Vicky Hart on Her Father, Stan Hart, a Legendary Comedy Writer for The Carol Burnett Show

In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Victoria “Vicky” Hart, daughter of acclaimed television writer Stan Hart, whose remarkable career helped shape some of the most beloved comedy programs in television history.

Stan Hart, alongside writing partner Larry Siegel, was a key writer for The Carol Burnett Show, earning multiple Emmy Awards for his work. His extensive career also included writing credits for films such as Move and Eat and Run (1986), as well as television favorites such as Love, American Style (1971) and Oh, Nurse! (1972), The Hal Linden Special (1979), The Wonderful World of Disney, and many other productions. During our conversation, Vicky shares stories about her father’s life, legacy, and impact on comedy writing.

Dr. Victoria Hart is an accomplished performer and educator in her own right. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) in Vocal Performance from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and has built an impressive career as an operatic soprano and teacher. She has performed leading roles with opera companies across the United States, including Knoxville Opera, Sacramento Opera, Fresno Opera, Greensboro Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Eugene Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Long Beach Opera, and Rimrock Opera.

Join us for a fascinating conversation about television history, comedy, music, family legacy, and the artistic journeys that connect generations.

Transcript

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Hello. My name is Sandy Adamidas, the social media director for the Page International Screenwriting Awards, and your host for The Writers Hangout, a podcast that celebrates the many stages of writing, from inspiration to the first draft, revising, getting the project made, and everything in between. We'll talk to the best and the brightest in the entertainment industry and create a space where you can hang out, learn from the pros, and have fun. Hey writers, it's Sandy. I'm coming to you from Studio City, the crown jewel of the San Fernando Valley, and where recently Ventura Boulevard, which runs straight through the center of town, Was recently named the most passive aggressive road in America. my take. Get out of the way. if I'm on Ventura and trying to make a left onto Coldwater, and I'm cars back, I will have to sit through four traffic signals, even with a left arrow, before I get onto Coldwater. I cut my teeth on the 101 to the 405 exchange. You will not cut in front of me pretending you didn't mean to take the 101 north lane. Can I cut in front of you, Sandy? But I will let you cut in front of me if you point, wave, or smile. Boy, do we have a great show for you today. My guest is Vicki Hart, daughter of Stan Hart, who wrote along with Larry Siegel on The Carol Burnett Show, for which they won multiple Emmys. His other writing credits include movies Move and Eat and Run, and on TV, besides The Carol Burnett Show, he wrote for Love American Style, Oh, Nurse, The Hal Linden Show, and The Wonderful World of Disney, And so much more, which we'll get into A little bit about Vicki. First, it's Dr. Victoria Hart. She earned her DMA in vocal performance at UCSB. No pressure, Sandy. Vicki is a seasoned performer who has channeled her experience into teaching and has appeared in leading roles with opera companies around the country. In recent seasons, she has sung with the Knoxville Opera, Sacramento Opera, Fresno Opera, Greenboro Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Eugene Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Long Beach Opera, and Rim Rock Opera I had the best time talking with Vicki, and I'm so happy and proud to be sharing this snapshot of an extraordinary and special time in Hollywood's history. Let's start the show Vicky Hart, thank you so much for joining us on the Writer's Hangout. Oh, it's so my pleasure. Thank you for having me. before we get started, would you like to play a very quick round of Would You Rather? sure. Whatever you offer, I'm up for. Would you rather get a tattoo of the last book you read or the last movie you saw? The last movie I saw. And what would you have to get your tattoo of? I re-watched Conclave recently, so- it would be Roman, at least. Would you rather have universal respect or unlimited power? Universal respect. Would you rather be able to converse with animals or speak every language? Converse with animals, like Dr. Doolittle. Would you rather hop everywhere or skip everywhere? Skip. Would you rather spend a week in the forest or a night in a real haunted house? a week in the forest, please. Would you rather walk to work in heels or drive to work in reverse? Oh, wow, that's hard. It's like do I do damage to myself or to others? So I guess I'll take the heels, would you rather steam out of your ears like a train- every time you're mad or bark like a dog when you're excited? barking like a dog. Okay That's kind of fun. would you rather be stranded on a desert island with somebody who won't stop talking about the television series The Flying Nun- or be alone? Alone, thank you. Would you rather win $10,000 or your best friend win $100,000? Oh, my best friend win $100,000. Last one. Would you rather be the funniest person in the room or the smartest person in the room? The smartest person in the room. Thank you so much for playing that with us. Vicki. Yes. We met about a year ago, right? Yes. Yes. We were at your lovely daughter, Amanda's, one of her, bridal showers. Yes. It was Darlene's girlfriends. got invited, so. And Darlene Chan is one of my best friends, and she is mentioned so many times on this podcast, 'cause she's great at helping me get guests. Aw. But I think it was about the middle of the get-together when I learned who your father was, Stan Hart. Yes. And I think I practically jumped over the table to get you to come on the podcast. You were so cute, and it was kind of a rather obscure reference that brought it all together. Do you recall? Oh, no, I don't remember. What was it? You said something about a friend of yours who was, like, really into Hal Linden. Or something. Oh. And I have no idea, recollection how that came up, but then I said, "Well, my dad wrote his special, The Hal Linden Show." And then it was like, beep, di-di, beep. Yes. The lights went off in my head, and your dad was just writing during just that amazing, wonderful variety hour time. Yes. And just in a ti- in a time in Hollywood that I am fascinated about. Mm. Now, your dad, Stan- Mm-hmm Stanley Hart, was a comedy writer who wrote scripts for TV shows as well as for film and theater between 1962 and 2000. Yes. He was born in 1928- Yes when Hoover was president, and I looked it up, literally when sliced bread was first invented. That's so- Which I thought was adorable. That is adorable. And he studied at Stuyvesant High School. And- Stuyvesant. Stuyvesant Stuyvesant. Could you tell I'm not from New York? it's perfectly fine. But I'm from Connecticut, so- Good we're close. Mm-hmm. Now, he spent his higher education at City College of New York- and Columbia University. Yes. What did your dad go to school for? he went to college, you know, what's interesting, he was a little too young to be in World War II because he was born in 28, but of course he was also born a year before the Depression. And so these factors really figured into his life, he had to work during high school to make money. And so when he went to college the first school was for business. he used that business knowledge in his life, but that's not who he was. Maybe his parents thought it was a good idea, But he was always interested in sports and in writing, and he acted in schools, and he also loved movies. L- as you were saying, he grew up- On the Upper West Side, Washington Heights, during that time where, you know, the people who were going to create 20th century comedy were all living there. Yeah. You know, it was that community of a lot of Jewish kids, either the children of or the grandchildren of immigrants, and my dad was among them. I mean, he knew Neil Simon. Neil Simon was a little older, so My dad was good friends with Danny Simon, just on the playground. he told me about his youth. Of course, there wasn't a lot of money, so his summers what he would do, he would go to the park, he'd play baseball and sports all day, 'cause he loved that, and then he would come home, have lunch. His mother would give him a quarter, and that quarter would take him to the movie theaters, which was the only air conditioning available, was in movie theaters, where he would, for a quarter, he would see a double bill, a newsreel, he'd get a hot dog, and he'd get a drink. Oh, what a wonderful childhood. Yep. And he told me, within walking distance was apparently 12 movie theaters at that time, all showing double bills with extras, and they'd change programs. They had two separate programs per week. Wow. So he just lived in the movies as a young kid. he was interested in sports. did he know if he wanted to write when he was younger? Yes. Actually, what he told me was that I think at, towards the end of high school, he was interested in being a sports writer. I don't know when this happened, he did play some semi-pro ball on the lower end. But he said he was a pitcher, but he got bursitis and he was a slow runner, so that was the end of that. But he was interested in doing that. That's where he started, yeah, in his idea. And then he went to city college. And then oddly, he went to Columbia University and has got his master's in Elizabethan literature. That is impressive. Yes. And then later in life, this'll tell you a lot about my dad, he had it framed and he hung it over the toilet in the bathroom. That is perfect. Yep. Absolutely perfect. Now we're gonna jump to when your dad started working. Yes. And in 1962 your dad started at... I just can't believe I even know someone who is even tangentially associated with Mad Magazine. Yes. I mean, wow. Now, 1962 he starts at Mad Magazine. Right. And he remained a long-running Contributor for three decades. So obv- I think more. I think 40 years. Wow. I think 40 years, yeah. So obviously he loved writing for Mad. Yes, he did. Now- I loved when I was a kid, the film parodies. Mm-hmm. What, can you just talk about them a little, and what are some of them that he did? You know, that, he loved that, doing the film parodies. That was his specialty, though he did other things and he wrote some of the Mad books. I can't really share too much about it because he started writing for Mad a couple of years before I started learning how to read. So I remember him being very annoyed with me because I loved the Spy vs Spy little marginalia because it was the only thing that I, I didn't have to read for, and he got very annoyed with me for that. But I was like, "I can't read." Was your house filled with Mad magazines? We had a stack of them. We sure did. Absolutely. I think eventually Dad had them bound at some point towards the end- Oh, wow of his career. Where is that? Where is that? Where is that bound? I don't know. I think my- Oh, man I think my stepmother may have it. oh, man. And we'll get back to the ones that he did, but, I don't think we weren't allowed to buy it, but my cousins Gary and David were older. Mm. So after they finished, after David read it, after Gary read it, then I got it. Oh, good. And I love the film parodies so much. I know. Can you name a couple of them? Actually, I'm not, I don't know specifically which ones he did. for me it was like, that's just what he did. in my research and this could be wrong 'cause research, you know, especially with AI, is a little wonky right now. Mm-hmm. But what I read is that he did The Sound of Music. And I can see that image of, Julie Andrews, and I can see the striped apron that they put on her. Yes, The Graduate. Very likely. Midnight Cowboy. Mm-hmm. Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Yes. Oh, is it Grease? It's very possible. Dances with Wolves. Could- Sister Act, The Green Mile. It just went on and on. he didn't talk about, "I'm working on this movie." He approached it so much just like a job. When he wasn't working, at a studio or some th- place, he would wake up early, he would have his breakfast, he'd go into his o- this is when he was more established. He'd go into his office, he'd come out for lunch, he'd take a walk, he'd go out for lunch, come back. He'd work until 4:30 or 5:00, and he just did it every day. And back in the day, he probably had to go to the theater, or maybe they sent him tapes. Do you remember anything like that, like getting VHS? I, you know, oof, this, a lot of this was before VHS, so he had to go to the movies. And he- And take notes Yes. You know, you really have to have a great memory to go to the movies and not be able to rewind and go back, forth, back, forth. Because what I remember you couldn't do a whole two-hour movie in those panels. Right. But they always picked the popular spots. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. What people were chatting about around the water cooler. my dad had a very sensitive BS meter, and, he may have always had it, but, that would flare up at BS. And, I think he got it when he was in college because when he went to college as a young man, of course, so we're talking 18, 19 till whenever, he went to college with all those GIs coming back from war And I remember my dad shared with me that if they didn't like what the professor had to say, they would just stand up and just let the professor have it, expletives and everything. I mean, they would just go off. What- And my dad kind of a- a- admired it, rightly or wrongly, he did. I think that's amazing. I love that snapshot. I've never heard that. I don't even think Ken Burns knows that. Hmm. That's amazing. I could just see them just standing up and just lighting their cigarette, just going, "You can't BS me." I've been to war. Exactly. Did your dad hear from anybody, that liked the parodies of his movies? it's very likely, but like I said, he approached it just like his work. I'm sure he enjoyed his work, and I'm sure he loved thinking about these things and coming up with ways to skewer things that he thought were ridiculous, but we didn't talk much about that. He liked to talk about things like history and plays. He took me to my first Shakespeare play. But also the guy liked, a scatological joke more than anybody. So he was, like, operating on Shakespearean levels and poopy jokes simultaneously. we kinda mentioned it, you touched on this, that your dad had an office. Mm-hmm. Was the office, out of bounds for you could you go in there? what's it like having a dad who's home? it was fine 'cause I was mostly in school. and I could go in there, it was not out of bounds by any means. It looked very much like a traditional office. This is back in, when we were in California. He had one of those new IBM typewriters with the ball in it. The thing weighed about 45 pounds or 60 pounds. It sound like an airline taking off. It was like he didn't really make a thing of it. And, when he was working on I don't remember which movie, and he would, then he would go to the studio, and he would go there, and it was like a 9:00 to 5:00 job there. And I remember he told me that, which movie was it? It was Move, The movie Move. And he was brought in, as a script doctor. And, so he was there for, six weeks, eight weeks. And, he was driving up to the studio, and the guy at the front, the gate guard said, "Hello, Mr. Hart," knew who he was. And so then his contract was over, and, he realized he'd forgotten something at his office. So he drove to the studio. Exact same guard who had greeted him by name for eight weeks said, Who are you?" And he's "You know me." And he's "I don't have you on the list." And my dad had to b- beg and plead, and was finally allowed to get his stuff. But it was like, "Your contract's over. We don't know you. You're a stranger to us." There is no lie detected in that story, Vicki. Those studio guards are so tough. Mm-hmm. Whenever I take somebody, on a studio tour, you walk around or anything- Mm-hmm that's visiting, I'm always like, "Have your license out. Have your license out." You know, "What is exactly on your license? 'Cause otherwise, if you don't tell me your middle name, they won't let us in." Some things never change. I read that the Mad Magazine writers- were called the Usual Gang of Idiots. Yes. Now, I don't think that was pejorative. Did your- No did you know that, and did your dad like that title? Oh, I think he loved that title, and he loved the tenor of Mad Magazine which was, poking fun at everything and, you know, not taking anything seriously. he loved that. the guys all knew each other. And, the publisher was Bill Gaines, and he was quite eccentric. And, one of the things he did, is that once a year he would take all the writers and the, all the artists, all the guys, on a trip somewhere. He'd take them to France. He'd take them to South America. no wives. No, he did this. And he, 'cause he was like a gourmand, so they all went. actually, this leans into Mad the Mad show 'cause he was writing for Mad, and also another writer, Larry Siegel, was writing. I don't know if they wrote together before then, but somehow, and I don't recall how, they were both selected to do this off-Broadway show. So a Mad trip was coming up, and it was, I don't know, in Miami or somewhere like this. And so all the guys were on the beach and doing whatever, and Dad and Larry shut themselves up in the hotel room and basically in a week wrote the show. Y- say that again. In one week they wrote the whole show? Pretty much. They just didn't go out. I mean, I guess they had to- Wow that, so while everybody else was having cocktails on the beach- Yes and picking up, what would we call women back in those days? Chicks? Yes. And picking up chicks on the beach. Mm-hmm. And, uh, they were in the room writing. Yes. I'm so proud of him. That is why he was the head writer at The Carol Burnett Show, and not a staff writer. He and Larry. That's- Yeah, he and Larry true. Yeah. Now, when you say The Mad Show, what was The Mad Show? Oh, The Mad Show, it premiered when I was six. But I remember the show very well. It was a review based on the kind of the attitudes of Mad Magazine, and Larry and dad wrote the skits. Uh, some of the music actually a very famous song was written by Stephen Sondheim, The Girl from Takarima, Litomba, Delfuego, Santa Maria, Flacatega, Slakunta, Dos Solis. Or it's called The Girl From. And then Mary Rodgers, the daughter of Richard Rodgers, wrote the music. And it was a hit. It ran for two years. At that time, it was the longest running off-Broadway show. Oh my gosh. And hilarious. if you can get the soundtrack, the music is brilliant. It's so funny. You don't have to know the skits. It's just so funny. And at one point, one of the actors got sick. It was a cast of I think three men, two women, including Jo Anne Worley and Linda Lavin one of the men got sick. And then, I mean, this is where my d- my dad ha- was a tall, handsome man, had a wonderful singing voice, and talk about a great memory. Without rehearsal, he stepped on stage and did the part for two weeks. All the lines, singing all the songs, knowing all the blocking, 'cause he'd been, you know, in the theater when they were doing it. And I got to see him. Oh, and you got to see him? Yes. That is amazing. that takes a lot of guts. The first time to step out there, it's scary when you know everything and you've- Yeah rehearsed it. Yeah. That is amazing. I was gonna ask you about some scandalous stories at mad Well, I not scandals in that way, you know- Oh, in a fun way. well, the one, it's not a scandal, but it's a great story. I think this might have been the Miami trip, I'm not sure. Sergio Aragones, who I guess wrote Spy vs Spy, I think it was his mom, I think they had been Cuban and she was living in Miami, and she decided to make, dinner or lunch for everyone one day, one, one night. And so there was like a big, buffet thing, and she cooked everything. And so my dad said he went and everything looked very delicious except one dish he felt was a little suspicious, so he avoided that. Unfortunately, everybody else got food poisoning. I think maybe they were in Mexico, maybe it was Mexican food. Oh, yes. So they all got food poisoning, and so then they all had to the next day get on a bus and go to- wherever else where they were going. Everyone's just so miserable and so horrible. And, so they finally stopped someplace, and my dad wasn't sick. he was hungry, and there was like a little food stand there. He got something. So they're all back in the bus, and he was like the last to get on, and somebody said, "Uh, Stanley, what have you got there?" He said, "I have a goat taco." And everyone went, "Blah!" And they run- Oh out of the bus just to hurl their guts out. So those are the kinds of stories I heard. your dad worked with the famous Saul Bass Saul Bass- Yes, yes the legendary graphic designer. Yes. Can you just talk about that? Oh, sure. Sure. So if anybody Googles Saul Bass you'll see just tons of stuff. Fantastic graphic designer. You all might remember, your listeners might remember the, AT&T globe with the blue and white kind of stripes. Definitely. That's, he designed that. Wow Yeah. And he also, uh, was I think director of photography or s- or something for Psycho. And he also was I think it was the movie Grand Prix where they're doing the Le Mans, it the stories about the, that car race. Uh- Steve McQueen yes, Steve McQueen. I don't remember what the name of it is, but the person who does, directs all the crowd scenes and such. Oh, I would say the AD does that. Y- something like that. So there's, he told us a wonderful story that he was directing something and it was just this impossible situation, and he was in one of those cars where they're driving him around and he's like, "L- let me go to the top of that hill and take a look." And he, they drive him up the top of the hill, he puts his hand, hand, head in his hands and goes, oh my God, what am I gonna do?" Pulls himself together and they go out again. So yeah. Yeah. For our y- young writers out there, Steve McQueen, the movie actor, not the director that they kind of know nowadays. he wanted to film Le Mans, and it's what, it's like 24 hours and there are just race cars- Yes going around and around, and it's not a neat little track. No. the people are just separated by hay bales. And there was no script. Oh my God. I never saw the film, so I, I just know this. Yeah, no script. Oh my God. And there's just a lot of, vroom, vroom, vroom. Sol also did movie posters. Yes. I think he did Psycho, like you just said. Yes. And I can't think of any others top of my head, but I'll put it in the show notes. Yes. Now, hey, how did your parents meet? And let's talk about your mom a little bit. Aw, that's so nice. Joan Shorn Hart. Yes. So how did they meet, and what was your mom like? They met actually I think one of those resorts like in Dirty Dancing. Except I don't think they did any dirty dancing because, in the summer, where did nice Jewish kids meet other nice Jewish kids? Catskills. Yeah, the Catskills. And neither family was ultra re- religious, So my mom was at some place with her cousin, and my dad was apparently at the same place with a friend of his. And I don't know how they met up, but, I do recall the story of they decided to sit at a table somewhere and have dinner. And Dad was sitting across from Mom's cousin, and Stewie was sitting across from Mom, and about halfway through they switched. Yeah. And my mom said to her cousin, she told me, "If he asks me to marry him tonight, I would." I love that so much. That is so sweet. Yeah. about six months ago at the museum. off the 405, and I'm not talking about The Getty. The Skirball? I was at Skirball looking at the Diane von Furstenberg exhibit. Mm. And I went by, um, s- uh, they were just putting it up, but I guess there's going to, there was a Catskill exhibit. Oh. And I guess there's going to be a TV series about that time. Oh, how wonderful. Yes. Oh, how wonderful. You will really enjoy it, I think. Yes. And what was your mom like? Oh, she was such a sweet woman. smart, very smart, very interested in the arts. She had wanted to be an actress, and, she played piano beautifully. She had a beautiful voice. And it w- that was all very well and good when she was younger, but when she got to be, a very voluptuous-looking young lady, her parents said, "No." Ooh Yeah. She- They wanted to keep her safe? They were just prudes. They were- They were just prudes. Yep. And she, I think she got, a summer stock job, and they said, "No, you can't go." Oh, my goodness. I can't imagine being 18 on the East Coast, being offered a summer stock job. Yeah. I mean, that was it. That was the what would you say, the runway to, Broadway? it was professional gig. you were on your way. And so, they said no. And so she went to Vassar Do you think your mom resented that, or she ended up, being, I still got to live a good life"? Um, well, she found joy where she could. I think that damaged her. Yeah. And as I think- Oh in other ways, a lot of women who suffered, not so much in my mother's case, but that Rosie the Riveter syndrome. All the women are working in the, through the war, and then they come back, and it's like, "Sorry, the boys are home. You have to, wear crinoline, and pearls, and vacuum." out of the workplace you go. There was no, "Hey, we'll try to find a different space for you." Uh-uh. It was just, "Get out." The boys needed the jobs, and the country needed the babies. Yes. And there it was. she, she so supported my dad in his career. In fact, I'll never forget. So this is after The Mad Show. We had literally, my parents had just bought a house in Connecticut. We had been there six weeks, and Dad got an offer to work for a six-week replacement on The Flip Wilson Show in LA. That's all. That was his entire contract. And I'll never forget. I'll remember this my whole life. My mom sat us down in the living room, my brother and I. She looked at us and said, We're going to Los Angeles, and we're not coming back." Oh. She knew that's where his future was. I love your mom. Yeah. I loved her honesty. I love the independence when she told you that, and her foresight. And you know what? I never shared it to my dad until much later. Actually, after she passed away, I told him, and he said, "I never knew that." And he paused. He goes, "She was always so much braver than I was." That just really touches your heart. it's, the woman behind the man And at least she got to laugh a lot. Oh, she did. And, she was a great mom, and, she was just a fabulous lady. she came from a family her father had three brothers, I think it was four brothers all together, and they founded Topps Chewing Gum. Yeah. Bazooka bubble gum. I was just gonna say your mom has a amazing background with the Topps Chewing Gum. Yes. Now, they, your family founded the Topps Chewing Gum. Yes. And your grandfather, listen to this listeners, listen to this writers. Your grandfather, Vickie's grandfather, invented baseball cards. Yes. Drop the mic. Yes. That is just amazing. And then your dad wrote the text. Yes, for a lot of them, 'cause he loved baseball. Just your dad just goes, "I can fit in here. I can fit in here." Absolutely. And listeners, writers, if there's anything that, take away from this episode is, you know, you don't have to stay in one alley. Just- See what you're good at, make sure you do that, but have an education and be interested- Yeah in other things. Can you talk about, that side of the family, the Topps? Ab- absolutely. My grandfather, first generation American he was born in the eigh- late 1890s, and his brothers, from Kiev. And, so he had a fifth-grade education, he and his brothers, and they started working. And I don't know what they did first, but eventually they put together enough to open a gas station. And he was like, "Okay, we're gonna do this, give it. We're gonna give everybody a newspaper, the, the men in the morning, and give them a cup of coffee and we'll do their windows." And then they moved on to get to the cigar business, and they were, importing the leaves. But then they realized that the middlemen, which they were, would be squeezed out, and they decided to go in, I don't know why, into the gum business. And just a little sidebar, I think your listeners will be amazed by this. The reason why my grandfather invented baseball cards was originally to sell gum. Now, anybody who's eaten the gum in a packet of baseball cards would not believe that 'cause it tastes terrible. I still have some on my back tooth from- Yes. the early days. It was cardboard. It was cardboard. Yeah. But that was the original reason. They wanted to sell more gum, and they thought this was the way to do it. Dad, I think, I he worked, started working there, of course, only after he married Mom, so you know, he married the daughter and then had the boss. But, um, he also did business stuff for them. He also did creative stuff for them. he told me a story, this is in like the mid-'60s. They sent him to England to look for licensing for cards and stuff. And so he met with some guy, he goes, "You know, I have this group. I don't know. I don't know what they're gonna be, but you know, um, you can have a m- license for $7,000." And it was The Beatles. No, sir. Yes. He- No, sir he licensed Beatle cards for $7,000- Oh for Topps Chewing Gum. Are you on a throne right now of gold? No. Oh. But he eventually did well. Yes, he did. But- Wow that was just a job. Do you have any Beatles baseball cards? Oh, golly, no. They were nothing. never thought to collect them. But for me, what's more precious is the memory, to be honest with you, rather than the item. Absolutely, to your point, if I may say about y- speaking to your writer listeners, I mean, my dad just had this incredible creativity. So he created Big Daddy, he created Gold Rush, he created Wacky Packs. He created Ring Pops, Push Pops. He would just have an idea like, "What if we put a candy on a ring and kids could wear it and suck on it?" Wow. And for all kids at raves, they thank you because those Ring Pops keep them going, keep them alive. They're electric lights. Now, he also, and I love this, I love that he probably wrote what... 'Cause I read every single one that I could get my hands on. Bazooka Joe? Yes. He wrote a lot of the Bazooka Joe comics. Indeed, he did. Oh, how amazing. And I have a story about that that blew my dad away when he heard it. Because t- talk about we, as artists, we never know who we touch. We might think we're just throwing something out into the universe. So I was doing an opera in Santa Barbara, and it was a Gilbert and Sullivan thing. And, there was some of the local people would be doing the chorus and being the pirates and all this. So it was like backstage during a show. We were doing a show for the kids. The director had asked everybody in the cast to write something about themselves that the kids would find interesting. So I don't think they'd find anything that interesting about me, but I said, "My dad wrote the Bazooka Joe comics." Okay, fine. So I'm backstage, and here comes this big pirate who looks like he's gonna hurt you. He comes up and he grabs my hands and he says, "Did your father really write the Bazooka Joe comics?" I'm like, "Yeah." And he goes, "Would you thank him for me?" I'm like, "Okay." Oh. He goes, "No, no, you don't understand. Where I grew up in New Jersey, it was a slum. We had rats in the apartment." I mean, he said, "I can't even describe to you. And I would take the Bazooka Joe comics and s- paste them on my wall." "And I can't tell you how that helped me get through." Tell your dad thank you." And when I told my dad, he goes, "What?" Yeah. That's, that is so sweet. Now, you had mentioned, that your family went from the East Coast to Los Angeles. via, the Flip Wilson Show. Yes. what part of town did you move to? Well, we were originally, for a couple years we were in Sherman Oaks. that was very lovely. A nice place. And, but that was a bit of a tough time because after the Flip Wilson Show, my dad was trying to get work. He was working on screenplays. He did optioned a screenplay to I think Alan Pakula, but it never got made. Oh. And that was a really rough year for my dad because there was the money, but his career wasn't moving along. And I think it, I remember it being a really, really tough year for him. Fortunately not financially, so we weren't materially affected. But then, actually through Larry Siegel, they got The Carol Burnett Show. he said, "I wanna work with my partner Stan." And there, and then that happened. And we're gonna get to The Carol Burnett Show. first, I wanna know what schools you went to. I went, started at Dixie Canyon Elementary, and then I went to Sherman Oaks Elementary, and then we moved, south of Wilshire Boulevard to Beverly Hills, and I spent the rest of my school years in Beverly Hills. Oh, that's so cool. What part of Beverly Hills? South Rodeo Drive, which was very nicely upper middle class. It wasn't, crazy. Oh, are we talking flats? Yes. for our writers out there, Beverly Hills has the flats and the hills, and, the town's in the middle, I think that's where I discovered four-way stops when I first came to town. Yes. On every bleeping corner. Yes. now I'm gonna mention some of the shows your dad worked on. Mm-hmm. And I would just love to hear any memories. Sure. Now, he did Wonder Woman. Mm-hmm. But it was the pilot that didn't air. I think it was called Who's Afraid of Diana Prince? Hmm. 1967. Do you remember anything about that one? Uh, well, no. Uh, like I said, he wouldn't have talked about it. Wouldn't have talked about it. Yeah. Okay. This one is just I love, Oh, Nurse! And it's got an exclamation point, so it's Oh, Nurse! And if that is not a '70s sitcom title, I don't know what is. I remember the title, but again, also you have to remember, I was, eight years old. Yep. And now, The Hal Linden Special. Yes. That I do remember a little more about because, I was a little older. And also, my dad, you know, from his childhood and everything, he had a profound love affair with New York. New York City, what it meant to him, the history of the city. And also, he was very much into that kind of Frank Capra sort of idealism, 'cause he got that in the movies, and also the glamour of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. So The Hal Linden Special, if I recall correctly, they let him do a whole thing on New York City, and put Hal Linden there, and he set the whole thing there. I remember that he had one little, item in the show where, they had in the recent past changed Sixth Avenue." to Avenue of Americas?" the bit was, Hal Linden was asking people, "What's the name of the street?" And they're like, "Sixth Avenue. "Where's Sixth Avenue of Americas?" "Well, you're on Sixth Avenue." he was very much into loving New York. they would give- Actors Variety Specials and- Well, not necessarily willingly. tell me. When a person like Hal Linden would have a successful show and they want to continue, more seasons, the star would say, "Well, I want a special. I wanna do the dancing and the skits and the singing." these artists wanted to show that side of themselves. There you go. And they had the power, and they took Yep. Good for them. There you go. Now, The Paul Lynde Show. I love Paul Lynde. I still see snippets of him on the Hollywood Squares, and it just love him. He's so marvelous. again, because of the time, we didn't have copies of these shows. It wasn't like having a DVD I don't even think Betamax was available. No, I don't think so. No. So unfortunately, I don't have access, unless I maybe went to the television museum in New York City, I don't have access to these videos. We don't, we just don't have them. I looked up Oh, Nurse! Yeah. Oh, nurse. Yeah. And it is about the comic misadventures about a group of coeds attending nursing school. Now- Oh a- absolutely, I could see that selling in the room. Yeah. And I was... I'm looking at the writers, and your dad was working with Treva Silverman. Really? Yes. Oh my Go- I certainly know the name. Never knew that. Never- I- knew that writers. Treva was the woman allowed in the men's writing room- Oh my God for Mary Tyler Moore- Mm-hmm and all those shows. Wow. She is legendary. Yes. And there, again, it's Larry Siegel and Stan Hart. So I'm gonna see if I can find that on YouTube, because that actually looks adorable to me. And- It sounds like a great basis for a sitcom now exactly. I know. I, yes, I agree. Now, they even gave, and now I understand, Gabe Kaplan Show. Yes. So that- I vaguely remember it 'cause I knew who Gabe Kaplan was at the time, but if you asked me what the show was, I couldn't tell you. He was the teacher in Welcome Back, Kotter. That's right. Well, I can only imagine he wanted it, or his agent told him to want it, because, you know- Oh I wouldn't think of Gabe Kaplan as a song and dance man either, so. Now, Eat and Run. I think this is a family affair here going on. Eat and Run. Yeah, it was a bit of a vanity project. So he wrote the script and, he financed it. I think he wanted... was he directing it? No, I don't think he directed it, but he was very much involved with it, and it was kind of this wacko comedy sci-fi thing. My own personal connection to it, I was actually, while they were filming it, I was out in Albuquerque, studying out there for some unknown reason. That's my story. But my- Fair enough dad was saying that they had this one scene where they wanted a lonely street at night in New York City, and they wanted to have tumbleweeds going down the street. And he was just chatting with me, like, "We'll have to figure out how to make them." I'm like, "No, no, I'm in Albuquerque. I'll just- Yeah drive up the road and I'll get them." And I did. I mailed him two huge tumbleweeds in a big movie box. Did you get a credit on the movie? I think I did. I looked at the trailer. They look like they were having so much fun, and they were out in New York City, it looks like, just shooting on the streets everywhere. Oh, yes. And they were, like, running from the Teamsters union. In fact, at one point they were, when they were going on site, at one point, apparently the Teamsters found them and, parked a van on their cables of their, o- audio and video equipment. And they got their gaffers and all the, the guys that were working on them to lift the truck so they could move the cables. That is such a movie story. All the glamour we're gonna get around it. Yes. Absolutely. Now, we're gonna talk about The Carol Burnett Show. legendary, and it has some of the most Wonderful sketches and songs. And I think the young kids out there do know about it because I see Carol Burnett clips on Instagram- Yes and Twitter- Yes all day long. Yes. What do you remember? Oh, quite a bit 'cause I was older. I know that Dad respected Carol tremendously. He really respected her as a comedian and as an artist. And, he really enjoyed writing for that show. And he, and Larry as writers and then as head writers for a couple of years. They really s- did a lot of the kind of movie musical things, these big productions, because they had not only themselves, who loved the genre and loved, you know, gently spoofing it, but they also had the great Ken and Mitzi Welch, the songwriting team, the musical team, who are just spectacular and have done work with Barry Manilow and back in the day Barbra Streisand. I mean, just so talented. And they also had, the fabulous costumer, Bob Mackey. So how can you not do big production numbers when you had that group. And Carol, who was fantastic and she would run a calisthenics hour for anyone on staff before the work day started. She led calisthenics. Jane Fonda, move aside. And she was she was ve- very serious about her comedy. Actually, in the later episodes after my dad left, she would break a little more often, she didn't wanna ever break if she could, in a scene. And she was just great, it was a really wonderful time for him, and he got to be very, very creative in a way that he liked, writers out there, if you want to know how to build a comedy scene, go watch Carol Burnett, 'cause you're laughing in the beginning, and you're laughing harder in the middle, and you can't believe you're still laughing at the end. but also there's the timing thing. My dad really had a great sense of timing and the detail that made something funny. I forget which maybe it was a spoof of, of the Dolly sisters, a movie The Dolly Sisters, old movie called The Dolly Sisters, and, Carol's playing the lead person and Harvey is her boyfriend or something, and she's sick, and she's dying. And, and so the doctor says to Harvey, "You know, she only has three minutes to live." And he's pulling himself together, and he goes up to her and goes, "My darling, my darling, what can I get you?" She says, "Well, I'd really like a four-minute egg." And- I'm sorry. Oh, that's such a raspy laugh. I'm laughing still. he wrote the shows for Radio City Music Hall when it opened in, reopened in the '80s. They did a whole kind of spectacular. He did a New York spectacular, 'cause that's what he loved. But I remember him telling me there was one line that wasn't getting a laugh, and he went and he listened to the performance. He's like, "This should get a laugh." And he went up to the actor, he said... I forgot what the line was. He said, "You're saying a. You have to say the in this line." And it got a laugh brilliant, and you're born with that. The timing- Well, it's craft also. It's craft Yes. You can learn the craft. Mm-hmm. Absolutely you can learn the craft. Yes. But there is this innate ability to know the timing. apropos that, my dad for quite a number of years, he attended you may know Harvey Lembeck's comedy workshop. he was very good friends with Harvey Lembeck and the family. And he went, and he would do the improv John Ritter was in it, and I think Robin Williams was there. Dad would get on stage with them. And I remember Harvey Lembeck was so great. They had to be funny, but he would insist they be real. And, Harvey would, yell at them in the middle of the scene. He goes, "You're doing schtick. Don't do schtick." It makes so much sense now. Mm-hmm. He comes from an improv background. Yeah. And Harvey Lembeck, uh, is the Phil Silvers Show. And Beach Blanket Bingo. he was that guy on the motorcycle. Eric Von Zipper. Oh, my God. Amazing, yes. I'm very lucky Dad took me several times, and it was just amazing how people can be up there taking prompts, making stuff up, and be hilarious. I'm like, How?" Yep did you get to go see The Carol Burnett Show? Were you in the audience? Yes. Oh, a number of times. Yes, it was wonderful. Did that shoot at CBS? Yes, it did. It shot at CBS, and they shot the dress, and they shot the regular performance in case something happened. They'd have a backup tape. So would you get out of school, and your mom would pick you up, and you'd drive, down Beverly? Probably. I don't know what time they started, they could have started at 4:00. See- And done a 4:00 and a 7:00 or something. I don't really recall. I wanted your life growing up, that's why I literally think of these things like, oh, were you excited all day through school, and you couldn't wait to get out because you knew you were gonna go around and be with the funny people? I certainly was excited when he got it 'cause, the show, 'cause I knew it was a big deal. I certainly watched it every week, and that was a big deal. And, does Dad have one of the scenes? Are they his? One of the parts of the show, are they his? So certainly there was great excitement about it. But the details, you know, I was in school. I was doing girl things, I should also say, by the way Dad loved Harvey. He thought he was hilarious. He thought he had more talent than he could, use on that show. Of course, he did like Blazing Saddles and stuff, and then you could really see his genius. But he respected Harvey tremendously. Are the wagons that are around the trailers- are those Lyle Waggoner's trailers? Is that his company? I have no idea. I've never- I've been told- heard that that those trailers are his, But I don't know if somebody was just, teasing me with that. Well, I don't know, but I have a, a funny story. Uh, my dad didn't love Lyle Waggoner because he, he, understandably, he wanted to do more on the show, and he was just like the eye candy on the show, and he was kind of bugging my dad about it. And he found it annoying. So I think one time he just walks up to Lyle and goes, "You know, Lyle, that extra weight looks good on you." O-M-G. That is- Dad could be sharp You know Lyle cut back. did you get to ever interact with Carol? Yes, I met her, and she was incredibly sweet and lovely. And I remember, oh my goodness, all these stories are coming back. It's, it's lovely to have a chance to talk about them. My dad, when his parents came out to LA, he took his parents to the show, and they got backstage to meet Carol, and they were so happy. And then a few months later, a Life Magazine story came out about Carol Burnett, and his parents were in a featured photo. they were like, "How did you do it?" And my dad was like, "I didn't. I had nothing to do with it." If your dad was not the favorite son, he was the favorite son. He got put in the will. That, what better thing than you could do for your parents to be in an article like that, Now I'm not accusing anybody of anything. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But I would think back in that day, after work, after the show, drinkers. Were people drinking? Carol Burnett's husband certainly was. he was a- Oh. Yeah, he was a drunk. He was an alcoholic. Well, that question that wasn't a good question of mine. Um- That's okay did the writers go out, like out... Comedy writers after shows love to go someplace. I wonder where they went, if they went or if they went home. You, well, you know, they may have, but my dad wasn't a big drinker at all, and I think he just wanted to go home and, watch sports. And, he was in so many ways such a regular guy with also this kind of intellectual bent. So, a weekend for dad would be, watching sports on TV and reading huge tomes the American Revolution. And then writing for the Carol Burnett Show. An amazing mind any way you look at it. Yes. when I doing some research on your dad, I saw this on one of the boards. It could've been Facebook. Phil White, just- a guy out there in the world. He said about your dad- Yes "His stuff not only got me interested in show tunes- he inspired me to read and watch the classics." "Hart might well be responsible for the cultural education of a thousand baby boomers." Oh, that, that chokes me up. this guy, Phil White, he got my dad. He t- totally got him. I'm really choked up. Vicki, what do you want the world to know about your father, Stanley Hart? Oh gosh, he was a complicated man in a lotta ways. we've talked about one side of him, but like all people, he had many sides. But he really I'll just speak of, about him as my dad. I was so lucky because we ended up liking a lot of the same things. So he would, any time he was like, "How about this? How about that?" I was like, "Yes, yes, yes." At a time when we were both living in New York after I graduated from college, for a couple of years he would get a subscription to The Pianists at Carnegie Hall. We would like once every month then have dinner at Fontana di Trevi, and then cross the street to Carnegie, and it was just wonderful. But it's always you know, he adored classical music and everything, but, always he had this funny twist about things. so we're doing one of those concerts. We had a lovely dinner. We actually had front row seats, and we open the program, and it's all full of like really ultra-modern avant-garde music, which my father hated. And I didn't, at that time I really wasn't that open to it. And, so we looked at the f- program. We looked at each other, and he said, "Shall we?" And I said, "Let's." And we just, we walked out of Carnegie Hall from the front row before the program started. Oh, I- Everyone was looking at us and we're like, "We're out of here. Sorry. We're done." The Harts are leaving the building. The building. But, you know, you were speaking earlier of how you are born with it, and there it is true. My father told me a story. When he was in fourth grade, so you know, 1930-something, it was the old classrooms and the kids, had to stand up and read from the textbook. So they were doing a thing about Washington's inauguration after, the Revolution. So Dad gets up, he starts reading, and the text says, "When Washington was inaugurated, all around New York many great balls were held." And of course he started to giggle. And the teacher was like, "Stanley, how dare you?" And then he kicked him out of class. He couldn't help himself. His brain took a left turn, and that's where it went. And thank goodness he didn't listen to his teacher, 'cause we would have lost out on so much as a society. No. Oh, that's so sweet. This has been so lovely, getting a chance to go down memory lane with you. Really, it's just been so marvelous. Vicki Hart, thank you so much for joining us on the Writer's Hangout. Totally my pleasure. Thank you.