EP. #23 (REMIX) – STUFF THAT MAKES US LAUGH with MAD’s DICK DEBARTOLO

Dan Fisher (0:04)

The following is a special Encore presentation of Let's Talk Ten.

SPEAKER_2 (0:10)

But I don't want to go among mad people.

SPEAKER_3 (0:13)

Oh, you can't help that. Most everyone's mad here.

SPEAKER_4 (0:32)

I mean funny like I'm a clown, I am usual.

Dan Fisher (0:36)

Welcome to Let's Talk Ten. I'm Dan Fisher. Dick Debartolo was one of the original Usual Gang of Idiots for MAD Magazine. Also known as MAD's Maddest Writer, he contributed to every issue from 1966 to 1984, a streak of 459 consecutive issues. His memoir, Good Days in MAD, was published in 1994 It's full of behind-the-scenes stories of MAD and its heyday and the writers and artists who made it great. Mort Drucker, Don Martin, Al Jaffee. But it is, above all, a tribute to MAD's legendary founder and publisher, William M. Gaines, who is one of Dick Debartolo's closest and dearest friends.

Dick was also the head writer for the classic game show, Match Game, in the 1960s and 70s, credited with coming up with the body and suggestive style of questions that the show is fondly remembered for. An aficionado of Gizmos and Gadgets, Dick made over 100 appearances on Regis and Kathy Lee, showing the world his latest mechanical and technological discoveries.

I'm remixing and re-releasing this episode, which was first recorded on March 31st, 2024, for a number of reasons. First, because this coming October 19th, Dick will be turning 86 years old, and I want you to know just how amazing and funny he still is. But also, our meeting on Zoom was a very special day for me, not just because I got to spend time with the Dick Debartolo, the madman who has made me laugh throughout my entire life, but because what I hadn't told Dick until that day, and what listeners wouldn't know until I spilled the beans a year later, is that this episode was recorded while I was a patient at New York Presbyterian Columbia Hospital, recovering from my second heart transplant. So the sound on my end coming from the cardiac care unit left a lot to be desired, which I hope I was able to improve a little bit here, and I trimmed a few things too.

I am so happy to be able to share this conversation with you. Maybe you'll get a few laughs out of it too.

Because you are one of the people who has made me laugh, I just thought I'd reach out. Oh, okay. I've read your book, Good Days in MAD a number of times. So I know a lot about MAD, I'm certainly happy to talk about MAD and Match Game and the gizmos and all that stuff.

Dick Debartolo (3:07)

Okay.

Dan Fisher (3:07)

But I also want to know what makes you laugh. Generally, I'm going to go more pop culture stuff, movies, TV.

Dick Debartolo (3:14)

Oh, I'm doing more personal things that made me laugh.

Dan Fisher (3:17)

That's fine. That's fine too.

Dick Debartolo (3:19)

Well, one of my favorite movies of all time is Airplane.

Dan Fisher (3:24)

That's one of mine.

Dick Debartolo (3:25)

Yes. I did a night of movie satires on TCM with Robert Osborne, explaining the difference between satire and comedies. I had picked Airplane as one of my four, but unfortunately, Airplane is not owned by TCM. It was explained to me they can show it twice a year, six months apart.

My night with Robert Osborne was like a month after they had shown it. I did pick a Woody Allen film. I think it's the one that takes place in France.

Dan Fisher (4:05)

In his funny period?

Dick Debartolo (4:06)

It might have been.

Dan Fisher (4:08)

Love and Death?

Dick Debartolo (4:09)

It was Love and Death. I know it had death in the title.

My favorite thing is he's in this terrible prison. They feed him like bread and water, but then they roll in the dessert cart, which is with a well-dressed waiter, and the dessert cart is every kind of beautiful pastry.

Dan Fisher (4:32)

Well, and of course, you're legendary for your love of desserts. Maybe I should have picked top 10 desserts instead of top 10 things to make you laugh.

Dick Debartolo (4:40)

I'll tell you my favorite dessert story. It's not a joke, but I went to dinner with William M. Gaines, the publisher of MAD, and I'm looking at the menu, and he said, why are you looking at the back of the menu? And I said, I love desserts, and if there's a great dessert that I want, I don't order an appetizer. And he says, order an appetizer, and we'll get the desserts at the end.