Harvey Pekar Isn't A Showbiz Phony | Letterman
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- Опубліковано 13 кві 2022
- The underground comic book writer of "American Splendor" is in a mood. (From "Late Night," air date: 10/15/86)
#HarveyPekar #AmericanSplendor #Letterman
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This was "Late Night" at its best, when Dave would have people on like Harvey that you just wouldn't see elsewhere and then would bring them back. Brother Theodore, Lynda Barry, Tom Savini....it was a beautiful, eccentric, colorful showcase for the world that exists outside of the mainstream.
Yeah, I developed a crush on a young Fran Lebowitz. I still have a thing for Jewish intellectual women.
I stayed up or snuck out of my room all the time to watch this show as a kid, and Brother Theodore just blew my mind. Then I'd be trying to explain Brother Theodore to other 5th graders the next day, and... not easy to do.
Yes! Before DL became bitter and angry
Without this exposure, the biopic never gets made.
@@Lethgar_Smith Eww
I met Harvey once. I was attending his one and only opera, "Leave Me Alone." My friend produced it. So, I'm introduced, and he shook my hand like I still owed him money. He grunted. Then he quickly turned and shambled away.
That's my Harvey Pekar story.
That's cool, I met him at a Cleveland Public Library where he gave a lecture, when asked if he liked to spend time at the library when he was younger he said "Oh, Hell yeah man"
Did you pay up in the end - out of guilt?
Well, he *did* forewarn everyone he was no showbiz phony.
Guess he meant the "Leave Me Alone" thing.
I met him in a record store, we talked about Sun Ra for about an hour or so. Really nice engaging guy.
I absolutely love this guy's attitude, doesn't let anybody get away with any passive aggressive bullshit
he comes across as abrasive rude. No idea why anyone would like that kind of attitude.
@@geofreyrHarvey was a real soul. He was prickly because he hated to play the pathetic game of pretense. He hated the establishment and kissing up to entertainment shills. Dave himself later said how much he respects Harvey. Harvey may have been intense, but he was absolutely genuine. No pretense with Harvey.
@@Alwayz1999 I dunno, he just seems instantly abrasive and rude for no reason. Maybe he was different in real life, on the street etc.
Then why is he choosing to be on a talk show? Waste of time.
@@geofreyrMellow out. Anyway Angelyne is the only one who would pull of having a pink sports car as their photos. Don’t take things so seriously, pilGRIM.
I met Harvey twice, and the second time, spoke with him at length, for about an hour. He was friendly, funny, humble and just an all around nice guy. He knew why he was on Letterman-in order for Dave to make gentle sport of-as Dave did with his other fringe-oddball guests. Harvey went there to sell books. But he knew who he was dealing with, and so he would not let himself be an easy target, though he probably was more combative than he needed to be. Oh well.
I also met his wife and she was unpleasant.
This man might have been rich this days.
@@vince0896 Have you heard of people being an over night success after 25 yrs ?
I hope he did.
Wow 🤯👍👏👏🙂✌️. That's why I love YT comments. You uncover amazing things. Thx for sharing. ✌️🙏👋🙂
She that wanted overprice for her raggedy doll. Yeah, it was a hint there already.
I love how he goes on the show and his attitude is "WHY YOU ASKING ME ALL THESE QUESTIONS"?!!
Harvey was great. He was much smarter than people (including Dave at the time) gave him credit for. I love how he said "What are you talking about?"
Harvey Pekar is one of the greatest human beings who ever lived. His American Splendor comic books are must reading for anyone interested in life, art, and fantastic, humanistic writing.
Absolutely true in my opinion.
Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff.
You got THAT right.
@@cbus Damn straight, brother. Well said.
The fact that he seemed genuinely upset that the comedian who was supposed to go on next didn't get to perform because the show ran out of time tells me he was a stand up kinda guy.
Not comparing myself to a legend like Harvey, but it's absolutely true that you can't make a living as a writer unless you're on staff at the New York Times or a major magazine. Harvey made $4 per record review. I made $10 for each review for a defunct mag called Reflex. I got $50 writing a music column in the local newspaper. Harvey made $2K on his comics (the first year that he did more than break even), I made about that publishing my own magazine. But at least Harvey had a good job as a file clerk in a Cleveland hospital. I was a columnist for a newspaper and people were recognizing me at my real job, in a fish market.
and now with AI, writing isn't even a career option anymore
@@macemaster Yup writing will soon be a dead profession. Art and illustration is also on the chopping block. It's nothing less than tragic and will change human history in ways we can't even imagine. I'll be dead before the most serious consequences.
Amen, man. Been trying for about twenty years now. I don't mean in any kind of developing way, but slogging for decades with somewhat of a competitive resume. I once had this notion that taking hack was beneath me, but that went to the wayside *really* quick. You are not pulling people's leg with these rates. It's comical that somebody like Letterman who lives in New York would berate somebody telling the truth about the industry. I get that, too. People think I work a day job (a real job) because I lack ambition or confidence, etc. People have no clue. They think if Stephen King, James Patterson, or Dan Brown can do it, anybody can.
@@carlswart7310 Yes, people always just assume writing makes you rich, and I'm quick to tell them that's only the case for King, Rowling, and the author of those hideous 50 Shades books (that literally started as Twilight fan-fic). Of course, there are a myriad of ways one can grind out a living now with various web options and such, but I'm betting AI is going to gnaw deeply into those avenues very soon.
I used to get paid something like 50 cents per column inch.
This is classic Letterman, him interviewing a hostile guest and loving every minute of it. There aren't any guests like this anymore, everyone's too nice and accommodating!
Too bad he's a creep and not remotely funny
It's not for lack of hostile people that want to be guests, none of the current talk show hosts are willing or able to deal with a confrontational guest. Dave was willing to take the chance he could make it into something funny and knew how to shut it down if it started getting out of hand.
I think it was win-win. Pekar got some publicity; Letterman got memorable, funny interviews with him.
Harvey and Dabney would've been a nice hostile lineup. Maybe a Friday show.
Every talk show now is worked out beforehand and controlled. This is two real humans winging it. Letterman used to be essential.
@@patreekotime4578 There is more than that, he didn't have a general script, and he said what he wanted.
This dude is one of a kind.
I know several comedians just like him in real life
Yep, along with actor Crispin Glover who carried on with bizarre behaviour on Letterman's Show in the '80s, finally being banned from the show in 1987, though that ban was lifted years later, I think. But they were likely the wackiest and most troublesome of all guests for Dave in his show's history.
Dave was great at putting people on his stage that wouldn't normally get any time on camera. And he'd bring them back again and again. Good times.
We should all strive to be more like, Harvey. Speaking the truth no matter the circumstances.
RIP Harvey
And thanks for sharing these videos. 🤟😎🤘
It was an act....
@@DutchVanHelsing how so
@@DutchVanHelsing wrong
"We should all strive to be more like, Harvey. Speaking the truth no matter the circumstances."
Which also sounds a lot like the late George Carlin as well.
Exactly, that's the whole point.
Loved Harvey and Dave together. I met Harvey about three years before he passed. He was a nice man who had a passion for what he did.
I can't believe I watched this nearly 36 years ago. Everything was so very different than they are today.
I can't believe how old you are.
@@SethMcFartlane Me neither! I was even old when this aired in 1986. But don't worry -- you'll get there too eventually.
One of the best guests to every appear on Late Night. I remember watching this when it aired.
You simply could not have this kind of honesty on network television nowadays with Fallon et al.
Too true.
OMG imagine Harvey on Fallon. 😂
It’s just propaganda nowadays. I can’t think of a single talk show host, left or right, who isn’t a political hack and shill.
@@thing12games44 he would have a brain embolism
I live in the Cleveland area and I was lucky enough to have met Harvey. I found him to be a friendly good natured man. Typical Clevelander in many ways. He's missed. Rest in peace Harv.
Native Clevelander here. Yeah…..many of us are like that.
Something in the Erie I think….😅
Native Clevelander as well and I fully agree!
I live in the burbs, but get the vibe. I can relate to Harvey.
So cool to see these classic clips. Harvey was always entertaining on Dave's show, I couldn't wait to see him. RIP Harvey (died in 2010)
It's sad that only in retrospect does Dave regret banning him. Beneath his so-called "irreverence", he really was a company man. That's why he felt so betrayed by NBC. He was a company man. Harvey, not so much.
What a pity that he passed away
This is the best thing I’ve seen on UA-cam in ages.
I love the lack of polish on the old Letterman shows. He really embraced the off-beat, and it allowed people like Harvey Pekar to get more exposure to audiences who otherwise might not have heard of him.
yea i'm not a fan of the polish people either
7:10 "Would you pay $34 for that?"
"No, but I'm not asking it. My wife is."
Saw this the night it aired. Been a fan, since. Dave again showed his genius in keeping up. Harvey was so relatable to a midwesterner's sarcastic core and strong sense of self.
Good job society 💯🖤
Sarcastic core and strong sense of self ?? You're so smart
The movie is original, imaginative, perfectly cast, and very funny. The world needs more crazy bastards like the great Harvey Pekar.
which movie?
@@johnmachter40 American Splendor.
A legendary appearance by a legendary guest. I remember my teenaged friends and I discussing appearances like this for days, if not weeks.
Wish that I knew you and your friends. My circle wouldn't know anything about this guy.
i just loved late night talk shows had my few fav him and conan johnny carson too just loved these tipes of talk on tele at night lol
After Pekar's death, Letterman reflected in 2017 that...
"He was great.... He would just go after stuff. He ... would go after me, he would go after the network, he would go after everything, in a very committed way. It wasn’t a gag, it wasn’t an act, he would really go to work on you.... [Pekar] was anti-establishment in a way that you don’t see guys like that anymore. And that used to really upset me, because I just thought 'Come on Harvey, don’t do this to us, just play the game, blah blah blah blah.'... I’m a completely different person now. And I would be so much more better equipped to view the immediate surroundings of that show now, than I was [then].... Now, jeez, I wish I could have had Harvey on every night."[38]
Dave is a globalist sellout now, I can tell you what he is going to bring up when he makes appearances now, or what he is actually referring to. He was a better man back when he was a bit more in the dark about things, he has been "enlightened" now, or so his masters have probably convinced him.
He's a wise man to keep his day job and get that pension!
Totally!
Too bad he died at 70.
Definitely sounds like he needed a better agent to represent his comic book career!
Besides which he needed material for his books.
Those have become increasingly rare since the 90s, and possibly before
Sadly, Harvey Pekar passed away on Monday, July 12th, 2010 in Cleveland, Ohio at the age of 70. Pekar is immortal here and in print.
I think he would have said, Finally lol
I live in University Heights, I used to see him occasionally at the old post office that used to be on Lee Road in Cleveland Heights. Then one day, I was hanging out at a record store that was on Lee Road at the time, called Tunes (was only there for about 2 years), and Harvey came in, and I talked to him for about a minute. Very quiet, very down to Earth guy.
I went to one of the shows when he was having an argument with Dave.
then after Dave retired he said in an interview Harvey was one of his favorite guest because he liked his honesty and what he believed in?
"Have you thought about a decaffeinated coffee?"
Classic 😂
Love this guy. American Splendor was SUCH a great movie.
Indeed! Loved the comic magazine too.
The comics are even better!
I grew up reading Image comics that my brother owned, I kinda stopped with comics in high school and in the years that followed. I was recommended the American Splendor movie and it pretty much single-handedly reinvigorated any interest I had in comics. The movie was such a cool mix of documentary/scripted movie etc. and worked really well.
It's a COMIC bro
@@SchizoMelody Twas also a movie
It’s frustrating that they never explained the actual work, always playing it off as some sort of joke. American Splendor was like reading Studs Terkel with a dash more humor. It profiled some really moving stories and interviews with normal people.
Paul Giammetti was the perfect choice to play him in that movie (he even looks like z Harvey
Definitely should be the embodiment of the American dream. What an original genuine dude trying to make something out of his everyday life.
Who told you that?!
I remember I saw the premiere of American Splendor in Edinburgh at the film festival there and Harvey Pekar was there to introduce the movie with his family and it was a really nice moment.
I love Dave’s respectful contempt for Harvey
Thirty years later and I still remember this guy.
This guy legitimately does not give a shit...Refreshing 🤙🏽
He was one feisty character! God bless him!
Wonderful. Thank you for this upload. What a gem.
Harvey was a challenging guest.
Eh, seemed like he was at the beginning but then the giant assumptions coming out of Dave's mouth kinda surprised me. The idea that he doesn't need a day job or that offers are being thrown at Harvey's feet kinda indicate that Dave's more than a bit out of touch with other careers. It's like he's talking down to the guy. Like he thinks that Harvey is playing a character rather than Harvey being a creative guy trying to get by.
Dave Letterman was once in pop art form on the cover of The Avengers Marvel comic book issue #239 which was on newsstands and comic book spinner racks in October, 1983 as well as on the cover of American Splendor issue #12 in 1987. Great to hear the "Late Night" theme at the very end of the clip.
And of course Letterman was in the epic comic the Dark Knight Returns
@@paulpolpiboon9535 thinly disguised as “Dave Endocrine”. Amazing how that comic book is still so influential.
He was spot on about comics being taken seriously as an artistic medium, which I’m sure people scoffed at him back then for saying.
Are good comic books and graphic novels the same thing?
Harvey is such an authentic character. We need more people like him.
He was an idiot. literally a circus geek. Very entertaining.
Harvey is a role model for me. A lifelong hero, even if he would have preferred not to be.
real superhero
I like when Harvey started to explain why he was a comic book writer; the best part of this interview.
Please upload more Harvey Pekar
ua-cam.com/video/cXnivwMjN3k/v-deo.html
I second that!
rare Harvey in CLE clip....plenty
ua-cam.com/video/biOodnioY8c/v-deo.html
Great compilation, thanks so much for uploading.
The best talk-show guest in human history. Couldn’t decide through if he was a comedian putting it on, but apparently not. So refreshing after all the bullshit guests on all the shows.
When late night TV had ballz. Now it's just vacuous airheads playing childish party games with Fallon.
This interview was much better than his final one with Dave where he was just over confrontational.
The chemistry between these two are perfect. And _American Splendor_ is superb.
He's a breath of fresh air from times past. That was great to watch! 😊
Harvey Pekar is definitely a great guest for Letterman and you can tell he knows it.
How have I missed this! I couldnt wait to hear what he was going to say next! What a peculiar dude. It's like he isn't trying to be funny, but naturally is.
I've got a feeling Harvey never tried decaf.
Magic! Thank you Dave and Harvey.
Love this interview.
A rare guest if there ever were one. He was legit human being. No fakery or fasade to hide beind: Just Harvey.
I’ve always loved this segment.
Pure gold.
Never allowed himself to be the easy butt of the joke.
I love Harvey Pekar
When I imagine who reads or writes comic books this is who always comes to mind.
American Splendor is one of my favorite movies. Such an interesting personality.
Such a classic
I know Carson is still considered the best.
But Letterman’s show was such a unique style. Perhaps it’s cuz I grew up with it but he had such an interesting way he ran the show.
Pekar is hilarious in this.
Agree, but everytime someone says "hilarious", I'm beaming - due to Louis CK's bit.
That was fun. Haven't seen this since it originally aired. It's even better than I remembered it.
So bloody amusing, this had me in stitches 😂
I love this guy! Rip Harvey. The absolute best. He should have had a late night show, hilarious!
This is just how people in Cleveland talk to each other lol.
The boom popping in is just too perfect.
love this guy
I'm two years younger than he was here. Wow. RIP Harvey.
this is GOLD
"You look bad compared to me" 😂😂
Growing up in the 80s I watched these live, and you would never know what was going to happen, I enjoy these even more now, watching them decades later.
This man is my hero and I'm sad I'm only now just learning of him.
I would buy one of these dolls any time now, Harvey seems like a truly authentic character in his own right, they don't make them anymore like that. Like the dolls.
I was a Late Show with David Letterman devotee from the start to the end. And this clip is a small representation of why that is. God, I loved that show, and the quirky side of it. That would include not only his guests, but the bits that he had such as Grinder Girl, Dwight the Troubled Teen, etc, etc, etc, etc.
Being a night owl, I rarely missed an episode over those many decades of "all this for only pennies a serving".
Thanks David Letterman.
And I must include that this show beats the hell out of any late night programs on today.
Love Harvey. Love Dave.
it's legendary that they allowed this man back on the show multiple times LOL
Love Pakar, who's also a very knowledgeable jazz aficionado who got the great John Zorn to release the late great Joe Maneri's 1960's recording, Paniots Nine----which is also the theme song to the movie American Splendor.... I like the back and forth banter with Letterman who knows he's not going to intimidate this guy in any way
I love Harvey!
Harvey is one of those guys whom I always wanted to meet and have a beer with. He always have busted Dave chops, but that's what made it fun..
Harvey Pekar is my spirit animal.
cant believe ive only just found out about him - he's brilliant
Best talk show guest ever
I'm surprised he came all the way to NYC for this silliness.
He so real, I can't tell if he's playing it up. Rest in Peace Pekar, your legacy lives on.
Brilliant.
What a character 🤣
David Letterman is truly a genuinely funny guy. He stood up to Harvey and played Harvey's game, and still killed it. The whole "You're the American dream" comment was hilarious. Harvey's facial expression was priceless.
Dave inadvertently touched Harvey's leg 7:24
And he apologized profusely for that too
People assume that writers make far more money than they ever do.
They do. "Oh you write novels? Ohhhhh, you must be raking it in" ... and if you write comics? "Oh, that's what they make all those movies out of, very good - you're probably rolling in it" ... shhhhhyeah!
Most people have no idea. 30-50¢ a word is about average for a no name writer. Stop and think about that. You have to spend time organizing what you write in your mind, likely do many hours of research and note taking, then do several drafts before having a finished piece. They often make less then minimum wage.
why L ron hubbard invented a religion... he even said so
This is pure Dave it's fuckin fantastic. I'd love to hear his retrospective on it today.
He regrets how he went about things with Pekar and now thinks very highly in retrospect. He went on saying in an interview that Pekar truly was anti establishment and didn’t play the game by the numbers which he resented back in the day but admires now.
Harvey Pekar was a legend, uncompromising in his views even as a guest on GE owned NBC (at the time) Late Night with David Letterman
Just make sure the man has his doughnuts. lol.
he is so insanely funny, his delivery is sublime