richard: i listened to lenny bruce's album where i graduated.n i heard the berkeley album -- he was already dead. he died the night i bottomed out. i was holed up in my house doing crystal meth for about 10 days. i looked like a jewish -- who who hid out in hotels in vegas? i looked like howard hughes very thin rabbi. people came over, are you going to die? i was in denial. true friends did. the doctor said, what are you doing? i said i'm dying, it's over. no mas. that was it. charlie: you have to tie yourself up to do that. richard: there are different types of programs and i had friends who were horrible junkies. if they can clean themselves up -- that is the good part of having a lot of friends. if this guy was a junkie and came back 18 times -- i like alcohol, the cocaine came last. i dated a sweet girl and she experimented. she said you are so mean on booze, nicer on ecstasy. charlie: you're clean now? richard: 20 years. charlie: look at this one. you draw that? there it is. richard: that was putting myself down in front of my wife. it's re

i brought a picture of lenny bruce and jimi hendrix and put it over my bed. peter cohen who direct it, whose father was the legendary literary agent sam cohen came in and wanted me to audition some actors who had smaller roles. he walks in and like an addict who either feels like he's the greatest or feels like he's the worst human being on the planet like i felt then in that film, i said you know what? get someone else. you don't need me. i'm an alcoholic. and he looked around in this room and it looked like gitmo with a picture of lenny and hendrix who i worship both those guys -- and you asked me, and if we get to it, i can tell you people who started what i think comedy is really about -- but he laughed and said, you're an alcoholic. what a shock that is. he's so new. and i was proud because i was only sober a little bit and i was so raw. i was freaked every time i went to the set. >> rose: was there a time that you thought you had a great opportunity to be a great actor? >> well, what happened to me was that i remember that year it came out in the theate

then i heard lenny bruce and-- and then became friends and saw richard pryor. i went these-- this-- these bars, and that's just-- it's just, you know one-- a few names. i said, "if i ever go on stage, and i did it about a month or two after my dad died-- i said "i have to reach for th-- i have to unravel myself on stage as fearlessly as possible, and see if i get laughs." because i really did feel pretty much like a chagall painting you know but i was sort of tethered to nothing. because they were-- i really didn't have much of a family life. so-- the audience became my family >> well, and all that led to what at times was crippling depression you had serious problems with addiction. wha-- what do you tell people who think, "here's a guy who had s-- all sorts of successful sitcoms, movies books, and all this and they say-- h-- they can't understand-- >> i know. >> --how somebody like you coulda gone through that. >> i dunno even know what-- i know what success means, okay? i get it. and i've learned it-- i've earned it. i-- i-- nothing mattered more to me than

i brought a picture of lenny bruce and jimi hendrix and put it over my bed.eter cohen, who directed it, he came in and wanted me to audition some actors who had smaller roles. and he walks in, and like an addict who feels he is even the greatest or the worst human being on the planet i said get someone else. you don't need me. i'm an alcoholic. he looked around this room which looked like gitmo with pictures of lenny and hendrix. if we get to it i can tell you some people that started what comedy is all about. he laughed, he says you are an alcoholic. what a shock that is. i was only sober a little bit. i was so raw. i was freaked every time it went to the set. charlie: was their time you thought you had a great opportunity to be a great actor? richard: what happened to me is i remember that year, it was talking heads. if that was on air force one maybe. probably would have made $200 million. they are just astounding. just unbelievable. i will miss so many. i was in the first scene of losing las vegas. i said fine, i read the script. i said if he nails this n