"The
Man Behind Bobby Roos" Arne
Zaslove Interviews Roger Kabler
(This is a transcription of the documentary interview "The
Man Behind Bobby Roos" which is available on the "Who
the Hell is Bobby Roos?" DVD.)
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. Introduction. When
did you start? Who did you do? Who
were your inspirations? What
was it like working with John Feldman on "Alligator Eyes?"
What's it like to
be an improvisational actor? Why
do you call John Feldman a spy? Is
that Bobby's or Roger's family in the film? How
do you"get" an impression? Where
are you when the mask is on? Are
you satirizing or channeling? Why
does Bobby Roos think Roger Kabler is a shitty impressionist?
What is the comedian's role
in society? Have
you ever met any of the celebrities that you do? How
do you study the celebrities? Why
do we love to see our heroes and politicians skewered?
Do
you feel part of the Jewish-American humorists club? In
order to show the horror do you have to live it? What
are your aspirations? Another TV series? What
fueled the emotions behind "...Bobby Roos?"
In hindsight,
what would you have done differently in your life? What
are your plans for your future?
John Feldman:
I just thought it’d be a great idea to have him interview
Roger while he was here in town. … right
after the show. Just part of this celebration so we can talk
about the film and talk about the man behind the film … other
than me… which is Roger. So that’s my introduction.
Roger Kabler:
Thank you. Great
Arne Zaslove:
Well, we’ll do this for you the audience and for getting
some information about Roger. I’ve got a list of questions.
For me it’s a great honor to be here on the stage with such
talent. And it’s sort of a boyhood dream come true for me,
because when I was very little, I was just enthralled by impressionists.
And it sort of guided me in my career to become a kind of
a clown actor…. But so, when I saw John’s film and saw how
brilliant Roger was -- I call you Bobby or Roger -- the opportunity
to do this is just very exciting for me. So that’s just a
little prelude and we won’t put it in the film. So
when did you start? You said you were 7 or 8. Who did you
do? When did you start?
Roger Kabler:
By the way… thanks. This is an honor for me too. I’m kind
of blown away. I started when I was 7 or 8. The first
one was Columbo -- I used to follow
my mother around the house with the rain coat. “Mommy, Mommy.
I wanna ask ya sompin Mommy.” “Just leave me
alone, already.” “No, just one more thing Mommy....” I could
do it for hours.
Arne Zaslove:
Did you clown around in class? Did you tease your
teachers?
Roger Kabler:
No. I imitated a couple a teachers behind their backs. I
was really shy and I didn’t know how to express myself … until
I learned how to do impressions.
Arne Zaslove:
So, who was your inspiration
at that time? Who was doing standup.
What was doing impressions. Was
there anybody on television that you watched ?
Roger Kabler:
Well, there was, you know, Copycats.
Arne Zaslove:
Oh, the Copycats.
Roger Kabler:
Yeah, remember the Copycats.
Arne Zaslove:
Yeah, yeah. That was with a decade that passed me by. I
don’t remember the Copycats.
Roger Kabler:
Oh, yeah. They did a bunch of really great impressions.
My Dad used to call me into the room to watch the Copycats.
And Rich Little doing his …. And
they had Marilyn Michaels doing Barbara Streisand.
I gotta
tell you that really my first inspiration was Robin Williams.
I mean in terms of being an entertainer.
Arne Zaslove:
Uh huh.
Roger Kabler:
Yeah. I mean I’d see movies and I’d wanna be like Jack Nicholson or Al Pacino,
or Dustin Hoffman in something. But when I saw Robin Williams
I really absorbed him.
Arne Zaslove:
But what was it about him that made you….
Roger Kabler:
I identified with him.
Arne Zaslove:
His manic, or what?
Roger Kabler:
His spirit. His panic. His
fear. Early Williams was all about “hey what can
I do?” I really identified with him. Even when I started
out in Boston doing standup,
I was doing Williams and I didn’t even know it. I identified
with that manic-ness.
.Arne Zaslove:
Yeah. Yeah.
Roger Kabler:
Quick thoughts coming in… I really identified with a lot
about him. Now I don’t so much. Even though, you know, I
understand how it all works, I see myself as a totally different
kind a person.
Arne Zaslove:
Oh, absolutely.
Roger Kabler:
Now. Even though I do like to work improvisationally.
I understand who he is and I understand who I am and they’re
two very different people. {Williams impression:}
“I think. I don’t know.”
Arne Zaslove:
Well let’s shift gears a little bit. You did another film
with John Feldman, “Alligator Eyes,” right?
Roger Kabler:
Yeah.
Arne Zaslove:
And that was a straight role in a film, and it’s
so beautifully integrated into “…Bobby Roos?” … with the gal at the end. And some of us had seen that movie
and you could see the poster, and ‘oh, my goodness… he’s in
that. And then it was beautifully tied together with the
ending.
Roger Kabler:
Yeah.
Arne Zaslove:
There you have to hit your marks but in “…Bobby
Roos?” you’re sort of free-wheeling. What’s the difference
for you as an artist?
Roger Kabler:
They were the two best experiences I’ve ever had. First
of all doing “Alligator Eyes” was like losing your virginity.
Getting a role in a film, you know,
a feature film
that was shooting on location in North Carolina. And
it was just a living experience, and I actually lived that
character. I’d wake up at six and before I got into the makeup
chair -- cause I was playing a drunk
I’d start pretending that I was drinking. I never actually
drank… ‘cause I knew that that’s
just out a control acting. So I’d start acting drunk, and
by the time we were ready to shoot, I was plowed. I’d even
pretend to get up out of the makeup chair and throw up. But
it was precise. And John had it all here (indicates head)…
and it was all written down and it was a whole different way
of making films. And it was free. I might add.
Arne Zaslove:
Free? What do you mean free?
Roger Kabler:
The thing about working with John
Feldman is that he is a man of deep
intelligence and creativity, but lacking the arrogance and
ego that most people in this business have. So that when
we started this process… he hired me to do this [Alligator
Eyes] and I have a certain rhetoric
and we all had a certain rhetoric, and he allowed us to improvise
around the scenes that he had written and we found dialogue
that actually working. And he accepted that. And he allowed
us to play with the script. The script was fine the way
it was. But because of our individual personalities, it was,
you know… and… I’m sure this has been done before, but I so appreciate to be able to do that.
Arne Zaslove:
Um hm.
Roger Kabler:
And so to take
it a step further with Bobby Roos… we had no script…
Arne Zaslove:
So you started without a script.
Roger Kabler:
But John had a vision, as well. After many, many hours of
discussion about what we wanted to do, we were in sync because
of the hours of preparation. It was a tremendously freeing
experience. It was a living experience.
Arne Zaslove:
Right.
Roger Kabler:
Improvisational acting as you probably know… First of all,
I’m a little bit retarded because I can’t seem to memorize
stuff. I can’t grab a whole page and just know it as well
as I need to know it and be able
to recreate it and recreate it and recreate it. That’s not
my strong suit. My strong suit is being able to create words
in the moment and live them. And live the feelings behind
the words.
In
“Alligator Eyes” I was a pretty funny guy and clownish. And
in real life Annabelle Larsen would laugh hysterically pretty
much at everything I said. She had a laugh problem. John,
without me knowing, took her aside and said: “don’t laugh
at anything he does on camera. No matter what he does,” apparently
John said, “don’t laugh at him. He’s not funny. Don’t you
laugh at him.” So we’re doing a
scene and I’m trying to be charming and funny and I’m expecting her
to laugh. And because she’s not laughing -- as an actor --
I’m going -- or as a comedian-- I’m going: she’s
not laughing. I’m funny… what’s happening with this… and I try
harder and harder. And what you get is a scene of a guy trying
to seduce a girl with laughter, who’s being a clown and falling
down time after time after time. And that’s the texture.
I mean working on a John
Feldman film there’s these things…
there’s these secrets that he sets up that are just a lot
of fun to play with. And we did it on “…Bobby Roos?” too.
Arne Zaslove:
What I think’s so wonderful
about “…Bobby Roos?” is that John is so unobtrusive. I mean,
talk about fly
on the wall. I mean, --- I don’t know how many
people here saw the movie today, or if you haven’t, really
see it tomorrow at 9:30. That
he’s just not there. It’s like Cassavettes or like Godard… I mean.
It’s connected to those great filmmakers and yet we’re engrossed
every minute of the time.
Roger Kabler:
John
is a spy.
Arne Zaslove:
Yes, yes, yes.
Roger Kabler:
In a good sense.
Arne Zaslove:
He’s spying on you…
Roger Kabler:
That’s his vision.
Arne Zaslove:
Right.
Roger Kabler:
He is … the approach is somewhat -- and I mean this in the
best possible way, because it’s unique -- voyeuristic.
He wants to see, in a very unobtrusive way your most personal moments. You know… and that’s the good
stuff.
Arne Zaslove:
There
are three Kablers in the film. Which
is quite a treat. That one little home movie … when
I first saw it, I said, oh my God, they found home movies
of Roger. It was so well done that little movie of -- but
that’s your son?
Roger Kabler:
Right. And we shot a bunch a
stuff with him and he was doing Brando,
and he was doing Columbo, and he was dancing on the table, and he was having
a blast. He got to swear. Meanwhile the woman playing his
mother was sitting there popping pills and we just thought
we’d create a miserable little past where he’s trying to entertain
his mom.
Arne Zaslove:
Right.
Roger Kabler:
And this is what Bobby did. That wasn’t my mom, but it was
Bobby’s mom. My mom’s a different person. She wasn’t sitting
at the table popping pills. But I did chase after her and
try to entertain her.
Arne Zaslove:
And then there’s that beautiful scene with your
father.
Roger Kabler:
We had a very, very intense week of shooting and I was raw.
And I was just thinking I would love to get my dad up here
and be raw with my dad.
Arne Zaslove:
Oh, boy.
Roger Kabler:
And my Dad got me to this place. He always encouraged me
in terms of… you’re good at this… He got me in my first play
and we did stuff together. We played fathers and sons in
plays. And so we brought him out to John’s house, to play
my Dad… not really knowing what we were gonna do. Although I had some ideas,
and John had some ideas. And I think my dad had some ideas.
But we knew that, at that point, Bobby had a kind of psychotic
break and he was coming to his father just for help.
Arne Zaslove:
Sure.
Roger Kabler:
You know, just to have somebody to talk to because all the
women in his were leaving him… and he was a self centered
kind a guy … who else is going to listen to him, but a parent.
So my Dad came out and John took him aside and told him some
secrets away from me and told me some secrets away from him,
and I was upstairs shaving when my father came in. And I
said, “oh my God, he’s here.” I
was so nervous. I was terrified ‘cause I knew there were
things I wanted to really say to my real father that I never
said. And a lot of em are
in the film, you know. A lot of it was about when my grandparents,
his parents, were over, he was like: “… sing for your grandparents.”
“I don’t want to.” “Sing. Just sing.” “I don’t want to.”
“Just do it.” And he did that, and I do it with my kid ‘cause
I know he’s good at it. “Come on, go do it.” And we got
the tears, we got the laughter, we got all kinds a good stuff.
We’d shot for a couple hours. My father was kind a disappointed
“cause we had a 45 minute Father Scene at one point. Three different versions of the “Father Scene.” And … it got
whittled down to the very basic good stuff. And I can’t watch
it without crying ‘cause, you know,
my Dad died in August. And I am so grateful that I got to
do this with him.
Arne Zaslove:
Yeah.
Roger Kabler:
“Cause I got to… not just say what I needed to say… but get
intimate. It was very intimate to work with him.
Arne Zaslove:
One a my favorite moments is when
you’re doing Roberto Benigni.
Roger Kabler:
Oh, God.
Arne Zaslove:
I die. I fall out of my chair every time I see
that. The interesting thing about that is that you’re working
on an impression, right?
Roger Kabler:
Right.
Arne Zaslove:
You’re working on the eyebrows and it’s funny.
You’re slapping your face… all that stuff. But you’re really
trying to get him and we see an artist studying a subject
in order to “get it.”
Roger Kabler:
Right.
Arne Zaslove:
So tell me about that a little bit, about when
.... how you feel you know you’ve got it. Like you say: I got
it, I got it, I got it. That’s it.
That’s it. When do you know you’ve got somebody?
Roger Kabler:
I never got Benigni. That was so
frustrating… There was that moment. “That’s it.” But that
was it. There have been moments, and this is a lot a
what “…Bobby Roos?” is based on…. In New York my first job
as an impressionist was on something called the “Trivial Show”
which was on Channel J next to the porno stuff. And they
had me do impressions of Brando and Jack Nicholson. I can’t look like Nicholson no
matter what I do …and I would be up until four in the morning
going like this. “Come on, come on.” And I couldn’t do it,
you know. And I even tried to make my hairline a certain
way. And I know I can … and I’m doing all this shit. And
when I got to do De Niro something weird happened. It’s like four the morning…
and I finally… I was so tired… and I just made a face and
suddenly it was there. “Oh, shit.” And it freaked me out
cause De Niro was looking back at
me. And that’s how it works.
Arne Zaslove:
So you started with a face, you say? The
look? Because the look is an expression
of the soul.
Roger Kabler:
Yeah!. But … see … there’s little tricks. You go to one particular moment in
a film that you know of his: I think I got a mole, and I
just try to put his face behind mine and step aside and let
his soul take over. Just completely abandon myself to his
spirit. Let him take over. And that’s the process.
Arne Zaslove:
There’s four components to character. You’ve got a mask. You’ve
got a soul. You’ve got a rhythm. And you’ve got the posture.
And you literally channel these guys....
Roger Kabler:
Sometimes. But…
Arne Zaslove:
Where are you when you’ve got the mask on? Where’s
your concentration?
Roger Kabler:
Well, when it’s really working: I’m gone.
Arne Zaslove:
You’re gone. And that’s what “…Bobby Roos?” is
all about.
Roger Kabler:
Exactly.
Arne
Zaslove:
But as a performer you’re saying these guys are a little
bit indulgent. And so you sort of hold them up to ridicule
a little bit and yet, I think you love these guys at the same
time.
Roger Kabler:
You’ve gotta love Brando.
But you gotta know that he sits
there and eats gallons of ice cream. You know. And I can’t
do Brando without doing that sort
of kind a character.
Arne Zaslove:
But you’re caricaturing these guys and in a sense you’re saying:
“Hey, you guys, you’re a little bit crazy.” Are you trying
to make them better? Or are you just saying these are the
icons that we love to worship?
Roger Kabler:
In
Bobby Roos’s world….
Arne Zaslove:
Yeah. Yeah.
Roger Kabler:
Roger Kabler is a shitty impressionist.
In other words, I go too far. Bobby Roos would just try to
get it exactly the way it is. And get so obsessed with it
that it would drive him mad. I’ve been through that, but
I went past that into entertainment, into clowning.
Arne Zaslove:
Yes. Yes.
Roger Kabler:
You know what I mean?
Arne Zaslove:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Roger Kabler:
I think there’s more value in that. Yeah, I’ve had people
go man, that’s guy’s scary. But I don’t think that’s where
I am now. I think the clowning is where I’m at, and that’s
fine.
Roger
(cont’d): I’ve been toying with the idea of just doing me because
I’m having so much more fun.
Arne Zaslove:
Yeah.
Roger Kabler:
Even though doing stuff like Carol Channing
is an impression, but it’s really not. I can’t look like
Carol Channing.
Arne Zaslove:
But it does. Your mouth looked just like her.
Roger Kabler:
But… it terms of surrendering, I don’t know, but I’ve been
having more fun lately doing myself.
Arne Zaslove:
Uh huh.
Roger
Kabler: One
of the things that got cut out of the movie which I think
is just a brand. Making people laugh is a mitzvah.
And I never really saw that until my parents said that to
me. And my father said it to me in the improvisation. It’s
a mitzvah. And I said it to somebody the other night, ‘cause he was down on himself. He’s a comedian. I said, “Man,
when somebody makes me laugh, it’s a gift.” ‘Cause
I’m so afraid and I’m so lost and when somebody makes me laugh,
I’m right back home. I can laugh. And everything… and the
clouds open up, the sun’s in. And good things happen.
Even as an entertainer I really need
to laugh, you know, more than anything.
Arne Zaslove:
Why?
Roger Kabler:
Cause I’m, you know, I’m just a person, too.
Arne Zaslove:
Feels good.
Roger Kabler:
Yeah, man.
Roger Kabler:
I could sit in comedy clubs for hours and watch people, crazy
people like Gilbert Godfrey. I know he drives a lot a people nuts, but I just love him. He’s just so insane.
So insane.
Arne Zaslove:
Have
you ever met any of these guys that you’ve done?
Roger Kabler:
I met a lot of ‘em. Oh, oh, that
I’ve done?
Arne Zaslove:
Yeah. That you do in the shows.
Roger Kabler:
I did meet Eric Roberts . Even though
I didn’t do him tonight… I do a really good Eric Roberts.
I did it in the movie. He showed up to my show at the Cabaret
and watched me do him. And it was a little bit weird ‘cause
I’m doing Travolta, talking to Eric Roberts. ‘Cause Eric Robert’s
like “so far over the frickin top, man. You know what I’m saying?” And I’m doing
Travolta, going “you know you should go to Over Actors Anonymous,
man, you’ve got a problem.” And he sat in the audience and
laughed at that. And he was laughing at himself, and it was
great. So he’s the only one that I know of that’s actually
seen me do that.
Arne Zaslove:
Do him while him while he was there. So
you’re getting these people by their films and their photos.
I mean the walls are plastered with the photos …
Roger Kabler:
Oh, yeah.
Arne Zaslove:
So it’s from a distance.
Roger Kabler:
Yeah. Watching the movies over and over.
I saw “Jaws” like 35 times. One day I showed up in the courtyard
at school … with no real identity. And then I started doing
Richard Dreyfus. “…he’s doing Richard Dreyfus.” And I’d
do whole monologues from Jaws. You know. No, really. Really?
(Dreyfus:) “I am familiar with the fact that you are going
to ignore this particular problem until it swims up and bites
you on the ass. You know?” I auditioned for the Boston Shakespeare
Company. I did Shakespeare. They needed two monologues.
I did McDuff, you know. “We shall
not spend a great expanse of time before I reckon with your
several loves.” And I did Robert Shaw from Jaws. “You all
know me. Know how I earn a living. I’ll catch that shark
for ya, but it’s not gonna
be pleasant.” I did the whole monologue. I ate the crackers.
I had the hat. I did the whole thing and these people were…
I thought I was brilliant and these people are like, “what
the fuck?” I thought that was acting. You know.
Arne Zaslove:
Well I have
a question here. Why do people love impressionists? I mean
why do we love to see the politicians, you know, the guy that
did the Clinton, and they did
Kennedy and they did everybody. Why do we love to see these
heroes skewered a little bit. Why?
Why do you think?
Roger Kabler:
Because it brings us together in a way. I saw a guy do John
Lithgow. Not a great impressionist. But
a great impression, because he took John Lithgow and he exposed
his feminine side.
Arne Zaslove:
Oh, boy.
Roger Kabler:He was doing
an AT&T Bell commercial. And he was like: “Oh, I just
wish. I just wish I could die.” And he was draping himself
on the furniture. You realize, this
is John Lithgow’s feminine side. And we were digging it.
He was giving us an angle to John Lithgow nobody really identified
with. And we were just appreciative of the fact that this
guy had a vision of what John Lithgow is and I just thought
that was a great impression. I’ve seen people do Ronald Regan
to a “t.” Brilliant. Look alike. Imposter.
And then I’ve seen Robin Williams do his robotic Regan. (machine
noise) . You know. And then you got Dana Carvey’s
George Bush. “Not gonna do it.
I’m not gonna do it.” Which is
just great, you know. You realize that he’s taken the essence
of the man. He found it. He found the hook to the man.
Arne Zaslove:
That’s it.
Roger Kabler:
He’s a hero. Cause we couldn’t find it. And he found it
for us. And now we can all laugh at this frickin’ President who’s a moron.
Arne Zaslove:
That’s right.
Roger Kabler:
George W. Bush said about the dirty bomber: “He’s a bad man.”
Oh, my God. He’s a genius. Nobel Peace
Prize to George W. The monkey president. He called him a bad man. Now, I’m a
comedian. It’s my job to take the humor of that and condense
it down to its purest form… and come up with a bit to really express it. Right now I’m just in shock. But the
next time I come out on stage, I might do…you know what I
mean?
Arne Zaslove:
Yeah. Well...
Roger Kabler:
It’s the idea of it. It’s absurd.
Arne Zaslove:
Well, I think he’s answered the question in a
sense. I didn’t have the answer to my question and thought
maybe he had it. It’s the pomposity of these people. Right?
And we’re saying, you guys are full
of bull shit. And we’re going to expose you. So in a sense
they’re exposing the real phoniness of these kind
of people. And that’s what the satirist has to do, I mean.
Every King has to have a fool.
Roger Kabler:
Right. Because the fool allows us to say, we’re
not gonna let that asshole insult
our intelligence.
Arne Zaslove:
Yeah. That’s right.
Roger Kabler:
When he says he’s a bad man, we’re gonna
be able to go: “… gee, do ya think?”
And we’re going to be smarter than him. That makes us feel
good.
Arne Zaslove:
Exactly.
Roger Kabler:
We’ve dissected this thing.
Arne Zaslove:
Exactly. Well, the Fool in Lear says: “Lear,
don’t do that. You’re gonna get
in trouble. And he says: what are you’re talking about?
He doesn’t want to listen to the fool. But in order for
Lear to be crazy, he’s got to have the fool to tell him that
he’s crazy. So without you guys to tell us how crazy these...
Roger Kabler:
Right.
Arne Zaslove:
These people are, society
is not going to be healthy. So in a sense you’re trying to
be the shaman in the midst of the society.
Roger Kabler:
It might be the damn fools that save the planet.
Arne Zaslove:
Absolutely.
Roger Kabler:
You know.
Arne Zaslove:
Well, that’s why the fools become heroes. Do
you feel part of the Jewish American humorist club?
Roger Kabler:
Me? Yeah.
Arne Zaslove:
Look who’s in it. Benny, Berl,
George Burns, the Marks Brothers, Lenny Bruce.
Roger Kabler:
Lenny Bruce.
Arne Zaslove:
Henny Youngman. Go
on.
Roger Kabler:
Oh, Lenny Bruce. I’m a compulsive gambler. I heard the most
brilliant thing Lenny Bruce said, he says the best thing you
can do when you get off the plane in Vegas… and this was in
the ‘60’s… the best thing you do when you get off the plane
in Vegas is stick your head in the fuckin’
propeller. That’s as good as it gets. Yes. Yes.
Arne Zaslove:
But these guys are tortured at the same time.
Right?
Roger Kabler:
I’m not tortured any more.
Arne Zaslove:
All right.
Roger Kabler:
I’ve been tortured.
Arne Zaslove:
In
order to show that kind of angst, and that anxiety, and the
horror you’ve got to kind of live with it a little bit to
get through it, right?
Roger Kabler:
I was tortured by the gambling thing, yeah, it was horrible.
That was a hell I had to go through.
Arne Zaslove:
The Jews have been there since the beginning in terms of vaudeville,
you know, the Borscht circuit, they went into the radio, the
television, why is that? You’re part of that whole… the Bar
Mitzvah gag.
Roger Kabler:
Cause we suffered more… We were the slaves. We made the bricks
for Pharaoh’s… We can laugh a little now. It’s over. And
then the black people were the slaves. They were slaves,
too. They have their turn. A Lenny Bruce they don’t have,
right now. When somebody dies from an o.d. they’ll have their Lenny Bruce.
Arne Zaslove:
Right. Pryor says the funniest thing is that
I’m still alive.
Roger Kabler:
That’s hysterical.
Arne Zaslove:
That’s what he said. Have you heard that? He
said the really funny thing is that I’m still alive. That’s
the grotesque… that’s the comic, tragic at the same time,
which is what these guys do.
You
had a series, it got canceled. We saw that in the movie.
What are your aspirations? Is that nirvana for you, to get
the series? To get the feature film?
Roger Kabler:
No. The series is like hepatitis for now. You know. I’ve
been there. It’s a icky, oily, disgusting world.
Arne Zaslove:
Why? Why?
Roger Kabler:
Because they treat you: “Oh, yes, Mr. Kabler. Anything we can get you Mr. Kabler.
There’s fruit in the dressing room.” And then when they bump
you from the Leno show, you throw the fruit at the TV in the
dressing room. It’s just awful. I can’t tell you how much
it destroyed my spirit. And how long it’s
taken me to get back.
Arne Zaslove:
Were you drawn into a certain kind of values that
weren’t yours?
Roger Kabler:
Yeah. The values around TV make the networks look like politicians.
You know. “…we believe in you…” I did something so self-destructive.
They have these things called “table reads.” And the joke
that they made me say was so sophomoric. Just awful.
Arne Zaslove:
The script?
Roger Kabler:
Yeah. And the writers are there and the network people, and
the studio people, and all the directors and stuff. And the
table read is when they hear the script
for the first time. And it’s normal for the writers to laugh
at their jokes. Has anybody seen Cape Fear with Robert De Niro?
Arne Zaslove:
Yeah. Yeah.
Roger Kabler:
Uhm..
Arne Zaslove:
Too far.
Roger Kabler:
They gave me a line that was so stupid that as soon as I said
it, I broke into that Max Cady laugh while I was looking
at the writer who wrote it. (Does the
laugh). That’s funny. And I went around the room
and looked at everybody … five minutes. That’s why I didn’t
work on TV after that. I felt good at the time, but they
said, “loose canon”. You know, but
it’s the only relief I could get. It’s the only way I could
be the fool.
Arne Zaslove:
That’s part of the artist’s struggle is to find
his own way. His own root to be expressing his own feelings… his own experiences.
Roger Kabler:
This movie
we did, “…Bobby Roos?” was fueled by a tremendous amount of
other emotional resources. My emotional life is private.
But I brought a lot of my demons into it … to get the reality.
And that’s, you know, the Studio stuff.
Arne Zaslove:
Um hm.
Roger Kabler:
I did one scene, just before the transformation scene, I was
sitting on the bed crying because I had called my mother and
said, “Mom, I need to talk to you.” Well the first take of
the scene I went up to attic and beat the shit out of a mattress
until I was crying uncontrollably. Then I came down and said,
“ O.K. I’m ready.” And we did the
transformation scene. The second time, we had to do it again,
I called my Mom, I said: “Mom I need to talk to you about
blah blah blah. And we talked. And
we were in tears by the end of the conversation. I hung up
the phone. “O.K. I’m ready. You
just go to what you know. Go to what hits your buttons, you
know?
Arne Zaslove:
Well, to me that was one of the strengths of the
film, is that we were so drawn to this guy’s crisis, and we’re
laughing at the same time. And it’s compelling and almost
repelling at the same time.
Roger Kabler:
I wasn’t afraid to be repellant …
Arne Zaslove:
If we had the opportunity to live our lives over again what
would we do differently?” The way you’d look at a chess game
and say: if I hadn’t moved the bishop here, the whole game
would be different.
Roger Kabler:
That’s right.
Arne Zaslove:
So, what choice would you have made differently
now, looking back.
Roger Kabler:
Good question. I know exactly what the answer is.
Arne Zaslove:
Tell me.
Roger Kabler:
I didn’t have to think about it. Well, my wife got pregnant
in ’91, at the time I had a play
I wrote called “The Patience of Dr. Shakeshake,”
which is about a group of mentally ill people that are going
to put on a talent show. I was gonna
play all the characters. I had it all written. One of them
was an impressionist. He was kind of the Bobby Roos kind
a guy, although he was confined. And he couldn’t express
himself. So I went to Hollywood
and I got the sitcom. Yahoo. You
know. If I had done the play… you know.
Arne Zaslove:
You don’t know.
Roger Kabler:
No, I don’t know. But…
Arne Zaslove:
How the game would turn.
Roger Kabler:
I always considered that a bad choice. I always considered
that a disastrous choice ‘cause it set me back career wise
ten years, that sitcom. You know. I had a lot to do, and
I wasted my ‘30’s, man.
Arne Zaslove:
You could still do the play.
Roger Kabler:
But, here’s the other thing. Maybe “…Bobby Roos?” wouldn’t
have happened.
Arne Zaslove:
That’s true, too.
Roger Kabler:
You know. (pause) You do what
you wanna do. You don’t have to
do that stuff cause there’s a lot a people end up junkies and prostitutes,
and dead.
Arne Zaslove:
Yeah.
Roger Kabler:
From this… from this desire. From the: “Oh, I gotta
get the sitcom. Oh, I gotta get
this…” You know, it’s so sad.
Arne Zaslove:
What
are your plans for your career now?
Roger Kabler:
For my career? I used to say: I have no plans for the
future except to have one. You know,
on those really desperate days?
Arne Zaslove:
We’re very glad for you to say that. I for one… and that character that we care about so much, that our
heart goes out to. When he says “I’m so glad to be
alive,” we say: “Yes, good for you.” And then the llamas
really worked today. They really did.
Roger
Kabler: It’s
just brought me so much joy to do this thing.
Arne Zaslove:
I think he brought us joy, too.
Roger Kabler:
Yeah, man it’s just a lovely thing…
Arne Zaslove:
You wanna say something?
Roger Kabler:
Yeah I do. I know we gotta end
this.
Arne Zaslove:
I’m through, but he can continue.
Roger Kabler:
I keep teasing John about when’s the next film?
John Feldman (off) The
sequel is called “Oh, Shit, Bobby Roos is Back”
