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Robert Smigel on the animated sketch "Christmastime for Jews" on the "TV Funhouse" segment of Saturday Night Live, and on getting singer Darlene Love to record the song for the sketch 02:09
Interview: Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel on the animated sketch "Journey to the Disney Vault" for Saturday Night Live's "TV Funhouse" animated sketches; on working with animation director Robert Marianetti, who came up with the idea of having skeletons in the Disney vault; on using a songalike of "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" in the piece; on the piece being a racy piece but the point was that it was making fun of racist people; Smigel's feeling that “intent should matter in comedy- if it matters in crime, it matters in comedy”; on his autonomy making "TV Funhouse" cartoons; on a controversial sketch he made about Michael Jackson 02:08
Interview: Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel on how the Peanuts Christmas specials were important to him as a child; on his parody of the Peanuts for his "TV Funhouse" animated sketch on Saturday Night Live, and on how it surprised him when the audience responded to the ending of the sketch with such genuine emotion 04:38
Interview: Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel on one of his goals with The Dana Carvey Show being deliberately different from Saturday Night Live, such as using short films and cartoons 06:29
Interview: Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel on returning to Saturday Night Live; on pitching the “TV Funhouse” animated sketches to Lorne, and on the catchphrase "Come back here with my show” with Smigel mimicking Lorne Michaels on "TV Funhouse" 03:49
Interview: Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel on the animated sketches he created for Saturday Night Live; on the "Cluckin' Chicken" piece which he first created for The Dana Carvey Show and later brought to Saturday Night Live; on Adam Sandler as the voice of the "Cluckin' Chicken"; on hiring animation director J.J. Sedelmaier for these pieces; on why he turned to animation as a vehicle for comedy; on wanting to be a cartoonist 03:51
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Saturday Night Live
Robert Smigel on the animated sketches he created for Saturday Night Live; on the "Cluckin' Chicken" piece which he first created for The Dana Carvey Show and later brought to Saturday Night Live; on Adam Sandler as the voice of the "Cluckin' Chicken"; on hiring animation director J.J. Sedelmaier for these pieces; on why he turned to animation as a vehicle for comedy; on wanting to be a cartoonist 12:25
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: The Dana Carvey Show
Robert Smigel on his return to Saturday Night Live with his "TV Funhouse" animated sketches, starting with the sketch "The Ambiguously Gay Duo" and then "The X Presidents" voiced by Jim Morris; on how the "TV Funhouse" animated sketches on SNL came about; on using Stephen Colbert and Steve Carrell as the voices of "Ace" and "Gary" in the "Ambiguously Gay Duo" sketches; on mimicking Lorne Michaels for the catchphrase “Come back here with my show” on "TV Funhouse"; on impressions of Lorne Michaels by himself and others including Tom Hanks and Mike Meyers 12:37
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Saturday Night Live
Robert Smigel on his animated holiday sketch "Christmastime for the Jews on Saturday Night Live, and on getting Phil Spector singer Darlene Love to sing the song for the sketch 02:08
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Saturday Night Live
Robert Smigel on the animated sketch "Journey to the Disney Vault" for Saturday Night Live's "TV Funhouse" animated sketches; on working with animation director Robert Marianetti, who came up with the idea of having skeletons in the Disney vault; on using a songalike of "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" in the piece; on the piece being a racy piece but the point was that it was making fun of racist people; Smigel's feeling that “intent should matter in comedy- if it matters in crime, it matters in comedy”; on his autonomy making "TV Funhouse" cartoons; on a controversial sketch he made about Michael Jackson 05:36
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Saturday Night Live
Robert Smigel on the "TV Funhouse" animated sketch “Conspiracy Theory Rock!” (as a parody of Schoolhouse Rock) which poked fun at GE (NBC’s parent company); on getting notes back about the sketch from Standards & Practices; on the sketch airing on SNL as NBC president Bob Wright happened to be watching and his reaction to the sketch; on this sketch never re-airing; on SNL assistant director Robert Caminiti letting Smigel know the sketch had been pulled; on Lorne Michaels' continued support for Smigel's sketches despite the backlash; on J.J. Sedelmaier coming back to animate the "Conspiracy Theory Rock" sketch and getting original artists who had worked on Schoolhouse Rock to animate the piece 07:14
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Saturday Night Live
Robert Smigel on his involvement with the 25th anniversary special of Saturday Night Live in 1999; on the animated sketch "Life of a Catchphrase" he created for "TV Funhouse" that aired during this special; on another "TV Funhouse" sketch he wrote for the special which aired later on the "X Presidents" episode; on his penchant for making fun of SNL producer Lorne Michaels and his deep affection for Lorne; on the special celebrity audience that was present for the anniversary show 11:48
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Saturday Night Live
Robert Smigel on how the Peanuts' A Charlie Brown Christmas specials were important to him as a child; on his parody of the Peanuts for his "TV Funhouse" animated sketch on Saturday Night Live, and on how it surprised him when the audience responded to the ending of the sketch with such genuine emotion (he thought it would be poignant, but still garner a “sad laugh”); on the device for the sketch based on the Peanuts kids waving their arms around "Charlie Brown’s" Christmas tree and magically transforming it in seconds in the original Peanuts special 04:36
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Charlie Brown Specials
Robert Smigel on his "TV Funhouse" animated sketch on Saturday Night Live skewering NBC's parent company GE; on getting notes from Standards & Practices at NBC to tweak his "Conspiracy Theory Rock!" sketch; on the sketch airing on SNL just as NBC president Bob Wright happened to be watching; on this sketch never re-airing; on SNL assistant director Robert Caminiti letting Smigel know the sketch had been pulled; on Lorne Michaels' continued support for Smigel's sketches despite the backlash; on the sketch's continued popularity; on J. J. Sedelmaier getting original artists who had worked on the original Schoolhouse Rock to animate "Conspiracy Theory Rock" 05:26
Interview: Robert Smigel | Topic: Censorship / Standards & Practices
Robert Smigel on his "TV Funhouse" animated sketch on Saturday Night Live skewering NBC's parent company GE; on getting notes from Standards & Practices at NBC to tweak his "Conspiracy Theory Rock!" sketch; on the sketch airing on SNL just as NBC president Bob Wright happened to be watching; on this sketch never re-airing; on SNL assistant director Robert Caminiti letting Smigel know the sketch had been pulled; on Lorne Michaels' continued support for Smigel's sketches despite the backlash; on the sketch's continued popularity; on J. J. Sedelmaier getting original artists who had worked on the original Schoolhouse Rock to animate "Conspiracy Theory Rock" 05:26
Interview: Robert Smigel | Topic: Television Industry
Robert Smigel as "Triumph the Insult Comic Dog" on the lack of diversity in late-night television 02:17
Interview: Robert Smigel
On the Saturday TV Funhouse animated series he created; on pitching the show to Fox and then Comedy Central; on the show’s host Doug Dale; on the Anipals puppets; on a Dino Stamatopoulos' idea for a cat couple giving birth to live kittens on the show; on the writers' strike (2007) being the reason he stopped making the animated "Funhouse" sketches for Saturday Night Live 15:59
Interview: Robert Smigel
On the special Night of Too Many Stars coming about due to his own son's autism; on the show being a fundraising telethon for autism; on the talent he was able to procure for the specials including Paul Rudd and Katy Perry; on a notable moment on the special with a woman with autism performing on the show 13:12
Interview: Robert Smigel
On the show Jack and Triumph he created with the puppet dog and Jack McBrayer; on Donald Trump's presidency and how Triumph was able to interact with conservative politicians like Mike Huckabee; on "Triumph" being able to poke fun at people on both sides of the political spectrum 11:37
Interview: Robert Smigel
On his writing process; on whether you can teach someone to be funny; on the kinds of comedy in which Smigel is interested; on his proudest achievement; on how he would like "Triumph" to be remembered in an "In Memoriam" segment; on career regrets 32:07
Interview: Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel on the TV specials he founded as a fundraiser for autism, Night of Too Many Stars, and one moment in particular with Jodi DiPiazzi and Katy Perry singing "Firework" and why that moment encapsulated what he was trying to do with the specials -- to help people with autism connect to the rest of the world 05:27
Interview: Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel on the Saturday TV Funhouse animated series he created; on pitching the show to Fox and then Comedy Central; on the show’s host Doug Dale; on the Anipals puppets; on Dino Stamatopoulos' idea for a cat couple giving birth to live kittens on the show 09:33
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: TV Funhouse
Robert Smigel on the origin of the Night of Too Many Stars television specials, a fundraiser for autism, and on Paul Rudd's appearance on the special 12:56
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Night of Too Many Stars
Robert Smigel on the Night of Too Many Stars special featuring Katy Perry and Jodi DiPiazza singing “Firework” and how that moment encapsulated what he was trying to do with the specials -- to help kids with autism feel connected to the world around them 05:36
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Night of Too Many Stars
Robert Smigel on his show Jack and Triumph featuring Jack McBrayer with "Triumph the Insult Comic Dog" 04:50
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Jack and Triumph
Robert Smigel on having his puppet "Triumph the Insult Comic Dog" cover the 2016 presidential campaigns, and on "Triumph's" interview with then-Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee 02:55
Interview: Robert Smigel | Topic: Donald J. Trump
Robert Smigel on having his puppet "Triumph the Insult Comic Dog" cover the 2016 presidential campaigns, and on "Triumph's" interview with then-Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee 02:55
Interview: Robert Smigel | Topic: Television and the Presidency