(Carl Reiner): When I'm standing backstage, I did the
same thing I did when I was 17 years old,
making my first stage appearance. I
checked my fly. I actually did. I had
the same, same feeling I had then. I'm a
better actor than any of you could know,
because if I can get away without
fainting or having an attack, then I'm
acting! Now my hands, what do you feel?
They're sweating. (Host): Sweating. (Carl Reiner): Okay, I'm gonna try
to act like I'm not... my palms are not
sweating. Thank you, sir. That’s it. [applause] When something
like this is thrown at you, your hands
sweat, your chest throbs and you're very
nervous and I am that, but I am also, I am
also, very thankful that I've lived the
kind of a life that that allows me to
have a family like that, and an evening
like this.
[applause]
I look up there and I remember one thing.
Why is it that I'm here? How did I get to
this place? There are two, maybe three
people, involved with my, my, becoming who
I am today.
One is Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the
other is my brother Charlie. Franklin
Delano Roosevelt instituted a thing
called the WPA, and my brother Charlie
came to me. I was working in a machinist
shop, in the machine shop fixing hat
machines. I was getting eight dollars a
week and I was 17 years old. I had
graduated high school at 16 and my
brother Charlie came to me and said look
at this thing I found on the Daily News:
the WPA project. The Works Progress
Administration, funding the arts, giving a
chance to people in the arts to work.
There’s a dramatic school that is for
free downtown and Center Street. Why
don't you go there Carl? I had no idea I
always could be funny. I could tell jokes,
I could. I can do voices, but I didn't
have any way to become an actor until my
brother Charlie showed me this thing, and
because Charlie and a government that
cared about the people, I am here today. I
thank you. (Applause)
I would like to say what one more… use my
two and a half minutes better spent
doing this. What I'm about to do. My brother
Charlie is my older brother by
three and a half years. He was in World
War II. He was in eleven major battles,
from the invasion in, in, South and North
Africa, from the Rommel invasion to D-Day,
to liberating Dachau. Eleven major battles. He’s
still with us today.
[applause]
He liberated Dachau and he married
Ilsa, who was in a camp in Czechoslovakia
and Germany and they are married. They
have two children and I, I, want to salute
my whole family, because they do that, they do that. [applause]
In order of birth, my son Rob and his
wonderful family -- Michele, my two
grand children Jake and Nick, and Rony who is
in bed because she's two and a half. I
thank you for coming and I thank you for
being in my life. You know making my life
a lot better, by making me a grandfather,
you guys. And my daughter Annie, the
psychoanalyst, poet, painter, and
playwright; everything with a P she does.
And our younger son Lucas is a fine
artist, a writer-director, he's got a
movie called the Gold Cup, which is now
making the rounds and his wonderful wife
Maude and my little redheaded
grand daughter Livia… [applause]
And my wife's nephew and my nephew, and
manager, and Seinfeld’s nephew and manager,
George Shapiro...
And, and, the woman that, when I asked to
marry me, said yes; that moment was
probably the moment that made it all
possible. She’s the great influence in my
life.
She has always been smarter than me. I'm
catching up lately! But my wife the
jazz singer, at age 60, decided she can
sing jazz, and her fourth album, her fourth
CD has come out, the fifth CD is about to
come out--
Ukulele Mama, Estelle Reiner, Ukulele Mama.
I'll have what you're having mama. [applause]
Anyway, Mark Twain I'm sure was yeah…
somebody asked me how do I feel about
getting the Mark Twain Award? and I.. what
would he say?
What would Mark Twain say? And, and I, out
front somebody asked me this question,
and I said he probably would say “I'm so
pleased that wonderful people in my
ethnic persuasion has won this award; you
know, many people don't know that I'm at
least part Jewish. You look at the name
Samuel. Samuel suggests possibly a Jewish
name and the name Clemens, he could
possibly have been Cleminsky. We're not
sure, we're not sure. Anyway, I'm very
proud that one of our, one of our people,
you've got, there no.. that's it, I tried, I
tried. [applause]
What I really want to say is the reason
I'm here, and I know this this is not,
this is no bull. I'm here because I stood
on the shoulders of some giants starting
with Sid Caesar. Supporting Sid Ceasar?
No, he supported me. I stood on his
shoulders.
Steve Wharton, I stood on his broad
shoulders, Dick Van Dyke, his broad
shoulders. Mary Tyler Moore, her great
legs, not the broad shoulders! Yes, but
every one of the people who were up
here today, I didn't stand on any of
their shoulders, but I want to thank them
for coming here and help us celebrate
this evening. But the truth of the matter
is, because I was very very fortunate, for
one reason or another, to work with these
people. They made my life, there's no
question about that. I'm standing here because
Sid Caesar and Mel Brooks and Mary Tyler
Moore and Dick Van Dyke and Steve Martin
were in my life. That’s the truth and
that's all I got to say. [applause]
I saw the stage manager… or before… said
that I shouldn't try to pick this up.
It's very heavy. We'll send it to you.
Steve Martin will attest to this, in
Kiruna, the Kiruna Film Festival, “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid”
won the award as
the best comedy. I as the best director.
And they said, we'll send you the award,
a very large award. Did they send it? Did
I get it? Never!
[applause]