MY FIRST GUEST IS A TONY AND EMMY AWARD WINING ACTOR WHO IS
CURRENTLY ON BROADWAY IN HIS ONE-MAN SHOW.
PLEASE WELCOME THE DELIGHTFUL JOHN LITHGOW!
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) ( BAND PLAYING )
>> Stephen: LOVELY TO SEE YOU AGAIN!
>> GREAT TO BE HERE.
THE NEW SHOW -- >> Stephen: YOU'VE NEVER BEEN
ON THIS SHOW BEFORE.
YOU WERE ON THE OLD SHOW QUITE A FEW TIMES.
LIKE WHAT WE'VE DONE WITH THE PLACE?
>> IT'S BEAUTIFUL.
>> Stephen: THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
REALLY FEELS LIKE A BROADWAY THEATER NOW.
>> YEAH, I USED TO BE ON BROADWAY.
>> Stephen: HAPPY MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY.
>> THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
>> Stephen: I LEARNED SOMETHING THIS AFTERNOON THAT
CORETTA SCOTT KING BABY SAT YOU.
>> ISN'T THAT SWEET?
THAT'S TRUE.
>> Stephen: HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?
WHERE, WHEN?
>> SHE WAS A STUDENT AT ANTIOC COLLEGE THERE AND SHE BABY SAT
FOR ME AND MY SIBLINGS.
I WAS TOO YOUNG TO REMEMBER HER BUT SHE MET ME IN MY LATER LIFE
AND SHE SAID I WAS VERY, VERY WELL BEHAVED.
>> Stephen: THAT'S NICE.
VERY NON-VIOLENT.
>> Stephen: BUT PROTESTING?
OMETIMES.
THE TERRIBLE TWOs WERE NOT EASY.
>> Stephen: NOW, YOU'VE GOT THE SHOW ON BROADWAY, BUT THE
THING I WANT TO CONGRATULATE YOU FOR BEFORE WE GET TO THAT IS
YOUR FANTASTIC TURN AS WINSTON CHURCHILL IN "THE CROWN."
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) >> THANK YOU.
>> Stephen: GOT A CIGAR FOR YOU HERE.
IS THAT A PART YOU EVER SORT OF HAD THE AMBITION TO PLAY?
>> NO!
I WOULD NEVER HAVE DREAMED THAT THEY WOULD CAST ME AS WINSTON
CHURCHILL.
>> Stephen: WHY DOES A BRITISH PRODUCTION COMPANY OTHER THAN
THE FACT YOU'RE A FANTASTIC ACTOR, A TESTAMENT TO YOUR
TALENT, THEY BROUGHT IN AN AMERICAN TO PLAY A BRITISH ICON,
WHICH I LOVE BECAUSE THEY'RE ALWAYS COMING OVER HERE TAKING
AMERICAN PARTS.
>> THAT'S TRUE, AND I FELT A LITTLE BIT VINDICATED BY THAT.
>> Stephen: SURE.
I DON'T KNOW, CHURCHILL WAS ABOUT THIS TALL, AND I'M, LIKE,
THREE TIMES HIS HEIGHT.
THEY KNEW SOMETHING I DIDN'T KNOW.
THIS WAS STEPHEN DOLDRY AND PETER MORGAN WHO CREATED THE
SHOW, AND I WASN'T GOING TO SAY NO BUT I THOUGHT THEY WERE
CRAZY.
>> Stephen: LIKE I SAID, BRITISH ACTORS ARE ALWAYS COMING
OVER HERE AND TAKING THE PARTS AND I'M ALWAYS SURPRISED, OH,
YOU'RE A STEALTH BRIT.
I DON'T KNOW TILL I INTERVIEW THEM.
HOW DID YOU FIND AN AC SET SUFFICIENT TO PLAY THIS ICON?
>> CHURCHILL HAD AN EXTRAORDINARY STRANGE VOICE.
IT WAS AS MUCH AS AN ODD ACCENT AMONG ENGLISHMEN AS AMERICANS.
>> Stephen: SO A CHURCHILL ACCENT.
>> IT WAS LIKE HE HAD CHESTNUTS INSIDE HIS MOUTH OR SOMETHING,
AND HE HAD AN EXTRAORDINARY SPEECH NOT EXACTLY AN IMPEDIMENT
BUT AN IDIOSYNCRASY, A LISP THAT CAME OUT OF THE BACK OF HIS
TONGUE INSTEAD OF THE FRONT.
>> Stephen: SURE, SURE.
IT WAS EASY, YOU COULD GRAB ON TO ALL THOSE THINGS AND JUST
PUT TOGETHER YOUR CHURCHILL.
>> Stephen: GARY IS GETTING PRAISE FOR HIS FINE ESTHOUR OF
CHURCHILL.
>> VERY WELL DESERVED.
>> Stephen: DO YOU THINK YOUR CHURCHILL COULD BEAT HIS IN A
FIGHT?
>> I WOULD SAY I COWL PROBABLY BEAT HIM AT BASKETBALL BECAUSE
I'M MUCH, MUCH TALLER.
>> Stephen: DID YOU CALL HIM AT ALL AND SAY GOOD JOB?
>> WE COMMUNICATED WITH EACH OTHER BEFORE AND AFTER.
I CONGRATULATED HIM ON THE GOLDEN GLOBE.
>> Stephen: DID HE CALL AND SAY HOW DID YOU PLAY THIS
BASTARD?
>> NO, HE CALLS ME 54.
I PLAYED CHURCHILL IN THE YEAR 1954, AND HE PLAYED HIM IN 1940.
SO HE WRITES -- YES, THIS IS '40, HOW ARE YOU '54?
( LAUGHTER ) I DON'T KNOW REALLY KNOW GARY.
I MET HIM YEARS AGO AND WE HAVE MUTUAL FRIENDS BUT HE'S A
WONDERFUL GUY AND I TREMENDOUSLY ADMIRE HIS ACTING.
I THOUGHT HE WAS WONDERFUL AS CHURCHILL.
THERE ARE A LO A LOT OF -- YOU K RICHARD BURTON, MICHAEL GAMBON,
GARY OLDEN, I'M GLAD TO BE IN THAT COMPANY.
>> Stephen: CONGRATULATIONS ON THE EMMY.
WELL DESERVED.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) THIS I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO.
YOU'VE GOT A NEW SHOW AT THE AMERICAN AIRLINES THEATER HERE,
"JOHN LITHGOW: STORIES BY HEART."
IT'S JUST YOU ON STAGE.
>> MM-HMM.
>> Stephen: TELLING STORIES.
OKAY.
HOW DID THIS SHOW COME ABOUT?
>> WELL, THERE WAS AN INCITING INCIDENT WHICH IS ACTUALLY ONE
OF THE STORIES I TELL IN THE STORY.
I'LL TELL YOU, IT'S A TWO-ACT EVENING AND EACH OF THE TWO ACTS
IS SORT OF ANCHORED BY A GREAT SHORT STORY.
ONE VERY AMERICAN, ONE VERY ENGLISH.
WHAT THEY HAVE IN COMMON IS THEY'RE BOTH CONTAINED IN AN OLD
BOOK OF STORIES THAT MY FATHER USED TO READ TO ME AND MY
SIBLINGS WHEN WE WERE KIDS, AND I USED THE SAME BOOK TO READ TO
HIM WHEN HE WAS AN OLD MAN AND NEAR DEATH, AND IT WAS A
SALVATION TO HIM.
FROM THAT LITTLE MOMENT, FIRST OF ALL, CAME ALL MY -- IT, TO
ME, SORT OF CRYSTALLIZED WHY I DO WHAT I DO, WHY I ACT, WHY
PEOPLE WATCH, WHY WE ALL NEED STORIES, AND WHAT ALSO CAME OUT
OF IT WAS THIS SHOW.
I HAVE BEEN DOING IT FOR ABOUT TEN YEARS, NOW, ALL OVER THE
COUNTRY AS A SORT OF ONE-NIGHT STAND TOURING PIECE, WHAT
VILIANS WOULD CALL A TRUNK SHOW, AND FINALLY I GOT IT TO BROADWAY
AND PEOPLE ARE LOVING IT.
SO I MUST BE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT.
>> Stephen: IS IT THRILLING TO BE ON STAGE WITH NO OTHER ACTORS
GETTING IN YOUR WAY?
FINALLY LET'S CLEAR AWAY THE CLOUDS AND LET THE SUNSHINE.
( LAUGHTER ) I HAVE TO SAY THE "NEW YORK
TIMES" REVIEW IS THE BEST I'VE EVER GOTTEN IN THE "TIMES."
APPARENTLY, THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN ALL THOSE OTHER ACTORS.
( APPLAUSE ) ( PIANO RIFF )
I MEAN, IT'S THE ONLY THING I CAN DEDUCE.
>> Stephen: ARE THERE SETS, PROPS?
>> THERE IS NOTHING.
THERE'S A COUPLE OF STICKS OF FURNITURE.
I HAVE A BIG CHAIR, A SMALL CHAIR, AN END TABLE AND A STOOL,
BUT THAT'S IT.
EVERYTHING ELSE IS JUST MINE.
>> Stephen: YOU, AT ONE POINT, WORKED WITH THE GREAT MIME
MARCEL MARCEAU?
>> IN A SENSE, WHEN I WAS SIX MY FATHER WORKED AT THE CARTER
THEATER IN PRINCETON AND I USED TO DO BACKSTAGE CHORES.
MARCEL MARCEAU CAME ONCE A YEAR AND DID THIS INCREEDABLY POPULAR
EVENING OF HIS MIME AND I WAS THE CURTAIN PULLER FOR HIM,
WHICH WAS A BIG DEAL AND CHALLENGE BECAUSE HE TOOK HIS
CURTAIN CALL VERY SERIOUSLY.
HE WANTED THE CURTAIN TO COME DOWN AND GO UP, AND GO DOWN AND
UP, GO DOWN AND UP, WITH GREAT RHYTHM SO HE COULD TAKE ONE BOW
AFTER ANOTHER.
IT WAS MY JOB TO BOUNCE THE CURTAIN.
THAT'S WHAT THEY CALLED IT.
AND IT WAS NOT EASY.
I WENT INTO THE WINGS, YOU KNOW, DURING THE TECH REHEARSAL.
THEY TOLD ME HOW TO DO IT.
TWO HUGE HEMP ROPES.
YOU PULL ON ONE ROPE TO BRING THE CURTAIN DOWN, THIS HUGE,
VELOUR BROADWAY KURT UP.
YOU GRAB THE OTHER ROPE AND IT PULLS YOU HALFWAY UP THE WALL
AND USING YOUR BODY AS A COUNTERWEIGHT, YOU PULL IT DOWN,
THAT REVERSES THE DIRECTION OF THE CURTAIN, YOU PULL THE OTHER
TO BRING IT DOWN, THEN UP DOWN, UP DOWN, AND I MASTERED IT.
I WAS EXPERT DURING THE TECH REHEARSAL.
BUT IN PERFORMANCE, CAME TIME FOR THE CURTAIN CALL, THE
AUDIENCE WAS CRAZY ABOUT THE SHOW GOING WILD!
SO I PULLED DOWN THE CURTAIN, AND I PULLED IT BACK UP, I DID
IT GREAT FOR LIKE THE THIRD, THE FOURTH, THE FIFTH TIME, THEN I
WAS SO EXHAUSTED, I SORT OF COLLAPSED AND LOOKED AT THE TWO
ROPES AS THEY SORT OF PULLED TO A STOP.
BUT I JUST GRABBED ONE AND PULLED IT AND PULLED IT!
AND IT STARTED GETTING EASIER AND EASIER TO PULL, AND I HEARD
THE APPLAUSE KIND OF DYING DOWN.
I ELOOKED ON TO THE STAGE FROM THE WEDNESDAY AND THERE WAS
MARCEL MARCEAU IN WHITE FACE STARING WITH ME WITH THIS LIVED
EXPRESSION.
I GRABBED THE WRONG ROPE AND PULLED THE CURTAIN DOWN WHEN I
WAS ALREADY DOWN BETWEEN MARCEL MARCEAU AND THE AUDIENCE THERE
WAS A 12-FOOT HIGH PILE OF VELOUR FABRIC.
HE WAS JUST STARING, BUT THANK GOD HE WAS JUST A MIME.
( LAUGHTER ) HE DIDN'T SAY A WORD.
( APPLAUSE ) >> Stephen: AND YOUR CAREER
RECOVERED, WHICH IS NICE.
>> WELL, I ENDED UP A MIME.
SO, YOU KNOW, HE HAD AN IMPACT ON ME, CLEARLY.
>> Stephen: JOHN, IT WAS LOVELY TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
>> STEPHEN >> STEPHEN: "JOHN LITHGOW:
STORIES BY HEART," IS ON BROADWAY NOW THROUGH MARCH 4TH.
WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH SENATOR CHUCK SCHUMER.