Carmen Finestra

<p>"Cosby Show" producer and "Home Improvement" creator Carmen Finestra joined me to talk about&nbsp;his comedy upbringing; his first job filling in for Herve Villechaize; Joe Cates; making funny fire warnings; <em>Johnny Cash &amp; Friends</em>; his first sketch is ruined when Johnny reads the cue cards wrong; meeting Steve Martin &amp; Jim Varney; <em>Sha Na Na</em>; <em>Chico &amp; The Man</em>; <em>The Harvey Korman Show</em>; <em>Joe &amp; Valerie</em>; <em>Mel &amp; Susan Together</em>; <em>The King of Kensington</em>; <em>The Love Boat </em>residuals; working with Johnny Cash &amp; Andy Kaufman; <em>Good Times</em>;&nbsp;<em>Highcliffe Manor</em>; writing with Steve Martin &amp; Jack Handy; <em>Angie</em>; Hank Aaron; Ladies Man; Harvey Miller; Twilight Theater; Pat Proft &amp; Neal Israel; <em>It's Not Easy</em>; <em>Punky Brewster</em>; how Brandon was trained; getting hired for <em>The Cosby Show</em>; how Cosby worked; President Reagan learns not to preempt <em>Cosby</em>; how Cosby led to the success of <em>Family Ties</em>, <em>Cheers</em>, and <em>Night Court</em>; the Slumber Party episode and Peter; Danny Kaye; Red Buttons; Say Hello to Goodbye set a ratings recordhe guest stars; Anthony Quinn; Sammy Davis, Jr.; Earle Hyman, Roscoe Lee Browne, and Christopher Plummer do Shakespeare; The Muppets ; Sonia Braga; Tim Allen gets Carmen and Matt's idea for a sitcom; <em>Home Improvement</em> is cast and cast again; Carmen re-imagines <em>Thunder Alley</em> for Ed Asner, <em>Buddies</em> for Dave Chapelle and <em>Soul Man</em> for Dan Aykroyd;</p> --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. <a href="https://anchor.fm/app">https://anchor.fm/app</a>