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From Los Angeles.

This is KLCS PBS.

Welcome to everybody with Angela Williamson and innovation, Arts, education and public affairs program.

Everybody, with Angela Williamson is made possible by viewers like you.

Thank you.

And now your host, doctor Angela Williamson.

I'm delighted to welcome legendary actor Laurence Hilton Jacobs to our conversation tonight.

You know, it's almost as if my lunch pail I had in the 70s just came to life.

Oh.

You got one, too.

I, I mean, you weren't a kid and a fan in the 70s and did not have that lunch, but, you know, you were all so cool.

I'm gonna give you a real quick story on that, please.

The lunch pail of welcome at Kotter.

John.

S and had done our show had done, The Addams Family, and he did a guest shot on our show.

And in between we were talking and he said, he says, Larry, man, have you been collecting any of the, the memorabilia?

And I said, I've been giving it to nieces and nephews.

He says, you better do it.

You're going to be sad if the year's going if you don't have one.

So that night I went to Ralph's and I bought me my lunch pail, which I still have in my office till this day.

I've had that thing for almost 45 years.

Well, and when I knew I was interviewing you, I just felt like I don't even know where it is because they were the best built things.

They were better than tool kit.

Oh, no.

Because, yeah, you could just bang that anywhere and then like, oh, you know, Lawrence is here in a little bit.

Let me just pop it out.

They made things to last in those days.

Now they make it to fall apart, you know, so you can buy another one.

That's how it is.

I've always had this question in the back of my mind, especially when I am able to meet so many people.

I just grew up watching on television, and we're all around the same age.

But I was like, how did they all go ahead?

I don't tell our audience, I don't care, don't tell our audience.

But here's my question for you.

Did you know because in that same year, and correct me if I'm wrong in that same year you're doing welcome back, Carter.

But also two, you're doing Cooley High.

Did you know that you were going to be on, like, an iconic film and an iconic.

Oh no, no, no, nobody knows that.

You know, just happy to work.

Well, you're happy to work, you know, I mean, you know, starving and getting it.

So, you know, that's important.

You know, you do the work, you know, but in those days, you know, I done Claudine and then I did Cooley High and I did welcome back, Kotter.

But in those days, our movie stayed in the movie theaters 2 or 3 years.

It would just go from here to the theater.

Theater.

Now you see it, you know, on television, on a place with a map.

And that's it.

And so they were out at the same time, you know, and Cooley High and it was already a hit.

I had no idea because I was in Los Angeles doing, welcome back, Kotter, learning my lines and getting through it.

And my good friend Mitzi stay, who I went to high school with, started sending me articles.

I was like, wow.

Then when I went back to New York in the premiere for Welcome Back, Kotter, September 9th, 1975, I remember all the dates and whatnot.

Then it was pandemonium.

People knew me.

I was it was weird, you know, because they knew me all that well.

But you don't know, you know, you have no idea what's something's going to be.

You can hope.

You just do your work.

You do the work, you do the best that you can do, and you keep it moving.

You know, you move on.

Well.

And what fascinates me about actors is how you're able to do your craft in such a way that we almost don't realize it's Lawrence.

We connect you to that character.

Well, I mean that that happens.

We're all creatures of habit, you know?

So we like to know things we can be familiar with, and we try to put it into some kind of an understanding box.

You know, the approach for me as an actor is, is to get the character the when you're doing a performance, it's not about just trying to do performance, it's trying to get it down to behavior as opposed to if I'm talking to you, you know, and if I'm, you know, being an actor, I can do this or I can just do this and so on.

More naturalistic, you know, even if the way you are right now, you know, you know, so, you know, that's the approach and you know, and when you're working with other performance, you have to leave a little leeway room to see what they're going to bring, what a director might want, how the, where you're going, what location you're in, that also, when the minute you get into a location and they brought a bring a camera and lights, the location becomes half the size.

And by the time because because there's a roomful of people, that's if the audience sees.

But that's what's there, you know?

And then when you're, working with the actors is even tighter.

So it becomes a trust.

You have to have a trust in each other.

It's an unwritten rule, and that's how you get along.

And so you get it.

The performances to happen.

So you mentioning you have to have a trust with the actors.

Absolutely.

So you are trusting them to come and bring their lies or trusting them to be in that part in that moment.

That's what my concern is, is the trust of us as people.

You know, when you're around each other, like when they have rehearsals for a movie, if you have time for that and it's over rehearsing before you shoot it.

All that really, to me is creating is a kinship because you get a chance to get familiar with each other, you know?

And if you have with somebody and you're working with them and you're going over it back and forth, you relax the way you might touch them, that becomes just infused inside of you.

And then you trust that, you know, you look at interesting Steve-O, and you see what performance is going to give you.

You don't know what they're going to do completely, and they don't know what you're going to do, but you know enough to be able to ride that.

You know, it happened with us on Cooley High a lot when we were doing scenes where we were just going for stuff that was in the moment.

There was no way in the script, but it was right.

And we just we just knew it would work and welcome it.

It was all about that.

We were always just coming up with it in the moment.

But we went with it and it worked.

I've been so amazed to watch you be able to evolve through, I mean, through your entire career.

I mean, I just watched you, I You were the patriarch of the house divided.

Thank you, thank you.

I just read through episode.

Wow.

I mean, you've been able to master every character that you're given.

Do you think you just have a gift?

That's something.

I mean, you can ego yourself on that one if you want.

Yes, I have the gift.

I mean, hey, you know, I'm happy here, so I'm asking you these questions.

I mean, you do the work, you know, and you have to, learn the work.

You have to be honest.

Everything to me, really.

Whenever, when I talk about him with young actors and they say, where's the key?

You know, not.

And I said, well, you have to be honest.

You have to come from your honesty.

We know when we're full of it.

You know, when we've, you know, when we B.S.

and let's get it real, you know, and so that's what you have to get past.

And then you, you include everything, not just the actor or like we're talking I'm talking with with the doctor and so forth, you know, stuff like that.

So there's a comfort zone, but there's a crew here, you know, that's bringing around.

They bring in this stuff that they got us drinking.

I'm not going to tell you what it is.

So.

Okay.

It's it's about the work.

It's about the work is about the community.

It's about the trust in that, you know, the relaxation of the trust.

And then let your instincts take over it, based on what you're trying to achieve and see what magic comes out of it, that's, you know, it's really that's the toughness of it.

Because we're intellects, we like to intellectualize things.

We like to break it down and to define this, you know, decimal and, and, you watch kids like when I did the Jacksons movie.

Yes.

And we had all those kids, you know, planets.

And I watch these babies.

Who knew nothing about acting, but they were instinctual, and they were brilliant and good.

And I was like.

And Angela finally came onto this movie because she came in three days later.

Angela Bassett I said, I'm we got to wake up because in babies Ain't playing, you know, they just have an instinct and they go for the truth, you know?

As well as, you know, how kids can manipulate them.

Yes, of course, but, that's what you try to find.

You try to find that honesty and a simplicity.

And that's where performance, happens.

But sometimes it's magical.

It can be very special.

I love that you're explaining a lot of this because, you know, I even though I host the show, I'm more like my audience.

I stand in awe when I'm watching all of you on screen acting, doing your craft or singing or authors, etc.

and a lot of times what happens is that we're seeing you, you know, either on the big screen or seeing you on our television or in this case, streaming you.

And we don't understand what it takes to actually, I don't even necessarily know the easy to understand the journey.

We have to just be able to feel it and like it, you know, you can know the journey of it.

You know?

But I mean, it's just this is not to let it happen as a performer and, and don't take it but take it seriously and take it so serious.

No, you know, I mean, you take your work serious and you try to achieve what you're trying to, you know, blossom to an envelope to.

But then, you know, chill out, man.

We'll get a hamburger, you know, going, you know what's up, you know, whatever.

Let it go.

Well, I like this.

Let it go.

So let's go on this.

Let it go.

Let it go, baby.

Oh yeah.

Well, because and you've you've been around, you've worked through this industry.

And one minute if you just a little bit of a minute however, I'm enjoying my conversation with you because it's almost as if I'm meeting you in Starbucks for the first time.

Is it Starbucks?

Man, I know it's my chai tea latte.

Okay, I don't know.

You think Tony's behind the camera?

I think he has to stay there.

This is my chai tea.

Like.

Yes, yes, but, I mean, how do you.

How do you do it?

How do you stay sane?

Well, you have to know you're crazy, first of all.

Oh, would you accept that?

That's your security, you know, so, you know, you're not worried about being cuckoo because you are, you know, I mean, you gotta do life.

You do the work, you know?

Whatever the publicist world says is supposed to be a fanfare.

That that's that.

But I say, go home and go kiss the kids, you know, or, you know, be out with the babies and and be silly with them.

Or tell your lady and all you know, for no reason.

You know how you feel about.

Oh, she looks good.

You know, you're looking raggedy.

She looks good, you know, because, you know, that's all that have you know, you know, and, you know, do life.

Go take a walk, chill out, sit around sometimes.

Just be a bum if you.

It's okay.

I'm right that I can't believe our first segment is almost over.

Well, I know, I know.

See, you were just perfect because you continue that conversation.

Yes, that's why you're here longer.

I got a Uber waiting.

Maybe.

I don't know this.

What?

Really?

Oh, is that why you're moving to me?

Do not pull the wool over your host.

I can only chill pill, but.

Oh, no.

I love this, so I love your energy.

But before we go into our break, you had a lot of great advice in there.

You.

I mean, I'm just hearing that you said you have to trust the people, and that's what you've done in this industry.

But then I'm also hearing that you just need to not take yourself as seriously.

Enjoy life.

It's like raising children.

When you raise a child, you know, you're learning that kid every single moment because it keeps changing all the time.

So you have to have a something to plumb for that.

You have to also lay back to allow that kid to find it.

And the kids even like when the kids are like a baby and they learn they have a voice, they can scream or they can get attention, or they try to pimp you and play you.

You know, we have to sometimes pretend we don't know it like we were not three before.

They forget we were five and seven and or whatever ages they come into.

So we must allow things to grow.

It's like a tree.

You take a tree planted, you put a seed and it grows.

But allow it to grow.

It has to nurture.

We have to nurture it.

If it's going to, bear fruit one day, we have to allow for that.

You have to let it find the son.

It's the same thing of us growing in life.

We have to let it come up in it's time.

Chill back, let it happen.

Maybe help it a little bit, but it has a natural forward that's going to happen.

So that's the approach.

You know to me in just life you know, and you and you I put that to me being a performer.

And so it being an entertainment but it's a life lesson or a life, virtue perfect way to end our segment.

When we come back, we want to talk about the four projects you have in the works.

Cool.

Terrific.

Come back to hear more from Lawrence.

how does a very serious actor end up in Hollywood doing that craziness there?

Which is real good and a lot of fun.

But that's a change of pace, isn't it?

How does a serious actor end up in Hollywood doing that?

Yeah.

Stupidity.

That's how.

Starvation.

Does it bug you when you're walking along in the supermarket or in a restaurant somewhere, say, hey, boom, boom, or they do one of those numbers on that.

That doesn't it doesn't bother me.

It's just an arm because I'm doing I do the show every single day.

We rehearse every day, and then we shoot it once a week and I play the character so much I start to forget, you know, because somebody say, you know, they might come up and say, hey, boom, we're not gonna use that much.

Good luck.

And thank you very much.

Nice to have you.

My early Alzheimer's diagnosis gave us time to adapt as a family.

This is a basketball ban.

This is a body for running.

And for jumping in this.

This is a body for sitting and spreading.

It's simple basketball basket case.

Welcome back.

Welcome back to.

Welcome back.

I know you enjoyed that first segment because I did as you could probably see.

So we are coming back to talk more about what Lawrence is doing now.

So what are you doing now?

Well, I'm a crossing guard at the event.

Okay.

Well, we like to hear that, but we want to see what you're doing on the small screen or big screen.

So tell us about that.

I've been busy being real busy lately.

You know, I was on the road for four months doing a dramatic version of the, movie Jason's Lyric.

We did that just before that, I did a movie called War Dogs, which is, I think, for better.

Plus, I haven't seen it yet, but that's coming up, and I'm playing the nerdy guy, if you can believe that.

You want a bow tie?

In between that, I did a short film with my friend Glynn Turman where we play two old souls who lost their wives, and they're reminiscing on how do you go forward.

And what's coming up is on me directing.

I've been directing for a long time.

I've been directing since I'm 35.

I'm 72, just turned 72 last week, and also hanging in there.

And, we're going to do these films almost back to back.

The first one is called At Christmas Time, and it's a Christmas movie.

I'll tell it in brief.

What it's about is about a little seven year old little girl, little Latina girl who, has a brain tumor, and that's her story.

And she's trying to get well in the hospital.

There's a homeless guy who was once a big time musician, and now he thinks his life's not worth it.

And he wants to end it.

But the policeman who volunteers at the hospital catches him, finds out who he is, and he brings him to the hospital to, direct the Christmas show with the little girl.

And he fall in love, you know, because they need the family.

The opposition of it is the doctor to some primary care doctor who doesn't like that.

But at the same time, for her, this little girl is a little girl.

Because she never had children.

So it's all those dynamics.

So it's tear jerker stuff.

We're going for a very sentimental, I'm going to make it snow all over the place, although it doesn't snow, but I'm going to go for that real Christmasy feeling.

And so that's the first movie we're going to do.

We're going to start that pre-production about a month from now, you know, and I will probably never sweep again, but that's it.

Well, because each one of these films, it's almost like you're doing a different genre, two for all.

Different night and day.

Yeah, Christmas movie is a family, as you know, sentimental movie.

The one, another one called family doing it.

It's an intense, drama.

It's a family drama.

It's an intense suspense, filled type thing.

And then on the one after that panic, when we get to that, probably about a good almost year later, is, horror film, you know, and it's really intense, you know, on a horror film in a sense, and not in monsters and all that of horror.

Logical.

Like, yeah, I call them horror.

Logical.

Okay.

You know, horror, logical, kind of a movie.

And then after that, the one we're going to do with the fourth one is called Max, and it's, about a man, an older man who is going through dementia and those changes for the first time.

And how do you cope when your life has to take the kind of a flip when you've been independent or you think you have it going on and, and you know, and it's it's a little bit, personal for me because my mother went through that in her 70s and it came early with her, which is a trip, you know.

And so that inspired some of that.

You want to write and do it.

And each of these movies you have written this.

Well, I've been writing for a long time.

Yeah.

Okay.

So you are going to produce.

You write.

You're also a musician.

Yeah, yeah.

I've been doing that for a long time.

Yeah, I play keyboards and.

And then, you know what?

We all have seen you on our screens.

But I think what's really interesting is that if I. And correct me if I'm wrong, but out of these four projects, two, you'll be working with someone you've worked with in the past with them.

Three so tell our audience, because they were once.

My friend, my friend Glynn Turman, who did, Cooley High with me.

He played preach, I play coaches, and I wrote them off and going, you know, Lynn's a great friend, but he's a great, great, great, brilliant actor now, you know, and, maybe a little selfishly, I want to just take him to another level with it.

I want him to get an Oscar, you know, or at least an Oscar nominated nom nomination.

That'd be nice.

That's it man, I'm tripping, man, but it's about the work.

First.

It's about the work.

This first phase, we we see, we see.

I mean, these great performances.

And it gets.

I'm a little shocked when I find out that they never have been nominated or things like the.

Nomination doesn't validate that you're a good performer.

No thank you.

It hasn't.

You know, it's just nice.

Let me tell you.

Told it to me, please.

Jack Albertson, who was doing Chico in The Man yesterday?

Our producers also, was the same producer then Welcome Back, Kotter.

So I saw Jack and Freddie Prinze every day, and Jack and I wound up doing a TV movie called The Comedy Company, which was about the Comedy Store life.

And one day we had a break in between shooting stuff, and I was talking to Jack.

He was it was about 67 at the time.

I was 24.

And I said, okay, Jack, I want to ask you something.

Where I sit on, you have a Tony Award, you have an Oscar.

I said, you have an Emmy.

You know, he had he had an Emmy, the Tony Award, and I'm on it.

So he had all those when the or I said, tell me, man, what's it?

He said, son, he said that in 56 they get you on the bus, you know.

So that was he put me on and he said, then nice to get you know, and it's a nice honor and people are like you.

And for ten minutes they want to love you and you still have to go off and go do your work.

So I, you know, that's my my feeling with and with awards.

I think they're nice, you know, but they're they're not a validation that you're better or you, you're greater than anybody else.

It doesn't.

It's an acknowledgment and sometimes rightfully acknowledgment, you know, in the moment.

So that's that's the depth of it.

And that's where they should be, you know, and then you have a chance to take it home and let it collect dust on, on a, on a mantle.

You know, that's the opportunity there.

So you know I think that's really great advice because we'll have people who want to get in this industry.

And our generation is a little bit different now.

I mean, it's if people aren't recognizing you for what you do, you don't feel validated.

We go through it all through life.

It's always about who's the best, who's the cutest, who's got the nicest clothes.

You know, who's the best athlete is always a competition to some degree all the time.

And we put that's what we put the merit on that, you know.

You know, if you can, if I can score better than you, then I'm better than you.

I mean, come on, you know, or you.

That means you, of course, because you get some score.

Basketball better mean you're better in the math than me or because I can.

I can sew and put a jacket together that's wrong.

You know, it's all silly and but these kind of, these little tags are put on to us in life, and we go by it and you see it every day in the commercials.

You watch a commercial on television and you see a family and it just eating, you know, you know, Eggo or something like that.

But they're polished and they have the perfect kitchen.

And the kids look at they were scrubbed four times with Ajax, you know, and, you know, this is what we think we gotta be.

You know?

So, God, if I get Eggos, I'm gonna look like them.

You know, this is we buy that nonsense, you know?

And it's fun.

It's a fantasy and all that.

I mean, that's what movies are.

Movies are an illusion of a reality.

You know, even if you're doing a realistic story, it's not verbatim the real story, but you're giving them love elements so we can follow that story and get some something out of it.

The truth, or how the story has been told, you know, or some kind of a, dynamic.

But that's what it is, you know, and in a movie, anything you see, it's done because we want it to be done.

If I want you to cry, I'm trying to make you cry.

But I want you to laugh, want to make I don't want to do a dramatic role and try to be serious in your laugh that I didn't get over, I blew it.

But, you know, that's how it is, you know?

And so, that's okay, you know, and we do the work, live life, enjoy the people that you care about, the ones that really matter, of course.

And they're important to you.

And that's, of course, your close relations and, you know, tell the kids to stop asking about, you know, leather jackets every week, the grand baby's hip hop, mind you at that.

But that's all a part of living life to your fullest is watching that next generation.

Even if they're asking for.

They watch them.

They'll spend their money.

Yeah, well, yeah, that's what you are for.

Is that what I'm for?

That is what you're for.

And that's why you come on that.

Well, and.

That's why you have to produce all of these.

You got that real sucker to stay alive.

Yes.

Because you have you have one granddaughter, right?

How many girls I got?

Three granddaughters.

Oh, no, I got a bunch of baby.

Oh, okay.

Well, yes.

And then you need to keep working.

With that.

Generation.

None of the kids.

I mean, they're wonderful.

They know that.

You know, that my house is their home and they, you know, can do what they want, you know, as long as they have respect him.

And I don't play that, you know, we we stay straight up.

Well and what you've shown us in this conversation and correct me if I'm wrong, but it's you know, what you're doing, that's your career.

It's your livelihood.

But also to family's important.

Family is completely important.

It's more important than anything to me, you know?

I mean, I love what I've done.

I mean, I've been I've been an actor most 57 years.

That's a long.

That's a lifetime, you know, and I've been able to work in a variety of ways, which is fantastic.

And I don't take that lightly.

But family is first and most important.

That's how I came up in the Western, in Dominican family.

My mother's from Santa Domingo, raised Saint Thomas, my father, Saint Croix, which I got his name, Hilton.

He's Hilton, Augustus Jacobs.

I'm lucky I didn't get the Augustus.

I just got the Hilton part.

But, we grew up with that.

That's that strong bond sense.

And she came from a family of, seven brothers and sisters.

So all of those kids, they don't have many kids.

It's like I had 25 brothers in 25 sisters.

And we're still tight like that till this day.

That's how we believe.

Even when I get around my cousin, my one cousin Kevin, I'm real tight with Kevin Martin.

And the minute we start talking, we all of a sudden start talking West Indian and and go into this team.

Are you talking, man?

It just comes right out as we do.

But we're you know, that's the foundation.

You know, that's your people.

You can be absolutely yourself.

It's like when you with a little child, you can be absolutely yourself with the child because there's no judgment in it.

But you don't have to feel like you're being silly.

Or as we get so conscious or wanting, always the world's approval of, you know, for is out of place.

Oh my God, you know, which is, you know, too much.

And some days I just don't give a damn.

I really don't, you know.

You know, sometimes I forget my cell phone and on my cell and then.

And I forgot it.

I'll make it, you know, I'll get past the day.

People still be there.

When you get back to your.

It's going to be fine, man.

You know, nothing changing.

So we have a few minutes left.

And this is why I want to eat for two seconds.

Two segments.

Because I wanted to get to know the real Lawrence.

And not only have you just kept me smiling and everything, but you've also given me some wisdom.

And my real name is Denzel Snipes.

And so let's just get that out there.

It's two very good looking men.

But okay.

My.

Brothers, keep your name.

Keep your name.

Okay.

But you're watching them too.

That's a whole nother story.

But we want to get back to Lawrence before we finish our time today.

You have shown our audience over your 50 plus years of entertaining us, the importance of not only trusting your craft, but the importance of a foundation of family.

So before we end our time today, if you could take away one thing that you have learned through this entire experience, what would that be?

Integrity.

It's real simple, you know, because when what you you don't give away your spirit to nobody.

Once you gave a give that away, you don't get it back.

So you integrity is the bond.

And to me that's just being honest.

I tell it to kids all the time.

I say it's about your honesty.

We know when we're not up to speed.

Face it, if you're afraid of something, you can learn to not be afraid.

If you give yourself a chance to just delve into it.

Let someone talk with you.

You can be awkward about it.

You know?

You don't have to have, you know, be profound in how you speak, you know, but let it come and make it tangible so we can have something to deal with, you know?

And so that's a learned behavior.

It's not easy for us to do it, but we can do it.

You know, nobody can beat you unless you leave.

The only way you lose is because you quit.

So what's that all about?

You know, forget quitting.

You know, there's nothing.

Not for me.

I don't believe that at all.

You got.

You have to win no matter what.

That's not ego.

And if it is too bad, you know, and you have to go forward, you have to believe there's a thrust, but it's based on on something.

You build up your life, your family foundation, religion.

You know, you know, relationships.

That's all the the glue that holds you solid so you can be a person to make things happen and then go chill out on it.

Go do what you do and then go off and go get a pizza man.

And, you know, chill out.

I love that you.

In our entire conversation, you talked about hamburgers and pizza and you just threw out all that vegan and everything like that.

So I appreciate.

That.

Is cool to do well with it.

And you come on now.

You give me my man Lawrence.

Thank you so much.

Thank you for coming on and talking to our audience, but most importantly, letting us know that even though we see you on our big screen and our small screen, you're just like us regular guys.

Oh, man, what a man.

What a man, what a man, what a man, what a man.

Maybe they'll use that invoke song.

In our credit.

We chilling, we cool.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

And thank you for joining us on everybody with Angela Williamson.

Viewers like you make this show possible.

Join us on social media to continue this conversation.

Good night and stay well.

Williamson, host of everybody with Angela Williamson.

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