Dave: KTLA Morning News (March 19, 1997)

[This aired on Channel 5 in Los Angeles.]

[Note: Mark Kriski, the interviewer, previously mentioned that he once worked with a nightmare of a news director (or something like that) who looked just like Dave Foley. The nightmare's name was David Woolf. And, minutes before the interview, Kriski was chewing out Foley (in jest) as if he was Woolf. As a result, Foley acted bewildered for most of the interview.]

Kriski:....He plays the director to a very diverse group who have become, well, let's say kind of a dysfunctional family. Please welcome David Woolf.

Foley: No, no.

Kriski: Good to see you!

Foley: Foley. I'm not that bastard--

Kriski: Yeah!

Foley: --in Montreal.

Kriski: You don't like him either, do you?

Foley: Oh, good god. His reputation in the whole country of Canada...

Kriski: Yeah, I tell ya. He's--

Foley: Overwhelming. Negative.

Kriski: It's overwhelming. Negative all that way. That rotten, little--Anyway, let's get over him. We've dealt with him now.

Foley: Yeah.

Kriski: And now that I see you every week, it's like I can deal with this--this pain that is coming on. But, uh, "Newsradio." What a great, great show.

Foley: Uh, well, I'm, I'm forced, contractually, to agree. Uhhhh. Uh, no. I think it's, yeah, I think it's a wonderful show.

Kriski: When, when, when they were presenting the idea to you, was it the idea that really said, "Hey, I gotta get on board?" Or was it--do you, do you look at the people who were producing it or maybe some of the other cast of characters, such as Phil Hartman and that kind of stuff? Where did you say, "Yeah, I want it?"

Foley: Uh, I agreed to do it the minute, uh, Paul--Well, I wanted to agree to do it the minute Paul Simms called me--who's, uh, the creator--called me, um, in Toronto, uh, to ask if I wanted to do it. He had written it for me, and, but he'd forgotten to tell me about it.

Kriski: Okay!

Foley: Uh, so I had--like twenty-four hours before he had called me, I had taken another gig.

Kriski: No. Really?

Foley: So I had agreed to do another TV show. And, immediately--Paul never even told me what the damn show was about, but I really wanted to do his show, 'cause I was a huge "Larry Sanders" fan, which he produced. So, um--

Kriski: A great show.

Foley: Yeah. So I actually, like, agreed to do it before I knew what the show was.

Kriski: What was the other show? Is it on the air? Do we know it?

Foley: Uh, it never got made.

Kriski: It never got made?

Foley: It was a show called, uh, it was a show for CBS called "Mr. Fuller" that I got fired from two days into trying to do the, do the supporting cast, putting the supporting cast together.

Kriski: So it's amazing how these things, you know, all of a sudden--you go, "Why is this happening to me?" And I guess it's all part of the big master plan out there.

Foley: Oh yes.

Kriski: You were meant to be doing "Newsradio."

Foley: Yes, "the hand that guides the universe" wanted to make sure that I had a show on NBC.

Kriski: Okay! Hey, we a got a clip of you playing uh, um, the news director.

Foley: Alright.

Kriski: And, let's have a look at it.

[clip: about "Stargate Defender, a classic arcade game from 1981, the glory days, before the 16-bit processors"]

Kriski: You guys, uh, when you watch the show, it looks like the cast of characters are really in such individual personalities. You guys are all kind of wacked. Are you, in real life?

Foley: Um, yeah, yeah. It's, uh...Yeah, it's, uh, an entertainingly, um, mentally sort of, uh, unbalanced show. It's like everyone, everyone is, uh, everyone on the show is very funny and makes you l--is fun to hang out with. So--which is very dangerous.

Kriski: Now what's Phil Hartman like? The character he plays is very kind of, "Leave me alone. I'm into my own thing, into my own life" very cool, uh. Is he, what's he like when you guys are backstage.

Foley: Uh, Phil is very funny. He's fun to hang out with. He's, umm, I'm, you know, I'm saying all this on heresay. I've never actually met the man. Uh, but I hear he's a great guy. Uh, terrific "fellow" to, uh, to "hang out with."

Kriski: Contractually, you have to say that too, right? "Oh, he's a nice guy, upstanding and a lot of fun to hang out with." "Newsradio." It airs on Wednesday nights. That's tonight.

Foley: Wednesdays. And they've just moved us to eight o'clock, now.

Kriski: Oh. Eight o'clock. Really?

Foley: We're at eight o'clock, Wednesday night.

Kriski: Okay, so is that a better time slot?

Foley: Oh! Ye--God, we hope so! Nothing could be worse than that nine o'clock slot we were in.

Kriski: Really?

Foley: Oh yeah.

Kriski: Well, okay. So, listen, I watch you guys weekly and I curse at my TV and I throw stuff at you and everything.

Foley: Alright.

Kriski: And I will continue to do it at a newer hour.

Foley: Alright.

Kriski: Dave Foley, thank you very much--

Foley: Thank you very much for having me.

Kriski: --We appreciate it.

Contributor

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