Redd Foxx on David Letterman 1980s KCST San Diego

[applause] [cheering] Nice to see you. How you doing? OH, [applause] [cheering] [applause] >> nice to see you. It's been a long time since we've actually laid eyes on one another. Yes. I remember last time uh we were being interviewed somewhere with some newspaper people and you said you had 13 weeks and I said, "My goodness, you know, you had 16 weeks." I had 13 weeks and I've been off 5 years. How long you been on since 1951? >> Early out since the early 50s. [laughter] >> Fantastic. >> What did you bring me here? >> It's a pomegranate from my yard. I have a pomegranate bush or a tree. It's so big. It must be a tree. But uh they just start falling off before I came here. So I fig I'd bring you one. >> This grows in your backyard in California. >> Las Vegas. Las Vegas. >> Oh, Las Vegas. This is pretty exotic stuff, isn't it? >> Oh, it is. And it's puzzle to eat it. >> Yeah. >> But it's good. >> Yeah, they're very tasty. Thank you very much, Red. I appreciate that. Now, let's talk about this uh uh video tape. Now, is this your your part of your nightclub act, Red? >> That's all of my nightclub act. >> All of your nightclub act. >> Yeah. And uh >> it's good, too. >> No, I'm sure it's good. >> I saw it last night. The first time. [laughter] >> First time you had seen it. No, my first time I I've seen myself, you know, perform that type of material and I was sort of shamed, you know, >> but I was, you know, I mean, cuz not dirty as Eddie Murphy and [clears throat] Richard Prior. >> Oh. So, so you feel >> I felt shame, you know what I mean? >> Yeah. >> Trying to catch up with him. >> Is there is there is there any material on this show? How long is this? >> It's about an hour, hour and 15 minutes. >> Any material on this hour and 15 minutes that you could do on this show right here tonight? >> Yes. Hello. [laughter] >> That's about it. >> No. No, there's got to be got to be something else you can do. >> I'm telling you, I swear there's nothing else on there I could say from that album. >> No kidding. >> I tried to make a good one. [laughter] >> Now, I also read this afternoon that in all of the years you've worked on television, variety shows, situation, comedies, shows like this, on and on and on. You've never been bleeped. >> That's true. Never have. Well, I know I'm on television, you know, and I know that you could edit a dirty word, but I would save that for my nightclub act. >> Mhm. So, and this tape cuz there's plenty of it in there. So, I don't need it here. >> Yeah. Now, uh what what kind of stuff uh comes close that you could do on television? What if you were going to give us a sample of this? Is there any way you can do it without uh you know what I'm saying? Kind of deleting necessary parts. >> Only possible thing I could think of I could do is drop my pants. >> Yeah. I [laughter] know. Now, now, uh, Red, let me Is the videape here pretty much what the old Party Records were? >> Yeah, pretty much. So, but not, not quite. See, I made 55 albums and none of them >> 55. Yeah. Oh, that's an amazing amount of work. >> Yeah, I wish I'd have got some of the money. But >> you didn't get paid for these things. >> Oh, it's so many crooks. It's a shame. But anyway, 55 albums and 40 of them, I never had a curse word on them. But before I started cursing, I was already branded a dirty old man. So, now I'm living up to it. [laughter] >> All right, let's take a look at a couple of these. Uh, this is an interesting label. Is that dudo? >> Yes, that's dudo. >> Now, what is what does dudo uh mean? >> I have no idea. Just the first part I know that's doo. >> Uh-huh. That's right. Now, this is red fox. Naughties but goodies. And oh, I see on the back here we have Dudy Williams. >> Take a picture of Dudes. >> Do you know Do you know this man? >> Yeah. >> This is the America's foremost authority on American humor. Is that what it says? >> That's what it say. forest authority on American >> formal authority on this kind of humor over here. >> Now, what is Dudesy doing these days? >> I have no idea. >> All right, here's Hardy Party Laughs. >> Uh-huh. I didn't know that was out yet. [laughter] >> Hardy Party Laughs. Now, did you help name any of these? >> No, I made 55 albums and now it's over 300 out. >> Different titles and stuff, you know. So, I sure wish I knew who was putting them out. Yeah. Now, uh you haven't been on television in regular uh program in a while. >> No, they always want me to be a father or uncle, you know, and I just don't want to be that father or uncle. I had to learn to be a father when I did son cuz I never I don't have any children, you know, no son, nothing. So, I didn't know how to touch him because he might think I was, you know what I mean? So, I just say son so and so. And I I had to It was really acting. I had to really act. >> Yeah. Now, how did did you develop that character from somebody you knew or was that >> my family? Your family was >> my mother and my grandfather. My grandfather walked like Fred Sapper and my mother has a heart attack. She's had a heart attack every day since 1922. [laughter] She's 81 and she'll have a heart attack night when I mention it. >> Yeah. 81. That's amazing. Oh yeah. That's very nice. >> She's very active. >> Uh we we got to uh we got to pause here for a commercial. We'll be back with Red Fox. We got more stuff back here. Red we want to talk about. [applause] >> [music] [applause] [music] >> NEW CHICKEN. [music] >> New chicken little sandwiches. >> New chickens. >> Kentucky fried chicken made you so nice. Love your 39 cent price. [music] >> New Chicken Littles. You cost just a little, but people love you a lot. Would [music] you like to have something sweet? >> What you got there? Nothing. [music] >> It'll be my cheese. >> My mom doesn't let us have stuff like that. >> My mom does. >> Something [music] you and your kids can agree on. Something with neutrieet instead of sugar. >> Would you like to have something sweet? >> So, do you think [music] you could have your mom talk to my mom? Thank you, [music] Vidal. Thank you, Vidal. >> Everyone is thankful for my Vidal Cissoon Advanced Salon Formula Shampoo [music] and Conditioning Finishing Rinse. Together, they cleanse away styling buildup and leave hair radiant. >> Thank you, Vidal. >> Still driving that Hyundai, huh, big guy? >> Yep. >> Did you notice the machine I bought? >> No. >> Oh, man. I'm talking sexy. I mean, fight off the female sexy car. Where is it? Oh, it's uh in the shop right now. >> The Hyundai XL isn't built [music] to impress the neighbors. It's built to impress its owners. >> We heading downtown, huh? >> The dependable [music] Excel from Hyundai. cars. That makes sense. [music] [singing] [music] [singing] Yes. Rich [music] makes the very best [singing and music] sweet dreams you can [music] [music] [applause and cheering] red foxes here. You know, Barbara Walters was on the show uh not so long ago, and she was mentioning that one of the homes that she had visited for an interview over the years was yours, and she said, in fact, it was one of the most unique homes that she had been in. She said you had monkeys in uh in your house. >> Yeah, I got monkeys in the front window. So, I put the cage outside, but the window to the house acts as like a window for the monkeys cage. So, you can sit in the house in the warm by the fireplace and watch the monkeys do their number. >> I'm sorry. Do their what? number. >> Uhhuh. [laughter] And uh >> how many how many monkeys do you have? >> I got two now, but uh I have rabbits, too. I have 30 rabbits that as of day before yesterday. >> Are they are they running uh loose in your house or you got them in the backyard? >> They just run loose in the yard and they dig down so that they can duck the dogs, you know. So >> you got dogs also? >> Oh, yeah. 14 dogs looking for rabbits. >> [laughter] >> Uh, this is you apparently have quite a quite a spread, huh? >> Oh, yeah. Well, I got a five and a half acres and I got another acre somewhere else. >> I didn't throw away everything. [laughter] >> You don't know where the other acre is. You just >> No, I don't remember exactly, but I think it's in Missouri. [laughter] >> Well, it's good to keep a spare acre on hand. You never know when >> Everyone should have a spare acre. >> You're from Missouri, weren't you born in 4461 in house still standing? Must be 100 years old now. Are there are there people still living in it? >> Sure. It's a brick house. >> Do you do you want to I mean, you just gave the address. >> Yeah. 4461 in. [laughter] Yeah. So, if they live in there, they can sell tickets to people want to see where I was born on the top floor. >> Uh what kind of kid were you? >> Terrible. >> Yeah. >> No, I had my own way about me, you know. I had I like to lead and I would like to go places. So, when I was 13, I got on a freight train and uh came here to New York to be on Major Bam. >> Doing what? What were you? >> I was singing. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Singing good with a group. They four bon bonss. The bon bons were like little chocolate candies and we were four brownkinned dudes. So that was a good [laughter] >> And you uh how far did you get? All the way to Did you make it to the show? >> Oh yeah, we made it to the show and uh we won second prize and they gave us a job in Newark, New Jersey for a week and they still still owe us. [laughter] >> This was when you were 13? >> 13. >> Did you ever go back to your folks then? Well, I went back to I left home when I was 13. I went back when I was 31. Yeah. >> You know, [laughter] so uh I mean I love New York and I stayed here, you know, so it was good for me. >> Uh working just clubs and uh >> clubs. I worked the clubs. I worked street I worked on the street corners for two years just making money in street corners. >> Yeah. >> What kind of act would you do then? Still singing >> comedy and singing comedy songs, you know, three little fish in it bitty pool and stuff like that. They were right. They were singing those cotton numbers then. >> Yeah. When did comedy take over from the uh when did it become all comedy? when I found out how much money it paid. >> Yeah. >> I immediately say this is it for me comedy. You know, it was good money. So >> So you were done in school by 13. >> Well, not exactly. I wasn't through. But as far as they was concerned, I was through cuz I didn't go in too often, but I got as far as high school and I was a genius, you know. I mean, at 13 years old, I was in high school. >> Oh, that Yeah. Well, that's pretty good. >> I mean, but I didn't stay too long. I stayed a year >> and then I found out with no money and then all the coats had been stolen. So, >> did you ever did you ever get tossed out of school before you left? >> A couple of times I was tossed out. >> What for? >> Well, teacher threw a book at me and I threw it back. She missed me and I caught her right in the ear. [laughter] >> Well, that's no good. Brad, let me ask you about this. You got um This is New Orleans. How do you say New Orleans? >> New Orleans. >> New Orleans. New Orleans. New Orleans. >> New Orleans. New Orleans. >> New Orleans. Whatever. Uh, Red Fox Narland's Louisiana style allpurpose barbecue sauce. >> Yes, that's my business now is to bring a laugh to your face. It's so good. You can eat with a piece of bread. I'm not kidding you. Best barbecue sauce on the market today. And I'm not kidding you. >> Now, is that your own recipe here? >> That's my own recipe. >> Nah, you don't even know what's in it, do you? >> Are you kidding? And I'll tell you if it's >> No, no, you name it. [laughter] [cheering] [applause] >> [cheering] >> Pomegranates. >> No, no pal. >> No, there's no pomegranates in there. >> You got some It's tomatoes and peppers. >> Tomatoes, right? >> Yeah. Onions. >> Yeah, onions. >> All right. All right. Close enough. Let me try this. You mind? >> Yes, please. Cuz it's only there for tight tight, you know. [laughter] >> Well, here. You There's probably some kind of a trick to that. >> No, it's not. Just catch it right here. >> Oh, I see. You take off the take off the seal. You like to see >> it is sealed up because it's safer. >> You have to shake this. >> You don't really have to shake it cuz it's ready all the time. [laughter] >> Well, it smells good. It It smells terrific. >> It's great, man. I wish you had a piece of bread. >> No, we we had one here a couple of weeks ago. [cheering] >> I guess it's I guess it's gone, Red. >> Yeah. >> Whoa. Oh. >> Oh, yeah. Yeah. >> All right. >> Yeah. Pour a little of that behind your tires in the winter. You're having trouble getting traction. >> Woo. [laughter] [applause] This is great. >> Yeah. This is terrific stuff. That's very nice. >> Hey, I thank you for saying because it is true. I'm not kidding yet. You can pour down a piece of bread and it's hot though, isn't it? This is the hot. We have hot, medium, mild, and ooey. [laughter] Uh that's actually very tasty stuff. Where where are you working? Are you still uh the last >> I just finished Night City at Playboy. Had another engagement in February >> and uh it was 26 I start February. This my last engagement over there unless they uh give me something, you know, another contract. >> Do you think you'd be coming back to television in the near future for anything? >> Well, I've been all five years and they ain't said nothing to me. So [clears throat] somebody must be crazy because I'm good on TV, but they just think I can only be a junk man or something something like that. But I can be any character they want to is give me the script. >> Yeah. >> But somebody ought to try something some of them dummies up there. [laughter] >> Well, I hope it works out if folks would like to see you back. >> So, I can always go back to arm robbery. [laughter] >> Red Fox, folks. Nice to see you again, Red. >> Nice job. Uh, we'll be back, folks, with limited perspective. A reveal of the big show. [applause and music]