Robert Smigel & Conan Remember Prop Master Bill Tull | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

one thing I wanted to bring up was uh. last year we lost uh one of the most. important people that ever worked on the. show Bill T yes bill tll was a legendary. prop master who looked just if you want. a visual Bill tll started with us and. was with us for years and years and. years and years and Bill Tall looked. like a Nordic God I mean very tall. incredible build incredibly handsome. face yeah um and then we started using.

in sketches so you might you could look. him up later on yeah funny sketches long. long white hair and he looked like he. could you could put him in a Thor. costume and he could say you trespass. here I mean he had that amazing look. deep voice too yeah but he would do. anything you would do anything and at. that point in the show like you know. sometimes it felt like we were almost at. War because there were people on the. staff who just were like why are we. doing this key screen behind the. band or whatever weird thing trying all.

this weird stuff trying all this stuff. and then there were people like Frank. like who would do anything and and think. of I I got something for Alex Rocco. You're Gonna Love It Whatever and Bill. tell I remember I'll just tell one quick. bill story like so we won the the. Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994 and. so I had this idea to have like a. dancing a running around Stanley Cup. like a live Stanley. anthropomorph the Stanley Cup is to life.

and is dancing around in our and of. course because I was a you know a big. baby I I wanted the a giant Stanley Cup. but to have like tidy whes visible at. the bottom so the legs are really cute. but he's wearing tidy whes and it's kind. of disturbing yeah so but I had this. idea literally at like two in the. morning and like Brian Leech from the. Rangers was going to be on the show the. next day and so I call you know and the. writers were all there laughing about. this and I call like the wardrob.

Department like what the are you. talking about that's not going to happen. you can't do that then I call Bill T. he's like okay yeah okay so we'll uh. yeah you want me to build like a whole. thing okay so it's like eight Le how. many levels are there and it's like 3 in. the morning and so he gets right to work. and then the only thing that he can't. figure out is the Stanley Cup has like. this bowl this big silver bowl on top so. B calls the Rainbow Room finds out that. they have a silver bowl he goes up there. which is by way for anyone who doesn't.

know one of the most Swanky Swanky like. incredible Elite places people rich. people have their weddings in the. rainbow room so he goes to the Rainbow. Room go to the Rainbow Room hey you guys. got a you guys got a silver bowl I need. it for a guy wearing underwear uh. Stanley Cup thing and and so the guy he. gets the manager of the place and like. well we kind of need that ball listen. what what can I do how can I get the. silver ball and believe and literally. the guy says well I there there's a kind.

of hot security guard downstairs and can. you if you can get me her number set me. up uh so I can call her I'll give you. the bowl so he goes down to the ground. floor of course he does talks to the. security guard lady says there's a guy. on rain room and uh and he gets the. number and he goes back upstairs and. comes back with the bowl and this is. like on no sleep no sleep unbel and this. is and and the whole point is that like. that was the spirit of the show that was. the spirit of show and like chil's here.

another long time he's I I call chills. the warrior uh because he's still I. shoot things now I'm in different. countries for this thing I'm doing for. HBO Max and chills he was there yeah uh. get it but one of the things was really. this I'll say this and then because we. have so much to talk about but we were. no but we were always no no sorry we. were always this is just going to have. to be a 7- hour episode but um we were. always uh this is what I remember about. Bill Toll was we needed some kind of. crazy looking thing that basically was.

going to look like an animal skeleton. but it had a clock for a head or. something and so at rehearsal they. reveal this thing and it looks kind of. perfect and I'm like wow how did you. fake this uh animal skeleton and Bill's. like oh yeah well I you went Upstate New. York I knew a guy who he has a farm and. he told me where all the animals are. buried so he went out at night with a. shovel and dug around till he found a.

dead sheep and he dug up all the bones. and reassembled it yeah for the prop. just beyond belief I mean literally he's. a ghoul in the night you know the giant. Moon behind him in a silhouette of him. digging and then assembling bones and. then he just talks about this matter of. fact Leon it's the best episode of. inside Conan you should listen to it. bill and his partner John Ral and I you. know the whole point is that like it was. such a struggle that first year it was. the best job most exciting job I ever.

had but it was such a struggle the. network doubting us and we had you know. what I remember very clearly if there. are five things you need to have a. successful television show yeah meaning. the networks behind you um the critics. like you the numbers are strong and then. like a couple things we had none of. those things we had absolutely I. remembered sitting around going let's. see what are the things you need and. then making a list of the five and going. nope nope nope nope nope nope all we had.

was a great show we did have a and a. great you know really niick you know was. really nice uh was that we made it to. that first summer and suddenly colleges. got out yeah and all of a sudden we had. these audiences that were fine and if we. did something really funny they would. laugh but it was always touch and go and. then suddenly um I walked out would have. been June of 1994 after this slog this. crazy slog which started the summer.

before and went all the way into the. following sum so it was a solid year of. no sleeping always worrying um people on. the street telling me to drop dead you. know oh my God and and um yeah and uh. those were Network. executive it's just I thought it was bad. for. but yeah they were worried I didn't get. the message um it'll make them stronger. it's okay um he's over there he's in. Central Park South get him thanks Lauren.

no problem it'll toughen him up now. about my. money um I my getaway car needs a better. driver so uh but I remember that walking. out one day to do the warm-up because I. would do the warm-up before the show and. uh I came out to do the warm-up and the. the minute the crowd saw me they were. yes yeah whoa and I I was looking behind. me like uh is Jerry Seinfeld standing. behind me what what what's happening. this was it was really is interesting uh.

all these people who were criticizing. you MH I realize now they were not the. audience no like cuz I've spoken to. people since who like talk about you in. the first year and they're like I loved. him the first year yeah he was a little. nervous but it was all from just. humility of being excited to be on. television right he was so sweet and. these were just like the silent section. of the audience that didn't have you. know access to the internet or whatever. was going on back then no internet no I.

mean there was barely would have been. nice if there was an internet there was. like a uset forum that we all obsessed. on at some point but uh but yeah I mean. and uh yeah there was there was an. audience from the beginning we just. didn't know we hear it now because I. hear it from the haters and the m not. the haters the bill haters and the. melanes and all these people that say oh. I loved it and my response is always the. same which is why couldn't you have been. famous then why couldn't you have been.

as famous then as you are now and you. could have said something I know um but. they were 11 well we did have Dave who. came on to the show that was the biggest. thing that ever happened yeah that was. February of 94 that was huge yes and he. had the he said it backstage and then he. said it to your face which is what. really mattered on television how great. the show was and that changed a lot of. took a lot of pressure off the network. but the last thing I want to say about. Bill just in general bill bill just that. like for people who work on a show like.

this or any movie Set you know you could. you could have the opinion that you know. H my job's not that important there's a. finite amount of effect that I can have. on a show but like it's not true if if. people are supportive of the creative. people at the top and they give off that. vibe that they believe in you and that. they you know and that they'll do. anything for you like Bill and other. people people from that staff it makes.

an enormous difference yeah and I say. you know and not to embarrass him. because I know he's right outside this. door because he still works with us but. you know Jason shalmi who you mentioned. is the same kind of person who started. with us as an intern but right I swear. to God if he if Jason thought it was if. he sensed that it was important for us. doing something comedically whether it's. now for the podcast or for a travel show. I'm doing for HBO Max whatever and it. involved him getting shot at Max now. yeah the program okay whatever I like to.

throw the HBO in to let people know that. it's a good it's actually. quality it's not pornography yeah when. you say I'm on when you just say Max. people think oh well it's people. guess whack off to this yeah I've never. been able to whack off the cona this is. exciting he's really evolved like they. say his porn is so. creative all the all the furniture in. the room is talking. too the guy and the girl are going at it. and then the couch is like yeah what a.

schlong um quiet couchy I'm losing my. concentration but I like that porn with. anthrop wow he's really giving it to her. shut up alarm clock the pizza's watching. the pizza's watching and rubbing its. nipples which your J finally I have a. line which is the pizza's rubbing its. pepperoni. nipples oh I love. it um new meaning to the word food porn.

yeah. exactly but uh but no if Jason thought. it was important and he you know I was. just with him we were shooting in South. America and he's like I think if he. thought this was important to me or. somehow important to the comedy but it. involved him running across yeah a. firing line where actual ammunition is. being shot he would do it yeah and um. which is my point is that he's stupid. no no my my point is that it's he makes. you like this the last day I was on the. show I had to give a speech which was.

painful as can be because I loved the. show so much and I remember saying I. thanked everybody and I said there are. people in this room who have said Conan. and I have inspired them to do great. work and I just wanted to tell everybody. you you inspired us and that's really. true a guy like Jason a guy like so many. people who um they have your back and. it's makes all the difference in the. world and I I do think in the light of. it's it's a great message too that.

people you know in the light of all. these strikes and everything and people. say well it just comes down to Commerce. and money and yes are is money part of. it of course it is but yeah when you see. the level of when when people get. excited creatively and then other people. around them whether it's people working. cameras pulling cables but they're. excited too and they're kind of going. the extra mile to make it happen such a. difference and then it becomes. kind of like a religious experience in a.

weird way it becomes spiritual and you. were making something and then you get. the money and you don't share it with. anybody. [Laughter]. that.