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If you know who David Liebe Hart is, you probably only know him as the singing puppeteer on Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, a series on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block. What you probably don’t know is that he’s also been in the entertainment industry for at least 30 years. Liebe Hart was taught by Jim Henson, he’s worked on The Gong Show, he was good friends with Robin Williams when they were up-and-coming comedians, he was the hype man for the series Happy Days, he’s been on Wings and Golden Girls, he has a public access show in California, he’s been on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Daily Show, he has a new musical duo with UCLA student Adam Papagan, etc. and etc. — and somehow he still agreed to do an interview with Buzzgrinder.
David Liebe Hart and Adam Papagan - Artist and Creator
David Liebe Hart and Adam Papagan - Korendian Honk
To begin with, how did you get involved with Tim (Heidecker) and Eric (Wareheim)?
David: Ah, how I got involved with Tim and Eric is I mailed them a resume when they were doing Tom goes to the Mayor. They saw me performing as a street musician at the Hollywood Bowl, and they asked me to bring a CD and I brought a CD, and I got a call from Ben who was an employer when they were near Highland and Sunset. They asked me to come in for a cold reading. I came in for a cold reading, and then they liked the songs that I wrote on the Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson Program and they asked me could I write funny comedy songs. They asked me to write songs about things off the wall. And so the first song I wrote was Amagril. Tim and Eric didn’t like that, they refused it. Then they had me to write a song called Salame which is how the Corinians say hi and goodbye. And that became a very big hit, and since I came from a family of school teachers, they asked me to write a song, if I had a son of my own, what kind of an example could I set for them. So I wrote a song called Stay in School, Stay Focused.
What are they like in real life?
David: Well Tim and Eric like beer and like to party and have a good time. They’re wonderful guys.
What’s John C. Reilly like?
David: John C. Reilly is just a funny guy. He makes up comedy right on the spot. He’s just a natural comedian. He’s a funny guy and a funny guy to be around. He’s a great comedian and a great actor.
What made you want to work with puppets in the first place?
David: Well I was influenced as a child by puppet shows. Every city had their own puppet show. In Chicago they had a puppet show called Garfield Goose. They had another one called Captain Kangaroo. And then I found out, I was visiting a, my Sunday school teacher Jim Henson would always teach with puppets. And in the Christian Science Church, he taught us the Beatitudes and the 10 Commandments with puppets. And I not only had Jim Henson as a puppeteer, I had another guy that was a famous puppeteer as a Sunday School teacher, his name is Burr Tillstrom. He did Kukla, Fran and Ollie, and he also was a member of 17th Church of Christ, Scientist, downtown Chicago, and he would teach us in a Sunday school with puppets.
Can you tell people about your public access show?
David: What encouraged me to do the public access show was, two things happened: my old Sunday school teacher before he passed on was teaching kid’s puppeteering at UCLA college. And he asked me to come there and John Deleaze(sic) was there and that was a famous Italian actor, comedian. And then I saw Jim Henson at my ex wife’s association in Boston, Massachusetts. In Christian Science they have something that after you have class instruction, they have every year an association, and I saw Jim Henson at one of my ex wife’s association. I had an involvement in that association, and Jim Henson said to me, “the Christian Science Church has a monitor channel and it would be great if you could make a puppet show, teaching kids Bible stories and say no to drugs and stay in school,” and he says “to reach kids, and I’ve always wanted to do that but I don’t look like I’m going to live to do that. I’m very sick. Would you do that?” And I said “Yes, I would.” He says “that would help your acting career.” So I first started making public access shows at the First Church of Christ Scientist in Yucaipa, California from right from the church.
Adam: That was in 1988, right?
David: Yeah, in ‘88. I did my first three shows in 1988 from the Yucaipa Church of Christ Scientist and then I did two more. There was a Christian Science practitioner named Sandy Anderson and she was my co-star. And the first public access shows were done in 1988 from her house and the First Church of Christ Scientist in Yucaipa, California, the Christian Science Church I used to be a member of when I used to be married. That church is now closed. That church now in Yucaipa, California is now a Seventh-day Adventist church.
How did you and Adam Papagan get together?
David: Well Adam Papagan agreed, when he was a younger guy, agreed to do my public access show, and he was a lot younger and a lot smaller back then.
Adam: Five years ago. Public Access Hollywood, that’s where we met.
David: Yeah, we met at Public Access Hollywood, but you agreed to do my public access…
Adam: After I met you there though.
David: After you met me there though. Okay, there was a guy who, he was an Italian guy, he worked for MTV, he’s a very talented guy.
Adam: Will, right?
David: Will. I met Adam Papagan at that thing that Will was putting together and he agreed to do my public access show if I would do his public access show. And then we became good friends and his parents took me to do my show on Van Nuys when it used to be Adelphia Cable. And then I did his shows and we became good friends after that.
Adam: Yeah, and then also I was interning at Tim and Eric for a little bit. That’s when we really started hanging out more. You know, after I had these musical skills under my belt.
Where do you draw your songwriting influences from?
Adam: Well my experiences I’ve had in my life, ah the life as experiences. I’m inspired by ex girlfriends I had, the hard and good times I went through. I’m a songwriter. I’m painting the words or the sounds of what I’ve been through.
Adam: Are there any songwriters who you particularly like who you get inspiration from? Their style?
David: Ah yes, John Denver, Earth Wind and Fire, Stevie Wonder, the Fifth Dimension, The Eagles. The Beatles were good. Chuck Berry was a good influence. Elvis Presley. And I also took music theory and I also write religious music. My religious songs are with CCLI, Christian Copyright Licensing International.
When are you and Adam going to tour?
David: Well we gotta get it organized.
Adam: I would, personally I would like to be able to…
David: But I wanna get paid for it, you know.
Adam: Right. Well that’s part of the thing
David: Him and I need to work it out. We’re both starting out. The idea that came to be, I’ve worked in nightclubs in the past. I could get Adam Papagan and I to work the nightclubs that I’ve worked in the past like The Comedy Store. I’ve worked at the Viper Room in West Hollywood. I worked at Space World. I already have a rapport at those places.
Adam: But as far as like a tour, how would you feel about possibly touring this summer? Six months from now, I’m just throwing it out there. I think if not this summer, then by next summer I think that we’ll be tour ready.
David: But the labor is worthy of it’s hire, as the Bible says.
Adam: Well right, but David we won’t be playing shows for free when we’re on tour.
David: We’re gonna get paid, cause rent and bills are so expensive and we’re in a recession now and I wanna see you make money and me make money cause we put a lot of our talent.
Adam: We’ll have a pretty low overhead cause it’s just two people though so we won’t have to pay a whole band. It’s just me and you, and we can do it in my car. We don’t have to get a van or anything.
David: Well, when money gets better, we’ll get a full band.
Adam: I have a band we can use, it’s just like, I think for tour, it’d be better if it was me and you cause we’re only splitting the money two ways.
David: Yeah, that’s fine. Let’s just do you and me for now.
Adam: Yeah, but hopefully soon is the answer to that question.
David: Adam Papagan has been like a son and a brother. I’ve enjoyed working with him and even though we don’t agree on everything, he’s a nice kid and a nice person to work with.
Can you tell people about your relationship with Robin Williams?
David: Well Robin Williams, way back in the 70s; he’s a great comedian. I met him at 5th Church of Christ Scientist when he used to attend the Science Church, and Vivian Vance was going there and Vivian Vance and Ginger Rogers said “why don’t you both work together since you’re both Christian Scientists and you’re both trying to break into the entertainment business?” So we did a skit together with my Martian puppets and he was doing Mork, his act. He’s a very talented comedian. I still love Robin Williams, he’s an outstanding talented person and I wish him and I could become friends again. I wanna become good friends with him just like Adam Papagan and I are friends. And I see he’s going through hard times with the divorce and everything and I wanna encourage him that he can make it again. What broke us up was when Garry Marshall chose him instead of me, that split us up. But I know that if him and I worked together, we could have been better than Lucy and Ethel. We could have been better than Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin. We could have had a good team. I still think highly of Robin Williams. I like him a lot, he’s a very talented comedian. I just wish he wouldn’t forget, it’s like he’s forgotten about me. I know it’s been 30 years and I want to see his career come up. And that’s why I wish him the best and I wanna team up with him again.
Can you tell us what your experience was like when you were on the television show Wings?
David: Well it was great. The woman I worked with, Mae, I was trying to find her husband as a detective. And in fact I found the episode.
Adam: Oh you did?
David: Yes. I have it. I found one of them.
Adam: Do you have it here?
David: Yes I do.
Adam: Can I Youtube it tonight? Can I put it on Youtube tonight?
David: Um, I need it back cause it’s hard to find….
Adam: Ok, I’ll give it to you next week or whenever I see you.
David: Please.
Adam: Yeah, David. I would really enjoy seeing that.
David: Okay, and I also not only did Wings, I did Golden Girls. I played a police officer on Golden Girls. I also knew Scatman Crothers. Scatman Crothers was a Christian Scientist and he helped me get on Chico and the Man. We did it at 3000 Alameda Street in Burbank, California. I first got started off being an extra on Mr. (Ernie) Kovac’s programs. And then I started getting a couple of speaking lines on Chico and the Man, as well as being an extra in Welcome Back, Kotter.
Can you tell us anything about your upcoming role in Hannah Montana?
David: What happened was, when I found out that Tim and Eric were not gonna continue on, they only agreed to do four seasons, and I mailed out something like 900 pictures and resumes. And the only people that contacted me back, that told me they wanted me to come in for a cold reading was Hannah Montana and The New Adventures of (Old) Christine. What happened was, I spoke to one of the casting directors and I said “you know, I have a big following among young people with the Tim and Eric Show and I would be great for Hannah Montana.” So the casting director says, “we’d like to probably use you as a school teacher but we won’t start filming again, we’re on hiatus until February, but we like your work and your young following from the Tim and Eric show.” So I’m hoping that it works out.
What’s your problem with Garry Marshall?
David: Well I love Garry Marshall, he’s a very talented person. I learned a lot from him, the way he filmed and he produced shows. I was able to copy that in my producing the Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson Program. But I felt he should have cast me into TV shows. He had me to do the warm ups before the shows began, and he promised that he would integrate me as a walk on actor and it never happened. I felt that he should have came clean and told me in the beginning that he wasn’t going to use me on any of the shows, and I felt that he would have gotten an audience from the African Americans if he would have integrated some blacks on his show, but he kept it almost pure white. Like you look at most of the Happy Days, he only had one black on Happy Days in all the 14 years that ran. And his shows were more like the shows in the 50s that hardly ever had any ethnic people on it. Garry Marshall reminds me of my ex girlfriend and my ex wife. He should have been honest with me in the beginning. “I’m not going to cast you in the shows even though you do the warm ups for the shows.” I was there every Tuesday night before the shows began, memorizing comedy lines, doing music, warming up the audience, telling them to give a big round of applause to the different actors and actresses that came out, and I felt that I should been at least cast in one of those programs. Like I say in the song, Garry Marshall could have made a lot of money off of me.
Adam: You could have been the star of his galaxy.
David: I could have been the star of his galaxy.
Would you ever write a song about Buzzgrinder?
Adam: Interesting that they ask about a personalized song, because for a small fee…
David: I would write a song about you but Adam Papagan and I need to get paid for it. The last song we wrote, we each got $100, a laborer is worthy of his hire, as the Bible says. In fact the Bible came from the Egyptian Book of the Dead and the book of Gilgamesh.
Adam: What David’s trying to say is that in order to raise money for possibly touring or for another record, cause we want to make more records, we’re doing personalized songs for people for like…
David: $200
Adam: $200? $150.
David: No, $200. The last guy in Canada paid us $100. We wrote a song about a couple that got married called John and Sarah. We didn’t even get paid for that.
Adam: That was for the contest though. That was different. But the point is, is that we’re doing the songs.
David: Adam Papagan is a young college student that needs money for going to school. He doesn’t have a job. I’m an ex-Navy veteran. I’ve gotta pay my rent. Since I’m not working Tim and Eric anymore, I’m a street musician and a portrait artist. And if you live in California, they give 90% of all the jobs to illegal aliens and it’s really bad. I’d like to see all people get hired but that’s the way the companies are.
What’s next for David Liebe Hart?
David: Well I’m hoping I get a spin-off from the Tim and Eric, Awesome Great Show Great Job.
Adam: You have some tour dates coming up with Tim and Eric, right?
David: Yes, I’m supposed to do a tour with Tim and Eric in January in New York and Canada. Montreal, the area where the studio is being relocated. I don’t know if they’re supposed to be starting a new show. And it’s gonna be different than the Tim and Eric, Awesome Great Show Great Job.
Written by Blake Garris
Salame!
Also, I will chip in money for them to write a Buzzgrinder song. Who’s with me?
We should have Hart create a Buzzgrinder mascot and have him say indie things like “We’re all out of Pabst” or “The Arcade Fire sold out before they began!”