♪ ♪ >> announcer: this is the "cbs overnight news." >> i'm vladimir duthiers and we have a lot more to tell you about this morning, including a front runner for best film at the academy awards. it's martin scorsese apartments the irish man and ittars heavy weights deniro, pesci and cartel. cartel insists he never thought he'd ever be mentioned in the same sentence as the other three. he discussed his unlikely journey from u.s. marine to bankable actor with anthony mason. >> sit down, frank. >> reporter: as mob boss angelo bruno in martin score say see's the irish man. >> what are you doing in delaware? >> reporter: harvey cartel makes a brief appearance, but a

lasting impression. >> somebody else got an interest in that, you know? >> no. >> i do. >> we need digging -- >> reporter: just as he did with ludwig, plotting a prison escape in the grand budapest hotel. >> take care of yourself, mr. gustav. good luck, kid. >> reporter: hollywood hasn't ever considered cartel, as he says -- >> bankable. >> reporter: but he's always memorable. >> there are no small parts, only small actors. constantine stanislovsky. >> reporter: you see something in those small roles. >> just a little bit closer? >> yes. >> pope fiction. >> i solve problems. >> taxi driver, i had three lines to begin with. >> $15, 20 minutes. >> i had good training.

it's said heaven looks down from the brooklyn bridge. >> reporter: do you believe that? >> we in brooklyn do. >> reporter: the 80-year-old actor grew up in the brighten beach section of brooklyn where his parents ran a series of luncheonettes. >> did you get put to work in there ever? >> yes. i made the best egg in brooklyn. >> reporter: that's the trick. >> somebody get the chocolate and the milk has to be frozen. >> reporter: that's the secret? >> yeah, to the creamy top. >> reporter: his first exposure to creativity, he says, came in the marines. it's interesting to me that you describe being in the marines as creative. >> well, you've never been on paris island. you have to get real creative there. [ laughter ] >> reporter: it's where he learned to confront his fears and be honest about his feelings. how did your family feel about you being an actor? [ laughter ] >> i'll make a long story short.

when i said to them, i'm going to study acting, my father said, summed it up, he said, actor schmactor. >> reporter: how old were you when you moved to manhattan to pursue acting? >> i was 25. >> reporter: he took small stage parts at first. >> i played a dog. >> reporter: you played a dog? >> no lines. >> reporter: his big break in film came when he met a kid named marty scorsese. >> he was a student at nyu. he advertised for the student film in the trade papers. >> reporter: right. >> no money. and i got the part. and that was who was knocking at my door. >> i swear to god i gave it back. >> reporter: it was the beginning of a lifelong friendship. >> marty, you know, we just connected right away. >> reporter: he's been in six scorsese films and made another enduring connection in those

early years when at the actor studio, a friend introduced him to a young robert deniro. >> he said, harvey, this is robert. robert, harvey. and we looked at each other. just like that, sort of grinned. and we never said a word to each other. >> reporter: not one word? >> not one word. it was just mumbles and grunts and smiles turning into laughter. >> reporter: he would recommend deniro to scorsese for his next film "mean streets." >> what's the matter with you guys? you're friends. >> okay. >> reporter: and they'd reunite again in scorsese's taxi driver when kaitel asked to play one of the lesser roles. >> officer. >> i said, let me play the pick. he said, the pick? the pick has three lines. >> i'm here. you don't look it. >> reporter: he would improvise additional dialogue. >> you're a funny guy.

>> reporter: after going out with a real pick and strapping a tape recorder to himself. >> i said to him, i have to tell you this, you know. i'm wired. he said what? i said, i tape myself so i can record it. he said are you nuts? you're going to get us killed. take that tape off. i had to unbutton my shirt and take all the tape off. >> reporter: what were you hoping to get? >> authenticity. [ laughter ] >> reporter: in 1977, ridley scott gave him his first leading role in "the dualists." but the next year he lost an even bigger part. you walked away from apocalypse now. >> i did. >> reporter: in francis ford copala's epic, he had been cast as captain willard. the role that eventually went to martin sheen. but kaitel balked when he wanted him under contract to his new

studio. >> he said i need it or i'll fire you. >> reporter: so you got fired? >> yeah. >> reporter: any regrets? >> yeah. >> reporter: you do? >> i would have been a star. and bankable. but there was a big reward there. i got through it. >> reporter: yeah. >> i didn't want to be owned by anybody. and no actor should be owned by anybody. >> reporter: but for much of the '80s, he worked largely in exile. >> hollywood didn't seem interested in me and the europeans did. >> reporter: he played mostly in foreign films until 1990, when he was cast in the sequel to "chinatown." >> jack nicholson hired me to do the two jakes. the studio wanted me to be replaced. because they wanted a bankable actor. and jack said, nobody's firing you. >> the other night there was a murder. >> reporter: the next year

ridley scott hired him to play the sympathetic detective chasing thelma and louise. >> louise, i almost feel like i know you. >> reporter: why did you want that part? >> i needed it. >> please. i'll do anything. i know what's making you run. i know what i can do in texas. >> i'm proud of that movie, by the way, because it became a standard, a classic. >> reporter: that same year kaitel earned an oscar nomination playing mobster mickey cohen in bugsy. but he's always had an uneasy relationship with hollywood. why do you think at that point in time hollywood seemed to lose interest in you? >> gosh, if i knew that, i'd bottle it and sell it. i mean, i think they've lost interest now. >> reporter: you do? >> because everything is box

office. >> reporter: yeah. >> not that things don't have to be box office. they have to be. but not everything. >> reporter: right. >> and right now it's everything. >> reporter: to harvey kaitel, it all goes back to that word. >> bankable. >> reporter: to be bankable is essentially to be a star, yes? >> yeah. >> reporter: do you not think of yourself as a star? >> i think of myself as a former >> i think of myself as a former marine who got lucky. super emma just about sleeps in her cape. but when we realized she was battling sensitive skin, we switched to tide pods free & gentle. it's gentle on her skin, and dermatologist recommended. tide free & gentle. safe for skin with psoriasis and eczema.

♪ work so hard ♪ give it everything you got ♪ strength of a lioness ♪ tough as a knot ♪ rocking the stage ♪ and we never gonna stop ♪ all strength, no sweat. ♪ just in case you forgot ♪ all strength. ♪ no sweat secret. all strength. no sweat. alice loves the smell of gain so much, she wished it came in a fabric softener too. [throat clears] say hello to your fairy godmother, alice. oh and look they got gain scent beads and dryer sheets too!

if you still need some holiday gift ideas, listen up. david channels his inner santa with this evening's edition of techno klaus. >> reporter: and what to our wondering eyes should appear? gadgets and gear. we knew in a flash from his beard and his clothes that as for that accent, well, who even knows? i'm happy to be here. i live to assist. with gifting ideas for all on your list. my desk at the pole has become a collage of post-its and brain storms and other garbage. but now for reminders i don't want to miss, i uncap my marker and write them on this.

erasing is clean because the surface is glass. in white or in black. or in marble for class. this portable pump is exhausting in use. and this one is worthless if you don't have juice. but this one's electric and also compact. it's got a rechargeable battery, in fact. you dial up the pressure. then savor the show. it stops when it's finished, and then off you go. this l.e.d. light bulb, if you can believe, has a magical trick up its 60-watt sleeve. when the weather gets bad and

the power is gone, a battery back up brings this bulb back on. it's charging all day when the weather is fine. so it's always prepared for emergency shine. my elves say they're busy. there's no time to kneel to put ton their shoes, so they mash in the heel. that's why these kizik shoes have a heel reinforced by titanium springs. they're meant to step into them. look, ma, no hands. your elves and your children are going to be fans. with age comes perspective and wisdom, all right. but also the need to get up in the night. a night light so bulky it covers

the plate. but this light's built into the cover, so great! just turn off the circuit, install with a snap. it guides you on route from your long winter's nap. your tv looks good when it's on, i assume. but off? it's a big ugly void in the room. now, this television is subtle and smart. when not showing shows, it impersonates art. the painting. the mat. and the frame's up to you. there's only one cable to shelter from view. a sensor detects if there's folks in the room. if not, it shuts off to save power. and, boom. so that about does it for this techno guy.

the reindeer are texting me. we got a fly. i hope all the gifts you give are a

christmas day is just a week away and there is a place in rochester that's busier than santa's workshop. steve hartman paid a visit, on the road. >> reporter: for charlie and dorothy hale of rochester, new york, every day is like christmas morning. >> ooh. >> reporter: bright shiny wood winds and worn out old brass. brown cardboard packages tied up with strings. these musical instruments are their favorite things. >> this just came from fedex. >> reporter: they show up all day without intermission. >> that's a big one. >> reporter: and each piece in some form of disrepair. >> i told you it had some prokz. >> reporter: they started out buying these broken instruments a few years ago after dorothy took a class in instrument repair.

>> i always loved to take things apart. and it's about time i learn how to put something together. i put shellac on them. >> reporter: dorothy, a retired chemist, and charlie a retired doctor are both in their 80s, but still very active in this passion. to restore musical instruments to their former glory. and then give them away. by the hundreds. so far the hales have donated nearly a thousand instruments to the rochester school district. alison schmidt is the lead teacher for the arts department. can everybody play an instrument here who wants to? >> absolutely. it's unbelievable for two humans to care so much about other people's children. >> reporter: alison says the impact has been huge. but it was interesting. when i tried to talk to the hales about this, they seem downright oblivious. they have no doubt you've

changed lives. that to me -- you don't think so? >> no, i don't. >> they're ripples of effect, i hope, you know? >> reporter: ripples? sophomore william delgado says it's more like tidal waves. >> really, music has and can create somebody. and it created me. >> reporter: studies consistently show that music education helps kids do better in school overall. if for no other reason than it makes them want to attend. >> i wish you can be there every time i get to hand an instrument to a student and their eyes light up. >> reporter: fortunately, the hales are now starting to understand. >> if i could thank you every single day of my life, i would. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: as we go into the holidays, it's good to remember that there is no greater gift than simply telling someone just how important they really are. [ applause ] >> reporter: steve hartman, on the road in rochester, new york.

>> that is the overnight news for this wednesday. for this wednesday. from the cbs broadcast center in it's wednesday, d it's wednesday, december 18th, 2019. this is the "cbs morning news." [ chants ] rallying for impeachment. coast-to-coast demonstrations are held ahead of today's historic vote on capitol hill. reaction from the president and his supporters. plea deal. a grandfather who was holding his granddaughter when she fell to her death on a cruise ship faces a major decision. and fake kidnapping. a teenager seen abducted on surveillance video, dragged off the street and into a car admits the street and into a car admits it was all a hoax. captioning funded by cbs good morning from the studio