Thank you so much for dressing up for us today.
Oh, this old thing?
I only wear this when I don't care what I have on.
But is-- how awkward like is this?
We're now like interviewing you.
I'm sorry that I'm not just sitting out there and watching
you.
What am I doing here?
We have roped you in to our wonderful talk show.
It's like the first day of--
it's like the first day of the pilot that we shot for this.
I was sitting on a bed in the motel,
and looked up at you two standing next to each other,
and I wanted to cry.
It was just too sweet the two of you.
And here you oh--
Oh.
That's what I'm here for, to make you cry.
Well, this is good so how's the interview going so far?
You guys are amazing?
Who are you?
Yeah, I don't know, actually.
That's a deep question that I don't have an answer to.
Do you--
Before we-- no that's OK.
Whatever you want.
It's your show too.
That's good, you are the son.
No, I usually get my way because I am the elder.
But what were you going to say?
What do you think?
Do the dog pants fit on the back half, or the side of the dog?
I'm going to go with your father on this.
What?
The whole topless thing.
You think topless thing?
But they're wearing fur.
If a dog wore pants.
Thank you.
What he wear them.
OK fine it's now two and two, Annie
is the deciding factor in this.
Well, he has four legs.
No, I'm sorry, Eugene.
Thank you.
It's the back legs.
Why would you want--
People in the audience are also agreeing with me.
Front legs to suffer.
OK, listen, I'm wrong.
I-- you know I'm actually--
I was going to say I'm a cat person, but I'm not.
When did we meet?
Well it's been 45 years since we've known each other,
and I can tell you the year that we met.
What about the day?
'72.
'72, yeah.
Right?
I was in high school.
And so was I.
But I was there for 12 years--
I was in high school you were in Godspell
and my brother was dating Gilda Radner, God bless her.
And she got Robin Duke and me tickets to Godspell,
and we got to hang out with you, the cast afterwards
at the restaurant after.
It was the most thrilling thing for Robin Duke and me.
And that's where I first met you.
And then you allowed me to be cast alongside you when Gilda
left Second City theater, and I got
to be in the theater with you.
I have a follow up question to that.
When you first met him in 1972.
Yes.
Could you describe in extreme detail his hairstyle?
Was he wearing a mustache?
What was going on aesthetically with him at the time?
Because it's gotten-- there's been some looks.
Well this is--
Which we've seen.
This is the best look.
Wouldn't you rather peak at your dad's age than now?
Yes.
OK, then look what you have to look forward to?
What a dream.
But you're already [INAUDIBLE].
I can't wait when you start peaking.
Eugene had a giant Afro, and mustache in Godspell, right?
No, bigger.
Way bigger.
Bigger than that?
Way bigger.
That's part wig.
Is that your real hair or is--
That's part wig.
That was my real hair.
And then you went at Second City Theater
before I got the cast I was a waitress.
I watched you from afar.
And you had that lovely Roman look.
Excuse me?
Oh I got, I was like--
I did, I did.
I got cut of--
my hair was brushed forward.
Brushed forward?
I call it a kind of a '60s Sinatra look.
In your dreams.
That sounds really intense.
Yeah.
For everyone.
It was intense.
And here we are all these years later working together.
I know.
For those out there who have not watched our show,
I'm so sorry for you.
But who don't know, how would you
describe the show and Moira?
In about 10 seconds, go.
Come on.
they're a family who were formerly really, really wealthy
because it was a TV show-- not even a VHS business.
Video.
Yeah, yeah, big business.
And they lost everything because bad business manager,
and they-- the only thing the government leaves them with
is the small town they bought as a joke,
they never even went ant looked at it.
They bought it as a joke for their son.
Correct.
Earlier birthday, teenage birthday.
Never looked at it.
And they only bought it because of the name, Eugene--
Johnny bought it because of the name.
A joke.
Saying that's all we have so we live in two adjoining rooms
in this motel.
But we become a family.
And to become a family for this family
is a whole new alien, beautiful loving, alien experience.
I can't wait to put a little timer underneath all of this.
That was way too long.
That was a beautifully encapsulated--
Oh, you're kind.
Well, now you have to watch it.
Speaking of our show.
I forgot to say it's funny.
It is funny, fortunately.
Yes, there is humor.
Speaking of our show, and our TV family,
the fourth member of the Rhodes family will join us after this.
So the audience doesn't know at this point, but before the show
we played a bit of a prank on Annie.
As one does on the Ellen Show.
My question to you is, on a scale of one
to you're furious with us, where are you
right now in this moment?
We're going to talk about this after the show.
OK.
Well, Annie, you're, like all of us, from Canada.
Correct?
Right.
And--
Yes.
Thank you.
And here we are in like Hollywood,
and like the kind of Canadian thing is like, oh,
here we are in Hollywood, eh?
Is that the Canadian--
Well, yeah.
Well I just sent the country back maybe you know 40 decades.
But what do you think about LA and Hollywood?
What's the vibe like here compared
to the vibe in Toronto.
New to town, getting settled.
Getting settled, I'm new in town.
I'm getting accustomed to it.
But I've grown a lot since my first experience
here, because my first experience--
Share it with everybody.
I will.
I was a young lady.
I was probably 22.
And hadn't been here before, I didn't know anybody.
And I decided it would be for the best to go on Craigslist
and live with a stranger.
And so I found a stranger, a perfect stranger on Craigslist,
and she had this beautiful apartment in West Hollywood.
And I show up with all my bags, and she opens the door,
and she immediately says, just so you
know I am also a writer and an actor
and a director and a producer.
And I will be doing a film that will probably
be getting funding in April.
Oh no.
It was January at this point.
And she informed me that in order to get into character,
she would be playing an American soldier in Afghanistan.
OK.
She would be sleeping in her closet
off the living room for the duration of my stay.
And she then escorted me over to the closet, opened the door,
and there was a little cot, a little cot set up,
and the walls were lined like in the shining with post it notes,
like character notes.
Just like as far as the eye can see.
I hope that this is acting as some sort of message
to all of you to not do this.
We have been very lucky as a group.
Our show started out very, very small,
and now we've had some wonderful award nominations.
Moira's favorite season is awards.
Do you now agree that her favorite season is awards?
That your favorite season is awards?
No.
Awards mean the world to everyone.
Well, it was an exciting year for us last year because we got
to-- we actually got to go to the Emmys, and that was--
We did.
We got to lose at the Emmys, which is a wonderful thing
to do.
But we it triumphantly.
After this we are all going to try to play a game,
if you can imagine.
OK.
That is coming up, everybody.
See you soon.