Richard Kind

OK, that's who they want.

I acknowledge that.

Then I went to college as a pre-law so that I would take over my dad's store.

Frank Galati, a very well-known Chicago theater maven at the Goodman at Steppenwolf and a teacher at Northwestern.

So when I...

got his advice, he said, look, go be a producer and so you get to be in show business, but your business, I go, no, it's either I'm an actor or I'm a rich jeweler.

And I said, he said, well, you're not going to get famous or get known until you're in your 30s when you sort of grow into who you are.

Did I believe him?

Terry, I wish that I could say this is what I chose to do.

All I did was say yes to whatever was presented and my path was created by that.

I didn't set out to join Second City.

I went to some place in Chicago, Practical Theater Company.

They saw me and said, do you want to do Second City?

I said, yeah, well, Second City taught me a lot.

Four and a half years, all of that way station of waiting for roles and waiting for roles was spent on stage and getting paid and developing into the actor who I was in front of 400 people a night.

Well, okay.

My dad didn't trust me with the beautiful jewels or the expensive stuff.

I sold lighters and sterling silver keychains and the pens and stuff like that, maybe candelabras, but I didn't sell the expensive stuff.

And I was no good.

I was a good salesman.