food. >> these will be great for raised beds. >> reporter: compost and a solar energy earth oven. >> we can cook food in here. we can bake bread. we can put pizzas in. >> reporter: the neighborhood kids are going green, too, sitting in on meetings, even composting. >> just helping out the folks out there, you know, helping other folks do some stuff out in this world. and it's good to recycle. >> we just need to first lay the foundation that people can say they did it there, we can do it in our community. >> reporter: joe johns, cnn. >> that's it for "360." thanks for watching. larry king starts now. larry king starts now. see you tomorrow night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> larry: tonight -- "family guy" creator seth macfarlane. >> i want you to meet your family. >> you're my family?

>> larry: his twisted, dysfunctional, even perverse take on mom, dad and the kids have made him hollywood's $100 million man. the highest-paid writer in television. and only in his 30s. he's an equal opportunity offender. >> death to americans. >> larry: christians, gays, sarah palin, you name it, nothing, no one off limits. >> i met larry king. >> name dropper! >> larry: cruel or cool? wicked or wonderful? seth macfarlane, next. >> you know, today started as a really nice outing, but as usual, you had to ruin it. >> larry: on "larry king live." that is funny stuff. and by the way, we have a group, a gang of nice-looking people here in the studio from the pacific ridge school in carlsbad, california. all high school students here as

fans of our special guest, seth macfarlane. the emmy-winning creator -- there they are. he's the emmy-winning creator of "family guy," "the cleveland show," and "american dad." he's a producer, writer, animator, director, actor, and he voices many of the characters that he created. just to open things up, the 150th episode of "family guy" debuts sunday may 2nd on fox. here is a sneak peek. >> stewie, come on, you don't know how to use that thing. >> really? what if i hold it sideways like a black guy? >> whoa, whoa. come on, man. take it easy. all right? i don't want any trouble. >> there's not going to be any trouble as long as you eat my poo. >> that is not happening. >> then i'll be forced to shoot you. >> go ahead, there aren't any bullets in that gun. >> i don't believe you. >> then shoot me. >> i will. >> do it. >> i will. >> then do it. what are you waiting for? go on. >> i will. i'll blow your [ bleep ] head off! >> larry: you know, you are sick? >> yes, yes. i have a lot of problems. >> larry: how did all this start for you? you were a cartoonist? >> yeah.

i was -- you know, i had been drawing cartoons since i was about 2 years old. my parents have woody woodpeckers and fred flintstones from way, way, way back. and my first job was doing a cartoon, a weekly strip for our local small-town paper when i was about 9 years old, and they paid me five bucks a week to do one cartoon a week. >> larry: so you were first a cartoonist? >> yeah, yeah. i didn't fall into writing until much later. i had -- i was pretty hellbent on getting into the cartoon business specifically as an artist from the get-go. >> larry: and why television? "the simpsons" affected you? >> yeah. well, it wasn't always television. when disney had their resurgence in the late '80s, early '90s -- >> larry: we are showing drawings of when you were 10 years old. >> oh, yeah. walter crouton. sure. >> larry: walter crouton. >> like all 9-year-olds i was really into walter cronkite.

you know, i wanted to work for disney for a long time. you know, when they had their resurgence with "the little mermaid" and "beauty and the beast" and whatnot in the late '80s, early '90s, i thought this is what i want to do. and then "the simpsons" came along and kind of rewrote the landscape of animation. >> larry: you hardly fit disney. >> yeah, it's probably good -- >> larry: walt would flip over -- >> it's good that didn't happen. >> larry: that clip we showed is an unusual episode, basically one setting. a locked bank vault, two characters. brian and stewie. you voice both of them. is that hard to do? >> it's gotten easy. believe it or not. there are things that are hard about the series. that's strangely an easy thing. and when we do our table reads for the show, when we read the script aloud for the first time, i have to sort of jump back and forth. from this guy to this guy and then back to this guy. it's become almost second nature because i know those characters so well at this point.

initially, it was a bit of a challenge, but now it's just -- it's second nature. >> larry: what was your first hit? first hit show was -- >> well, it was "family guy." i wrote for a show called "johnny bravo" on cartoon network that aired for a few years -- actually, it's sort of a cult hit in its own right. it was created by a friend of mine. but, yeah, "family guy" was, you know, my first. some would say only hit. >> larry: well, "cleveland's" pretty good, but that's an offshoot of -- >> yeah. >> larry: but you took "the simpsons" and went raw, right? >> yeah. i mean, you know, you try to take what's good about your predecessors and take it to the next level. i think there's -- you know, originality is important, but at the same time when "all in the family" came out, there were a lot of great shows that followed that were taking a cue from that show. saying, oh, look how well they did this.

this is new. let's do more versions of this. >> larry: do you think to yourself, i'm gutsy? >> not -- not really. i guess maybe that makes me a little desensitized but -- >> larry: so there's no limit on you, is there? >> there is. we have long, extended conversations about what we should or should not do. >> larry: give me a topic you turned down. >> if something is a recent tragedy of some kind. >> larry: death. >> we won't touch it. yeah, yeah. if there's a recent plane crash, we obviously will not make a joke about it. we'll wait -- >> larry: wait a month? >> yeah. you beat me to the joke, larry. >> larry: okay. get this. "family guy" debuts after the 1999 super bowl and includes a scene of peter griffin watching "philadelphia," right? that tragic movie about a gay. >> yeah. >> larry: he thinks it's a comedy and laughs when tom hanks' character announces he has aids. >> yep. >> larry: from what mind came --

>> well, there's a certain type of new englander that i grew up with. i knew a lot of these guys. who their hearts were in the right place but they weren't the most critical, the most in-depth thinkers out there. and you know, peter griffin embodies that type of guy. and in his mind everything that he had seen tom hanks in up to that point was hilarious. so he was looking for the comedy. he went to see "philadelphia" looking for the jokes. >> larry: so when the aids comes out, he cracks? >> yeah, yeah. he loses it. >> larry: that's just the beginning, folks. seth macfarlane's our guest. the creator of "family guy," "the cleveland show," and "american dad." producer, writer, animator. he's everything. seth ticks off a lot of people. does he get any threats against him? next. it's pain relief without the pills. no pills, no pain.

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♪ it seems today that all you see is violence in movies and sex on tv ♪ >> larry: brian and stewie are overseeing things here tonight. and that's scary because they're in the control room right now pushing buttons. look at this. if we are on the air. i'm not sure we're on. there they are. how did you come up with them? >> well, stewie is -- >> larry: is what?

>> he's based -- believe it or not, the character is based on rex harrison, of all people. the character actor. >> larry: "my fair lady." >> "my fair lady." "agony and the ecstasy." he's a guy who just -- i always found him very amusing when i was in high school and college. something very, very interesting about his mannerisms. >> larry: you take a lot of risks, obviously. >> yeah. >> larry: have you run into trouble? have you had threats? >> i've never had a death threat that i know of. a lot of the hate mail gets screened, prescreened by fox. >> larry: they don't show it to you. >> they kind of protect us. i have never received anything that's -- >> larry: fox is not known as a nonpolitical place. the news network, certainly. have you ever gotten flak from the murdochs? >> no. and i got to figure -- my theory, you know, all the years i have been there i've actually never met rupert murdoch. my theory is that the guy is a businessman first and a republican second. and if something with a

distinctly liberal slant is doing good for the company he is not going to step in and -- >> larry: money counts? >> yeah, yeah. >> larry: an islamic group, revolution muslim, is warning "south park" creators matt stone and trey parker that they could be killed because of their depiction of the prophet muhammad. seth's show has taken on just about every religious faith, we've got to admit that. he also mocked osama bin laden in a historic piece. watch. >> this is a message to all american infidels. prepare to die in a sea of holy fire. you will be punished for your decadent ways on the first day of radaman. you -- wait. wait a minute. did i just say -- what did i say? radaman? rada- -- blah blah blah. ramadan. radaman. what is that? yeah, maybe dennis radaman is going to punish you with his crazy hair. no. what's that? right, right. yeah, no.

okay. okay. all right. let's go again. >> larry: did you get any flak on that? >> we didn't get any flak. i think probably the difference there is that bin laden is not a deity. >> larry: making fun of him. >> it struck us as kind of funny this very extreme situation set in this very mundane setting. he's got to keep doing takes and he can't not laugh. >> larry: did you ever get letters from the fcc? >> we have had a few what are called letters of inquiry that i'm sure you -- i don't know. i don't know if you've ever had any run-ins with the -- >> larry: a few in the past. what did you say and why did you say it? >> with ours, i think it was regarding an episode about the fcc. we did an episode in which peter goes up against the fcc, and the fcc said can you please send us a copy of this? and we were sitting there sweating bullets, and they essentially called us back and

said, we thought it was pretty funny. >> larry: does fox ever blue pencil you? >> yeah. you mean, do they snip things out of the show? yeah, yeah. >> larry: curse words they snip. >> yes. our show is -- is big enough on the dvd market that we do two versions these days. we do the bleeped version for air and we do essentially a director's cut of every episode for dvd. so all the things that we can't get on air are on the dvds. >> larry: you are an industry. >> i guess, yeah. yeah. that's enough to get me an ulcer. >> larry: earlier this year "family guy" took flak for an episode in which chris griffin dated a girl with downs syndrome. here's a clip. >> are you going to be this rude all evening? you haven't asked me anything about myself. >> oh, um, sorry. so what do you parents do? >> that's better. my dad is an accountant and my

mom is the former governor of alaska. >> larry: okay. now, i understand a down's -- >> oh, that's right. that episode. >> larry: a down's syndrome girl did that, right? >> yes, yes. >> larry: you found someone? >> yeah. it was the only way we can do it, is the actress has to have down's syndrome. that's the only way the episode is okay. and she has to be depicted as a dimensional character. so we figured let's just make her just an incredibly domineering bitch. you know. >> larry: sarah palin had a reaction. watch. >> so governor, what do you think? it's pretty nasty, is it not? >> this world is full of cruel, coldhearted people who would do such a thing. look, i look at trig, and he's going to face things as special needs children will be facing much more difficult than we ever will. so why make it tougher on the special needs community? when is enough enough?

and when are we going to be willing to say some things just aren't really funny? >> i agree with you. look, this guy macfarlane who did this -- this guy macfarlane who did this is a hater. makes a lot of money for fox but i think there should be some standards sometime. but apparently there aren't. >> larry: pot calling the kettle black. how did you react to that? were you hurt? >> no, no. in no way was i emotionally scarred. i was able to sleep well at night. >> larry: do you think you're a hater? >> i don't think so. i don't consider myself a hater. i -- i'm a fairly optimistic person. >> larry: do you think sarah's critique beared any merit? >> i actually do think, you know, as much as i disagree with just about everything that she stands for, i do think at the end of the day probably to some degree -- i think it was part political, you know, partially politically motivated and part

genuine. i mean, she is a mom. she probably was ticked off on some level. but what those percentages are i couldn't tell you. >> larry: "terri schiavo: the musical." we'll talk about it next with seth macfarlane. >> all right, everybody, off we go. we are going to have such a great time. [ cell phone ] hello? >> hey, peter, what's up? >> hey, quagmire, just taking the family on vacation. >> hold on a second. i'm stuck behind in-some fat-ass driving to slow. come on, move it? >> you should flip him off. some fat-ass cult t me off. >> i'll call you back after the fight. >> good luck in yours. >> good luck in yours. i want to go on a road trip.

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you know, they say chuck norris is so tough there's no chin under his beard. there is only another fist. >> that's ridiculous. chuck norris?

>> i'm sure it will go as well as liza minnelli's "playboy" shoot. >> oh, god, please put your clothes back on! >> mama. mama! do you love me now, mama? >> ben stiller. help me. >> no, peter. i heard what you said about my movies. >> how'd you hear? >> hello! >> hey, paris. i'm a friend of jesus's. check it out. i have a cool bag too, and it has a dog in it just like yours. >> hi, paris. i'm meg. >> i met larry king. >> name dropper! >> larry: should i be honored? seth mcfarlane's our guest. his show provoked an outcry with a musical about the late terri schiavo. we reached out to them today, and terri's brother bobby had this question for you. how do you justify using the term "vegetable" to describe any human being when its only intention is to denigrate and

dehumanize, just like the "n" word? >> well, my first response would be it's not a human being, it's a cartoon. but you know, i think -- this is -- this was a touchy area because the idea was, keep in mind, this is a play within a play. and this is an instance where you see the griffin family in the audience reacting in a way that is -- they themselves are a little put off. and we've done this a few times on the show, in which there is something that is done in extreme -- you know, one could argue questionable taste. but you've got to have somebody there who's reacting to that in a negative way. and that's something that we sort of tried to include with brian and chris sitting in the audience kind of reacting wide-eyed at this show. they were saying it's kids putting on a play.

you know, whether the -- whether that term is denigrating is for the viewer to judge. >> larry: did you have second thoughts about it? >> we didn't because this was something that was exploited by the media long before we even got to it. this is an instance of something that was out there forever. i mean, it was -- it was all over the press everywhere. and for an animated show like ours, i mean, that's what we do. not to comment on it in some way is -- you know, that's just not how it operates. >> larry: do you always feel you're walking a line? >> yeah. you do. you don't want to be nasty for the sake of being nasty. i mean, if you are actually depicting, you know, for example, terri schiavo as opposed to a deliberately inappropriate kids' play, then you have serious discussions, are we doing this -- is this

just cruel? is this just mean? and there are a lot of those discussions that go on in the writer's room in a day-to-day basis. i think there's a vision of hollywood writers as this hedonistic bunch who are just out to make their dough and do something that's going to be there for shock value. not the case. i mean, my writers, most of them are married, they have children. there's a lot of discussions that we have within that room, is this funny enough? is it satirical enough that it warrants the edginess of the material? >> larry: must be a lot of laughs in the room. >> yeah. it's -- there are a few. there are a few. >> larry: seth almost was not here. he almost was not around. he has a connection to 9/11, next. oh, new phillips' colon health probiotic plus fiber.

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in this universe she's still one of the ugly ones. if you saw lois, you'd have to put your penis in a wheelchair. >> hey, have you heard this awesome new song? >> no! ♪

[ speaking foreign language ] >> love it. >> hate it. >> love it. >> hate it. >> what? oh, no. >> that's it. punch your baby in the face. >> larry: you know, my 11 and 9-year-old, they love this show. they don't get it all of the time. but that's your purpose, right? >> that's deliberate. yeah. if we're doing our jobs right, it's the kind of thing where parents can watch the show and get a laugh knowing exactly what we're talking about and it just goes over the kids' heads. >> larry: and you don't let them watch the dvds. >> i wouldn't. i wouldn't, no. >> larry: on 9/11 you were scheduled to be on american airlines flight 11 from boston to l.a. you didn't get on the plane. that plane went into the world trade center. someone tweeted this to king things. "does seth feel any kind of divine intervention over this narrow escape?" what happened? >> i -- you know, i get asked that a lot, actually.

it's -- i don't, no. i'm not a religious person. i do believe in coincidences. i think that's just -- they happen. and i've missed a lot of flights before. about half of the flights that i was booked on prior to that flight i had missed because -- >> larry: you are that kind of person? >> yeah. i overslept or i was out too late the night before or whatnot, so it -- you know, it was -- >> larry: so where were you that day? were you at the airport? >> i was at the airport, yeah. i was at the lounge sleeping. and i woke up and there was a commotion, and i walked in and -- >> larry: you had missed that plane? >> i had missed that plane, yeah. and it was on television, and i said, my god, that's the flight that i was supposed to be booked on. my first thought was, we should all get out of this airport because they were just here and god knows if they left any -- left anything here at the airport. you know, that -- >> larry: don't you feel, what, lucky?

>> yes. very -- yes. very, very, very lucky. very, very fortunate. >> larry: did someone get your ticket? >> that i do not know. you know? i've never investigated that. i -- that would be a -- that would be a job for the press, i guess, to dig that one up. because i've never looked into that. >> larry: nothing funny that day? >> nothing funny that day. no, no, no. and that's -- 9/11 was something that -- i mean, that's an interesting example of something that you don't -- you've got to pick just the right time to touch it in any kind of humorous way, even if you're making a comment, a satirical comment on the incident. and there was a -- it was a long time before we felt it was okay. and now it's -- you know, now it's something that -- >> larry: mel brooks can do hitler. >> yeah, yeah, exactly. >> larry: we'll be back with seth macfarlane, the brilliant seth macfarlane, and his characters. i feel overwhelmed here.

i feel like they're around me. we'll even have a question coming from one of our high school gang after this. ate bloo. full-time moms... and everyone who is good at something but wants to be great. welcome to kaplan university. the university that's changing the face of education... to undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees... degrees that can give you a leg up... in a tough job market... in any job market... welcome. welcome to kaplan university. call kaplan university now or visit us on-line to take our free learning assessment.

♪ >> larry: there they are again. seth, brian, and stewie. we are back with seth here. brian and stewie have taken over the control room. we're also welcoming students from pacific ridge school in carlsbad, california, as we mentioned earlier. they're watching our show in person tonight. and one of them, alex, has a question for seth. alex, go. >> will you do some of the voices of characters from "family guy"? >> larry: okay, yeah. let's see you do it. come on. that's a good question, alex. here we go. name them and do them. >> the entire cast of "one day at a time." i think that was the question. here we go. all right, all right. i'll bark like a seal for you, young man. okay. stewie.

quagmire. giggity, giggity, giggity goo. that's quagmire. peter griffin, hello. it's me right behind there looking all tubby. and of course brian. not changing a whole lot there. those are the big four. those are the main ones. >> larry: how about cleveland? >> cleveland, you know, i don't -- thank god i don't do the voice of cleveland. i don't have to perform. >> larry: are you brian? >> i am brian, yep. but yeah. cleveland is voiced by a very funny comedian that i went to college with. >> larry: do voices come easily to you? are you a mimic? >> yeah. i used to do impressions a lot as a kid and, you know, i was always kind of fascinated by dialects and whatnot. and there's -- >> larry: is the brian character you? >> in some ways, yes. in some ways. >> larry: some ways or more ways? >> yeah, yeah. he's -- >> larry: we have some tweet questions. i'll lay them on you. is baby stewie gay or bisexual?

>> we haven't really decided. there was a bit of press that came out a while back in which stewie was outed as being gay. and it was kind of taken out of context. it was in reference to an episode we had thought we were going to do and then abandoned. but we haven't made that decision yet because we get a lot of comedic mileage out of both sides. >> larry: like the character that used to be on "saturday night live"? >> yeah. pat. >> larry: pat. >> yeah, yeah. >> larry: another question on our facebook page. will "family guy" ever come to the big screen? >> eventually, i can say almost with certainty that it will. it's -- you know, we all want to do it. fox wants to do it. it's just a matter of timing. when you -- >> larry: you have to have a great story. >> yeah. you have to have a great -- and we actually have a story. >> larry: oh? >> we know what it's going to be. the problem is when you're doing an animated show it takes nine months to do each 22-minute

episode and there's no hiatus, it's just around the clock. when do you do the movie? that's the problem "the simpsons" had. they went, what, 19, 20 years. we just don't have time to do this. it's enough work to do the show on a weekly basis. >> larry: why did "the simpsons" work? >> you know, we were talking about jackie gleason during the break. i would say for the same reason that when they used to ask him in interviews why did "the honeymooners" work and expect a fancy answer. and he just said, "because they were funny." and i think at the core that's true of "the simpsons." i think it asks a lot of the audience. it asks them to be intelligent, and it asks them to keep up. and i think in comedy you always want to have your audience behind you and telling them to keep up. you don't ever want to be chasing them. >> larry: also tweeted, ask seth if he intends to do a show where he brings the characters from all three of his cartoons together. >> yes. in our "return of the jedi" episode.

our third "star wars" spoof, we bring them all together, and we have a hurricane night in which the same hurricane basically blows through all three shows in the same night. and we have -- which is kind of an old sitcom tradition. >> larry: that's not done yet? >> not done yet but it will happen. that will involve all three shows. >> larry: when you sit down, do you start -- do all the writers sit together and you say let's see now? >> yeah, yeah. the process of writing that show, it's the same process that they wrote, you know, "the honeymooners." it's the same process that they wrote "the brady bunch." you name it. >> larry: you talk about the characters as if they were real? >> yeah. it's kind of a gray area. i mean, you do kind of get protective of these people. maybe not quagmire. we don't really care what happens to him. but everyone else. >> larry: like him? >> yeah, yeah. >> larry: he's a dolt. >> yeah. there is -- there is a sense of -- you want to avoid what we call character assassination.

that term is bandied about in the writer's room a lot, and that just means is this something that makes peter so reprehensible that you're just never going to forgive him for it? you know, like if he murdered somebody. >> larry: that's right. thin line, as norman lear had to do with archie bunker. there had to be a side of him. >> and i think what was key there, and you know, we take a lot of cues from norman lear, is that as reprehensible as archie was in so many ways, every week you had edith there who clearly loved him and she basically said to the audience, you know what, it's okay to like this guy, i love him. and we try and do the same thing with lois. >> larry: and he loved her. >> yeah, yeah. >> larry: what's appropriate? what isn't? who decides? penn jillette and rachael harris, who don't mind offending people in the name of humor, will join us next. >> ow.

damn it, peter, stop it. i've got to tell you you're pissing me off worse than when i watched the o.j. verdict with my old roommate. >> we the jury find the defendant orenthal james simpson not guilty. >> what the hell? >> yes! >> what? >> what? >> well, i am ready for my evening. >> oh my god. peter, what the hell? >> what's that around your neck? i say, it's a little black jesus. ♪ black jesus

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>> larry: seth macfarlane, the emmy-winning creator of "the family guy," "the cleveland show," and "american dad" remains with us. it's his show tonight. and we're joined now by the supporting cast. penn jillette, magician,

comedian, author, and libertarian. he is the taller, talkative half of penn & teller. they play at the rio in las vegas. they also have a series called "b.s." on showtime. and rachael harris, the actress and comedienne, her film credits include "the hangover," one of the funniest moifd ever made, and "diary of a wimpy kid." she's also been a correspondent on "the daily show." all right, guys. as we mentioned, the creators of "south park" are being threatened with possible assassination because their show included a representation of the prophet muhammad. here's a clip from that episode. >> you said you wanted [ bleep ]. we got him for you. >> we have no way of knowing if [ bleep ]'s really in there. it could be a trick. >> it's no trick, dude. my friend and i went to the super best friends and brought him here. >> then have him step out of the bear costume. you have until the count of ten. one -- >> don't do it, randy. if [ bleep ] is seen we could get bombed. >> idiot. if he isn't seen, we are about to definitely get bombed. >> three. >> all right, all right. stop. we'll do what you say. i'm sorry, [ bleep ].

will you please step out of the bear costume? ♪ >> larry: okay. fair? unfair? funny? what? penn? >> well, i don't think we -- any of us can say anything about anything to do with islam. i don't think you're allowed to say it. i think it's too dangerous, and i think when people like matt and trey, who are some of the best writers and the most talented people alive today, are threatened like that, everybody should be very, very scared. it says nothing about matt and trey. it only speaks to islam. >> larry: rachael? >> wow. well, my opinion is a little bit different. i feel like -- well, first of all, the guys that are watching, the muslim revolutio rightht? i mean, if they're going to turn on "south park" and they're

going to watch it, they should kind of know what they're getting into. it's not -- it's as if -- >> larry: it is what it is? >> exactly. so i feel like if you're going to watch the show -- >> but i believe they believe that the very existence of that is an affront to their religion. it's not a question they don't want to see it. it's not a question of taste. it's a question of morality. isn't that what they're claiming? >> right. but then they should go after every organization or every comic that's ever said anything and threaten to -- >> i think they plan to. >> right. but i -- >> larry: let's ask mr. macfarlane's thoughts. >> look, it's no secret, i think any combination of angry plus deity equals nuts, equals danger. you know, the question becomes, at what point is it worth it? at what point is it worth it for them to, you know, put themselves at risk? is the joke so hilarious that we want to risk our lives? i don't know. if i were in that situation, honestly, i don't know how i would react.

>> but they certainly have other ways. trey and matt can get laughs doing anything at all. they're the best among us. so it's not a question of doing it for the laugh. there is a moral element to this. >> but didn't also comedy central then step in and sort of monkey around with that episode in a way that they were unaware of when they put it on the air? >> there's no way to tell. i mean, if -- i mean, there's no way to know. if it were me and i was in the situation, it was like, well, do i -- again, is this worth getting shot? >> right. >> is it the funniest joke anyone's ever written? >> but did they know that going in? >> fox, if you want to censor this -- >> do you think they knew that going in? >> i believe it's in the koran. i believe that information is available, that you're not supposed to do that. >> but do you think they really thought that this would be something that would be -- that their life would get threatened? i mean, i think if they -- >> larry: well, why would they do something that would -- >> i would doubt it. >> i think obviously wouldn't do it. >> i don't know about that.

when you do something with a strong -- i mean, i think you cheapen matt and trey's morality, strength and courage when you say is the joke worth it? because the question is, what is morally right? and as strong as the religious side is in believing what's morally right, matt and trey have the strongest moral compass i know, and they are very, very good men -- >> let's not get hysterical -- >> -- and they're doing this from their heart. no, they really do. i think it's true. i think it's a moral issue, it's not just a -- >> larry: let me get a break. we'll have more on sarah palin plus the tea party and the vice president's f bomb. we'll talk about it all with with seth macfarlane, penn jillette and rachael harris ahead.

wait. hold it. hold it. hold it. can we finish this discussion after "joan of arcadia"? >> is "joan of arcadia" on? >> yeah, thanks, peter, i didn't know human urine would cover my scent. >> larry: looking for something good to read? we've got it on our blog. the incredible story of ray johnstone, who had -- was an nba player one day and in a coma the next. and one of the real housewives of new york has written a book, "secrets of a jewish mother." yeah, they have secrets. it's all on cnn.com/larryking. i don't get that, either. tea party movement. are you going to make fun of it yet? >> i think it kind of does that on its own.

>> larry: it is what it is? >> yeah. the tea party movement is -- i always have a problem with people who say, you know what, it's not the republicans, it's not the democrats, it's politicians, they're all the problem. and i don't think in this case that's true. i think you had one party that actually was trying to effect change, particularly this health care bill. you had 60% of the people in this country who wanted a public option. it was ignored. and i -- >> larry: so you're saying it's right-wing republicans? >> and another side that filibustered everything, that stands to lose big if obama does anything right or anything productive. and i think in a lot of cases it's just kind of laziness when it comes to knowing the facts and knowing what's really going on out there. >> larry: what do you think of the tea party? >> there is a lot i disagree with them on, and i'm not really part of it. but i always think that a distrust of the government is

the healthiest thing americans can have. i think that the country was built, the most american thing you can have is a distrust of leaders. don't follow leaders, watch your parking meters. >> larry: rachael? >> well, i don't completely share the same opinion with penn. i feel like the tea party group in particular isn't really -- i mean, they can sort of mask themselves as saying it's about taxes and it's about all these other issues. but i really find it to be sort of this upper middle-class white-run organization that's not really -- that's not really about effecting change. it's about the sort of -- i do tend to think it's more -- >> larry: class? >> i wouldn't say class. i do think it's more about racism as opposed to being a really political -- >> well, that's the magic word. once you say racism, the other side loses automatically. and i don't think we have very much evidence that's what it is. don't they have to be doing racist things besides you just saying they're racist?

>> no. but they're looking at the number of people that are in -- like -- >> so the race that they are makes them racist by definition? >> well, no, i don't think the race that they are by nature makes them -- >> if you want to legitimize them for a moment, you know, some of their gripes are legitimate. the average american has not had a pay raise adjusted for inflation since 1973 while guys like us have gotten richer and richer. >> '73 i was making like $4 an hour. >> but the problem is they're misdirecting it. it's always been fascinating to me that groups like this will direct their anger at the left. and you know, i think it should be noted that -- >> larry: they don't get mad at the right. >> yeah. did you have -- >> they're pretty mad at the right. >> the $100 million or billion-dollar koch family that funds freedom works, which supports the tea party, they

benefit by getting these guys riled up about this guy who's trying to effect health reform as opposed to getting mad at the rich guys themselves. >> but is it rich people telling them what to do or is it white people -- >> i think it's a little bit of puppeteering. yeah. >> which one is it? are they a racist organization or are they a puppet organization? >> well, when seth and i got together and created the tea party -- >> okay. that's what i'm wondering. which is it? >> yeah. we had -- >> larry: it's finally come out. >> it's people that have different opinions than you. and different opinions than me. that's possible, too. >> it was supposed to be -- >> i think it's very anti-obama. >> but there were groups that were anti-bush too. i was really ai-bush. >> yes. >> yet no one called me racist. because i'm the same race? >> well, bush wasn't the first black president. >> once there is a first black president if you're against him you're racist? >> no. i'm not saying that. >> larry: let me get a break here. >> take it, larry. >> larry: sponsored by lipton.

♪ the drunk old injun squatting in 'tis tepee ♪ ♪ fire water keeping him warm ♪ jewish nose ♪ she's got a big beautiful jewish nose ♪ ♪ and it's there two minutes early wherever she goes ♪ >> hey there fruitie. ♪ hey there fruitie ♪ you can do my hair ♪ hey there fruitie, don't touch me down there ♪ ♪ hey there fruitie ♪ you're gay and i don't approve ♪ >> larry: dean, sammy and frank, you love them. right, seth? >> i love them all. >> who did sammy? >> that was me. >> that was a good sammy. >> larry: you did all of them? >> i did all three of them. yeah. >> larry: that was a great bit. do you ever use the "n" word on your show? >> we -- no. it's -- "the cleveland show" has used -- i mean, they've said the phrase "the n word." but as far as using the actual n word, no. >> larry: do you like "family guy"? >> yeah. very much. very much so. >> larry: do you like it? >> i do. >> well, i'm sitting right here. i mean --

>> larry: to penn that makes no difference. >> i'm very complimented you said that, larry. >> "simple rules for dating my teenage daughter." that's one of my favorite episodes. >> oh, yeah. >> isn't that -- >> larry: we are running out of time. what is the next show about? >> the next show, brian and stewie trapped in a vault, no cutaways, no flashbacks. it's like a one-act stage play you might see on broadway. >> larry: trapped in a vault. >> they're showing cartoons on broadway? >> larry: thank you all very much. seth macfarlane, penn jillette, rachael harris. what did you think of it, guys? [ applause ] >> stand up, take a bow, larry. >> larry: the pacific ridge school -- >> larry: we close tonight on a sad note. we'd like to acknowledge the death of anne perry macfarlane. she's the mother of ow friend and "family guy" curator --

creator, rather, seth macfarlane. perry was only 63. passed away after a valiant battle with cancer. a lifelong educator. a passion for animals, which explains her devotion, by the way, to the humane society and aspca. i spoke with her on the phone when seth was on this show in may. i could see why her friends called her a bright light who sparkled. she acknowledged that her son had done well but told me on the sly that she knew he'd really made it when she saw him sitting right here. perry touched many who celebrated her life. those who would like to honor her can donate to the aspca or the humane society in her name. to her children, seth and rachel, and her husband, ron, we know your lives are not the same without perry in them. we offer our prayers and send our condolences to you. seth macfarlane's a great guy, and he had a great