Ondi Timoner, welcome to The Daily Show.
Thank you for having me.
You know, the clip that we play from the movie--
we can only play a clip because we
can't play the whole movie-- makes it
seem like this is a sad story.
It even sounds like a sad story.
If you tell anybody that somebody made a film
about their father choosing to end their own life, you'd go,
this is a sad story that, well, no one
might even want to watch.
Why would I want to?
And yet I feel like it's an inspiring story.
It's a beautiful story.
It's a funny story.
It's made me see life in a completely different way.
So let's talk a little bit about your dad.
I mean, he has lived quite the life.
There are few human beings who can say that they have
personally known kings and princesses, somebody who
started their own airline essentially,
somebody who's running an airline,
getting low-cost airlines for people to fly around,
wanting everybody to be able to travel,
having this infectious attitude that lit up every single room.
We see you chronicling this life.
We see you telling us the story.
And we also see how quickly it can change.
Your father was 50--
how--
53.
TREVOR NOAH: 53, and then had a stroke,
and everything changed.
Yeah he went in for a massage,
and his neck was manipulated.
And and 10 minutes later-- he was in perfect health.
I mean, he had run 6 miles that morning,
and at the height of his career.
He had the fastest growing airline
in the history of the world.
And he led with love.
He led with love and kindness.
And the airline just was really at its height.
And then he was ousted.
There were no rights for the disabled at that point.
TREVOR NOAH: Right.
And lost everything financially
and all his social standing.
But the greatest thing about dad is he never complained.
He just rooted for all of us.
He was paralyzed for 40 years.
But he suffered with such grace, you know?
So when he said he needed to die at the end,
it was something we all had to get behind.
And thank god for that law.
The law was a gift.
We didn't know there was a right to die.
TREVOR NOAH: Right.
A medically-assisted death in California.
It's only in the nine states in America.
You know, we expected dad to be there forever.
I don't know.
We just never thought about it.
He always said he'd be there forever.
And, suddenly, he was not going to walk again.
He had been put in the hospital for breathing issues,
and not to do with COVID, but he was isolated in there.
He was terrified.
And he wanted to go, and he needed to go.
And my brother found this law.
And it was a gift.
I mean, having these 15 days, it
allowed us to really celebrate his life
and to really look at his achievements
and also to help him through a shame that he deeply held.
My sister, who's a rabbi, came with these age-old rituals.
And we all kind of came together.
You know, like, dad was an exemplary human being.
And he showed us how to love and how to live.
And so, yeah, it was terrifying, but also
the most beautiful and sacred space any of us
had ever been in.
It really is a story that touches on everything.
Because, as you said, one part of the story
gets into how much people with disabilities
lose not just their income, but their access
to a life of dignity.
You know, your father experienced that when
he's pushed out of a company that he was running
successfully because they didn't like
the optics of a person in a wheelchair running this
company, even though he could.
We see him lose everything.
We get into that conversation.
Then we get into the conversations
around the morality.
And it's interesting that you bring up the fact
that your sister is a rabbi, and how so many of us
have these ideas of how your life should end
or shouldn't end.
It's not your decision, but there's a line in the film
that someone says where they say, none of us
chooses how to come into this world,
but we should be allowed to choose how and when we leave.
And for many people, that's a controversial statement.
I know that the family was on a journey.
And I would love to know, what changed
some people's minds about your dad
being able to make that choice?
You know, it was dad's spirit that was just so uplifted
by finally having agency and power to make
a determination over his own body
and what would happen with his own life.
It was just an incredible shift that happened.
And we all saw it.
And, I mean, I am very passionate now,
and our whole family is, that this law be passed
in every state where it's been--
because I think it's in front of 22 state legislatures
right now.
It's not a law here in New York,
but it's a basic human right.
It's a basic human right.
Who should make that determination?
And even when the film--
I was terrified sharing my family at this--
their most raw and vulnerable, but especially
for my sister, who's a rabbi.
TREVOR NOAH: Right.
Because it was against Jewish law for the millennia.
You know, you can't end your life.
They've since reversed that decision.
TREVOR NOAH: Wow.
Yeah, they've reversed that law.
Yeah. TREVOR NOAH: Wow.
Yeah.
[applause]
Reform Judaism has.
Wow.
And the reason they say, a law without tenderness
is wickedness.
And that when the rabbis wrote that law,
suffering lasted maybe five days
with your terminal illness.
TREVOR NOAH: Right.
But now there are thousands, tens of thousands
of terminally ill patients who need-- and their families
who should have this right.
It's compassionate.
TREVOR NOAH: It's a really powerful story.
[applause]
And, like, I can see--
when you watch it, you can see why
the film is getting Oscar buzz because it's made so well.
Congratulations, honestly, because you
bring us into a world where--
Thank you.
Really, you bring us into a world that's really gripping.
It feels like we're there with your family.
I feel like I know your family.
Your dad seems like the wisest human being.
There was, like, no moment where he goes
like, I don't really know.
He just says things.
He answers so confidently and also so earnestly
as well and so honestly.
And one of the most amazing aspects in it for me
is him talking to his wife.
And they're having this conversation.
And it's so fascinating to see what
happens when people also have the chance to say goodbye.
You know?
Where people have the chance to say,
this is how I wish for it to end.
I wish to still have this dignity
and to have this moment.
But talk me through that before you go,
just that part of their love story
and witnessing that, which many children never get to see.
This is a double happiness heart
that mom bought for dad and for their one-year anniversary.
And they broke it in half, and each wore one half.
TREVOR NOAH: Wow.
Yeah, so I wear it for good luck
and just to keep them close.
[applause]
Yeah, yeah.
She's a phenomenal woman.
You know, 54 years they were together.
17 of those, he was able-bodied,
and she was jet setting.
And the rest, she was caregiving.
We were just doing a Q&A together last night.
She's 84 years old. She's such a firecracker.
She really is.
But, you know, the filmmaking wasn't really the main event.
The main event was getting mom to face the fact
that her partner of this many years was going to be gone
and to really spend time with him.
And it was hard with all the hospice workers around
and everyone around to kind of get her to zero in.
But she finally did face it at the end.
And she's seen the film.
She watched the film every day for a year first year
he was gone.
TREVOR NOAH: Are you serious?
Yeah, she watched it-- she watches it,
like, a few times a week just to spend time with him now.
- I can see why. - Yeah.
I can see why.
Honestly, you have captured a human being in a way
that few films have captured anybody.
You've told a story that I think millions of people,
not just in America, but around the world will connect with.
And congratulations.
Thank you so much for joining me on the show.
Thank you so much. Thank you.
Wonderful having you on.
Really appreciate it.
Make sure to catch the film.
It is truly spectacular on Paramount Plus.