John Mulaney says David Lee Roth turned down his live comedy show: 'I didn't know how to appeal to him'
"I should just call him up and say, 'let's party,' and he might show up."
As it turns out, John Mulaney’s invitation to appear on his live comedy series didn’t exactly dazzle Diamond Dave.
The comedian revealed on Thursday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live that rocker David Lee Roth was one of “so many” people who turned down an appearance on his new show, Everybody’s in L.A., ahead of its Netflix debut this evening.
“He passed. Which is okay!” Mulaney said. “I respect the man. He’s a solid guy.”
The former Saturday Night Live writer explained that he’d initially wanted Roth to play a very important part on the show. “I originally asked him to kind of be my Cleto,” he said, referring to Jimmy Kimmel Live’s bandleader Cleto Escobedo III. “But then I was like, ‘Or just a guest!’”
Mostly, Mulaney said, because he really wanted to talk to Roth about “life in Altadena,” a part of Los Angeles county that’s located just north of Pasadena where Roth once resided, but unfortunately "he said no to that" too.
“I honestly, like, I didn't know how to appeal to him because I’m like, it’s David Lee Roth,” he added. “I should just call him up and say, ‘let's party,’ and he might show up."
Host Jimmy Kimmel then reminded Mulaney that there may be a secondary way to get Roth to show up because the former Van Halen frontman is “actually an EMT,” adding, “Maybe just call and say, ‘I’m bleeding,’ and he’ll come over.”
A laughing Mulaney then quipped, “Can you imagine being in a medical crisis and you’re strapped down to the board and your head’s in that [brace], and you look up and [Roth says], ‘Yeah?’ Like, that must be insane.”
While he might not have gotten Roth onboard, Mulaney will speak to several guests during his live-streamed show including David Letterman, Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart, Patton Oswalt, Bill Hader, Nate Bargatze, Cedric the Entertainer, seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones, and more.
“She was like the Carson Daly of the Northridge earthquake,” Mulaney said of Jones. “She was on all the time. She’s cool. We’re talking earthquakes that night, obviously.”
Everybody's in L.A. airs tonight at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT live on Netflix. Watch Mulaney discuss the six-episode series in the clip above.
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