Yowsa that’s an awesome story, WordMan. I adore Dave so dang much, he’s a major part of two of my favorite shows. Alas, my knowledge of A Bug’s Life is very minimal and I’d probably have gone with something like, “Haven’t you ever heard of the expression ‘you can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar?’” or something from the News Radio episode where he and Hartman’s Bill were stuck on an airport line, but it wouldn’t have been as good 'cause it’s not as obscure (or funny), especially since it’s just a set-up for Bill’s line, “have you ever heard that only dumb hicks sit around trying to catch flies?” or whatever the quote is.
Actually most likely I’d’ve tried not to look – I’m from NYC, we’re trained to ignore others – and fought my instincts to go over there and, I dunno, lick him or something.
Yeah he’s not cute doe-eyed Dave anymore, but he’s still my favorite fo the KitH and will always be the coolest guy ever thanks to News Radio. It really is a shame about hsi financial troubles; I’ve been very disappointed to hear he’s been considered a deadbeat dad, but that’s from a few rags that might not have the whole story. Someone with his talent should be raking in the bucks.
Bravo for finding le mot juste – as I’d expect of somenoe with your screenname – and sharing a nice friendly moment with him.
Oh, that’s what I was going to say, “Now you’re one of the Daves I know!”
I mean, if I’d been the one to see him in the airport. I adored The Kids in the Hall. I still say “smelts and a Coke” whenever anyone asks me what I want for lunch.
Pardon a hijack, but… if she was still living with him she would have grown unaccustomed to that lifestyle when his income nosedived (and all actors incomes nosedive eventually). Is that just not taken into account by courts? I would have assumed that it would be a pro-forma to adjust support payments by showing “in 2008 I earned $1 million, in 2009 and 2010 I earned $250,000 and in 2011 I earned $300,000, so obviously I can’t pay $500,000 in support”. Is it not?
As well known as Alec Baldwin is, he was left broke by alimony, child support, and, above all, lawyer’s fees from his divorce. He has said several times that he had no real interest in doing a sitcom but 30 ROCK happened to pay a lot more than anything else he was offered on film or stage and needed to replenish.
I’m not a lawyer, but I *think *the reticence against adjusting child support down is the belief that a father will think, “fuck my ex-wife! I’m just not going to work!” and the court has a hard time distinguishing between a person intentionally decreasing work and not being able to find work that pays as much.
ETA - oh, and cool story. I like Dave Foley so much I would have surely said something really stupid.
Apparently not, at least according to Dave Foley. This is Ontario Family Court, BTW, and the comments regarding his divorce settlement were made on Marc Maron’s podcast, WTF. According to him, he appealed and was told no: the kids’ lives were “set in amber” at the time of the divorce, and he is obligated to maintain that income under all circumstances. Granted, of course that interview is obviously entirely one-sided, and doesn’t take into account the high probability that, I personally believe, he signed the agreement with the assumption that his career was skyrocketing and he’d always earn the same income as at the time if not many times more. Obviously that did not happen.
It may have seemed like a good idea at the time. Suppose it had been Ben Stiller, for example, rather than Dave Foley. Fifteen years ago, their careers were at about the same level. They probably made a couple million a year.
Now Stiller makes fifty million dollars a year. If he had gotten divorced in 1997 and agreed to a fifty percent support plan, it would be twenty-five million dollars a year. He’d have done much better to have set a fixed figure of one million dollars a year based on what he was earning back in 1997.
Back in 1997, a million dollars a year probably seemed like a cap on his support obligations rather than a hurdle he’d have to meet.
ETA: I am not saying that’s a bad thing - just that when I had a fun anecdote, I would never have expected to veer into celebrity divorce valuations and settlements…
Very cool, WordMan. I’m a huge fan of his and don’t think I’d have been able to say anything remotely as witty! I met him backstage at a KITH concert and I don’t even remember what was said.
I’ve long imagined that if I met a celebrity that I legitimately liked, I would humbly tell them that I really enjoyed their work in _____ and then leave them alone. Or better yet, just catch their eye and nod. In my imagination, I always fill the blank with an obscure but underrated role. I would want to compliment them on a movie or show very few ever did. Like telling Tom Hanks that I loved From the Earth to the Moon and John Adams.
