 --> 00:15:24.559 ice cream Sunday on time. And I took to see 262 00:15:24.600 --> 00:15:28.360 in the kitchen and I made my own Sunday. The 263 00:15:28.440 --> 00:15:30.240 guy goes, what are you doing? I said, I'm not 264 00:15:30.279 --> 00:15:33.000 waiting twenty five minutes for a fucking vanilla Sunday. I'm 265 00:15:33.000 --> 00:15:35.799 making it myself. You can't be and here you gotta go. 266 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:39.159 Of course security came. They liked me. Security was agu 267 00:15:39.320 --> 00:15:41.240 I said, I can't wait a half hour for fucking 268 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:45.559 ice cream Sunday. They were laughing. But I don't. But 269 00:15:45.639 --> 00:15:47.080 the don't want to see me no more. But either way, 270 00:15:47.080 --> 00:15:50.000 it said. And then I saw a video somebody made. 271 00:15:50.039 --> 00:15:51.720 I wanted a copy and paste that had put it 272 00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:53.360 on the page, but I couldn't do it. It was a 273 00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:59.759 video of that log flume that went through the casino. 274 00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:02.919 There was all these people that like dummies that were 275 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:09.360 set up like with dynamite, and there were bushes. It 276 00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:12.039 was like a like an old gold rush kind of scene, 277 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:14.240 you know what I mean. And all these dummies were 278 00:16:14.279 --> 00:16:18.440 around this casino floor where the ride was, and somebody 279 00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:22.039 made a video of all those images and they put 280 00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:27.519 the song. All around me are familiar faces one up place, 281 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:32.240 you know, mad world. It was so sad. Got me 282 00:16:32.279 --> 00:16:36.240 in the chess man anyhow. That's that. But let's stick 283 00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:41.200 with fistfights. And who better to talk about? Because I 284 00:16:41.240 --> 00:16:45.759 was thinking about Frank Sinatra, And you know Frank was 285 00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:48.639 you know, one hundred and thirty five pounds, soaking wet. 286 00:16:48.679 --> 00:16:51.559 He wasn't a big guy. Of course, he got older, 287 00:16:52.600 --> 00:16:55.039 he thickened out, but he was always his skinny bones 288 00:16:55.080 --> 00:16:56.919 got out and they called them bones when he first 289 00:16:56.919 --> 00:16:59.960 started singing. And there are people will tell you Frank, 290 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:02.039 it's a tough guy. He was a tough guy because 291 00:17:02.080 --> 00:17:04.400 he had goons all around him, but him on his own, 292 00:17:05.160 --> 00:17:08.119 not really. You know, you could throw a few punches. 293 00:17:08.160 --> 00:17:11.440 He had some fast hands, but you know, many other 294 00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:13.880 people strumming in Frank. The problem was do you want 295 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:16.480 to hit him? Because he was so powerful that the 296 00:17:16.519 --> 00:17:19.599 next fight wasn't going to be against him. He was 297 00:17:19.640 --> 00:17:22.079 going to be against some goons or worst comes to work, 298 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:26.240 some mobsters who were behind him. But I remember this 299 00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:29.519 story back in like nineteen fifty seven, fifty eight. I 300 00:17:29.559 --> 00:17:33.720 want to say, Natalie Wood, who was so beautiful, she 301 00:17:33.839 --> 00:17:40.319 had walked by his table at a place in Beverly 302 00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:43.720 Hills called Romanovs, which was a huge spot for a while, 303 00:17:44.279 --> 00:17:49.119 and Frank apparently made this crude comment about the way 304 00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:52.839 she looked, the way she walked, whatever, And without a 305 00:17:52.880 --> 00:17:56.400 moment's hesitation, Natalie Wood turns around, walks straight back to 306 00:17:56.440 --> 00:17:59.799 Frank's table and smacks him across the face. Everybody saw, 307 00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:05.039 and it's a completely a less crowd. You could hear 308 00:18:05.039 --> 00:18:09.880 the sound off her hand across his cheek. It stopped 309 00:18:09.880 --> 00:18:15.000 people from talking. It stopped everybody from talking. And suddenly 310 00:18:15.079 --> 00:18:18.920 Frank wasn't smiling anymore. And Natalie Wood didn't say a word. 311 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:22.160 She just stared at him, and then she pivoted, turned 312 00:18:22.200 --> 00:18:26.039 away and walked like nothing happened. You're not gonna read 313 00:18:26.039 --> 00:18:28.799 about that in the newspapers, all right. No one wrote 314 00:18:28.799 --> 00:18:31.000 about it, but it became a big story around Hollywood. 315 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:34.559 Everybody in Hollywood do because Romanovs was not some little 316 00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:37.279 restaurant that no one knew about. It was a big 317 00:18:37.400 --> 00:18:41.559 playground for very powerful people, actors, producer's studio bosses, you 318 00:18:41.640 --> 00:18:45.119 name it. And at this point fifty eight, Frank was untouchable. 319 00:18:45.920 --> 00:18:48.759 He had a Grammy under his belt. From here to 320 00:18:48.839 --> 00:18:52.880 returnity with the Oscar. Forget about it. He commanded every 321 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:56.359 room he walked into, as you can imagine, you know, 322 00:18:56.400 --> 00:19:00.720 if he wanted, his word could make or break people careers. 323 00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:05.960 But in one moment, Natalie Wood threw her line in 324 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:09.960 the sand. Bang and this is a kid who grew 325 00:19:10.039 --> 00:19:12.640 up in the studio system. Don't forget. By the age 326 00:19:12.680 --> 00:19:14.920 of ten years old, she was already working with usin 327 00:19:14.960 --> 00:19:18.440 walls on the movie Miracle on thirty four Streets. She 328 00:19:18.839 --> 00:19:23.599 started that she worked with arsin walls. Before that, Hollywood 329 00:19:23.839 --> 00:19:28.799 treated like this little delicate doll, you know. And by 330 00:19:28.839 --> 00:19:31.359 the time the late fifties came around, she'd been with 331 00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:35.400 James Dean and rebeled out a cause she really was 332 00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:37.599 making her bones. And people knew this is a woman 333 00:19:37.640 --> 00:19:40.720 that's not going to be reckoned, but she's good. And 334 00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:46.200 people around that situation then they noticed a shift, so 335 00:19:46.279 --> 00:19:50.640 to speak. There's certain moments in time, whether it's Hollywood 336 00:19:50.720 --> 00:19:54.359 or what have you, where there's a shift. And when 337 00:19:54.359 --> 00:19:58.759 she smacked Frank in public, that was a noticeable shift. 338 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:05.160 You know, people saw this and you know it wasn't 339 00:20:05.240 --> 00:20:11.119 just an outburst. It was her expressing herself that as 340 00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:13.960 a woman, I'm not gonna be treated that way, no 341 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:19.039 matter who you are. And everybody who was friends with 342 00:20:19.160 --> 00:20:22.799 Frank thought there'd be a big backlash, you know, because 343 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:26.400 Frank was famous for holding grudges and using his power 344 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:31.119 to shut people down in the industry. Anybody who crossed 345 00:20:31.160 --> 00:20:38.240 him got fucked up. But something really weird happened. Frank 346 00:20:38.359 --> 00:20:42.200 leaned back in his chair after being shocked that she 347 00:20:42.279 --> 00:20:46.720 did what she did, and he said to his friends 348 00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:50.519 around the table, she's got balls. That kid's gonna last. 349 00:20:51.400 --> 00:20:54.960 And he never brought up the incident again, never showed 350 00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:59.440 any public resentment toward her. In fact, people think he 351 00:21:00.119 --> 00:21:04.000 had a very quiet respect for her moving forward. But 352 00:21:04.119 --> 00:21:08.200 within days, you know, that story made its way around town, 353 00:21:08.640 --> 00:21:11.319 as is often the case in Hollywood. I mean shit, 354 00:21:11.359 --> 00:21:13.279 when I got thrown out of a bar and made 355 00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:17.039 the rounds and Hollywood, I got dropped by my agency 356 00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:18.839 because I was having too many fights in bars. It 357 00:21:18.839 --> 00:21:20.839 with a different world back then, you can have these 358 00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:27.640 dust ups and nothing happened. Hollywood got so soft anyhow, whatever, 359 00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:32.039 But makeup artists knew about this. People and the lot, 360 00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:37.279 all the different lots knew about it, and suddenly Natalie 361 00:21:37.279 --> 00:21:40.599 Wood's name had a different kind of weight to it. 362 00:21:41.559 --> 00:21:45.960 She was still a beautiful woman, still a marquee star, 363 00:21:46.920 --> 00:21:49.839 but now people are looking at her as, hey, this 364 00:21:49.880 --> 00:21:53.000 is someone who doesn't give a shit about Hollywood's unsmoking rules. 365 00:21:53.039 --> 00:21:56.920 She'll do what she wants to do. People praised her 366 00:21:57.559 --> 00:22:01.400 because they all many women went through similar situations like 367 00:22:01.440 --> 00:22:03.880 that but didn't have the balls to do what she did. 368 00:22:05.359 --> 00:22:07.880 They dreamed of it, but they couldn't pull the trigger. 369 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:11.119 Natalie pulled the trigger. That's why I never believed the 370 00:22:11.240 --> 00:22:15.359 story of Kirk Douglas raping her when her mother dropped 371 00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:17.400 her off for an addition or for a meeting with 372 00:22:17.480 --> 00:22:20.039 him at the Chateau Marmond, and her sister was in 373 00:22:20.039 --> 00:22:23.480 the car and tells his fucking story. Every year, on 374 00:22:23.559 --> 00:22:26.680 the anniversary of Natalie's death, her sister tells the story 375 00:22:26.839 --> 00:22:30.400 and expects sympathitions on all the TV shows to get 376 00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:33.960 some money. It didn't happen. Kirk Douglas didn't rape Natalie 377 00:22:33.960 --> 00:22:40.680 would but you know, never spoke about it in a 378 00:22:40.759 --> 00:22:43.680 magazine interview, never spoke about it on a television interview, 379 00:22:44.279 --> 00:22:47.920 just kept it very quiet. That was her style. And 380 00:22:47.960 --> 00:22:52.079 you got Sinatra, who's surrounded by power and fame, and 381 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:58.400 this is little woman, younger, smaller, and actually lower on 382 00:22:58.440 --> 00:23:02.799 the industry's pecking order because that matters in Hollywood. And 383 00:23:03.119 --> 00:23:07.240 he didn't forget it. He didn't forget it. And you know, 384 00:23:07.880 --> 00:23:10.319 later on in life he told friends that I know 385 00:23:10.440 --> 00:23:13.400 that slap she gave me. He wasn't about revenge. It 386 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:19.279 was about her trying to reclaim control in this industry 387 00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:26.599 that pretty much always demanded stars to be obedient, especially women. 388 00:23:28.920 --> 00:23:34.480 You know, women had to be perfect. Natalie didn't yell, 389 00:23:34.680 --> 00:23:39.160 she didn't argue, she walked away. Everybody in the room 390 00:23:39.240 --> 00:23:45.960 was watching her. Nobody followed her, and that was more 391 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:50.400 powerful than any speech she might have given. So I 392 00:23:50.400 --> 00:23:51.880 don't know how many people know about that sort, but 393 00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:57.799 it's a great story because Frank was hit and beat up, 394 00:23:59.119 --> 00:24:01.920 well I beat up, but he was messed with several 395 00:24:01.960 --> 00:24:04.680 times that those stories were kind of hidden, But I 396 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:06.200 tell you this, there's a few of them. I know. 397 00:24:06.759 --> 00:24:11.319 I know Lee Marvin punched Frank out one night at 398 00:24:11.319 --> 00:24:13.279 a party because Frank was hitting on a woman. Lee 399 00:24:13.319 --> 00:24:15.319 Marvin was with Lee Marlin was on the balcony smuff 400 00:24:15.319 --> 00:24:17.839 and a cigarette comes back and Frank's leaning on his girl, 401 00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:22.680