1 00:00:11,991 --> 00:00:13,993 No matter who you are, you have just your life. 2 00:00:14,076 --> 00:00:17,121 But in books, you have a zillion lives. You have a zillion things, so… 3 00:00:17,204 --> 00:00:20,291 To me, it's-- it's just a way of being immensely rich. 4 00:00:20,374 --> 00:00:22,293 This may be the reason I never cared about money. 5 00:00:22,376 --> 00:00:25,296 Because as soon as you can read, you are incredibly rich. 6 00:00:25,379 --> 00:00:28,966 You know? I mean, so rich that if you read all the time, you wouldn't have time 7 00:00:29,050 --> 00:00:32,178 to think about money, which is minute, as opposed to reading, which is gigantic. 8 00:00:35,681 --> 00:00:39,101 [woman] Do you think that there's a suffocating political correctness? 9 00:00:39,185 --> 00:00:40,895 [Fran] She wants to know if I think 10 00:00:40,978 --> 00:00:43,272 that there's a suffocating political correctness. 11 00:00:43,355 --> 00:00:45,983 And my answer to you is I'm breathing fine. 12 00:00:46,067 --> 00:00:47,318 -Um… -[audience laughs] 13 00:00:47,401 --> 00:00:48,360 [laughs] 14 00:00:48,444 --> 00:00:52,823 ♪ You can't judge sugar By lookin' at the cane ♪ 15 00:00:52,907 --> 00:00:56,494 ♪ You can't judge a woman By lookin' at her man ♪ 16 00:00:57,161 --> 00:01:00,956 ♪ You can't judge a sister By lookin' at her brother ♪ 17 00:01:01,540 --> 00:01:05,169 ♪ You can't judge a book By lookin' at the cover ♪ 18 00:01:05,252 --> 00:01:07,379 ♪ Oh, can't you see? ♪ 19 00:01:08,089 --> 00:01:11,759 ♪ Oh, you misjudge me ♪ 20 00:01:13,469 --> 00:01:17,389 ♪ Well, I look like a farmer But I'm a lover ♪ 21 00:01:18,516 --> 00:01:21,936 ♪ Can't judge a book By lookin' at the cover ♪ 22 00:01:25,606 --> 00:01:26,816 Where should I sit? 23 00:01:26,899 --> 00:01:30,111 We're gonna go table by table now. You're gonna choose a table. 24 00:01:30,194 --> 00:01:32,029 See which one is best for you to sit. 25 00:01:32,947 --> 00:01:35,366 -Move it around here. How's that? -It's fine. 26 00:01:36,742 --> 00:01:38,452 -The food is horrible, though. -[scoffs] 27 00:01:38,536 --> 00:01:39,495 [both laugh] 28 00:01:40,162 --> 00:01:41,622 ♪ Come on in closer, baby ♪ 29 00:01:43,165 --> 00:01:44,667 ♪ Hear what else I gotta say ♪ 30 00:01:45,793 --> 00:01:48,879 Reading is a taste. This is my belief about reading. 31 00:01:48,963 --> 00:01:50,214 It's simply a taste. 32 00:01:50,297 --> 00:01:53,342 You know, it's like… if you, uh… 33 00:01:53,425 --> 00:01:55,928 grow up in an environment where books are available, 34 00:01:56,011 --> 00:01:59,014 because they're in your house, or someone takes you to the library, 35 00:01:59,098 --> 00:02:01,267 or there's a library at your school, or whatever, 36 00:02:01,350 --> 00:02:05,896 some people might love to read, just take to it, and some people might not. 37 00:02:05,980 --> 00:02:08,524 You know, it is-- I really believe it's just a taste. 38 00:02:08,607 --> 00:02:10,985 You know, I… The second I learned how to read, 39 00:02:11,068 --> 00:02:13,028 it was, like, unbelievable to me. 40 00:02:13,529 --> 00:02:14,905 Like, the world became… 41 00:02:15,573 --> 00:02:18,576 And I was pretty happy before that. I had quite a happy childhood. 42 00:02:18,659 --> 00:02:24,373 But reading was like… My-- my world became a billion times bigger, you know? 43 00:02:24,456 --> 00:02:28,335 That used to be the point of reading, in a way, you know. Now it's not. 44 00:02:28,419 --> 00:02:30,921 Now people are always saying, you know, um… 45 00:02:31,422 --> 00:02:34,592 "I-- You know… There's no books about people like me. 46 00:02:34,675 --> 00:02:36,594 -I don't see myself in the book." -[Martin laughs] 47 00:02:36,677 --> 00:02:37,928 I always think, like… 48 00:02:38,012 --> 00:02:41,098 "Did you see yourself in this book?" And I always think, "No." 49 00:02:41,182 --> 00:02:45,436 I mean, a book isn't supposed to be a mirror. It's supposed to be a door! 50 00:02:45,519 --> 00:02:46,520 [Martin] Uh-huh. 51 00:02:46,604 --> 00:02:50,232 I feel. It never occurred to me I would see myself in a book, frankly. 52 00:02:50,316 --> 00:02:52,276 I never even thought about it. Um… 53 00:02:53,569 --> 00:02:56,530 Uh… I mean, even as a child, it never occurred to me. 54 00:02:56,614 --> 00:02:58,908 So the second I learned to read, I just loved to read. 55 00:02:59,533 --> 00:03:00,910 There used to be some… 56 00:03:00,993 --> 00:03:03,787 um, some imaginary figure called the "common reader." 57 00:03:05,289 --> 00:03:08,292 -I don't know what happened. -It's been replaced by the common writer. 58 00:03:08,375 --> 00:03:09,877 [laughs] 59 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:11,378 [chuckles] Don't you think? 60 00:03:11,879 --> 00:03:14,840 But, I mean, I think people used to be more open to books. 61 00:03:14,924 --> 00:03:17,760 Do you think that's-- that's true? I mean, in a real way. 62 00:03:19,762 --> 00:03:22,306 Yeah, I think they didn't mind, 63 00:03:22,848 --> 00:03:26,227 and maybe they looked for a kind of alternate… 64 00:03:27,186 --> 00:03:30,147 world or universe or set of imagination. 65 00:03:30,231 --> 00:03:35,277 But you… you have said this before, and I guess it's truer than I thought. 66 00:03:35,819 --> 00:03:38,697 Uh, many readers really are looking… [laughs] 67 00:03:38,781 --> 00:03:42,117 I see you, raise you… for some replica of their lives. 68 00:03:42,201 --> 00:03:43,202 Yes, themselves. 69 00:03:43,285 --> 00:03:45,829 I think the reader is, in a se-- 70 00:03:45,913 --> 00:03:50,459 -I am the reader of the books I write-- -You are, but the other readers aren't. 71 00:03:50,542 --> 00:03:53,462 -That's what I try to impress upon you. -[laughter] 72 00:03:53,545 --> 00:03:55,631 Your other readers aren't you. 73 00:03:56,298 --> 00:03:57,424 Yes, they are. 74 00:03:58,050 --> 00:04:00,177 -[laughs] No-- -You say "we." You told me that once. 75 00:04:00,261 --> 00:04:04,348 -[scattered applause] -"Fran, when you write, you say 'you.'" 76 00:04:04,932 --> 00:04:07,226 I gave you something I wrote. You said, "One suggestion. 77 00:04:07,309 --> 00:04:11,438 You say 'you' here, but you shouldn't say 'you.' 78 00:04:11,522 --> 00:04:13,148 You should say 'we.'" 79 00:04:13,732 --> 00:04:14,733 And I said, "Why?" 80 00:04:14,817 --> 00:04:16,944 -You said, "That invites the reader in." -Mm-hm. 81 00:04:17,027 --> 00:04:19,446 I said, "But I don't wanna invite the reader in." 82 00:04:19,530 --> 00:04:20,698 [both laugh] 83 00:04:20,781 --> 00:04:24,368 I said… I said, "I mean 'you.'" 84 00:04:24,994 --> 00:04:27,079 -[laughs] -I said, "I'm not a hostess!" 85 00:04:27,162 --> 00:04:28,664 [audience laughing] 86 00:04:31,750 --> 00:04:34,003 I said, "I'm not a hostess. I'm a prosecutor." 87 00:04:34,086 --> 00:04:35,838 [both laughing] 88 00:04:35,921 --> 00:04:38,674 And you are a hostess. You want to invite them in. 89 00:04:38,757 --> 00:04:40,217 -Yes. -Yes. 90 00:04:40,301 --> 00:04:42,720 -Because you think they-- -I try very hard. "Come on!" 91 00:04:42,803 --> 00:04:45,055 -You know? "Come on!" -[cheering and applause] 92 00:04:55,274 --> 00:04:58,360 [Fran] Recently, I bought a shorthand dictionary. 93 00:04:59,737 --> 00:05:02,197 If I see a certain kind of book, I buy it, if I can. 94 00:05:02,281 --> 00:05:05,701 And dictionaries… I have dozens, dozens of dictionaries. 95 00:05:05,784 --> 00:05:08,203 Um… So, I never saw a dictionary of shorthand. 96 00:05:08,787 --> 00:05:12,416 So I bought it not because I know shorthand, but because I don't have one. 97 00:05:12,499 --> 00:05:15,586 Sometimes you're in here, and this is also true at the Strand, 98 00:05:15,669 --> 00:05:18,839 where they buy old books, and they're unpacking them, and you're… 99 00:05:18,922 --> 00:05:21,592 I have been in both stores, this store and the Strand, 100 00:05:21,675 --> 00:05:24,428 where when I bring the book to ask how much it is, the person goes, 101 00:05:24,511 --> 00:05:27,723 "Where'd you find this? You're not…" "I was crawling under that table." 102 00:05:27,806 --> 00:05:30,184 "You're not supposed to go back there." 103 00:05:30,267 --> 00:05:33,812 But when I found the shorthand dictionary and I brought it to the front, 104 00:05:33,896 --> 00:05:36,982 the woman said, "I thought you would buy this." 105 00:05:37,649 --> 00:05:41,278 It's very different to be in a bookstore than it is to order a book. 106 00:05:41,904 --> 00:05:44,698 You know? I don't have a computer, but if I want a book, 107 00:05:44,782 --> 00:05:46,700 I ask a friend, "Can you order this on Amazon?" 108 00:05:46,784 --> 00:05:47,993 But I have to know the book, 109 00:05:48,077 --> 00:05:50,162 -which is not the same thing. -[Martin] That's right. 110 00:05:50,245 --> 00:05:53,248 Going around a bookstore, you think, "What's this? What's that?" 111 00:05:53,332 --> 00:05:54,792 You know, you find things. 112 00:05:55,376 --> 00:05:57,378 I remember there were those secondhand bookstores… 113 00:05:57,461 --> 00:05:58,837 -[Martin] Right. -…on 4th Avenue. 114 00:05:58,921 --> 00:05:59,880 On 4th Avenue in 1925 115 00:05:59,963 --> 00:06:02,841 And they lasted probably as long as those guys lasted, 116 00:06:02,925 --> 00:06:04,468 because they never sold you a book, 117 00:06:04,551 --> 00:06:06,136 -they wouldn't sell you a book. -I know. 118 00:06:06,220 --> 00:06:07,638 -No. -You know, those dusty guys, 119 00:06:07,721 --> 00:06:09,181 -reading their dusty books. -Right. 120 00:06:09,264 --> 00:06:12,017 -You'd walk in, they'd look up, annoyed. -[laughs] 121 00:06:12,101 --> 00:06:14,395 You know? You would, like… [coughs] 122 00:06:14,478 --> 00:06:17,523 You'd take… [blows] a book. "How much is this?" 123 00:06:18,565 --> 00:06:19,691 [Martin chuckles] 124 00:06:19,775 --> 00:06:23,320 [Fran] Now there's just the Strand on Fourth Avenue. There's nothing else left. 125 00:06:23,821 --> 00:06:24,822 [horn blares] 126 00:06:24,905 --> 00:06:28,659 This building, it's a holdout from the point of view of… A building holdout. 127 00:06:29,493 --> 00:06:32,413 I know that they offered the owners of this building, 128 00:06:32,496 --> 00:06:35,207 who are the owners of the bookstore, a huge amount of money. 129 00:06:35,290 --> 00:06:37,084 Millions and millions of dollars. 130 00:06:37,167 --> 00:06:39,545 You do not make millions of dollars selling books, 131 00:06:39,628 --> 00:06:42,089 not even if you started selling them in 1925. 132 00:06:42,172 --> 00:06:43,674 And they refused to sell. 133 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:47,636 Owning a bookstore was never the road to riches. 134 00:06:47,719 --> 00:06:51,515 So people owned a bookstore because they loved books, you know? 135 00:06:51,598 --> 00:06:54,685 And so every bookstore had a particular sensibility. 136 00:06:54,768 --> 00:06:56,728 There were bookstores where you had to, like, know. 137 00:06:56,812 --> 00:06:59,022 Not because they were, uh, illegal, 138 00:06:59,106 --> 00:07:02,067 but because they were, like, on the fifth floor of the building. 139 00:07:02,151 --> 00:07:04,403 Someone would say, "You know, on the fifth floor 140 00:07:04,486 --> 00:07:06,196 uh, in that building on 12th Street, 141 00:07:06,280 --> 00:07:08,198 there's, like, a communist bookstore." 142 00:07:08,699 --> 00:07:13,537 Okay? Now, I mean, this was never, obviously, a very lucrative business, 143 00:07:13,620 --> 00:07:15,456 and I was never a communist, 144 00:07:15,539 --> 00:07:18,333 but I thought, "Really? I want to go and look at these books." 145 00:07:18,417 --> 00:07:20,794 I bought some, because I didn't have any communist books. 146 00:07:20,878 --> 00:07:23,630 I thought, "You know, I have no communist books in my house." 147 00:07:23,714 --> 00:07:24,798 Then I would read them. 148 00:07:25,674 --> 00:07:27,259 This is one reason communism didn't work. 149 00:07:27,342 --> 00:07:28,635 -No good writers. -[laughs] 150 00:07:28,719 --> 00:07:31,180 ♪ Brush up your Shakespeare ♪ 151 00:07:32,055 --> 00:07:34,057 ♪ Start quoting him now ♪ 152 00:07:35,225 --> 00:07:37,853 ♪ Brush up your Shakespeare ♪ 153 00:07:37,936 --> 00:07:40,606 ♪ And the women you will wow ♪ 154 00:07:41,315 --> 00:07:43,650 ♪ Just declaim a few lines from Othell-a ♪ 155 00:07:44,276 --> 00:07:46,820 ♪ And they think You're a heck of a fella ♪ 156 00:07:47,404 --> 00:07:50,491 ♪ If your blonde won't respond When you flatter 'er ♪ 157 00:07:50,574 --> 00:07:53,327 ♪ Tell her what Tony told Cleopat-erer ♪ 158 00:07:53,410 --> 00:07:56,288 ♪ And if still to be shocked She pretends, well ♪ 159 00:07:56,788 --> 00:07:59,833 ♪ Just remind her that All's Well That Ends Well ♪ 160 00:08:00,459 --> 00:08:02,836 ♪ Brush up your Shakespeare ♪ 161 00:08:03,337 --> 00:08:05,964 ♪ And they'll all kowtow ♪ 162 00:08:13,347 --> 00:08:15,599 I mean, people must still have books. You can't… 163 00:08:15,682 --> 00:08:18,393 One thing about books, you cannot give them away anymore. 164 00:08:19,603 --> 00:08:21,939 It used to be, I would go through my books every year, 165 00:08:22,022 --> 00:08:24,107 -the ones that I didn't want… -Right, yeah. 166 00:08:24,191 --> 00:08:28,779 Anyone would take them. Any school, any, you know, like, library in a school. 167 00:08:28,862 --> 00:08:32,324 Now, no one will take them, because they take up room. 168 00:08:32,407 --> 00:08:36,828 I am absolutely, a hundred percent, 169 00:08:36,912 --> 00:08:38,914 -incapable of throwing a book away. -I was gonna ask. 170 00:08:38,997 --> 00:08:40,832 -I can't. -I cannot throw a book away. To me… 171 00:08:40,916 --> 00:08:43,418 -it's like throwing a human being away. -Yeah. 172 00:08:43,502 --> 00:08:45,712 Okay? So, I mean… There are many more human beings 173 00:08:45,796 --> 00:08:48,257 -that I'd rather throw away, by the way. -No, we-- [laughs] 174 00:08:48,340 --> 00:08:51,260 To me, a book is really the closest thing to a human being. 175 00:08:51,343 --> 00:08:53,887 -Yeah. -And so, I cannot throw them away. 176 00:08:53,971 --> 00:08:56,265 I've sometimes seen, like… 177 00:08:56,348 --> 00:08:57,849 -a book in the trash… -No, it's awful. 178 00:08:57,933 --> 00:08:59,851 And it, like-- it's horrible. 179 00:08:59,935 --> 00:09:02,646 Even if it's a critic who's written terrible things about you, 180 00:09:02,729 --> 00:09:04,982 -I can't give it away. -Even if it's a piece of junk 181 00:09:05,065 --> 00:09:06,984 -that should never have been a book. -[laughs] 182 00:09:07,067 --> 00:09:10,153 Which I also get, you know, and those, like, pile up. 183 00:09:10,237 --> 00:09:13,907 And so anyone who comes over, they always look, and I always say… 184 00:09:13,991 --> 00:09:16,076 -There's certain piles of books… "Hey!" -You can take. 185 00:09:16,159 --> 00:09:18,203 -"Take 'em." Yeah. -"Anything you want. Please." 186 00:09:18,287 --> 00:09:21,206 "This looks interesting." I'm thinking, "It's not, but take it." 187 00:09:21,290 --> 00:09:24,251 Do you read a lot of new writers? Do you read a lot of young writers? 188 00:09:24,334 --> 00:09:25,836 -Do you read a lot? -I do. I read a lot. 189 00:09:25,919 --> 00:09:28,213 -Yeah. -Yes. I-- It's mostly what I do, is read. 190 00:09:28,297 --> 00:09:29,923 Basically, I'm a bookworm. 191 00:09:30,007 --> 00:09:33,093 How do you get onto the books that you read, knowing there's-- 192 00:09:33,176 --> 00:09:36,513 even if you just focused on the good ones, there's more than you can possibly read? 193 00:09:36,597 --> 00:09:39,057 I've always had, although it becomes harder and harder, 194 00:09:39,141 --> 00:09:42,769 many friends older than me who say, "What? You haven't read this?" 195 00:09:43,270 --> 00:09:44,771 Then they tell me, and I read it. 196 00:09:44,855 --> 00:09:48,734 Also, I used to browse around bookstores, but there are fewer and fewer of them. 197 00:09:48,817 --> 00:09:51,987 Um… But it's just something I think about all the time, 198 00:09:52,070 --> 00:09:53,196 If someone recommends a book 199 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:56,074 and I think that would be a good recommendation, I buy the book. 200 00:09:56,158 --> 00:09:57,909 If someone recommends books to me 201 00:09:57,993 --> 00:10:00,871 and they're-- I don't like them, or I really don't like them, 202 00:10:00,954 --> 00:10:02,956 I hold it against the person who recommended them. 203 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:04,916 -[Martin chuckles] -Like, I… 204 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:08,170 like, yelled at someone once, called them and yelled at them, 205 00:10:08,253 --> 00:10:12,341 for giving a quote to a book that I bought because this guy gave a quote to it. 206 00:10:12,424 --> 00:10:14,426 I was in a bookstore. I never heard of this book. 207 00:10:14,509 --> 00:10:16,970 I see a quote from this guy who's a fantastic writer. 208 00:10:17,054 --> 00:10:18,305 I bought the book. 209 00:10:18,388 --> 00:10:21,266 I read the book. It was a horrible book. 210 00:10:21,350 --> 00:10:26,021 I called the guy. I said, "What is wrong with you? I just read that." 211 00:10:26,104 --> 00:10:28,940 -He goes, "Well, I know the guy." He-- -Mm-hm. 212 00:10:29,024 --> 00:10:33,153 I said, "The next time you do this, before you do this, you call me. 213 00:10:33,236 --> 00:10:37,199 You go, 'Fran, you'll be seeing my quote on a book, but it's not a good book.'" 214 00:10:37,282 --> 00:10:42,871 There are books, especially, you know, extremely highly recommended books 215 00:10:42,954 --> 00:10:45,624 that everyone says, "No, the guy's a genius, you have to--" 216 00:10:45,707 --> 00:10:48,293 And then I'll get the book. I'll bow to this pressure. 217 00:10:48,377 --> 00:10:51,463 People say, "What did you think? Wasn't it great? Did you read it?" 218 00:10:51,546 --> 00:10:54,132 Then I realize. I say, "Well, you know, I read part of it." 219 00:10:54,216 --> 00:10:55,592 "What? You hated it?" 220 00:10:55,676 --> 00:10:58,637 I said, "No. Worse. I forgot I was reading it." 221 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:00,055 -Oof. -"I forgot I was reading it." 222 00:11:00,138 --> 00:11:01,515 To me, that's the worst thing. 223 00:11:01,598 --> 00:11:03,975 -[chuckles] -"I forgot I was reading it" is much worse 224 00:11:04,059 --> 00:11:05,769 to me than, "I closed it in a fury." 225 00:11:05,852 --> 00:11:08,105 No, I didn't close it in a fury. I put it aside. 226 00:11:08,188 --> 00:11:10,941 The phone rang, or it was time to eat, whatever, 227 00:11:11,024 --> 00:11:14,152 and, in that period, I forgot I was reading it. 228 00:11:16,029 --> 00:11:18,865 -This is the genealogy department? -[Martin] This is genealogy, yeah. 229 00:11:18,949 --> 00:11:21,743 [Fran] When did your family come here? Because there's several books. 230 00:11:21,827 --> 00:11:23,495 Italians to America. 231 00:11:23,578 --> 00:11:27,290 -[Martin] 1910. 1909. -Now I've lost track of where they were. 232 00:11:27,374 --> 00:11:28,750 They had numerous… 233 00:11:28,834 --> 00:11:31,545 -There's Norwegians here. Who cares? -Yeah. Bah. Who cares? 234 00:11:32,129 --> 00:11:35,090 -People who are younger than 40, for sure… -Yeah. 235 00:11:35,173 --> 00:11:37,300 -They have-- they have no stuff. -I see. 236 00:11:37,384 --> 00:11:40,595 -They have no stuff. No books, no records. -They have it on this machine. 237 00:11:40,679 --> 00:11:42,097 -Yeah. -Everything's on the machine. 238 00:11:42,889 --> 00:11:45,851 Nope. Where did I just see this? 239 00:11:48,770 --> 00:11:51,148 -[both] Mayflower Families. -12 volumes. 240 00:11:51,940 --> 00:11:54,985 -I always envisioned it as a small boat. -It was very small. 241 00:11:55,068 --> 00:11:57,946 -With a couple of WASPs on it, you know. -Yeah, yeah! [laughs] 242 00:11:58,029 --> 00:12:00,532 But this must be why my family didn't hop on. 243 00:12:00,615 --> 00:12:02,743 -Because they thought, "Too crowded!" -[laughs] 244 00:12:02,826 --> 00:12:05,954 "Let's wait a few hundred years 245 00:12:06,037 --> 00:12:08,498 and go steerage to Ellis Island so we go right to New York." 246 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:11,251 Here. I don't know how I… 247 00:12:11,334 --> 00:12:12,878 -[Martin] Here. -You found the Italians? 248 00:12:12,961 --> 00:12:15,422 [Martin] Yeah. Italians to America. 249 00:12:16,047 --> 00:12:18,633 -Where are you? -1893, 1895. 250 00:12:19,593 --> 00:12:22,637 -[Fran] Do you know what years they came? -1910, I'd say. 251 00:12:23,346 --> 00:12:27,058 [Fran] 1903, 1904, '04. '05. 252 00:12:27,851 --> 00:12:28,810 '05. 253 00:12:29,686 --> 00:12:32,397 -I'm afraid you got here too recently. -[laughs] 254 00:12:32,481 --> 00:12:34,775 They haven't written it down yet. 255 00:12:38,862 --> 00:12:40,906 [clicking] 256 00:12:42,824 --> 00:12:45,786 Done. I love table games, sir. 257 00:12:48,663 --> 00:12:53,794 May I ask, I thought you were looking for illnesses and contagious diseases here. 258 00:12:55,754 --> 00:12:59,591 Unfortunately, ma'am, it has been scientifically proven 259 00:12:59,674 --> 00:13:02,677 that lack of intelligence is genetically inherited, 260 00:13:02,761 --> 00:13:04,846 hence contagious, in a way. 261 00:13:06,181 --> 00:13:10,018 We are trying to prevent below-average people from mixing with our citizens. 262 00:13:12,103 --> 00:13:13,396 What a modern vision. 263 00:13:14,022 --> 00:13:15,232 [murmur of conversation] 264 00:13:15,315 --> 00:13:17,484 -[Fran] You know that movie, Golden Door? -Oh, yeah. 265 00:13:17,567 --> 00:13:19,611 -[Fran] I thought it was really good. -Me too. 266 00:13:19,694 --> 00:13:22,572 [Fran] There were numerous things about immigrants that I didn't know. 267 00:13:22,656 --> 00:13:25,450 I didn't know how rigorous, um… 268 00:13:25,534 --> 00:13:27,869 -was the kind of entrance at Ellis Island. -Oh, yeah. 269 00:13:27,953 --> 00:13:31,122 You know? Although I did know that my great-grandfather, 270 00:13:31,206 --> 00:13:34,793 uh, when he got here from Russia, um… 271 00:13:34,876 --> 00:13:39,256 -was held because he had conjunctivitis. -Oh. 272 00:13:39,339 --> 00:13:41,091 -Okay? Which is, uh… -Yeah, yeah. 273 00:13:41,174 --> 00:13:43,468 Which he obviously caught on the delightful boat. 274 00:13:43,552 --> 00:13:45,053 -Not the Mayflower. -Yes. [laughs] 275 00:13:45,136 --> 00:13:49,516 There was no… It's cured with antibiotics, but there were no antibiotics then. 276 00:13:49,599 --> 00:13:51,351 -Yeah. -So basically, they said to him, 277 00:13:51,434 --> 00:13:55,063 "You have to stay quarantined." They knew it was contagious. Um… 278 00:13:55,146 --> 00:13:58,692 "And if it goes away in this many days, fine. And if not, you're going back." 279 00:13:58,775 --> 00:13:59,901 -Oh! -Yeah. 280 00:14:00,569 --> 00:14:03,905 Luckily, he was okay, and they let him in. 281 00:14:03,989 --> 00:14:05,282 And people got turned back, 282 00:14:05,365 --> 00:14:06,908 -and their whole lives changed. -Right. 283 00:14:06,992 --> 00:14:08,994 -For stuff like pink eye. -Yeah. 284 00:14:09,578 --> 00:14:11,288 [officers speaking Italian] Look down. 285 00:14:11,371 --> 00:14:13,373 Look up. 286 00:14:13,456 --> 00:14:15,333 Down. Up. 287 00:14:15,834 --> 00:14:19,254 [Fran] There's various waves of immigrants that went through the Lower East Side. 288 00:14:19,337 --> 00:14:23,049 It wasn't just the Jews. It was, as you know, the Italians and many others. 289 00:14:23,717 --> 00:14:27,262 But now in the Lower East Side, there's something called the Tenement Museum. 290 00:14:27,345 --> 00:14:29,723 The Tenement Museum! What's in there? 291 00:14:29,806 --> 00:14:31,683 You know… like, a tuberculosis epidemic? 292 00:14:31,766 --> 00:14:34,394 -[Martin laughs] -You know? What do you put in there? 293 00:14:34,477 --> 00:14:36,438 You know what I mean? The Tenement Museum. 294 00:14:36,521 --> 00:14:38,607 Are people longing for this? I don't think so. 295 00:14:38,690 --> 00:14:41,109 Well, yeah. You used to have the bathtub in the kitchen. 296 00:14:41,192 --> 00:14:42,110 -Yeah, come on. -Right. 297 00:14:42,193 --> 00:14:44,696 I mean, to me, this is like… 298 00:14:45,614 --> 00:14:48,158 I don't know. It seems absurd, frankly. 299 00:14:48,241 --> 00:14:50,994 I'm not trying to dissuade people from going to the Tenement Museum. 300 00:14:51,077 --> 00:14:55,206 Isn't it good that young people who don't know about the tenements go and see this? 301 00:14:55,290 --> 00:14:56,750 -It'd be better-- -The way immigrants, 302 00:14:56,833 --> 00:14:58,627 my grandparents grew up, my parents. 303 00:14:58,710 --> 00:15:03,089 There's so many good novels and books about these eras… 304 00:15:03,173 --> 00:15:04,591 -Yeah. -…written by these people, 305 00:15:04,674 --> 00:15:09,596 where you would get a much richer picture of it, even though there's no pictures. 306 00:15:09,679 --> 00:15:12,349 I suppose the Tenement Museum is good because they look at it. 307 00:15:12,933 --> 00:15:15,268 -[Martin] Yeah. -So, looking at something is obviously… 308 00:15:15,352 --> 00:15:18,438 people feel, easier, you know, than reading something. 309 00:15:18,939 --> 00:15:21,733 But, you know, a Tenement Museum's not a tenement. 310 00:15:26,905 --> 00:15:28,823 [man] Is there anyone you won't read? 311 00:15:29,574 --> 00:15:31,409 [Fran] I mean, Henry Roth was discovered 312 00:15:31,493 --> 00:15:34,037 to have, like, you know, had sex with his sister, 313 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:35,830 and it was horrible. 314 00:15:36,539 --> 00:15:38,416 But no, it wouldn't keep me from reading him. 315 00:15:38,500 --> 00:15:41,044 Of course, you can't read someone in the same way. 316 00:15:41,544 --> 00:15:43,088 But also Henry Roth, by the way, 317 00:15:43,171 --> 00:15:46,841 was not some, you know, serene writer of pastoral poetry before that. 318 00:15:46,925 --> 00:15:49,552 -[Martin laughs] -You know, I know when I read a writer, 319 00:15:49,636 --> 00:15:53,431 you know, that… uh, even, you know, writers of fiction, 320 00:15:53,515 --> 00:15:56,476 that it doesn't come out of nowhere, the things people think. 321 00:15:56,559 --> 00:15:59,854 So it wasn't like, "Henry Roth, I thought he was such a sweet guy." 322 00:15:59,938 --> 00:16:03,441 I didn't think that before. But I think he's a great writer. 323 00:16:03,525 --> 00:16:06,027 Um, no, I would not stop reading him. Um… 324 00:16:06,111 --> 00:16:10,281 If he was alive, you know, I wouldn't maybe talk to him. 325 00:16:10,865 --> 00:16:13,034 But… um, he's dead, 326 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:15,954 and you should still read him. 327 00:16:17,288 --> 00:16:20,458 I mean, like, you know, James Levine. 328 00:16:20,542 --> 00:16:23,670 A great artist. A great, great artist. A great artist. 329 00:16:23,753 --> 00:16:26,673 I'm not saying I don't believe these accusations. 330 00:16:26,756 --> 00:16:28,299 So say they're a hundred percent true… 331 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:31,428 Okay, so… Because he's someone who had a job, 332 00:16:32,053 --> 00:16:34,723 you know, I mean, conducting the… you know, Metropolitan Opera. 333 00:16:34,806 --> 00:16:37,642 Yes, they have to fire him. I understand that. 334 00:16:38,143 --> 00:16:42,313 But they don't have to take his recordings out of the… Why? 335 00:16:42,856 --> 00:16:44,607 That's something I don't understand. 336 00:16:44,691 --> 00:16:48,111 Was the idea that, "Well, he will get some money from this?" or, you know… 337 00:16:48,194 --> 00:16:50,822 I mean, they're still great. He's a great artist. 338 00:16:51,322 --> 00:16:55,243 You know, um… firing people from their jobs where they… 339 00:16:55,326 --> 00:16:57,996 That is something that should be done if people do horrible things. 340 00:16:58,079 --> 00:17:01,332 You know, especially the things he was accused of doing. Um… 341 00:17:01,416 --> 00:17:07,088 But not reading people's books or listening to their music or… 342 00:17:07,172 --> 00:17:10,592 It seems… pointless, really, to me. 343 00:17:12,010 --> 00:17:13,720 -Sure. -You know, now, people say, 344 00:17:13,803 --> 00:17:17,348 "Oh, now, you can't listen to these recordings without thinking of that." 345 00:17:17,432 --> 00:17:20,560 -I think, "Well, you can't, but I can." -Yeah. [chuckles] 346 00:17:24,272 --> 00:17:26,858 [Fran] When I was very young, like seven or eight years old, 347 00:17:26,941 --> 00:17:29,027 my mother bought me this. 348 00:17:29,110 --> 00:17:31,613 This book, which is called Six Little Cooks, 349 00:17:32,113 --> 00:17:35,575 I couldn't believe that this was something I was gonna own. 350 00:17:36,159 --> 00:17:38,620 I mean, I'm still completely startled by it. 351 00:17:38,703 --> 00:17:42,165 Because, as you can see, it's very pretty. It's very beautiful. 352 00:17:42,248 --> 00:17:45,877 But also, you know, it was published, I think, in 1900. 353 00:17:46,461 --> 00:17:50,757 I couldn't believe that I owned something that looked so important. 354 00:17:51,424 --> 00:17:54,219 You know, it's the same way that it looked important to me 355 00:17:54,302 --> 00:17:57,555 because it looked like something that would be in a museum or a library. 356 00:17:58,515 --> 00:17:59,516 So I love this book, 357 00:17:59,599 --> 00:18:04,479 and if anything happened to this book, I would be completely heartbroken. 358 00:18:05,230 --> 00:18:09,025 This is a book in excellent condition that was owned by a seven-year-old. 359 00:18:09,109 --> 00:18:12,112 That's how careful I have always been of books. 360 00:18:12,195 --> 00:18:15,782 I mean, I remember once, when I was probably around the same age, 361 00:18:15,865 --> 00:18:18,701 I was reading a Nancy Drew book, and I dropped it 362 00:18:18,785 --> 00:18:20,870 and I picked it up, and I kissed it. 363 00:18:21,538 --> 00:18:23,498 And my mother said, "What are you doing?" 364 00:18:23,581 --> 00:18:26,835 And I said, "You have to… If you drop a book, you have to kiss it." 365 00:18:27,335 --> 00:18:29,045 She said, "Who told you that?" 366 00:18:29,546 --> 00:18:31,923 "That's something they told us in synagogue. 367 00:18:32,006 --> 00:18:34,259 That if you dropped the… prayer book, 368 00:18:34,342 --> 00:18:36,177 whatever it's called, you have to kiss it." 369 00:18:36,261 --> 00:18:38,346 My mother said, "Yes. Not every book." 370 00:18:42,767 --> 00:18:46,604 One of the first things that you wrote was a column for Interview magazine, 371 00:18:46,688 --> 00:18:48,648 and then after doing that for a time… 372 00:18:48,731 --> 00:18:51,192 What was… I Cover the Waterfront was the name of the… 373 00:18:51,276 --> 00:18:54,988 No, my first column I had for Interview was called The Best of the Worst, 374 00:18:55,071 --> 00:18:56,698 and it was a movie review column. 375 00:18:56,781 --> 00:18:59,576 Uh, but I only reviewed… well, not even B movies, 376 00:18:59,659 --> 00:19:03,288 and-- mostly made by a company called American International Pictures, 377 00:19:03,371 --> 00:19:06,791 which specialized, AIP, in this certain sort of movie, which I was in love with. 378 00:19:06,875 --> 00:19:09,419 And they screened them in New York for distributors. 379 00:19:09,502 --> 00:19:12,797 I would watch these screenings. I did this column for a couple of years. 380 00:19:12,881 --> 00:19:14,924 And then I started doing I Cover the Waterfront, 381 00:19:15,008 --> 00:19:17,719 which, um… was more catholic. 382 00:19:17,802 --> 00:19:19,929 I wrote about everything, not just movies. 383 00:19:20,430 --> 00:19:23,057 -[Martin] But I told you I had that book. -[Fran] Which book? 384 00:19:23,141 --> 00:19:25,560 All the stuff that you wrote in Interview for the '70s. 385 00:19:25,643 --> 00:19:27,854 -My movie reviews are in there. -That's right. Yeah, yeah. 386 00:19:27,937 --> 00:19:31,191 -Yeah. The Best of the Worst. -Yes, that's right. That's right. 387 00:19:31,274 --> 00:19:33,526 -All those AIP movies then, remember? -Oh, yes. 388 00:19:33,610 --> 00:19:35,528 And they never showed them in New York. 389 00:19:35,612 --> 00:19:37,906 -They maybe showed them on 42nd Street. -42nd Street. 390 00:19:37,989 --> 00:19:39,199 They screened them in New York 391 00:19:39,282 --> 00:19:41,242 -for the people who owned drive-ins. -[laughs] 392 00:19:41,326 --> 00:19:44,537 So, you know… because that was mostly where they played then. 393 00:19:44,621 --> 00:19:46,873 So they would have screenings, like at 1600 Broadway. 394 00:19:46,956 --> 00:19:49,584 -Remember that screening room? -Oh, yes. Wonderful screening room. 395 00:19:49,667 --> 00:19:53,296 -So dirty. -And I got myself onto this AIP list. 396 00:19:53,379 --> 00:19:55,340 -Oh! -So I could watch these movies. 397 00:19:55,423 --> 00:19:57,550 And I just started mostly writing about them. 398 00:19:57,634 --> 00:19:58,760 [laughs] 399 00:19:58,843 --> 00:20:01,054 Because they were more fun to write about. 400 00:20:01,137 --> 00:20:03,723 Because I wasn't really interested in being a critic. 401 00:20:03,806 --> 00:20:07,060 I was interested in finding something funny to write about. 402 00:20:07,143 --> 00:20:08,019 Oh, these things were. 403 00:20:08,102 --> 00:20:09,354 -They were unbelievable. -Yeah. 404 00:20:09,437 --> 00:20:11,522 -But you made one of these movies. -I made one. 405 00:20:11,606 --> 00:20:13,441 -Boxcar Bertha. -Which I reviewed. 406 00:20:13,524 --> 00:20:14,817 -Did you see? -No, I didn't. 407 00:20:14,901 --> 00:20:17,946 I-- I definitely remember, because when I found out recently 408 00:20:18,029 --> 00:20:19,364 -that you made Boxcar Bertha… -Yes. 409 00:20:19,447 --> 00:20:21,699 I said, "I'm sure I reviewed that. I remember it." 410 00:20:21,783 --> 00:20:23,618 But I never knew that you made it. 411 00:20:24,202 --> 00:20:26,579 -[Fran] Yes? -[man] Can you speak about your experience 412 00:20:26,663 --> 00:20:29,040 writing for Interview magazine and Andy Warhol? 413 00:20:29,791 --> 00:20:34,045 I mean, I don't really know what to say about this. It was really a long time ago. 414 00:20:34,629 --> 00:20:38,216 I was very young when I started working for Interview. I was, like, 20 years old. 415 00:20:38,716 --> 00:20:42,595 And I wrote for Interview for, like, 11 years, I think. 416 00:20:42,679 --> 00:20:44,764 Quite a long time, you know. 417 00:20:44,847 --> 00:20:47,809 And I never got along with Andy. 418 00:20:47,892 --> 00:20:50,061 Um… Andy never got along with me. 419 00:20:50,728 --> 00:20:51,729 Um… 420 00:20:51,813 --> 00:20:53,773 He's done much better since he died. 421 00:20:53,856 --> 00:20:55,858 [laughter] 422 00:20:58,069 --> 00:21:02,031 How do I know this? Because I sold all my Warhols two weeks before he died. 423 00:21:02,115 --> 00:21:04,117 [laughter] 424 00:21:05,368 --> 00:21:08,579 I sold them to pay the maintenance on my apartment. 425 00:21:10,123 --> 00:21:12,959 So I don't only make bad real estate decisions. 426 00:21:13,668 --> 00:21:15,128 [chuckles] 427 00:21:15,211 --> 00:21:17,964 And frankly, I believe that's why Andy died. 428 00:21:20,174 --> 00:21:21,926 You know? I think he thought, 429 00:21:22,593 --> 00:21:23,594 "Well!" 430 00:21:24,095 --> 00:21:26,389 The second he died, of course, the prices went up. 431 00:21:31,978 --> 00:21:36,649 [Fran] To me, there is nothing more emblematic of the change in New York 432 00:21:36,733 --> 00:21:41,362 than the fact that what used to be the all-night, 24-hour-a-day, 433 00:21:41,446 --> 00:21:44,991 forever-open, big newsstand at Columbus Circle… 434 00:21:45,074 --> 00:21:46,784 -[Martin] It's gone. -…is now a bike rental. 435 00:21:50,788 --> 00:21:53,333 The look of New York has completely changed. 436 00:21:53,416 --> 00:21:56,919 You know, in other words, New York used to be awash in newsprint. 437 00:21:57,462 --> 00:21:59,213 -[Martin] Yeah. Yeah. -It was in the gutters. 438 00:21:59,297 --> 00:22:01,424 -In the trash cans. -Remember the place in Times Square, 439 00:22:01,507 --> 00:22:03,384 it had all the, uh… newspapers? 440 00:22:03,468 --> 00:22:06,387 I mean the whole city was awash in newsprint because people threw them away. 441 00:22:06,471 --> 00:22:07,722 There were a billion newspapers. 442 00:22:07,805 --> 00:22:09,390 -Every day, people threw them away. -Yeah. 443 00:22:09,474 --> 00:22:12,935 They were in the gutters. All the trash baskets were filled up with newspapers. 444 00:22:13,019 --> 00:22:14,604 All the subway seats had newspapers. 445 00:22:14,687 --> 00:22:16,272 -They were on the floor. -You're right. 446 00:22:16,356 --> 00:22:19,650 And you very rarely see people reading newspapers on the subway anymore. 447 00:22:19,734 --> 00:22:20,651 -That used to be… -Wow. 448 00:22:20,735 --> 00:22:22,028 -That was everything. -Everything. 449 00:22:22,111 --> 00:22:25,406 And you do see people reading actual books on the subway. 450 00:22:25,490 --> 00:22:29,243 Not a million people, but you see some people doing it, 451 00:22:29,327 --> 00:22:30,995 and these people are mostly young. 452 00:22:31,079 --> 00:22:33,664 They are mostly, I would say, people in their twenties. 453 00:22:33,748 --> 00:22:37,168 And I asked my editor, who has children that age, 454 00:22:37,251 --> 00:22:41,172 "Do your kids read, like, books on a Kindle, or whatever you call it?" 455 00:22:41,255 --> 00:22:44,509 -Yeah. -And he goes, "No. My kids read books." 456 00:22:44,592 --> 00:22:48,554 He said, "The people who read mostly…" There's something other than a Kindle. 457 00:22:48,638 --> 00:22:50,264 -Whatever it's called. Um… -Right. 458 00:22:50,348 --> 00:22:52,392 He said those people are mostly in their 40s. 459 00:22:52,475 --> 00:22:53,684 -Mm-hm. -And 50s. 460 00:22:53,768 --> 00:22:56,646 So, I mean, I can't always tell, you know… 461 00:22:56,729 --> 00:22:58,689 I always try to see what books people are reading. 462 00:22:58,773 --> 00:23:00,858 -Yeah. -This is extremely important to me. 463 00:23:00,942 --> 00:23:03,778 Um… What are you reading? Um… 464 00:23:03,861 --> 00:23:08,366 But any book… Even when I look at the book and I think, "Who would read that book?" 465 00:23:08,449 --> 00:23:10,910 -Well, good. It's a book. -[laughs] 466 00:23:10,993 --> 00:23:12,245 Go ahead, read it. 467 00:23:12,954 --> 00:23:14,038 [horn blares] 468 00:23:26,926 --> 00:23:29,011 Hi. Do you people buy books here? 469 00:23:29,762 --> 00:23:31,597 At this kiosk? No. No. 470 00:23:31,681 --> 00:23:35,143 No. I'm sure not. Do you think it's fair to bring a book into Times Square? 471 00:23:35,643 --> 00:23:37,437 It's not fair to the books. 472 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:38,604 Oh, yeah. Yeah. 473 00:23:39,397 --> 00:23:41,232 They don't really have a say in it, I guess. 474 00:23:41,315 --> 00:23:42,400 It's injurious. 475 00:23:43,234 --> 00:23:46,612 If you don't sell any books here, which I'm sure you don't, why are you here? 476 00:23:46,737 --> 00:23:48,197 You sell the T-shirts? 477 00:23:48,281 --> 00:23:49,574 We sell a lot of bags. 478 00:23:49,657 --> 00:23:50,658 We do sell books. 479 00:23:50,741 --> 00:23:51,576 Yeah. 480 00:23:52,368 --> 00:23:55,329 This is a great book. I buy it for kids all the time. 481 00:23:55,413 --> 00:23:56,622 It's a really good book. 482 00:23:59,083 --> 00:24:02,378 [David Letterman] Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Fran Lebowitz! 483 00:24:02,462 --> 00:24:04,464 [cheering and applause] 484 00:24:05,882 --> 00:24:07,508 Metropolitan Life and Social Studies. 485 00:24:07,592 --> 00:24:09,260 -Which came first? -Metropolitan Life. 486 00:24:09,343 --> 00:24:10,470 -Then Social Studies. -Then… 487 00:24:10,553 --> 00:24:13,848 A wildly entertaining collection of humorous essays. 488 00:24:13,931 --> 00:24:15,558 -That's right. Both of them. -Both of them. 489 00:24:15,641 --> 00:24:19,270 And they have been republished in one form or another how many times? 490 00:24:19,854 --> 00:24:20,897 Oh. In different formats, 491 00:24:20,980 --> 00:24:22,857 -probably four or five times each. -Four or five? 492 00:24:22,940 --> 00:24:24,150 Now you have a kids' book. 493 00:24:24,233 --> 00:24:25,943 -This is a first for you, isn't it? -Correct. 494 00:24:26,027 --> 00:24:28,362 Are you ever gonna write anything new? 495 00:24:28,446 --> 00:24:29,822 -This is new. -The panda book? 496 00:24:29,906 --> 00:24:31,157 -Yes. -Yes, but it's for kids. 497 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:34,535 -Yes, well, I'm writing a novel. -You were writing a novel six years ago. 498 00:24:34,619 --> 00:24:36,412 -When we talked to you six years-- -No, no. 499 00:24:36,496 --> 00:24:38,539 -I was supposed to be writing a novel… -Uh-huh. 500 00:24:38,623 --> 00:24:41,584 -…but I took ten years off to sulk. -[laughter] 501 00:24:42,210 --> 00:24:44,170 -Ten years off to sulk? -Yes. 502 00:24:45,087 --> 00:24:48,674 And did you get everything accomplished along those lines you wanted to? 503 00:24:48,758 --> 00:24:50,134 Well, I'm almost finished sulking. 504 00:24:50,218 --> 00:24:52,929 -Do you suffer-- do you suffer from-- -Yes. 505 00:24:53,012 --> 00:24:54,305 -Okay. -[laughter] 506 00:24:54,388 --> 00:24:56,390 [cheering and applause] 507 00:24:58,768 --> 00:25:00,061 [man] The New York Public Library 508 00:25:00,144 --> 00:25:02,438 has a refrigerator magnet with a quote from you. 509 00:25:03,022 --> 00:25:04,607 -Half a quote. -Half a quote. 510 00:25:05,233 --> 00:25:08,194 The half a quote is, uh… "Think before you speak. 511 00:25:08,277 --> 00:25:10,321 Read before you think." What's the rest? 512 00:25:10,404 --> 00:25:13,407 [Fran] The rest of the quote, as I recall, because it's really old… 513 00:25:13,491 --> 00:25:17,954 This is something I wrote for Newsweek in, like, 1978. 514 00:25:18,579 --> 00:25:23,000 Okay, so Newsweek in 1978, by the way, was a very important publication. 515 00:25:23,084 --> 00:25:26,504 And they had a feature on the back page called My Turn, 516 00:25:27,129 --> 00:25:31,050 which they would invite a different person to write, you know. 517 00:25:31,133 --> 00:25:34,178 So after my first book came out in 1978, I was invited to do this. 518 00:25:34,262 --> 00:25:39,141 My parents could not believe it. This was like, "They asked you?" 519 00:25:39,225 --> 00:25:40,935 [laughter] 520 00:25:41,018 --> 00:25:44,647 My parents got Newsweek, because many Jews did not get Time 521 00:25:45,856 --> 00:25:49,485 because Time was owned by Henry Luce. 522 00:25:49,569 --> 00:25:51,529 -I see. -A noted anti-Semite. 523 00:25:51,612 --> 00:25:55,449 They got Life, because for some reason this escaped them. 524 00:25:55,533 --> 00:25:57,034 -[laughter] -But they got Newsweek. 525 00:25:57,118 --> 00:26:00,079 So Newsweek had this feature, and I said, "I'm gonna do it." 526 00:26:00,162 --> 00:26:01,622 "What do you mean? You?" 527 00:26:02,373 --> 00:26:05,001 It's like this was inconceivable to them. Um… 528 00:26:05,543 --> 00:26:07,253 So I wrote this thing about teenagers, 529 00:26:07,336 --> 00:26:10,840 and it was, like, different, like, directions for teenagers, you know? 530 00:26:10,923 --> 00:26:13,843 Um, you know, different things that they should do. 531 00:26:14,302 --> 00:26:19,098 Uh… and I think the original quote was, um… uh… 532 00:26:20,308 --> 00:26:22,476 "Think before you speak. Read before you think. 533 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:26,230 This will give you something to think about that you didn't make up yourself. 534 00:26:26,314 --> 00:26:29,942 A wise move at any age, but most especially at 17, 535 00:26:30,026 --> 00:26:33,654 when you are in the greatest danger of coming to annoying conclusions." 536 00:26:50,212 --> 00:26:52,840 [Fran] Well, this place that we're in, The Players Club, 537 00:26:52,923 --> 00:26:56,677 was purchased by Edwin Booth, who was an actor, 538 00:26:56,761 --> 00:26:59,513 and, at some point, started the Players Club. 539 00:26:59,597 --> 00:27:02,391 And when he died, he left the building to the Players Club. 540 00:27:02,475 --> 00:27:03,559 [Martin] Mm-hm. 541 00:27:03,643 --> 00:27:05,686 But his brother… 542 00:27:06,812 --> 00:27:08,564 um, was John Wilkes Booth. 543 00:27:09,190 --> 00:27:11,651 So his brother killed Abraham Lincoln. 544 00:27:12,568 --> 00:27:15,988 And there is a letter upstairs… 545 00:27:16,072 --> 00:27:18,741 I mean, not the actual letter, but a copy of the letter 546 00:27:18,824 --> 00:27:21,744 that he wrote, uh… to a newspaper. 547 00:27:21,827 --> 00:27:24,330 It's addressed to "My fellow citizens" or something, 548 00:27:24,413 --> 00:27:26,916 -like, apologizing for the brother. -[Martin] Mm-hm. 549 00:27:26,999 --> 00:27:29,794 [Fran] And I was reading this letter, and I was thinking to myself, 550 00:27:29,877 --> 00:27:32,797 "I know a lot of people who complain about their siblings." 551 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:36,050 In fact, almost everyone who has siblings complains about them. 552 00:27:36,133 --> 00:27:38,678 But I thought, when I read that letter, you know… 553 00:27:39,428 --> 00:27:41,639 "No matter what kind of sibling you have…" 554 00:27:42,139 --> 00:27:46,644 Like, you can say to yourself, "Yes, my brother never pays me back," 555 00:27:46,727 --> 00:27:49,438 or, "My sister gossips," or, you know… 556 00:27:49,522 --> 00:27:52,316 But you could always say to yourself, 557 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:54,902 "At least my brother didn't kill Abraham Lincoln." 558 00:28:00,074 --> 00:28:02,118 I'm sure that Edwin Booth, 559 00:28:02,201 --> 00:28:04,704 in his life, also listened to his friends complain about siblings, 560 00:28:04,787 --> 00:28:06,330 until his brother killed Lincoln. 561 00:28:06,414 --> 00:28:07,832 Then, I'm sure, after that, 562 00:28:07,915 --> 00:28:10,876 if people would start to say, "My brother, he borrowed--" 563 00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:13,796 people would say, "Shush. His brother killed Abraham Lincoln." 564 00:28:13,879 --> 00:28:15,631 -[laughter] -Like, "Let's not bring this up." 565 00:28:15,715 --> 00:28:20,594 Like, so, um… there are always people who have worse problems than you do. 566 00:28:20,678 --> 00:28:21,512 [Martin chuckles] 567 00:28:22,638 --> 00:28:23,931 -[man] Right. -[Fran] We're done? 568 00:28:24,014 --> 00:28:26,475 -Right, I see. -[Martin] Right, so… -Oh… Go ahead. 569 00:28:26,559 --> 00:28:28,602 -Keep rolling, rolling, rolling… -[man] Yeah. 570 00:28:30,354 --> 00:28:31,856 [Martin] There you go. Keep goin'. 571 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:33,482 Off to her left. 572 00:28:34,483 --> 00:28:37,027 Yeah. That's another bridge. 573 00:28:37,111 --> 00:28:38,487 [laughter echoing] 574 00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:40,406 Okay. Made it. 575 00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:44,952 And what about whatshisname who was gonna put a highway through Manhattan? 576 00:28:45,035 --> 00:28:46,829 -[Fran] Robert Moses. Who built this. -Moses. 577 00:28:46,912 --> 00:28:49,206 -[Fran] This was Robert Moses' idea. -This whole thing? 578 00:28:49,290 --> 00:28:51,667 [Fran] Yes. Robert Moses should have stuck to models. 579 00:28:51,751 --> 00:28:53,210 -[laughter] -[Fran] You know? 580 00:28:53,294 --> 00:28:56,630 Unbeknownst to Robert Moses, he was best as a miniaturist. 581 00:28:56,714 --> 00:28:58,174 -[Martin] Yeah. -[laughter] 582 00:28:58,257 --> 00:29:00,509 [Fran] I went to the World's Fair, but I didn't see this. 583 00:29:00,593 --> 00:29:03,053 -[Martin] Oh. -[Fran] The World's Fair was so full 584 00:29:03,137 --> 00:29:06,515 of unbelievable attractions, that who would have time for this? 585 00:29:06,599 --> 00:29:08,309 -Um, or even know about it? -[laughter] 586 00:29:08,392 --> 00:29:10,811 But, I mean, I can't believe this is still here. 587 00:29:12,730 --> 00:29:13,814 I mean, this is fantastic. 588 00:29:13,898 --> 00:29:15,483 [orchestra strikes up] 589 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:18,068 [Martin] Okay. Yeah. 590 00:29:19,445 --> 00:29:21,447 [orchestra playing]