Gary Gulman Got Recognized In The Hospital | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

I want to make sure I mention your book. too you've been busy you have a new be a. schnor which is a yish term meaning like. I learned that word from Gro marks okay. yeah he h used to sing a song about. being I'm not a snorer which I think was. uh yeah my captain Spalding I think has. the word schnor in it my name is Captain. Captain Spalding the African Explorer. I'm no snorer hooray and I remember as a. kid as being a huge fan of the marks. brothers and thinking schnor what's. snorer yeah and then someone explained.

it to me oh that's a great feeling for a. Yiddish well a Jewish person who knows. some Yiddish to explain it to somebody. because it when you show interest we get. very excited yeah it's you guys have the. you guys and I say you guys I mean the. Jewish people have the greatest phrase. of all time which works for everything. oi oi and it's perfect and you know what. it's perfect for texts because people. tell me stuff and it's really heavy and. and you don't have time and sometimes I.

just say oi and they're like yeah and. you picture you can picture the face the. Emoji that goes along with it and it's. yeah it's the same face of when all the. pastrami falls out of the sandwich it's. it's Billy Crystal's Mr Saturday night. character that's what I picture um so. Misfit growing up awkward in the 80s uh. is is your Memoir yes and was this. cathartic for you because you've. famously you've talked about it a lot. and I think uh very um you know people.

say oh it's Brave and I it's like well. it's it's it's great that you talk about. your struggles with mental health and I. applaud that but it's that you do it so. with so much empathy and you do it so. intelligently and you're funny about it. oh thanks and I think that is a man. that's a bomb that's worth that's all. that's worth all the Prozac in the world. you know I mean it it was something that. I aspired to over the years to.

finally get to a point where I was far. enough away from it that and and also. that it was sort of a a a success story. of I overcame this because in the midst. of it I wasn't able to write about it. and also my brain wasn't working well. enough and I didn't have enough. confidence but I was so elated and. grateful to be on the other side of my. depression which I was I received. ECT about four months before I did that. that abbreviate the states thing and.

really yeah and so the electric. convulsive therapy in in I was impatient. in in um wild Cornell Hospital New York. Presbyterian in in Manhattan and then. and you said one of the patients. actually Rec recognized me from from TV. and and yeah he said uh am I crazy or. you Gary Gman which is I mean you can. write an entire. act apparently. both um you are crazy but I'm getting.

that from Context yeah yeah exactly but. but it's not because you think I'm Gary. Gman although I I would say maybe shoot. higher for who you're. imagining you can imagine any Napoleon. yeah there so many people to aim for yes. or or yeah and so anyhow I I was so. grateful and I wanted to tell the story. because I wanted to share that there's. hope because that that was one thing my. doctor and my wife never gave up on me. but I gave up on myself many many times.

I kept going through the motions and. trying new medicine and and treatments. and ECT finally was the thing that. worked in the hospitalization and it and. it and it got me to a level that I had. never experienced in my life I had spent. my entire life sort of working at 70 75%. sometimes 80% if I could get some. momentum and then it it had kind of a. cycle where I would be productive for. nine months and then I would fall apart. and and have to start all over again so. it was very frustrating but since I have. been uh I guess I would say in.

remission that was probably October of. 2017 I've I've had the the the most joy. and and experienc life in a in a way. without the the heaviness and the the. fatigue that accompanied a lot of my. depressive episodes so I'm so grateful. so I was happy to share this story so. that it would give some people hope. because what I didn't realize is that. people thought I used to think when. somebody famous would would either to.

commit suicide or or come out about. being depressed I would say what why. would that person be depressed and I. didn't realize that I could be that for. some people that some people would say. oh if he can get depressed and then it's. not it's not a matter of accomplishing. something it's a matter of chemistry. yeah and and and that's the thing that. that's very hard for people to. understand because the same thing you're. trying to work with is telling you this. isn't chemistry it's you you're you're. lazy you're dumb you're untalented so it. it was important that I was able to get.

that story the same thing when I was a. kid or even in well into my teens and. 20s when I would hear about a brilliant. author or just a a performer I loved or. anyone getting really depressed and I. would think but I don't understand yeah. yeah they they why would Elvis be. depressed uh why would anyone um who has. that be depressed and then you know as. you go through life you realize that uh. material things uh success or getting.

recognized uh is um it's nice yeah but. it it is really true that it doesn't uh. have anything to do with your brain. chemistry and sometimes it can. exacerbate it and make it feel worse. like oh my God I have this and this was. supposed to be the thing that made me. feel good about myself yeah so many. people get into comedy or get into this. business because they think once I get. that yeah and everyone knows who I am. yeah and I'm driving a car that looks.

like that then all my problems will be. over and when it doesn't happen yeah. rage painful rage yeah and I'm talking. about. myself but it was rage mostly that the. car isn't nicer oh well okay I come on. Tesla's nice but I want a. Bugatti and I never got one and that. sled sprawled out but it's not mine did.

the to have a name yeah exactly that. when I die I'm just going to say. toog it'll be like all these reporters. will be scattered yeah to yeah whatever. Glide. right um You are uh well I'll just say. it again pleasure to know you I I really. I feel the same way you've brought me so. much joy I really admire you because uh. you're.

such a highly intelligent and empathetic. comedian and you do such beautiful work. you've been through a lot which makes me. sad but also um you've come through the. other side and you're very honest about. it I think it's going to help a lot of. people but mostly if I didn't know any. of this I just I I watch these specials. I watch your comedy every time I've seen. you perform I think man that guy is so. gifted he thinks so differently than. everyone else and he's so everything is. so crafted and beautifully done the work. that goes into it so thank you what you.

do is as the IR say a. Mitzvah I'm pinching myself because uh. that means so much to me but also and. this was one of the things I wanted to. mention just the the exposure you gave. me on that show all those times was I. mean it changed my life and it gave me a. touring career so I'm I'm am uh so. grateful for for what you've brought to. me even before I was on the show just. the joy and knowing that oh there are. other people who find this funny and.

thought it was well we found each other. and now we're two gangly depressed guys. from. Massachusetts who know each other love. to read who love to read yay yes I love. that interview you did with uh stepen. Wright on on his book Harold which was. such a an incredible book and and he was. a guy I listened to Growing Up who made. me so happy he led the way for so many. people you made him laugh so hard that. it was just a different side of St right. my gosh you were killing him the the.

universal comment I've heard uh and I'm. not patting myself on the back but just. it's funny how many people have said. this all these comedians that have never. heard him laugh and I was thinking the. same thing yes which is oh he laughs oh. my gosh CU he's so straight oh but he's. such a kind generous humble I mean. humble he's a magic he is a magical. special magical man with a hideous. Boston. accent what are you going to. do.